PARTY PUNKS

Genre-defying instrumental outfit Party Dozen hits Darwin with their inimitable mix of experimental sonic textures and propulsive riffs, sure to have you on your feet and rocking out.

WORDS RITA HORANYI

ART PUNK PAIR Kirsty Tickle (saxophone) and Jonathan Boulet (percussion and samples) are the dynamic force behind Party Dozen, the Sydney outfit that resists categorization, pushing the boundaries of how you imagined a saxophone could sound.

Yelling into the bell of her sax and running it through a bevy of pedal effects, Tickle can make her instrument screech, growl, drive a banging riff, and shift seamlessly from dulcet tones to angsty, abrasive fuzz.

Combined with Boulet’s dynamic drumming and experimental loops that create a surprisingly full and layered sound, the result is a visceral, no-holds-barred listening experience that makes you want to move and jump around.

Tickle and Boulet’s stage presence encourages this, with the band’s live performances known to be high energy affairs.

“We always give it as much as we can, we’re always running at one hundred percent, no matter what. Especially at a fun festival like Darwin Fest, I think we’re going to be excited – we’re going to be pushing hard,” says Boulet.

For an instrumental band with a distinctly experimental bent, Party Dozen’s music remains playful and evocative, effectively telling a story without words. Their 2024 album Crime in Australia is a perfect example, drawing its inspiration from gritty Aussie crime films.

“With Crime in Australia, I think we were a few tracks in and we were like, ‘this is starting to sound like an 80s Australian crime drama soundtrack ... let’s lean into that, let’s make this record feel like Australian cinema because Australian cinema is so interesting and so dark and wacky’. We really wanted to evoke those feelings through the record and give people nostalgia for that as well,” says Tickle.

With thumping beats punctuated by Tickle’s abrasive horns and soaring sax crescendos, the album brilliantly evokes grunge, late nights, and adrenaline-fueled rides through seedy urban underbellies.

Supported by local NT Music Award-winning legends TANG, Party Dozen is ready to take you on a wild sonic adventure.

Party Dozen
WHEN SAT 16 AUG | 8PM 
AT DARWIN RAILWAY CLUB 
COST $42 | $38 CONC 
INFO darwinfestival.org.au

_{Image: Roger Deckker}