Put Down Your Pickaxe

"Put Down Your Pickaxe" (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version)
Album cover art by NeonWabbit, featuring Aurora Australis' original beta design
Single by Neon and the Argie Bees
Published	March 18, 2018
Released	November 3, 2023 (2023-11-03)
Studio	Studio RGB-Newt
Genre	Country Folk
Length	1:15
Label	Fishal Project Records
Composer(s)	Darien Brice Dickinson
Producer(s)	The Fishal Project
Neon and the Argie Bees singles chronology
"—" "Put Down Your Pickaxe" (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version) "—"
Neon and the Argie Bees EP chronology
— (—) Music from The Aussie Goldmine's Original Pitch Pilot (2023) — (—)
Neon and the Argie Bees soundtrack chronology
— (—) Music from The Aussie Goldmine's Original Pitch Pilot (2023) The Disappearing OST: Music and Score from The Disappearing Act (2024)

"Put Down Your Pickaxe" (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version), the only track released from the soundtrack EP Music from The Aussie Goldmine's Original Pitch Pilot, is a single by Neon and the Argie Bees comprising of two versions of the same song, one being a remaster of a 2017 instrumental originally uploaded to the internet on March 18, 2018 in an unlisted YouTube video as the stand-in "Ending Credits" theme for the original pitch pilot of The Aussie Goldmine's cancelled 2017 animated series, and the other being a more orchestral version of that theme, made in 2019.

It was officially released worldwide on November 3, 2023, as a digital download and on streaming services, such as Spotify, via Distrokid. Its genre is classified as Country/Folk/Classical wherever the Soundtrack genre is not able to be applied, as it is not part of a larger soundtrack album.

Background

Sometime in 2017, the demo track was put together in the DAW software LMMS using high-quality MIDI soundfonts.

In March 2018, when a test render of the end credits for a version of The Aussie Goldmine's animated series pitch pilot required some music, this track was used, and named, for the first time.

Composition

2017 Demo version

The track features an acoustic guitar playing over a deep growling bass, clapping, and twinkling percussion noises reminiscent of both metal ores being mined by someone constantly striking a rock with a pickaxe and an old cash register providing a payout.

2019 Epic version

The "Epic" version takes a more orchestral, medieval, and even disconcerting approach, slightly going off-key during the middle, and also ending with a sustained organ note and deep, rumbling choir going "ooh" and "ahh".

Production

Album artwork

The album artwork was adapted from a poster by NeonWabbit advertising the original 2017 pitch pilot of a potential animated series for The Aussie Goldmine. It features Aurora Australis in her original beta design, before the character was redesigned by Kappapeachie, holding a pickaxe in front of the sun shining down on the fictional Queensland Rock, a potential home base location for The Aussie Goldmine, which houses a large green and gold crystal.

Release

The single was released on November 3, 2023, and was only meant to contain the 2017 Demo version, but had to be reuploaded with the 2019 Epic version to comply with streaming service song length requirements. On many streaming services, it still retains a release date of March 18, 2018, as that is when the 2017 demo was first uploaded to the internet, despite the inclusion of the 2019 Epic version to pad it out.

Track listing

Music composed and arranged by Darien Brice Dickinson.

Digital download

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Put Down Your Pickaxe" (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version)	1:15

Extended play

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Put Down Your Pickaxe" (2017 Demo version)	0:41
2.	"Put Down Your Pickaxe" (2019 Epic version)	0:34

Personnel

•  Darien Brice Dickinson – bass, guitars, keyboards, percussion, composition, MIDI programming, production
•  Studio RGB-Newt – production company
•  The Fishal Project / Fishal Project Records – producer, record label

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog No.
Worldwide	18 March 2018 / 3 November 2023	Fishal Project Records	Digital download	NW-S17FPR01

Versions

2017 Demo version

Appears on:

• "Put Down Your Pickaxe" (single release)
• Music from The Aussie Goldmine's Original Pitch Pilot (EP)

2019 Epic version

Appears on:

• "Put Down Your Pickaxe" (single release)
• Music from The Aussie Goldmine's Original Pitch Pilot (EP)

External links

Self-published

• Put Down Your Pickaxe (2017 Demo version) on YouTube, in its original, un-remastered 2018 upload with test credits
• Music from The Aussie Goldmine's Original Pitch Pilot on SoundCloud
• Music from The Aussie Goldmine's Original Pitch Pilot on Bandcamp
• Put Down Your Pickaxe (2017 Demo ver.) on Newgrounds
• Put Down Your Pickaxe - 2017 Demo version on Audiomack

Distributed via Distrokid

• Put Down Your Pickaxe (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version) on Spotify
• Put Down Your Pickaxe (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version) on Apple Music / in the iTunes Store
• Put Down Your Pickaxe (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version) on YouTube
• Put Down Your Pickaxe (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version) on YouTube Music
• Put Down Your Pickaxe (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version) on Amazon Music
• Put Down Your Pickaxe (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version) on Deezer
• Put Down Your Pickaxe (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version) on TIDAL
• Put Down Your Pickaxe (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version) on iHeartRadio
• Put Down Your Pickaxe (2017 Demo version / 2019 Epic version) on Boomplay

Also available on

• Instagram/Facebook
• TikTok/TikTok Music/Resso/Luna
• Pandora
• Claro Música
• JioSaavn
• Anghami
• KKBOX
• NetEase Cloud Music
• Tencent Music
• Qobuz
• JOOX
• Kuack Media
• Yandex Music
• Adaptr
• Flo
• MediaNet Music
• Snapchat Music