HTRK
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HTRK, also known as hTRKRTIO, is a three-piece band from Melbourne.
hTRKRTIO began performing in 2003 as a duo consisting of Sean Stewart and Nigel Yang, both ex-members of Portraits of Hugo Perez.
Citing such major influences as the electronic music label Mego, The Birthday Party, Krautrock, David Lynch and Suicide, hTRKRTIO combined highly textured guitar noise with groove-laden basslines and simple drum machine patterns.
The band's aesthetic of excessively slow tempos, insistent repetition and extremely high-volume performance was decidedly antagonistic toward the Melbourne 'retro rock revival' that was reaching its peak in popularity at the time.
Jonnine Davis joined as singer and percussionist in late 2003 and the band changed their name to HTRK. HTRK released an EP in January 2005 entitled Nostalgia that featured heavy processing with Ableton Live. Nostalgia was originally released on their official web site as a free download and subsequently on compact disc.
Rohan Rebeiro (of My Disco) played drums for HTRK in the spring of 2005.
Mark Butcher's Sticky Carpet documentary on the Melbourne underground music scene features a HTRK song entitled Hate Rock Trio. This song was also included on the mp3 blog bumrocks.com, and charted in The Village Voice's 2005 Pazz & Jop music poll.
In 2006, HTRK were invited to record their debut album with Linsday Gravina at Birdland Studios, to be produced by Rowland S. Howard for Gravina's new label, King Blank. Guest musicians for these recording sessions included Howard, Rebeiro and Conrad Standish from The Devastations.
[edit] Band members
- Nigel Yang - electric guitar, loops, synthesizer, programming.
- Sean Stewart - electric bass, programming.
- Jonnine Davis - vocals, percussion.
[edit] Discography
Albums
- Nostalgia EP (self-released, 2005)
- Marry Me Tonight (King Blank, 2006)
Compilations
- They Shoot Homos Don't They? (Issue II) (Magazine CD, 2005)
- Mess and Noise (Issue II) (Magazine CD, 2005)
- It's Over, We Don't Care (Spanish Magic, 2005)
- Melbourne Water 2 (W.Minc, 2006)
[edit] External links
- www.yourcomicbookfantasy.com is HTRK's official web site with gig listings and mp3s.
- HTRK's myspace page
- Fat Cat Records' Demo Archive features two tracks from Nostalgia
- A live review (in PDF) of HTRK and Jemima Jemima by Australian magazine What We Do Is Secret
