Wayne Connolly

Wayne Paul Connolly is an Australian music producer, audio engineer and musician. From 1991 to 1997 Connolly played lead guitar and sang in guitar group The Welcome Mat and released two studio albums. Since 1994, he has played in Knievel with Tracy Ellis and Nick Kennedy. Knievel have released four studio albums and a compilation of B-sides and rarities.

Career

Musician

Connolly formed The Welcome Mat in 1990 with Cory Messenger on vocals and guitar, Pete Bennett on drums (ex-Fiction Romance) and Dave Moss on bass guitar. Leo Mullins (of The Benedicts) replaced Moss on bass guitar in 1991. Steep Hill Climb (1997), The Name Rings a Bell That Drowns out Your Voice (2000) and Emerald City (2012) which put him in touch with emerging artists providing songs for the Youngblood compilation series. Among these were Underground Lovers, Glide, and Custard, all of whom formed working relationships with the producer. Production credits from the 1990s include Wahooti Fandango by Custard, Fill Yourself With Music by Screamfeeder, The Young Need Discipline, Lazy Highways and Future Spa by The Fauves, In Your Bright Ray by The Go-Betweens' Grant McLennan, and Sold by Died Pretty.

Since the early 2000s, Connolly has also worked with Neil Finn, Cloud Control, Dallas Crane, Sarah Blasko, Silverchair, Jimmy Barnes, The Living End, Grinspoon, Powderfinger, The Veronicas, Midnight Oil's Jim Moginie, Halfway, Dappled Cities, Old Man River, The Grates, Turnstyle and many more. Recent credits include albums for The Apartments, Community Radio, All Our Exes Live in Texas, Husky, Hungry Kids of Hungary, Knievel, Sounds Like Sunset, Babe Rainbow, Tim Hart, Perry Keyes and The Paper Kites.

Film and television

In addition to his work in the music recording industry, Connolly has produced work for film and television. His credits include Friday On My Mind, The Kettering Incident, Love Child, The Black Balloon, Newcastle, Little Fish, Monkey Puzzle, Mullet, Willful and Dirty Deeds. The track, "When We Get There", produced for The Black Balloon, won best song at the 2008 AGSC/APRA awards.

Studios From 2007 to 2015, Connolly worked largely from his own studio within the Albert Music premises in Sydney where he housed his restored Neve 8026 desk.

Since 2016 he has worked extensively at Hercules Street Studios in Sydney and at the newly-refurbished Music Farm Studios in Byron Bay.

Selected credits

Credits: 1992: Leaves Me Blind by Underground Lovers 1993: Coprolalia by You Am I Sound as Ever by You Am I 1994: Dream It Down by Underground Lovers Wahooti Fandango by Custard The Young Need Discipline by The Fauves 1995: Hi Fi Way by You Am I (selected tracks) Higher Up the Firetrails by Bluebottle Kiss Sold by Died Pretty 1996: Hourly Daily by You Am I Rushall Station by Underground Lovers Disappear Here by Glide Future Spa by The Fauves 1997: In Your Bright Ray by Grant McLennan Steep Hill Climb by Knievel 1998: Lazy Highways by The Fauves Using My Gills as a Roadmap by Died Pretty 1999: Sweeter Than the Radio by Icecream Hands King Autumn by Hoolahan 2000: Everydaydream by Died Pretty Urban & Eastern by Youth Group The Name Rings a Bell that Drowns out your Voice by Knievel 2001: Size of the Ocean by Big Heavy Stuff First Translated in 1965 by Ides of Space Griffith Sunset EP by Evan Dando 2002: Drag (EP) by Drag We Got This! by New Christs 2004: Dallas Crane by Dallas Crane Skeleton Jar by Youth Group The Truth About Love by David McCormack & The Polaroids Dear Friends and Enemies by Big Heavy Stuff Farewell to the Fainthearted by Halfway 2006: Forever Young by Youth Group Factory Girls by Dallas Crane Casino Twilight Dogs by Youth Group Vision Valley by The Vines Nervous Flashlights by The Fauves Flame Trees by Sarah Blasko Remember The River by Halfway 2007: The Bells Line by 78 Saab Memories & Dust by Josh Pyke 2008: When Good Times Go Good by The Fauves Chimney's Afire by Josh Pyke Easy Fever: A Tribute to the Easybeats and Stevie Wright by Various Artists (including Neil Finn, Jimmy Barnes and Iva Davies) 2009: Zounds by Dappled Cities Everything Is True by Paul Dempsey Ragged & Ecstatic (select tracks) by Yves Klein Blue 2010: An Outpost of Promise by Halfway 2012: Young North by The Paper Kites Serious Magic by Community Radio Emerald City/Through the Rainbow Dark by Knievel 2013: Harlequin Dream by Boy & Bear You're A Shadow by Hungry Kids of Hungary States by The Paper Kites Lemons by Woodlock 2014: Labour of Love by Woodlock Echoes in the Aviary by Jane Tyrell Broken Lines by Patrick James We Could Leave Tonight by Sounds Like Sunset 2015: Baby Blue by Noire No Song, No Spell, No Madrigal by The Apartments 2016: Look Now You're Cursed by Community Radio When We Fall by All Our Exes Live in Texas Zone by Cloud Control 2018: Jim Salmon's Lament by Perry Keyes The Narrow Corner by Tim Hart 2021: Changing Colours by Babe Rainbow To Find Happiness by Josh Pyke (selected tracks) 2022: Chariot of the Gods by Hoodoo Gurus 2023: Treats by Victoria (selected tracks)

Awards and nominations

In 1992, Connolly produced the Underground Lovers album, Leaves Me Blind, and subsequently received Rolling Stone magazine's Best Australian Record award. and Engineer of the Year for his work on Paul Dempsey's "Fast Friends" in 2010.

1996 – ARIA Engineer of the Year for You Am I, Hourly Daily 2007 – ARIA Engineer of the Year for Josh Pyke, Memories and Dust 2007 – ARIA Award for Producer of the Year for Josh Pyke, Memories and Dust 2010 – ARIA Engineer of the Year for Paul Dempsey, "Fast Friends"

Nominations

2006 – ARIA Producer of the Year for Youth Group, Casino Twilight Dogs 2006 – ARIA Engineer of the Year for The Vines, Vision Valley 2009 – ARIA Producer of the Year for Paul Dempsey, "Everything is True" 2023 – ARIA Engineer of the Year for The Teskey Brothers, "The Winding Way"