Not from There were an Australian indie rock trio, which formed in 1991 in London, England by Anthony Hills on bass guitar, Simon Lambert on drums and Heinz Riegler on lead guitar and vocals. They relocated to Brisbane in 1992. Their 1998 single, "Sich Öffnen", was listed on radio station Triple J's Hottest 100. Their debut album, Sand on Seven (September 1998), won the Best Alternative Release category at the ARIA Music Awards in 1999. Not from There's sound was characterised by grinding bass lines, fuzzed-out guitar riffs and occasional usage of dubs or samples.
History
1991–1997: Early history
Not from There was founded in 1991 by Austrian-born guitarist and vocalist, Heinz Riegler, who had met two Australian expat musicians in London, drummer Simon Lambert and bass guitarist Anthony Hills and together they formed a trio. Initially working as the Rubber Dolls, they recorded material in London. According to Riegler their first gig was in February 1991, "at the Mean Fiddler in London, it was a Tuesday night. Nobody was there. I took acid and forgot how to play. It went down a treat. Possibly the best show we have ever done."
The name, Not from There, relates to all three members as immigrants who have been deported to their home countries at one time or another. They have issued four extended plays; two early ones were a six-track CD, Conned, released in 1991 on Trinity in the United Kingdom, and an eight-track cassette, Wooden Polished Floors released in 1992 on the same label. At this time both Australians, Hills and Lambert, were deported from UK, with Riegler following, to Brisbane.
A seven-track CD was released in September 1994, Valid to 06/95, on Malignant Records, an independent record label. In 1995 Riegler was deported from Australia to Austria but returned in the following year. Not from There, a self-titled five-track EP, followed in October 1997 on Infectious Records. It had been recorded at Brisbane's Sunshine Studios in July, with Magoo (Regurgitator, Automatic, Custard) producing for Mushroom Records.
1998–1999: Sand on Seven
A three-track single, "What Is Better?", was released by Not from There in May 1998 via Infectious/Mushroom, which Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, felt showed, "jarring rock, with slabs of guitar and industrial strength samples" and "was certainly the dark and dangerous flipside to the radio-friendly sounds." It was followed by a second single, "Sich Öffnen" (English: "Open Yourself"), in August, which is mostly sung in Riegler's native Austrian German. The track was broadcast on indie-based radio stations and received heavy rotation on national radio broadcaster, Triple J. It was listed on the Triple J Hottest 100, 1998. Their Infectious Records releases were later distributed by Sony.
Their debut album, Sand on Seven, was released in September and was produced by Magoo, again. It received critical success and moderate commercial success. AllMusic's Tom Schulte rated it as three-out-of-five stars and explained, "[they] landed upon a relentlessly stable form of noisy indie pop that instrumentally is all about rhythm. Any melody is understated, even vocally. Maybe it is just overcompensation on their part." Alex Steininger of In Music We Trust rated it as an A, he observed, "[their] sound is best described as out-of-this-world rock music that is original and noisy, which is what you should be looking for in your so-called 'rock' music today."
Sand on Seven won the ARIA Award for Best Adult Alternative Album in 1999. The group were also nominated for Breakthrough Artist – Album, Breakthrough Artist – Single and Magoo was nominated for Producer of the Year for his work on the album. A follow-up single, "Juanita's Cocktail Party", was released in January 1999, and despite having a music video, it failed to achieve the chart success of its predecessor.