Peter Long - Australian singer, songwriter, instrumentalist and sound engineer - Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia

A brief history...

Born in Adelaide, South Australia, Peter’s earliest introduction to music was via ABC radio, Saturday morning video clips, his mother's classical records and his uncle's collection of 1960s rock and folk vinyl. Inspired by the bright colours and soundscapes of 1960s pop and psychedelia, he experimented with several instruments before arriving on guitar and eventually bass, drums and piano. Upon receiving a four-track reel to reel tape recorder for his eighteenth birthday, he experimented with varispeed and turning the tape backwards to create abstract soundscapes and demo recordings for friends.

Peter served his apprenticeship as lead guitarist for Adelaide pop outfit Primitive Painters (1987-90) releasing the Sea Of Art album through Greasy Pop/Festival Records in 1990, touring Sydney and Melbourne in the same year. He went on to collaborate with ex-Painter Greg Vincent in the darker experimental electro-pop of Puppethead (1991-2003) releasing two albums, Lizardland and Breathe through German label Zuma. After a brief stint as lead guitarist with power-pop outfit Colourwheel (opening the 1994 Big Day Out) Peter relocated to Melbourne in '96, playing drums and bass in Matt Daltons' The Bright Electric and then moved to Sydney in '98, where he formed the power pop Resounder (1999-2000) with singer Pat Loughry and ex-Ratcat bass player Amr Zaid, as well as playing drums for Zaid's outfit, Ampersand.

Peter promoted Puppethead in the U.S. and U.K. in 2000 and upon returning to Sydney in 2001 teamed up with Resounder drummer Rene Arriagada and bass player Jo Herbert to form the avant-pop Bümbüm (2001-2003), amusing Sydney audiences with an oddball approach to indie rock, eastern tonalities and electronic toys. Bümbüm would eventually headline at the Annandale Hotel, but due to internal differences disbanded in 2003. Peter relocated to the Blue Mountains to regroup and soon rediscovered his love of vocal harmony by joining the infamous mens a capella ensemble the Spooky Men's Chorale (2004-) and is still a performing member.

In early 2004 he committed a backlog of songs to tape at Megaphon Studios in Sydney and with the help of ex- Painters drummer Andy Przygonski and engineer Steve Fieldhouse, recorded the album Midday Sun in 2006. Mastered by Don Bartley, Midday Sun was released in mid 2007 to glowing reviews and the song Melody's Fate took out the Alternative Music prize at the Blue Mountains Music Awards later that year.

He currently performs with The Winstons, psychedelic soundscape ensemble Paper Sun and the Spooky Men's Chorale. In 2014 Peter completed a first class honours degree in Music at Western Sydney University, taking out the university medal and almost immediately commenced doctoral research into the experience of spatio-temporal suspension in popular music and imagery, graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy in 2022.