ABOUT ME

I am Craig Simmons, an Australian artist. I make indie electronic music inspired by the classic pop of the 1980s but reinterpreted as something new and unique. With a few exceptions, I do everything you hear and see. I am the singer, songwriter, synthesist, producer, sound engineer, graphic designer, video maker, and record company, all wrapped up in one! I wish to create a sustainable music production process that allows me to continue releasing records without constraint or expectation.

I have lived my life in reverse. Many musicians work hard at their music careers when they are young and then switch to a career in the music business when they reach middle age. I did the opposite. I landed a job with Sony Music as an album cover designer when I was young and rose to the position of Online & Creative Director. After 18 years, I left to pursue my creative endeavours in music, art, design and technology.

Synthpop

I was drawn to 80s Synthpop from a very early age. I liked the accomplished songwriting, the mood and the sound of sequenced synthesizers. I even liked the minimalist album artwork by designers such as Mark Farrow (Pet Shop Boys) and Peter Saville (New Order, OMD) who inspired me to study design at university.

Over the years, my music tastes broadened to encompass indie pop/rock, Britpop, electronica, film scores, and more recently, Synthwave. To some extent, you can hear all those elements in my music, but I actually don’t try to conform to any particular genre – it just comes out the way it does! I like music to have a strongly defined melodic form and rhythmic structure. I think of my songs as a series of interconnected patterns, layered with interesting words and ambient textures, capable of inducing a strong emotional response when combined in the right way.

History

For over 20 years, I have been releasing music as Space March, although I’ve actually been making synthpop since the late 80s.

I released my first Space March album in 2003, having previously released a techno album Suffocating Sally under the name Chiba in the mid-90s, and two albums through a synthpop duo called ElectroSquad in the late 90s. I continue to release new music to a very niche but passionate fanbase.

Since the age of 17, I have suffered from ME/CFS and other related health conditions. This often makes life challenging, and has kept me from the rigours of touring. At the same time, it has been one of the main drivers of my creative expression through songwriting. I still remain hopeful that one day there will be an effective treatment that will make touring possible.

Highlights

An undeniable career highlight was being ranked #1 by a critic in the Chicago Reader 2004 annual “best of” music critics poll for my debut album.

I was also very lucky to work with the legendary producer/engineer Mark Saunders (Erasure, A-ha, The Cure, David Byrne) on the Monumental album.

I’ve had nice comments about my music from famous artists, such as Amanda Palmer and Vince Clarke. But mostly, I feel chuffed at the positive feedback I receive from the diverse group of Space March fans.