DATSON HUGHES is the artistic collaboration of sound artist, poet, songwriter, composer and musician Geoffrey Datson and Annette Hughes, author, songwriter, musician and cultural producer. Our joint practice emerges from long immersion in Australian visual, musical and literary culture, selecting and combining forms to produce multi-disciplinary multi-media work. While our individual careers reach back into the late seventies, our collaboration is relatively recent, with our strongest work emergent in the last ten years.
Annette Hughes trained in art/English, majoring in art history with Betty Churcher and painting under Davida Allen and worked for twenty years in the Brisbane and then Sydney contemporary art worlds as a contemporary art dealer with the Ray Hughes Gallery. In 1994 she moved moved into the publishing industry to become an agent with Cameron's Management, starting out as a theatre, film and TV agent, then moving to the literary list where she represented many of Australia’s finest literary authors. in 2004 she moved to SE Queensland to concentrate on writing, music creation, performance and production. in 2008 she published a memoir (Art Life Chooks - 4th Estate) and for 7 years produced the Reality Bites Literary Non-fiction festival. In 2016 she began releasing DATSON HUGHES music on the duo's own Masterpiece label, and touring nationally in Australia, concurrently re-releasing Datson's electronica digitally on their Art records label. Since 2012 she has been artistic director and event manager of the Arts Queensland supported DooFWoRd, a weekend multi-arts showcase event and incubator for collaborative artists in the Noosa Hinterland at her Greenroom Studio (5 events - ongoing. 2020 postponed due to Covid 19)).
“Form is secondary to practice – ‘the work’ of art is perception. The expression of that perception, in whatever form, is the prism through which the artist transmits that percption to an other.
I thought I wanted to be a painter when I was young, which led me to art school: I have since found that all the arts have equal expressive potential.” Annette Hughes
Geoffrey Datson is a sound artist, combining spoken word, electronica and instrumentation in his recordings. Many poets recite their work to music, but few are also composers. Datson's work is a synthesis of forms of sonic expression in which the voice and the sound field are interdependent. He began his career as a sixteen year old poet accompanying his SPOKEN WORD performance on a dulcimer. His lyricism and music drew him into songwriting and playing in punk bands in the late 70s. In Sydney surf punk band, Surf Side Six, he was part of Sydney’s inner city live music scene in the seventes. His next band, Samurai Trash, was one of the first Australian bands to sign to the then brand new Virgin Label in 1984. HIs early career experimental band Belle du Jour (M Squared) and Surfside Six have recently been released in compilation albums, with his surfside Six hit 'Cool in the Tube’ being played in Brisbane in 2006 by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra's performance of a history of surf music. (FULL DISCOGRAPHY) He is an accomplished music maker in composition, production, recording, and is a prolific singer-songwriter. He is a poetry editor and eager sound collaborator with film makers and visual artists. Throughout his long musical career Geoffrey has made custom instruments, but production increased after moving to country. Having a dedicated workshop, a reason to imagine and fashion machines to make new sounds, and a seeming endless source of raw materials, has greatly expanded his oeuvre. This strand of creative practice coexists with songwriting and poetry and underpins all our work. Indeed our performance duo, DATSON HUGHES formed to showcase the instruments as much as songwriting. Their distinctive sweet, twangling sound features on all our recordings.
“My intention is to build the perfect harmonic trojan horse. Music and words interwoven that unfold in the human heart to produce unbridled outpouring of emotion.” Geoffrey Datson
Annette Hughes trained in art/English, majoring in art history with Betty Churcher and painting under Davida Allen and worked for twenty years in the Brisbane and then Sydney contemporary art worlds as a contemporary art dealer with the Ray Hughes Gallery. In 1994 she moved moved into the publishing industry to become an agent with Cameron's Management, starting out as a theatre, film and TV agent, then moving to the literary list where she represented many of Australia’s finest literary authors. in 2004 she moved to SE Queensland to concentrate on writing, music creation, performance and production. in 2008 she published a memoir (Art Life Chooks - 4th Estate) and for 7 years produced the Reality Bites Literary Non-fiction festival. In 2016 she began releasing DATSON HUGHES music on the duo's own Masterpiece label, and touring nationally in Australia, concurrently re-releasing Datson's electronica digitally on their Art records label. Since 2012 she has been artistic director and event manager of the Arts Queensland supported DooFWoRd, a weekend multi-arts showcase event and incubator for collaborative artists in the Noosa Hinterland at her Greenroom Studio (5 events - ongoing. 2020 postponed due to Covid 19)).
“Form is secondary to practice – ‘the work’ of art is perception. The expression of that perception, in whatever form, is the prism through which the artist transmits that percption to an other.
I thought I wanted to be a painter when I was young, which led me to art school: I have since found that all the arts have equal expressive potential.” Annette Hughes
Geoffrey Datson is a sound artist, combining spoken word, electronica and instrumentation in his recordings. Many poets recite their work to music, but few are also composers. Datson's work is a synthesis of forms of sonic expression in which the voice and the sound field are interdependent. He began his career as a sixteen year old poet accompanying his SPOKEN WORD performance on a dulcimer. His lyricism and music drew him into songwriting and playing in punk bands in the late 70s. In Sydney surf punk band, Surf Side Six, he was part of Sydney’s inner city live music scene in the seventes. His next band, Samurai Trash, was one of the first Australian bands to sign to the then brand new Virgin Label in 1984. HIs early career experimental band Belle du Jour (M Squared) and Surfside Six have recently been released in compilation albums, with his surfside Six hit 'Cool in the Tube’ being played in Brisbane in 2006 by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra's performance of a history of surf music. (FULL DISCOGRAPHY) He is an accomplished music maker in composition, production, recording, and is a prolific singer-songwriter. He is a poetry editor and eager sound collaborator with film makers and visual artists. Throughout his long musical career Geoffrey has made custom instruments, but production increased after moving to country. Having a dedicated workshop, a reason to imagine and fashion machines to make new sounds, and a seeming endless source of raw materials, has greatly expanded his oeuvre. This strand of creative practice coexists with songwriting and poetry and underpins all our work. Indeed our performance duo, DATSON HUGHES formed to showcase the instruments as much as songwriting. Their distinctive sweet, twangling sound features on all our recordings.
“My intention is to build the perfect harmonic trojan horse. Music and words interwoven that unfold in the human heart to produce unbridled outpouring of emotion.” Geoffrey Datson
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS/PERFORMANCES
2021
InstruMENTALity. Sept 2020-Sept 2021. Artists in Residence @MENTAL, Southern Highlands (Bowral and Mittagong)
NOW & FOREVER AUSTRALIAN TOUR. 2021 (Postponed due to Covid 19)
INTERNATIONAL EUROPEAN TOUR 1 May - 14 Sept 2020 (Cancelled due to Covid 19)
SELECTED RECENT /PERFORMANCES/ EXHIBITIONS/ PROJECTS/ PUBLICATIONS
2019
EUROPEAN EXHIBITION & PERFORMANCE TOUR 19 Jul - 10 Nov 2018 Instruments and Music
EUROPEAN EXHIBITION & PERFORMANCE TOUR 07 Jun 2018 - 17 Nov 2019
Now & Forever audience development performances on’Mountain Dulcimers’ by Geoffrey Datson. Instrument making showcase exhibition, travelling with and performing on a new pair of specially designed travelling instruments. Plus research and devt of various putative projects. Artist residencies.
STRING THEORY Ozora Festival Ambyss Stage. Collaboration with Siblicity.
RESIDENCY Art Quarter Budapest HUNGARY 13 Jun- 17 Aug Artists in residence. Joint practice. Part funded by RAF/Flying Arts. Project development.
CROSSROADS 28 AUG Group Exhibition Presentation of work in progress developed during World of Co Artist in Residency BULGARIA. “BUSHFAIRY TALE” multi-media performance/installation comprising text and song.
BEGLIKA FESTIVAL 14 - 18 AUG - Instrument showcase and performance BULGARIA
BLOOD IN THE WATER 20 Sep Multi-media Installation AQB Project Space, Hungary - Project Presentation.
2018
EUROPEAN EXHIBTION & PERFORMANCE TOUR 26 Sep - 24 Dec Mountain Dulcimers by Geoffrey Datson. Instrument making showcase exhibition + Datson Hughes erformance showcase tour
DUBLIN Dun Loghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. 19 Oct Invitation lecture series on harmonic theory, insrument making and his travels in the Australian Music Industry. Includes performance of Mountain Dulcimers by Geoffrey Datson. Recording of performance for podcast by students.
HUNGARY Art Quarter Budapest 1 Nov - 24 Dec Artists in residence. The Pools of Budapest (WT) Joint practice. Part funded by RAF/Flying Arts. Project development. Performance of Ascention at AQB
AUSTRALIAN SHOWCASE AND EXHIBITION TOUR 10 Feb - 6 Jul
MOuntain DulcimErs by Geoffrey Datson; Australian showcase and performance. Exhibition of and performance on Datson’s 2018 instrument build supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and Noosa Council’s RADF program.
BIRD+SONG+CYCLE - Jervis Bay SeeChange Festival 2 - 6 Jun
New Work premiere: multi Media song-story performance. Subsequent AV work in Progress.
THE DATSON DRIVEBY Jervis Bay SeeChange Festival 2 - 6 Jun
Collaboration between sound artist and poet Geoffrey Datson and artist/experimetnal film maker Nicholas Nedelkopoulos. SCREENING of Eps 1-4 in the Festival’s main Curated exhibition. Premiered at DOOFWORD 2017.
FLOWERS & THE AXE ALBUM TOUR - 10 Feb - 10 Jul
4 month east coast tour of Australia. 20 dates. Associated appearances and live performances on radio. releaed on Masterpiece records.
“Ö Horsey” ISBN: 9781743055212 Literary collaboration with Australian Poet Christopher Barnett, edited by Geoffrey Datson, Cover design and backaging by Annette Hughes. Wakefield Press.
TREEMAN 1 Jan-1 Feb Stage 1 of a Multi-media song-story project in collaboration with visual artist Meaghan Sheltonleading into DOOFWORD 2020. Scope determined by funding outcomes. Development satge of his project is part funded by Noosa Regional Council (RADF funding).
2017
NOOSA REGIONAL GALLERY ArtCycle Exhibition 18 Sep-15 Oct“Cymballic Gesture” one of 14 finalists in the no acquisitive prize
PREMIERE SCREENING of EPS 1-4 of the DATSON DRIVEBY DOOFWORD
1-3 SEP Multi-arts incubator event curated and produced by Datson Hughes supported by the Queensland Government’s Arts Funding body.
QUEENSLAND POETRY FESTIVAL Premiere of Australian Dream 24-27 Aug Multi-media song-story collaboration with Iranian poet Mohsen Soltany Zand. Premiere performance. 2 performances. Screened at Doofword 1 Sept.
WHISPERING HIGHWAY EP TOUR — 1 Mar -31 May 3 month east coast tour of Australia 18 dates. Associated appearances and live
performances on radio. Melbourne rehearsal and showcase supported by RAF - The Australian Government’s regional arts fund for professional deveopment
DOOFWORD - Producer and artistic Directors - Dason Hughes 1-3 SEPT 2013
COOROY BUTTER FACTORY Sound Maker Symposium --Exhibited and performed a joint work comprising Geoffrey’s insturments and Annette's photography (see Exhiitions list)
LITERARY PUBLICATION — “Elegies of Resistance” - ISBN 9781743052365
Literary collaboration with Australian Poet Christopher Barnett, edited by Geoffrey Datson, Cover design and backaging by Annette Hughes. Wakefield Press. Perfromance recorded at launch of book.
2012
BLUE MOON RECORDING PROJECT Commenced recording joint songwriting and performance practice with award winning record Produer Kalju Tonuma and Megan Bernard. The project has spawned commercial release of 3 singles, an EP (WHispering Highway and the debut album Flowers and the Axe on artist’s own label Masterpiece Records. The second album Now and Forever is due for release in 2020
2010
LITERARY PUBLICATION & MUSIC RELEASE Then and Then, a Memior ISBN:9780975186206 Lyrical poetry and song by Geoffrey Datson + double CD of the accompanying DATSONHUGHES song recordings.Touredregionallibraries. Due for digital release 2020.
2009
LITERARY PUBLICATION & MUSIC RELEASE Protest SInger ISBN: 9780975186213
Lyrical poetry and song by Geoffrey Datson + CD of the accompanying DATSON HUGHES song recordings.
2008
LITERARY PUBLICATION Art Life Chooks: Learning to leave the city and love the countryISBN:9780732286897 Literary nonfiction (memoir) written by Annette Hughes. Poetry by Geoffrey Datson. READ EXCERPT
2007
MOORING - AV collaboration Datson Hughes - almost 34,000 hits on Youtube.
2021
InstruMENTALity. Sept 2020-Sept 2021. Artists in Residence @MENTAL, Southern Highlands (Bowral and Mittagong)
- 11 Sep 2021. Virtual Residency Showcase page live. @
- 4 Sept 2021 'Performance in the Key of CoVID.' Live stream (link to documentation) Datson Hughes, Producer Sergei Nechaef, Production Designer Tess McCord.
- 11 Sept 2021 CineMENTAL virtual preview screening of Now and Forever Music Clips. Screening on Youtube and ZOOM Artist talk.
- 17 July 2020 Live in the Mind Garden. 32 min improvised performance amid Minka Gillian's Mind Garden Exhibition @ MENTAL
- 15 Nov2020 'Guitar Suite' . Duo performance in the gallery
- 6 Nov 2020 Performance: Arty Party Opening launch of Southern Highlands Art Trail
- 2 Oct 2020 Performance: Experimental sound with Sergei Netchaef and Datson Hughes
- 4 Sep 2020 Pilot of Performance Program for 2021 ongoing collaboration: with local musicians
- 28 Aug 2020 Collaboration: #jamental experimental/new music with Alistair & Sergei Netchaef
NOW & FOREVER AUSTRALIAN TOUR. 2021 (Postponed due to Covid 19)
INTERNATIONAL EUROPEAN TOUR 1 May - 14 Sept 2020 (Cancelled due to Covid 19)
- STRING THEORY DATSON HUGHES + SIBLICITY at OZORA Festival. (Ambyss) HUNGARY (CONFIRMED)
- BEGLIKA Festival, BUGARIA (CONFIRMED)
SELECTED RECENT /PERFORMANCES/ EXHIBITIONS/ PROJECTS/ PUBLICATIONS
2019
EUROPEAN EXHIBITION & PERFORMANCE TOUR 19 Jul - 10 Nov 2018 Instruments and Music
EUROPEAN EXHIBITION & PERFORMANCE TOUR 07 Jun 2018 - 17 Nov 2019
Now & Forever audience development performances on’Mountain Dulcimers’ by Geoffrey Datson. Instrument making showcase exhibition, travelling with and performing on a new pair of specially designed travelling instruments. Plus research and devt of various putative projects. Artist residencies.
STRING THEORY Ozora Festival Ambyss Stage. Collaboration with Siblicity.
RESIDENCY Art Quarter Budapest HUNGARY 13 Jun- 17 Aug Artists in residence. Joint practice. Part funded by RAF/Flying Arts. Project development.
CROSSROADS 28 AUG Group Exhibition Presentation of work in progress developed during World of Co Artist in Residency BULGARIA. “BUSHFAIRY TALE” multi-media performance/installation comprising text and song.
BEGLIKA FESTIVAL 14 - 18 AUG - Instrument showcase and performance BULGARIA
BLOOD IN THE WATER 20 Sep Multi-media Installation AQB Project Space, Hungary - Project Presentation.
2018
EUROPEAN EXHIBTION & PERFORMANCE TOUR 26 Sep - 24 Dec Mountain Dulcimers by Geoffrey Datson. Instrument making showcase exhibition + Datson Hughes erformance showcase tour
DUBLIN Dun Loghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. 19 Oct Invitation lecture series on harmonic theory, insrument making and his travels in the Australian Music Industry. Includes performance of Mountain Dulcimers by Geoffrey Datson. Recording of performance for podcast by students.
HUNGARY Art Quarter Budapest 1 Nov - 24 Dec Artists in residence. The Pools of Budapest (WT) Joint practice. Part funded by RAF/Flying Arts. Project development. Performance of Ascention at AQB
AUSTRALIAN SHOWCASE AND EXHIBITION TOUR 10 Feb - 6 Jul
MOuntain DulcimErs by Geoffrey Datson; Australian showcase and performance. Exhibition of and performance on Datson’s 2018 instrument build supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and Noosa Council’s RADF program.
BIRD+SONG+CYCLE - Jervis Bay SeeChange Festival 2 - 6 Jun
New Work premiere: multi Media song-story performance. Subsequent AV work in Progress.
THE DATSON DRIVEBY Jervis Bay SeeChange Festival 2 - 6 Jun
Collaboration between sound artist and poet Geoffrey Datson and artist/experimetnal film maker Nicholas Nedelkopoulos. SCREENING of Eps 1-4 in the Festival’s main Curated exhibition. Premiered at DOOFWORD 2017.
FLOWERS & THE AXE ALBUM TOUR - 10 Feb - 10 Jul
4 month east coast tour of Australia. 20 dates. Associated appearances and live performances on radio. releaed on Masterpiece records.
“Ö Horsey” ISBN: 9781743055212 Literary collaboration with Australian Poet Christopher Barnett, edited by Geoffrey Datson, Cover design and backaging by Annette Hughes. Wakefield Press.
TREEMAN 1 Jan-1 Feb Stage 1 of a Multi-media song-story project in collaboration with visual artist Meaghan Sheltonleading into DOOFWORD 2020. Scope determined by funding outcomes. Development satge of his project is part funded by Noosa Regional Council (RADF funding).
2017
NOOSA REGIONAL GALLERY ArtCycle Exhibition 18 Sep-15 Oct“Cymballic Gesture” one of 14 finalists in the no acquisitive prize
PREMIERE SCREENING of EPS 1-4 of the DATSON DRIVEBY DOOFWORD
1-3 SEP Multi-arts incubator event curated and produced by Datson Hughes supported by the Queensland Government’s Arts Funding body.
QUEENSLAND POETRY FESTIVAL Premiere of Australian Dream 24-27 Aug Multi-media song-story collaboration with Iranian poet Mohsen Soltany Zand. Premiere performance. 2 performances. Screened at Doofword 1 Sept.
WHISPERING HIGHWAY EP TOUR — 1 Mar -31 May 3 month east coast tour of Australia 18 dates. Associated appearances and live
performances on radio. Melbourne rehearsal and showcase supported by RAF - The Australian Government’s regional arts fund for professional deveopment
DOOFWORD - Producer and artistic Directors - Dason Hughes 1-3 SEPT 2013
COOROY BUTTER FACTORY Sound Maker Symposium --Exhibited and performed a joint work comprising Geoffrey’s insturments and Annette's photography (see Exhiitions list)
LITERARY PUBLICATION — “Elegies of Resistance” - ISBN 9781743052365
Literary collaboration with Australian Poet Christopher Barnett, edited by Geoffrey Datson, Cover design and backaging by Annette Hughes. Wakefield Press. Perfromance recorded at launch of book.
2012
BLUE MOON RECORDING PROJECT Commenced recording joint songwriting and performance practice with award winning record Produer Kalju Tonuma and Megan Bernard. The project has spawned commercial release of 3 singles, an EP (WHispering Highway and the debut album Flowers and the Axe on artist’s own label Masterpiece Records. The second album Now and Forever is due for release in 2020
2010
LITERARY PUBLICATION & MUSIC RELEASE Then and Then, a Memior ISBN:9780975186206 Lyrical poetry and song by Geoffrey Datson + double CD of the accompanying DATSONHUGHES song recordings.Touredregionallibraries. Due for digital release 2020.
2009
LITERARY PUBLICATION & MUSIC RELEASE Protest SInger ISBN: 9780975186213
Lyrical poetry and song by Geoffrey Datson + CD of the accompanying DATSON HUGHES song recordings.
2008
LITERARY PUBLICATION Art Life Chooks: Learning to leave the city and love the countryISBN:9780732286897 Literary nonfiction (memoir) written by Annette Hughes. Poetry by Geoffrey Datson. READ EXCERPT
2007
MOORING - AV collaboration Datson Hughes - almost 34,000 hits on Youtube.