Formed in Canberra, Australia, as a four piece in June 1991 by brothers Nick and Martin Craft, on guitar and bass respectively, with friends Pip Branson (guitar) and Giri Fox (drums). Then, at the end of the year, joined viola player Jeremy David; teenagers all. Their original demo recordings from this period was a curious, murkily recorded adventurous space-rock outing with a 60s twist, especially on standout track Sunburst. Alannah from the Hummingbirds heard their tape, then saw them play in their hometown of Canberra and then went straight to the Half A Cow office yelling “You gotta sign these guys! They’re Amazing!” So impressed were Half A Cow that room was made on the upcoming Slice 2 compilation for their track Last Time. There was also a Canberra connection between Pip Branson and Nic from the label as Pip’s brother David had played violin with Nic in the Plunderers’ first line-up (and their debut 45 was on Sidewinder Records!). Sidewinder were signed to Half A Cow in mid-1992 (Martin was still only fifteen at the time) which resulted in their first EP, T Star – which was recorded over numerous weekend road trips from Canberra to Sydney, with some members still having to juggle high school commitments. Like all great beginnings, things were pretty low-key as the band found their feet in both the studio and on the stage. T Star, a fuzzed-out mysterious collection, released in early 1993, gave greater nods towards the likes of English bands Ride and My Bloody Valentine. Maybe the fact that the Craft family had moved from England to Australia in the 1970s had something to do with it. As the band later explained: It wasn’t largely a conscious decision to make a ‘wall of melody’ style record, but rather the result that comes with being in the studio for the first time and wanting to try everything.