Biography
Formed in 1994, the 5000 Fingers have earned themselves a cult underground reputation in the Sydney techno scene. Mates from high shool, "doin' stuff" with visuals and sounds when acid house first kicked in, this duo of Jasper Van Patterntangle (aka Russell) and Adam Pierce basically got going and never stopped.
Their development has taken them from their roots in funky, acidic techno, through ambient experimental excursions, and back to a fresh up-front dance sound which is pure vibe.
Adam and Jasper both have a lengthy history in the electronic arts and computing industry with Adam being one of Australia's first video game software designers while still only in high school. Both have been involved with Australia's largest collective of independent electronic musicians, Clan Analogue since the early days of it's inception.
Their interest in visuals began even before the music, with a project to design "the ultimate trip video". Many weekends were spent creating psychedelic visuals in the living room, ending up as the famous (infamous?) Om Video (1994), which made it into Reachin' Records even before their music did.
The 5000 Fingers then designed visuals to accompany their live music performances and contributed to creating the unique mixed media atmosphere of events like Frigid and Freaky Loops, carving out a classic underground reputation for themselves as they did so.
So what is the story behind 5000 Fingers of Dr T?
"We were both making music on our Amiga computers, just for fun, back in 1988. We stopped doing this when Amigas started to die off, then a few years later there was the acid revival, and we just had to make those squelchy sounds.
One piece of equipment led to another, and then we got our first gig at Clan Analogue's 'Electronic' at the Bentley Bar. Adam was already a member of Clan, as he did visuals at raves. We had to come up with a name for the gig fast, and The 5000 Fingers of Dr.T. was it."
- Jasper Russell
Their recipe for making music starts with matching ASR-10's fed through a chain of resonant and envelope filters run by their home-made controllers. This is then poured over a thick buzzing bassline before being served up with a side dish of electro beats.
They rarely use sampled loops, instead preferring to create beats from scratch. Jasper is the rhythm master, with Adam bringing the musical element to tracks. They are also well known for their home-made, often quirky musical instruments and software programs, along with their innovative video clips, which have appeared on several music video shows, including Alchemy (SBS) and Rage (ABC).
Their debut album 'Orange Chrome', (1997, Clan Analogue) a dark experimental journey through metallic ambiences, schizoid funk and floating tranquilities featuring electronic music with mood, substance and wit, warping funky beats and complex rhythms, was given 4/5 in 3D World. The track 'Still Of Night' was co-produced in collaboration with Belgian composer Stephan Van Elsen (Brain Pilot).
"Tracks like 'Building a Ship With a Spider's Thread' have been seminal in defining the high quality and unique character of Sydney electronica."
- DJ Visceral, 3D World
Their second album, the self-released 'Chewed Up and Spat Out' (1998) is an experiment in both subversive music and alternate production. The music is a tumultuous racket of minced, mangled, mashed and muffled tunes, hacked, hewn and hung out to dry. It lives in the outlands of sonic experience where it freely traverses the fuzzy border between music and noise. Each CD is hand-made and individually mangled with a pair of scissors, to complete the chewed up concept.
Their third album, the maxi-EP 'Buttsqueezer', (2000, Clan Analogue) is filled with funky tracks, tasty tunes, buzzy squelches and groovy electro beats. This CD includes a remix by the Telemetry Orchestra, 3 bonus video clips and the unique Blob Generating program, designed and created by Adam.
"Trash your Cindy Crawford video - Sydney-based electrofreako band The 5000 Fingers of Dr.T. has released _the_ sexiest workout for the coming Spring under the delightful title 'Buttsqueezer'.
Every dancer with the funk going on in their pelvis will appreciate Dr T's well-rounded bottom end, especially in the wiggly basslines of the title track and the radio-friendly Jasper Van Patterntangle mix of 'whocanhearthat' "
- Stuart Ridley, e)mag, July 2000
Their long-awaited latest offerings see them entering the wacky world of funky cross-genre experimentation, in collaboration with mr.suavo, who just happens to be dead. The first in a series of 4 self-released EP's, 'mr.suavo in analogue heaven' (2004) is a mello cruise through heavenly analogue soundscapes. Just what do dead guys in white lounge suits dream about?
The second instalment in the series will see 'mr.suavo in space truckin' odyssey' (due to be completed 2005). How does a dead guy in tassle-fringed flannelette go boot scootin' with aliens?
The 5000 Fingers have also had releases on over 20 compilations, which include 'Habitat' (Clan Analogue), 'Refashioned I & II' (Groovescooter), 'Beat & Squelch' (dump Huck), 'Freaky Loops I & II' (2SER), 'Solid Gold' (Clan Analogue), 'Sound Quality: Approved for Export' (ABC), 'Environments' (Thunk) and 'BeatScootin' (Groovescooter). One half of the 5000 Fingers has also had several successful releases under the guise of Jasper Van Patterntangle.
"The Fingers have always been a can-do outfit, knocking out CD-Rs, playing shitloads of gigs and taking bold stylistic directions."
- Jonathon Sykes, Electroplastique
During their 10-year career, the 5000 Fingers have played hundreds of live gigs, including the Big Day Out, the Apollo Festival, Freaky Loops and a performance at the MCA, as well as regular spots in Sydney nightclubs, outdoor festivals, university events and dance parties. They have participated in several Clan Analogue road shows, appearing interstate in Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane.
In 1998, they performed a live improvisation piece with world famous cyber performance artist 'Stelarc' at the Conspiracy Club, Newtown. In 1999, they appeared on Alchemy (SBS TV), along with two of their video clips, both of which made it into the Top 5 of Alchemy's groove charts. In 2001, they were invited to compete in Channel 10's Ground Zero band competition, where they made it to the final round.
"If you've watched the SBS program Alchemy at all over the past year, you might have stumbled across - and been enthralled by - the 5000 Fingers of Dr T video clip 'Barbecued Crickets', which featured on their last album.
The clip was put together by band members Jasper and Adam, along with Selena Seifert, and it's a striking, somewhat disturbing, and downright trippy take on the Punch & Judy puppet show theme; I'd go so far as to say it's one of the most inventive and memorable of Australian electronic music videos."
- Andrez Bergen, Zebra/Inpress, Melbourne
They are no longer playing live shows, preferring to concentrate on studio work instead.
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