Northcore

Northcore is an Australian group led for much of its history by Carl Gibbons, with Jana Tillotson also part of the act as composer, performer and lyricist, alongside other collaborators and performers. The project begins as largely Carl’s solo work, then develops into a broader mix of styles. Its music draws on techno, trance, chillout, ambient, goa, psytrance and related electronic forms.

Origins and style

Carl Gibbons is born in Denmark and grows up in Melbourne, where he becomes involved in the city’s early techno and rave scene. Early influences include Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre, and later inspiration from The Orb and Pete Namlook pushes Northcore’s ambient material toward beat-driven tracks with heavy basslines. The project moves from techno, trance and chillout toward a wider sound that includes psy-trance and ambient elements.

Releases and labels

Northcore gains support from local labels and radio, including Kiss FM and Green Ant Records, and appears on compilations as well as through live radio sets and performances. The group has three releases on Green Ant Records over a three-year period. Carl Gibbons also records dance music under the name Little Loki, with that material issued worldwide and receiving national airplay in Australia.

Live work and festival appearances

Northcore is associated with the Melbourne psychedelic scene and plays regular gigs at Rainbow Serpent Festival and Earthcore. Other live performances include Dark Forest with the Kronik Krew in the Australian bush, and sets at venues and events including BassStation in Melbourne, Green Ant Fullmoon in Clunes, @mosphere in Melbourne, Baraka Chillathon in Oxfordshire, Halloween @ 666 in London, inSpiral Lounge in London, and the Glade and Waveform festivals in the UK.

Collaborations and other projects

Gibbons contributes sound effects, voice effects and music to Mutually Assured Destruction, a mod-pack for the computer game Half-Life. He also provides incidental music for Sounds Like Techno, a web documentary from the Australian Broadcasting Commission and Triple J FM. In addition, he co-writes, produces and live-mixes “Snow” with Diane Peters and Visnja Prtenjaca for the Gwendolynne exhibit at Melbourne International Fashion Festival, and he produces, engineers and remixes tracks from Visnja’s album Mermaid.

Later direction

Gibbons works on full-length albums for the U.S. ambient label Spotted Peccary and becomes involved in the London psy-trance scene. He has two tracks issued on UK psy-compilation albums, with more following in the same area.