Austudy Vinyl & CDs

Review: A fusion of sounds that come together to create this inimitable whole, Toyland marched out of the Australian rock & roll underground carrying totems by the pole-load. Post-punk, New Wave, pop, dub, Afro, ska - elements of multiple styles and genres are more than audible throughout, with Nicholas Hope, Analisa and Michael Hope doing their best to distill an entire era into a single four-tracker. Created amid a cultural explosion in Adelaide during the 1980s, although the city isn't the first on people's lips when thinking about the incredible music that came out during that decade, here's proof a celebration of eclecticism and a desire to rethink the rules of popular music was happening in those heady days, just as much as anywhere else in the Western world at that time.

Review: Ralph White's early ventures into disco are finally gathered in one place with the first official anthology of his 1978 recordings at Sydney's Albert Studios. Better known at the time as a session player and producer in the city's studio scene, White was tapped by M7 to craft four disco pieces aimed at an emerging dance market. Over just two days in the studio and a small group of local players - including a young Tommy Emmanuel - he recorded four standout cuts, together which remain some of the most refined Oceanian disco ever put to tape. Though the original 12"s saw limited success domestically, M7's distribution push into markets like Canada, India and Argentina helped cultivate a quiet cult following. Now remastered and housed in a deluxe spot-UV sleeve with inserts featuring new liner notes and White's biography, this reissue shines overdue light on a forgotten chapter in Australian dance music.