In an era when music is routinely flattened into background noise for algorithms and artists are squeezed by streaming economics, Naarm/Melbourne composer and producer Jack Quigley has chosen a radically different path. His ambitious new release, Upstream, Vol. 1, marks the first chapter of the Upstream Trilogy: a sprawling, multi-continental project six years in the making that proves human collaboration remains irreplaceable.
Between 2020 and 2023, Quigley travelled across four continents, recording in twelve studios from Australia’s central Tanami Desert to Cairo, Barcelona, Palermo, Beirut, Djibouti, and Addis Ababa. The resulting 27-track project unites 55 musicians performing across eight languages. Yet the sheer geographic and linguistic scope is only half the story; the true core of the work lies in its underlying philosophy, which Quigley terms “Anarcho-Pop.”
Drawing from the ancient Greek anarkhia—meaning “without a ruler,” signifying voluntary order rather than chaos Anarcho-Pop fuses the direct immediacy of popular music with egalitarian creation. Rooted in the “River Story” parable, which insists we must go upstream to ask why people are falling into the river rather than merely pulling them out, the trilogy acts as a direct counter-response to an industry plagued by underfunding, exploitation, and AI extraction. In a deliberate and defiant stance, Quigley has withheld the music from Spotify, asserting that genuine human artistry is worth staking everything on.
“Anarcho-Pop: Pop music fused with deep collaboration for a world on fire.”
The genesis of this global undertaking began in 2020 on Warlpiri and Gurindji Country at the Warnayaka Art Centre in Lajamanu. There, Quigley recorded with East Kimberley Jaru man Johnny Tchooga and the Wampana Band, producing “Mardoowarra Ngaringa” (“Riverside Woman”). That foundational session set the trajectory for an expansive roster of Australian and First Nations talent including Kaine Mauri and Skinny Lips, intertwined with a formidable array of international voices.
The project’s collaborative web spans continents and cultural traditions. Among its key figures are Somali-Australian performer Qare The Mask, Egyptian vocalist Toqa El Hagrassy, and Spanish artists Carmen Lancho and Barry Brandon (Queer Indigo). On the focus track “Addis Ababa (The New Flower),” Quigley teamed up with leading Ethiopian music figures Kamuzu Kassa and Nina Girma at Shakura Studio in Addis Ababa, transforming Girma’s lyrics into an evocative auditory journey.
Perhaps the most haunting moment on the record is “Wedding in the Sky” (عرسك بالسما أحلى). Composed while Quigley lived in Furn El Chebbak, Beirut, alongside Egyptian vocalist Noha Fekry, Cairo musician Mohamed Hasim, rapper Elf Tranzporter, and filmmaker Naji Aly, the piece serves as a dedicated memorial to the martyrs of the 2020 Beirut port explosion. It specifically honors Sahar Fares, a 27-year-old paramedic killed in the disaster months before her wedding, transforming tragedy into a powerful work of remembrance.
Upstream, Vol. 1 stands as an uncompromising statement of what remains possible when artists connect across boundaries without hierarchy. Released on October 16th, the album is available across major digital platforms (excluding Spotify), alongside a limited run of 100 vinyl LPs.
To explore the project and order the vinyl, visit upstreamtrilogy.com
