Utility Fog teeters on the cusp between acoustic and electronic, organic and digital. Constantly changing and rearranging, this aural cloud of nanotech consumes genres and spits them out in new forms. Peter Hollo curates each episode around a narrative of genre-plasticity, deep-diving into artist histories, side projects and influences. Challenging sounds are contextualised within musical movements, surprising connections are uncovered, unfairly overlooked works are revisited. Come on a journey through music in all its ugly beauty.
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Singles & tracks from forthcoming albums and new releases from hip-hop to doom, postrock to experimental electronic, breakbeat to techno, post-classical to post-jazz. LISTEN AGAIN, stick it in your pipe and smoke it. You can stream it on demand on …Read more »
Strange conglomerations of fluttery acoustic sounds, skittery electronic beats, seemingly-clashing cultural milieus… LISTEN AGAIN if you dare! Stream on demand from FBi, podcast here. Infinity Knives & Brian Ennals – A City Drowning. God's Black Tears. ft. The Lil Black …Read more »
Everything's off-kilter this week. It's not just the deranged tarrif-spewing orange menace… it's also the music? But… in a good way? Yeah. LISTEN AGAIN if you're off-kilter too. Stream on demand from FBi, podcast here. Infinity Broke – Snowdome of …Read more »
Lots of speedy beats tonight, whether underpinning grime vocals, post-classical synths, postpunk agitprop or… you name it. Plus contemplative guitars & strings, shoegaze and indie-jazz-pop. LISTEN AGAIN to capture all the details. Stream on demand from FBi, podcast here. Postcards …Read more »
Experimental song, guitar-triggered sample-mashing, electro-dub, industrial dub-metal, intricate percussion, ambient jazz… Just some of the well-known genres heard tonight. LISTEN AGAIN and invent some new genres. Stream on demand from fbi.radio, podcast here. Yasmine Hamdan – Shmaali شمالي [Crammed Discs/Bandcamp] …Read more »
Thanks so much to Amy Li for her fascinating selections last week while I was in Naarm with Zoe Jungist of FBi's own Variable Depth Audit DJing at the incredible Absorbed IV! That means I've got two weeks of new …Read more »
Your experimental fix for tonight has vocals sung and spoken and screamed, in a few different languages and in no language at all. Also jungle beats mushed into other genres, slapback echoes, manic electric guitars and soft piano. And that's …Read more »
Lots of vocals tonight, as spoken word, as songs, as cut-up textures… As usual we're already at a point where there's waaaay too much music out there. But hey, that means that everything here is rolled gold. LISTEN AGAIN, at …Read more »
Let me take you on a trip1… from lo-fi hip-hop to mutant jungle, dub techno to generative IDM, mushed free jazz to mutant harps and other acoustic instruments… It's just another week in the Utility Fog office. (there is no …Read more »
A lot going on in the world at the moment, dizzying amounts of WTF and it can be pretty anxiety-causing. But humanity continues to create great art, so let me share with you some of the boundary-pushing music of note …Read more »
One month into 2025… watching a country being dismantled is quite a horror story, so let's stay away from the news if we can, and listen to experimental music! LISTEN AGAIN via fbi.radio or our podcast here – it might …Read more »
Today is the day when so-called Australia is meant to celebrate its founding as a British colony. It's a day of sadness and contemplation for indigenous Australians, and should be for all of us. This always was, always will be …Read more »
Annnnnd we're back! Thanks heaps to Giulio for the last two Sunday nights' selections – fantastic stuff. I have complained before about how music doesn't stop being released, right through December and into the very beginning of the new year. …Read more »
It's the last Utility Fog of the year, but it's a doozy! A 2hr live DJ mix of as many of my favourite beats (and some other oddities) as I could fit. It's like a Utility Fog but with less …Read more »
Here we are at the end of the year. As is traditional, I'm doing THREE Best of 2024 shows, starting with “songs” tonight, instrumentals & sound-art next week, and a DJ mix of stuff with beats on December 29th. Of …Read more »
Last new music of the year! I mean, not the last new music to come out this year, but for me it is, as the next 3 shows will be my best-of round-up of 2024! There are a few mega …Read more »
Look, the year's coming to a close. What a fucking relief. Let it go, let it go. I mean, obviously 2025's gonna be a lot worse, but maybe it can also be better in some ways? Let's make it so. …Read more »
We're getting towards the end of the year and the new releases are refusing to let up. I take this as a personal affront. LISTEN AGAIN and get angry along with me at how much great music there is! Stream …Read more »
If you're looking for avant-pop, avant-Egyptian, sound-art, beat tapes, Iranian electronic, industrial bass, dubstep, idm, jungle, hit em, breakcore, drone, contemporary classical, electro-acoustic or just good ol'-fashioned postfolkrocktronica, you've come to the right place! LISTEN AGAIN and get your bearings. …Read more »
As we wake up to a world that's just a little (lot) more fascist that it was last week, there's some righteous anger, some despondency, and beauty for you tonight. Don't forget, everything is political: dancing is political, crying is …Read more »
Crazy mix of stuff tonight, music that somehow has beats when you wouldn't expect it, that has no beats when you might expect it, that's entirely acoustic when you'd think it was processed & edited… LISTEN AGAIN via the FBi …Read more »
Experimental sounds abound, wrong-song to maltreated beats, un-classical to dis-cordian. LISTEN AGAIN and nourish your soul. Stream on demand via FBi, podcast here. YATTA – MTV [PTP/Bandcamp] YATTA – Circle [PTP/Bandcamp] Last year, Sierra Leonean-American musician YATTA, who I've been …Read more »
Your weekly mix of experimental electronics, weird fusions, twisted acoustics and more. LISTEN AGAIN and rise from the murk. Stream on demand at fbi.radio, podcast here. Third Eye – Terminal 283 [Regular Records] This week brought the sad news that …Read more »
Some beautiful experimental song, and hyper beats, but lots of sound-art tonight. LISTEN AGAIN – you won't regret it. Stream on demand at the new fbi.radio, podcast here. Snakeskin – Homecoming [Mais Um/Bandcamp/Ruptured/Bandcamp] Julia Sabra and Fadi Tabbal (Snakeskin) – …Read more »
Covering ground from Iranian-American beats to English shoegaze-loop-pop, IDM, nu-skool-jungle, bass-heavy noise and noisy bass music, Middle Eastern-influenced electronic psych rock, the ever-cheeky Aphex Twin's ambient masterpiece orchestrated, postrock and sound-art. And that's just a taster! LISTEN AGAIN for the full flavour profile. Stream on demand @ FBi, podcast here. Maral - retrofit (feat. YATTA) […]
It's FBi's supporter drive right now - absolutely essential to keep shows like mine on-air (and in your feeds) each week! Please become a supporter or donate what you can by clicking here! LISTEN AGAIN to catch all the nuance. Stream on demand at the same place where you can support us, podcast here. Alan […]
A mixed bag tonight, from experimental indie-jazz to krautrock, post-industrial to electroacoustic, percussive beats to ambient beatscapes, doom dub to d'n'b to noise metal to electroacoustic sound-art to jazz-folk and back to experimental indie. LISTEN AGAIN, second time's a charm! Stream on demand on FBi's new website, or podcast here. Wendy Eisenberg - Viewfinder [American […]
Indie/folk/rock takes us into some beautiful crunchy indietronica, shoegazetronica and contemporary out-rock, before we move into dub & bass-oriented beats, some first class contemporary drum'n'bass, glitchy ambient/idm and decentred ambient of various ilks. There's also some industrial post-club spoken word weirdness, and later some newer & older approaches to post-classical, as they probably don't call […]
A few important albums came out this week, so we're doing that Utility Fog thing of multiple tracks from the same artist/release. And it's allll great. Of course. LISTEN AGAIN for your soul's sake. Stream on demand at fbi.radio's new home, podcast here. Kim Gordon x Model Home - razzamatazz [Matador/Bandcamp] Less than six months […]
There's quite a lean towards ambient sounds tonight - not all peaceful, mind. There's some shattering noise and many glitchy loops and sound-beds. But there's also hip-hop, skittering IDM, stripped-down grime, and re-imagined acoustic folk. LISTENING AGAIN is medically proven to promote mental acuity. Stream on demand from FBi, podcast right here. Dealers of God […]
A lot of moody music tonight, some different types of "jazz", music from Norway, Japan, the Netherlands, UK, Germany, Canada and of course Australia. LISTEN AGAIN, it's a mood. Stream on demand from FBi, podcast here. ØKSE - Amager feat. billy woods [Backwoodz Studioz/Bandcamp] ØKSE - Amar Økse [Backwoodz Studioz/Bandcamp] Starting tonight with a record […]
Thanks to Giulio for filling in last week while I was away - excellent selections, and even some text about everything that was played
Tonight, from experimental electronic pop to free improv, live beats and programmed beats, modern classical and avant-garde, from all over the world. LISTEN AGAIN and open up to a world of music. Stream on demand from FBi, podcast here. ROMÆO - Worlds [ROMÆO Bandcamp] Starting with art-pop from here in Eora/Sydney, from young artist ROMÆO, […]
Layers of abstraction, mutations of punk, warpings of beats, rebuilings of improv, détournements of ambient... LISTEN AGAIN and mutate... Stream on demand via FBi Radio, podcast here. Chris Corsano - I Don't Have Missions [Drag City/Bandcamp] Since the early '00s, American drummer Chris Corsano has been a key member of the free improv world, bleeding […]
Dark acoustic and electronic sonics, big beats and no beats, glitched folk... LISTEN AGAIN and win at life! Stream on demand via FBi, podcast here. Coppé - Ajisai (Nikakoi Remix) [Mango + Sweetrice Records/Bit-Phalanx Music] Japanese singer Coppé's been around longer than many. And since the 1990s she's been collaborating with creative electronic artists, from […]
There's an undercurrent of noise through a lot of tonight's show. There are fast beats and sub bass and melodies too though! LISTEN AGAIN and transcend to a higher sphere. Stream on demand on the FBi website, podcast here. Party Dozen - The Big Man Upstairs [Temporary Residence Ltd/Grupo/Bandcamp] Eora/Sydney duo Party Dozen are a […]
Tonight we journey from underground hip-hop through hyper- and infra-pop, folk-reggae, jungle, breakbeat, jazz-classical-electronic hybrids, post-rock and post-classical. Come with us! LISTEN AGAIN if you know what's good for you. Stream on demand from FBi Radio, podcast here. John Glacier - Cows Come Home [Young/Bandcamp] John Glacier - Satellites (with Kwes Darko) [Young/Bandcamp] I'm a […]
Experimental pop, experimental beats, ambient weirdness, Burroughsian cut-ups, remixed classical... LISTEN AGAIN and keep Sydney weird!(?) Podcast here or stream on demand @ FBi. Martha Skye Murphy - Need (ft. Roy Montgomery) [AD93/Bandcamp] Martha Skye Murphy - Kind [AD93/Bandcamp] I first heard English experimental singer/songwriter Martha Skye Murphy on a duo release with double bassist […]
Sound-art, experimental song, experimental beats, experimental ambient? Experimental guitar. Yeah, everyone's experimenting. Enrich your life! LISTEN AGAIN over at FBi's website, or podcast here. Sandy Chamoun - HAWALTOU حاولت [Dreaming Live] Badawi - Qaher [Dreaming Live] A week ago, a really big compilation came out from the organisation Dreaming Live, organised by the artist Mayss, […]
Another week, another selection of sounds from all over, this week encompassing very experimental indie songwriting and lo-fi hip-hop, glitched mashups, dreamy instrumental guitar-picking, fourth-world electronica, IDM, drumfunk & drum'n'bass, post-classical ambient... LISTEN AGAIN and run the gamut... Stream on demand from FBi, podcast here. Michael Ackroyd - Inseam [Michael Ackroyd Bandcamp] Michael Ackroyd - […]
Everything from groundbreaking postrock to glitch-jazz, auto-techno to bass musics fast & slow - and more. LISTEN AGAIN, you deserve it! Stream on demand from FBi, podcast here. Gastr Del Sol - The Seasons Reverse (live) [Drag City/Bandcamp] Gastr Del Sol - The Bells Of St. Mary's [Drag City/Bandcamp] It's almost impossible/unnecessary to describe Gastr […]
Sound-art, glitch, breakcore, jungle, bass, minimal electro-pop, acoustic arrangements of a glitch-drone classic... a lot to get through tonight! LISTEN AGAIN, I implore you - on FBi's stream on demand, or podcast here. Koichi Shimizu - Evenfall [Smalltown Supersound/Bandcamp] Koichi Shimizu - Imprint [Smalltown Supersound/Bandcamp] Unknowingly, when I previewed and immediately grabbed the new album […]
Spoken word, song, fizzling glitch & noise, post-thingy beats, electro-acoustic invention. It's Utility Fog. LISTEN AGAIN - and again and again... stream on demand at FBi's website or podcast here. Shellac - Prayer to God [Touch and Go/Bandcamp] Like everyone else, I woke up on Thursday and somehow picked up that Steve Albini had died! […]
We've got weird vocal manipulations, splattercore beats, amazing electro-acoustic and purely acoustic conceptions. LISTEN AGAIN via stream on demand on the FBi website, and learn how to mutate songs too. Or podcast here. Jan Jelinek - Social Engineering 1 (The narrative of the heritage) [Faitiche/Bandcamp] Jan Jelinek - Social Engineering 7 (A vague allegation & […]
Experimental song and experimental beats and sound-art, and even some experimental post-metal type sounds! LISTEN AGAIN via FBi Radio's stream on demand, or podcast here. Your life will be better for it. Deepchild - Kindness (Deepchild Interpolation) [Seppuku Bandcamp] The new EP from Eroa/Sydney's Rick Bull aka Deepchild draws on the work of Palestinian-American poet […]
Another week filled with everything from warped pop to complex beats, granular sound destruction to delicate acoustic recordings. LISTEN AGAIN and take notes this time (just kidding, the notes are all here)! Stream on demand from FBi, podcast right here. claire rousay - 4pm [Thrill Jockey/Bandcamp] claire rousay - it could be anything [Thrill Jockey/Bandcamp] […]
Vocals tonight used in myriad ways from glistening pop to visceral assaults... LISTEN AGAIN, I know, there's a lot to take in! FBi's website offers stream on demand, or you can podcast here. 9T Antiope - Ready Player One [American Dreams/Bandcamp] 9T Antiope - Canvas Blank [American Dreams/Bandcamp] Listeners of this show know I've been […]
It's been four weeks since I was last here! Three Sundays in Japan (amazing of course), in which the excellent Mara Schwerdtfeger kept you company - huge thanks to Mara! LISTEN AGAIN to all the things! Stream on demand at FBi or podcast here. Meril Wubslin - Pas là [Bongo Joe Records/Bandcamp] Starting with a […]
Powerful transformative voices, powerful voices transformed, transformative instrumentals, beats of power. This is my last UFog until April 7th, as I'll be in Japan for three Sundays! LISTEN AGAIN if you dare! Podcast here, stream on demand @ FBi. Kim Gordon - The Believers [Matador/Bandcamp] Kim Gordon - I Don't Miss My Mind [Matador/Bandcamp] The […]
Music of great beauty and mystery, rhythms of great propulsion. LISTEN AGAIN to the sign o' the times. Stream on demand at FBi, podcast here. Armand Hammer - Doves feat. Benjamin Booker [Backwoodz Studioz/Bandcamp] Following a flurry of collaborations, many of which I've played here, Armand Hammer have released a new song - except it's […]