Metgumbnerbone was an obscure ritual-industrial improvisation project that centered around the collaboration between Richard and Philip Rupenus (better known as The New Blockaders, and often Organum partners), John Mylotte, and Sean Breadin (who with Richard Rupenus formed the oblique ritual project Masstishaddhu). From what little information is available about the group, Metgumbnerbone only had a couple releases back in the mid ’80s with 'Ligeliahorn' being the only recording to get beyond the short run productions of cassette culture with a vinyl release on the now defunct A-Mission Records. Metgumbnerbone is an ensemble whose recordings have become fetish objects for the most die-hard industrial fans. [SOURCE: SPUTNIK MUSIC]
Luis Mesa is a Spanish electronic pioneer now disappeared from the scene, he was a true precursor of noise. He published his first cassette in 1983 at the same time that he founded his record label IEP (Investigaciones Estudios y Proyectos). He began in the eighties with groups like Esplendor Geométrico, Macromassa, La Otra Cara de un Jardín...
He recorded with other pseudonyms such as Merz, Recursos Ajenos and Bercomice. [SOURCE: SOMN ARCHIVE]
The Lizard Train were formed in Adelaide in early 1985 with Shane Bloffwitch (ex-Risque Humour) on bass guitar and vocals; David Creese (Risque Humour) on drums, chimes and vocals; Phil Drew on guitar and vocals; and Chris Willard (Head On, Crawling Eye, Acid Drops, Revenge of the Gila Monsters) on lead guitar and lead vocals. Willard's former bandmate and then-girlfriend, Liz Dealey, formed her own band, Liz Dealey and the Twenty Second Sect. The Lizard Train's first gig was in May 1985 and their first recording was as backing musicians on Liz Dealey and the Twenty Second Sect's debut single, 'The Wailing House', in 1986.
In August 1986 The Lizard Train released their debut extended play, 'Thirteen Hour Daydream', on Greasy Pop Records. Its four tracks had been recorded in December the previous year at Adelaide's Studio 202 with Kim Horne engineering and producing. From August to October 1987 The Lizard Train undertook their first tour of Europe where the EP had gained some popularity in France and Germany. In September that year they issued their debut studio album, 'Slippery'. Its lead single, "Beauty Underground" had appeared in June and was followed in October by "Ever Been There?". Drew left in December and the group continued as a trio. They toured Europe again and then in September 1989 they started recording their second album, 'The Ride', at Bartels St Studio with Tony Elliot producing.It appeared the following year with a single, "She Gets Me".
In October-November 1991 they recorded their next album, 'Get Your Wah Wahs Out,' with Elliot producing again. By 1992 they had signed with Shock Records' label, Shagpile Records and released the album that year. In October 1993 they followed with a six-track album, 'Couch', produced by Darren McBain, Dave Lokan and Lizard Train; and recorded at Big Sound Studios in April.
In March 1995 the next album, 'Everything Moves', appeared; it was preceded by its associated single, "It all Came from Nothing", a month earlier. They were produced by Steve Albini (Nirvana, The Breeders, The Jesus Lizard) at Mixmasters Studio in Belair. In May that year they issued a five-track extended play, 'Inertia', also produced by Albini. By that time they had relocated to Melbourne and became The Dumb Earth. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Lime Spiders were an Australian post-punk unit resurrecting the trashier elements of '60s garage and psychedelic rock with willful abandon. Vocalist Mick Blood formed the band in the early '80s with guitarist Gerald Corben, bassist Tony Bambach and drummer Ricky Lawson. The band recorded two singles during 1983 (released on the 'Slave Girl EP' two years later) and signed to Virgin Records. Lime Spiders' first album was the excellent 'The Cave Comes Alive!', but the following year's 'Volatile' was a bit of disappointment, veering closer to stultifying hard rock. The group broke up after 1990's 'Beethoven's Fist'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Lewd were an outgrowth of an earlier band called The Sixteen Year Old Virgins, who changed their name to The Knobs. Lead singer J. Satz Baret was formerly as "Satin Sheets," and played in the later, non-cabaret version of Ze Whiz Kids, circa 1975. Ze Whiz Kids, primarily a theater group, also included the late Tomata Du Plenty, of The Screamers.
The Lewd’s first show was in the Northwest punk Bethlehem, Vancouver, B.C. The Lewd opened for the Ramones on June 8, 1977 for an evening of pure insanitainment. They recorded and released a great three-song EP on Scratched Records in 1979. The record was a home studio recording, and included the insane "Kill Yourself." The B-side numbers, "Trash Can Baby" and "Pay Or Die" are equally great crash 'n' burn punk tunes, all with Blobbo (Kurdt Vanderhoof of Metal Church) playing bass.
In late 1979, Satz and Blobbo moved The Lewd to San Francisco and Blobbo switched over to guitar, adding Bob Clic on bass. This band recorded some demos and played SF for a nearly a year until Blobbo quit to form his new venture Metal Church, who released quite a few heavy metal albums. Bob Clic moved to guitar, and part-time model Olga de Volga came in on bass. Olga had played with other bands, including one called VS and often played Lewd shows wearing outrageous black leather outfits. The band appeared on the 1980 seven-inch, four-band EP 'S.F. Underground 2' (Subterranean Records) doing the fast-paced punker "Mobile Home."
With Christopher Reece in as drummer, they released their only LP, 'American Wino' on ICI Records in 1982. Having fully absorbed the emerging faster hardcore punk sound, this blistering document features one side of studio recordings done in Hollywood, and another side culled from a live performance at Target Video Studios. This album is a crucial document of the San Francisco early '80s hardcore scene, right up there with releases by Flipper, VKTMs, No Alternative, Dead Kennedys, etc. After the LP was released, Bob Clic left and the band fizzled out soon afterwards. Olga moved to Hawaii, and Chris Reece became a member of Social Distortion.
[SOURCE: LAST.FM]
The Keys were an English, London-based band active from 1979 until 1983. The band was formed by bassist Drew Barfield (later of the Big Heat and Los Pacaminos), guitarist Steve Tatler, Ben Grove, and Paul McCartney's former drummer Geoff Britton. Joe Jackson produced the band's only album, 'The Keys Album' for A&M, from which came several singles: "One Good Reason", "I Don't Wanna Cry" and "Greasy Money". [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Jarboe, who has always preferred to be known by her first name only, has long been recognized as one of the fiercest spirits in modern music. She is an intelligent and aggressive artist possessed of striking musical skill who has rejected the music industry's all-too-easy stereotyping and exploitation to create shockingly powerful visions. Helping strongly in this is her one-of-a-kind vocal talent, which ranges from emotive blues/gospel tones to wild shrieking -an excellent match with her wide-ranging preference in musical styles, from industrial dance to atmospheric psych-folk. Joining the band Swans two years after it came into being, Jarboe soon became the co-leader of the band with founder Michael Gira; together the pair released some of the most striking, musically extreme recordings in years, both as Swans and as the side project band Skin. While she had begun releasing solo material with 1991's 'Thirteen Masks', she became far more prolific after Swans broke up in 1997, issuing numerous self-released recordings in addition to albums for labels such as Atavistic and the End, with highlights including 2005's 'The Conduit' and 2008's 'Mahakali'. She has also collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Neurosis, Justin Broadrick, and Helen Money.
Jarboe La Salle Devereaux comes from a complex, fascinating background. Both her parents were FBI agents; her upbringing in the South included such elements of extreme American religious faith as snake-handling ceremonies, and before her direct involvement in music she participated in "unorthodox sex work," to use her own words, in various U.S. cities. She learned to play a Hammond organ as a child, and was trained in jazz and choral vocals. She became obsessed with Swans after hearing their 1983 debut full-length, and eventually joined the band as their backing vocalist and keyboard player, first appearing on 1986's 'Greed'. She credits Michael Gira for expanding her vocal technique into that of a rock singer, as opposed to her previous background. Likewise, her tenure in Swans marked their change from a caustic noise-rock group to a more melodic, atmospheric one. In addition to appearing on Swans albums such as 'Children of God' (1987) and 'The Burning World' (1989), Jarboe formed a side project with Gira called Skin (aka the World of Skin), releasing three albums and a compilation between 1987 and 1990.
Jarboe's solo career began in 1991 with the release of 'Thirteen Masks', followed a year later by a collaborative effort released under the name 'Beautiful People' with Larry Seven, who had previously worked on 'Thirteen Masks' and various Swans tracks. Her next official solo release was 1995's 'Sacrificial Cake', described as a "Swans Related Product," and released in concert with Gira's own solo debut, 'Drainland'. After this, Swans took precedence as she and Gira finished the group's farewell albums and tours. Her first post-Swans release, 'Anhedoniac', appeared in 1998. Shortly thereafter she made a trip to Israel for artistic inspiration for the follow-up, 'Disburdeen Disciple'. However, she contracted an illness while traveling and was hospitalized upon her return to America. The album appeared in 2000, as did a collaboration with Telecognac titled 'Over'. Additionally, Jarboe collaborated with Brett Smith and John Bergin as Blackmouth, and the trio's self-titled album was released that year.
Following several limited, self-released CD-Rs, including the 2002 remix album 'Dissected', Jarboe collaborated with doom metal pioneers Neurosis on a 2003 full-length. Two years later, she released two albums on Atavistic: 'The Conduit' and double-CD 'The Men Album'. Following a trilogy of Magick-themed EPs and collaborations with Cedric Victor, Byla, and Justin Broadrick, Jarboe's solo album 'Mahakali' appeared in 2008, issued with different track listings for the American and European pressings. 'Alchemic' was released in 2009, and 'The Path' (with Kris Force) followed in 2010. While Jarboe did not rejoin Swans when they reunited in 2010, she did guest on their 2012 album 'The Seer'. She continued self-releasing limited solo albums, and returned to Atavistic with 2013's 'Mystagogue', a cover-heavy double-CD credited to The Sweet Meat Love & Holy Cult. Jarboe collaborated with cellist Helen Money, releasing a self-titled album in 2015, and worked with Father Murphy on a 2017 single. Solo album 'The Cut of the Warrior' was released by Translation Loss in 2018. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
San Francisco provocateurs Inflatable Boy Clams recorded one of the greatest all-female art punk records ever made, a wrongfully obscure five-song double 7-inch EP which has garnered a cult following ever since its initial release on Subterranean Records in 1981. While the music blends simple instrumentation and captivating, quirky lyrics, the artwork looks like an early Rough Trade single, complete with posh Winogrand-esque photo of the group.
More of a performance art troupe than a traditional rock band, the Boy Clams often rotated between instruments and shared vocal duties: JoJo Planteen, Judy Gittelsohn and Carol Detweiler (the latter two both members of Pink Section), along with saxophone player Genvieve Boutet de Monvel.
It is easy to imagine Planteen dancing to "Skeletons" with its infectious bassline and kitschy organ (or even to the flip-side track "Snoteleks," which is the A-side played backward). "I'm Sorry" is the ultimate one-upmanship song that reveals that women can be sinister, too. Recommended for fans of Kleenex / LiLiPUT, Raincoats, and Bush Tetras. [SOURCE: SUPERIOR VIADUCT]
One of the first New Zealand bands to explore the world of "abused technology" -samplers, synthesizers, drum machines, and the like- the Headless Chickens formed in 1985 as a one-off project to play the multimedia event "Nitpickers Picnic." Originally dubbed The International Headless Chickens, the trio -onetime Children's Hour members Chris Matthews and Johnny Pierce, along with drummer Michael Lawry- re-formed on a permanent basis in 1986, and soon made their recorded debut with a track on the student radio compilation 'Outnumbered by Sheep'. A self-titled EP followed later that year, and the group began a tour in support of Nico.
Tragedy soon struck, however, when bassist Pierce committed suicide in August 1986. The Headless Chickens soldiered on, enlisting another Children's Hour alum, Grant Fell, as Pierce's replacement; with the addition of former Bird Nest Roys member Rupert Taylor, they became a quartet. In 1987, the Headless Chickens won a national rock music contest which resulted in a first prize award of $60,000, allowing them to record an LP and mount a national tour; ex-Children's Hour drummer Bevan Sweeney then signed on to cut 'Stunt Clown', issued in 1988 to strong critical acclaim. The single "Donka" was also an audience favorite. The following year, the Headless Chickens' roster changed yet again with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Anthony Nevison, who made his debut on the excellent single "Expecting to Fly," which helped land a contract with the Flying Nun label.
Still, because of their heavy reliance on electronics -a sound atypical of the dominant New Zealand aesthetic- the Headless Chickens initially found little mainstream acceptance. That changed with the release of 1991's 'Body Blow', the first record to feature new vocalist Fiona McDonald; the single "Cruise Control," which marked a new, slicker direction for the group's sound, reached the Top Ten -only the second Flying Nun release to earn such a distinction. The follow-up singles, "Donde Esta La Pollo" and "Juice," were also successful. Health problems forced Nevison temporarily out of the group in 1993, and after a 1994 European tour, both McDonald and Lawry exited as well; when Fell announced his own departure in early 1995, the group's continued existence appeared grim, but in 1997, they returned with 'Greedy'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Gen Ken Montgomery is a New York-based artist whose involvement in the cassette-culture and mail-art movements of the late seventies led to the creation of Generator, New York’s first sound art gallery (1989). At Generator Montgomery amassed what is now a time capsule of internationally produced art in the form of cassettes, records, zines, letters and ephemera from the days before the internet when artists collaborated and corresponded internationally by post. Montgomery has collaborated with many legends of the music/sound noise underground including G.X. Jupitter-Larsen, Scott Konzelmann (Chop Shop), David Lee Myers (Arcane Device), Al Margolis (If, Bwana), Istvan Kantor (Monty Cantsin), Michael Zodorozny (Crash Course in Science) and Conrad Schnitzler whose octophoninc Music in the Dark Cassette CONcerts Montgomery continues to perform.
Montgomery co-founded Generations Unlimited, Pogus and A.T.M.O.T.W. (Art Is Throwing Money Out The Window). Montgomery playfully thrives in a world celebrating ephemera, immersive listening experiences, book making and Lamination Rituals. He also loves making and sending postcards. Doing business as Egnekn, Montgomery is the Minister of Lamination in The Kingdoms of Elgalnad-Vargaland. [SOURCE: SONM ARCHIVE]
