1 9 9 0 s  h i s t o r y

LIFE ON A BED: Scats refuse to lie down

[1990] Always able to draw great sounds from their assortment of analogue synths and cassette recorders, Scattered Order was slow to embrace digital sampling. Now given time to explore the process, they happily began to subvert its uses.

[1991] Their use of sampling technology finally appeared in CD form on Professional Dead Ball. An album of extremely dense, layered sound, it was Tim Whitten's task to avoid noise overload. The new technology brought instant and inexpensive results, but did not reduce the gap between releases. Dead Ball was not released until 1991, and Scattered Order had by now exhausted Volition's ability to find a key to their successful promotion.

[1992] Although a Tom Ellard (Severed Heads) remix of the Dead Ball track Sheer appeared on their 1992 dance compilation High, Scattered Order failed to engage further interest from Volition. Asleep in the Knife Drawer, a new project involving empathetic drummer Mark Dawson, known for his flawless work with Ed Kuepper, would remain unreleased for the next five years.
April 1992 and February 1993 saw only two live appearances of the band.

[1995] Work on new songs went forward in 1995, the band enlisting Brisbane-based guitarist Brian Mann, (Ed Kuepper, Lime Spiders, Kcrunch) and Mark Dawson in the early stages of the project. Geographical distance made progress difficult, and the thwarted progress of Knife Drawer added to the inertia.

[1996] In 1996, Mitch and Dru began to combine some unrecorded songs with new ones at Clothwork Productions, a studio facility of Matt Crosbie, long time sound engineering associate, and Suzie Higgie, of old labelmate The Falling Joys. Invaluable guitar assistance from wry but affable Paul Doherty (The Johnnys) brought a new element to the sound. Mark Dawson, Brian Mann and Craig Robertson appeared via long distance digital collaboration.

[1997] The resultant nine songs, mixed by Tim Whitten, became the CD Chicken Hilton. In a return to the spirit of M Squared, Scattered Order once again became owners of their own recording destiny by setting up the label Rather be Vinyl.
The launch of Chicken Hilton saw the Scats back on stage after a long absence, with Paul Doherty, now a member, adding his towering, melancholic guitar.
1997 also brought the first performance of Lint, an ambient collaboration between Tim Whitten and the Joneses.
The paths of Severed Heads and the Scats reconverged when Asleep in the Knife Drawer was released through Sevcom's Museum Shop, Tom Ellard's initiative to retrieve "lost" recordings, including several M Squared releases. Sadly, this valuable service has now been discontinued.

[1998] With reasserted vigour, the band released the cassette Free Sandy Nelson/Brother Number 1 early in the year, as a between-albums snapshot, before beginning work on Pretty Boffins. The sound was again shifting, to dark and dubby ground. Performances in 1998 included Scat's first Melbourne shows in 10 years.

[1999] Production on Pretty Boffins was completed, with release pending. The band did not perform live in '99, although Lint made an appearance with colleagues The Loop Orchestra which may soon see CD release. Work on a new Scats album got underway.
Approaching their 20th anniversary, with principal drive and inspiration Mitch Jones the only original member, Scattered Order's perverse desire to continue seems stronger than ever. The value of a sense of humour can never be underestimated.