Biography
Though scarcely recognized beyond Australia's borders and only modestly familiar inside them, Extradition produced one of the stronger cult folk-rock efforts of the early 1970s on their sole release, the 1971 album Hush. The record might readily pass for a British acid-folk set of its era, blending melodic contours and song structures reminiscent of borderline folk-rock figures such as Bert Jansch and Pentangle, yet the lyrics and certain instrumental choices veered away from the deeper well of traditional British folk that shaped Jansch's work. While built primarily on acoustic foundations, the arrangements drew on an unusually wide instrumental palette—harpsichord, cello, harmonium, dulcimer, organ, flute, chimes, gongs, tablas, glockenspiel, and additional colors—to lend the haunting material both classical weight and occasional flashes of musique concrète-style experimentation.
One piece, “Original Whim,” dispenses with conventional song form altogether, relying solely on an array of percussion that includes stones, sticks, palm leaf, Chinese and Turkish gongs, a Lebanese bell tree, and a handful of more standard implements. The words, echoing much contemporaneous British acid folk, repeatedly invoke elemental imagery of sun, sky, moon, and water, while certain passages also bear the imprint of spiritual teacher Meher Baba. The music is not uniformly esoteric, however, thanks in large part to Shayna Karlin’s clear, earnest soprano, which recalls the delivery of numerous British female folk and folk-rock singers. Overall the album surpasses many folk-rock and psychedelic efforts of the period that later commanded greater attention from collectors.
The band’s brief history is more tangled than most short-lived groups’. Its origins trace to the late-1960s Sydney folk duo formed by Colin Campbell and Colin Dryden; an album’s worth of recordings made in 1969 has since vanished. Early in 1970 Karlin, who had previously collaborated with Dryden, expanded the partnership into a trio that sought to move past strict traditional-folk confines toward more personal expression, adopting the name Extradition. Percussionist Gerry Gillespie and bassist Steve Dunston augmented the lineup for a single appearance at the Fourth National Folk Festival in Sydney in March 1970. Six songs from that concert—only one of which later appeared on the studio album—were included on the CD reissue of Hush; they reveal both continued nods to tradition, via covers of material by Tom Paxton and Leroy Carr, and a growing move toward a more distinctive voice.
Roughly a year later, when Hush was recorded, further lineup shifts had occurred. Dryden had departed, leaving Campbell—who authored most of the band’s songs—and Karlin as the core, now joined by percussionist Robert Lloyd. During a 1970 tour Extradition had become acquainted with the Australian progressive-rock ensemble Tully, and two of its members, Richard Lockwood and Ken Frith, contributed to the album as guests. Lockwood in particular functioned nearly as a fourth member, appearing on the majority of tracks and supplying harmonium, bamboo flute, recorder, and violin among other instruments.
Nevertheless, by the time Hush appeared on the Australian Sweet Peach label in June 1971, Extradition had already disbanded, with Campbell and Karlin both moving into Tully. That group itself dissolved at the close of 1971, its alumni pursuing separate endeavors; Karlin later sang in the mid-1970s with Baton Rouge, whose membership included Christina Amphlett, subsequently of the Divinyls.
One piece, “Original Whim,” dispenses with conventional song form altogether, relying solely on an array of percussion that includes stones, sticks, palm leaf, Chinese and Turkish gongs, a Lebanese bell tree, and a handful of more standard implements. The words, echoing much contemporaneous British acid folk, repeatedly invoke elemental imagery of sun, sky, moon, and water, while certain passages also bear the imprint of spiritual teacher Meher Baba. The music is not uniformly esoteric, however, thanks in large part to Shayna Karlin’s clear, earnest soprano, which recalls the delivery of numerous British female folk and folk-rock singers. Overall the album surpasses many folk-rock and psychedelic efforts of the period that later commanded greater attention from collectors.
The band’s brief history is more tangled than most short-lived groups’. Its origins trace to the late-1960s Sydney folk duo formed by Colin Campbell and Colin Dryden; an album’s worth of recordings made in 1969 has since vanished. Early in 1970 Karlin, who had previously collaborated with Dryden, expanded the partnership into a trio that sought to move past strict traditional-folk confines toward more personal expression, adopting the name Extradition. Percussionist Gerry Gillespie and bassist Steve Dunston augmented the lineup for a single appearance at the Fourth National Folk Festival in Sydney in March 1970. Six songs from that concert—only one of which later appeared on the studio album—were included on the CD reissue of Hush; they reveal both continued nods to tradition, via covers of material by Tom Paxton and Leroy Carr, and a growing move toward a more distinctive voice.
Roughly a year later, when Hush was recorded, further lineup shifts had occurred. Dryden had departed, leaving Campbell—who authored most of the band’s songs—and Karlin as the core, now joined by percussionist Robert Lloyd. During a 1970 tour Extradition had become acquainted with the Australian progressive-rock ensemble Tully, and two of its members, Richard Lockwood and Ken Frith, contributed to the album as guests. Lockwood in particular functioned nearly as a fourth member, appearing on the majority of tracks and supplying harmonium, bamboo flute, recorder, and violin among other instruments.
Nevertheless, by the time Hush appeared on the Australian Sweet Peach label in June 1971, Extradition had already disbanded, with Campbell and Karlin both moving into Tully. That group itself dissolved at the close of 1971, its alumni pursuing separate endeavors; Karlin later sang in the mid-1970s with Baton Rouge, whose membership included Christina Amphlett, subsequently of the Divinyls.
Albums