Surprise Chef Share “Inside Voice” + “Outside Voice,” Two-Part Opening To New Album Frogs In A Pond (October 23 / Concord Jazz)

Listen To “Inside Voice” + “Outside Voice”: https://i.surprise-chef.com/frogsinapond

Australian Instrumental Quartet’s New Album Inspired By Italian Giallo Cinema + ’60s/’70s European Film Composers

North American Fall Tour Begins October 30

September 11, 2026 -- Today, Australian instrumental group Surprise Chef share “Inside Voice” and “Outside Voice,” the two-part opening to their forthcoming album Frogs In A Pond, out October 23 on Concord Jazz.

“Inside Voice” and “Outside Voice” follow the album’s first single, “Leg Day,” a funk-studded introduction to Frogs In A Pond that arrived last month alongside the announcement of the album and Surprise Chef’s fall North American tour. The tracks offer a window into the cinematic world of Frogs In A Pond, a lush, intricately crafted 40-minute suite inspired in part by Italian giallo cinema and European film composers of the 1960s and ’70s. Surprise Chef approached the record as a continuous body of work rather than a collection of standalone songs, imagining it as the soundtrack to a film that doesn’t exist.

Written early in the making of Frogs In A Pond, “Inside Voice” and “Outside Voice” became a foundation for the mood and flow of the album. The pieces were originally written as a single composition before the band split them in two with the sequencing of the record in mind. “Inside Voice” functions like the theme to a film’s opening sequence, while “Outside Voice” follows as the world of Frogs In A Pond begins to unfold.  Leon Michels contributes flute, appearing on several songs across the album. Says the band, "Understanding when to use one’s inside voice and when to use one’s outside voice is a highly beneficial skill for living."

Listen to “Inside Voice” + “Outside Voice” here: https://i.surprise-chef.com/frogsinapond

Frogs In A Pond was recorded over a continuous nine day session at Surprise Chef’s College of Knowledge studio in Melbourne, where three members of the group also reside. It was recorded almost entirely live with minimal overdubs. The instrumentation includes drums, electric bass, electric guitar, nylon acoustic guitar, piano, clavinet, Arp Odyssey, vibraphone and tuned wood blocks, inspired by European composers’ approach to film in the ‘60s and ‘70s that opted for small ensembles over orchestras.  Great care was taken in the sequencing of the album; establishing a flow was as crucial as each individual song.  Listeners will notice rhythmic and melodic motifs interpolated with different instruments throughout.

Frogs In A Pond follows 2025’s Superb, featured on Rolling Stone Australia’s Best Albums of 2025 list.  Surprise Chef have been celebrated across the globe for a sound that has been informed equally by their isolation in Australia as their deep love for soul, hip-hop, funk, David Axelrod and other contemporary instrumental artists including Menahan Street Band. Highlights include support from KCRW, KEXP and Gilles Peterson, praise from Questlove, and festival appearances at Reeperbahn, Desert Daze, Pickathon and London Calling.  They’ve been sampled for a collaboration between 88 Rising’s Rich Brian and Ghostface Killah, and provided the soundtrack to a Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime commercial.  

Surprise Chef is guitarist Lachlan Stuckey, keyboardist Jethro Curtin, bassist Carl Lindeberg and drummer Andrew Congues, with producer/composer/percussionist/multi-instrumentalist Hudson Whitlock also on the recording. The album was produced by their longtime producer and engineer, Henry Jenkins.