“Rhibosome come out with a rich tapestry of beats to rival some Nu Yorican grooves” said UK-based mag DJ Magazine, and for Dave McKinney, Clayton Chipper, Andrew Selmes, Chad Hedley and George Nikoloudis – aka Rhibosome – that description is pretty damn right. Combining the worlds of house, breakbeat, drum’n’bass, dub, hip-hop and a whole lot more, Rhibosome’s melding of live instruments and the world of technology has led to some of the most adventurous and dynamic music being played across the country today.

Back in 1998 and a few of the Rhibosome players were busy performing in a Perth street theatre percussion group called Whak, spending their time touring arts festivals around the world including visits to Canada and Singapore. In between utilising wheelie bins as percussion instruments – something along those lines anyway, according to Dave – the friends began work creating a live electronic soundscape for the urban circus company, Bizircus. Eventually these tracks started morphing into more of a live set and, after bringing a few more players to the mix, Rhibosome was officially born.

The groups’ debut release came via Perth’s Offworld Sounds label, a 12” single titled “Impulse” that immediately had the dance scene sitting up to take notice. Thanks to a live show that Zebra magazine describes as being “almost without peers”, as well as headlining their own shows Rhibosome hit the stage supporting the likes of Coldcut, Rae & Christian, Faze Action, Norman Jay, Resin Dogs, Endorphin, Ashley Beedle, Jose Padilla, Adam Freeland, Wiseguys, Freestylers, Aphrodite, Ben Harper, Scratch Perverts and more.

With “percussive prowess, turntable dexterity and electronic wizardry is unparalleled as far as this country is concerned” (Zebra again), on stage the lads of Rhibosome surround themselves with samplers, drumkits, turntables, effects units and percussion galore, each band member swapping places between instruments and machines. All played fully live, no DATs thank you.

From remixing Aboriginal musician Richard Walley, Indian jazz percussionist Trilok Gurtu, Jebediah or Zimbabwean group The African Music Congress, to performing at festivals such as Vibes on a Summer’s Day, Gatecrasher, Science Fiction, Delirious, Sonik 2000, Ministry of Sound, the Big Day Out and Livid, Rhibosome fuse hypnotic beats with energetic electronica in a style purely their own. With a swag of WAMI’s under their belts to boot, this is one group who’re clearly forging their own sonic path.

Tourdates