When we got asked to play a gig in a colonial era women’s gaol with 10 metre high, 200-year-old sandstone walls covered in scars of its past life, our minds were immediately ignited with the spark of such an aura filled space- an archaeological site.

First of all the acoustics were obviously amazing. They make reverb plugin algorithms in places like this. The emotional intensity and “vibe” of the place was also overwhelming. It is rare especially in Australia for places to have that kind of gravitas.

We wanted to take advantage of such an acoustically and emotionally charged place. The first thing that came to mind was something we’d wanted to do forever: performance with string quartet.

Everyone loves strings. All musicians want to play with a string ensemble accompanying them. Arrangers and composers especially love writing for strings. A simple string pad is universally loved for its texture. It is somehow immediately comforting and inspiring. A soaring single note string melody is somehow so emotionally evocative for all.

Lucky for us our good friend and at the time housemate, Novak Manojlovic, is not only a great arranger and composer but more importantly comes from the instrumental improvisatory background GODTET come from. The challenge often being presenting music in notation to classically trained players in ways that can be easily cued and conducted in the never-the-same context of improvising.

GODTET improvised to what Novak was conducting the strings to do. Similarly Novak would conduct the string arrangements in response to the flow of the music.

As a result we have something quite rare: an organic, improvised yet cohesive and consonant performance with an acoustic string quartet and a 5 piece band.

It was a match made in heaven: Novak Manojlovic, using simplicity and clarity as a crucial aspect in his compositions and arrangements and conducting, marrying with GODTET’s supreme sensitivity as a unit, allowed the subtleties and quiet nature of a string quartet not only remain intact but be elevated by perspicacious accompaniment from GODTET.

It was a special night. No one really new what to expect- especially the audience. The air really was pregnant with anticipation. It can be felt in the hushed tones and background noise in the silence at the beginning of the recording.

For many attending and for the members of GODTET this was one of the most special concerts we had gotten to be a part of. After a lifetime of gigs we could safely say this was if not the best it was right up there. A special moment in time and our lives. We believe this is palpable in the recording. Join us in reliving that magical night.

Long live live performance.

GODTET is:

GODRIGUEZ: guitar. ANDREW BRUCE: keys. DOMINIC KIRK: percussion. JAN BANGMA: bass. TULLY RYAN: drums.

Strings:

Novak Manojlovic: Composer, conductor, additional synthesiser. Jack Ward: Cello. Phoebe Gilbert: Viola. Lydia Sawires: Violin. James Armstrong: Violin.

Auxiliary live effects and soundscape: JACK PREST

Produced: GODRIGUEZ

Recorded live in concert at Cell Block Theatre, National Art School, Darlinghurst, on June 1st 2022

Front of house engineer on the night: GEORGE SHERIDAN

Mixed: GEORGE SHERIDAN

Mastered: JACK PREST

Live Stage & Lighting Design: SAM WICKHAM

Photo: TOM WILKINSON

Design & Lettering: LUKE EBERT

SAPE026

Meditations is GODTET diving into our own minds, journeying together, by ourselves to where we wanted at the time to go.. There was a definite sense of wanting to abandon (albeit all unspoken) any of GODTET’s previous vibes and any other musical contexts we all often exist in. It is definitely a world where we, the musicians, can create a starting point and see where our minds take us. We wait either for ourselves or each other to see where we’d like to journey (or not journey) at all and be happy to sit put in one place for a while.

The Meditations are almost a reaction; A protest? - To having to do the normal thing as musicians we’re expected to do (Make a big good exciting thing now!) If anything it's a blueprint for the future of the GODTET “sound”, it is to be unexpected. “Expect the unexpected” is quite the cliche yet it’s probably the most fitting for what I foresee the GODTET future as sounding. Unbound by any expectations or contexts or having to repeatedly play music in any certain way - it feels almost like a manifestation of our freedom and personal agent to not be beholden to anything as musicians.

Meditations is the most open statement and platform GODTET has produced to date. Wiping the slate clean, this erasure allows us infinite possibilities.. Anywhere and everywhere to go from here... To be definable or restricted is the antithesis of what GODTET is about. GODTET PLAYS FOR ITSELF. Our own curiosity, pleasure, introspection, play, ourselves.

GODRIGUEZ: guitar. ANDREW BRUCE: keys. DOMINIC KIRK: percussion. JAN BANGMA: bass. TULLY RYAN: drums.

Produced: GODRIGUEZ

Recorded live with no overdubs

Mixed, co-produced, and mastered: JACK PREST

Artwork by Christopher Cooper

Animation by Sam Wickham

Design & Lettering by Luke Ebert

Track listing:

1. Meditation I

2. Meditation II

3. Meditation III

Released November 19th, 2021.

GODRIGUEZ: guitar, samples. ANDREW BRUCE: keys. DOMINIC KIRK: percussion. JAN BANGMA: bass. TULLY RYAN: drums.

Produced: GODRIGUEZ

Recorded live with no overdubs as one entire take

Mixed, co-produced, and mastered: JACK PREST

Design: LUKE EBERT

Track listing:

1. Mens Choir

2. Struck Bamboo Pipes No.2

3. Dub Horn

4. Caribbean

5. Morroco

6. Womens Choir

7. Mouth Harp

Released October 2nd, 2020.

"I’ve always wanted to make a triptych. I got obsessed with Francis Bacon and then wanted to make a musical triptych. When GODTET started I wanted there to be no preconceptions, the music and the sessions. I just wanted it to become what it was going to become and go where it was gonna go. I definitely didn’t plan a three part oeuvre. But here we are…

GODTET III feels like the distillation of the GODTET sound. It feels like the essence and definition of our sound... for now. Whilst the whole GODTET concept for me is about organic development and evolvement and to remain always searching, this album feels like the end of an era. Like everything is now for many people I think. Its been 3 years of very intensive playing, recording and gigging. The first record felt like an explosion of our minds meeting for the first time even though we’d all played together for years in various contexts. An explosive release from the lack of freedom in the musical contexts we’d previously been involved in.

The second record found us exploring improvising with a sample loop as a launch pad to playing. Marrying the worlds of beat production and improvised band. Then in reaction to only improvising we recorded a through-composed suite.

GODTET III saw us return to the beginning where we recorded purely improvised with no sample or composed or preconceived launchpads. It is interesting comparing the first record and GODTET III. Both came from open improv but are quite different. You really can hear a distinct subconscious concept of what the GODTET sound is or has become. You can hear 3 years of intensive playing, recording and gigging. GODTET III is the final album of this initial triptych where the GODTET sound was forged. It is the end of an era.

What best sums up GODTET is the fact that at the very same sessions for III we simultaneously were playing and improvising a brave new world for GODTET. You will hear this soon too. But for now let us relish in what has been the culmination of 3 intensive years as we present you the final piece of the GODTET triptych: GODTET III."

GODRIGUEZ: guitar. ANDREW BRUCE: keys. DOMINIC KIRK: percussion. JAN BANGMA: bass. TULLY RYAN: drums.

Produced: GODRIGUEZ

Recorded live with no overdubs

Mixed, co-produced, and mastered: JACK PREST

Design: Ashley Goodall

Track listing:

1. Intro

2. Neon

3. Sun

4. Cactus Dance

5. Moon

6. Film

7. Doof

8. Love Story

Released December 4th, 2020.

GODRIGUEZ: guitar, samples. ANDREW BRUCE: keys. DOMINIC KIRK: percussion. JAN BANGMA: bass. TULLY RYAN: drums.

additional keys: SIMON MAVIN

additional percussion recorded through SP303 effects: ZIGGY ZEITGEIST

vocals track 5: MARIAM SAWIRES

vocals track 9: HANNAH MACKLIN

Produced: GODRIGUEZ

Mixed, co-produced, and mastered: JACK PREST

Engineered: NICK HERRERA

Artwork: ASHLEY GOODAL

Track listing:

1. Max Lush

2. Blown Bamboo Pipes

3. Enumerating

4. Alice

5. Oubladi

6. Zawinul

7. Christ Gat God

8. Magnibro

9. Struck Bamboo Pipes

Released July 19th, 2019.

Andrew Bruce - Piano

Jan Bangma - Bass

Tully Ryan - Drums

Dominic Kirk - Percussion

Godriguez - Guitar

Produced by Godriguez and Jack Prest

Recorded live, no overdubs, in 2016 by Jack Prest, assisted by Antonia Gauci, at Studios 301, Alexandria, Sydney

Mixed and mastered by Jack Prest

Artwork by Ashley Goodall

Track listing:

1. Arp

2. Hekkaz

3. Ensueno

4. Hi

5. Comedy

6. Deluge

7. Maxlushcarlotta

8. Take Off

9. Jani Bangs!

10. Hahahhahah

11. Magnibro

12. Godtet

Released October 27th, 2017.