Editing Itch-E and Scratch-E (section)

== History ==
In 1991 Itch-E and Scratch-E were formed in Sydney by [[Paul Mac]] (as Itch-E) on keyboards and samples (ex-Smash Mac Mac, [[The Lab (band)|The Lab]]) and [[Andy Rantzen]] (as Scratch-E) also on keyboards and samples (ex-Pelican Daughters).<ref name="McFarlane"/><ref name="Macgregor"/> Their name refers to United States carton show, ''[[The Simpsons]]''{{'}} characters, [[Itchy and Scratchy]], as well as the drug, [[MDMA|ecstasy]] or E.<ref name="Macgregor"/> According to Jody Macgregor of [[AllMusic]] the name "certainly suggests that the idea of forming a techno duo started as a laugh."<ref name="Macgregor"/> The duo were often joined for live shows by Sheriff "Dub Man" Lindo.<ref name="McFarlane"/>

They initially performed a [[techno music|techno]] sound which drew on early bleep techno as well as influenced by fellow Sydney-based, [[Severed Heads]] ([[Tom Ellard]] of that group had helped produce an album by Mac's earlier band, The Lab, which was never released). The melodic influence of Mac, trained in classical music, gave them a distinctive sound which eventually led to pop success. One of their demos led to the band signing with [[Volition Records]]' label, Second Nature.<ref name="McFarlane"/> Their debut mini-album, ''Irritable'', was released in August 1992.<ref name="McFarlane"/>

The group released the album ''Itch-E Kitch-E Koo'' in October 1993.<ref name="McFarlane"/> It was recorded at two Sydney studios, The Lab and Masking Tapes, with Mac and Rantzen as producers. Kristian Hatton of Haarp Media, in July 2015, listed the album as one of his Top&nbsp;100 Albums in Niche Electronic Music, and explained "[it] showed that electronic music in our country – although always influenced by America and Europe – could gain attention from a mainstream audience despite being from the underground."<ref name="Hatton"/>

The lead single from the album, "[[Sweetness and Light (Itch-E and Scratch-E song)|Sweetness and Light]]", was released in May 1994, and was co-written with Justin Brandis (of Pelican Daughters). It became their best-known work, and peaked at #65 on the [[ARIA Charts|ARIA Singles Chart]].<ref name=aria94/> At that time grunge was more popular than rave music: "grunge was introspective and depressive, rave was quite the opposite. It was still gritty, but its core message was utopian: peace, love and unity."<ref name="Knox"/> The track was listed in twenty-first place on the [[Triple J Hottest 100, 1994]]. At the [[ARIA Music Awards of 1995]] they won the inaugural Best Dance Release category.<ref name="ARIA List"/> When Mac accepted he declared "We'd like to thank all of Sydney's ecstasy dealers, without whom this award would not be possible."<ref name="Jenkins"/> Although this was bleeped out of the TV broadcast, a sponsor of the awards, the National Drug Offensive, withdrew their funding.<ref name="Jenkins"/><ref name="Swales"/>

In January 1995 Itch-E and Scratch-E released the album ''Itch-E and Scratch-E... and Friends'', which Australian musicologist, [[Ian McFarlane]], described as a "sprawling double album... which covered the gamut of electronic dance."<ref name="McFarlane"/> According to McFarlane the friends appearing on the album included Crackerjack, a "high energy house" duo (with Mac); Event Horizon (comprising Lindo and Rantzen) which provided "funky bleeps"; Alien Headspace's "electronic jazz"; and Lindo's "hypnotic dub".<ref name="McFarlane"/> They also released a single-only, "Howling Dog", which was nominated for Best Dance Release at the [[ARIA Music Awards of 1996]].<ref name="ARIA List"/> By the end of that year they had to change their name to Boo Boo & Mace! due to international acts of similar names.<ref name="McFarlane"/>

As Boo Boo & Mace! the duo issued a studio album, ''Sublimely Pointless'', in July 1998 on Prozaac Recordings.<ref name="McFarlane"/> More than a year earlier they had released a CD single, "Flowers in the Sky" in February.<ref name="McFarlane"/> At the [[ARIA Music Awards of 1997]] it was nominated for Best Dance Release.<ref name="ARIA List"/> They also remixed several songs by Australian children's group [[The Wiggles]] for the soundtrack of ''[[The Wiggles Movie]]'', as "Wigglemix." With Lindo aboard, as Boo Boo Mace 'n' Nutcase they issued a single, "Gotta Move On", in November 1997.<ref name="McFarlane"/> Additional singles by Boo Boo & Mace! followed in 1998.<ref name="McFarlane"/> By 2001 the duo had reverted to Itch-E and Scratch-E and released another studio album, ''It Is What It Isn't'' (1 May 2001), but they disbanded in that year with Mac pursuing his solo career.<ref name="Macgregor"/>

In January 2010 the duo announced on their MySpace page that they had reformed as Itch-E and Scratch-E. During that year they released another studio album, ''Hooray for Everything!!!'' (6 August 2010), and four singles, "Other Planets" (March), "r.E.f.r.E.s.h" (May), "Electric" (October) and "Back 2 the Jack" (December). ''Hooray for Everything!!!'' peaked at No.&nbsp;23 on the ARIA Dance Albums chart.<ref name="ARIA Report 1067">{{cite web | date = 9 August 2010 | archiveurl = https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20100810140100/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20100811-0001/Issue1067.pdf | title = The ARIA Report | publisher = Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) | issue = 1067 | page = 17 | url = http://www.aria.com.au/pages/documents/issue1067.pdf | archivedate = 10 August 2010 | accessdate = 29 June 2015 }}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In 2015, "[[Sweetness and Light (Itch-E and Scratch-E song)|Sweetness and Light]]" was listed at number 1 in In the Mix's '100 Greatest Australian Dance Tracks of All Time' with Nick Jarvis saying "Paul Mac and Andy Rantzen's greatest track symbolises the turning point when the previously underground rave scene suddenly stepped into the mainstream consciousness."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://inthemix.junkee.com/the-100-greatest-australian-dance-tracks-of-all-time/27904.html|archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20151216224732/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/24303/20151216-0715/inthemix.junkee.com/the-100-greatest-australian-dance-tracks-of-all-time/27904.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2015-12-16|title=The 100 Greatest Australian Dance Tracks of All Time|date=2015|accessdate=22 March 2019}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>