Decibel: Inland Lake (le lac intérieur) by Lionel Marchetti

Decibel are a new music ensemble that focus on the integration of acoustic and electronic instruments in chamber music performance, founded in Western Australia in 2009. In 2025 they were awarded the APRA|AMC Art Music Luminary National Organisation Award for “sustained commitment that has transformed the Australian music landscape”.

Whilst rooted in western art music tradition, Decibel aim to remove stylistic boundaries in their commissioning and performance approaches, which focus on the combination of acoustic and electronic sounds. Since their foundation in 2009, Decibel have commissioned over 100 new works, released over 12 albums and toured around the world.

Decibel are world-leading interpreters of graphic notations and pioneer digital score formats for composition and performance. This includes the ongoing development of their successful Decibel ScorePlayer App for iPad, enabling coordinated performance of graphic notations for musicians and composers internationally.

The ensemble’s international reputation is evidenced by international label releases (Pogus, EzzThetics, Mode, HCR) and repeat invitations to tour Europe, Japan, Malaysia and the UK. The ensemble has collaborated with composers such as Eliane Radigue, Werner Dafeldecker, Agostino Di Scipio, Alvin Curran, David Toop, Marina Rosenfeld, Lionel Marchetti, Andreas Weixler and Johannes S. Sistermanns and worked with iconic Australian composers Jon Rose, Hollis Taylor, Alan Lamb, Ross Bolleter, Warren Burt, Eric Griswold and Anthony Pateras.

Decibel have contributed the Australian premieres of works by Eliane Radigue, Fausto Romitelli, Tristan Murail, Alvin Lucier, Peter Ablinger, Mauricio Kagel, and have toured and recorded monograph concerts dedicated to Roger Smalley, Alvin Lucier, John Cage and Giacinto Scelsi.

“..impressive in their imagination, diversity and scope.” Daniel Portelli, Resonate, 2022.

“..utterly masterful” Loudmouth –The Music Trust, 2023

Inland Lake (2019) is composed by long time Decibel collaborator and French musique concrète artist Lionel Marchetti, and was released on CD by Australian label Room 40 in 2022, and won the Charles Cros ‘Coup de Cœur’  Prize in 2023. Decibel’s performance of Inland Lake has been featured around Australia, and at Cafe Oto in the UK, where it was called ‘spellbinding, revelatory listening’ in TheReviewHub.