Synergy Percussion
Marimbas lock and skins crackle as Synergy Percussion drives Edwards's Dragonfly Dance, Westlake's Kalabash and Malachite Glass, and Pratt's hocketing Fantasy. Australian percussion writing at full tilt.
Formed in Sydney in 1974, they play scores written for the group and make them move. On disc they set Sculthorpe and Cage beside Dave Samuels's vibraphone heat, fold bass clarinet into Westlake's bright Malachite Glass, and trade blows with Dale Barlow, Mike Nock and Chad Wackerman in Pratt's Alchemy. Kalabash is a serious romp for four players at two marimbas: West African swing carried with the verve that defines them. Lines hocket between stations; melody rides non-pitched skins and whistles as readily as keyed bars. The sound is tight, colourful and built for the body as much as the ear.
Synergy Percussion is featured on the following titles
Synergy With Samuels
This CD grew from a concert collaboration between Australia’s best-known percussion quartet and America’s finest vibraphonist, Dave Samuels. Together they cook up a storm.
Synergy Percussion also appears on
Nigel Westlake: The Hinchinbrook Riffs
Tall Poppies presents The Hinchinbrook Riffs: five chamber works by Nigel Westlake, whose amiable, approachable style has won him a wide and loyal audience in Australia and beyond.
Pratt's Alchemy
Percussion compositions by Daryl Pratt, one of Australia’s finest vibraphonists in classical and jazz settings, and a sought-after general percussionist.
An Australian Collection
Nineteen tracks drawn from the Tall Poppies catalogue, chosen to show the range and depth of Australian composition and performance across the label’s first decade.
Ecstatic Dances: Chamber Music, Vol. 1
One of Tall Poppies' most successful releases, this collection of Ross Edwards's chamber music sets his meditative sacred style beside the buoyant energy of his Maninya pieces.
Onomatopoeia
Long-awaited performances of Nigel Westlake’s most acclaimed chamber works, with outstanding Australian players. One of Tall Poppies’ most successful releases.
Members of Synergy Percussion
Michael Askill
Michael Askill's percussion colours Australian chamber music and film scores with marimba sparkle, log-drum drive and a keen sense of landscape. He is a founding voice of Synergy Percussion and a composer of his own rhythmic pieces.
Ian Cleworth
Ian Cleworth is an Australian percussionist, composer and teacher. After two decades as Principal Percussionist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra he became full-time Artistic Director of Taikoz, the Sydney taiko ensemble he co-founded in 1997.
Rebecca Lagos
Rebecca Lagos brings precise, colourful percussion to Australian chamber and film scores, from the icy landscapes of Westlake's Antarctica to the star-cluster cymbals of Georges Lentz and the dance energy of Ross Edwards.
Alison Eddington
Alison Eddington brings marimba and vibraphone into sharp focus, whether as half of the percussion duo Match or inside Synergy Percussion. Her playing thrives on colour, speed and the quiet extremes of contemporary Australian scores.
Colin Piper
Colin Piper's percussion colours chamber and orchestral scores with bite and space: Westlake's bright rhythmic drive, Lentz's star-cluster hush on cymbals, prepared-piano grit beside Synergy, and a conductor's hand when a full orchestra needs shaping.