The earliest
Australian musical form was the
folk musics of the
Australian aborigines. Aboriginal music declined after European colonization, and has only recently begun to be revived, often with modernized influences. Bands like
Yothu Yindi have the popularization of Aboriginal folk in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
Bunggul is a style of music that arose around the
Mann River[?] and is known for its intense lyrics, which are often stories of epic journeys and continue, or repeat, unaccompanied after the music has stopped.
A particular clan in Aboriginal culture may share songs, known as
emeba (
Groote Eylandt),
fjatpangarri (
Yirrkala[?]),
manikay (
Arnhem Land[?]) or other native terms. Songs are about clan or family history and are frequently updated to take into account popular films and music, controversies and social relationships.
Karma is a type of
oral literature[?] that tells a
religious or
historical story.
A
didgeridoo is a type of
musical instrument, a
woodwind aerophone, traditionally made out of
eucalyptus or
bamboo. Aborigines used the didgeridoo to communicate over long distances, as well as to accompany songs.
The Krill Krill song cycle is a modern musical innovation from east
Kimberley[?]. A man named
Rover Thomas[?] claims to have discovered the ceremony in
1974 (see
1974 in music) after a woman to whom he was spiritually related was killed after a car accident near
Warmun[?]. Thomas claimed to have been visited by her spirit and received the ceremony from her. In addition to the music, Thomas and others, including
Hector Jandany[?] and
Queenie McKenzie[?], developed a critically acclaimed style of
painting in sync with the development of the ceremony.
Kun-borrk arose around the
Adelaide[?],
Mann[?] and
Rose Rivers[?], distinguished by a didgeridoo introduction followed by the percussion and vocals, which often conclude words (in contrast to many other syllabic styles of Aboriginal singing).
Wanga arose near the
South Alligator River[?] and is dintinguished by an extremely high note to commence the song, accompanied by rhythmic percussion and followed by a sudden shift to a low tone.
Composer
Peter Sculthorpe[?] is notable for his incorporation of the sounds of the Australian bushland and
outback in his symphonic works such as
Kakadu,
Mangrove and
Earth Cry.
The trio of Tony Buck (drums), Lloyd Swanton (bass) and Chris Abrahams (piano), known together as
The Necks[?] since forming in
1987 (see
1987 in music), was notable for its hour-long jams of
jazz and
ambient music textures, gaining widespread attention both in Australia and internationally.
In the
1950s American
rockabilly music was taken up by local musicians. The most famous exponent was
Johnny O'Keefe.
The
Beatles and the rest of the
British Invasion groups had a huge influence on the local music scene.
The Easybeats[?] were one of the Australian bands to gain success.
Punk rock bands like
The Saints and
Radio Birdman gained a loyal following, while early
electronic musicians like
Severed Heads began to experiment with tape-loops and synthesizers, but not rising to prominence until the
1980s.
Post-punk rockers
The Birthday Party led by the
Nick Cave formed in
1978 and disbanded in
1983. The classic
Australian pub rock band
Cold Chisel formed in
1973. Other notable acts include
The Bee Gees,
Hunters & Collectors[?] and
Skyhooks.
The Stems,
Yothu Yindi,
Men At Work,
INXS,
Midnight Oil,
AC/DC,
Dead Can Dance,
The Go-Betweens[?],
Paul Kelly and
Kylie Minogue all found wide audiences at home and abroad. While most Australian bands from the 80s remained cult acts outside of Australia, some, including INXS and AC/DC, found wide success for years, while others, like Men at Work, became
one-hit wonders throughout most of the world.
Throughout the developed world,
indie rock of various kinds became more popular during the
1990s, especially
grunge music. Notable Australian independent acts included the
Falling Joys[?] from
Canberra;
Regurgitator[?],
Powderfinger[?] and
Custard[?] from
Brisbane;
RatCat[?] and
The Clouds[?] from
Sydney; and
Silverchair[?] from
Newcastle.
Some electronica artists also gained limited international fame, including Southend[?], Boxcar[?] (which had several 12" dance singles in the Billboard magazine Dance Top 10) and Itch-E and Scratch-E[?] (whose track "Sweetness & Light" gained the award for the best dance single from the Australian Recording Industry Association [ARIA] in 1995). Also part of rising popularity of electronic music in the late 1990s were the The Avalanches[?] which became widely known outside their native Australia. Less well-known internationally, but nonetheless important Australian electronic acts included the The Lab[?] active in the early to mid-1990s and Infusion[?], Wicked Beat Sound System[?] and The Bird[?] in the late 1990s, early 2000s.
Directions in Groove[?] from Sydney began in the early 1990s as a groove jazz (sometimes referred to as "acid-jazz") outfit but towards the end of that decade had introduced elements of live drum and bass to their music. This fusion approach to jazz and electronica performed live was extended in the late 1990s and early 2000s by The Hive (renamed The Bagsmen in 2002 to avoid confusion with a Swedish-based band with a similar name).