Night of the Assassins

Monday Midnight - 2 am (Tuesday morning)

In English.

An eclectic mix of local and international noise, psych, garage, indie, outsider, industrial, post-punk, avant-folk, improv, electronic and hip hop music. Strange, slightly weird, visceral and captivating. From the obscure to the cutting edge, musical adventures through the past, present and future.

Presented by Rory Jeffs.

Contact nightassassins@gmail.com

CRAM Article November 2007 : Night Of The Assassins Profile

What does Night of the Assassins mean?

Initially I had difficulty coming up with a suitable name for what was to be a weekly event of musical anarchy, a schizophrenic mix of the old and new, the groovy and obscene. Considering that the show would be conducted in the wee hours of the morning, I decided Night of the Assassins was fitting for the mood I wanted to set for the show.

The name has three origins. The first is a song written by one of my beloved psych obscurities, Japan’s Les Rallizes Denudes, which features in the program’s intro. The name of the show also refers to a Kung Fu film about mad Shaolin warriors, and lastly, to the Assassins of Sinan from 12th century Persia, who were known in history as the first suicide bombers (famously ridiculed by Monty Python), and who declared, “nothing is true, everything is permitted”.

Night of the Assassins has been a part of 3CR’s graveyard timeslot for one year. Over that time, I have looked into the tombs of recluses, madmen, and visionaries in our music history archives, and dug into the local underground scene, exploring fringe areas of the noise-music spectrum. Internationally, Night of the Assassins has journeyed to the distant corners of the world and found distinctive music scenes from the past to the present. Such hotspots Night of the Assassins has travelled through are Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Mali, Morocco, Algeria, Brazil, with of course the usual stop-overs in America and England.

The program has also featured interviews with local ‘under-the-radar’ artists, as well as special profiles on particular groups, scenes, and genres. Some of the specials have covered ‘outsider music’ and original soundtracks. Other areas of current interest include, psych-folk, no wave, krautrock, IDM, glitch, dubstep, and drone.

What happened before Night of the Assassins joined the 3CR airwaves and became a ‘seed of dissent’?

My musical education and training started way back in the womb when my parents surrounded me with the warm vibrations of Van Morrison, John Mayall, and Jean-Luc Ponty. I eventually formed my own taste, and after hearing the Velvet Underground - in accordance with the cliché - I formed my own band. I am also a freelance music journalist with Beat Magazine, a Melbourne street press, and a serial vinyl/CD collector prone to spending hours in record stores. Outside my music life, I am a student of philosophy, and as we speak a teacher in training. One day, I may be teaching your kids the dangerous secrets that remain hidden in the musical archives. In the meantime, though, it’s only the owls and suburban insomniacs.

I find 3CR a radio station that is more like a home, with its open-door policy and friendly atmosphere. I’m comfortable being a seed of dissent, although my dissent seems to be expressed more sonically than verbally. And I’m proud that community radio exists and can survive amidst so much mediocrity and indifference.

What does the future hold for Night of the Assassins?

More uncertainty, random improvisation, divergent tangents, and the meandering talk the show has come to be (not) known for - shameless amateurism in other words.

By Rory Jeffs
Presenter of Night of the Assassins