The Drones were an Australian rock band, formed in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

by mainstay lead vocalist and guitarist

Gareth Liddiard Gareth Liddiard (born 20 November 1975) is an Australian musician, best known as a founding member of both The Drones and Tropical Fuck Storm. Musically active since 1997, he has also released a solo album titled '' Strange Tourist'' in 2010. ...

in 1997. Fiona Kitschin, his domestic partner, joined on bass guitar and vocals in 2002. Other long-term members include Rui Pereira on bass guitar and then lead guitar; Mike Noga on drums, vocals, harmonica and percussion; and

Dan Luscombe Daniel Francis Luscombe is an Australian guitarist, producer and composer. He has been a member of The Blackeyed Susans, The Drones, Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males, Stardust Five, Spencer P. Jones & the Last Gasp and Paul Kelly and the Boon ...

on lead guitar, vocals and keyboards. Their second album, '' Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By'' (April 2005), won the inaugural

Australian Music Prize The Australian Music Prize (often shortened to the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The award was made by Australian Music Pri ...

. In October 2010 their third studio album, '' Gala Mill'' (September 2006) was listed at No. 21 in the book, ''

100 Best Australian Albums 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length&nb ...

''. Two of their albums have reached the top 20 on the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, ''

I See Seaweed ''I See Seaweed'' is the fifth studio album by Australian band The Drones, released in March 2013. The album marked the first appearance of Steve Hesketh on keyboards (hence making the band a quintet) and the last appearance of drummer Mike No ...

'' (March 2013) and ''

Feelin Kinda Free ''Feelin Kinda Free'' is the sixth studio album from Australian band The Drones, and their final one before going on hiatus. Having grown tired with the more rock-oriented sound of the band up until that point, frontman Gareth Liddiard became ...

'' (March 2016). The group went on hiatus in December 2016 with Kitschin and Liddiard forming a new group, Tropical Fuck Storm, in the following year.

Biography

Formation and early years (1997–2004)

The Drones were formed in

, Western Australia in 1997 by Warren Hall on drums,

on lead vocals and guitar, James McCann on guitar ( James McCann would later compose the song 'This Time' for the album Wait Long... ) and Rui Pereira on bass guitar (later on lead guitar). The group were an outlet for Liddiard's songs and the unorthodox music he and Pereira had made after meeting in high school, in 1988. All four were also members of the Gutterville Splendour Six, which was led by singer Maurice Flavel, and included Brendon Humphries on guitar. The Drones played a handful of shows in Perth and recorded an unreleased EP before Liddiard and Pereira left for the eastern states in January 2000. The pair relocated to Melbourne where they were joined by former bandmate Humphries, who took over on bass guitar after Pereira moved to lead guitar. Hall soon returned to Perth and was replaced by Christian Strybosch (ex-Stunt Car Drivers) on drums. In 2002 Humphries moved back to Perth and was replaced on bass guitar by Fiona Kitschin (who had previously played with Liddiard and Pereira). The new line up of Liddiard, Kitschin, Pereira and Strybosch were recorded on the Drones' debut studio album, '' Here Come the Lies'' (August 2002), via Spooky Records. Humphries formed the Kill Devil Hills in 2003 as an acoustic country blues group.

''Wait Long by the River...'' to ''Gala Mill'' (2004–08)

Recording of the Drones' second album, '' Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By'', occurred during 2003 with Loki Lockwood of Spooky Records producing. Once the sessions were complete the group wanted to change labels, which stalled its release while they saved up enough money to buy out their contract. In 2004 Strybosch left the band and was replaced by Mike Noga ( Legends of Motorsport) on drums. Bruce Milne's In-Fidelity Recordings eventually issued the album in April 2005, to enthusiastic reviews from the underground music press. " Shark Fin Blues", was released as its lead single, which Denham Sadler of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' described, "delves into the darkest corners of the human psyche, where depression, loss and anger lie. It's a bitter song that typifies Liddiard's unique approach to music and songwriting and has become an anthem of sorts for the disenfranchised and melancholic." The album was nominated for

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 ...

's inaugural 2005 J Award prize in 2005, which was won by Wolfmother. In March 2005 they went to a farm at Cranbrook, near Swansea, Tasmania, to record their third album, '' Gala Mill'' (September 2006). During a six-month tour of Europe and the United States,

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

(ATP) issued their second album outside of Australia, in October 2005, via ATP Recordings. The band spent the interim touring Australia and the northern hemisphere. Also in 2006 a compilation album, '' The Miller's Daughter'', comprising out-takes from their first two albums was released by

Bang! Records Bang! Records is a Spanish label from Basque Country formed in 1998 by Gorka Munster and Juan-Mari Iturrarte. The label has a primary focus on artists from Melbourne, Australia and New York City's swamp, noise and punk blues music scene. Acts ...

(a Spanish label, which has other underground Australian bands on its roster). In April 2006 ''Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By'' won the inaugural

(AMP) for the Drones. Also in contention were works by Wolfmother,

the Go-Betweens The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout ...

TZU TZU (pronounced "Tee Zed Yoo") were an Australian hip hop group, formed in 1999 by Joelistics, Yeroc, Seed MC and Paso Bionic. They used instruments in live performances, giving their shows a rock-infused feeling. Duzy What joined in 2005. TZ ...

, the Devastations,

the Mess Hall The Mess Hall were a two-piece drums and guitar combo based in Sydney, Australia, specialising in "raw, edgy bluesy rock." The band consisted of Jed Kurzel (lead vocals/guitar) and Cec Condon (drums/backing vocals) for most of its tenure. The ...

, Tex, Don & Charlie and

Ben Lee Benjamin Michael Lee (born 11 September 1978) is an Australian musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but he focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He appe ...

. Liddiard explained how they could spend the $25,000 prize money, "We played in Sydney last week and both of our guitars totally died. The guts fell out of mine and Rui's neck snapped off. We've done over 100 shows in the last four months and we have some nasty debts. We have another world tour starting in May. That's after we do two tours of Australia. We can't get jobs because we tour so much. Food is a luxury item right now." The Drones continued to tour throughout the year, including a support slot on

You Am I You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...

's Australian tour in July. ''Gala Mill'' became their first album to reach the

top 100, in September 2006. It was also nominated for the Australian Music Prize for that year. The Drones were nominated as Most Outstanding New Independent Artist at the inaugural AIR Awards of 2006. Late in the year Pereira left and was replaced by

(

The Blackeyed Susans ''For the American band with a similar name, see Blackeyed Susan.'' The Blackeyed Susans are an Australian rock band, which formed in Perth in 1989. Long serving members are Phil Kakulas on bass guitar, guitar and vocals; and Rob Snarski on vo ...

, Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males,

Stardust Five Stardust Five is five-piece surf rock and pop band based in Melbourne, Australia. The members of the band Dan Kelly, Paul Kelly, Dan Luscombe, Peter Luscombe and Bill MacDonald have played, in other bands including The Last Gasp, Dan Kelly and ...

), on lead guitar and vocals (later also on keyboards). Luscombe debuted for the group at the

Meredith Music Festival The Meredith Music Festival (otherwise known simply as Meredith or MMF) is a three-day outdoor music festival held every December at the "Supernatural Amphitheatre", a natural amphitheatre located on private farmland near the town of Meredith i ...

in December of that year. On 15 November 2006 the group recorded their performance at

Spaceland Spaceland was an alternative rock/indie rock nightclub in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, that existed between 1995 and 2011. The club was formerly a popular disco to young locals called Dreams of LA. Spaceland's owner a ...

, a nightclub in

Silver Lake, Los Angeles Silver Lake is a residential and commercial Neighbourhood, neighborhood in the east-Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Originally home to a small community called Ivanhoe in honor of Walter Scott, Sir Walter Scott. In ...

, California, which was issued as, ''

Live in Spaceland ''Spaceland Presents – The Drones (In Spaceland • Nov. 15th, 2006)'', or ''Live in Spaceland'', is the first live album by Australian alternative rockers, the Drones, which was released in February 2007 via the American label, Spaceland Rec ...

'' (February 2007), through the US label, Spaceland Recordings. In 2007 the Drones toured with the

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 ...

before undertaking a four-month tour of Europe (with shows in Norway, France and Italy), commencing in April with a performance at the All Tomorrow's Parties Festival in the UK, curated by Dirty Three. The band's European tour was followed by a national tour of Australia, with Snowman. 2007 also saw the release of the band's first video album, ''Live in Madrid'', a live performance by the band at the Gruta 77 club in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. They followed with a period of touring until 2008.

''Havilah'' (2008–12)

In July 2008 the Drones released a digital/12" six-track compilation EP, ''The Minotaur'' (July 2008), with two new tracks, "The Minotaur" and "Nail It Down". These appeared on their next studio album, ''

Havilah Havilah ( ''Ḥăwīlāh'') refers to both a land and people in several books of the Bible; the one mentioned in , while the other is mentioned in . Biblical mentions In one case, Havilah is associated with the Garden of Eden, that mentioned in ...

'' (20 September 2008), which peaked at No. 47 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It was recorded in a valley in Victoria's

Alpine Shire The Alpine Shire is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of and in 2022 had a population of 13,235. It includes the towns of Bright, Dinner Plain, ...

of the same name. The band undertook a national tour in November, performed at the

Falls Festival Falls Music & Arts Festival (commonly known as Falls) is a multi-day music festival held annually in Lorne ( Victoria), Marion Bay (Tasmania), Byron Bay (New South Wales) and Fremantle (Western Australia), Australia over the New Year's Eve an ...

in December and toured Australia in February 2009 as part of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival. ''Havilah'' had worldwide release in that month. More European and American dates occurred in 2009 including an appearance at the All Tomorrow's Parties New York Festival in September. ''Wait Long by the River...'' was performed in its entirety during the ATP-curated Don't Look Back series. In a poll of contemporary Australian songwriters in October of that year, organised by Triple J, "Shark Fin Blues", was listed at No. 1 of the 25 Greatest Australian Songs. At

AIR Awards of 2009 The AIR Awards of 2009 is the fourth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards and Jagermeister AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at The Forum Theatre, in Melbourne, Australia ...

, the Drones won two awards, Best Independent Album of the Year for ''Havilah'' and Independent Artist of the Year. At the inaugural Australian ''Rolling Stone'' Awards, held in Sydney in January 2010, the group won the Best Live Act award. In October 2010 ''Gala Mill'' was listed at No. 21 in the book, ''

'', by music journalists, John O'Donnell,

Toby Creswell Toby Creswell (born 21 May 1955) is an Australian music journalist and pop-culture writer. He was editor of ''Rolling Stone'' (Australia) and a founding editor of '' Juice''. In 1986, he co-wrote, with Martin Fabinyi, his first book, ''Too Mu ...

and

Craig Mathieson Craig Mathieson (born 1971) is an Australian music journalist and writer. His books include, '' Hi Fi Days'' (1996), '' The Sell-In'' in (2000) and the 100 Best Australian Albums in 2010, with Toby Creswell and John O'Donnell Biography Craig ...

. Liddiard issued an acoustic solo album, '' Strange Tourist'' (October 2010), before returning to duties with the Drones. The band released another video album, ''A Thousand Mistakes'' (2011), with live footage from Australia,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It included a session recorded in Melbourne using keyboard player Steve Hesketh, who had been recorded with the band on ''Wait Long by the River...'' and ''The Miller's Daughter''.

''I See Seaweed'' (2013–15)

The Drones, now with Hesketh as a full-time member, released their next studio album, ''

'' in March 2013. It peaked at No. 18 on the ARIA Albums Chart. Two singles appeared from the album, "How to See Through Fog" and the title track, which also had a music video. In mid-August 2013 the Drones were finalists for the AMP for ''I See Seaweed'', alongside efforts by Kevin Mitchell and

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock band formed in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and pre ...

. The band were nominated for three Music Victoria Awards of 2013 best band, best album and best live act. The album was identified as the sixth-best album of 2013 by ''FasterLouder''. The article referenced the online publication's March 2013 review of the album, in which it stated: "''I See Seaweed'' often feels less like a rock album and more like a demented film score". Over 100 writers from the ''Music.com.au'' website ranked the album first in its list of the 20 Best Australian Albums of 2013. Following the end of their tour in support of ''I See Seaweed'' in 2014, Noga departed to focus on his solo work and was replaced by a returning Strybosch.

''Feelin Kinda Free'' to hiatus (2015-16)

The Drones released their first single from ''Feelin Kinda Free'', "Taman Shud," in October 2015. The accompanying music video was satirically aimed at right-wing pundits such as

Andrew Bolt Andrew Bolt (born 26 September 1959) is an Australian right-wing social and political commentator. He has worked at the News Corp-owned newspaper company The Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) for many years, for both '' The Herald'' and its succ ...

and the Reclaim Australia movement. It was followed by a second single, "To Think That I Once Loved You," in January 2016. ''Feelin Kinda Free'', was released on 18 March 2016, which became their highest charting work by reaching No. 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It was the first album by the band to be released through their own label, Tropical Fuck Storm (TFS) Records. It was met with widely-positive reviews from outlets such as

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History '' ...

, ''

'' and Music Feeds. The band played their final show in support of the album in December 2016 as part of the Fairgrounds Festival in

Berry, New South Wales Berry is a small Australian village in the Shoalhaven region of the New South Wales South Coast, located south of the state capital, Sydney. It has many historical buildings which are listed on the New South Wales Heritage Register. Berry att ...

; and entered a hiatus period following the set.

Hiatus (2017–present)

In 2017 Kitschin and Liddiard were founding members of a new band, Tropical Fuck Storm, alongside High Tension drummer Lauren Hammel and Harmony vocalist Erica Dunn. The band toured through the US with

Band of Horses Band of Horses is an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle, Washington. Led by singer-songwriter Ben Bridwell, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes, the band's current line-up also inclu ...

in 2017. Their debut album, '' A Laughing Death in Meatspace'', appeared in March 2018 via TFS Records, and peaked at No. 25. In a Reddit AMA done shortly before the release of TFS' second album in late 2019, when asked about the reasons behind the band going on hiatus and its future, Liddiard revealed that the other Drones members "are just busy doin their own stuff, kids jobs etc.... it slows stuff down. us its 20 years old so doin something new is fun ic havent broken up. en if we did, no one really breaks up anymore." From February 2020 through till May, the band released a series of 5 archival live recordings through

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

. The first one compiles performances recorded between 2001 & 2004 (ending with an interview with future member Luscombe). The second release compiles a Drones live show recorded at Melbourne's Spanish Club on 4 March 2006 (shortly before the release of ''Gala Mill''). The third one compiles recordings from between 2004 and 2008, which includes covers of "

Manic Depression Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

" by

The Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

and "Words From A Woman To Her Man" by Beasts of Bourbon (recorded for

PBS 106.7FM PBS 106.7FM (call sign: PBS FM), also known as the Progressive Broadcasting Service, is a cooperatively owned community radio station in Melbourne, Australia, that broadcasts on 106.7FM, Digital radio and online. PBS celebrated its 40th year ...

and

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 ...

respectively). The fourth one compiles live recordings from between 2009 and 2012, including a series of promotional

idents Station identification (ident, network ID or channel ID or bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name (sometimes known, particularly in th ...

they'd recorded for radio stations in the UK. The fifth and final one compiles a 2016 live show recorded at The Tote Hotel 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 metro ...

that was previously uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

through the band's official channel. Former drummer Mike Noga's death was announced on 27 August 2020; he was 43.

Members

Final line-up

– lead vocals, guitar (1997–2016), keyboards (2015–2016) * Christian Strybosch – drums (2000–2004, 2014–2016) * Fiona Kitschin – bass guitar, backing and lead vocals (2002–2016) *

– guitar, backing vocals (2007–2016), keyboards (2015–2016) * Steve Hesketh – keyboards, piano (2013–2016)

Former members

* Warren Hall – drums (1997–2000) * James McCann – guitar (1997–2000) * Rui Pereira – bass guitar (1997–2000), guitar (2000–2007) * Brendon Humphries – bass guitar (2000–2002) * Mike Noga – drums, backing vocals, harmonica, percussion (2004–2014; died 2020)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:60 top:5 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1997 till:12/02/2016 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1997 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1997 Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:bvocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:keyboard value:purple legend:Keyboards id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:lines value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95) BackgroundColors = bars:bars LineData = at:08/01/2002 color:black layer:back at:04/18/2005 color:black layer:back at:10/03/2005 color:black layer:back at:09/02/2006 color:black layer:back at:09/20/2008 color:black layer:back at:03/01/2013 color:black layer:back at:03/18/2016 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Gareth text:"Gareth Liddiard" bar:James text:"James McCann" bar:Dan text:"Dan Luscombe" bar:Steve text:"Steve Hesketh" bar:Rui text:"Rui Pereira" bar:Brendon text:"Brendon Humphries" bar:Fiona text:"Fiona Kitschin" bar:Warren text:"Warren Hall" bar:Christian text:"Christian Strybosch" bar:Mike text:"Mike Noga" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Gareth from:01/01/1997 till:12/02/2016 color:vocals bar:Gareth from:01/01/1997 till:06/01/2015 color:guitar width:3 bar:Gareth from:06/01/2015 till:12/02/2016 color:guitar width:7 bar:Gareth from:06/01/2015 till:12/02/2016 color:keyboard width:3 bar:Rui from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2000 color:bass bar:Rui from:01/01/2000 till:06/01/2007 color:guitar bar:James from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2000 color:guitar bar:Warren from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2000 color:drums bar:Brendon from:01/01/2000 till:01/01/2002 color:bass bar:Christian from:01/01/2000 till:06/01/2004 color:drums bar:Christian from:03/12/2014 till:12/02/2016 color:drums bar:Fiona from:01/01/2002 till:12/02/2016 color:bass bar:Fiona from:01/01/2002 till:12/02/2016 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Mike from:06/01/2004 till:01/01/2014 color:drums bar:Mike from:06/01/2004 till:01/01/2014 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Dan from:06/01/2007 till:12/02/2016 color:guitar bar:Dan from:06/01/2015 till:12/02/2016 color:keyboard width:7 bar:Dan from:06/01/2007 till:12/02/2016 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Steve from:01/01/2013 till:12/02/2016 color:keyboard

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Here Come the Lies'' (August 2002) * '' Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By'' (April 2005) * '' Gala Mill'' (September 2006) * ''

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2013) * ''

'' (2016)

Awards

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - , AIR Awards of 2006 , The Drones , Most Outstanding New Independent Artist , , - , rowspan="2" ,

, The Drones , Best Independent Artist , , - , ''Havilah'' , Best Independent Album , , - , rowspan="2" ,

AIR Awards of 2013 The AIR Awards of 2013 (or Carlton Dry Independent Music Awards of 2013) is the eighth annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards (generally known as the AIR Awards) and was an award ceremony at Revolt Art Space, in Mel ...

, themselves , Best Independent Artist , , - , ''I See Seaweed '' , Best Independent Album , , -

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). , - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, , "A Moat You Can Stand In" , , Song of the Year, , , - ,

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

, , "To Think That I Once Loved You" , , Song of the Year, , , -

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions ...

. , - , rowspan="3" ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

, rowspan="3" , ''Havilah'' , Best Rock Album , , - , Best Group , , - , Best Independent Release , , - , rowspan="3" ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

, rowspan="2" , ''I See Seeweed'' , Best Rock Album , , - , Best Independent Release , , - , I See Seaweed Tour , Best Australian Live Act , , -

Australian Music Prize

, - , 2005 , ''Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By'' , Australian Album of the Year , , - , 2006 , ''Gala Mill'' , Australian Album of the Year , , - , 2008 , ''Havilah'' , Australian Album of the Year , , -

EG Awards / Music Victoria Awards

The EG Awards (known as ''Music Victoria Awards'' since 2013) are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006. , - , rowspan="2",

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, ''Havilah'' , Best Album , , - , The Drones , Best Band , , - , rowspan="3",

, ''I See Seaweed'' , Best Album , , - , The Drones , Best Band , , - , The Drones , Best Live Band , , - ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, The Drones , Best Live Band , , - , rowspan="5",

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

, ''Feelin' Kinda Free'' , Best Album , , - , "Taman Shud" , Best Song , , - , The Drones , Best Band , , - , The Drones , Best Live Band , , - , The Drones , Best Regional Act , , -

J Awards

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...

's youth-focused radio station

. They commenced in 2005. , - , J Award of 2005 , ''Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By'' , Australian Album of the Year , , - ,

J Awards of 2013 The J Award of 2013 is the ninth annual J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the ...

, ''I See Seaweed'' , Australian Album of the Year , , - ,

J Awards of 2016 The J Award of 2016 is the twelfth annual J Awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station ...

, themselves , Double J Artist of the Year ,

References

External links

Official site
* *
ATP Recordings page

Interview with The Drones @ MessandNoise.com

band page on Spaceland Recordings website

Gareth Liddiard interview in Reverb Magazine (November 2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drones, The Australian alternative rock groups Musical groups from Melbourne Western Australian musical groups Musical groups established in 1998 ATP Recordings artists