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Ned Collette is a Melbourne singer-songwriter signed with the Australian record label Dot Dash.

Collette’s musical history to date draws on a broad sound palette: an honours degree in modern composition, works for string quartets, various electro-concrete pieces and playing in a variety of loose fit outfits whilst focusing his talents in City City City. Parallel to all this Collette produced his own album, Jokes & Trials. Forgoing the democracies of a group Collette played close to all the instruments, wrote all the songs as well as singing. Collette admits that the influence of Leonard Cohen, Robert Wyatt and Cat Power led him to focus more and more on the importance of the lyrics. This resulted in his debut album Jokes & Trials, which was released on July 29, 2006.

Early on Collette developed a unique live technique of using guitar loops and delays on stage, building percussive and melodic layers over which he presented his songs. He toured the album globally alongside artists such as Joanna Newsom and Camera Obscura as well as playing his own headlining gigs.

Current Lineup

In 2007, he introduced a bassist and drummer (both ex-City City City colleagues), adopting the name of "Ned Collette Band". The line up is:

• Ned Collette - vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar
• Ben Bourke - electric bass, backing vocals
• Joe Talia - drums, backing vocals

In March 2009 the band announced a name change to Ned Collette & Wirewalker, keeping the same personnel. Their debut performance under this name was at The Thornbury Theatre in Melbourne, Australia.

Future Suture

September 2007 saw the Ned Collette Band perform a great number of concerts, including a 4-week residency at the Edinburgh Castle Hotel in Brunswick, in support of a second album Future Suture, released through the Dot Dash label on September 29, 2007. The album was 3RRR's 'album of the week'. The band toured it nationally in Australia.

European Tour 2008

In October 2008, Collette and the band undetook a twenty-two date tour of Europe, taking in the UK, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Poland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Collette followed this with a ten date solo tour in January 2009.

Third Album

A third album - the first to be recorded by Collette & Wirewalker as a whole - is currently under way. The first sessions took place in July 2008 with Neil Thomason at Head Gap in Melbourne, and while it was originally thought to be finished before their European tour,^[1] the band have since indicated that they are still working on it.^[2]

Discography

• Test Patterns EP (CDR release 2004, repressed on Holding Pattern 2006)
• Jokes & Trials (Dot Dash 2006)
• Future Suture (Dot Dash 2007)

References

External links

• Official Ned Collette site
• Ned Collette Myspace page
• Cokemachineglow review of Future Suture
• City City City Myspace page
• Dot Dash Ned Collette page