Artificial Organs

Artificial Organs evolved out of the Melbourne music scene in 1980s. They played at venues like Melbourne University and The Organ Factory; a creative incubator for various "little bands" whose avant-garde music focused on electronic and synthetic sound. Artificial Organs explored the potentials of innovative consumer tools for music and recording including Casio keyboards and drum machines, Korg synthesizers; Syndrums and the Akai four-track, quarter inch tape deck. The Memento Mori album was influenced by the zen elegance of rhythm-tracker Laurie McRae; the badboy-punk ethos of Ian Forrest, the driving bass of Nick Seymour (later superstar of Crowded House); the pop lyricism of Trisha Viggiano and Stephen Charlesworth (later with Kate Cerberano in I'm Talking.) Vocalist Lisa Dethridge organized a techno-chic video studio shoot with fellow students, making the band pioneers in the art of music video. Forrest sent a copy of the album to German band Kraftwerk who met with Artificial Organs members when Kraftwerk visited Melbourne in 1981. This meeting confirmed Artificial Organs as talented early exponents in the history of techno-electronica. Former members currently work across the digital arts in fields of music, performance, robotics and information technology.