'Beyond Devastating': Platonic Sex & Melb Artist Underlay Robbed

Brisbane-based band Platonic Sex and Melbourne artist Underlay (multi-instrumentalist Cody Broughman) were robbed on Tuesday (20 February), both losing an abundance of their musical gear – a “massive setback” for touring and recording artists away from home.

They were robbed while everyone was out of Underlay’s house in Melbourne - Underlay’s dog was attacked but luckily survived the intrusion. Platonic Sex will host a fundraiser to raise money for replacement musical gear this weekend.

Aussie artist Flamingo Blonde and Underlay shared posts about the incident on Instagram Stories yesterday and today. Today, Underlay explained that the outlook on getting his belongings back is grim. Meanwhile, police are investigating.

Some of the items stolen from Underlay are expensive, including a Helix Floor guitar amp modeller/pedalboard and its hard-shell Pelican case, an orange Tele “partscaster” that’s in an acoustic flight case with Underlay merchandise, a Gretsch electric guitar, an Ableton Push 2 music device, a Squire Jazz bass guitar, and a hard drive with stems of his music on it.

In a statement, Underlay expressed sadness about the house being broken into and “ransacked”.

“We are beyond lucky that we weren’t home, and our dog survived the intrusion despite being attacked, but we have now lost all our belongings and music equipment,” Underlay wrote. “I lost everything I own in a house fire four years ago, and I have spent that time working hard to try and restore a life, so to see it all disappear in the blink of an eye is beyond devastating.”

Aside from having personal belongings stolen, losing his music gear was described as “a huge kick in the guts”. Underlay continued, “Without it, we can’t do the one thing we love, which is play and create music together, and especially in tough financial times like the present, we definitely don’t have the means to replace it all.

“Platonic Sex were staying with us at the time and have also had most of their touring gear stolen, which creates a huge loss for a band gearing up for a big year of touring and recording.”

Underlay is awed by the “outpouring of community support” already and wrote that his team is working on coordinating fundraising efforts – stay tuned for more information. “If you are able to contribute in any way or even just give us a hug, it’s always appreciated,” Underlay continued. “The Australian music community is a family of beautiful humans, and we’re so proud to be a part of it.”

This afternoon, Platonic Sex went on Instagram and announced a Friendly Fundraiser show at The Triffid, Brisbane, on Saturday, 24 February at 3 pm.

“We’re really lucky that nobody was home during the robbery, but Brando, Ry and Jess all had personal belongings and music equipment stolen. The theft presents a massive setback to our upcoming recording and touring plans,” Platonic Sex wrote on Instagram.

“We’re so looking forward to our afternoon set at The Triffid on Saturday, and we’re really grateful that our friends at the venue want to help us raise some funds to replace our gear. We know that a lot of people in our community are struggling for cash right now, so the gig will still be free entry.

“But, if you’re in a position to contribute, we’ll be selling raffle tickets and taking donations at the show. Please bring your dogs and your playing cards. We’ll be hanging out all afternoon and can’t wait to play for you in the sun.”

Update 24 February 2024: Underlay will hold a fundraiser on Friday, 15 March, at Melbourne’s Brunswick Ballroom, with special guests to be announced soon. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday (27 February). Stay tuned via the Brunswick Ballroom website.

If you’d like to support the artists further, you can buy Underlay’s latest EP, Sick Like A Kid, via Bandcamp, purchase Platonic Sex merch here and buy their music on Bandcamp.

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