Tsk Tsk Tsk

→ ↑ →

Company type	Collective
Industry	Experimental music, visual art, performance
Founded	1977 in Melbourne, Australia
Founder	Philip Brophy
Defunct	1986
Headquarters	Melbourne , Australia
Products	Music, visual artworks, films, video pieces, theatrical performances, multimedia installations, written works

→ ↑ → (articulated as three clicks and frequently misinterpreted as Tsk Tsk Tsk or Tch Tch Tch) was an Australian collective specializing in experimental music, visual art, and performance, established in Melbourne in 1977 under the leadership of Philip Brophy. This group engaged in creating music, visual artworks, films, video pieces, theatrical performances, multimedia installations, and written works.

History

Operating from the Clifton Hill Community Music Centre in Melbourne, → ↑ → functioned as an artist-managed venue dedicated to innovative sound art and avant-garde music. With Brophy performing on drums or synthesizer, the ensemble merged experimental soundscapes with film and live theatrical elements, investigating cultural aesthetics while working within limited financial means. Their approach reflected Roland Barthes' concept of The Death of The Author, focusing on demystifying artistic creation and conducting cultural critique. Their musical output integrated diverse genres such as minimalism, punk rock, muzak, krautrock, and disco—generally instrumental—thereby challenging traditional audience expectations.

Though primarily rooted in artistic environments like the Clifton Hill Centre and the National Gallery of Victoria, → ↑ → also shared stages with post-punk and new wave groups including The Boys Next Door at venues such as Melbourne’s Crystal Ballroom to engage a wider public.

Throughout its existence, the collective included over sixty contributors, featuring musician David Chesworth from Essendon Airport alongside visual artists Maria Kozic and Jayne Stevenson. The group rose to prominence in the early 1980s by participating in significant Australian exhibitions like Paul Taylor’s Popism at the National Gallery of Victoria (1982), the 1982 Biennale of Sydney, and Perspecta at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (1983). Artistically connected to Taylor’s network—including Juan Davila, Howard Arkley, and Jenny Watson—and his publication Art & Text, → ↑ → served as a bridge between Melbourne’s post-punk/new wave music scene and contemporary visual arts.

On the international stage, they exhibited at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts as well as Paris' Museum of Modern Art. In 1983, Brophy authored a retrospective volume titled Made by → ↑ →, credited jointly to the collective. The group disbanded soon after completing their 1986 European tour presenting Stills. Brophy maintained creative collaboration with Kozic until her relocation to New York City.

During 1982–83, Brophy (drums) and Traviato (saxophone) also contributed to recordings with the post-punk band Hot Half Hour led by Dean Richards.

Asphixiation: What is This Thing Called 'Disco'?

Premiering in 1980 at the George Paton Gallery, this performance and installation by → ↑ → incorporated large-scale screen-printed images from fashion magazines alongside instruments, tape decks, and neon lighting. The ensemble mimed to a disco album they had produced within five days and recorded by David Chesworth; this marked a departure with the inclusion of vocals and lyrics. After the presentation, Missing Link Records approached them to issue a single intended to achieve success akin to The Flying Lizards' "Money." The single "L'Acrostique D'Amour" backed with "The Crush" was released under the name Asphixiation but attained only modest sales. Subsequently, the album was launched on Brophy and Chesworth's Innocent Records label, which also reissued the single packaged with the album. This project offered a critique of disco’s commercialization and its function in consumer product marketing.

Legacy

→ ↑ →'s tracks have been included in numerous Australian underground new wave collections since the early 2000s. Both → ↑ → and Asphixiation are featured on Chapter Music's Can’t Stop It! series of compilations. In 2016, Andras Fox alongside Instant Peterson curated Midnite Spares, a collection emphasizing underappreciated avant-pop and electronic pieces released by Efficient Space, which included → ↑ →'s "Sedation" and Philip Brophy's MK Sound composition "Trust Me." Chapter Music re-released Asphixiation's What is This Thing Called ‘Disco’? in July 2017, supplementing it with additional content. From an artistic perspective, → ↑ → was part of the National Gallery of Victoria's 2013 exhibition titled Mix Tape 1980s: Appropriation, Subculture, Critical Style, which presented works from Paul Taylor's 1982 Popism exhibition alongside accessible listening stations featuring Asphixiation’s album.

Members

→ ↑ → operated as a dynamic ensemble with multiple significant contributors. The list below outlines the individuals involved, though their exact periods of involvement differ.

Key members

• Philip Brophy – drums, synthesiser (1977–1986)
• Ralph Traviato – saxophone, synthesiser (1977–1983)
• Leigh Parkhill – guitar, synthesiser (1977–1983)
• Maria Kozic – synthesiser (1978–1986)
• Jayne Stevenson – synthesiser (1978–1983)

Participants

• Anthony (Anthe) Montemurro – synthesiser (1977–1978)
• Alan Gaunt – synthesiser (1977–1978)
• Ernie Althoff – saxophone (featured on Wartime Art 1980)
• Kim Beissel – saxophone (Wartime Art 1980); actor (No Dance 1985, Stills 1986)
• Frank Bendinelli – video production (Spaces 1981)
• Robert Randall – video production (Spaces 1981)
• Rod Bishop – film production (No Dance 1985)
• Melanie Brelis – actor (Stills 1986)
• David Chesworth – synthesiser, actor (Stills 1986)
• Ian Cox – saxophone
• Paul Fletcher – drums
• Robert Goodge – guitar
• Barbara Hogarth – bass guitar
• Philip Moreland – participant (1983)

Bibliography

Albums

• Live (double-cassette, 1980)
• Live Vol. 2 (double-cassette, 1980)
• Caprice (December 1980, Present Records)
• Spaces (October 1981, Innocent)
• No Dance (soundtrack, 1982, Present Records)
• "What Is This Thing Called 'Disco'?" (as Asphixiation) (December 1981, Innocent; reissued July 2017, Chapter Music)

Extended plays

• Venetian Rendezvous (April 1979; repress May 1979, Innocent)
• Nice Noise (September 1979; repress November 1979, Innocent)
• → ↑ → (March 1980, Innocent)
• Sound Tracks (1983, Present Records)

Singles

• "Pop Art" (split single with Eric Gradman: Man & Machine) (December 1979, Crystal Ballroom)
• "L'Acrostique D'Amour" b/w "The Crush" (as Asphixiation) (February 1981, Missing Link; repress December 1981, Innocent)

Compilations

• New Music 1978/79 (1981, Innocent) featuring "Oomgawa Wana Tuba Bibi"
• New Music 1980 (1981, Innocent) featuring "Various Levels"
• Can't Stop It! (2001, Chapter Music) featuring "One Note Song"
• Inner City Sound (2005, Laughing Outlaw Records) featuring "Pop Art"
• Can't Stop It! II (2007, Chapter Music) featuring "The Crush" (as Asphixiation)
• Midnite Spares (2016, Efficient Space) featuring "Sedation"

Filmography

In 1982, a music video for "Aural Risk" by → ↑ →, performing as Asphixiation, was produced and broadcast once on Australian television. This video was later made available on YouTube by Chapter Music in April 2017 to coincide with the album's re-release.

Between 1978 and 1982, ten Super 8 films created by → ↑ → were subsequently converted to videotape, totaling 136 minutes in duration. This compilation is attributed to Philip Brophy along with the Tch Tch Tch performing arts collective:

• Super 8 films produced by Tch Tch Tch
  • Phantom No. 362 – 29 minutes
  • Suspense/Play – 13 minutes
  • Selected scenes from Contracted Cinema – 12 minutes
  • 1980 Moscow Olympics Opening Ceremony on HSV7 – 9 minutes
  • The Celluloid Self – 13 minutes
  • Romantic Story – 20 minutes
  • I-You-We – 6 minutes
  • Caprice – 4 minutes
  • Selected excerpts from Muzak, Rock and Minimalism – 10 minutes
  • No Dance – 20 minutes

See also

• Essendon Airport

References

General

• Note: The archived online version has restricted capabilities.
• Note: The online edition was established by White Room Electronic Publishing Pty Ltd in 2007, expanding upon the original 2002 publication.
• Maria Kozic: The → ↑ → Installation, University of Tasmania, 1983

Specific