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Jngbert Christian "Ian 'Ollie'" Olsen is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound designer. He has performed, recorded and produced rock, electronic and experimental music since the mid-1970s. His post punk groups included Whirlywirld (1978–80), Orchestra of Skin and Bone (1984–86) and No (1987–89). Olsen joined with Michael Hutchence (of INXS) to form a short-term band, Max Q, which issued an album in 1989. He co-founded, Psy-Harmonics, with Andrew Till, as an alternative electronic music record label. In 2014 he formed Taipan Tiger Girls.

Biography

Ian "Ollie" Olsen was born in Norway and grew up in Melbourne.^[1] He developed an interest in electronic music as a teenager in the mid-1970s, studying with Felix Werder.^[2] Olsen has issued a range of work from experimental to film and television soundtracks, pop and dance music, installation projects and has established record labels.^[1] According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, he is "recognised as one of the key figures in the Australian post-punk electronic movement of the late 1970s. Ever the experimentalist, Olsen's eclectic career in avant rock has taken him from the Reals, one of the original Melbourne punk combos of the late 1970s, through to the acid-house/techno/trance outfit Third Eye. He was also the driving force behind the innovative Psy-Harmonics label."^[1]

Melbourne in the 70s and 80s

In the late 1970s Olsen formed two punk, post-punk bands, as leader and vocalist, as well as being a key figure in the Melbourne little band scene. His punk bands included the Reals and the Young Charlatans.^[3] Aside from Olsen on guitar, the Reals' line-up was Peter Cave on drums, Gary Gray on lead vocals and Chris Walsh on bass guitar.^[1] At the end of 1977 he formed the Young Charlatans with Janine Hall on bass guitar, Rowland S. Howard on guitar (ex-Obsessions) and Jeffrey Wegener on drums (ex-Saints).^[1] Australian music journalist, Clinton Walker, described this band as having "inner-city 'supergroup' status from the outset and helped pioneer post-punk rock in Australia."^[1] They did not release any material. Howard had written his iconic song "Shivers" which they performed: it was later recorded by a group Howard joined soon afterwards, The Boys Next Door.^[1]

The Young Charlatans broke up in May 1978 and Olsen, on lead vocals, synthesiser and saxophone, formed Whirlywirld, with Andrew Duffield on synthesiser, John Murphy on drums (ex-the News), Dean Richards on guitar and Simon Smith on synthesiser.^[1] Their debut self-titled three-track extended play was released in June 1979 via Missing Link Records.^[1] Olsen wrote two tracks and co-wrote the third with Murphy.^[4] The group issued a second self-titled EP in February 1980.^[1] The first 500 copies also included a bonus single, "Sextronics", but Whirlywirld disbanded before it appeared.^[1][5]

Olsen and Murphy relocated to the United Kingdom in early 1980 on the recommendation of Iggy Pop.^[5]The Canberra Times' Jonathan Green reported that "The Ig was impressed with the band's first ep when out here last year."^[5] The duo formed the Beast Apparel, which later became Hugo Klang, and released a single, "Grand Life for Fools and Idiots", in 1982.^[1] Olsen returned to Australia in the following year and continued Hugo Klang with Alan Bamford, Tom Hoy and Laughton Ellery, before this group split up in 1983.

In 1984 Olsen on vocals and guitar, Marie Hoy on keyboards and vocals and Murphy as drummer formed "an avant-garde outfit", Orchestra of Skin and Bone.^[1] Marie Hoy had been and instigator of the Melbourne 'little bands' scene, as a member of Too Fat to Fit Through the Door and others. Other musicians associated with Orchestra of Skin and Bone included David Hoy on cello, Tom Hoy on saxophone, Lochie Kirkwood on vocals and saxophone, Dugald McKenzie on vocals and harmonica, James Rogers on trumpet and Peter Scully on guitar. They issued a self-title album in 1986 and disbanded soon afterwards.^[1] The following year, the same core members formed No, with Olsen on keyboards, vocals and sampler, Marie Hoy on keyboards, vocals, samples and Murphy on drums and percussion alongside Kevin McMahon on bass guitar and Michael Sheridan on guitar in 1987.^[1]

Dogs in Space to Max Q

Film director Richard Lowenstein asked Olsen to appear in and work as music director for his feature film, Dogs in Space (December 1986). Olsen supervised the reforming of acts from the late 1970s little band scene and produced music recordings for the soundtrack. He re-recorded material by Whirlywirld including two singles, "Win/Lose" (April 1987) as a solo effort, and "Rooms for the Memory" (February) by the film's star, Michael Hutchence (of INXS).^[1] The film also featured Marie Hoy singing "Shivers". In a 2009 interview, following the restoration of the original film for a DVD release, Lowenstein told Trevor Block:

But Whirlywirld were always the ones for me. I mean, their music is in the movie itself, over the end credits. And the great thing about Ollie [Olsen], and one of the reasons I asked him to do so much in the movie, is that his songs have always had a feel to them, a kind of mood that fitted in with what we were doing. You'd die to make a video for some of his songs, he uses so many great images, and the rhythms he uses are amazing as well.^[6]

In 1989 Olsen and Hutchence collaborated on a musical project, Max Q, producing a self-titled album combining electronic music with political paranoia.^[7] The Max Q band included Murphy, Michael Sheridan, and keyboardist Gus Till.^[8] After recording Olsen and Hutchence travelled New York City to mix the tracks with DJ, Todd Terry.^[7]

1990s onwards

Olsen returned to Australia and turned his attentions to trance music, co-founding Australian electronic music label, Psy-Harmonics^[9] with Gus Till's brother, Andrew Till, and recording under the name Third Eye. From the 1990s onwards, he has worked increasingly in film and sound design for television.^{[citation needed]}

Olsen has lectured on and taught electronic music at various universities and symposia, and has also performed with a wide variety of international artists.^{[citation needed]}

As of 2006, Olsen was working on a number of recording projects – mostly electro-acoustic pieces – with artists from Australia, Japan and South Africa, for performance and release in 2006. Olsen's musical output that year consisted of the release of the album, I Am The Server (13 February 2006), through the Greek record label, Creative Space, and the release of an electro-acoustic album, entitled Simulated. I Am The Server was composed, recorded and engineered by Olsen, with additional music from Bill McDonald and Peter Luscombe; the album was mastered by Simon Pool at LGM studios and the album artwork was produced by Maro Kassoti. Simulated was composed, performed and engineered by Olsen, between 1999 and 2006, mastered by Simon Pool at LGM studios, in January 2006, and the album artwork was, again, produced by Maro Kassoti.^[10][11]

List of past bands

Credits:^[1][12]

• The Reals (1977): guitar


• The Young Charlatans (1977–78)


• 
  Whirlywirld (1978–80): lead vocals, synthesiser, saxophone


• The Beast Apparel / Hugo Klang (1981–83)


• Lion Feed


• 
  Orchestra of Skin and Bone (1984–86): vocals, guitar


• 
  NO (1987–89): keyboards, vocals, sampler


• 
  Max Q (1989–90)


• Third Eye


• The Visitors


• Shaolin Wooden Men (band)


• Psyko Disko


• Antediluvian Rocking Horse


• I Am The Server


• Primitive Ghost


• Taipan Tiger Girls


• Spectral Electron Chromas


• Kitty Chrome


• Vanish from this state of Whatever

Collaborations and projects

• Nominated for Best Music Score for the movie Head On at the Australian Film Institute Awards (AFI Awards, 2001);


• Composed music and sound design for Troy Innocent's interactive installation Semiomorph (2001);


• Contributed the electronic component to Australian composer Richard Mills' acclaimed opera Batavia. (2001);


• Invited to be guest soloist with the Australian Art Orchestra (2002);


• Recorded with Japanese bands Boredoms and AOA (2001–2002);


• Performed original work Generative/Regenerative live at Sonic Residues with Andrew Garton, Justina Curtis and John Power;


• Composed sound for Andrew Garton's D3 installation at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI, 2003);


• Created sound design fx for Zhang Yimou's film House of Flying Daggers (2004);


• Performed numerous concerts as a member of Damo Suzuki's Network ensemble (2004–05);


• Performed as a member of the Terminal Quartet featuring Andrew Garton with Paul Abad and Ross Bencina (2006).


• Composed score for "The Loved Ones" 2009


• Composed score for "Birthday"2009


• Released two experimental albums with MEJU (Kalju Tonuma & Megan Bernard) - 2015 ^[13]
  


• Released debut album with Taipan Tiger Girls - 2015 ^[14]
  

References

External links

• SoundCloud page


• Psy-Harmonics Beatport profile


• Rowland S. Howard & Ollie Olsen: Interview on Music Around Us (1977)


• Michael Hutchence official site