H U G O R A C E

Hugo Race is a prolific performer, musician, writer and producer; his 2011 release, the critically acclaimed solo album 'Fatalists', was hailed in the international music press as a "masterpiece". Hugo's forthcoming releases in 2012 are:

'No But Its True', an acoustic album of covers of love songs, scheduled for release in April by ViceVersa Records, Italy, in limited edition vinyl. A CD version will be released later in the year by Rough Velvet Records, Australia.

'We Never Had Control', the follow up album to 'Fatalists', and featuring the Fatalists core musicians Antonio Gramentieri and Diego Sapignoli from Italian soundscape band Sacri Cuori, is scheduled for release in Australia in June by Rough Velvet Records, and in Europe through Gusstaff Records, Poland (CD) and Interbang Records, Italy, on vinyl.

Hugo's Italian project Sepiatone, together with Marta Collica, has a new album entitled 'Echoes On' ready for release but as yet no date has been fixed.

The band Dirtmusic Hugo founded with US musicians Chris Eckman (Walkabouts) and Chris Brokaw (Come/Codeine) have postponed their next recording in Mali, Africa, because of political unrest and September 2012 is slated for next recording sessions.

Hugo collaborated with Belgian musician and actor Catherine Graindorge on her forthcoming album The Secret of Us All, due for release in the European spring on dEPOT 214 Records.

Hugo will be touring solo in Europe in April/May 2012 for the release of No But Its True, check the tours page for upcoming performances.

A moving force in Melbourne's early eighties post-punk scene as frontman for Plays with Marionettes, Hugo Race was first introduced to the international stage as a founding member of Nick Cave's Bad Seeds (with whom he toured the world and appears on 5 albums and various other compilations and rereleases). Hugo left Bad Seeds in 1985 to found the seminal Australian cult band The Wreckery (reunited in 2008 for a national tour and the release of the retrospective album 'Past Imperfect').

In the 80's, Hugo appeared in movies like Dogs in Space and In Too Deep, is one of the writers of the feature film Ghosts of the Civil Dead, and performed and recorded with artists like Rowland S. Howard, Mick Harvey and Robert Forster.

Since 1988, Hugo has lived in Italy, France, Germany, UK and the USA, touring with his international True Spirit collective and producing 14 Hugo Race & True Spirit albums, the latest, '53rd State' (released in Australia on Spooky Records and in Europe on Glitterhouse Records) in 2008 to rave reviews, followed in 2009 by the album 'Live in Wolow Jail', recorded in a maximum security penitentiary in Poland. Hugo's accounts of his travels in music have been published locally by the Melbourne-based Overland literary journal.

Hugo is recognized internationally also for his collaborative projects including another dozen albums spread over several continents including;

'BKO' by Dirtmusic (recorded in Bamako, Mali, Africa, a cross-cultural excursion with the Tuareg group Tamikrest) (Glitterhouse Records, Germany)

Jeffrey Lee Pierce Sessions Project (Volume 2, Glitterhouse Records, Germany)

Italian based Sepiatone, with Sicilian singer Marta Collica (Minty Fresh Records, USA)

the French-American band Lilium (Glitterhouse Records, Germany)

the Berlin-based Rogall's Electric Circus Sideshow (Perfect Toy Records, Munich)

Hugo's 2010 album 'Between Hemispheres' is an instrumental mix of African instruments and edgy electronica recorded in Berlin and Mali, Africa (Gustaff Records, Poland)

the Italian multimedia project Merola Matrix (Desvelos Records)

the Brazilian Sao Paolo-based Moses Complex

the UK-based Pantaleimon (Durtro Records, UK)

the European 'supergroup' Songs With Other Strangers with PJ Harvey producer John Parish and Stef Karlens from dEUs

the Zurich-based instrumentalists Transfargo (RecRec Records)

Hugo has sung and performed in theatre for contemporary composers including Michal Jacaszek, David Chesworth ('Richter-Meinhof Opera'), kLimeK, Catherine Graindorge and Andree Greenwell ('The Hanging of Jean Lee'), and created soundtracks for film makers including Andrew Dominik, John Hillcoat, Stefan Popescu, Anna Bronowski and Nicolas Humbert.