Peregrine was an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Early career

Peregrine began as the vehicle for the performance of songs written by Brett Winterford, who after several early line-up changes settled on drummer Mathew Smith and bassist Dane Higgins (both joining in 1999), and guitarist Felix Akurangi (joining in 2000). Mark Holbert replaced Higgins on bass and Dave Stabback joined later in the band's career. Winning a local band competition in Sydney's beachside suburb of Manly within their first few gigs, the band established a residency at the Excelsior of

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

. This residency ran for two years. At the time, the band was described in street-press magazine 'Revolver' as "Sydney's best kept secret". In 2003, the band booked itself into Big Jesus Burger Studios in Sydney's

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surroun ...

to record its first album, which was released under the title "One Big Happy Heart Attack".

One Big Happy Heart Attack

Recorded by producer Chris Townend (

Augie March Augie (sometimes spelled Auggie) is a nickname for variations of the name August, which derives from the Latin name Augustus. It may refer to: People *Augie Auer (1940–2007), meteorologist *Augie Galan (1912–1993), Major League Baseball play ...

Darren Hanlon Darren Hanlon is an Australian singer-songwriter from Gympie, Queensland. Prior to becoming a solo artist in 1999, Hanlon was a member of Lismore, New South Wales, Lismore indie rock band The Simpletons, with whom he released four albums and s ...

), 'Heart Attack' was a selection of the tracks regularly performed at the

residency. Songs were tracked live onto two-inch tape, and featured many of the guests that had shared the Excelsior stage with the band - including fellow songwriters Paul Greene, Melanie Horsnell and

Josh Schuberth Josh Schuberth (born 23 September 1983) is an Australian producer, audio engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. His list of credits includes work with numerous notable performers, including Ben Folds, Josh Pyke, Alex Lloyd, Jessica Mauboy, Sara ...

back Winterford's vocals. A representative from Shock Music Publishing happened to enter the studio while the band was laying down one of its newer tracks, 'Fingerpointing'. Winterford's publishing and the album's distribution would later be signed with

Shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Collective noun *Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names * Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves Healthcare * Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emergen ...

. The album was reviewed very favourably by Australia's national newspapers - with

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

giving it four stars and praising its "narrative wit" and "quiet charm". The album's opening track 'Fingerpointing' was picked up by Australia's national youth radio broadcaster

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 ...

among others, and was featured in the radio station's 'Home and Hosed: First Harvest' compilation, and on several films and television shows.

The second album

After touring 'Heart Attack' consistently up and down Australia's East Coast, the band took a break in 2004/05 to allow Winterford to travel. Upon his return, the band reformed with new bassist Mark Holbert, and began tracking a follow-up album at Sydney's 301 Studios. The album was produced by Daniel Denholm ( The Cruel Sea,

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by ...

Powderfinger Powderfinger were an Australian rock band formed in Brisbane in 1989. From 1992 until their break-up in 2010, the line-up consisted of vocalist Bernard Fanning, guitarists Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, bass guitarist John Collins and drummer ...

Alex Lloyd Alex Lloyd (born 19 November 1974) is an Australian singer-songwriter. Four of his albums, ''Black the Sun'', '' Watching Angels Mend'', '' Distant Light'' and ''Alex Lloyd'', released between 1999 and 2005, made the top ten on the ARIA charts ...

Personnel

* Brett Winterford (vocals, piano, guitar) * Felix Akurangi (guitar, percussion) * Mathew Smith (drums) * Mark Holbert (bass, backing vocals)

Discography

Albums

Singles

Reviews

"Narrative wit and poetic soul-searching in abundance. Quietly charming." - Iain Sheddon, The Weekend

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

"Brett Winterford sings with a wistfulness that makes him eminently likeable.” - Katrina Lobley,

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

"A good songwriter is also a good storyteller. The lyrics, the melody, the rhythm - a multi-dimensional world guided by the writer but created by the listener. This is one such gift of good music; its ability to transport you to far off places that are inaccessible from your current situation. Peregrine have that. Swashbuckling, rollicking melodies through the seas of the unknown." - Hutch
Sandwich Club blog, March 2007
"Heart Attack hums with life, both sprightly and seductive." - Mike Gee, The Brag “Proficient, infectious, acoustic popsters with intelligence.” - Soph Gyles, Th
OzMusic Project
“Are they one of the big secrets about town or what? Amazing vocals, beautiful pop melodies, stunning.” - Craig New, Revolver Magazine

References

External links

Peregrine myspace site

Review of One Big Happy Heart Attack at the OzMusicProject
{{Authority control New South Wales musical groups