Wicked Beat Sound System is a Sydney based group whose sound is best described as a mixture of electronica, dub and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

. The group formed in 1992, following a series of live "jams" instigated by DJ Dave Carnovale (Crucial D) in collaboration with Damian Robinson and other DJs Scott Pullen and Mark Walton which took place at the Bentley Bar c. 1991 in Sydney's Darlinghurst area. They have released five albums to date. Originally featuring

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and hip hop, the group expanded their sound to incorporate elements of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, funk and

breaks Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to: Time off from duties * Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties * Break (work), time off during a shift/recess ** Coffee break, a short mid-morning rest ...

. They have been nominated for three ARIA Music Awards and an Australian Dance Music Award as well as creating dozens of remixes for others. The lineup of the group was originally Linda Janssen and MC KYE on vocals, alongside producers Damian Robinson and DJ Dave Carnovale. Over the years many other artists have been included in the lineup of the 'Live' band including Marko Simec (Waiting For Guinness), the late Bruce (Babs) Clarke, well known breaks producer Andy Page, Dave Norris (Nubreed) as well as current performers Gerard Masters, Ian Mussington and Cameron Undy. Dave Carnovale departed the band in 2003 to concentrate on his 'Dubnosis' project and MC Kye departed the band shortly after the release of their fourth album ''4ormation'' in 2005 to work on his Budspells Album. They have headlined their own tours and have supported

Ben Harper Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live perfo ...

and

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History

Wicked Beat Sound System's first single releases, "Stand Up", "Inside" and "Summer Sun", were produced by John Prior at Unity Gain Studios. "Stand Up" was the group's first video, "Inside" and "Summer Sun" were originally released on Matt Hayward's independent label One Movement, while "Summer Sun" was picked up by DJ Andy Glitre and continued to receive high rotation on national radio network

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

for several years. The first album release, ''Music From The Core'' was also originally released on One Movement in 1996 and the single "Local MP" also achieved high radio rotation. These tracks were featured on the soundtrack to the French film '' Clubbed to Death (Lola)''. They collaborated with other local artists such as

Yothu Yindi Yothu Yindi ( Yolngu for "child and mother", pronounced ) are an Australian musical group with Aboriginal and '' balanda'' (non-Aboriginal) members, formed in 1986 as a merger of two bands formed in 1985 – a white rock group called the Swam ...

, Directions in Groove,

Deborah Conway Deborah Ann Conway (born 8 August 1959) is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actress. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their top 5 hit "Man Overboard". Conw ...

Iva Davies Ivor Arthur Davies, AM (born 22 May 1955), known professionally as Iva Davies, is an Australian singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Davies' music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in t ...

, Christine Anu and Renee Geyer. The second album, ''Inna Styles'' was released through Mushroom Records in 1999, followed by an extensive touring schedule. Three singles from the album "I Don’t Wanna know", "Church of Al Green", and "Stay With Me Til Dawn" were again featured on Triple J. The album also featured dancefloor tracks "Cookin’ with Kazz" and "Genie of the Lab". In 2000 Wicked Beat Sound System received an

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

nomination for ''Inna Styles'' and a Dance Music Award nomination (DMA) for Best Band. They also played festivals across Australia including the Perth International Arts Festival, Vibes On a Summer's Day and the closing of the Sydney Paralympics. In September 2002, the third album, ''New Soul Breaks'', was released and featured vocal tracks by Janssen including "I Want To" and "Brand New Day", as well as instrumental tracks "Do The Tings" and "Ounce Of Swing". In the same year they received another ARIA nomination for "Best Dance Release". In 2005 Wicked Beat Sound System released ''4ormation'' featuring the track "Nightmare". Shortly after the release of ''4ormation'' MC Kye departed the group to concentrate on his solo project and the group ceased touring for a period of time. In 2006, Wicked Beat Sound System, now largely Robinson and Janssen, recorded ''Hydromajestik'' which was released on 24 March 2007. More in the vein of their previous ''Inna Styles'' album, this album featured vocal tracks in addition to dub-influenced instrumentals. The first single was "Won't Let Go". In 2008 WBSS released the album ''Dreaming'', originally a commissioned piece of work written by Damian Robinson. He was approached by Indigenous Artistic director Rhoda Roberts to compose the music for a Cleansing Ceremony she was directing called Sydney Dreaming which was to be a theatrical adaptation of the rainmaker creation story. Since that performance, variations of this music have been performed at several festivals and ceremonies including Woodford Festival and

Perth Festival Perth Festival, named Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) between 2000 and 2017, and sometimes referred to as the Festival of Perth, is Australia's longest-running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia. The program features ...

. ''Dreaming'' was the culmination of several years' work. The original concept was penned in the heat of a

Byron Bay Byron Bay (Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headla ...

summer and completed in WB's studio in Sydney and then Bungendore. The themes revolve around Salt Water, Fresh Water and Desert, three dividing realities for Aboriginal people's

connection to country The concept of country, as an identity or descriptive quality, varies widely across the world, although some elements may be common among several groups of people. Rurality One interpretation is the state or character of being rural, regardles ...

. The ''Dreaming'' album was nominated for an ARIA Award in 2009 in the category of

ARIA Award for Best World Music Album The ARIA Music Award for Best World Music Album, is an award presented within the Fine Arts Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was inaugurated in 1995 as Best Folk/World/Traditional Release. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achieveme ...

. Reworked variations from this album were used to make the soundtrack for the Lighting of the Sydney Opera House Sails for Vivid Festival 2016 along with Badu Gili (meaning ‘water light’ in the language of the

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have right ...

Bennelong Point Bennelong Point, a former island in Sydney Harbour, is a headland that, since the 1970s is the location of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. History Bennelong Point is known to the local Gadigal people of the Eora ...

), which accompanies a contemporary Aboriginal art projection performed each evening year-round on the western sails of the Sydney Opera House. In 2017 Robinson was also commissioned to compose the soundtrack for the Parrtjima Festival at Alice Springs. The festival involved five Aboriginal art centres and showcased the work of 20 Aboriginal artists. ''Parrtjima'' (pronounced Par-CHee-ma) means ‘lighting up’ and conveys two meanings: physically illuminating an object with light and ‘lighting up’ as in to shed light and understanding on a subject. This public event transformed Alice Springs Desert Park into a mesmerising outdoor gallery of light and sound including a breathtaking illumination of a 300-million-year-old natural canvas, 2 km of the majestic MacDonnell Ranges, a series of new installations involving Aboriginal artists from the

Central Desert Region The Central Desert Region is a local government area of the Northern Territory, Australia, administered by the Central Desert Regional Council (formerly Central Desert Shire). The council's main towns are Ti-Tree, Yuendumu, and Lajamanu. Th ...

Discography

Studio albums

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. Wicked Beat Sound System were nominated for four awards.ARIA Award previous winners. , - ,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, ''Music from the Core'' , ARIA Award for Best Dance Release , , - ,

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, ''Inna Styles'' , Best Dance Release , , - , 2003 , ''New Soul Breaks'' , Best Dance Release , , - , 2009 , ''Dreaming'' ,

, , -

References

{{Authority control Australian electronic musicians