Robots take over Northcote Social Club on 28 October, when The Sonobots plug in alongside an eight-piece human band.
The Sonobots: Arise! is the latest project from Hullick, an award-winning Australian composer and musician whose work leans hard on technology and surround sound. This time he’s handing part of the band over to machines. The question driving it is a fun one. What would a string ensemble made of robots sound like, and how do human players keep pace with it?
Expect a heavy industrial look onstage, with the music swinging between polished and rough. The machines already played the Sydney Opera House this year, and Northcote is where their push into Melbourne kicks off.
The Sonobots: Arise!
- Northcote Social Club, Northcote
- 28 October
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Hullick shares the stage with the BOLT Ensemble, a chamber group that has premiered his chamber and orchestral pieces since 2002. Several brand-new Hullick works get their first outing on the night. Belinda Woods is on flute and Gideon Brazil covers sax and woodwinds, while Ros Jones brings the trombone. Peter Neville sits behind the percussion, Zac Johnston takes strings and Karl Willebrant holds down bass. Hullick himself handles guitars, machines and electronics.
Trumpeter Peter Knight is billed as the night’s special guest. He and Neville are the two names Jolt singles out when it talks up BOLT’s pedigree, which makes for a lot of Peters in one band.
The Amplified Elephants open proceedings. The group is billed as Australia’s leading electronic ensemble of neurodivergent artists, and they’ll be back onstage later to perform with The Sonobots too. Jolt, the arts organisation behind the gig, pitches the night as a meeting point between disability-led creativity and assistive audio technology at the sharp end of machine music. Doors open at 7.30pm at 301 High Street, and the show is strictly 18+, so leave the kids at home with the toaster.
For more information, head here.
