Improvisation, Minimalism, Experimental | Formed 1987

Sydney's The Necks are one of Australia's most extraordinary musical exports, ranked number 49 in Rolling Stone Australia's "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time" in 2020. Formed by pianist Chris Abrahams, bassist Lloyd Swanton, and drummer Tony Buck, the trio pioneered long-form improvisation that defies categorisation, blending minimalism, krautrock, ambient, and jazz into 40 to 60-minute explorations. Their 1989 debut Sex established their approach: single improvised pieces built on gradual transformation of simple figures, inspired by minimalist composers like La Monte Young, Terry Riley, and Steve Reich.

Operating as a leaderless democracy, The Necks never rehearse and never repeat performances, beginning each concert with complete silence before one member starts filling the blank page. Across 20 studio albums including Hanging Gardens (1999), Drive By (2003), and the Rolling Stone-acclaimed double LP Unfold (2017), they've built a worldwide cult following. Studio albums involve multiple takes edited into single compositions, whilst live performances remain pure improvisation. Recent releases Travel (2023) and triple album Disquiet (2025) document their continued evolution, offering what critics describe as music "not entirely avant-garde, nor minimalist, nor ambient, nor jazz" but utterly unique.