The group...
Formed in 1994 in Wollongong, Australia, Infusion are a downtempo/trip-hop/house/breaks trio comprised Jamie Stevens, Manuel Sharrad and Frank Xavier. Their first single, Smokescreen, was signed to the Sony Dancepool, and nominated for an Aria award. They then moved to the Australian dance label Thunk! and released the single My name is Radar. Their real break, though, came with the release of Spike - a thumping drum'n'bass number and instant club hit (ahem. see below). Their debut album, Phrases and Numbers, was released in late 2000, and shows exactly what they're capable of - big fat thumpy bass beats and atmospheric trip-hop type sounds, with liberal sprinklings of vocals. They're certainly a refreshing breeze in Australian music, which right now seems to be hellbent on churning out "indie rock" groups and soap-star-turned-pop-singer girls.
Their live shows, although I haven't been fortunate enough to actually see one, are rumored to be pretty amazing.
According to a Japanese site I grabbed info off, Infusion are as popular in Australia as Underworld and the 'Brothers are in the UK - this is a filthy goddamn lie. They're practically unknown even in the club scene, let alone the average Person-Who-Listens-To-Dance-Music. I only heard of them by accident; watching the eXtreme Games one morning a couple of years ago, I happened to catch the video clip to Spike. After grabbing an MP3 off AudioGalaxy, and then a bunch more MP3s, I ended up buying the album early last year. That video clip is the only thing I've ever heard of theirs on any sort of broadcast media here, including Triple J and Rage - despite the complete opposite being said by yet another site. Okay, so maybe I'm out of touch or something, but I don't think Infusion are half as popular as these websites make them out to be.
Similar to: Zero 7, Mike Oldfield, Moby, Propellerheads, (late) The Chemical Brothers, (late) Radiohead, Alice-era Chris Vrenna
Albums
Singles
- Green (Sony Dancepool, CD)
- Flinch (Thunk)
- Lux / Smokescreen EP (Sony Dancepool, vinyl)
- My name is Radar EP (Thunk, vinyl)
- Making the grade (real earmotion compilation)
- Starwater, it's alright EP (Marine Parade, vinyl)
- Spike (Thunk, vinyl)
- ISBN 666 / On the outside (Thunk, vinyl)
- Dead souls / Troika (2003, Marine Parade, vinyl)
- Girls can be cruel (2004, Audio Therapy, vinyl)
- Do to you (in '82) (2004, Audio Therapy, vinyl)
- Better world (2004, BMG, CD)
Ref:
- http://www.residentadvisor.com.au/profiles.asp?ID=107
- http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyo/421/clubs.asp
- http://www.discogs.com/artist/Infusion
- http://www.freshdisko.com/profile/1038911370.php
- http://www.tranzfusion.net/shownews.asp?newsid=1337
- http://www.infusion.net.au/discography/productions.do
* For a limited time only!
...and the place.
Oh, and then there's the other Norman Hartnell... er... Infusion - a coffee shop in Plaza Arcade, Perth, Western Australia. They sell the usual coffee (I recommend the Brothers Blend and the Deep City Blend) and tea sorts, plus flavoured coffee, nougat, and biscuits. The guys who run it are pretty heavily into the Perth club scene, and the place is filled with flyers for coming events and loud house or dance music.
They also tell me that they like the group.