Luke M de Zilva & Bluetung - Bright, Bright Blue / we crossed the atlantic, untitled CS

Two expansive interpretations on the theme of 'other' guitar music from Sydney and Melbourne left-field/experimental songwriters; both live performances captured with a hand-held recording device.

Luke M de Zilva’s Up / Bright, Bright Blue is the final third of a performance featuring cellist Peter Hollo from the inaugural Volume Festival at the Art Gallery of NSW – a site-specific set embracing the resounding echo of the Gallery environment and responding to Hilda Rix’s landscape painting, Through the Gum Trees, Toongabbie (circa 1920). It follows on from Luke’s three performances at Dark Mofo 2023 and his recording project, Levelled (2022), created at the University of Technology’s industrial reverb chamber alongside Peter Hollo and Mara Schwerdtfeger. Levelled was named a ‘best of’ in 2022 by The Quietus, awarded #1 in the Wettest 100 – the second-ever fan-voted countdown of Australian left-field music – and praised as “uniquely Australian” by Roy Montgomery (NZ).

Bluetung’s we crossed the atlantic, untitled features two segments of acoustic guitar taken from sets in Sydney and at MONA in Hobart, including a reworking of Hydroplane's We Crossed The Atlantic alongside an unreleased layered loop track built on custom glitch effects and field recordings. It follows on from a string of releases including the album Eternity by the Stars (2023) which earned him FBi Radio’s Independent Artist of the Week amongst other acclaim. Bluetung has collaborated with, and performed alongside, artists such Warm Currency, Del Lumanta and Florian TM Zeisig.

The dual interpretations from each artist is also reflected in the artwork, being two versions of a charcoal drawing by Luke, adapted for each track and presented together.