Released 6 May, 1995, 'Tu-Plang' would introduce Australia (and the world) to the crazed yet progressive sounds and ideas of Regurgitator, a band that would (and still does) shape the Australian indie landscape for years to come.
Offering a template to explore any idea or musical suggestion with no rules, bucking the establishment at every opportunity, 'Tu-Plang' would generate such classics as 'I Sucked A Lot Of Cock To Get Where I Am', 'Kong Foo Sing', 'F.S.O.' and 'Blubber Boy'.Recorded in Thailand (much to the chagrin of their then label Warner Music) with Magoo, 'Tu-Plang' would win the Best Alternative Album and Breakthrough Album awards at the 1996 ARIA Awards.
Now the band are convening in their home town Brisbane for two special nights next month to perform 'Tu-Plang' in full at the newly opened Princess Theatre with visuals provided by Ken Weston.
Regurgitator will disturb the fleeting moments to explore the beating heart and the darkness within 'Tu-Plang' as it drives a stake into the 25 years since it emerged from the jungles of Bangkok. A musical coup de maître traversing the twisted tributaries of this release and what escaped prior.
"After a couple of weeks of this I was a wreck," Quan says, recalling the recording sessions for 'Tu-Plang'.
"I recall the very last night of recording vividly. The work complete, the gear packed away. I was spent. I stood at the glass doors, once more peering nervously out at the lamp that marked the start of the path through the marsh.
"However, this time the light was framed by a calmness. There were no swarming insects. It was bright and unobscured. With care I ventured to the outside. As usual the humidity hit me, but this time it seemed comforting. I felt my fear ebb away.
"I wandered towards the lamp. It's light cut cleanly into the black but now at its perfect edge lay only plain emptiness. No dark menace or dread, and overhead just the sound of a breeze rifling through the tips of tall grass.
"In that moment I realised that the monster hidden in the morass had been nothing more than the Record itself. That, even in spite of the countless opportunities it had had to reach out and drag me down into its depths, in the end it had decided to withdraw and, at least for now, let me be."
Making the concert even more memorable is the inclusion of another legendary Brisbane indie act, with Screamfeeder set to perform their seminal 1996 album 'Kitten Licks' in full.
"'Kitten Licks' changed our lives," Kellie Lloyd says. "It brought us together as the band we are today. It had an impact on a lot of other people too.
"Over the years it's been noted that this is the album we'll be remembered for; it was our most successful in terms of sales and was widely acclaimed, it got us a whole legion of new fans, opened up our worlds and sent us out touring Australia solidly for a couple of years."
Making it a triple treat of outstanding Brisbane bands will be The Stress Of Leisure 'performing all music no wave'.
Regurgitator presents 'Tu-Plang Redux' at Princess Theatre (Brisbane) 20-21 January. Tickets on sale.
