Five 90s Australian bands you need to hear from Fellaheen Records

Fellaheen Records were a short-lived 90s Australian independent label who released local debuts from Gerling and Ben Lee, as well as pressings for international acts like Pavement and Beastie Boys.

Below we’re highlighting just five of the Australian bands released on Fellaheen, but for a look at the label in depth check out our recent article on the label for a history, and a complete discography here. Promo images courtesy Adam Yee.

Budd

Budd formed as a four-piece in Brisbane in the early 1990s, and later became a three-piece. Their first release was the tape Fuzzgutzn, released in 1991, and featured Gary “Gaz” Linaker on bass, John “Jon” Morris on drums, David “Nico” Nicholson on guitar, and Jeremy “Jezza” Finlayson on guitar, with each member also contributing vocals.

They then signed to Fellaheen and released the single Helpmeswell. It was also the debut release on Fellaheen in 1992, and was followed by three more singles and one album Prana from Budd. Released in 1998, the album was the final release on Fellaheen.

In the intervening years, Budd had made a name for themselves playing festivals such as Livid in 1993, and Big Day Out in 1994, and also released a self-titled 10" on Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace! label in the US in 1994. Their brand of extremely loud fuzz rock entered the Australian ARIA Alternative Top 20 three times, with the singles Yakfat (1993) and Ovit (1996) peaking at #3, and EP Naff (1995) peaking at #16.

Mess + Noise wrote that “apart from a dedicated cult following, wider appreciation eluded [Budd]”, and that it didn’t help things when Fellaheen closed, and “Budd became another footnote in the frustratingly inconsistently documented history of the Australian underground.”

Budd had seen a slight lineup change in 1995 when they became a three-piece, and after a break, reformed in 2007 with a new lineup featuring Craig Westwood on bass, Tom Jackman on drums, and Jeremy Finlayson on guitar. They self-released the album Jawa in 2009, and are still touring now, with Jeremy Finlayson as the only consistent member across their history. All of their releases are on Bandcamp now.

Diolene

Diolene were an indie rock group who formed in Perth in 1993 as a trio founded by Silvana Del Bene. They relocated to Sydney where they signed with Fellaheen in 1995, and released their debut EP Dee Oh Leen.

After becoming a four-piece, Diolene supported other Fellaheen acts on tours around Australia, and played Summersault festival in 1995/96, before their second single Cazzo, Cucucelle e Ove was released in 1996.

This was their final release, as the band broke up in November 1996 after their bass player left. Silvana went solo, and then formed a new four-piece called Sci-fi with ex-members of Liquorice Fix and Sandpit. Based in Melbourne, it’s unclear whether Sci-fi ever recorded anything, though there were plans at one point to release something on vinyl. Aus Music Scrapbook wrote of Sci-fi in 1998, “Comparisons to Slint, June of 44 and their ilk are the most obvious yet they still retain a pop sensibility that hooks you in.”

Diolene releases can be heard on YouTube and shared amongst fans.

Fur

Fur formed in 1993 on Queensland’s Gold Coast, with bassist Mindy Mapp, guitarist Kim Myer, and drummer Michelle (last name unknown). Mindy and Kim had met at Tweed River High, where Kim played in a school band called Synthetic Goats who played covers of Sonic Youth and Pixies.

Fur recorded a demo tape under the name The Moniker of Fur, and sent it to Kellie Lloyd from Screamfeeder who booked them to play her birthday party before forwarding it onto Fellaheen who signed them soon after.

Under their newly shortened name, Fur released their debut single Fix It/Chocolate Sea win 1993 on 7" purple translucent vinyl, that entered the ARIA Alternative Singles Charts, spending one week at #20.

They performed at the 1995 Big Day Out and supported Silverchair, Bikini Kill, and Fugazi on their Australian tours, before Fur’s debut album The Betty Shakes was released by Fellaheen in 1997.

One final single Jimmy Rogers was released in 1998, before the label closed, but Fur kept touring, and were included at 1999s Big Day Out, before they announced they were taking a break to record the next album.

Fur became infamous for changing drummers, with original drummer Michelle leaving before the band were signed and a drummer named Simon Pitchers stepped in, before also leaving. Peter (or “Boogs”) joined and can be heard on their debut EP, but left and was replaced by Simon again, who can be heard on their next single Losin’ Your Marbles. Original drummer Michelle then joined the band again, but by 1999 had left and the spot was filled by Duane Billings.

Fur entered the ARIA Alternative Singles Charts four times between 1994–1996, with Losin’ Your Marbles reaching the highest point, peaking at #3 for three weeks in 1995. They also appeared in 1997 Australian movie The Well, with four of their songs included in the film.

Following the 1999 Big Day Out, Fur debuted new material during some shows in Queensland playing support for Pollyanna, but a studio recording was never released as later that year the band let fans know they had broken up after Kim injured her arm and Mindy moved interstate.

Fur’s 1995 album Find What You Like & Let It Kill You was reissued by Conquest Of Noise Records in 2016, and is available on Bandcamp. Their only album The Betty Shakes and single Jimmy Rogers ‎are on streaming services such as Spotify.

Gerling

Gerling formed in 1993 with guitarists Brad Herdson and Darren Cross, and Paul “Presser” Towner on drums. They used to drop off tapes of experimental music to Fellaheen founder Stav at his store Waterfront Records, and he released their debut single Sedatives For Dead Radars in 1995. This was followed by the EP A Day of Research in 1996, that reached #13 on the ARIA Alternative Albums Chart and received radio airplay on Triple J.

Brad Herdson left the band in 1997 and was briefly replaced by Ben Lee before the position was permanently filled by Burke Reid. This lineup released the Bachelor Pad EP on Trifekta, a label that was co-founded by Presser, before they released their fantastic debut album Children Of Telepathic Experiences on Reliant Records / Festival, featuring singles Enter, Space Capsule, and Death to the Apple Gerls.

This was followed by When Young Terrorists Chase The Sun, released in September 2001 on Festival. Due to the September 11 terrorist attacks occurring at that time, the album title and artwork was covered in a cardboard case in Australia, and it was renamed Headzcleaner in the UK. Even with that, it still entered the ARIA Album Charts, peaking at #41.

Two further albums (Bad Blood (2003) and 4 (2006)) likewise entered the charts upon their release before Gerling called it a day. Most of the back catalogue is on streaming, except their early Fellaheen releases. Some of those are on YouTube.

Sandpit

Sandpit began in Melbourne in 1995, with Stephanie Ashworth on bass and vocals, Brendan Webb on guitar and vocals, and Scott Pridham on drums. When Scott left, he was replaced by Paul Sciacca on drums and percussion, and the band were signed to Fellaheen in May 1996 and released their debut EP Lessons In Posture. This was followed by The Tyranny Of Creeps in 1997 that peaked at #3 on ARIA’s Alternate Chart Top 20.

Paul was replaced in 1997 by Greg Wales. This was only meant to be a temporary replacement, with Greg filling in for a few shows, as he was also working as a producer and engineer and had plans to go to the US for work. But it was this lineup that recorded Sandpit’s debut album On Second Thought, released by Fellaheen in 1998.

As Sandpit recorded their album, Fellaheen existed in all but name, with the label shut down and all of their artists moved to Shock. Brendan Webb later criticised Shock for not supporting the Fellaheen bands enough, as many broke up or moved to different labels at the time. Alongside this, Sandpit had their own struggles and the band began to fall apart while completing their album.

At the same time, Stephanie had joined Something For Kate, Brendan was working on a solo album as B.L. Stryker, and shortly after their album was released, Greg left for the US. After playing a few shows to celebrate their album launch, including an appearance on Recovery, Sandpit were said to be taking a break until they could find a replacement drummer, but then Stephanie left the band and Sandpit officially ended.

In the US, early EPs by the band were collected into a debut album titled The Hunting Picture in 1998, with On Second Thought released as the follow up.

Brendan’s B.L. Stryker album They Say The Owl had been meant for release by Shock in 1998, but for whatever reason it didn’t see release until 2018.

In 2013, Sandpit’s discography was reissued, and later added to Bandcamp, including a collection of pre-Fellaheen demos featuring Scott Pridham on drums.