In the early 1980s, the Australian animator and filmmaker Julie Cunningham lived next door to Dave Mason, the leader of the era-bridging antipodean pop group The Reels, in east Sydney's Wolloomooloo squats. During casual conversations, she shared her vision for an animated short film that explored the role of women in pre-patriarchial societies through the lens of feminist psychedelia before asking him if he'd like to work on the score. In Mason's words, "She was a talented animator, so I was eager to join when approached about scoring, and I believed in the principle of the film." On release in 1986, "XX and the unmentionable underbelly of his-story" was lavished with awards at the Sydney Film Festival and Chicago Intercom Festival that year.

Recorded in collaboration with The Reels members Craig Hooper, Polly Newham, and John Bliss, the "XX and the unmentionable underbelly of his-story" OST oscillates between bouncy technopop, dreamy post-Mort Garson ambience, dubby rhythmic deconstructions and some richly evocative field recording/foley work. Draped in ghostly melodies, space-aged synths and the odd shower of white noise, the thirteen tracks, sketches, and interludes included unsurprisingly hold up as a standalone album. As Mason put it, "I started writing little themes, moody stuff & recurring beats as the animated sections slowly came to life. I wanted breathy/stick sounds to match the primitive aspect of the movie, which the new Fairlight CMI computer produced in droves (thanks to Craig Hooper for programming). Listening back, I like the simplicity, clarity and naïveté of the score, even when taken from its natural home. Hope you enjoy."

Weirdly, my personal introduction to Dave Mason and The Reels didn't come via their early 1980s Aussie new wave classic 'Quasimodo's Dream' or any of the music they released around then. In reality, I was introduced to The Reels via their early 1990s new jack swing/swingbeat slanted deeper cut 'I Don't Love You Anymore', which preceded their compilation album "Requiem". When you're discovering music on the internet, you can find things in strange ways and strange times.

Regardless, aside from being a beautifully playful (and perhaps even weirdly whimsical) collection of songs, "XX and the unmentionable underbelly of his-story" has served as a reminder for me to dig back into Mason and The Reels catalogue. When you look at this record alongside artifacts like Strangelove Music's semi-recent compilation album of selected works from fellow Sydney post-punk/dream-pop band Scribble (as fronted by the great Johanna Pigott, who later co-created the fictionalised Australian music television drama "Sweet and Sour") it's clear something interesting was in the water at the time.

Thirty-eight years on, Melbourne's longstanding and respected Chapter Music label (a home to both crucial reissues and vital new releases) has been fortunate enough to be able to arrange the first official release of "XX and the unmentionable underbelly of his-story" OST. On the 19th of July 2024, they'll unveil it to the world as a seven-track vinyl 7" EP, with 6 digital bonus tracks, released in a limited edition of 250 copies. Right now, you can pre-order it over on their Bandcamp here.