GANGgajang - Sounds of Then (This is Australia) Analysis

Landscape can be constructed through purely musical means, such as particular harmonic progressions and the prolongation of diatonically dissonant sonorities... to create the impression of temporal suspension, a musical effect which suggests depth and perspective, or it can be evoked through the innovative use of conventional musical signifiers such as herding calls and echo effects to suggest space and distance (Grimley 2006, p. 109).

GANGgajang’s minor 1985 hit ‘Sounds of Then (This is Australia)’ “is actually about how smells and sounds and sensations can rekindle a memory – which is what music does so successfully for people” (Callaghan, cited in Kruger 2002). The memory that composer Mark Callaghan tries to convey is that of his time as a teenager living in Bundaberg, Queensland in 1972, and the accompanying cultural shock, as he had previously lived in England, and before that Africa, which resulted in him experiencing the area from an outsider’s perspective, heightening the experience by being able to compare locations and note their differences and similarities (GANGgajang 2008; Callaghan, cited in Kruger 2002).

Above all, landscape in the Western tradition is not natural, something created by nature without human intervention, but a series of environments, characters (moods or feelings), views or perspectives that are artificially constructed and perceived. (Grimley 2006, p. 56)

Callaghan takes note of Grimley’s observations on landscape, as the repeated lyrical soundmark “this is Australia” is precluded with “we... laugh and think” (emphasis added), indicating that the Australia portrayed within the song is merely the Australia the ‘we’ of the song perceive. Callaghan focuses on capturing the familiar – the physical features of the land, the people there with him, and the distinctive sensory aspects of the area and the memories, moods and feelings that the place evokes. However, the song has now been appropriated to represent the entire country of Australia, evolving from a local identity to a national one that does not necessarily apply to the entire country (Douglas 2000). In fact, ‘Sounds of Then’ was used in a 1988 Coca-Cola television commercial to sell the American drink to Australians and Canadians (Douglas 2000; angusjmp 2006; pelepollo 2007).



Callaghan draws not only on the soundscape of Bundaberg, but on every sensory perception, attempting to convey the full experience of the area through the song (“That certain texture, that certain smell”). Opening with a clash of cymbals signifying “the lightning crack over canefields”, the song has a distinctly electronic sound, befitting the music scene at the time of its release, though Callaghan notes that “[m]usically speaking [Bundaberg] was the pits” (GANGgajang 2008). The lack of musical stimulation that he experienced is reflected in the repetitive riff of the electric guitar and short, staccato keyboard chords, which vary very little to illustrate his monotonous musical experience there.

The steady beat and predictable instrumentals are reminiscent of the sluggish, unchanging landscape, the drums counting time, reminiscent of how one would watch a clock and count the seconds passing. The guitar reverberates strongly throughout the chorus, serving as a distinctive soundmark and having the effect of an echo to illustrate the wide open land. It also assists in giving the song a rough sound, echoing the land.

The electric piano plays a melodic riff in a higher register creating a contrast between the rest of the piece and providing a bright, light tone colour. The open, almost flappy, loose drum tone gives the feeling of an open plain – of improvised, raw music, lack of precision and perfection making it very casual. This type of drumming is also used in ‘I Come From A Land Down Under’, in which drums are very important and prominent in the portrayal of Australian culture (and how an Australian carries a part of the Australian landscape with them wherever they go).

A soft, constant, metallic twang of a guitar in the background emulates the sound of light rain falling on a tin roof or glass windows. These guitar trills in the higher register provide contrast to the rest of the song, particularly the bass, drums and electronic piano, which are lower. This contrast assists in portraying the humidity that is such a central piece of imagery in the song (“And the humidity we’d breathe”), as humidity is born of heat combined with cooling water – contrasting opposites. The bass and drums represent the throb of heat, while the light, quick plucking of the guitar represents the rain.

In the outro, Indigenous Australian instruments can be heard, particularly hand drums (still loose), which do not fall in any set rhythm, like random heavy raindrops. The squawk of a didgeridoo replicates the caw of a crow, utilising imitation of birdsong to reinforce the setting and leave the listener with a strong last impression of a natural Australian landscape. This is a common technique in both Indigenous and white Australian music, John Williamson also utilising it in ‘Home Among the Gum Trees’, imitating a kookaburra, sheep and the ‘boing’ of a kangaroo jumping. In ‘Sounds of Then’ these musical signifiers are added to the continued reverberating electric guitar, its fluctuating tone illustrating how hot, heavy, humid conditions can cause people to perceive the entire landscape as throbbing in the heat. This throbbing is constant throughout the piece through the steady drum beat, akin to a heartbeat.

‘Sounds of Then’ portrays a very masculine image, the focus overwhelmingly more on lyrical substance than style as the song originating as a poem (Kruger 2002). The vocals casually hover between singing and speaking and the words are almost drawled, projecting an air of familiarity and relaxation, the vocalist feeling no need to show off. Pitch becomes indefinite as the vocals become spoken. “The boundaries between speech, music and other sound have weakened” (van Leeuwen 1999, p. 2). This also assists in perpetuating the image of a hot landscape, the vocalist appearing too hot and tired to put too much effort into forcing strong emotion into the song.

Australia is portrayed as wild, hot, muggy and rural – there is no mention of the city landscape, and every sense is heightened. Themes of shared experiences and camaraderie are prevalent particularly in the lyrics, which always refer to the collective “we”, while the instruments paint the soundscape of a hot and dry yet wet and muggy day.