Syria Lamonte (1869-1935) is the earliest known Australian performer to make a commercial recording. Lamonte was born Sarah Cohen in Sydney and arrived in London in 1896. She recorded 21 record ‘sides’ between August and October 1898 at The Gramophone Company in London.

American sound engineer Fred Gaisberg recorded the discs using the new zinc-etched, flat disc technology. This involved cutting a lateral groove into a wax coating on a zinc disc which was then acid-etched to make a deeper groove from which stampers could be made. One of the songs she recorded was They Always Follow Me, from the 1897 musical The Belle of New York.

Berliner E3013