PANOPTIQUE ELECTRICAL
is an Australian quartet.
Jason Sweeney: keyboard, piano
Tristan Louth-Robins: electronics
Jed Palmer: guitars, electronics
Zoe Barry: ‘cello, treatments
Formed in 2007 by Sweeney – who has been composing sound and music scores for live theatre, dance, film/video and installation projects since 1998 – the band has released two critically acclaimed full length albums on Melbourne imprint, Sensory Projects. Let The Darkness At You (2008) and Yes To Fear, Yes To Desire (2009).
Their live shows comprise of 30-60 minute sets based partly on structured compositions, improvisations and field recordings made site-specifically, and on the day, of the scheduled performance.
Geoffrey Gartner wrote in Resonate Magazine:
“Using the rich, open C-string of the cello as a tonal basis, the Panoptique quartet slowly established a thick wash of pulsating, reverb-drenched sound. In this near beatless sonic environment, the melodic content was the controlling element, with Jason Sweeney dictating the musical flow with mellifluous dyads from his MIDI keyboard. These melodic droplets fell on an undercurrent of elongated instrumental samples and processed cello and electric guitar tones. There was a real sense of cohesion to Panoptique’s sense of ensemble, aided by an implicit sense of communication amongst the four players.”