First public public performance, age 11

Paul Vedant has had a unique and varied musical heritage. Growing up in a devout Christian household in an Australian country town, he began playing guitar and piano at age 11. At 15 he was playing guitar in a folk/country/gospel group in the local church. It was the tail-end of the 70’s singer/songwriter period, and he was also known to play covers of songs from Chuck Berry and the Beatles to Don McLean and Neil Young – on guitar at bush campfires and on pianos in town – with anyone who would listen or join in.

On moving to the city to begin an ill-fated arts degree, he played what are still some of his best-paying gigs on the streets of Melbourne, in an illustrious busking career performing Simon & Garfunkel covers with a hometown friend. He played ambient and gospel piano in the church of the God Squad Motorcycle Club. It was there that he began to play electric guitar, and then after a Robert Johnson experience he sold a portion of his soul to the devil of rock´n´roll.

He then played guitar with several bands in the Melbourne 80’s post Nick Cave underground scene, including The Movers, The Crucifixation and The Bird Dissolves. He also occasionally guested with The Fish John West Reject, playing piano on a couple of tracks on their Swim album (1989) and the single The Orchard (1990).

Box the Jesuit, 1993. Paul Vedant (as Paul Wonderlick) at left

In 1990 he moved to Sydney to join the legendary glam art metalheads Box the Jesuit, performing and co-writing songs on their last album Guide Dogs for the Spiritually Impaired (1993) and video Kosmic Ganda – a tribute to Goose (1994). He also guested on keyboards with You Am I at the Box the Jesuit Stark Raving Elvis Tribute show in 1991.  In January 1992 Box the Jesuit supported Nirvana at the inauguaral Big Day Out. Later that night Vedant attended his first dance rave, and there had another crossroads experience… Fortunately his soul had only benefited from the earlier sale, and so he was able to sell another substantial portion, this time to the devil of digital dance music.

He continued to play with Box the Jesuit until they broke up in 1995, then took a break from performing music, and backpacked around the world with an acoustic guitar for a while before settling in Spain. He was encouraged out of his performance retirement when he met dj loopez, and played solo at the Funky Finca festivals in Andalucia (2000). He then began working with dj loopez at the Funky Finca recording studio, creating music digitally and laying the foundations for what was to become nu-funk, with the addition of Manu El Santero in 2002.  In 2006 he released his first solo song The Love Frequency, which came 2nd in the Crimson Circle worldwide song competition in November 2006.  In 2010 he released a remix of the The Love Frequency and produced the video.   He then returned to Australia and his musical roots, taking up the acoustic guitar again and performing covers in venues from Far North Queensland to Perth in Western Australia.

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