There's a live recording called Last Place on the New Weird Australia compilation, Worlds Only World. Last Place was recorded live at The Wine Cellar in Auckland, NZ/Aotearoa, during a week long tour in March 2024. It was our first show, supporting Mess Esque and Pumice. We went on to play another bar and a cafe on the north island, then we played two sets on the ferry between the north island and the south island, then two sets at a church on the south island. It was a beautiful time.
Compiled by 'transient ambient' group Worlds Only, featuring 24 tracks of post-genre experimentation with debut collaborations, one-off matchups, spin-offs, and rarities. All proceeds from the release on all platforms will be donated to organisations delivering mutual aid on the ground in Palestine, and to recently settled Palestinian refugees.
Worlds Only is a transient ambient group. The term is vague, specific, metaphorical and literal depending on what day it is. More than anything, it’s a way to play, listen and share music with a group that feels bigger than any individual. It’s about the space in between people, cultures, identities, the physical and spiritual worlds, what is in our control and isn’t, and personal transcendence that is invisible to the public eye.
During Worlds Only’s formation, Darren (Lesaguis) mentioned that when he thought about the ambient music we would make, his mind naturally veered toward colder, more isolated sounds, and he was surprised as to how warm our music was. This warmth is a defining element that ties the relationships between each artist within the group, and the expanded universe of friends, comrades, local icons and lifelong influences who contributed to this compilation. Tom (T. Morimoto) may have been joking when he suggested calling it “Worlds Only Extended Universe”, but it truly distils the intricate web of relationships that connect us all musically and humanly.
The group of artists here do not represent a specific scene, but collectively reflects a particular mindset that embraces ambiguity, values integrity, distorts the idea of what constitutes experimental music, blurs traditional songwriting vs improvisation, complicates Australian identity, stretches how melodic and rhythmic ambient music can be, and celebrates the transient ambient nature of how our lives intertwine.
On 'Worlds Only World', you will find 24 tracks featuring all new music, debut collaborations, one-off matchups, spin-offs, and rarities dug up and polished off from hard drives and archives. For each artist and track, we have tried to provide some musical and social context to the artist, the accompanying music, and why they are here. Thank you for being here.
