Along with Screaming Trees, Love Battery fell into the more psychedelic wing of Seattle grunge, adding a liberal dose of Beatlesque pop to the requisite hunks of mind-bending guitar fuzz. Formed in 1989, the band took its name from a Buzzcocks song, and originally included singer Ron Nine (born Ron Rudzitis, ex-Room Nine), guitarist Kevin Whitworth (ex-Crisis Party), bassist Jim Tillman (formerly of grunge forebears the U-Men), and Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters. Peters left in short order and was replaced by onetime Skin Yard drummer Jason Finn. In 1990, the band released its six-song debut EP, 'Between the Eyes', on Sub Pop. They tightened up their focus and approach for their first full-length, 'Dayglo', which was issued in 1992 to highly positive reviews. Bassist Tillman subsequently left the band and was at first replaced by Tommy Simpson, who stayed only a short time before moving on to Alcohol Funnycar. Simpson was in turn replaced by Bruce Fairweather, who'd previously played guitar in two seminal Seattle bands, Green River and Mother Love Bone.
Fairweather made his debut on 1993's 'Far Gone', whose release was delayed several times over legal issues; it appeared to a disappointing reception. Around that time, Finn began doubling as the drummer for The Presidents of the United States of America. Despite the relative failure of 'Far Gone', Love Battery managed to score a major-label deal with Polygram affiliate Atlas Records in 1994, and issued the 'Nehru Jacket' EP as an appetizer for their full-length bow. That arrived in the form of 1995's 'Straight Freak Ticket', after which Finn left the group to concentrate full-time on the Presidents, who had just signed with Columbia and were poised for breakout success.
'Straight Freak Ticket' failed to win Love Battery a larger audience, and they wound up leaving Atlas. New drummer Mike Musburger -best known for his work with The Posies- came and went, before founding member Dan Peters returned to give the group a new spark. It took some time to put together, but 'Confusion Au Go Go' was finally released in 1999 on the Seattle indie label C/Z. It was generally hailed as a strong -albeit belated- return to form by the band's dwindling but still-present following. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
New York-based Karen Finley is best known for her controversial performance art career, but she has exercised her talents in virtually every creative medium, publishing several books of prose and poetry, displaying collections of visual art, acting in several films, and recording albums of poetic musings with dance-based backing tracks. Born in 1956, Finley grew up in Evanston, Illinois, near Northwestern University, and the political upheavals in Chicago in the late '60s provided the backdrop for her formative experiences. Always interested in performance, Finley entered the medium seriously in 1979 to deal with the grief surrounding her father's suicide the previous year. After receiving her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1982, Finley landed her first NEA grant the following year, which allowed her to move to New York.
Her performance work, all self-authored, was mainly centered around the oppression of women and resultant feelings of rage and self-loathing, but also addressed sexual repression, domestic abuse, homosexuality, and other taboo subjects. It was confrontational, provocative, often scatological, and left no room for neutrality.
Finley recorded her first album in 1988, setting her Beat-influenced poetry to a variety of dance backings on 'The Truth Is Hard to Swallow'. Soon afterwards, she became a highly visible symbol of Congress' efforts to deny NEA grants to potentially offensive material, as Senator Jesse Helms blasted Finley in 1990 for a piece in which she smeared chocolate over her nude body. When the NEA refused her application for a grant because of the content of her work, she and three other similarly affected artists sued; a federal district court declared the so-called "standards of decency" provision unconstitutional in 1992, a decision upheld four years later by the Circuit Court of Appeals.
In the meantime, Finley began to broaden her career, playing Tom Hanks' doctor in the film "Philadelphia" and authoring several books, which include "Shock Treatment" (1991), the self-help satire "Enough Is Enough: Weekly Meditations for Living Dysfunctionally" (1993), the Martha Stewart satire "Living It Up: Humorous Adventures in Hyperdomesticity" (1996), and "Shut Up and Love Me" (1998). Finley has also continued to record, with Rykodisc issuing a performance of her work 'A Certain Level of Denial' in 1994, as well as the album 'Fear of Living' on the Pow Wow label later in the year. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Jorge Reyes was born on September 24, 1952, in Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico with the name Jorge Reyes Valencia. He was not a Native Mexican, but played many Prehispanic instruments to which he was exposed from an early age in his village. Reyes attended the National School of Music, Mexico (Escuela Nacional de Musica de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, or UNAM) 1970–1975, studying the flute. During this time, he formed two seminal Mexican rock bands, Al Universo and Nuevo México, influenced by Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd but incorporating native musical instruments. In 1976, his growing interest in jazz led to spending a year in Hamburg, Germany, where he studied improvisation with Herb Geller. As part of this training, he traveled through Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. In 1978, he attended a Hindu music course in the Himalayas, in which he studied traditional Indian flute and percussion techniques. On these overseas trips, he began collecting many native instruments.
After returning to Mexico, Reyes founded the band Chac Mool with drummer Armando Suárez and keyboardist Carlos Alvarado, which was one of the first Mexican progressive rock bands. The band recorded four well-received albums, on which Reyes played flute and guitar, before disbanding.
In 1985, Reyes began a prolific solo career. He collaborated with several other new-age and electronic musicians, including American synthesist Steve Roach, Mexican singer and multi-instrumentalist Arturo Meza (of the band Decibel), Spanish guitarist Suso Saiz, Mexican percussionist Juan Carlos López, German synthesist Elmar Schulte (of the band Solitaire), Deep Forest, and others.
His music was used frequently in Mexican radio and television programs. He performed many concerts at famous Mexican archeological sites such as Malinalco, Teotihuacan, Templo Mayor, Chichen Itza, and Tenango del Valle. His annual Día de los Muertos concerts at UNAM were popular events. He also gave many concerts at the Espacio Escultórico de Ciudad Universitaria, where he collaborated with dancer and choreographer Regina Quintero. Reyes died from a heart attack at his recording studio in Mexico City on Saturday February 7, 2009. He was 56 years old. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Ilegales is a Spanish music band formed in Asturias. However, despite being a rock band, Ilegales have diverse influences, and their acidic lyrics have made them a reference for groups of their own style, as well as being one of the best musical products of the Spain of the 80s.
The beginnings of the band date back to 1977, when brothers Jorge and Juan Carlos Martínez and David Alonso formed the Madson Trio, which two years later would change its name to Los Metálicos. Juan Carlos later left the band, being replaced by Íñigo Ayestarán on bass. At that time they are renamed as Ilegales.
In 1981 they win the Ciudad de Oviedo rock contest, which gives them the right to participate in the recording of a collective album. A few months later they released the single 'Revuelta Juvenil en Mongolia'. In 1982 the producer Paco Martín manages to get them to record their first album, titled 'Ilegales', in which Jorge Martínez already shows his peculiar way of composing, looking for strong and lapidary phrases, reflecting a nihilistic look on a marginal world, where fatality and violence are omnipresent, making the weak usually end up badly; With these lyrics of harsh social criticism, surrealist texts alternate, presided over by cynicism, black humor or provocation.
The debut album 'Ilegales' (Hi-Fi Electrónica, 1983), with a photo on the cover by the artist Ouka Lele, -that becomes a band icon-, is a success that overwhelms the independent record company set up by the producer Paco Martín to publish it. For this reason, the Asturian singer and songwriter Víctor Manuel takes over the rights to this recording for the label Sociedad Fonográfica Asturiana (SFA), which in turn licenses it to the multinational Epic Records, then dependent on the all-powerful CBS. With the move to a larger label, Ilegales guaranteed first-rate distribution and promotion, coming at a time when the band is approaching the height of their popularity.
With the support of the SFA, the EP 'Europa Ha Muerto' is issued, bringing together some songs from their debut album and one of the first songs released by the band in single format, the pessimistic-humoristic anthem in a punk-ska-rock tone of the title, recorded in Estudios Norte (Gijón), with production by Pedro Bastarrica and René de Coupaud, mixed in Torres Sonido Estudios by Álvaro Corsanego, a tandem that will become frequent in the band's recording career.
In 1984, with being a trio composed by Jorge Martinez (voice, guitar), Willy Vijande (bass) and David Alonso (drums), they record their celebrated second LP 'Agotados de Esperar el Fin', while CBS reissues for the third time their debut album. This new album catapulted the band to national success, although it wouldn't take long for them to savor international success, as by 1985 they were touring Ecuador. In spite of the commercial success, Jorge was not satisfied with the production of this second album, and recovered for the third the technical team that recorded the debut album, setting himself up as producer, for that third LP, 'Todos Están Muertos' (1985).
At the height of their success, Ilegales found the label Discóbolo Records with their manager Manolo Macías, and makes an agreement with the distribution company Nuevos Medios to publish a double live album, which is recorded at the Big Ben discotheque in Mollerusa (Lérida). Once again, the success surpasses that of the independent label, which leads to an agreement with the multinational EMI to distribute the double live album. Two years later, in 1988, the band signed a contract with the Hispavox label -dependent on EMI-, issuing their fourth studio album, entitled 'Chicos Pálidos Para La Máquina'.
For the recording of the album the band becomes a quintet: along with the incorporation of Alfonso Lantero on drums (replacing David Alonso), saxophonist Juan Flores and keyboardist Antolin de la Fuente join the group. Bassist Willy Vijande is replaced by Alejandro Felgueroso. The fifth album, entitled '(A La Luz o a La Sombra) Todo Está Permitido' is recorded by Rafa Kas and a new drummer: Jaime Beláustegui (ex-Los Locos, from Gijón).
The quintet arrives with new changes to the 1992 recording of the album 'Regreso al Sexo Quimicamente Puro', as Willy momentarily rejoins and collaborates in the recording of the album 'El Corazón es un Animal Extraño', released in 1995 under the auspices of Avispa Records. Years later, in 1998, the same label produces 'El Apóstol de la Lujuria'. For the commemoration of their 20th anniversary, all the musicians who passed through the band come together and in a memorable concert in the Plaza de la Catedral in Oviedo, recording an extensive live album which is published under the title 'El Día que Cumplimos 20 Años', that also includes a DVD of the concert. The success of the live album and the immediate tour led Jorge Martínez to found his own record company, La Casa del Misterio, and in 2003 published the album 'Si La Muerte Me Mira De Frente, Me Pongo De Lao'. This same label reissues in 2005 the group's first album, 'Ilegales', on a CD that includes 5 bonus tracks, originally released as singles.
In December 2009, La Casa del Misterio makes an agreement with all the former record labels of Ilegales for the company Pop Up Música to market the box set '126 Canciones Ilegales', including their 9 studio albums to date, as well as unreleased takes, singles and unreleased songs. A later reissue of the box also includes the live album 'Ni Un Minuto De Silencio', which had been published in 2011 in DVD and double vinyl formats, featuring the concert recorded at the Sala Penélope in Madrid during the band's farewell tour.
In 2011 they decide to end as Ilegales, and they refound themselves in a new band namedJorge Ilegal y los Magníficos, playing boleros, guarachas, joropos or cha-cha-chá. In November 2014, Ilegales announce their return, which will take place in March 2015, with the release of 'La Vida Es Fuego'. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
An extremely influential figure in the history of Japanese pop music, Haruomi Hosono has led a lengthy, wildly diverse career which has encompassed mellow folk-rock, exotica, synth pop, ambient techno, film soundtracks, and more. While perhaps best known throughout the Western world as one of the co-founders of electro pop pioneers Yellow Magic Orchestra, his career extends back to the late 1960s and early '70s, when he was a member of bands like the psychedelic rock group Apryl Fool and the folkier Happy End. Beginning his solo career with the 1973 pop/rock album 'Hosono House', his subsequent work ventured into tropical sounds and offbeat jazz-pop, with 1978's 'Paraiso' leading to the formation of YMO. Initially active until 1984, the group rivaled Kraftwerk in terms of influencing techno, electro, synth pop, and creative pop music in general. After the group's breakup, Hosono remained highly active throughout the decade, releasing material ranging from funky, futuristic pop ('S-F-X', 1984) to ambient ('Mercuric Dance', 1985) to soundtracks ('The Tale of Genji', 1987). Additionally, he also composed and produced music for numerous Japanese pop stars during the '80s, including Seiko Matsuda and Akina Nakamori, considerably influencing the style known as city pop (and later Shibuya-kei). Hosono's work during the '90s became more ambient and experimental, with releases including 1995's 'N.D.E' and collaborations with Bill Laswell and Tetsu Inoue. The 2000s brought reunions with Hosono's former YMO bandmates as well as soundtracks such as 'La Maison de Himiko' (2005). Hosono returned to his folk-pop roots during the 2010s, with solo albums such as 'HoSoNoVa' (2011) and 'Vu Jà Dé' (2017).
Born in Tokyo in 1947, Hosono studied sociology at Rikkyo University, forming several bands while still in school. His first band, the psychedelic art-rock group Apryl Fool, released their self-titled LP in 1969 and broke up the same year. Throughout the early and mid-'70s, he played the part of studio musician and bassist, and formed two fusion-pop projects, psych-folk group Happy End and the jazzier Tin Pan Alley. He also launched his solo career with the sophisticated soft pop of 1973's 'Hosono House', and moved in more of an exotica direction with 1975's 'Tropical Dandy'. Increasingly becoming more interested in the possibilities of synthesizers, he began incorporating electronics into his laid-back, exotic pop on albums like 1978's 'Paraiso', co-credited to The Yellow Magic Band, and the fictional Bollywood soundtrack 'Cochin Moon', released on the Japanese King Records. Within the year, The Yellow Magic Band had sprung into Yellow Magic Orchestra, with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi. Coming just a few years after electro futurists Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, YMO pursued a similar trail, incorporating Japanese melodies and video game music influences into synth pop and new wave and becoming Japan's most successful band during the '80s -even though they had broken up by 1984.
Even while Yellow Magic Orchestra was still around, Hosono had been busy with other projects, most notably as a pop songwriter and producer. He ran Yen Records with Takahashi, releasing solo albums such as the experimental synth pop full-length 'Philharmony' (1982) and the self-explanatory 'Video Game Music' (1984). Around the middle of the decade, he also founded the pop-leaning Non-Standard label as well as Monad Records, which focused on his own experimental solo works (such as 'The Endless Talking', 'Coincidental Music', and 'Mercuric Dance', all from 1985). He launched the funk-influenced Friends of Earth with 1984's 'S-F-X'; the group's follow-up, 1986's 'Sex, Energy and Star', included a collaboration with James Brown and Maceo Parker. He also composed scores for films such as 'Paradise View' (1985) and 'The Tale of Genji' (1987).
Following 1989's Epic-issued 'Omni Sight Seeing', Hosono became disgusted with the music industry and took a break from releasing material. The pioneers of ambient house began to namecheck Yellow Magic Orchestra in the early '90s -even producing a YMO remix album called 'High Tech/No Crime' featuring The Orb plus many others- and Hosono returned with 1993's 'Medicine Compilation from the Quiet Lodge', which included collaborations with Laraaji and Akiko Yano. 'Mental Sports Mixes' followed soon afterwards. Two years later, Hosono released solo efforts 'N.D.E', 'Naga (Music for Monsoon)', and the limited 'Good Sport'. He also formed the new age pop group Love, Peace & Trance, releasing a self-titled 1995 album. In 1996, Hosono and Bill Laswell released the jungle-influenced 'Interpieces Organization'. He also collaborated with Tetsu Inoue and Uwe Schmidt (Atom Heart) as HAT, issuing 'Tokyo - Frankfurt - New York' in 1996 and 'DSP-Holiday' two years later. Both were among the first releases on Hosono's eclectic Daisyworld Discs label. Late in the decade, Hosono and Makoto Kubota released the blues-influenced 'Road to Louisiana' under the name Harry & Mac.
Hosono began reuniting with his former YMO bandmates during the early 2000s. He formed Sketch Show with Takahashi, releasing 'Audio Sponge', a blend of glitchy electronics and Beach Boys-influenced pop, in 2002. The album included guest appearances from Sakamoto and Towa Tei, and was followed by 'Tronika' and 'Loophole' in 2003. As Sakamoto's involvement increased, the trio began performing again, this time under the name Human Audio Sponge, releasing a live DVD in 2006. The trio released two singles (2007's 'Rescue' and 2008's 'The City of Light') as HASYMO, and subsequently changed their name back to Yellow Magic Orchestra.
Apart from his electronic work with his bandmates, Hosono remained active composing soundtracks and returning to acoustic pop with albums such as 2007's 'Flying Saucer 1947' and 2011's 'HoSoNoVa'. Covers album 'Heavenly Music' appeared in 2013, and 'Vu Jà Dé', a double-CD split between covers and originals, followed in 2017. Following the 2018 release of the soundtrack 'Shoplifters', five of Hosono's solo albums were reissued by Light in the Attic, marking the first time that most of them had been released outside of Japan. In 2019, Hosono released 'Hochono House', an album of newly recorded versions of songs from his 1973 solo debut. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Gary Clail began his career in Bristol where he worked improvising raps on tapes released by On-U artists. He was taken in by the label to work with Tackhead and the On U Sound System in the late '80s, resulting in a series of 12" releases from 1985-87 before his first full-length split release for Nettwerk, 'Tackhead Tape Time' by Gary Clail & Tackhead. In 1989, he had his true debut album in Gary Clail & On-U Sound System, released by the On U Sound label. The album helped forge him a place in the Bristol electronic underground, and paved the way for his later releases on RCA, which feature a number of singles and EPs as well as one full-length, 1991's 'Emotional Hooligan'. He also released another full-length for Yelen Records in 1996, 'Keep the Faith'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
La Otra Cara De Un Jardín is the pseudonym used by the multidisciplinary artist Francisco Felipe from Madrid. Under this mysterious name, he develops a strong collage of processed sounds that reminds us of the sound experiments of foreign projects such as the French Etant Donnes.
In 1981 he published his first self-produced industrial music cassette with the same title for Tic-Tac records. In 1982, he recorded the single 'Búsqueda de Consuelo en los Amaneceres Fríos' also for Tic-Tac records. Arturo Lanz from Esplendor Geométrico collaborated in it. One year later, he collaborates in the compilation 'Anthems 2' of the Italian label Trax, where he includes the track "The Last Minutes of Everyday". It was re-released in 2010.
Two years later, already in 1985, he is included in the compilation cassette 'Codex' by IEP. Shortly afterwards, he published 'Breve Jornada por un Jardín Cerrado' (EGK 004), where he collected extracts from his first cassette.
In 1986, the split 'Chronicle Of Consumptive Irritation / Brikollage' was released for the Sound of Pig label, together with the group Big Red Stain (Karin Flectcher, U.S.A.).
Also from that year, a production of the musician Juan Teruel's label, Discos Proceso Uvegraf, entitled 'Conspiración', appears. It is a compilation of industrial, electronic and experimental music. In 'Conspiración', a cast of great names from Madrid's experimental music scene appears: Esplendor Geométrico, Depósito Dental, Interacción, Luis Mesa, Juan Teruel himself signing his name and as Uvegraf, Ejumboeke and Segunda Época del Hombre. He is also included in the compilation 'The World, The Flesh and The Devil' by the French label Déviation Culturelles. [SOURCE: GRUPOS NACIONALES NUEVA OLA 80]
Ekatarina Velika (Catherine the Great, also called EKV for short) was a rock group from Belgrade, Serbia. During its existence, EKV built up a devoted following that greatly intensified and expanded after the death of its frontman Milan Mladenović in 1994, which caused the band to dissolve. The group's core consisted of singer and guitarist Milan Mladenović, keyboardist Margita Stefanović and bassist Bojan Pečar.
Ekatarina Velika, initially named Katarina II, was formed in February 1982 following the breakup of the band Šarlo Akrobata. Katarina II's self-titled debut album finally came out in 1984. The album never gained much main-stream popularity. After the album the group fell apart due to artistic differences. Guitarist Gagi Mihajlović claimed rights to the Katarina II name, the remaining members settled on Ekatarina Velika.
In 1985, EKV released their debut album, 'Ekatarina Velika'. The album is characterized by an energetic sound and Milan's hermetic, introspective, and metaphorical lyrics. The 1986 follow up album 'S Vetrom Uz Lice' ('Against The Wind') proved to be the breakthrough album that turned them into bona fide stars. In addition to wider main-stream acceptance, 'S Vetrom Uz Lice' also got some lukewarm reviews from critics complaining it sounded too much like Simple Minds.
In 1987 the band recorded and released 'Ljubav' ('Love'). It displayed a more guitar-oriented, polished sound, partly because of new producer Theodore Yanni. It also showed the first signs of Milan's depressive lyrics, as exemplified by song "Tonemo" ("We're Sinking"). The band confirmed their newfound star status with two consecutive sold out shows at Belgrade's Hala Pionir sports arena. The 1989 album 'Samo Par Godina Za Nas Nas' ('Just A Few Years For Us') wasn’t received well by the critics at the time. It does feature the song "Par Godina Za Nas" which was voted the best (ex)Yugoslavian rock song by Serbian radio in 2006.
In the nineties the band released albums irregularly due to band changes and the political situation in Yugoslavia. 'Dum Dum' (1991) and 'Neko Nas Posmatra' ('Somebody's Watching Us', 1993) were released but the band slowly fell apart. Working on 'Ponovo Zajedno' ('Together Again') Milan Mladenović was hospitalized in august 1994 were he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died on November 5, 1994 at the age of 36. Bassist Bojan Pečar died in London on October 13, 1998, aged 37, as a result of a heart attack. Early drummers; Ivan 'Vd' Vdović passed away in 1992 and Dušan Dejanović died from AIDS on November 16, 2000. Keyboardplayer and vocalist Margita Stefanović died on September 18, 2002. Although never confirmed heavy drug use was rumoured to be the cause. She was 43 and the last of the original line up left. [SOURCE: EUROPOPMUSIC]
Depósito Dental were a duo from Madrid formed in 1983 by Rosa Galindo (vocals) and Pedro Garhel (keyboards).
With a musical concept that moved between experimental dark sounds where the synthesizer electronics predominated, they were essentially characterized by a vision of what they intended to offer with their music as a global multimedia show in which they also had videos, literary texts, slides, stage recreation, etc.
It includes all the sound that emerges in all their plastic experience, expressing the emotions and personal experiences, ignoring their story. They use the voice as an instrument that becomes their own language. They create sounds that go far beyond words. They analyze conceptually the origin-influence that the evolution of music has had on them.
Their "Performances Música" stand out for the creation of a live atmosphere. In their performances they merge different media, the installation, or intervention in a given space, the use of video as an intrinsic relationship between recording and action, body presence, movement or dance. A whole atmosphere or climate that enhances sound sensations, complementing and offering the total work.
They recorded an only album in 1986 for Grabaciones Accidentales with the same title produced by Juan Alberto Arteche.
In parallel to the project, Pedro ran the small venue known as Espacio P very close to Madrid's Plaza de Santa Ana, which remained active well into the 1990s. On the top floor there were exhibitions, and the basement was used for shows, which was more unusual than any other.
Depósito Dental did several performances in Madrid during the 80's, of course in the Espacio P and the Sala Universal, even, already in 1996 they visited the Centro de Bellas Artes to show their show.
In 2005 Pedro Garhel died. [SOURCE: GRUPOS NACIONALES NUEVA OLA 80]
Chromagain was one of the greatest italian synth-wave group from Turin, Italy, from 1982-1986.
The band is celebrated as one of the best minimal wave bands of the old italian wave. They made a lot of gigs with audiovisual supports, playing with important wave bands like Litfiba, Carmody and Denovo.
In 2011 the labels Mannequin Records and Anna Logue have published their anthologic production taking the tracks by the only official acts. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]
