Omegachild

The Omegachild 'one-man machine' live show is a synesthetic music experience that sees audio-activated projections and lighting responding to Newstead as he simultaneously plays live synths and drums, whilst singing. In challenging the limits of human performance in such a way, Omegachild both explores and critiques the potential for technology to act as an extension of the human body. This boundary pushing approach earned Newstead The QUBE effect 'Best New Talent' award in 2016, and in 2019 the mesmerising video for his recent single Fifth Dimension (Directed by Manny Cole) was nominated as a finalist in Queensland Music Awards. In what begins as a stream-of-consciousness style that may borrow the instrumentation of heavy electronic music at the pace of industrial rock one day, the next will see Newstead’s muse tempting him into the introspection of ambient, classical cinematic textures, or the rhythm found by allowing the fingertips to translate the way kaleidoscope patterns rearrange themselves. Vocals weave in and out of the futuristic landscape not demanding attention away from the ‘one-man-machine’. After years of primarily working as a producer and touring as a live drummer in various bands (playing notable support slots for luminaries such as Pop Will Eat Itself, Combichrist, Cog, and Sleepmakeswaves, Newstead reigned his talent back home, and, drawing heavily from his experiences of life as a musician in the digital age, redirected his primary focus toward electronic composition and the formation of the Omegachild project. In 2014 Newstead journeyed to India with filmmaker Danny McShane. It was there, whilst transversing the countries mountainous terrains that the foundations of Omegachild's debut EP Postcards took form. McShane captured the entirety of this creative process, resulting in the vivid documentary film, Waiting for Postcards, accompanying the EP's release; a dual music-cinema event, which forms the initial patterning of Omegachild's highly ambitious audio-visual approach. Omegachild began his live journey in 2015 and quickly started showcasing the unique show at warehouse parties in Brisbane and festivals around Queensland and Northern NSW including; The Australian Body Art Festival (QLD), Faraway Festival (NSW), Jungle Love Festival (QLD), Concrete Jungle, and Manifest (QLD) and Psych Night warehouse parties. Drifting away from channeling the beautiful landscapes of India on his 2014 documentary ‘Waiting For Postcards’, Omegachild explores a more virtual space on the soon to be released album ‘Youtopia’. The album is a vivid spectre of our time. Stark beats and dense synth walls sketch out a dystopian terrain, but a spirited resistance slowly emerges, with critical vocal lines unveiling slithers of optimism and progress. With an EP, documentary film, and a successful run of festival and warehouse gigs laying down the prelude of sorts, Omegachild stands poised and ready to launch into the next frontier of his musical saga.