Wayne Connolly
Wayne Connolly is an Australian producer/engineer and musician. Throughout the 1990s, Connolly played in Sydney band, The Welcome Mat, with whom he released a series of critically acclaimed albums and EPs on the Waterfront Records and id/Mercury labels. In 1994, he formed Knievel[1] with Tracy Ellis and Nick Kennedy, and the trio went on to release four albums and a series of singles on various labels in Australia, the United States and Japan. Knievel played locally and abroad alongside acts such as Luna, Teenage Fanclub, Big Heavy Stuff, Death Cab for Cutie and The Pernice Brothers.
Career
Production/audio engineering
Connolly has balanced his career as a performer with work as a producer and engineer for some of Australia's most successful and respected bands, including Josh Pyke, The Vines and Silverchair. In the early 90s he took a job managing Paradise Studios for rooART,[1] which put him in touch with emerging artists providing songs for the Youngblood compilation series. Among these were Underground Lovers, Glide, The Mandelbrot Set (band), Custard and Drop City, all of whom formed working relationships with the producer.
Production credits from the 1990s include Wahooti Fandango by Custard, Fill Yourself With Music by Screamfeeder, The Young Need Discipline by The Fauves and Sold by Died Pretty. Over the past decade Connolly has worked with Neil Finn, Silverchair, Youth Group, Jimmy Barnes, The Living End, Grinspoon, The Vines, Powderfinger, The Veronicas, Jim Moginie and The Grates. His most recent credits include albums for Hungry Kids of Hungary, Dappled Cities, Old Man River, Royal Chant, Something for Kate's Paul Dempsey, The Seabellies, Glass Towers and The Paper Kites.
Film and television
In addition to his work in the music recording industry, Connolly has produced work for film and TV. Film credits include The Black Balloon, Newcastle, Little Fish, Monkey Puzzle, Mullet, Willful and Dirty Deeds. The track, "When We Get There", produced for The Black Balloon, won best song at the recent AGSC/APRA awards.
Studio
Connolly has built his own studio in Alberts Music premises in Sydney. The studio houses a legendary Neve 8026 desk, one of few in working condition today.
Awards
In 1992, Connolly produced the Underground Lovers album, Leaves Me Blind, and subsequently received Rolling Stone magazine's Best Australian Record award.[1] The following year he engineered You Am I's fourth EP Coprolalia and their debut album Sound As Ever, alongside Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth. This album went on to win the 1993 ARIA for Best Alternative Release. He has received numerous ARIA nominations and awards for his work, including Producer of the Year for his work on Josh Pyke's Memories and Dust in 2007,[2][3] and Engineer of the Year for his work on Paul Dempsey's "Fast Friends" in 2010.[4]
- 1996 – ARIA Engineer of the Year for You Am I, Hourly Daily
- 2006 – ARIA Breakthrough Artist – Single for Youth Group, Forever Young
- 2007 – ARIA Engineer of the Year for Josh Pyke, Memories and Dust
- 2007 – ARIA Award for Producer of the Year for Josh Pyke, Memories and Dust
Nominations
- 2006 – ARIA Producer of the Year for Youth Group, Casino Twilight Dogs
- 2006 – ARIA Engineer of the Year for The Vines, Vision Valley
Select production credits
- 1991:
- Youngblood 3 by Various Artists
- 1992:
- Leaves Me Blind by Underground Lovers
- 1993:
- Copralalia by You Am I
- Sound as Ever by You Am I
- 1994:
- Wahooti Fandango by Custard
- The Young Need Discipline by The Fauves
- 1995:
- Hi Fi Way by You Am I (selected tracks)
- Higher Up The Firetrails by Bluebottle Kiss
- Sold by Died Pretty
- 1996:
- Hourly Daily by You Am I
- Disappear Here by Glide
- Future Spa by The Fauves
- 1997:
- In Your Bright Ray by Grant McLennan
- Steep Hill Climb by Knievel
- 1998:
- Lazy Highways by The Fauves
- Mud and Five Ways to Serve It by Flanders
- Using My Gills as a Roadmap by Died Pretty
- 1999:
- Sweeter than the Radio by Icecream Hands
- King Autumn by Hoolahan
- 2000:
- Everydaydream by Died Pretty
- The Name Rings a Bell that Drowns out your Voice by Knievel
- 2001:
- Size of the Ocean by Big Heavy Stuff
- First Translated in 1965 by Ides of Space
- Griffith Sunset EP by Evan Dando
- 2002:
- Drag (EP) by Drag
- 2003:
- Rarities by Silverchair
- 2004:
- Dallas Crane by Dallas Crane
- Skeleton Jar by Youth Group
- The Truth About Love by David McCormack & The Polaroids
- Dear Friends and Enemies by Big Heavy Stuff
- 2006:
- Factory Girls by Dallas Crane
- Casino Twilight Dogs by Youth Group
- Vision Valley by The Vines
- Nervous Flashlights by The Fauves
- Flame Trees by Sarah Blasko
- 2007:
- Intermission: The Best of the Solo Recordings 1990–1997 by Robert Forster and Grant McLennan
- The Bells Line by 78 Saab
- Memories & Dust by Josh Pyke
- 2008:
- When Good Times Go Good by The Fauves
- Chimney's Afire by Josh Pyke
- Easy Fever: A Tribute to the Easybeats and Stevie Wright by Various Artists (including Neil Finn, Jimmy Barnes and Iva Davies)
- 2009:
- Zounds by Dappled Cities
- Everything is True by Paul Dempsey
- Ragged and Ecstatic (select tracks) by Yves Klein Blue
- 2012:
- Taken for a Fool by Bears with Guns
- Young North by The Paper Kites
- 2013:
- Harlequin Dream by Boy & Bear
- You're A Shadow by Hungry Kids of Hungary
- States by The Paper Kites
- Lemons by Woodlock
- 2014:
- Labour of Love by Woodlock
References
- 1 2 3 Alberts (2012). "Wayne Connolly". Alberts. ALBERTS PTY LTD. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
- ↑ "Winners by Award – Producer of the Year". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 5 November 2016.
- ↑ "17th Annual ARIA Awards". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 23 February 2004. Retrieved 5 November 2016. Note: User may be required to access archived information by selecting 'The History', then 'By Award', 'Producer of the Year' and 'Option Show Nominations'.
- ↑ The Music Network (28 September 2010). "Angus & Julia, Connolly and Moyes win ARIA Artisan Awards". The Music Network. The Music Network. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
External links
- Wayne Connolly's Myspace page
- Alberts Music
- Knievel's site
- The Vines Myspace page
- Youth Group official site