Nick Allbrook

Nick Allbrook
Background information
Birth name	Nicholas Allbrook
Born	23 November 1987 (1987-11-23) (age 29) Subiaco, Western Australia
Origin	Fremantle, Western Australia
Genres	Psychedelic rock, funk, alternative rock, neo-psychedelia, glam rock, hard rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, flute, drums
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Modular Recordings
Associated acts	Pond Tame Impala Allbrook/Avery Mink Mussel Creek Peter Bibby

Nicholas "Paisley Adams" Allbrook (born 23 November 1987) is an Australian psychedelic rock musician, singer, songwriter. He is best known as frontman of Pond, and a member of musical duo Allbrook/Avery. He was a touring member of Tame Impala before leaving the band in 2013.

Biography

Early life

Born in Perth, Western Australia, Allbrook grew up in Fremantle for the first 4 years of his life. He then moved with his parents to Derby, a town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, where he lived until the age of 12.^[1] After spending 8 years moving around the Kimberley, Allbrook moved back to Perth where he spent the majority of his teenage life. Whilst living in Derby he attended Derby District High School.^[1]

Allbrook has a brother and sister, both "quite a bit older."^[1]

During the main part his life in high school, music never came up as an interest for Allbrook. He was focused on skateboarding from year 8 to year 11, then become invested in Soccer. Towards the even of year 12 he made friends with another student and started listening to music. At about the same time, his parents bought him a guitar, and he began to attend lessons with a local Perth teacher, though he has stated that he was "awful" at the time.^[1]

In 2007 he bought a flute off eBay, and figured out how to play by himself using the internet.^[1]

Career

Early

Whilst beginning to play in a school band with his friends, Allbrook was interested in and listening to a lot of The Who and Led Zeppelin. It was around this time that he started to write his own songs, but he did not begin to record his own music until a couple of years later when he had a tape recorder.

Electric Blue Acid Dogs / Mink Mussel Creek

in 2005 Allbrook's first serious band, Electric Blue Acid Dogs, formed out of his and his friends' interest in alternative music. To begin, the lineup was Allbrook, and his two friends Steve and Nathan. They performed blues covers and recorded songs on tape recorders.^[1] Later, the band were forced to change their name to Mink Mussel Creek enter in band competitions due to the drug reference ("Acid"). At the same time, they recruited Sam Devenport to be their drummer.^[1]

It was through one of these competitions in 2007 that Allbrook first met Kevin Parker, when Mink Mussel Creek battled the Dee Dee Dums (which would later become the basis of Tame Impala). Parker drummed for the band whilst they waited for Devenport to arrive, and the band decided that Parker should permanently become the drummer, allowing Devonport to pursue his acting career.^[1]

From 2007, Mink Mussel Creek, which finally settled as Nick Allbrook on vocals, Shiny Joe Ryan on guitar, Steve Summerlin on bass, Richard Ingham on synths and Kevin Parker on drums, slowly began gaining popularity in the Perth music scene.^[2]

In 2008, after receiving an AUS$10,000 government grant, Mink Mussel Creek recorded its first album. However, due to circumstances out of the band's control, primarily concerning a problematic producer and dysfunctional recording process, the album was never released.^[2] The album was eventually leaked on the internet under the title Kingdom Tapes,^[3] and the band members went their separate ways with other musical projects.

2011 saw Mink Mussel Creek reform and re-record their much awaited album, Mink Mussel Manticore. The album was recorded live at local Fremantle venue, the Norfolk Basement, and released on USB wristband. As of 2014, the album has also been reissued online and on vinyl.^[2][4]

Tame Impala

After supporting Parker as a live member of Tame Impala for 5 years (2008-2013), Allbrook departed the band to "screw his head back on" and focus on his other projects.^[5][6] His place as bassist was replaced by long time friend and fellow musician Cam Avery.

Pond

In 2008 Nick Allbrook, Jay Watson and Shiny Joe Ryan had the idea of an "ego-free project where they were able to get anyone they wanted to play whatever they wanted."^[7] That project was to be known as Pond. To date, Pond have 6 albums. Psychedelic Mango (2009), Corridors of Blissterday (2009), Frond (2010), Beard, Wives, Denim (2012), Hobo Rocket (2013) and Man, it Feels Like Space Again (2015).

The band, like many other of the Perth group's bands, features an ever-changing lineup. Currently, Pond is Nick Allbrook (keys, flute, vocals), Jay Watson (bass), Joe Ryan (guitar) and Jamie Terry (keys, guitar, bass)^[7] The band has also previously featured Kevin Parker (drums, 2008-2011, mixing and production, 2012–present) Cam Avery (drums, 2011-2014), Nick Odell (congas) and Richard Ingham (guitar.)^[7] Julien Barbagallo, current drummer for Tame Impala, occasionally fills in for bass guitar.

Allbrook/Avery

Allbrook/Avery is a musical project between Nicholas Allbrook and Cam Avery, formed in 2011. It began when Allbrook, homeless at the time, moved into the back room of Avery's house. They discovered a mutual love of lo-fi music and began writing together.^[8] He has stated that, "Allbrook/Avery’s just a lot more of a relaxed… gradual process of me and Cam writing songs and sharing them with each other and recording them with whatever people we see fit."^[1]

To date, the duo only have one album released, Big 'Art (2011). Another album, recorded with 4 members of The Horrors in one week in 2013, has been "filed away" with "no release date as of yet".^[9] Allbrook has said that he "doesn't know where it is", while Avery has said that it is in "post-production".^[10] A third album has also been mentioned.^[6]

Discography

as Nicholas Allbrook

• Ganough, Wallis & Fatuna (2014)
• Walrus EP (2015)
• Pure Gardiya (2016)

with Pond

• Psychedelic Mango (2008)
• Corridors of Blissterday (2009)
• Frond (2010)
• Beard, Wives, Denim (2012)
• Hobo Rocket (2013)
• Man, It Feels Like Space Again (2015)

with Mink Mussel Creek

• Mink Mussel Manticore (2011)

with Allbrook/Avery

• Big 'Art (2011)

References