Soulscraper were an Australian

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The band formed circa 1991 by ex-members of an alternative /

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

influenced band called The Prostitutes. Soulscraper were Chris Dubrow on guitar and lead vocals; James Lynch on drums; Sarah Lord on bass guitar; Elenor Rayner on rhythm samples; and Jim Shnookal on lead samples. They combined samplers and audio loops played live with acoustic drums and aggressive

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

influenced guitars. The sound was influenced by alternative, industrial,

goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

, and

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

, combined with an Australian

Pub rock Pub rock is a rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particu ...

live music sensibility. The band released two EP's, "Heard it all before" (1992) and "Neo-Anarcho" (1993) and both received considerable national airplay on radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

as well as Australian alternative clubs and community radio stations such as

3RRR 3RRR (pronounced "Three Triple R", or simply "Triple R") is an Australian community radio station, based in Melbourne. 3RRR first commenced broadcasting in 1976 from the studios of 3ST, the student radio station of the Royal Melbourne Institut ...

. The band played many live shows across Australia, including tours with

Pop Will Eat Itself Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a grebo act, they changed style to incorpor ...

, Neds Atomic Dustbin, and

The Shamen The Shamen ( ) were a Scottish psychedelic band, formed in 1985 in Aberdeen, who became a chart-topping British electronic dance music act by the early 1990s. The founding members were Colin Angus, Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie. Peter St ...

. Soulscraper also played at the first Melbourne

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

festival in 1993. The band split in 1994 and members went on to form and play in many bands including

Discordia Eris (; grc-gre, :wikt:Ἔρις, Ἔρις ', "Strife") is the ancient Greek religion, Greek goddess of strife and discord. Her Roman equivalent is Discordia, which means the same. Eris's Greek opposite is Harmonia (mythology), Harmonia, whos ...

(Lynch, Shnookal),

iNsuRge Insurge, commonly typeset iNsuRge, were an Australian political industrial rock band founded in 1994 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Chris Dubrow (ex- Soulscraper). Other founders were Mattieu MacRoth on bass guitar, Matt Richmond on drums, Paul ...

(Dubrow), Sobriquet/The Crystalline (Reyner), Snog, and

Shreen "Shreen" is a song by the American punk rock band All, written by drummer Bill Stevenson and released as the first single from the band's 1993 album ''Breaking Things''. Released in advance of the album, the single also includes two more songs ...

Members

*Chris Dubrow – (guitar, vocals) *Sarah Lord – (bass) *James Lynch – (drums) * Elenor Rayner – (keyboard samplers) *Jim Shnookal – (keyboard samplers)

Discography

(1992) "Heard it all before" EP.
Produced by

Kalju Tonuma Kalju Tonuma is an Australian music producer, songwriter, drummer and performer of Estonian descent. He is one half of the production team MEJU (pronounced "me-you") which he founded with Megan Bernard in 2014. He also manages record label Of ...

,
Tracks: 1. Heard it all before, 2. Manic, 3. Days they rise, 4. American war. With remixes by

Ollie Olsen Ollie Olsen is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound designer. He has performed, recorded and produced rock, electronic and experimental music since the mid-1970s. His post punk groups included Whirlywirld (1978–80), Orches ...

of tracks 1 and 2.
(distributed by 'ID' through PolyGram) (1993) "Neo-Anarcho" EP.
Produced by Matt Thomas and Soulscraper.
Tracks: 1.Neo Anarcho, 2.Fight, 3.Preacher Man, 4.Motivator, 5. Designer Rebellion.
(distributed through MDS) (1993) "3RRR Live in your Lounge Room." - Fight (Single)

References

* *Rolling Stone (Australia) article, issue number 483, dated May 1993 *''Sound Tracks: Popular Music, Identity, and Place'' By John Connell, Chris Gibso

{{Authority control Australian indie rock groups Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 1994 1991 establishments in Australia