Monuments were founded in January 1981 in Turin, Italy. The band emerged from the ashes of the new wave band Teknospray (1978–81), where the founding members played side by side as guitarist / keyboardist and bassist / keyboardist. In the new line-up Mauro Tavella (synthesizer and programs) and Andrea Costa (synthesizer and vocals) immediately decided to dedicate themselves exclusively to electro-music. Their aim was to blend traditional pop melodies with the latest synthesized sounds.
Live concerts were performed on a “synthesizers and percussion” recorded base coming from a 4-track tape player. This was normally supported by visual material (slides shows and 16mm film clips). The melodies, the main instrumental parts and vocals were always played live. The four most important tours were: "Ice Age" (40 dates in Piedmont and around Italy, from 1981 to 1982); "Monuments from the Future" (60 dates from 1983 to 1984, with 8 shows in Germany; "Nite & Lite" (50 dates spanning 1984 and 1985, with 10 shows in France and Belgium); "Per Mangiare Le Nuvole" (about 40 dates from 1985 to 1986, including a show in which they represented new Italian music at the first Mediterranean Biennial in Barcelona (1985). In the same years they also did some impromptu sound performances. These included "Sunset Boulevard" in 1984 during which Monuments played a two-hour improvised sound track to accompany a sunset at 2,400 meters in the Alps.
In 1986, Monuments decided to abandon the live set, but they held on to their synthesizers and music. In previous years they had often been commissioned to write music and now decided to return to their private studio to work on soundtracks for the theatre, radio and independent cinema. In 1987, they pooled economic and physical resources by joining forces with Carlo Ubaldo Rossi and Andrea Lesmo to create a professional recording studios (Transeuropa Recording Studio). This new lineup mixed and produced a lot of independent music for artists such as Litfiba, Neon, Moda and others, as well as composing new material on commission. In 1995, Monuments start working on a new live experiment, "Electronìa Alchemica", which would see them working exclusively with sound (bringing the mixer on stage, too) to produce a quadraphonic concert. The show was only performed in a few select venues and then dropped.
In 2002, the duo agreed to have a break. Mauro Tavella devoted his time to working as technical director and occasional producer on projects for Africa Unite (Italian reggae band) and also worked as a freelance in many different recording studios in the city. Andrea Costa worked on a few experimental solo projects and also began providing technical and artistic support for fashion shows and conventions.
In 2006, the story seemed all over when Costa and Tavella felt like giving it another go. They rekindled the Monument project by inviting the singer/composer Marino Paire to work with them. They had already collaborated with him over the years in parallel experiences. Marino Paire should have joined the lineup in 1986, but the change in direction of the duo placed the idea on the back burner. In 2007 Anna Logue Records contacted them to discuss reissuing some of the old material and some previously unheard tracks. This resulted in 'XXVII' coming out at the beginning of 2008. This CD is an anthology containing the best of the group’s early years (1981–84). The first ever piece by the duo, "Die Denkmäler" (1981), was specially rearranged for the occasion in a more modern guise, and represents a crossover point towards their most recent work. Between 2008 and 2010 Monuments tested the new line-up in Turin with an improvised live performance ("Electronìa Alchemica 2"). They also reinterpreted some pieces by Mozart for a live performance by Italian artist Maurizio Vetrugno. They produced an multimedia installation called "Up/Down" for a contemporary art exhibition. At the same time, a number of compilations came out on the market containing tracks by Monuments. In 2012 Marino Paire leaves the band and Andrea Costa and Mauro Tavella continue to work together. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
The Mississippi-based power-pop group The Windbreakers primarily comprised the duo of singer / guitarists Tim Lee and Bobby Sutliff. After debuting in 1982 with 'Meet the Windbreakers', a seven-inch EP issued on their own Big Monkey label, the band enlisted the aid of producer Mitch Easter for the follow-up, 1983's 'Any Monkey With a Typewriter', which featured an appearance by The Bongos' Richard Barone. Two years later, The Windbreakers released their full-length debut 'Terminal'; among the guests were The Rain Parade, who produced and played on a cover of Television's "Glory." (In 1986, Lee and Rain Parade member Matt Piucci also teamed in the side project Gone Fishin'.) After Lee and Sutliff reconvened in 1986 for 'Run', recorded with Easter and long-standing associate Randy Everett, The Windbreakers disbanded, although the following year's 'A Different Sort...', essentially a Lee solo project, appeared under the band's name. After a handful of solo projects, The Windbreakers reunited in 1989 for the self-produced 'At Home With Bobby and Tim', followed in 1991 by 'Electric Landlady'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Visible was a synth-pop and minimal wave duo formed in Troyes, France, by Pascal Tritsch (Guitar, Bass, Vocals) and Yves Thibord (Keyboards), that released two 7", 'Essor Assuré' (1981) and 'Indicible Fréquence' (1982) and a 12'', 'A Fine Aim In Life' (1983) all on the Hawai label. In 1982, Yves Thibord produced the EP 'Shangaï Express' by the French band of the same name, and in 1989 he collaborated by adding effects and samplers to the rai album 'Hana Hana' by Chaba Fadela and Cheb Sahraoui. They have appeared on compilations such as 'BIPPP: French Synth-Wave 1979/85' (2006) and 'Des Jeunes Gens Modernes' (2008).
One of the most enduring English singer/songwriters, Tracey Thorn began making music with Stern Bops and then, more notably, Marine Girls, a minimalist pop group that released a pair of albums inspired by Young Marble Giants and The Raincoats. While Marine Girls were active, Thorn released 'A Distant Shore', a relatively moody, if similarly skeletal solo album, on Cherry Red in 1982. Around that time, she met Ben Watt -who was also signed to Cherry Red- and formed a partnership as Everything But the Girl. From 1984 through 1999, Thorn and Watt released ten albums that shifted from indie pop to slick sophisti-pop to downtempo club music. Additionally, Thorn appeared on recordings by the likes of The Style Council, The Go-Betweens, and Massive Attack. Shortly after having twin daughters together, she and Watt put EBtG on ice, as Watt DJ'ed and operated his Buzzin' Fly label while Thorn stayed home with the children. They had a third child, a boy, in 2001.
After several years away from music, Thorn began writing again and recorded her second solo album, 'Out of the Woods', which was released in early 2007. Instead of working with Watt, she collaborated with a number of producers, including Ewan Pearson, Charles Webster, Cagedbaby, Sasse, and Martin Wheeler. A year later, Thorn and Watt married. Pearson returned as sole producer of Thorn's 2010 effort 'Love and Its Opposite', released in the U.K. by Watt's Strange Feeling label. In 2012, Thorn released 'Tinsel and Lights', a holiday album featuring songs by contemporary composers. A well-received memoir, "Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star", was published in 2013. Following that were a couple low-key releases, including the two-song 'Molly Drake Songs' (recorded with Watt for a BBC 4 documentary about the mother of Nick Drake) and "Under the Ivy" (a Kate Bush cover). Thorn was sought out by screenwriter and director Carol Morley to provide the soundtrack for "The Falling", a drama that debuted at the BFI London Film Festival in 2014. Just prior to the film's wider release the following April, Thorn's contribution -eight short songs- was issued as 'Songs from the Falling'.
Thorn's career as a writer kept going strong. In 2014, she started writing a column for The New Statesman and in 2015 published 'Naked at the Albert Hall', a book delving into the art of singing. Her own voice was heard again later that year on a compilation of her work as a solo artist: 'Solo: Songs and Collaborations 1982-2015'. She also appeared as a guest vocalist on John Grant's album 'Grey Tickles, Black Pressure'. She stayed quiet on the musical front for the next few years, only appearing on Jens Lekman's 2017 album 'Life Will See You Now'. She had begun writing songs for another album in 2016, however, and in 2017, began recording them with producer Ewan Pearson, bassist Jenny Lee, and drummer Stella Mozgawa (both of whom play in Warpaint). Along the way, vocalists Shura and Corinne Bailey Rae stopped by to add contributions. The record, simply titled 'Record', was issued in March of 2018 by Merge in North America and by Unmade Road everywhere else. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The Snails were an early 80's anarcho-punk band from London. There were a whole host of anarcho-punk bands out there in the early 80s, but it seems they're all forgotten -APF Brigade, The Apostles or The Snails. They only released the 'Shitting Bricks' tape. It's very, very lo-fi indeed, and most of the time all you can hear are the drums and vocals, and our vocalist is no Steve Ignorant with his second-rate Johnny Rotten sneers. The most obvious criticism of anarcho-punk is that many of the bands put message before music, and that's the case here as many of the tracks on here are more on-record rants than songs. Yet anarcho-punk lyrics never fail to be interesting, indeed "From Foxhunts to Oblivion" is a very thought-provoking affair that starts with fox hunting and ends with an image of nuclear apocalypse. It's that typical Crass thing where you begin with one topic that you present as a microcosm of a bigger issue before hitting you over the head with said bigger issue. The sparseness of this tape is intriguing, and though it never really 'rocks', you certainly feel it. Not perfect, but recommended. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Jeff and Jane Hudson were two of the three original
Rentals, Pseudo Carol was the third member. The
Rentals formed in the fall of 1977 in Boston, and
released their first single 'Gertrude Stein'b/w 'Low Rent' which were produced by Oedipus (former program
director at WBCN, Boston).
The Rentals opened for The Clash at the Harvard Sq.
Theater on Feb. 16, 1979 (on the same bill with Bo Diddley).
After moving to New York, they signed to Beggars'Banquet Records
at Max's Kansas City in 1979 at four in the morning in their dressing room.
They released the cult single, 'I Got A Crush On You', that
charted in NME London 1980.
The Rentals broke up in
1980. [SOURCE: JEFF AND JANE]
Featuring four guitars and a sound straight from those psychedelic '60s, Rhode Island's Plan 9 dealt with little except period covers on their first album, 1982's 'Frustration'. The group added a batch of originals on 'Dealing With the Dead', and spent the next two albums compiling early singles ('Plan 9') and documenting their live show ('I've Just Killed a Man, I Don't Want to See Any Meat'). Plan 9 began to add remnants of hard rock with 1985's 'Keep Your Cool & Read the Rules', but after switching to Enigma, the group stripped its '60s influences and began sounding like a plain old rock band. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
In 1982, Sven Väth was asked to play a residency at the club Dorian Gray in Frankfurt am Main. It was there that he met Michael Münzing and Luca Anziloti and got into music production. In 1985, the three came together as Off ("Organisation For Fun") and produced the single 'Bad News', which he brought with him to Ibiza and proffered it to Alfredo, Pippi, and Cesar –Ibiza’s popular DJs at the time. The following year, in 1986, Off broke ground with their new record, "Electrica Salsa” from their debut album, 'Organisation For Fun'. The track became such a hit across Europe that Sven found himself as a pop sensation performing with stars such as Vanessa Paradis and Axel Bauer at the age of 22. It sold one million copies. Off released a series of singles and a second album, 'Ask Yourself', in 1989. Their final single, 'Move Your Body' was released in 1990. Münzing and Anziloti moved on to their new project, Snap!. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Sverdlovsk-Leningrad hybrid Nautilus Pompilius became legendary for its abrupt ascension to celebrity at the end of the 1980s, making a name for Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinburg) as the third capitol of Soviet rock. Its sound originated in the Ural Mountains but found a home among innovative Leningrad groups like Akvarium and Kino. Charismatic frontman Vycheslav Butusov and songwriter Ilya Kormiltsev were the two constant members of Nautilus. Other musicians, mostly fellow disciples of the Sverdlovsk scene, came and went throughout the group's almost 20-year history.
The seeds for Nautilus Pompilius were planted in 1978 by Vycheslav Butusov and Dimitry Umetsky, two students of the Sverdlovsk Institute of Architecture. The pair performed at dances, entertaining patrons with renditions of Western rock hits, only in 1983 recording their debut with a Led Zeppelin-like stab at hard rock called 'Pereyezd' ("Crossing"). In 1985 they become known officially as Nautilus Pompilius, (they had previously called themselves Ali-Baba I Sorok Pazboynikov ["Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves"]). That same year, songwriter Kormiltsev, also of the group Urfin Juice, tagged onto the collective. Following the group's first visit to Leningrad in 1984, Nautilus Pompilius radically changed its aesthetic, making itself over as a new wave trio: the two founding members added keyboardist Viktor Komarov. 1985's 'Nevidimka' ("Invisible Being") marked a re-orientation towards the Leningrad rock scene, with Butusov's jumpy vocals tightly strung over monotone bass and keyboard accompaniment. That year, the group's destiny overlapped briefly with fellow Sverdlovsk rocker and Trek vocalist Nastia Poleva, who performed with the group, but quickly dropped the project to pursue her own solo work.
In 1986, 'Razluka' ("Separation") detonated their fame in the Soviet Union from one end to the other. The group tried on a new image, donning military uniforms and welcoming a crew of new musicians from the Sverdlovsk stage. One notable addition was Nastia Poleva's husband and longtime bandmate, Egor Belkin, also guitarist for Urfin Juice. A slew of triumphant concerts followed, including a legendary performance at Moscow's televised Rock Panorama, where the provincial group managed to turn the capitol upside down, staggering audiences and media, and instigating full-blown Nautilus-mania. In the same trip, Nautilus found time to record an album, its first to be released on the official state label Melodiya. In 1989, at the pinnacle of their fame, 'Knyaz' Tishyinyi' ("Prince of Silence") was a bona fide hit. The group took its charisma onto the silver screen, appearing in two films by Ural director Andrei Balabanov, "Ranshe Bylo Sovsem Drugoe Vremya" ("Before Was a Different Time") and "U Menya Net Druga" ("I Don't Have a Friend"), and a Finnish documentary about Soviet rock, "The Sickle and the Guitar".
In 1989, life under the microscope was wearing on some bandmembers, coming to a head when co-founder Umetsky exited the lineup, leaving the group to unravel completely. But in 1990 Butusov moved permanently to St. Petersburg, reincarnating the group with new musicians and a new sound: harsh minimalist guitar rock that was met with skepticism, at best. Two albums, 1990s 'Naugad' ("At Random") and 1992's 'Chuzhaya Zemlya' ("Foreign Earth") demonstrated new lyrical trends as well; Butusov and Kormiltsev had traded in the social themes of previous years for textual contemplations of philosophy and religion that seemed more relevant amid the moral and aesthetic crises of the newly freed economy. Few enthusiasts of the military-clad Nautilus of the '80s followed them into the '90s, but the group found new audiences, in 1994 releasing their most commercially successful album of the new period, 'Titanic'. From then on critics noticed a steep decline in the group's work, reflected in 1995's 'Kryl'ya' ("Wings"), which even the musicians admitted was forced. Hoping to find a way out of their artist sinkhole, Butusov and Kormiltsev flew to England to record their new album 'Yablokitay' ("Apple-China"), a collaboration with Boris Grebenshikov as well as local producer Bill Nelson. They returned to Russia to promote and tour the album, but shortly after its release, the group scattered. Their final triumph was the soundtrack for Andrei Balabanov's cult classic "Brat" ("Brother"), a representation of '90s mob culture that became iconic in the post-Soviet era. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Metabolist were a short-lived UK experimental group forming in January '77; consisting of Malcolm Lane (guitar, synth, vocals), Simon Millward (bass, vocals, synth) and Mark Rowlatt (drums, percussion), with Jacqueline Bailey dedicated to cover designs. Within the UK press their sound was roughly lumped alongside several other UK experimentalists, The Pop Group, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle and This Heat. While tied to many preconceived conceptions, "a poor mans This Heat" comes as a classic example; the group procured a different sound upon each release. Asides from British counterparts, the band also claimed influences from Can, Gong and Magma.
Early on, Metabolist came to the executive decision to steer clear of capital record labels, forming Drömm Records. Each member took an active responsibility in recording, mixing and editing; giving freedom to ideas, time, and money. Indicative of these procedures the bands sound is defined by a rougher edge. Unfortunately these independent actions have lead to restricted re-issue abilities, with original copies being sort after items.
In their short career Metabolist only release one full-length LP, with a scattering of 7" vinyls and cassettes on the side. 'Hansten Klork' (1980) acts as their most complete recording. Their sound hones on the repetitive minimalism featured in Post-punk and Krautrock, with Tints in lo-fi Magma-esque passages sneaking there way in through pronounced bass lines.
Far from essential, Metabolist is recommended to persons interested in experimental (post-punk) influence groups, or anyone who loves the eccentricities of lo-fi experimentations. [SOURCE: PROG ARCHIVES]
Lubricated Goat were formed in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia in 1986 by Stu Spasm (real name Stuart Gray) on lead vocals, guitar, synthesiser and bass guitar. Spasm had previously been a member of Exhibit A, Zulu Rattle, Salamander Jim, Beasts of Bourbon, James Baker Experience, Death in Vegas and Hot Property. The original band also included Martin Bland on drums and backing vocals (ex-Head On, Crawling Eye, Acid Drops, Bloodloss, Zulu Rattle, Salamander Jim, Primevils), Brett Ford on drums, and Pete Hartley on bass guitar and guitar (the latter two both formerly of the Kryptonics).
En route to Sydney after a visit to England, Spasm went via Perth to visit former Singing Dog drummer Ford, who was then playing in the Kryptonics with Hartley. While in Perth, Spasm recorded side 1 of the band's debut album, 'Plays the Devil's Music', at No Sweat Studios with Ford and Hartley. Side 2 was recorded in Adelaide on a 4-track with Bland.
Lubricated Goat signed to Red Eye Records offshoot Black Eye Records, established by John Foy, which released 'Plays the Devil's Music' in July 1987. In Sydney, Spasm recruited bassist Guy Maddison of Perth band The Greenhouse Effect (later a member of Mudhoney), Hartley switched to lead guitar. Most band members lived on Cleveland Street in an old, run-down three-story mansion which was dubbed Gracelands. The house was a haven for musicians and artists who hosted art shows and nude discos.
In July 1988 the group released their second album, 'Paddock of Love', which included the track "In the Raw".
On 2 November 1988, the band provided a nude performance, lip-syncing to "In the Raw", on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV program, Blah Blah Blah. The event created national media outrage. The criticism was met by ABC-TV's presenter, Tim Bowden of Backchat, who "appeared shirtless behind his desk so as to give an impression of nudity while discussing listener's letters about [that group's] appearance". A documentary film about the event, directed by Cousin Creep and also titled "In the Raw", explained why the band were nude for that performance. It premiered on 11 December 2009 at the 19th Meredith Music Festival. The lineup for the ABC performance included musician Peter Read (also of the band Thug), who was brought in on a temporary basis when another band member felt uncomfortable about appearing nude.
In a line-up change, Hartley was dismissed and Ford quit, replaced respectively by guitarist Charles Tolnay (ex-Grong Grong, King Snake Roost) and drummer Gene Revet (ex-Ragdoll, The Space Juniors). In May 1989, they issued the 'Schadenfreude' EP.
Lubricated Goat's back catalogue was reissued by Amphetamine Reptile Records in the United States and on Normal in Europe before the band embarked on its first US tour in mid-1989. Tolnay and Revet did not participate in the tour; Spasm and Maddison were joined by ex-Bloodloss member Renastair EJ (on guitar and saxophone) and Bland (on synthesiser as well as drums). Later, after Maddison's departure, this line-up recorded a third full-length album, 'Psychedelicatessen', with Lachlan McLeod (ex-Salamander Jim) on bass guitar and audio sampler.
In 1990, the group commenced its first European tour, one that was plagued with tragedy via the stabbing of Spasm in Berlin. The incident placed Lubricated Goat on hiatus.
Various incarnations of Lubricated Goat (often featuring only Spasm) existed in the early 1990s, documented on the 7" singles 'Meating My Head' (1990, part of the Sub Pop Singles Club), 'Shut Your Mind' (1992, Sympathy for the Record Industry) and 'Play Dead' (1993, Sub Pop). During this period, Spasm was also a member of grunge supergroup, Crunt, which featured his then-wife Kat Bjelland of Babes in Toyland as well as Jon Spencer Blues Explosion drummer, Russell Simins; Crunt released their eponymous debut in 1994.
Lubricated Goat resumed activity in the mid-2000s. Among the members were Australian drummer Hayden Millsteed (also a founder of New York post-punk band Bell Hollow), who performed on the band's 2003 album, 'The Great Old Ones', which featured re-recordings of previously released Lubricated Goat and Crunt tracks.
In 2007, a new line-up of Lubricated Goat started writing and performing new songs alongside their older ones. This ensemble included Anne Mette Rasmussen on keyboards, sound effects and backup vocals; Creighton Chamberlain (formerly of Heroine Sheiks) on bass; and drummer Rich Hutchins (formerly of Live Skull and Of Cabbages and Kings).
The line-up changed again in 2009, with Chamberlain replaced by Jack Natz, formerly of the 1980s New Jersey punk band The Undead as well as Black Snakes, Cop Shoot Cop and Red Expendables. Natz had previously played bass in Lubricated Goat intermittently from the late 1990s through to the mid-2000s. Rasmussen left to form her own band, LoveStruck, which also included both Spasm and Hutchins.
Spasm later headed the Art Gray Noizz Quintet with Hutchins, Ryan Skeleton Boy (formerly of Woman) on bass, Andrea Sicco (of Twin Guns) on guitar, and rotating fifth members such as metal percussionists, sax or trombone players. Temporary 1988 member Read died in Melbourne in 2016 after battling liver cancer. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
When attempting to describe what Keiji Haino does to a guitar, the verb "play" seems terribly insufficient. Mauling might be a more appropriate choice, maybe even destroying. Regardless, whether as a solo performer, a collaborator, or leading his tremendous trio Fushitsusha, Haino has been leading the loud, free-form, noise-loaded guitar movement in Japan for well over four decades. He remains virtually unknown to mainstream audiences or to the average guitar enthusiast, but his music is beautiful, coruscating, and jarring. His many recordings are unpredictable and well worth hearing, especially by those enamored of those on the fringes of music performance.
Affecting a rock star pose (long black hair, ever-present sunglasses), Haino is an accomplished player who enjoys experimenting with undulating sheets of metallic sound. His solo recordings are frequently recorded live with no overdubbing, and Haino adds to the frenetic improvisatory mood by emitting shrieks and yelps as he strangles the neck of his Gibson SG. (In fact, he refers to himself as a vocalist first and foremost, rather than a guitar player.) If you need a familiar example, think of the more extreme moments of the late, great Sonny Sharrock, or Pete Cosey's envelope-pushing soloing with Miles Davis in the mid-'70s. With Fushitsusha, however, Haino's playing is more nuanced and restrained, kind of like Bill Frisell or an introspective Fred Frith. However, that doesn't mean that Haino and Fushitsusha are afraid of cutting loose and tearing it up. They are well-known (hell, revered) for turning up the volume and kicking out the jams, and the aural chaos is frequently stunning. Not for the faint of heart or those who compare every guitar player to Eddie Van Halen, Keiji Haino is a tremendously exciting player. Granted, his entire output is not essential (some of his solo recordings are repetitive), but when it comes to pushing the boundaries of music, noise, and where the guitar fits in this discourse, he has few peers.
Initially interested in theater, Haino started making music as a teenager after he first heard The Doors. He eventually became enamored with early blues music, especially Blind Lemon Jefferson, as well as jazz, musique concrète, traditional Japanese music, and countless other styles. He formed an improvisational jazz group called Lost Aaraaf in 1970, and their chaotic performances, marked by Haino's frenzied screaming, were met with derision from audiences. Japanese national broadcaster NHK banned Haino from the airwaves for several decades starting in 1973. After leaving Lost Aaraaf in the mid-'70s, Haino worked with Japanese psychedelic musician Magical Power Mako before forming Fushitsusha in 1978. Initially a duo including synthesizer player Tamio Shiraishi, the group eventually became a trio rounded out by bassist Jun Harmano and drummer Shuhei Takashima. Influenced by Krautrock and British psychedelia, the group shifted lineups numerous times, and didn't release any records until 1989, when influential Japanese underground label PSF Records issued a double-live album. John Zorn's Avant label released the group's debut studio effort, 'Allegorical Misunderstanding', in 1993, gaining them an increase in exposure and setting the stage for a steady release schedule throughout the coming decade.
Haino became highly prolific as a solo artist as well. Even though he had released one prior solo album (1981's cathartic, nightmarish 'Watashi-Dake?'), he re-emerged with 1990's 'Nijiumu', a bleak, droning album partially inspired by medieval music. Further albums appeared on PSF as well as on Zorn's Tzadik, Table of the Elements, Blast First, and many other experimental labels, and he became one of the noise genre's most influential artists. While he remained best known as a guitarist, he also explored other instruments on his recordings, including hurdy-gurdy, percussion, and tape loops. He recorded albums with several highly regarded experimental musicians, including Loren Mazzacane Connors, Alan Licht, and Derek Bailey. He also started several collaborative projects, many of which only lasted for one or two albums or a handful of performances. Aihiyo, for example, formed in the late '90s and released two albums of extremely unconventional covers of pop songs. One of his more prolific projects was Vajra, an improvisational trio with guitarist / folk singer Kan Mikami and drummer Toshiaki Ishizuka.
As the 21st century began, Fushitsusha became largely inactive, but Haino remained prolific as ever, releasing solo albums on labels like Alien8, Turtles' Dream, and Swordfish Records, in addition to collaborations with the likes of Boris, Peter Brötzmann, and Ruins drummer Tatsuya Yoshida. In 2004, he recorded two different versions of the blues covers album 'Black Blues', an acoustic 'Soft Version' and an electric 'Violent Version'. He began a fruitful, long-running collaboration with Jim O'Rourke and Oren Ambarchi, releasing numerous albums on Ambarchi's Black Truffle label. Haino, Ambarchi, and Stephen O'Malley also formed an improvisational trio called Nazoranai after the three collaborated during a 2006 performance of O'Malley's drone metal group Sunn O))). Haino also released albums with Finnish electronic duo Pan Sonic and German avant-garde classical ensemble Zeitkratzer. In 2011, Fushitsusha began performing and recording again, and as before, the group's lineup continued to fluctuate frequently. The group released four albums on the Heartfast label in 2012 and 2013.
Matthias Schuster (Geisterfahrer, Im Namen des Volkes, Bal Pare, Das Institut) produced about 150 bands in his studio from 1980 until today including artists like Andreas Dorau ("Fred vom Jupiter"), Kosmonautentraum, Abwärts, Brosch, Saal II or The Red Crayola. He produced several Movie Soundtracks, especially "Fraktus", starring Rocko Schamoni, Jaques Palminger and Heinz Strunk. Matthias toured in Canada, The United States, UK, France, Belgium and many more countries and is still active on Tour with his projects Im Namen des Volkes, Bal Pare and Das Institut and producing new records until today. [SOURCE: YOUTUBE]
Aus Lauter Liebe was a Minimal Wave band formed in Hamburg. They released two singles on the Zickzack Platten label, ‘Ein Herz Und Eine Krone / Hot Lover’ (1980) and ‘Pingelig’ (1981). Among their members were Herr Niki, which used to be in a project called Who Killed Rudy? with Jäki Eldorado. They were supposed to go on tour with Nina Hagen and Ohne Unter Titel in 1980, but the tour was cancelled after their first gig in Hamburg due to poor response. Collaborators included Leffy Leffringhausen, co-founder of Das Cassetten Combinat and co-owner of Combinatsstudio; and Kiddy Citny, founder of Sprung Aus Den Wolken.
Ausserhalb was a West Berlin lesbian new-wave band active from 1978 to 1983 and formed by members Tina Thürmer-Rohr (piano, organ, synthesizer, vocals), Margaret Diehl (saxophone, vocals), Melanie Beyer (guitar, bass), Hucky Porzner (drums) and Yatzuba (bass). They released one sole album, ‘Rock Experimentell’, recorded between 21st and 26th of May and 11th and 12th of September 1983 at Tonstudio Funk Berlin West, firmly in the dark NDW tradition with rollicking rhythmic lines colliding with each other and dispassionate female vocals engaging into some kind of doomy soliloquy on top of that.
Leben und Arbeiten was a West-Berlin Neue Deutsche Welle band from the early 1980s. Members: Klyke (Mike Becker; vocals, guitars), Matratze (drums and backing vocals), Rumme Beck (also in Die Ich's, Die Schlampen, Jever Mountain Boys and Mekanik Destruektiw Komandoe; bass) and Stezelczyk (Jochen Arbeit, guitar). They released three cassettes shared with Die Ich’s, another cassette in the Das Cassetten Combinat label and a 12’’ in the Zickzack label.
I'm So Hollow was a post-punk band from Sheffield, England, active from 1978 to 1981. They were part of the Sheffield scene in England, alongside such bands as Clock DVA, Comsat Angelsand Vice Versa. The band's line-up was: Jane Wilson (vocals, keyboards), Rod Leigh (vocals, guitar), Gary Marsden (bass), and Yosef Sawicki (drums).
I'm So Hollow played their first gig opening for Clock DVA in Sheffield's Penthouse Club. Their highest profile gig was at the Leeds Futurama festival in 1980. They perform "Touch" in Eve Wood's documentary film "Made in Sheffield" (2001).
The band appeared on several compilations and recorded a John Peel session in 1980. They released their first and only single 'Dreams to Fill the Vacuum' in 1980, and, feeling they had achieved their ambitions with the recording of the album 'Emotion / Sound / Motion', split up shortly before its release in 1981. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
The Haters are a noise music and conceptual art troupe from the United States. Founded in 1979, they are one of the earliest acts in the modern noise scene. The group is primarily the work of the Hollywood, California-based musician, artist, writer, and filmmaker GX Jupitter-Larsen, accompanied by a constantly changing lineup of other "members", usually local experimental musicians and artists in whatever town a Haters performance happens to take place.
The group began as Jupitter-Larsen realized he was more interested in making noise and destroying venues than in structured music. Soon The Haters established contacts with like-minded artists in what would become known as the noise music scene, including Merzbow, Maurizio Bianchi, and The New Blockaders. In the late 1970s GX Jupitter-Larsen was done with the Punk scene. At first, in 1979 in New York, the kind of noise he was looking for would not be audible through the ears, but through a kind of sociological transmission. A social distortion instead of sonic feedback was his personal post-punk mandate.
The Haters first performances did not involve any deliberate use of sound. Even if there were any sounds, the audio was secondary. Haters performances at the time were simple actions. Events such as hitting video cassettes with a video camera, watching dust form on a floor, or counting garbage cans along a street. The Haters only started using sound in live performances because of two necessities. One, the need of a stage curtain, and two, the need to keep track of time. Traditionally, the opening of the stage curtain signals the beginning of a performance, while the closing signals the conclusion. As nearly no place they performed had such drapery, The Haters needed to come up with something else that would duplicate this function. The Haters started using pre-recorded sounds on tape. The sudden start of the noise let everyone in the audience know that the performance had just begun. Likewise, the abrupt end of the soundtrack unmistakably marked the finale.
Haters performances typically consist of Jupitter-Larsen and one other performer, both wearing masks, creating extremely loud noise using various types of machinery, with the sound distorted and amplified until it is virtually unrecognizable. The Haters' many CD and record releases are usually recordings of these performances. Underlying all The Haters' output is Jupitter-Larsen's peculiar mix of aesthetic and conceptual obsessions, particularly entropy and decay, professional wrestling, and a self-created lexicon consisting mainly of personalized units of measurement such as "polywave," the "totimorphous," and the "xylowave."
A central aspect of The Haters' work is that the sounds they produce are not music. This is a frequently repeated idea among noise artists, if only to distinguish pure harsh noise from more musical related genres such as noise rock, but The Haters take the idea far more literally than most. The sounds they create are made not with musical instruments or even audio equipment, but with physical processes such as grinding, crashing, and other forms of destruction. At the same time, there is always a pronounced, often absurd conceptual element to the group's work.
Many of The Haters later performances involved whole audiences being led by inside agitators to actually ruin or destroy entire venues. Proprietors were not always informed of the choreography in advance. These were what The Haters called celebrations of entropy. The audience that was as much a part of the actual performance as the performers were. Without any conditioning beforehand, entire audiences would halt their mayhem the very instant the soundtrack stopped. It made no difference if the attendance was 20 or 200. When the sound stopped, so did the action. There is also an obvious subsequent utilization of having the extremities of the soundtrack utilized as the movement of a stage curtain. That is, that one can predetermine the length of a performance by choosing the length of the tape for the recording.
At first The Haters did not care what the sound on the tape was as long as it was constant. Otherwise they had no other interest in sound on their stage for years. This did not mean they were not interested in sounds at all. In fact, whenever The Haters were in the studio, they'd always give great detail to every aspect of the sound. A record or CD release, and a live performance are two different things; and they absolutely never saw any reason whatsoever why one had to sound anything like the other.
There were a few exceptions, namely, some conceptual "anti-records" they released in the late 1980s and early 90s. The first, from 1988, was entitled 'Wind Licked Dirt', and consisted of an uncut vinyl LP in a cover packed with a bunch of small pebbles, which are included to "play" the record with. A later edition of this was made with a "CD" (a clear protective disc from a spindle of blank discs), and it is currently available as a "C-0 cassette." The second was entitled 'Oxygen is Flammable', and was a broken piece of plastic packaged in a small box. Enclosed were instructions which state that the piece of plastic is a record, and that it's played by pouring water over it. The instructions also call attention to possible similarities between the sounds of water falling and fire rising. The third, 'Shear', was a ball of cotton batting packaged in a small box. Wrapped around the contents are instructions on three thin strips of paper, which informs the holder that the cotton batting is a recording, which is played by squeezing. The sounds this "record" gives are described by Larsen as being a "sharp fluffy slightness" and a "thin fluffy pressed". These three releases are, in and of themselves, a kind of performance piece. A self-released 7" single from 1983 worked on the same principle; it consisted of two blank grooves and contained instructions to "complete this record by scratching it...".
The Haters would experiment with incorporating live sounds with the pre-recorded, but this was never a high priority for them until their 101st performance. There, live sound became a central component for their theatre. San Francisco on June 10 in 1990 saw performers each rubbing a calculator against very abrasive sandpaper. Another simple action, but this time a contact-mic had been mounted on the props. The sound of the rubbing was being amplified.
Sound finally became critical for The Haters on stage because GX Jupitter-Larsen wanted to tell a tale, and sound was needed for the narrative. This narrative was about one Ross Rhesymolwaith. Rhesymolwaith was a mathematician whose peace of mind was once said to sound much like calculators being rubbed against sandpaper. Calculation by disintegration as a reference to "a beauty resorting from the wearing down of numbers." Such strongly audible ideals required an equally audible medium. The Haters would perform this piece, which they called "The Thinking Ross Does", several more times in many different cities over the years.
In their 144th performance, in Zürich they used amplified electric drills to turn large wooden objects into sawdust. The piece was called "Building Empty Holes", but the action itself was still more important than the sounds involved.
It wasn't till their 155th performance, New York City on December 28, 1991 when they found their next major audio fetish. The Haters called it the "clici-clic"; a hand-held hole-punch mounted with a contact-mic for amplification. They would perform this action again and again, over the next ten years.
With their 174th performance, Paris, October 30, 1992, The Haters would slowly push a live microphone into a power grinder to gently wear it down to a stub. As GX has said in many an interview; "Erosion as penetration of the void. For erosion is the only way a solid object can truly penetrate the void." The audience cheered on. This action would become another recurring motif for The Haters for years.
During the 1990s The Haters developed many different recurring techniques using amplified gear. The only reason The Haters started incorporating live sound in performances was to re-emphasize the action taking place. Not for the sake of the sound itself. There's no linear progression here. There are also frequently no verbs, either. Themes and techniques would overlap back and forth, but overall, the performances were getting louder. By 1995 The Haters had ceased using pre-recorded soundtracks all together. They would now use any one of several theatrical devices to function as stage curtains.
Sound became a means of illustrating a narrative. For example, from 2000 to 2002, GX Jupitter-Larsen would balance an amplified calculator on top of the open grill of a small desk fan. This was his way to bring to stage an image. That of mathematician Ross Rhesymolwaith sitting by an open window so he could feel the wind against his face while he did his calculations. The piece was entitled "Dirwyn". The sound and action were the same.
The most eventful phase in The Haters use of sound in performance came when, instead of amplifying common tools, they started having their own costume devices built that were made solely for the purpose of making noise. By the late 1990s The Haters became obsessed with the idea of a contrast between what the sound was and how the sound was made.
Wrestling has always been a source of inspiration for them. Wrestling is the purest form of theatre of the absurd; one of non-confrontational violence where stereotypes are exaggerated beyond all recognition. Since its premiere in early 1999, GX's Untitled Title Belt has become a main sound source both on stage and in the studio. Just by looking at this belt, one would not necessarily be able to tell that this implement is a combination microphone, distortion-pedal, and noise generator. It was fashioned after the traditional championship wrestling belt.
Perhaps the only project of The Haters that is entirely sound based is a piece GX started doing in 2003. In this piece, entitled "Audiothecary", amplified balance scales are used as a performance-based utility for finding the weight of sound. The scales' beam with both of its two pans at either end are all wired to function as one large microphone. Any slight touch, even breathing on them, will produce a very substantial noise. The Haters latest performance entitled "Loud Luggage / Booming Baggage", first performed in 2010, has them operate amplified suitcases, shaking and banging them about till the luggage eventually breaks. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Geinoh Yamashirogumi (Japanese: 芸能山城組, Hepburn: Geinō Yamashirogumi) is a Japanese musical collective founded on January 19, 1974 by Tsutomu Ōhashi, consisting of hundreds of people from all walks of life: journalists, doctors, engineers, students, businessmen, etc.
They are known for both their faithful re-creations of folk music from around the world, as well as their fusion of various traditional musical styles with modern instrumentation and synthesizers. For example, in the 1980s, MIDI digital synthesizers could not handle the tuning systems of traditional Indonesian gamelan music, so the group had to teach themselves how to program in order to modify their equipment. The album that followed, 'Ecophony Rinne' (1986) was a new direction for the group: they had not previously incorporated computer-generated sounds into their work.
The success of this album brought them to the attention of Katsuhiro Ōtomo, who commissioned them to create the soundtrack of 'Akira'. The soundtrack is built on the concept of recurrent themes or "modules". Texturally, the soundtrack is a mix of digital synthesizers (Roland D-50 and Yamaha DX7-II, both of which could, by then, be tuned to the Pure-Minor, slendro, and pelog tuning scales), Indonesian chromatic percussion (jegog, etc.), traditional Japanese theatrical and spiritual music (Noh), European classical, and progressive rock.
Geinoh Yamashirogumi has reproduced over eighty different styles of traditional music and performances from around the world, but despite having performed internationally to a high degree of critical acclaim, they remain relatively unknown.
The group's name uses Ōhashi's pseudonym, Shoji Yamashiro, and translates roughly to "Performing Yamashiro Collective". Ōhashi took his inspiration from a postwar 1950s group of similar characters that lived as a commune. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
On the back of an enormous publicity campaign, Frankie Goes to Hollywood dominated British music in 1984. Frankie's dance-pop borrowed heavily from the then-current Hi-NRG movement, adding a slick pop sensibility and production. What really distinguished the group was not their music, but their marketing campaign. With a series of slogans, T-shirts, and homoerotic videos, the band caused enormous controversy in England and managed to create some sensations in the United States. However, the Frankie sensation was finished as soon as it was started; by the release of their second album, 'Liverpool', in 1986, the group's audience had virtually disappeared.
Based in Liverpool, Frankie Goes to Hollywood formed in 1980, comprising ex-Big in Japan vocalist Holly Johnson, vocalist Paul Rutherford, guitarist Nasher Nash, bassist Mark O'Toole, and drummer Peter Gill. Originally, the group was called Hollycaust, but they changed their name to Frankie Goes to Hollywood -taken from an old headline about Frank Sinatra's acting career- by the end of the year. The band didn't make anything of note until 1982, when they appeared on the British television program The Tube with a rough version of the video for "Relax." The appearance attracted attention from several record labels as well as record producer Trevor Horn. Horn contacted the band and signed them to his label, ZTT. Late in 1983, Frankie's first single, the Horn-produced 'Relax', was released. A driving dance number, "Relax" featured sexually suggestive lyrics that would soon lead to great controversy.
Around the time of the release of "Relax," Frankie's promotional director, Paul Morley, a former music journalist, orchestrated a massive, intricate marketing campaign that soon paid off in spades. Morley designed T-shirts that read "Relax" and "Frankie Says...," which eventually appeared across the country. The group began playing up their stylish, campy homosexual imagery, especially in the first video for "Relax." The video was banned by British TV and a new version was shot. Similarly, Radio 1 banned the single and the rest of the BBC radio and television networks quickly banned the record as well. Consequently, "Relax" shot to number one in January of 1984 and soon sold over a million copies. Frankie's second single, the political 'Two Tribes', was released in June of 1984. The single, which was also produced by Trevor Horn, entered the charts at number one; it went gold in seven days. "Two Tribes" stayed at number one for nine weeks and eventually sold over a million copies. While it was on the top of the charts, "Relax" went back up the charts, peaking at number two.
Frankie mania had taken England by storm, yet it took a while to catch on in America. "Relax" peaked at number 67 in the spring of 1984, while "Two Tribes" just missed the Top 40 in the fall. 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome', the band's Trevor Horn-produced debut double album, entered the U.K. charts at number one and their third single, the ballad 'The Power of Love', also reached number one. 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome' reached number 33 in early 1985 in the U.S., prompting the re-release of "Relax"; this time around, it made it into the American Top Ten.
'Rage Hard', the first single from their second album, peaked at number four in the U.K. during the summer of 1986. It was followed by the release of 'Liverpool', which reached number five on the British charts. Frankie Goes to Hollywood began their final tour in early 1987; by April, the band had broken up. Holly Johnson went on to pursue a solo career, which began in earnest in 1989, after a long legal battle with ZTT. Rutherford also launched a solo career, enlisting the members of ABC to produce his 1989 album 'Oh World'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Elli & Jacno is a French pop duo active in the early 1980s, composed of Elli Medeiros (lyrics and vocals) and Denis Quilliard, aka Jacno (composition).
The band was formed in 1980 after the duo left the French punk band Stinky Toys.
Their music is recognizable by Jacno's minimal melodies, essentially composed of chords obtained on a synthesizer, and by Elli's lyrics, often evoking love, whether sad or gay. A polyinstrumentalist, Jacno played and then mixed synthesizer, guitar and drum machine himself on tape, and sometimes accompanied Elli on backing vocals.
Their collaboration resulted in three albums including 'Les Nuits de la Pleine Lune' (1984), the soundtrack to Éric Rohmer's eponymous film. The duo broke up at the beginning of 1985 and Elli Medeiros continued her career as a singer and actress. As for Jacno, he released several albums and continued his career as a producer.
A compilation of their hits was released on CD in 1994. In 2009, Indochine covered one of their songs, "Je t'aime tant", on their album 'La République des Meteors'. Their debut album, 'Tout Va Sauter', was re-released on CD in March 2011. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
