1999 marks the final album of a triptych that firmly established the blueprint for what is known as the “Minneapolis Sound.” A sparse and distinctive fusion of new wave, funk, and pop, it was the foundation upon which Prince created his masterwork Purple Rain. But Purple Rain represented a far more maximalist version of the aesthetic, adding many more layers of overdubs, strings, and effects. As time went on, Prince’s solo work would move further and further away from the formula he had created early in his career, returning to it only periodically. The Minneapolis Sound would continue through his side projects the Time, the Family, and Apollonia 6, and find new evolutions, such as in the work of former Time members Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

In this presentation, musician and bandleader Adam Rudegeair will define some of the distinctive characteristics of the style, analyse their use on the 1999 album, and explore its domination of the pop music world for the rest of the 80s.

Adam Rudegeair is a prolific composer, performer, filmmaker, and educator based in Melbourne, 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.