Boorloo’s annual “experimental music bender” may now be entered into your calendars: Audible Edge ’25 will take place from April 3 – 6.
AE is a celebration of DIY and exploratory music culture on Whadjuk Noongar boodja. It has no genre affiliation and is home to all kinds of sonic strangeness. It has a boundless affection for the unhinged, the goofy and the peerlessly rigorous alike. It is about special music in settings that strive to be fun, friendly, safe, and accessible.
If 2024’s festival was something that shimmered and shined, AE’25 is the same but dropped in the mud. There is a flute under water, a women’s wartime song, a tiny rattling machine, the crackle of burning tree-stumps, a vulture’s wings cutting the air, a binaural recording of high-heels sinking into wet grass. Sometimes listened to from something soft and comfy, and other times in a much sillier context.
AE is about learning about where we are through those who have courageously dreamed of how this time and place could sound. It’s about learning how great our scene is by putting it on even-footing with international heavy hitters. And it’s about being on the side of artists, finding ways to support exploratory expression here.
If you've come before, we hope you'll be excited as us to block out the dates on your calendar. If you haven’t been before, we’d love to welcome you into this cool thing, and suggest you do the same. It's all really good, and flows in a way that takes care of you.
Come to our program launch party on February 26, 6pm - 9pm at Astral Weeks - its free.
“Am I still on planet earth or did we actually crash land on bizarro world?”
Rainy Colbert, Magazine6000, 2024
“this festival rocks”, “world-class”, “too good to be true”
punters, 2024
“Audible Edge is definitely now a must-see event on the Perth music calendar.”
★★★★★, Jonathan Marshall, Limelight Magazine, 2022
“Every aspect...seemed so meticulously crafted and flawlessly executed”
Tiffany Ha, SeeSaw, 2021
“Local label Tone List is now the go-to organisation for Perth experimental music...Audible Edge 2021 was a triumph.”
Jonathan Marshall, SeeSaw, 2021
Tone List are in a slow process of building concepts of accessibility and cultural safety into the foundations of how we operate. We work with peer artists Patrick Gunasekera and Zali Morgan towards these aims.
Some of the things we do include: clear communication about ventilation, sound volume and density, crowdedness, lighting, wheelchair access and terrain for each show. We don’t use strobe lights. We provide free earplugs and masks. We host shows with snacks and healthy food, and alcohol-free shows. We have shows that are kid-friendly, all-ages, and shows at times that are easier for parents to attend. We have party aunties on staff at busy shows. We put up content warnings.
Closer to the date, we open a portal for requesting specific access provisions at events (such as interpreters, or a wheelchair taxi between gigs). We have a budget for this. Feel free to get in touch with us if you’d like information about this in advance.
Audible Edge takes place on Whadjuk Noongar boodja: sovereign Country for eternity. We pay respects to Noongar birdiya (Elders) and custodians. We dream of a culture of sounding and listening which supports restorative justice and the Law of the land.
This website was designed by Alex Turner & Oli Rawlings. It is hosted on a renewable energy powered server on Malay land.
Audible Edge is presented by Tone List. It is funded by the Western Australian government through the Department of Local Government, Sports and Cultural Industries, the City of Melville, the City of Perth, and This is Fremantle.
Our international partners are the Goethe Institut, the Audio Foundation, Ater Fondazione, and the Swedish Arts Grants Committee Konstnärsnamnden.
Tone List’s partners for the 2025 program include Goolugatup Heathcote, WA Museum Boola Bardip, Wireless Hill Museum, STRUT Dance, The Blue Room Theatre, Astral Weeks, Sound Exploration Fremantle, Teeter Bakery, PS, and The Rechabite.
Tone List is sponsored by Pound Coffee and Local & Aesthetic.