Historical Account
Doggox n. (pl. –doggoxen) An allusive and elusive mythical creature born out of local contemporary youth culture. It’s not unlike Arthur Boyd’s Ram-ox: (see RAM-OX) Doggox Art Orchestra n. A 20 piece orchestra named after the afore mentioned creature, with a predisposition for poly-rhythmic musical textures. |
Doggox Art Orchestra was formed
in 2002 by brothers Nick and Pippin Kenworthy who have more than 25
years combined musical experience. Pippin Kenworthy was the musical
mastermind behind Flux Capacitor.
The 20 piece ensemble is made up of Western Australia's premier musicians playing brass, wood-wind, strings, guitar, bass, drums and percussion tied together with operatic female and funk rock male vocals. Doggox combines an extensive range of musical styles to create technically challenging yet soulfully entertaining compositions. The band is primarily devoted to performing original works by young Australian composers. Doggox’s all-star lineup features some of WA's best jazz and classical musicians with great soloists that can really blow a horn! - Ben Phillips –M Mus Improvisation; Mike Cartwright - conductor of WAYJO and Adrian Kelly -creator of The Collective; Robyn Sarti and Matthew Hoy from West Australian Symphony Orchestra. All of these great players are
brought together by the challenging nature of the Doggox repertoire.
"If Doggox were a straight funk band it wouldn’t exist because
it never would have captured the interest of so many of Perth's top
musicians - It’s the diversity of the music that has bought us
together." The audience is kept on the ball through stylistic fusion - styles they know and recognise are combined in a unique way that people have not heard before. The band members are ready, willing and able to push the limits of form and break the boundaries of style. Musicians are included from many musical backgrounds in order to maximize the potential for stylistic diversity. The music pushes the boundaries of how music is written and played whilst exploring many contemporary themes: positive and negative lifestyle choices; religion; politics; terrorism; the environment; and the uncertainty of the modern world. The works conform to musical structures whilst embracing the freedom of jazz improvisation, which is why the music has such a feel good vibe and a lot of soul. Although the orchestra's main focus is to perform works written by WA's young composers, it is also working on new arrangements of Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa Charles Mingus and Charles Ives classics. Past performances have include Artrage closing party 2004, Club Zho 2003 & 2004, WAMi world music showcase 2003. Doggox Art Orchestra’s debut CD will be released on the 23rd of April.
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©2005 Doggox Art Orchestra