Oamaru
Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the ra ...
, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born, Australian-based musician. He is a founding mainstay member of
experimental
An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...
, jazz trio
the Necks
The Necks are an Australian avant-garde jazz trio formed in 1987 by founding mainstays Chris Abrahams on piano and Hammond organ, Tony Buck on drums, percussion and electric guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on bass guitar and double bass. They play ...
(1987–present), he collaborated with Melanie Oxley as a soul pop duo (1989–2003) and has issued ten solo albums.
Biography
Early years
Christopher Robert Lionel Abrahams was born on 9 April 1961 in
Oamaru
Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the ra ...
, South Island, New Zealand. Abrahams, on keyboards, formed jazz group
Benders
The Benders were an Australian jazz band from 1980 to 1985. The group's members included Chris Abrahams on keyboards, Dale Barlow on saxophone, Louis Burdett on drums, Andrew Gander on drums, Jason Morphett on saxophone, and Lloyd Swanton on ...
, in 1980 in Sydney with
Dale Barlow
Dale Barlow (born Sydney, Australia, 25 December 1959) is a jazz saxophonist, flute player and composer. He has a Masters of Music degree begun at City College New York under Ron Carter and completed at ANU Canberra. He has received ARIA Awards, ...
on tenor saxophone, Louis Burdett on drums and Lloyd Swanton on bass guitar.McFarlane 'Chris Abrahams' entry. Archived fro the original on 3 August 2004. Retrieved 3 March 2022. By the time Benders disbanded in 1985, Abrahams had performed on all three of their albums, ''E'' (1983), ''False Laughter'' (1984) and ''Distance'' (1985). While still with Benders, late in 1983, he supplied piano for Laughing Clowns' second album, ''Law of Nature'' (1984).
The Necks, Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams
The Sparklers were a dance pop group formed in 1985 by Abrahams on keyboards, Bill Bilson on drums (ex- Sunnyboys), Gerard Corben on guitar (ex- Lime Spiders), Ernie Finch on guitar and the Oxley siblings
Melanie
Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".Peter on bass guitar (ex-Sunnyboys). Colin Bloxsom took over lead guitar by the following year. Sparklers released two singles, "Overworking" (October 1986) and "So Often Dreaming" (January 1987) before Abrahmas left. The Sparklers issued their debut album, ''Persuasion'', in 1988.
The Necks
The Necks are an Australian avant-garde jazz trio formed in 1987 by founding mainstays Chris Abrahams on piano and Hammond organ, Tony Buck on drums, percussion and electric guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on bass guitar and double bass. They play ...
were formed as a jazz trio, in 1987, by Abrahams on piano, keyboards, organ and guitar with former band mate, Swanton, on bass guitar and double bass, and Tony Buck on drums, percussion and guitar (ex-Great White Noise). For his compositions with the group he has won two
APRA Awards (Australia)
The APRA Music Awards in Australia are annual awards to celebrate excellence in contemporary music, which honour the skills of member composers, songwriters, and publishers who have achieved outstanding success in sales and airplay performan ...
for Most Performed Jazz Work; "
Drive By
A drive-by is a form of hit-and-run tactic, a personal attack carried out by an individual or individuals from a moving vehicle.
Drive-by or Drive By may also refer to:
Music
* Drive By (band), an American music group
* Drive-By, an American hi ...
" in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...
and "
Mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "lit ...
" in 2006. As from March 2020 the trio have issued 16 studio albums. Australian musicologist,
Ian McFarlane
Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the ''Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017.
As a journalist h ...
, described their sonation, "abstract, improvised, jazzy mood music."
In 1989, while still with the Necks, Abrahams formed a soul pop duo, Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams, with former the Sparklers' band mate, Oxley. They released a four-track
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.
(EP), ''Resisting Calm'', via Spiral Scratch in late 1990. For that EP they used Abrahams' current and former band mates, Buck on drums, Swanton on acoustic bass guitar, Corben (ex-the Sparklers) on guitar as well as Mike Bukovsky on trumpet, Guy Dickerson on guitar, Stuart Eadie on floor toms and Jackie Orszaczky on bass guitar. While periodically collaborating with Abrahams, Oxley maintained her career as a school teacher.
The duo's first two albums, ''Welcome to Violet'' (1992) and ''Coal'' (1994), were released via Remote Records/MDS. They were labelled as, "moody, emotive soul/pop" works by McFarlane. Their next album, ''Jerusalem Bay'' (1998), had Hamish Stuart on drums (ex- Ayers Rock, Wig World,
the Catholics
The Catholics are an Australian jazz ensemble led by Lloyd Swanton on acoustic and electric bass guitar, percussion and piano (ex-Dynamic Hepnotics). Other long-term members include Sandy Evans on tambourine, tenor and soprano saxophones, and Ja ...
) and Mike Bukowski on trumpet (ex-Ten Part Invention). In 2001 the pair performed Abrahams' music for a radio
travel documentary
A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or tourist attractions without recommending particular package deals or tour operators. A travelogue film is an early type of travel ...
, ''South Island'', which was broadcast by
ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...
on 6 October 2003. It was created, narrated and produced by Abrahams with ''The Listening Room''s Sherre DeLys.
Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams' next work, ''Blood Oranges'', appeared in early 2003 via Remote Records/Vitamin Records. ''
The 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 ...
''s John Shand found, "his lyrics are often bleaker than their past work, it is not a despairing bleakness, but one bolstered by stoicism, wit, hope and a love of beauty." Jeremy Green of ''dB Magazine'' observed, " t ispeculiarly ineffectual. It paws lazily at classic Motown pop but is totally sedated by dinky production and emotional primness."
Solo work
Abrahams issued his debut solo album, ''Piano'', in 1985 via Hot Records/Making Waves. It was recorded at
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century archit ...
's Recording Hall and mastered at
Studios 301
Studios 301 is an Australian recording studio and is both the longest-running professional recording studio in the southern hemisphere and the largest studio complex in Australia.
History
The studio was founded in 1926 under the Columbia Gra ...
. Tony Mitchell of ''
Cyclic Defrost
''Cyclic Defrost'' is an Australian specialist electronic music magazine. It was founded and edited by Sebastian Chan, with current editors Bob Baker Fish, Chris Downton and Peter Hollo. It covers independent electronic music, avant-rock, exper ...
'' described this album in 2017, "nine improvisations... it suggests a virtuoso pianist in the making." After leaving the Sparklers, in 1987, he issued his second studio album, ''Walk''.
His fifth solo album, ''Thrown'' appeared in 2005 via
Room40
Room40 is an Australian independent record label founded by Lawrence English.
The label has released work by Australian and international musicians such as Erik Griswold, Chihei Hatakeyama, Mike Cooper, Ben Frost, and Beatriz Ferreyra. They h ...
. ''Cyclic Defrost''s Max Schaefer noticed, "Technically formidable and conceptually refined, epays homage to the piano by drawing it into tightly articulated and highly personalized forms." Abrahams performed, produced and arranged the music for the Australian film, '' The Tender Hook'' (2008), which was released as the soundtrack album, ''The Tender Hook: Motion Picture Soundtrack''. At the
2008 Australian Film Institute Awards
The 50th Annual Australian Film Institute Awards for film and television acting achievement in the cinema of Australia in 2008 were presented in a ceremony on 5–6 December 2008. During the ceremony, the Australian Film Institute presented Austr ...
his work was nominated for Best Original Music Score.
''Play Scar'' (2010), his seventh album, was reviewed by Oliver Laing of ''Cyclic Defrost'', who declared, " tis the glorious sound of well-established artist willing to push the boundaries of sound and technique into new realms." His next effort, ''Memory Night'' (2013), shows that "even at his most ominous is also quite listenable, creating jumbled, but still quite accessible soundscapes" according to
4ZZZ
4ZZZ (pronounced "Four Triple Zed" or simply "Triple Zed") is an independent community radio station operating in Brisbane, Australia at the frequency 102.1 FM. As a community radio station, 4ZZZ is a member of the Community Broadcasting Associ ...
's Chris Cobroft.
Abrahams has worked as a session musician on albums by the Triffids (''
Born Sandy Devotional
''Born Sandy Devotional'' is an album by The Triffids, released in March 1986. The songs were written by David McComb.
The album was recorded at Mark Angelo Studios in London in August 1985 with Gil Norton co-producing with the band, and mix ...
Magician Among the Spirits
''Magician Among the Spirits'' is the tenth album by the Australian alternative rock band The Church, released in August 1996. The album title was inspired by a book written by Harry Houdini and C. M. Eddy, Jr. (uncredited) in 1924, in which the ...
Neon Ballroom
''Neon Ballroom'' is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair, released in 1999 by record labels Murmur and Epic. The songs " Anthem for the Year 2000", " Ana's Song (Open Fire)" and " Miss You Love" were released ...
Australian Rock Database
The Australian Rock Database was a website with a searchable online database that listed details of Australian rock music artists, albums, bands, producers and record labels. It was established in 2000 by Swedish national Magnus Holmgren, who had ...
entries:
* Chris Abrahams:
* The Laughing Clowns:
* The Sparklers:
* The Necks:
* Melanie Oxley & Chris Abrahams:
Musical style and composing
Some of Abrahams' music is experimental in nature—The Necks are an improvisational trio, and Abraham's performance at the Room40 Tenth Anniversary in London was labelled "ambient", "free-jazz" and "industrial noise" by (UK) Financial Times reviewer, Mike Hobart. Chris Reid of ''
RealTime
''RealTime'', also known as ''RealTime Arts'', was a free Australian arts magazine, published by Open City in print from 1994 until 2015 and online from 1996 to December 2017.
History
The free national arts magazine ''RealTime'', also known as ...
'' magazine wrote of his ''Germ Studies'' collaboration with Clare Cooper, an organiser of the NOWnow Festival who played the Chinese zither on the album, that "it represents an extensive investigation into the endless range of sounds that can be created by combining the venerable DX7 synthesiser and the even more venerable Chinese zither, the guzheng ..a deep exploration of musical language".
Discography
Albums
Extended plays
Awards and nominations
APRA Awards
The
APRA Awards
APRA Awards may refer to one of two awards ceremonies:
*APRA Awards (Australia)
*APRA Awards (New Zealand)
The APRA Music Awards are several annual and two-yearly award ceremonies run in New Zealand by Australasian Performing Right Association ...
are presented annually from 1982 by the
Australasian Performing Right Association
APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwr ...
(APRA).
, -
,
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...
, , "
Drive By
A drive-by is a form of hit-and-run tactic, a personal attack carried out by an individual or individuals from a moving vehicle.
Drive-by or Drive By may also refer to:
Music
* Drive By (band), an American music group
* Drive-By, an American hi ...
Chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe ...
" (with Swanton and Buck) , , Most Performed Jazz Work , ,
, -
,
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, "Body" (with Swanton and Buck)
, Song of the Year
,
, -
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...
(ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the
music of Australia
The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions of ...
. They commenced in 1987.
!
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,
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
, ''Welcome to Violet'' (with Melanie Oxley)
,
ARIA Award for Best Independent Release
The ARIA Music Award for Best Independent Release, is an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It is handed out by the Australian Recording ...
,
,
, -
Helpmann Awards
The
Helpmann Awards
The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001.
The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical t ...
is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group ''Live Performance Australia'' since 2001. Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
.
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2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work
__NOTOC__
The Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work is an award presented by Live Performance Australia (LPA), an employers' organisation which serves as the peak body in the live entertainment and performing arts industries in Australia ...