Australian avant-garde trio The Necks have entered their 39th year with the release of their monumental twentieth studio recording, ‘Disquiet’, an ambitious three-disc set stretching across more than three hours of immersive, shape-shifting sound.
Recorded with the group’s trademark precision and care, Disquiet features four expansive pieces that explore the furthest reaches of The Necks’ collective intuition. Pianist Chris Abrahams, bassist Lloyd Swanton, and drummer Tony Buck continue to sculpt hypnotic and evolving structures that hover between jazz, minimalism, and experimental composition. The album’s meticulous detail and meditative focus showcase why The Necks remain one of Australia’s most respected and singular ensembles.
The band says Disquiet represents the full range of their current sonic palette. The project comprises two discs with one extended composition each, Rapid Eye Movement (57:07) and Ghost Net (74:00), and a third disc containing Causeway (26:06) and Warm Running Sunlight (32:15). Each track presents a different aspect of their soundworld, from the deeply interwoven polyrhythms of Ghost Net to the free-flowing improvisation of Rapid Eye Movement, recalling approaches used on their acclaimed double LPs Travel (2023) and Unfold (2017).
Warm Running Sunlight opens up to a horizon of found sounds and water-like cadences, while Causeway turns the recording studio itself into a fully realised instrument, layering and reworking textures into kaleidoscopic form. The result is music that seems to stretch time itself, encouraging listeners to explore each disc in any order.
For The Necks, the listening experience is an act of participation. The trio’s music thrives on the shared responsibility between performers and audience – a dialogue built on patience and attention. Disquiet invites that dialogue further, breaking down the conventions of sequencing and order to create a work that exists as both structure and space.
Formed in Sydney in 1987, The Necks have spent nearly four decades redefining what improvised music can be. Abrahams, Buck, and Swanton each brought extensive experience to the trio’s formation: Abrahams had played with Laughing Clowns and The Benders, Buck had performed in groups including Great White Noise and Pardon Me Boys, and Swanton had worked with Dynamic Hepnotics. Together, they developed a sound that defied the limits of traditional jazz, building long-form improvisations often lasting close to an hour, inspired by minimalist composers like La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Rhys Chatham, as well as the free jazz explorations of Cecil Taylor.
Their 1989 debut Sex introduced listeners to The Necks’ signature approach: a single hour-long piece constructed from piano, bass, and drums. Each subsequent release has expanded that concept while preserving their distinct aesthetic of gradual transformation and microscopic evolution. Critics have compared their hypnotic repetitions and evolving dynamics to the textures of Krautrock pioneers Can and Faust, as well as the tonal meditations of Philip Glass and Tony Conrad.
Across their career, The Necks have built a catalogue that merges improvisation with compositional architecture. Studio albums such as Drive By, Chemist, Silverwater, and Body have each earned international recognition for their innovation. Their soundtrack for the 1998 film The Boys was nominated for ARIA, AFI, and Australian Guild of Screen Composers awards.
In 2004 and 2006, The Necks took home the ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album for Drive By and Chemist respectively, with additional nominations for Silverwater, Athenaeum, Homebush, Quay & Raab, and Mosquito/See Through. The group also won APRA’s Most Performed Jazz Work for Drive By in 2005 and Chemist in 2006. In 2019, Body was shortlisted for APRA Song of the Year, and that same year The Necks were named Live Jazz Act of the Year at the National Live Music Awards.
Disquiet will be released 10 October 2025.
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first—Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube
Follow Noise11.com on social media:
Bluesky
Facebook – Comment on the news of the day
