Ever since its brief appearance as background music in a scene from Under the Cherry Moon, keyboardist, bandleader and broadcaster Adam Rudegeair harboured a lifelong curiosity to hear the complete one-hour jam known as “Junk Music.” A marathon funk workout recorded in early 1986, it featured Prince (drums), alongside Wendy Melvoin (guitar), Lisa Coleman (keys), Eric Leeds (sax), Levi Seacer, Jr. (bass), and Sheila E. (percussion).

Eventually leaked via bootleg circles (and now freely available on YouTube), “Junk Music” was everything it promised to be — incendiary, dynamic, a masterclass in blistering funk synergy.

This presentation offers a reading of the sonic architecture of this elusive recording, focusing on how the distinct contributions of each band member inform the rhythmic foundation, harmonic colour and textural detail. An essential entry in the non-album canon of the Parade era, “Junk Music” as a revealing snapshot of Prince’s collaborative process at its most exploratory.

Adam Rudegeair is a prolific composer, filmmaker, and educator based in Australia. His music is rooted in jazz and funk, with significant influences from the sounds of New Orleans and Minneapolis. His current projects as a leader include Lake Minnetonka, The Bowie Project, and Retconned Bond.

In 2021 Adam completed his Masters studies at Box Hill Institute with the thesis, ‘Strange Changes: Re-imagining Jazz Structures for Improvisation Utilising the Compositions of David Bowie’.

Since 2008 Adam has presented the weekly jazz radio program Black Wax on PBS 106.7FM in Melbourne.