Michelle Xen

We are more than proud to be the first to bring you Michelle Xen‘s latest music video – “Electro Comb”. The Brisbane-based creative powerhouse has never failed to impress us – whether it’s delivering artfully choreographed performances or crafting the finest in avant-garde synth-pop. I always feel something when Michelle and her crew of gorgeous freaks take to the stage, and it’s usually unbridled joy.

The “Electro Comb” video is Technicolor funhouse meets neon masquerade ball; a dizzying pastiche of colour and contrast, movement and stillness. Each element serves its own function, with beauty and wonder entirely circumventing a fixed narrative. I hyperbolically wonder if Michelle isn’t entirely human – perhaps doesn’t sleep or maybe sneezes feathers and glitter. Intelligent, strange music with a video clip to match. Check it out now: - Semplesize

Get down to FBi Social this Friday night to see local-lady producer Fingertips laying down some of her fine beats, just after Brisbane’s alt-pop power-troupe Michelle Xen + The Neon Wild and Sunshine Coast four-piece Selahphonic warm up the stage.

Doors open at 8pm and we do recommend arriving early to support the guys and gals that have travelled so far to bring you their special flavour of electro-tinged tunes.

WHAT: Fingertips, Michelle Xen + The Neon Wild and Selahphonic
WHERE: FBi Social – Kings Cross Hotel
WHEN: Friday Aug 15
TIME: Doors at 8pm
RSVP: Facebook.com/events/297197400460645 - Acid Stag

Brisbane’s Michelle Xen + The Neon Wild are joining forces with Selahphonic for a string of tour dates across the East Coast. For the first time, fans will get a live preview of what to expect from Michelle Xen + The Neon Wild forthcoming EP, Dynamics of Disobedience.
Hailing from the Sunshine Coast, electronic indie-pop act Selahphonic will be joining Michelle Xen + The Neon Wild at all their upcoming shows. Selaphonic have a brand spanking new EP up their sleeve and they’re ready to show it off! So show your support and grab your tickets now.
Thursday August 14th | The Small Ballroom, NEWCASTLE
Tickets via www.oztix.com.au
Friday August 15th | FBi Social & Kings Cross Hotel, SYDNEY
Tickets available on the door
Saturday August 16th | Rad Bar, WOOLONGONG
Tickets available on the door
Friday August 22nd | The Loft, GOLD COAST
Tickets available on the door
Saturday August 23rd | The Grace Darling Hotel, MELBOURNE
Tickets via www.stickytickets.com.au
Friday August 29th | The Bearded Lady, BRISBANE
Tickets via www.oztix.com.au
Saturday August 30th | Woombye Pub, SUNSHINE COAST
Tickets via www.tickets.myguestlist.com.au - The AU Review

FRONT ROW | MICHELLE XEN
Who: Michelle Xen and The Neon Wild
When: 23.08.14
Where: The Grace Darling – Melbourne

Yep, we’re obsessed with the Brisbane mega babe and her band! Michelle Xen and The Neon Wild tore up the stage at Melbourne’s Grace Darling on Smith Street. One way to describe the 5 piece band would be unconventional. Rather than your traditional guitar and bass to accompany their electronic vocals, synth and drums the guys had a tribass and keytar. They’re futuristic and innovative – pushing the limits both musically and performance wise. If you’ve ever been to The Grace Darling you’d know that the stage is well… not very spacious. Some how the guys managed to fit, move around like they were somewhat possessed and do costume changes! Our snapper took some shots so we can share the experience with you all!! - Semplesize

Today we have the world premiere of On For You, the debut EP from rising Aussie songstress, Michelle Xen.

Offering us a five-track project in musical exploration and experimentation, Michelle Xen showcases her felicitous songwriting skills consummately, producing a collection of deep synth, heavy bass layered future electronica.

Sounds like: Little Dragon, Kimbra, Elizabeth Rose - Acid Stag

To the movers, shakers and tune makers of Sydney, may I just shout out a huge thank you! Last night was a testament to the quality and support of local music in Sydney at the moment. Kings Cross was a ghost town, but despite this, the torrential rain, exams and a whole other bunch of shit, the Tea Room was still completely and utterly packed, sweaty, sexy and down for some tunes!

Up next were the very colourful, very neon, sightly unbelievable Michelle Xen and The Neon Wild. Resembling the alien child of Ziggy Stardust and Karen O clad in the technicolour dream coat, Xen took to the stage armed with her motley neon crew to rapturous applause from the crowd. Playing with power confidence and panache, their set was a classy affair reminiscent of electro pop acts The Presets and Empire of the Sun.

- http://mumtheworldbar.com/

“In the distance, see the light glow, on for, on for, on for you!” Like a shining beacon of light in Brisbane’s ocean of indie rock/pop, Michelle Xen is a new entity carving a path through the waters greatly lacking in similar species of electronica.


On For You is the new EP project from Michelle Xen, featuring 5 singles and 5 accompanying videos (one officially released thus far) that will be released in the near future and features a cover of the popular Kendrick Lamar song, ‘Swimming Pools (Drank)’. If you like your electro adventures fierce and sexy, brimming in dark energy, pulsing with light and bass heavy beats that make you move like a marionette puppet controlled by an evil dance master, then this EP will serve as the first dose to trigger a desperate Xen addiction.


'Lose My Cool', is the first of the 5 singles which was released a couple of weeks ago and showcases Michelle Xen’s animalistic side which seemingly does NOT like roses at all. It sounds something like a jilted lover making heavy breathing, pleading phone calls in order to rationalize her irrationality, over an ominous bass punching backing track that lends well to the maniacal theme in the song.


Xen’s vocals are both soft and soaring, and confident throughout the 5 tracks. The standouts on the EP are the title track 'On For You', 'My Cells' and 'Electric Comb'. All the tracks are individually strong and the surprise of the 5 is ‘Swimming Pools’, a song I hadn’t heard of until MKS did a version of it earlier in the year and when I heard Kendrick’s original I wasn’t impressed, however Michelle Xen not only gives it her own treatments but impressively makes it a track I not only gladly listen to but dare I say, REALLY enjoy.


Since I first discovered the gorgeous soundscapes of Michelle Xen in a live show early this year I willingly fell in her trance-inducing web. Now that I’m getting the chance to hear those tunes again, my addiction only grows, especially seeing as I’m able to dissolve myself into her visual worlds. I’ve been waiting for this kind of entertainer to emerge from Brisbane’s talented pool of musical artists and Michelle Xen’s On For You EP promises to stand out as something quite special.



Nayt Housman gives the On For You EP four and a half Roisin Murphy heads out of five... - It's My Kind Of Scene

Up next were the very colourful, very neon, sightly unbelievable Michelle Xen and The Neon Wild. Resembling the alien child of Ziggy Stardust and Karen O clad in the technicolour dream coat, Xen took to the stage armed with her motley neon crew to rapturous applause from the crowd. Playing with power confidence and panache, their set was a classy affair reminiscent of electro pop acts The Presets and Empire of the Sun. - Purple Sneakers/Mum

Gab Burke catches up with the stunningly beautiful and uber talented Michelle Xen in the latest RDTV Feature.

Michelle Xen is a Brisbane-based electro-pop artist who masterfully fuses music with spectacular visual elements.

Michelle has been kicking about DJ-ing and gigging with dance trio Edge Of Colour and has more recently embarked on a solo career.

Having studied a combination of visual art, experimental video and music at the Queensland College of Art and the Queensland University of Technology, it is no wonder that Michelle’s music is complemented by incredible visual imagery and colour.

Michelle has performed as part of the Lady Electronica collective alongside fellow electronic music connoisseurs Anise, Donna Hewitt, and Rose Carrousel, in addition to clocking some solid studio hours working and recording with the likes of Quan Yeomans (Regurgitator) and Wally DeBacker (Gotye).

The super sexy single L.O.V.E was released earlier this year and was quickly followed by Cleopatra.

Both tracks feature her intoxicating vocals and synth-infused beats.

Michelle Xen releases her debut solo EP Synaesthesiac on Friday 9 November.

You can head along to check out this delectable Dame play live at the Lady Electronica Showcase at the Judith Wright Centre in Brisbane on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 November.

For more details head to http://www.ladyelectronica.com/events/

Michelle is offering free downloads of her singles L.O.V.E and Cleopatra via http://michellexen.bandcamp.com/

Filmed by Matt Murphy – 8 Foot Pine Productions
Edited by Gabrielle Burke – Raccoon Dog TV
Executive Producer Joel Devereux – Trema Entertainment

All content on Raccoon Dog TV is solely owned by Raccoon Dog Productions. All content in this video is protected by Trema Entertainment™ Australia license/s in association with Trema Media Group™ Australia.

- See more at: http://raccoondogtv.com/michelle-xen-launches-debut-ep-synaesthesiac/#sthash.vwltGEBN.dpuf - Raccoon Dog TV

It’s always fun when three local bands get together to put on a show and when these three acts are incredibly fun electro acts, it makes it rather rad. We have Michelle Xen to thank for this.

Opening the night was experimental act Scraps. She had a really cool vibe to her music, with vocals that floated over the top. I would have loved it however, if you could actually understand the vocals. They were so far in the back of the mix that it didn’t really add to anything she was creating on stage apart from another layer of effects. Also, there was so much reverb and delay I’m blowed if I could understand anything of what she said when when she tried to talk to the audience. As a producer, she is rad. And what she created was fabulously amazing.

Next up was MKO, and oh my! What a set of chops. Backed by a talented group of musicians, frontwoman Hannah Macklin's voice is certainly a force to be reckoned with. They produce a really cool funk vibe with their music. The bass was fat, the synths were captivating and the drums were insane. Mid set they broke from their funky vibe to play “Shadows”, which had a really different feel to it. It proves that this band is quite amazing. They closed with “Sexy You” another really rad tune that was the perfect way to close the set.

Headlining the night was the beautiful Michelle Xen. She came out donned in a patterned dress, with an outrageous cloak thrown over the top. You have to understand that I mean 'outrageous' in the most fashionably amazing way possible. Throughout the course of the set there was also a black fluffy, and a colourful material coat. I love it! “Cleopatra” was something I was not expecting; it was even more weird and wondrous. Michelle’s music had much more of a chilled electro than the other two bands, but at the same time it was still true to the electro genre.

Michelle is such a spirited and dramatic performer, matched only by her synth player. It certainly makes for something entertaining to watch. The new single “Lose My Cool” was definitely the highlight of the set. She picked up a dozen roses and during the casually decided to toss them away, pulling petals out as she went.

It was such an amazing even filled with music made for dancing, and let me tell you, there was certainly a lot of it. - The AU Reivew

Visual artist and electro-pop singer Michelle Xen has had major projects lined up for her since the release of her solo debut EP, ‘Synaesthesiac’.

“The EP was the first solo songs that I'd written and it was released last November," Michelle Xen says. "I had the opportunity to rapidly accelerate my songwriting and production skills through that ground, working with some really amazing producers. It's a collection of the beginnings of being a solo writer — really pushing around sounds and ideas and really experimenting with what the sound would become."

Prior to embarking on a solo career, Michelle was gigging with electronic dance act Edge Of Colour, but decided she wanted to play in a live band.

“I wanted to create a crazy live show and it's a different thing to do that electronically. I think you can have that energy but it's a lot more work and you need a lot more technical ability. So for me, going solo has been the best thing because I can finally do this crazy live show."

The visual artist is known for playing around with icons and images as part of her musical acts, and most recently she's been acting out as Cleopatra.

"With the Cleopatra evocation it was kind of playing around with an image and playing with an icon that has been adapted in television, films and fashion. I wanted to kind of claim it and play with it a little bit. The historical figure is so interesting and has such an incredible history but then to use that in pop, it kind of repurposes it. I just wanted to see what that felt like and it was basically an experiment. It was a great excuse to use big drums, and creating a big sound around that."

The Brisbane-based singer is known for putting out extravagant live shows as well as music videos, and says her image is a part of the creative process.

"To me, because I come from a visual art training, it's part of the song. Image is a part of my process. When people describe it for you, you go ‘okay’. I guess it's highly visual. It's very saturated and kind of dense. It's high energy and malleable. For me the image is actually another tool, another kind of creative process, I can mess with it and revise it. It's another material in a way. I use the image of Michelle Xen and the band as another material, like sound, costume, colour. Image is something that is malleable and that I can play with."

Michelle is now merging together with her local super group Michelle Xen + The Neon Wild for an exclusive reinterpretation of 'Synaesthesiac'.

"Each of the musicians in themselves are quite extraordinary, they have other groups. They don't write the songs, but they come in and reinterpret them and bring them to life. I want them to move things around and tell me what they want to do on stage. I let them run wild on stage. It's a well rehearsed interpretation of the songs that I produce. It's been awesome to have them onboard, because then that feeds back into the production of the songs. My next song, 'Loose My Cool', which will be out for [the] Alhambra [show], features my keyboardist. You see other possibilities in your own songs, I love that. It's like it becomes new again."

Michelle and The Neon Wild are now preparing to run amok across Australia.

"There's some weird chemistry in the band that just happened. We're trying to develop it and make it ready for the shows. After every rehearsal I go ‘and that is why I do what I do’. You get together with people and make the sound come alive and perform them and you go, ‘OK, everything makes sense’.”

Michelle Xen plays Alhambra Friday May 31. ‘Lose My Cool’ is out now. - Scene Magazine

Having already made a name for herself as part of the Lady Electronica collective, Michelle Xen has since embarked on her own solo career and released her debut EP ‘Synaesthesiac’. Merging with local group The Neon Wild and accompanied by electro-pop talents Scraps and MKO, Alhambra Lounge housed the launch of Michelle Xen’s new live show before she takes it around the country.

First up was solo musician Laura Hill, AKA Scraps. With nothing but a keyboard, synth and her voice she creates simple melodic synth pop tunes. Unfortunately you couldn’t really hear her sweet vocals, but her songs set up a good feel for the night.

While Scraps played to a nearly empty venue, more varied and eager punters had filed in as MKO took to the stage. The four-piece sits between electronic pop and R&B, combining hip-hop and soul beats with grungy bass and synth pop. Female driven vocals full of attitude were produced by Hannah Macklin, who was expelling rap-inspired verses before launching her voice into entirely different territories, showcasing the true extent of her vocal range. More and more bodies moved to the dance floor and the crowd was getting into their urban electronic sound.

That said, it was clear most of the people in the room were there for one thing: Michelle Xen. She climbed the stage in chrome heels, dressed in one of her many colourful costumes of the night. From that moment you knew that Xen was going to live up to her reputation of putting on extravagant live shows. Joining her were The Neon Wild, who were all wearing elaborate feather coats, and the five of them proceeded to run wild on stage.

There’s undeniable chemistry between these guys, evident in the way they embody the music they are making. The entire live outfit brought the songs to life and created a whole new experience both visually and musically. Not only does Michelle Xen have a killer voice, she’s entertaining and her energy on stage seeps down into the crowd. Combining her vocals and energy with pulsating drums and basslines, and interesting beats, she creates modern electronica that’s a little bit dark. You can’t help but move to the beat in some way.

They downed a shot before launching into her new single ‘Lose My Cool’, released in support of the show, and Xen spent the song thrashing flowers on the amps in front of her. She finished the night on an energetic note with her electro-pop hit L.O.V.E which left the room buzzing and wanting more. And you can expect to hear more from the vibrant Michelle Xen as her and The Neon Wild spend the year running amok around the country. - Brisbane Society of Sound

BY GEORGE BASS ON NOVEMBER 18, 2012
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Australian singer/producer Michelle Xen is also a visual artist, which might account for the psychedelic cover art housing this exciting, energetic quarter hour of pop music. Arranged and recorded in her bedroom, Synaesthesiac exudes an accomplished grasp of modern electronic pop signatures, and features biting lyrics drawn from still-sore romantic encounters. The EP offers the kind of cutting-edge hooks established pop stars would bid high for.

The four songs here oscillate between retro indulgence and modern, more aggressive electronica. "L.O.V.E." is chunky, bruising '80s disco, a tribute to a dance-floor siren built from rippling bass pads and a rousing, expletive-laced chorus, while "Silver Bullet" finds Xen scrutinizing a friend's relationship, opening with a growling dubstep beat and sneers of "She doesn't know just what she wants/She doesn't know just what to do/And so she works a steady job/And fills the emptiness with you." Dark, slow, and malevolent, it drops a trance loop as Xen switches to ethereal, Annie Lennox-like high notes, eventually easing things back down with a brooding John Carpenter-style keyboard solo.

"Cleopatra" is a somewhat gratuitous attempt at an extravagant historical epic, using strange glass chimes that build to a thudding chorus and Xen's voice at the limit of its operatic range. She cries out, "Say the name/The key's in the wall/Say the name/It opens the door," over a pile-up of synth-pop lasers, then tries to tie commercial dance music to some of its leaner, more modern offshoots during the chorus, howling like Florence Welch while being belted by grime noises. "You Never Told Me" is a better display of Xen's knack for carousing, bouncy electronica. "I had to walk around with an arrow in my heart/I guess I can survive since I haven't died," she groans over crisp digital drums and grumbling bass. The track confirms Xen is at her best when writing from the heart. - Slant Magazine

Michelle Xen and The Neon Wild
Live at Judith Wright Centre, Brisbane (27/06/13)
Words and Pics by Nayt Housman

Recently we've offered you a taste of Michelle Xen in our Brisbane. Now. Top 20 Countdown and she's popped up in our Top 25 numerous times this year, but now I’ve had the ridiculously large pleasure of seeing her live, TWICE, as part of the production ‘Salõn’ (which finishes June 29) at The Judith Wright Centre, Brisbane.

Michelle Xen may be familiar to patrons of The Judith Wright Centre or the live music scene in Brisbane where she has performed with her previous band ‘Edge Of Colour’ and as part of the Lady Electronica collective; a group of talented female electronic artists. Since then Michelle Xen has gone solo, releasing her debut EP ‘Synaesthesiac’ and has now teamed up with another local act ‘The Neon Wild’, currently performing as part of the production ‘Salõn’.

“Toto! I don’t think we’re in Brisbane anymore!” Brisbane is not a city I consider as a source of electro pop capable of taking on the best in the business, yet that could begin to change. Thumping beats are the bricks in the yellow brick road that lead us on this bold, 80’s inspired syth-pop journey. With the looks of a young Daryl Hannah, vocals packing the punch of Mohammed Ali and the stage presence reminiscent of Roisin Murphy and Alison Goldfrapp (two of my fave doyennes of electro pop) Michelle Xen is a commanding artist who needs to be known. On stage she is a sexy human bullet with music as her gun and I promise, you want to be hit with her energy. An extravaganza of bright colours, sequins, silk, metallic fabrics and tulle drape the stunning electro goddess. Then there’s The Neon Wild, like a pack of wild flying monkeys, not just content to fade into the dim stage background, their energy equally matching Xen’s electric personality with their own fiery personas and heavy hitting performance.

Michelle Xen And The Neon Wild performed songs from Xen’s EP ‘Synaesthesiac’ like ‘Lose My Cool’ and her current single, the super catchy ‘L.O.V.E’ as well as a few totally revamped covers like Blondie’s ‘Atomic’, MKS’s ‘Lay Down In Swimming Pools’ and a snippet of Pink Floyd’s ‘Money’. Xen’s style can be likened to Moloko, Roisin Murphy, Goldfrapp or even Grace Jones but don’t for one minute think it as cut ‘n’ paste dance-pop. Xen manages to keep her music style fresh and punchy, with nods to her influences delivered in her own sassy packaging. This is one Brisbane artist en route to make waves in the Australian and world wide electro-pop genre.


You can download a copy of Michelle Xen's EP on her bandcamp page or you can catch Michelle Xen and her Neon Wild friends at Brisbane’s Teneriffe Festival on July 6th or in Sydney at the Oxford Arts Factory on August 2nd. I highly recommend you do. - It's My Kind Of Scene