Australia's Top Five Leftfield Music Blogs (a draft)

I spent a good part of this morning combing the web for Australian bloggers into leftfield music.

I know it’s about this time that lists start to really drag. But I’m keen to read different voices – it gets to be the same bunch of writers in a lot of the magazines, and I don’t get to read street press outside NSW to spot emerging writers in those states and territories. So here’s a list. Feel free to add.

By leftfield I mean anything from electronics and hip hop to jungle and dubstep, house and techno, noise, punk jazz and the interesting edges of the indie scene, and anything in between. Especially from bloggers who have opinions and can write.

Here are my current faves. With any luck you know more.

Thermostat – the Cyclic Defrost contributors group blog
Although I co-edit Cyclic, not including it in this list would be false modesty – I only recently joined the editorial board, and the reasons it’s such a great read – the writing and the thorough coverage of all the sounds above – are the same reasons I decided to write for it in the first place.

Fat Planet – Stuart Buchanan
Stuart Buchanan’s site is the best known Australian blog internationally. Buchanan, the station director at Sydney radio station FBI, writes succinct elegant prose on music from everywhere except the obvious, and sometimes even there.

Melbs – Ben Gook
Ben Gook’s super localised blog is a poetic window into Melbourne’s music scene. I met Ben (who also edits the music reviews section in Mess + Noise) on a panel about musicians and the media at TINA in Newcastle this year. His concise profiles of artists such as Post, Frost and Inquiet have pushed me to find more.

Fangirl – Emmy Hennings
Hennings, a nom de plume (I’m not sure why), used to write for Melbs, and now writes for Mess + Noise, Voiceworks and Cyclic Defrost. Hennings’s rambly blog showcases her refreshingly strong critical opinion, as well as her ability to place music in historical/philosophical context a la Simon Reynolds and co.

Somefreak – Si Hindle
Although far from regular, Sydney DJ Somefreak became an essential blogger this year. He was selected for the Red Bull Music Academy in Melbourne and his evocative daily reports were enough to prod me into fits of jealousy. His blog dropped off somewhat after leaving the academy, but this mention might prod him into activity againn.

Other favourites include Gentle Force, 0dub, Antipodean Underground, Simple Fi, Kodama, and Feral Media.