Citizen Loud

– Exhibitions, Friday 13th November 2009, Saturday 14th November 2009

A multi-faceted creative entity existing in a state of perpetual evolution, Citizen Loud has long since grown to eclipse the initial ambitions of its founding members (laptop artist and vocalist Matt O’Neill and guitarist Travis Taylor). The two began the project with little thought or conception beyond escaping the tedium of a public holiday in early 2008 but the subsequent months have seen the project develop and mutate into something truly singular.

In true Citizen Loud fashion, however, the band have once again progressed beyond those territories and developed into a different proposition in recent months. Trav’s commitments as leader of progressive rock outfit IV Horseman unfortunately led to his departure from the band and Matt employing Citizen Loud as a vehicle for collaboration and exploration – the one-time journalist determining that no Citizen Loud project would be a solo performance.

This newfound freedom and collaborative focus has added multiple facets to Citizen Loud. The recent months have found Matt collaborating with members of hard rock outfit The Vestal Virgins and experimental Brisbane chanteuse Tara Simmons in the record-breaking Big Jam (where Citizen Loud managed to improvise for nearly four hours and earn veiled mockery from Spencer Howson’s breakfast program in the process) as well as creating the Citizen Loud Non-Musician Outreach Programme – a series of recordings devoted to de-mystifying music for non-musicians. One only wonders what Citizen Loud will become next.
“The pair of DIY producers and music aficionados wrangle complex afro-influenced beats, funky, processed guitars and abstract noise…It’s electronic paganism and digital communism haphazardly applied to the creative process with results that hearken back to the days when English artists were railing against Thatcherism.”- Jakeb Smith, Rave Magazine

myspace.com/citizenloud