Artist description The Stinking Badger of Java write short, succinct, complex and highlyoriginal songs. Sweet, fragile and idiosyncratic, their music incorporatesdisarming rhythm shifts laced with succulent harmonies.

Music Style Alternative General

Musical Influences Nick Drake; Mr Bungle; David Sylvian; Patsie Biscoe

Similar Artists Bauhaus; Crash Test Dummies; Pavement; Golden Palominos; The Fall; Grant Lee Buffalo; Nick Drake; Mr Bungle; David Sylvian; Patsie Biscoe; Violent Femes

Artist History The Stinking Badger of Java is more an anomoly or a phenomenon--or maybe a freak of nature--than a band. Actually it is a loose collective (a la Elephant 6) of various Australian musicians/songwriters/poets with a convoluted history full of twists, turns, and alterations, all honing and solidifying the band's intriguing sense of songcraft and art. The group that would morph into the Stinking Badger of Java was formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1991 as fetishes by the songwriting duo of Paul J. Narkiewicz (vocals, guitar, piano, bass, percussion) and Brigitte Kelle (ne Corbett) (vocals, bass, guitar, percussion, piano). They recorded and released two lo-fi cassette EPs (1993 self-funded =Ghost of the Flea= and 1996's =Herbicide or Pesticide= on Yippie Bean) and a compilation album (=Incestuous= in 1994) under this handle with various other band members. The Stinking Badger of Java metamorphosis occured in 1996. The experimental and classical influences of Narkiewicz and Kelle led them to eventually add classically-trained virtuoso Alessandro Servadei (French horn, melodica, percussion, mellophonium, contrabass harmonica, piano) as well as the spoken word performer Thomas Bollinger (who also contributes guitar,drums, percussion, and organ). They released the cassette EP =Too Intelligent= on Yippie Bean in 1997 and the CD/video single

Group Members Paul J Narkiewicz: Voice; Guitar; Bass; Drums; TurntablingBrigitte Kelle: Voice; Guitar; Bass; Drums;Thomas K Bollinger: Drums; Guitar; Voice; Turntabling;The Invisible S.O.G.: French Horn; Mellophonium; Contrabass Harmonica; Voice

Instruments Voice; Guitar; Bass; Drums; Turntabling; French Horn; Mellophonium; Contrabass Harmonica

Albums If it's fetishes you're after... In a highland Eden

Press Reviews FROM ALL MUSIC ONLINE (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/x.dll) =If It's Fetishes You're After...= is the first album involving the Narkiewicz/Corbette songwriting team that they have expressed almost complete satisfaction with in terms of capturing the sounds that are in their heads. It would be difficult to imagine anything that could be more satisfyingly beautiful and alien than this album, with its extraordinary melodic panorama and fascinating songs, which are truly unique and exciting monsters. Melodies are bent and folded on top of themselves, refracted and cajoled, even broken in half, and the songs that result are amazing amalgams with elastic and crazily shifting melodies that are as gorgeous as they are strange. The band can be humorous but the pervading tone of the album is ominous, perhaps due to the very visible idiosyncracies of the band and its vision. It is always, though, engaging listening. There are pronounced classical influences, especially in Susannah Provan's cello and Alessandro Servadei's brooding horns, which often recall David Angel's orchestration on Love's masterpiece =Forever Changes,= though with a sparser palette. That is not always the case, however: the horn touches on

Additional Info Cheese and Special Sauce

Location Melbourne, Victoria - Australia

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