Phoenix & Wegener met at various gigs throughout the years, ATP (Cockatoo Island) was one of those gigs and the last show of Rowland S. Howard (Young Charlatans).
Their last meeting in Berlin 2024 solidified their curiosity to work together.
The recording is at the tail end of a long trajectory of empty broken bottles, cigarette stubs and a highway littered with mangled bodies, hearts and minds…
The forthcoming original album ‘CINEMATIC LOVE’ is s’posed to be complete by the end of March 2026.
In 2025 they released a memento of their first time playing together. The 4-track demo’s aptly entitled DEMOLition.
Fresh off the plane from Berlin (2025), they recorded in a room stained with the scent of fruity vapes upon the worn out carpet in a womb of street mattresses as a way of sound proofing. They were in the capable hands of legend Bruce Callaway (The Triffids et al.)
During the year they recruited Jeff Hooker (Kim Salmon) and Ken Gormley (The Cruel Sea) on bass. Osker Bickford aka ‘Wolf” (Brian Henry Hooper) on guitar.
Early 2025 saw the pair alongside “Hunter’s & Collectors” founder Jack Howard on trumpet. Others who joined the lineup are: ex-Laughing Clowns saxophonist, Bob Freebrain, Bronwyn Henderson (Mick Harvey/The Spoils) violin, and Kevin McMahon (Bigger Than Jesus…)
Phoenix previously collaborated with Mark Plati (David Bowie, Lou Reed, The Cure) on her previous European release 'The Glorious Dead.’ Belle had been stationed in Finland during the covid years enjoying the isolation, spending time writing new material. While she was taking driving courses on how to drive on ice she managed to release The Glorious Dead album on vinyl available through Beast Records in France and via the Belle Phoenix bandcamp page.
Phoenix lived for several years in Europe and played various shows recruiting players in Finland, France and Berlin with Chris Hughes of Hugo Race & The True Spirit / Crime & The City Solution on drums, along with Maria Zastrow - Kid Congo, Blixa Bargeld, Nick Cave.
Chris Hughes (drums, percussion) is a core member, founder of Hugo Race & The True Spirit.
Back home in Melbourne, Australia, they formed a trio supporting Mick Harvey (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) & Amanda Acevedo.
Wegener and Phoenix were part of the Hopetoun Hotel in Sydney - Wegener played alongside Mick Turner (Dirty Three)
