Browning Mummery (Electronic sound works)

Created by Andrew Lonsdale who began producing electronic and experimental music in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia in 1980; releasing work in the early 80s Australian electronic/industrial/experimental music scene, including early Browning Mummery cassettes as well as others by boxmusik, ismISM (aka 471⁄2), and Atomic Disease (with late artist Nigel Gurney).[3][4] In the early 80s Andrew performed as both boxmusik and Browning Mummery, and also played in several post-punk bands including Wrong Kind Of Stone Age and Mutant Death; in the late 90s Andrew recorded with John Murphy in industrial band Shining Vril.[5][6][7]

Browning Mummery first performed live in 1983 in a live air radio performance on 2MBS-FM in Sydney, released on the Lunakhod cassette album (Cntmprr-ydtns, 1984, series compilation with Severed Heads, Bleak, and others). Browning Mummery has appeared on many other compilations including BNE (Transcom, 2014) and All My Sins Remembered - The Sonic Worlds of John Murphy (Epicurean, 2016); the 2010 CD compilation Artefacts of Australian Experimental Music: volume ii 1973-1984 (Shame File Music, 2011);[8] and in the Vinyl On Demand "Magnetophonics" box set (2016). The film/performance Square by Jo Cunynghame, with Browning Mummery's soundtrack, was a feature at Melbourne's Arts Festival (1985); several other independent films, stage performances, and installations have featured Browning's work.[9][10] Browning Mummery also has had several tape albums re-released on vinyl since 2016.[11] The Obiter Scripta album (1984) is a key release, having been issued and reissued several times.[12][13][14]

The Browning Mummery sound is genre-defying: drawing on experimental influences as well as techniques from dub, improvisation, industrial music, musique concrète, montage / cut-up, and environmental soundscaping.[15] Browning Mummery has evolved from using tape and analog gear for composition and recording (including home-built instruments and processors by SwSw Thrght), to the use of digital equipment and computer-based techniques since 1988.[16] Browning Mummery has also performed live on many FM radio stations around Australia, including 4ZZZ (1999, 2004), 2RSR (1983), 2MBS (1982–85), as well as on American and European FM radio playlists in the 1980s, and live in Berlin in 2015.[17][18][19]

Based in Brisbane since 1993, the project continues to perform and release electronic music, often with collaborations.[20][21] John Murphy was a member from 1987 until his death in 2015;[22] the late Gavin Williams from Wrong Kind of Stone Age (1960-2020) was an early member, and Max Hawk (1961-2009) from Electric Tipi also played with the project from 1993.[23][24][25]

• Tom Ellard: "A new Sydney sound", Art & Text #4, Sydney, 1982.
• Philip Brophy: "Avant Garde Rock: History in the Making?": "Avant Garde Rock: History in the Making?" Melbourne, 1987.
• Andrew Kettle, "Artists - Browning Mummery", Small Black Box, 2002: Artists - Browning Mummery, Small Black Box, 2002.
• Ian Andrews: "The Lost Decade: Post-Punk, Experimental and Industrial Music"; in Gail Priest, Experimental Music: Audio Explorations In Australia: UNSW, 2009. ISBN 978-1-921410-07-9.
• Artefacts of Australian Experimental Music site:
• Andrew McLellan: "Browning Mummery Interview", Negative Guest List #25, May 2011.
• "Interview with John Murphy", Compulsion Online, 2002:
• Browning Mummery releases cataloged on Discogs:
• "Browning Mummery's interview", The Mute Skin, 2011:
• Richard Stevenson: "Browning Mummery Interview", Noise Receptor 10, 2022.