Sympathy Orchestra

Adelaide based SYMPATHY ORCHESTRA, originally a six piece with two drummers and two keyboard players formed in 1999 and held down a Thursday night residency at the Union Hotel for an unprecedented 6 years, packing in as many as 100 punters on a regular basis. Their first album, “Rest In Pieces”, was released in 2000 to critical acclaim, followed by performances at the Adelaide Festival, with Simi Roche’s Diwali Dance House and a production of West Side Story with the Centre For Performing Arts. Members were also involved in the soundtrack to Rolf De Heer’s film “Tracker”. 2004 saw SO reduced to a four piece, still playing high profile shows, as well as a new residency at the then Territorian Hotel. After a four year hiatus, SO are back with a monthly gig at the Whitmore Hotel and a new album, “Sword Machine”. Renowned for their high calibre musicianship and originality, SO’s four original members are:- Julian Barnett: Guitar, Ray Smith: Keyboards, John Appleby: Drums/Percussion and Istvan Nemeth: Basses