LINKED BY A THREAD
Two of the Territory's best‑known indie‑electronic songwriter/producers come together for a special performance at Bustard Town.
WORDS TIERNEY WHITE
DARWIN’S BEN ALLEN – aka Broadwing – hits the stage with his full band, supported by the Red Centre’s Dave Crowe – aka Resin Moon – hot on the heels of the release of their first official collab ‘Thread’ last month.
The tune was penned by the pair and premiered at Darwin Festival in 2022 as part of the My Sunburnt Soundtrack live music project, which featured six NT artists showcasing their songs in response to what it means to be a Territorian.
The track’s been incubating in the studio in the years since, with files, beats, and tape-saturated synths exchanged between the desert and Top End.
“This is the first song of the My Sunburnt Soundtrack project that’s been released as a recording, so that’s really exciting, because it was one of my favourite songs from that whole project,” Crowe says.
“This one, we decided to keep working on and polishing, sending files back and forth, and it’s a song about connection and that thread that links us together, through friendships or creative partnerships, so it seemed kind of fitting. And yeah, we finished it off recently and wanted to share it with the world!”
The award-winning musicians have been chums for well over a decade, collaborating on a swag of scores of NT-based releases over the years, including ‘Shadows on Blue’, which featured in Hollywood film Adam, tracks for ARIA nominated North East Arnhem Land artist Gawurra, and David Garnham's recent double album, The Stuart Highway Part 1 and Part 2.
Crowe reckons their common influences in music, paired with a solid friendship, is the secret to their success.
“We just work really well together because of our shared love of production and experimental electronic music. We have a lot of similar artists that we’re influenced by, like Thom Yorke and Radiohead … We’re able to share a lot of ideas and be on the same wavelength a lot of the time when it comes to the way our music sounds,” Crowe says.
“We’ve known each other for about 13 years. I first came across Ben’s music when I heard it on triple j when I was driving around Alice Springs, and heard this amazing song, and they said it was Alice Springs musician Broadwing, and I thought, ‘who is this guy?’
“So, I immediately stalked him online and sent him some messages. And yeah, he was keen to get together. We’re both pretty shy, introverted kind of personalities, but were keen to get together and share some ideas and have a jam, and that’s how it all started … We pretty soon became friends.”
The collaboration of NT musos across our landscape, from desert to sea, is exciting, and something Crowe reckons we should embrace.
“These kinds of collaborations are so important … because, even though there’s this vast geographical distance, I feel like we have so much in common creatively and culturally. It’s nice to be able to share these kinds of projects where we might be separated by 1,600kms, but we can still feel connected, and feel like we’re part of one project or one sound.”
Resin Moon hits the stage before Broadwing band, also featuring Mark Smith on drums and Caddie Brain on cello, the trio gigging frequently around town over recent months.
Word on the street is you’ll get to hear ‘Thread’, so head along and see what these incredibly talented Territorians have been up to.
Broadwing + Resin Moon
WHEN THU 3 JUL | 7.30PM
AT BUSTARD TOWN
COST $20
INFO facebook.com/broadwingmusic
facebook.com/resinmoon
Image: Ben Allen & Dave Crowe back in 2013!
