Surprise Chef are a Melbourne-based quintet whose cinematic blend of soul, funk, jazz and forgotten sound worlds finds a new home in their fifth and latest album, “Frogs In A Pond”.

On the verge of their album tour and release via Concord Jazz, Surprise Chef debut the album’s lead single 'Leg Day' for Live at Phoenix, directed by Madeleine Purdy. Bringing their infectious groove, musical curiosity, and warmth to Phoenix, bandmates Lachlan Stuckey (guitar), Jethro Curtin (piano/keys), Carl Lindeberg (bass) and Andrew Congues (drums) are joined by multi-instrumentalist Lewis Coleman on vibraphone, an instrument he picked up only four weeks prior to their performance.

Inspired by the highly stylised violence and jarringly groovy music of 1960’s Italian giallo cinema by composers like Piero Piccioni, “Frogs In A Pond” was conceived of back in 2024 as the soundtrack to an imaginary film, complete with recurring characters and musical motifs. Holing themselves up at their self-built College of Knowledge studio in Coburg, Melbourne, the band recorded the album over nine continuous days.

In the band’s words, “After meticulously composing and compiling the material for “Frogs In A Pond”, we found that we were at risk of making a record that was ever-so-slightly too sombre and contemplative. To balance out this mix of light and shade in the track list, Jethro kicked down the door of the studio the day before recording commenced, clutching a chart titled ‘Leg Day’ – a tune of attitude, belief and determination for your amphibian exercise regimen.”

Director: Madeleine Purdy
Live at Phoenix Producers: Soie An, Josh Milch and Mary Ventura
Associate Producer: Chelsea Wittleton
Cintematographer: Jack McAvoy
1st AC: Sinclair Suhood
Lighting Operator/Gaffer: Chloe on Lights
Recording Engineer: Michael Wickens
Mix Engineer: Nathan Moas
Supervising Producer: Angus Hunt
Executive Producers: Judith Neilson