Total

Total was the side project of Skullflower guitarist Matthew Bower, and actually predates his more well-known band (Total sprang into existence in 1982). It was originally the group that evolved out of Pure, with much of the early Skullflower's same lineup; some of them, particularly Alex Binnie and Stefan Jaworzyn, played in Zos Kia as well. Somewhere between 1985-1987, Total mutated into Skullflower, and Total subsequently became Matthew Bower's solo project. At that point it served as a more "ambient" counterpart to Skullflower's wall-of-noise approach; in recent years, however, the dynamic reversed itself until Total's releases were often considerably noisier and more chaotic than Skullflower's. Since Skullflower's demise, Total has become Bower's main vehicle of violent guitar expression. Total is essentially a solo project but he has drawn in the likes of John Godbert (reeds, mandolin, cymbal, etc.), Neil Campbell (A Band, Smell & Quim). There was even a big London show at Paul (Blast First) Smith's club Disobey which featured the Total Big Band; Bower (guitar/fan), Dennison (Violin), Campbell (Violin), Best (Oscillator) and Godbert (cymbal). More recently Total has been involved with more pure noise and has collaborated with Japan's Merzbow on a small run cassette and with Newcastle's Culver, an even smaller run cassette and even a live performance. Total has since packed it in and has been "replaced" by Sunroof. [SOURCE: KORPERSCHWACHE.COM]