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Machine Translations

March 13, 2023

This article is about a musician. For automated translation of language, see Machine translation.

Machine Translations is the performing name of Greg James Walker (born 1967), an Australian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist; who is also a producer as J Walker. Walker started out recording all instruments himself in a home studio and later branched out to include a band.

Machine Translations
Machine Translations, with J. Walker at front left, performing at the Cockatoo Island festival, March 2005
Background information
Birth nameGreg James Walker
Born1967 (age 55–56)
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
GenresRock, pop, alternative rock
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician, producer, engineer
Instrument(s)Guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals
Years active1985–present
LabelsWay Over There, Shock, Spunk!
Websitemachinetranslations.com.au

Machine Translations' songs vary between simple guitar melodies and complex works with unusual instruments—a spectrum from pop to art. Since 1997 Walker has released several albums. In 2001 he toured the United States supporting Dirty Three. As a composer Walker has been nominated at the APRA Music Awards of 2005 for Best Music for a Documentary for Girl in a Mirror: A Portrait of Carol Jerrems; in 2008 for Best Soundtrack Album for East of Everything; and in 2012 for Best Music for a Television Series or Serial and Best Television Theme for Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.

Biography

Greg James Walker, who works as J Walker or Machine Translations, was raised in Canberra.[1][2][3] His mother, Valda, is a classically trained vocalist.[4] He has an older brother and sister, and together with his mother, they encouraged him to learn piano and guitar.[5] He attended Narrabundah Secondary College, where he learned synthesiser, multi-track recording and musical composition.[5] By 1985 Walker, on keyboards, was a member of local psychedelic band, Moon, with Paul Davies on bass guitar and lead vocals; Chris Freney on guitar; and Ralph Rehak on drums.[6] Kathryn Whitfield of Pulse caught their performance in May 1986: "their lighting effects are reminiscent of the sixties oil lights with a kaleidoscope of coloured lights floating across the stage".[6] In 2003 Walker recalled "[he] played in a succession of 'funny little Canberra bands'".[7]

By July 1995 Walker was working in a home studio in his garden shed.[8] Under the name Shed Method he issued a cassette album, Machine Translations, which included the track "Jezebel".[8][9] Nick Enfield of The Canberra Times described the album as "an eclectic mix of his unique array of original sounds".[8] Walker had been recording for over ten years making his own demos and producing other local artists.[8] His lo-fi (music)) approach included using traditional instruments: drums, guitars and keyboards; together with less conventional ones: broken piano (its front removed and strings played directly), oud, and electric erhu.[8] His influences were John Cale, Nico and Tom Waits while also "listening to a lot of belly-dancing music lately, as well as Chinese classical music, and Indian music".[8] One of Walker's associates on the album was Kevin White.[8]

Walker was also a member of P. Harness, which Enfield opined were "madcap ocker goons", with Geoff Hinchcliffe on guitar and lead vocals; and Mikel Simic on drums and lead vocals.[10] By August 1995 they released their second album, @ction.[10] Simic described its underlying theme: "all the songs are specifically about eating, [or] they've got food references through them".[10] In October that year Walker and White supplied the music for a stage play, The Fortress, at Studio One, Braddon.[11] Walker completed his tertiary studies in Shanghai with a degree in Linguistics and Mandarin Chinese.[3][7] He also lived in India "absorbing musical influences".[7]

Upon return to Australia Walker continued his musical career living near Wollongong.[7][12] His album, Abstract Poverty, was released in 1997 on the Way Over There label.[13] Hans Uhad of Stylus Magazine felt it showed a "juxtaposition of slow burning, moody, Codeine-like numbers with deft, mildly psychotic stabs at fusing traditional Celtic music with his own burnt version of Americana and flamenco".[14] One of the tracks, "Jezebel", was a re-recorded version of his earlier work as Shed Method.[9][13] For touring Walker expanded the band with Guy Freer on accordion and keyboards; Marianthe Loucataris on drums; and Jonathan Nix on bass and samples.[15] Machine Translations' second album, Halo, appeared in the following year on Way Over There and was distributed by Shock Records.[16] White provided clarinet for the album.[16]

His next album on Way Over There was Holiday in Spain which was released in 1999. Kelsey Munro of The Sydney Morning Herald felt the album was a "criminally ignored underground classic".[7] Comes with a Smile's Matt Dornan noted there is "no disguising the homemade feel of both music and sparse packaging, but there's certainly a twisted core to this antipodean walkabout through sonic pastures new".[17] Walker co-produced the album with Kimmo Vennon, he also used guest vocalists including Kirsty Stegwazi.[17][18] Walker had provided guitar on tracks for Stegwazi's solo album, Keep Still (1999). At times Machine Translations performed with White aboard under the name Thing of a Thousand Strings.[19]

In 2000 he worked on his next album, Bad Shapes (21 May 2001).[7] Walker was joined in the studio by Freer on saxophone and accordion; Loucataris on lead vocals, drums and percussion; Nix on double bass; White on clarinet, broken piano and percussion; and Gemma Clare on cello; Kazuaki Nakahara on banjo, electric and classical guitars; Elmo Reed on lead vocals and electric guitar; and Melissa Owl.[20][21] It was issued on Spunk! Records and achieved critical acclaim and "got everyone paying attention".[7][20] Walker described collaborating with Freer, Loucataris, and Nix: "We've known each other for at least 10 years ... I really enjoy working with them, and writing with them, because, doing what I do, I know my own tricks, but with the group there's far less chance of stagnation".[22]

Bad Shapes provided "Poor Circle", a "radio-friendly" single which was "[i]rresistibly fresh, bent and poppy" according to The Age's Jo Roberts.[23] After the album appeared Walker moved to Melbourne.[2] He toured the eastern states of Australia and then in late 2001 Machine Translations supported instrumental group, Dirty Three, on a ten‑day tour of the United States.[7][22] Walker's group then toured Europe including a gig in Paris on a boat in the Seine.[7][22]

In October 2002 the group released their next album, Happy, which Munro felt was "an advance on its predecessors with elements of acoustic pop ... warped Middle Eastern flavours, weirdly joyful and layered melodies, and robotically beautiful, Stereolab-type vocal cut-ups and loops".[7] Neil Strauss described it in The New York Times as a "precious mix of light orchestration, inward-gazing songwriting and post-rock experimentation".[24] It provided two singles, "Amnesia" and "She Wears a Mask". Tommo Eitelhuber felt the tracks had "enough unique charm to make them noticable [sic]".[25]

During the next year Walker co-produced, engineered and mixed an album, A Minor Revival (August 2003), for folk rock duo, Sodastream.[26] He also supplied electric and slide guitars, viola and keyboards.[26] Machine Translations released a seven-track extended play, Love on the Vine (late 2003).[27] The title track had backing vocals by Clare Bowditch and Karen Tua, Tua also provided keyboards on another track.[28] The EP was followed by a studio album, Venus Traps Fly, in May 2004.[29] For Eitelhuber the album was "even more disappointing" than Happy with it being "pleasantly enjoyable in the short term, but repetitive and uninspiring in the long term".[25] However Bernard Zuel of The Sydney Morning Herald noted that Walker's "language is elliptical, the emotions often very clear but their carriage wrapped up in lines that remain elusive" and that he "used more concrete images for the decidedly concrete emotions of his characters" for "another sublime pop album".[2]

By February 2004 Walker had joined Clare Bowditch & the Feeding Set on erhu, electric guitar, rhodes synthesiser and viola. The group included Bowditch on vocals and guitar; and her domestic partner Marty Brown (of Sodastream and Art of Fighting) on multiple instruments and producing; they recorded an album, Autumn Bone.[30][31] Walker also toured with the band,[31] and, as a member of the Feeding Set, he contributed to three extended plays and another album, What Was Left (October 2005).[32]

In June 2004, to promote Venus Traps Fly, Machine Translations toured with a line-up of Walker on vocals and guitar; Tua on keyboards and backing vocals; Iain Downie on bass guitar; and Kjirsten Robb on drums.[33] Michael Dwyer of The Age saw their gig at the Corner Hotel and was impressed by Walker's "considered approach to live dynamics, arrangements beautifully designed around his conversational vocal style" and he was "a pretty flash guitarist, his modal solos and big, chunky rhythm freak-outs bringing plenty of excitement".[33] Bowditch guested on lead vocals for a track, "Simple Life", with "a splash of high glamour in a too-brief cameo".[33]

In 2005 Walker composed the score for ABC-TV documentary, Girl in a Mirror: A Portrait of Carol Jerrems, on the life of Australian photographer Carol Jerrems.[34] At the APRA Music Awards of 2005 Walker's work was nominated for Best Music for a Documentary.[35][36] In October that year Machine Translations issued another EP, Wolf on a String, with six tracks.[37] Zuel noted it had "an acoustic, low-profile feel" while mostly "the mood is languorous" however "there is menace in 'A Ghost Rides' and insistent percussion bringing on some disturbance in 'Extress'".[38] By that time Walker and his domestic partner Tua were living in Jumbunna.[4]

On 8 June 2005 ABC Digital Radio broadcast a cover version of Willie Dixon's "Spoonful" by Machine Translations with C. W. Stoneking as the first part of The DiG Australian Blues Project.[39][40] The program described their interpretation as "fantastically twisted" including a "brilliantly 'outside' guitar solo near the end".[40] Walker recalled that at 16 or 17 he was "listening to a lot of old blues, more country style blues ... [it] really affected me, just the rawness of it and the sincerity of it".[40] Walker produced Stoneking's albums King Hokum (2005) and Jungle Blues (October 2008).[41][42][43] The latter provided Stoneking with an ARIA Award in 2009 for Best Roots and Blues Album and four other nominations.[44]

Machine Translations' next album, Seven Seven, appeared in October 2007. Zuel finds Walker is "as unfussy a musician as you could find" and provides a "feeling of great calm" where "[t]hings happen but they happen naturally".[45] Dan Rule of The Age felt it was "stunningly organic" as Walker "weaves a shimmering layer of acoustic nuance and texture throughout".[4] Walker composed the score and Machine Translations contributed to the soundtrack for ABC-TV drama series East of Everything (March 2008 – September 2009).[46][47] Walker's "A Most Peculiar Place" was used as the show's theme: it had originally appeared on Machine Translations' album, Happy.[47] Walker has a cameo as a singer-songwriter in episode five where he performs "Don't Give Up on Me Just Yet".[47] At the APRA Music Awards of 2008 Walker was nominated for Best Soundtrack Album for East of Everything Series One Soundtrack Album.[48][49]

In 2009 Walker composed original music for ABC-TV's documentary series, Bombora – The History of Australian Surfing.[50][51] He contributed music for Mother of Rock: The Life and Times of Lillian Roxon (August 2010), a documentary film on Australian rock music journalist, Lillian Roxon.[52] The film was showcased at that year's Melbourne International Film Festival.[53] Premiering at that festival was a comedy-drama feature film, The Wedding Party, with a soundtrack which included work by Walker and by Bowditch.[54][55]

Graeme Blundell of The Australian previewed an ABC-TV documentary, Then the Wind Changed (February 2012), on the Black Saturday bushfires and noted that it is "a beautifully made film, crafted with compassion, alternating the sounds of destruction with the silence left behind, intercut with noise of rebuilding lives and structures and heightened with a compelling score from [Walker]".[56] Walker also worked for ABC-TV on Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (February 2012 – December 2013) composing the theme music and score.[51] At the APRA Music Awards of 2012 the work was nominated for both Best Music for a Television Series or Serial and for Best Television Theme.[51][57]

During July and August 2012 Walker co-produced Spring and Fall for Paul Kelly, which was recorded in a hall in Jumbunna.[58][59] Walker was also used on upright bass guitar, dobro, violin and harmonica; as well as Paul's nephew Dan Kelly on acoustic guitar and harmony vocals.[58][59] Walker had produced tracks on albums for Dan's earlier band the Alpha Males: The Tabloid Blues (March 2004) and Drowning in the Fountain of Youth (August 2006). During August 2013 and then December that year Walker joined Paul's backing band to tour in support of Spring and Fall.[60]

On 11 October 2013 Machine Translations issued the eighth studio album, The Bright Door.[61] Beat Magazine's Chris Girdler sees Walker chronicling the "complications and anxieties of growing older" with life's "highs and lows" captured by "its gentle, harmonious songs harbouring a sense of discord and foreboding".[62]

Discography

Albums

Shed Method
  • Machine Translations (1995)
Machine Translations
  • Abstract Poverty (1997)
  • Halo (1998)
  • Holiday in Spain (1999)
  • Bad Shapes (21 May 2001) Spunk! Records, Festival Mushroom Records (URA044)
  • Happy (October 2002) Spunk! Records
  • Venus Traps Fly (May 2004) Spunk! Records
  • Seven Seven (22 October 2007) Spunk! Records / EMI
  • The Bright Door (2013)
  • Oh (2017)

Extended plays

  • Love on the Vine (late 2003) Spunk! Records
  • Wolf on a String (October 2005) Spunk! Records / Inertia Records

References

  1. ^ "'Abstract Poverty' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Zuel, Bernard (2 July 2004). "The Shape of Things to Come". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  3. ^ a b Macgregor, Jody. "Machine Translations Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Rule, Dan (16 November 2007). "In Seventh Heaven". Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Machine Translations: We Chat with J Walker". Coast. Coast Media Pty Ltd (Maria Reed). Summer 2009. pp. 30–32. ISSN 1833-3648. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  6. ^ a b Whitfield, Kathryn (May 1986). "Over the Top with Moon". Pulse. Canberra Musicians. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Munro, Kelsey (17 April 2003). "All in the Translation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Enfield, Nick (13 July 1995). "Good Times: Greg's Unique Array of Sounds". The Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. p. 26. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  9. ^ a b "'Jezebel' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  10. ^ a b c Enfield, Nick (17 August 1995). "Good Times Music CD: @ction at Last". The Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. p. 25. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  11. ^ "The Fortress". AusStage. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  12. ^ Hennessy, Kate (12 November 2013). "Machine Translations: 'Follow Your Nose'". Mess+Noise. Danny Bos, Kristy Milliken. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  13. ^ a b Machine Translations (1997), Abstract Poverty, Way Over There. National Library of Australia, retrieved 25 December 2013
  14. ^ Uhad, Hans (1 September 2003). "Machine Translations – Bad Shapes – Review". Stylus. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  15. ^ . Machine Translations Official Website. Archived from the original on 25 October 2001. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  16. ^ a b Halo (album notes). Machine Translations. Way Over There. 1998. WOT034.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ a b Dornan, Matt (Autumn 2000). "Review: Machine Translations | Holiday in Spain (Way Over There)". Comes with a Smile. No. 6. Mark Venn. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  18. ^ Machine Translations (1999), Holiday in Spain, Way Over There Recordings: BMG Music, retrieved 25 December 2013
  19. ^ Moore, Chris (20 April 2000). "Canberra Band at Home in Gong". Illawara Mercury. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  20. ^ a b Machine Translations (2001), Bad Shapes, Spunk! Records. National Library of Australia, retrieved 26 December 2013
  21. ^ Bad Shapes (album notes). Machine Translations. Spunk! Records. 2001. ura 044.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ a b c Parkes, Geoffrey (July 2001). "It's Getting Colder – Machine Translations & Their New Album, Bad Shapes". iPrimus. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  23. ^ Roberts, Jo (22 November 2002). "Lost in the Translation". The Age. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  24. ^ Strauss, Neil (6 February 2006). "The Pop Life; Up-and-Comers Down Under". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  25. ^ a b Eitelhuber, Tommo. "Album Review: Machine Translations – Venus Traps Fly". Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  26. ^ a b "Minor Revival – Sodastream | Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  27. ^ Machine Translations (2003), Love on the Vine, Spunk! Records. National Library of Australia, retrieved 26 December 2013
  28. ^ Love on the Vine (album notes). Machine Translations. Spunk! Records. 2003. ura 108.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  29. ^ . Australian Music Online. Archived from the original on 7 August 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  30. ^ "Clare Bowditch & The Feeding Set: Autumn Bone". Triple J. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 20 February 2004. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  31. ^ a b Mathieson, Craig (16 April 2004). "Baby Makes Trio". The Age. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  32. ^ Alessio, Dom (30 August 2006). "Clare Bowditch". Who the Bloody Hell Are They? (Jerry Soer, Dom Alessio). Archived from the original on 22 May 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  33. ^ a b c Dwyer, Michael (29 June 2004). "Machine Translations". The Age. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  34. ^ "Documentaries & Specials: Girl in a Mirror: A Portrait of Carol Jerrems". Sunday Afternoon. ABC-TV (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 2005. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  35. ^ "2005 Winners – Screen Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  36. ^ "2005 Nominations – Screen Music Awards". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  37. ^ Machine Translations (2005), Wolf on a String, Spunk! Records. National Library of Australia, retrieved 26 December 2013
  38. ^ Zuel, Bernard (13 October 2005). "CD Reviews: Machine Translations: Wolf on a String". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  39. ^ "The DiG Australian Blues Project – The Songs". ABC Digital Radio (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  40. ^ a b c "Machine Translations & CW Stoneking Twist The Blues". The DiG Australian Blues Project. ABC Digital Radio (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 8 June 2005. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  41. ^ . Spoonfed. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  42. ^ Stoneking, C.W (2008), King Hokum, Shock Records. National Library of Australia, retrieved 27 December 2013 Note: Reissue of 2005 version.
  43. ^ "CW Stoneking Raises Questions About Who Can Sing Blues". The Daily Telegraph. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  44. ^ "ARIA Awards 2009 : History: Winners by Year : 2009:23rd Annual ARIA Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). from the original on 24 November 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  45. ^ Zuel, Bernard (26 October 2007). "Seven Seven – CD Reviews". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  46. ^ Machine Translations (2008), East of Everything Series One Soundtrack Album, ABC/Warner Music, retrieved 27 December 2013
  47. ^ a b c Giuffre, Liz (2010). "Sounding East of Everything" (PDF). Screen Sound Journal. pp. 50–53. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  48. ^ . Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 8 March 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  49. ^ . Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Archived from the original on 8 March 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2010.
  50. ^ . Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC). Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  51. ^ a b c . Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC). Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  52. ^ . Debate.org. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  53. ^ . Melbourne International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  54. ^ Hawker, Phillipa (9 June 2010). "City Stars in a Marriage of Comedy, Drama and Chaos". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  55. ^ Siemienowicz, Rochelle (February 2011). . Australian Film Institute. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  56. ^ Blundell, Graeme (7 February 2012). "Tender Exploration of Post-Disaster Healing". The Australian. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  57. ^ . Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC). Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  58. ^ a b . Mess+Noise (Danny Bos, Kristy Milliken). 20 September 2012. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  59. ^ a b Valentish, Jenny (18 October 2012). "Paul Kelly: Spring and Fall". Time Out Melbourne. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  60. ^ Weiley, Meaghan (25 August 2013). "Paul Kelly's Spring and Fall Tour". Onya Magazine. Sandi Sieger. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  61. ^ "The Bright Door by Machine Translations". iTunes. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  62. ^ Girdler, Chris (5 December 2013). "Machine Translations: The Bright Door". Beat Magazine. Furst Media. Retrieved 29 December 2013.

External links

  • Official website
  • Machine Translations discography at MusicBrainz

March 13, 2023
machine, translations, this, article, about, musician, automated, translation, language, machine, translation, performing, name, greg, james, walker, born, 1967, australian, singer, songwriter, multi, instrumentalist, also, producer, walker, walker, started, r. This article is about a musician For automated translation of language see Machine translation Machine Translations is the performing name of Greg James Walker born 1967 an Australian singer songwriter and multi instrumentalist who is also a producer as J Walker Walker started out recording all instruments himself in a home studio and later branched out to include a band Machine TranslationsMachine Translations with J Walker at front left performing at the Cockatoo Island festival March 2005Background informationBirth nameGreg James WalkerBorn1967 age 55 56 Canberra Australian Capital Territory AustraliaGenresRock pop alternative rockOccupation s Singer songwriter musician producer engineerInstrument s Guitar piano keyboards vocalsYears active1985 presentLabelsWay Over There Shock Spunk Websitemachinetranslations wbr com wbr au Machine Translations songs vary between simple guitar melodies and complex works with unusual instruments a spectrum from pop to art Since 1997 Walker has released several albums In 2001 he toured the United States supporting Dirty Three As a composer Walker has been nominated at the APRA Music Awards of 2005 for Best Music for a Documentary for Girl in a Mirror A Portrait of Carol Jerrems in 2008 for Best Soundtrack Album for East of Everything and in 2012 for Best Music for a Television Series or Serial and Best Television Theme for Miss Fisher s Murder Mysteries Contents 1 Biography 2 Discography 2 1 Albums 2 2 Extended plays 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditGreg James Walker who works as J Walker or Machine Translations was raised in Canberra 1 2 3 His mother Valda is a classically trained vocalist 4 He has an older brother and sister and together with his mother they encouraged him to learn piano and guitar 5 He attended Narrabundah Secondary College where he learned synthesiser multi track recording and musical composition 5 By 1985 Walker on keyboards was a member of local psychedelic band Moon with Paul Davies on bass guitar and lead vocals Chris Freney on guitar and Ralph Rehak on drums 6 Kathryn Whitfield of Pulse caught their performance in May 1986 their lighting effects are reminiscent of the sixties oil lights with a kaleidoscope of coloured lights floating across the stage 6 In 2003 Walker recalled he played in a succession of funny little Canberra bands 7 By July 1995 Walker was working in a home studio in his garden shed 8 Under the name Shed Method he issued a cassette album Machine Translations which included the track Jezebel 8 9 Nick Enfield of The Canberra Times described the album as an eclectic mix of his unique array of original sounds 8 Walker had been recording for over ten years making his own demos and producing other local artists 8 His lo fi music approach included using traditional instruments drums guitars and keyboards together with less conventional ones broken piano its front removed and strings played directly oud and electric erhu 8 His influences were John Cale Nico and Tom Waits while also listening to a lot of belly dancing music lately as well as Chinese classical music and Indian music 8 One of Walker s associates on the album was Kevin White 8 Walker was also a member of P Harness which Enfield opined were madcap ocker goons with Geoff Hinchcliffe on guitar and lead vocals and Mikel Simic on drums and lead vocals 10 By August 1995 they released their second album ction 10 Simic described its underlying theme all the songs are specifically about eating or they ve got food references through them 10 In October that year Walker and White supplied the music for a stage play The Fortress at Studio One Braddon 11 Walker completed his tertiary studies in Shanghai with a degree in Linguistics and Mandarin Chinese 3 7 He also lived in India absorbing musical influences 7 Upon return to Australia Walker continued his musical career living near Wollongong 7 12 His album Abstract Poverty was released in 1997 on the Way Over There label 13 Hans Uhad of Stylus Magazine felt it showed a juxtaposition of slow burning moody Codeine like numbers with deft mildly psychotic stabs at fusing traditional Celtic music with his own burnt version of Americana and flamenco 14 One of the tracks Jezebel was a re recorded version of his earlier work as Shed Method 9 13 For touring Walker expanded the band with Guy Freer on accordion and keyboards Marianthe Loucataris on drums and Jonathan Nix on bass and samples 15 Machine Translations second album Halo appeared in the following year on Way Over There and was distributed by Shock Records 16 White provided clarinet for the album 16 His next album on Way Over There was Holiday in Spain which was released in 1999 Kelsey Munro of The Sydney Morning Herald felt the album was a criminally ignored underground classic 7 Comes with a Smile s Matt Dornan noted there is no disguising the homemade feel of both music and sparse packaging but there s certainly a twisted core to this antipodean walkabout through sonic pastures new 17 Walker co produced the album with Kimmo Vennon he also used guest vocalists including Kirsty Stegwazi 17 18 Walker had provided guitar on tracks for Stegwazi s solo album Keep Still 1999 At times Machine Translations performed with White aboard under the name Thing of a Thousand Strings 19 In 2000 he worked on his next album Bad Shapes 21 May 2001 7 Walker was joined in the studio by Freer on saxophone and accordion Loucataris on lead vocals drums and percussion Nix on double bass White on clarinet broken piano and percussion and Gemma Clare on cello Kazuaki Nakahara on banjo electric and classical guitars Elmo Reed on lead vocals and electric guitar and Melissa Owl 20 21 It was issued on Spunk Records and achieved critical acclaim and got everyone paying attention 7 20 Walker described collaborating with Freer Loucataris and Nix We ve known each other for at least 10 years I really enjoy working with them and writing with them because doing what I do I know my own tricks but with the group there s far less chance of stagnation 22 Bad Shapes provided Poor Circle a radio friendly single which was i rresistibly fresh bent and poppy according to The Age s Jo Roberts 23 After the album appeared Walker moved to Melbourne 2 He toured the eastern states of Australia and then in late 2001 Machine Translations supported instrumental group Dirty Three on a ten day tour of the United States 7 22 Walker s group then toured Europe including a gig in Paris on a boat in the Seine 7 22 In October 2002 the group released their next album Happy which Munro felt was an advance on its predecessors with elements of acoustic pop warped Middle Eastern flavours weirdly joyful and layered melodies and robotically beautiful Stereolab type vocal cut ups and loops 7 Neil Strauss described it in The New York Times as a precious mix of light orchestration inward gazing songwriting and post rock experimentation 24 It provided two singles Amnesia and She Wears a Mask Tommo Eitelhuber felt the tracks had enough unique charm to make them noticable sic 25 During the next year Walker co produced engineered and mixed an album A Minor Revival August 2003 for folk rock duo Sodastream 26 He also supplied electric and slide guitars viola and keyboards 26 Machine Translations released a seven track extended play Love on the Vine late 2003 27 The title track had backing vocals by Clare Bowditch and Karen Tua Tua also provided keyboards on another track 28 The EP was followed by a studio album Venus Traps Fly in May 2004 29 For Eitelhuber the album was even more disappointing than Happy with it being pleasantly enjoyable in the short term but repetitive and uninspiring in the long term 25 However Bernard Zuel of The Sydney Morning Herald noted that Walker s language is elliptical the emotions often very clear but their carriage wrapped up in lines that remain elusive and that he used more concrete images for the decidedly concrete emotions of his characters for another sublime pop album 2 By February 2004 Walker had joined Clare Bowditch amp the Feeding Set on erhu electric guitar rhodes synthesiser and viola The group included Bowditch on vocals and guitar and her domestic partner Marty Brown of Sodastream and Art of Fighting on multiple instruments and producing they recorded an album Autumn Bone 30 31 Walker also toured with the band 31 and as a member of the Feeding Set he contributed to three extended plays and another album What Was Left October 2005 32 In June 2004 to promote Venus Traps Fly Machine Translations toured with a line up of Walker on vocals and guitar Tua on keyboards and backing vocals Iain Downie on bass guitar and Kjirsten Robb on drums 33 Michael Dwyer of The Age saw their gig at the Corner Hotel and was impressed by Walker s considered approach to live dynamics arrangements beautifully designed around his conversational vocal style and he was a pretty flash guitarist his modal solos and big chunky rhythm freak outs bringing plenty of excitement 33 Bowditch guested on lead vocals for a track Simple Life with a splash of high glamour in a too brief cameo 33 In 2005 Walker composed the score for ABC TV documentary Girl in a Mirror A Portrait of Carol Jerrems on the life of Australian photographer Carol Jerrems 34 At the APRA Music Awards of 2005 Walker s work was nominated for Best Music for a Documentary 35 36 In October that year Machine Translations issued another EP Wolf on a String with six tracks 37 Zuel noted it had an acoustic low profile feel while mostly the mood is languorous however there is menace in A Ghost Rides and insistent percussion bringing on some disturbance in Extress 38 By that time Walker and his domestic partner Tua were living in Jumbunna 4 On 8 June 2005 ABC Digital Radio broadcast a cover version of Willie Dixon s Spoonful by Machine Translations with C W Stoneking as the first part of The DiG Australian Blues Project 39 40 The program described their interpretation as fantastically twisted including a brilliantly outside guitar solo near the end 40 Walker recalled that at 16 or 17 he was listening to a lot of old blues more country style blues it really affected me just the rawness of it and the sincerity of it 40 Walker produced Stoneking s albums King Hokum 2005 and Jungle Blues October 2008 41 42 43 The latter provided Stoneking with an ARIA Award in 2009 for Best Roots and Blues Album and four other nominations 44 Machine Translations next album Seven Seven appeared in October 2007 Zuel finds Walker is as unfussy a musician as you could find and provides a feeling of great calm where t hings happen but they happen naturally 45 Dan Rule of The Age felt it was stunningly organic as Walker weaves a shimmering layer of acoustic nuance and texture throughout 4 Walker composed the score and Machine Translations contributed to the soundtrack for ABC TV drama series East of Everything March 2008 September 2009 46 47 Walker s A Most Peculiar Place was used as the show s theme it had originally appeared on Machine Translations album Happy 47 Walker has a cameo as a singer songwriter in episode five where he performs Don t Give Up on Me Just Yet 47 At the APRA Music Awards of 2008 Walker was nominated for Best Soundtrack Album for East of Everything Series One Soundtrack Album 48 49 In 2009 Walker composed original music for ABC TV s documentary series Bombora The History of Australian Surfing 50 51 He contributed music for Mother of Rock The Life and Times of Lillian Roxon August 2010 a documentary film on Australian rock music journalist Lillian Roxon 52 The film was showcased at that year s Melbourne International Film Festival 53 Premiering at that festival was a comedy drama feature film The Wedding Party with a soundtrack which included work by Walker and by Bowditch 54 55 Graeme Blundell of The Australian previewed an ABC TV documentary Then the Wind Changed February 2012 on the Black Saturday bushfires and noted that it is a beautifully made film crafted with compassion alternating the sounds of destruction with the silence left behind intercut with noise of rebuilding lives and structures and heightened with a compelling score from Walker 56 Walker also worked for ABC TV on Miss Fisher s Murder Mysteries February 2012 December 2013 composing the theme music and score 51 At the APRA Music Awards of 2012 the work was nominated for both Best Music for a Television Series or Serial and for Best Television Theme 51 57 During July and August 2012 Walker co produced Spring and Fall for Paul Kelly which was recorded in a hall in Jumbunna 58 59 Walker was also used on upright bass guitar dobro violin and harmonica as well as Paul s nephew Dan Kelly on acoustic guitar and harmony vocals 58 59 Walker had produced tracks on albums for Dan s earlier band the Alpha Males The Tabloid Blues March 2004 and Drowning in the Fountain of Youth August 2006 During August 2013 and then December that year Walker joined Paul s backing band to tour in support of Spring and Fall 60 On 11 October 2013 Machine Translations issued the eighth studio album The Bright Door 61 Beat Magazine s Chris Girdler sees Walker chronicling the complications and anxieties of growing older with life s highs and lows captured by its gentle harmonious songs harbouring a sense of discord and foreboding 62 Discography EditAlbums Edit Shed MethodMachine Translations 1995 Machine TranslationsAbstract Poverty 1997 Halo 1998 Holiday in Spain 1999 Bad Shapes 21 May 2001 Spunk Records Festival Mushroom Records URA044 Happy October 2002 Spunk Records Venus Traps Fly May 2004 Spunk Records Seven Seven 22 October 2007 Spunk Records EMI The Bright Door 2013 Oh 2017 Extended plays Edit Love on the Vine late 2003 Spunk Records Wolf on a String October 2005 Spunk Records Inertia RecordsReferences Edit Abstract Poverty at APRA search engine Australasian Performing Right Association APRA Retrieved 25 December 2013 a b c Zuel Bernard 2 July 2004 The Shape of Things to Come The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 25 December 2013 a b Macgregor Jody Machine Translations Biography AllMusic Retrieved 25 December 2013 a b c Rule Dan 16 November 2007 In Seventh Heaven Retrieved 27 December 2013 a b Machine Translations We Chat with J Walker Coast Coast Media Pty Ltd Maria Reed Summer 2009 pp 30 32 ISSN 1833 3648 Retrieved 27 December 2013 a b Whitfield Kathryn May 1986 Over the Top with Moon Pulse Canberra Musicians Archived from the original on 9 June 2010 Retrieved 25 December 2013 a b c d e f g h i j Munro Kelsey 17 April 2003 All in the Translation The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 25 December 2013 a b c d e f g Enfield Nick 13 July 1995 Good Times Greg s Unique Array of Sounds The Canberra Times National Library of Australia p 26 Retrieved 25 December 2013 a b Jezebel at APRA search engine Australasian Performing Right Association Retrieved 25 December 2013 a b c Enfield Nick 17 August 1995 Good Times Music CD ction at Last The Canberra Times National Library of Australia p 25 Retrieved 25 December 2013 The Fortress AusStage Retrieved 25 December 2013 Hennessy Kate 12 November 2013 Machine Translations Follow Your Nose Mess Noise Danny Bos Kristy Milliken Retrieved 25 December 2013 a b Machine Translations 1997 Abstract Poverty Way Over There National Library of Australia retrieved 25 December 2013 Uhad Hans 1 September 2003 Machine Translations Bad Shapes Review Stylus Retrieved 25 December 2013 Machine Translations Bio Machine Translations Official Website Archived from the original on 25 October 2001 Retrieved 26 December 2013 a b Halo album notes Machine Translations Way Over There 1998 WOT034 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link a b Dornan Matt Autumn 2000 Review Machine Translations Holiday in Spain Way Over There Comes with a Smile No 6 Mark Venn Retrieved 25 December 2013 Machine Translations 1999 Holiday in Spain Way Over There Recordings BMG Music retrieved 25 December 2013 Moore Chris 20 April 2000 Canberra Band at Home in Gong Illawara Mercury Retrieved 26 December 2013 a b Machine Translations 2001 Bad Shapes Spunk Records National Library of Australia retrieved 26 December 2013 Bad Shapes album notes Machine Translations Spunk Records 2001 ura 044 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link a b c Parkes Geoffrey July 2001 It s Getting Colder Machine Translations amp Their New Album Bad Shapes iPrimus Retrieved 26 December 2013 Roberts Jo 22 November 2002 Lost in the Translation The Age Retrieved 26 December 2013 Strauss Neil 6 February 2006 The Pop Life Up and Comers Down Under The New York Times Retrieved 25 December 2013 a b Eitelhuber Tommo Album Review Machine Translations Venus Traps Fly Retrieved 26 December 2013 a b Minor Revival Sodastream Credits Allmusic Retrieved 26 December 2013 Machine Translations 2003 Love on the Vine Spunk Records National Library of Australia retrieved 26 December 2013 Love on the Vine album notes Machine Translations Spunk Records 2003 ura 108 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Releases Venus Traps Fly Australian Music Online Archived from the original on 7 August 2008 Retrieved 26 December 2013 Clare Bowditch amp The Feeding Set Autumn Bone Triple J Australian Broadcasting Corporation 20 February 2004 Retrieved 27 December 2013 a b Mathieson Craig 16 April 2004 Baby Makes Trio The Age Retrieved 27 December 2013 Alessio Dom 30 August 2006 Clare Bowditch Who the Bloody Hell Are They Jerry Soer Dom Alessio Archived from the original on 22 May 2008 Retrieved 27 December 2013 a b c Dwyer Michael 29 June 2004 Machine Translations The Age Retrieved 27 December 2013 Documentaries amp Specials Girl in a Mirror A Portrait of Carol Jerrems Sunday Afternoon ABC TV Australian Broadcasting Corporation 2005 Retrieved 26 December 2013 2005 Winners Screen Music Awards Australasian Performing Right Association APRA Retrieved 26 December 2013 2005 Nominations Screen Music Awards Australasian Performing Right Association APRA Retrieved 26 December 2013 Machine Translations 2005 Wolf on a String Spunk Records National Library of Australia retrieved 26 December 2013 Zuel Bernard 13 October 2005 CD Reviews Machine Translations Wolf on a String The Sydney Morning Herald Archived from the original on 1 September 2009 Retrieved 25 December 2013 The DiG Australian Blues Project The Songs ABC Digital Radio Australian Broadcasting Corporation Retrieved 27 December 2013 a b c Machine Translations amp CW Stoneking Twist The Blues The DiG Australian Blues Project ABC Digital Radio Australian Broadcasting Corporation 8 June 2005 Retrieved 27 December 2013 C W Stoneking Live Music Blues Spoonfed Archived from the original on 27 December 2013 Retrieved 27 December 2013 Stoneking C W 2008 King Hokum Shock Records National Library of Australia retrieved 27 December 2013 Note Reissue of 2005 version CW Stoneking Raises Questions About Who Can Sing Blues The Daily Telegraph 15 November 2008 Retrieved 27 December 2013 ARIA Awards 2009 History Winners by Year 2009 23rd Annual ARIA Awards Australian Recording Industry Association ARIA Archived from the original on 24 November 2009 Retrieved 13 June 2012 Zuel Bernard 26 October 2007 Seven Seven CD Reviews The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 27 December 2013 Machine Translations 2008 East of Everything Series One Soundtrack Album ABC Warner Music retrieved 27 December 2013 a b c Giuffre Liz 2010 Sounding East of Everything PDF Screen Sound Journal pp 50 53 Retrieved 28 December 2013 2008 Winners Screen Music Awards Australasian Performing Right Association APRA Archived from the original on 8 March 2011 Retrieved 29 April 2010 2008 Nominations Screen Music Awards Australasian Performing Right Association APRA Archived from the original on 8 March 2011 Retrieved 29 April 2010 2012 Winners Screen Music Awards Australasian Performing Right Association APRA Australian Guild of Screen Composers AGSC Archived from the original on 14 April 2014 Retrieved 19 June 2013 a b c Nominations gt Best Music for a Short Film Australasian Performing Right Association APRA Australian Guild of Screen Composers AGSC Archived from the original on 17 May 2013 Retrieved 19 June 2013 Mother of Rock The Life and Times of Lillian Roxon Debate org Archived from the original on 28 December 2013 Retrieved 28 December 2013 Films Mother of Rock The Life and Times of Lillian Roxon Melbourne International Film Festival Archived from the original on 6 January 2011 Retrieved 28 December 2013 Hawker Phillipa 9 June 2010 City Stars in a Marriage of Comedy Drama and Chaos The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 28 December 2013 Siemienowicz Rochelle February 2011 The Year Ahead Part 2 Australian Film Institute Archived from the original on 30 December 2013 Retrieved 28 December 2013 Blundell Graeme 7 February 2012 Tender Exploration of Post Disaster Healing The Australian Retrieved 29 December 2013 Nominations gt Best Television Theme Australasian Performing Right Association APRA Australian Guild of Screen Composers AGSC Archived from the original on 20 January 2013 Retrieved 16 January 2012 a b Forthcoming Paul Kelly in News Mess Noise Danny Bos Kristy Milliken 20 September 2012 Archived from the original on 31 December 2013 Retrieved 29 December 2013 a b Valentish Jenny 18 October 2012 Paul Kelly Spring and Fall Time Out Melbourne Retrieved 29 December 2013 Weiley Meaghan 25 August 2013 Paul Kelly s Spring and Fall Tour Onya Magazine Sandi Sieger Retrieved 29 December 2013 The Bright Door by Machine Translations iTunes 11 October 2013 Retrieved 29 December 2013 Girdler Chris 5 December 2013 Machine Translations The Bright Door Beat Magazine Furst Media Retrieved 29 December 2013 External links EditOfficial website Machine Translations discography at MusicBrainz Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Machine Translations amp oldid 1120504872, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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