How about a bunch of thuggish-sounding, Stooges-inspired pounders from...Sweden? That's right, you American xenophobes, I said Sweden. In fact, I can think of few bands who employed The Stooges primal riff-thud'n'noise better than Union Carbide Productions. Fueled by the rampaging guitars of Patrick Caganis and Bjorn Olsson, and the half-octave, node-encrusted vocal growl (and did this son of a bitch growl!) of Ebbot Lundberg, Union Carbide Productions roared out of the blocks with an awesome debut record entitled 'In the Air Tonight' which, despite its title, has nothing to do with the Phil Collins hit single of the same name. Sounding as if they worshipped at the altar of the first two Stooges records (with a little bit of the MC5's 'Kick Out the Jams' tossed in for good measure), 'In the Air Tonight' is not slavishly imitative, but is rather indicative of what Union Carbide Productions were all about early in their career: riff-heavy sonic overload, with occasional free-jazz blurting (Lundberg and Olsson both played sax) and walls of feedback. It was a huge-sounding recording, brutal, violent, its assaultive power leaving you breathless after the closing 11-plus-minute bashfest "Down On the Beach." In fact, 'In the Air Tonight' could well be one of the great pre-alternative nation, proto-grunge records ever made. Certainly every fan of early-'70s Detroit rock should own one.
The follow-up, 'Financially Dissatisfied, Philosophically Trying' (the title coming from a an interview crack made by Mick Jagger in the '60s) was less intense (more intense would have been unimaginable), but was still a rip-snorter, with Caganis' guitar sounding especially manic and exciting. At this point, Union Carbide Productions were the hip band of the Forced Exposure crowd, and it wasn't long before surly smartass Steve Albini was slated to produce them. The result, 'Swing', was merely okay, and a significant dropoff from the full-bore mania of 'In the Air Tonight'. Too bad, since for a while, this exciting bunch of Scandinavians had the rock world by the collective throat and were squeezing, hard. Olsson began releasing solo albums in 1999; both Lundberg and Olsson later played together in the group Soundtrack of Our Lives. A Union Carbide Productions compilation, 'Remastered to Be Recycled', was released in Europe late in 2004 and made its way to the U.S. the following year. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Transparent Illusion was the brainchild of Roy Young (a pseudonym), hailing from Haverhill, Suffolk, UK. Equipped with just one synthesizer and a drum machine, he entered Octopus Studios located in Stowupland, Suffolk sometime in 1980 to record a minimal electronic music album. Roy's music is quite unique and exemplifies the fact that limitation can be the perfect source for heightened creativity: his rather raw sound is based solely on his Korg MS-10 synthesizer, a monophonic synth. Still you also get bass, monophonic lead synths, effects as well as synthetic percussion. Engineer Dave Hoser is said to have helped in the performance, thus it can be concluded that, as a team they truly mastered the MS-10.
Transparent Illusion is an artist that populates a small fraction inside Prog Electronic, one that comes very close to Gary Numan, Depeche Mode, Ultravox and other such new wave acts, but on here the emphasis always lies with the synthesizer and a continuing experimentation with the scope of this instrument inside the framework of early 1980s popular music. [SOURCE: PROGARCHIVES]
The Sodality was created in 1987 by Andrea Cernotto as his personal sexual theatre. During that year he involved Sigillum S and Gerda Schlass for the realization of the first vinyl, 'Beyond Unknown Pleasures', a wall of noise into the deep psychosexual pathologies. The album was reprinted in 1994 by Verba Corrige Prod., adding also some tracks from the 'Orgies Of Crime' 12".
Rejecting the abrasive guitars of their punk-era contemporaries in favor of lushly romantic synthesizers, Ultravox emerged as one of the primary influences on the British electro-pop movement of the early '80s. Formed in London in 1974, the group -originally dubbed Ultravox!- was led by vocalist and keyboardist John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh), whose interest in synths and cutting-edge technology began during his school years. With an initial lineup consisting of bassist Chris Cross, keyboardist/violinist Billy Currie, guitarist Steve Shears, and drummer Warren Cann, their obvious affection for the glam rock sound of David Bowie and Roxy Music brought them little respect from audiences caught up in the growing fervor of punk, but in 1977 Island Records signed the quintet anyway, with Brian Eno agreeing to produce the band's self-titled debut LP.
After scoring a minor U.K. hit with the single 'My Sex', Ultravox returned later that year with 'Ha! Ha! Ha!'; sales were minimal, however, and Shears soon exited, replaced by guitarist Robin Simon. A third LP, 1978's 'Systems of Romance', was recorded in Germany with renowned producer Conrad Plank, but it too failed commercially. Island soon dropped the band, at which time both Foxx and Simon quit, the former mounting a solo career and the latter joining Magazine. At that point the remaining members of Ultravox tapped singer/guitarist Midge Ure, an alumnus of Slik as well as Glen Matlock's Rich Kids; upon signing to Chrysalis, the new lineup recorded 'Vienna', scoring a surprise smash hit with the single 'Sleepwalk', which reached the number two spot on the U.K. pop charts in 1981 and pushed the LP into the Top Five. The album's title track also fared well, peaking at number two on the charts and remaining there for several weeks.
After 1981's 'Rage in Eden', Ultravox teamed with legendary producer George Martin for 1983's 'Quartet'; their most successful LP in the otherwise impenetrable American market, it launched the minor hit "Reap the Wild Wind." Upon completing 1984's 'Lament', Warren Cann left Ultravox to forge a solo career. The remaining members, after adding Big Country's Mark Brzezicki, resurfaced with 'U-Vox' in 1986 before going their separate ways. Currie and Simon re-formed the band in 1993, adding vocalist Marcus O'Higgins; three years later, they released the lackluster 'Ingenuity' with Sam Blue on lead vocals. The album marked the group's final studio release. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
One of the bands that made up what is considered the Twin Cities' "third wave" of punk rock, Rifle Sport managed to be one of the longer-running Minneapolis/St. Paul bands, lasting into the early '90s, and its members' influence was felt in prominent American underground bands a decade later. Their first release, 'Voice of Reason', came out in 1983 on the Hüsker Dü-run imprint Reflex, and the band released the remainder of their catalog on Ruthless. These albums included 1985's 'Complex' EP, 1987's 'White - Made in France', 1989's 'Live at the Entry, Dead at the Exit', and 1991's 'Primo'. A 2004 one-off reunion show occurred at the famed 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis, but a full-fledged reunion was not to be. Guitarist Gerard Boissey kept focus on his band Kontrolpanel, while drummer Todd Trainer and bassist Pete "Flour" Conway played in Shellac and Flour (as well as being a member of Breaking Circus), respectively. The three also worked together in Trainer's band Brick Layer Cake. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Equally bequiffed but more heavily made-up than their contemporaries, The Polecats were one of the more successful bands involved in the early 80s UK rockabilly revival. Martin ‘Boz’ Boorer (guitar) and Tim ‘Polecat’ Worman (guitar/vocals) first played together while still at school in the mid-70s. They were joined in the earliest Polecats line-up by Phil Bloomberg (double bass) and Chris Hawkes (drums), performing at their local church hall in September 1978. Bloomberg played bass and drums on their earliest recordings, which led to the first release on the Nervous label which would later release more rockabilly both past and present. "Chicken Shack" proved strong enough to attract the attention of Mercury Records who put the band, now with new drummer Neil Rooney, under the production auspices of Dave Edmunds. The first single for the label was a cover version of David Bowie’s "John I’m Only Dancing" which made the UK Top 40 in early 1981 and was followed up with a re-recording of "Rockabilly Guy" (the b-side to "Chicken Shack") which was also a Top 40 hit. For their third Mercury single they covered Marc Bolan’s "Jeepster", helped out by the song’s original producer Tony Visconti. Boorer was a Bolan devotee, taking his hero’s place in later re-formations of John’s Children which he helped instigate. The Polecats’ debut album also charted briefly but the rockabilly surge was fading and neither the 1983 Edward’s produced mini-album 'Make A Circuit With Me', nor its title track, lifted as a single, made the charts. The following year the band, with John Buck replacing Rooney, were back recording for Nervous where they released 'Cult Heroes'. Boorer, Worman, Bloomberg and Buck reunited in the late 80s to record a new album for the Vinyl Japan label. The quartet continues to work together on a regular basis, touring Japan and recording new studio albums. Away from The Polecats, Boorer spent most of the 90s as Morrissey’s post-Johnny Marr musical collaborator, while Worman formed 13 Cats with Slim Jim Phantom (ex-Stray Cats). [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
O Yuki Conjugate (OYC) are an English post-industrial / ambient musical group founded in 1982 in Nottingham by Roger Horberry and Andrew Hulme and still -intermittently- active today. Their music has been variously described as 'ambient', 'fourth world', 'ethnic', 'tribal' and 'dark wave'; the band prefer to call it 'dirty ambient'. They are currently in their fourth incarnation based around Horberry and Hulme. Previous members include Clare Elliot, Tim Horberry, Malcolm McGeorge, Dan Mudford, Pete Woodhead and Rob Jenkins, with Joe Gardiner contributing sax.
Originally inspired by the spirit and sound of post-punk, they soon started pioneering their own brand of ambient at a time (early 80s) when few people were interested in such a low-key approach. Their debut album 'Scene In Mirage' (A-Mission, 1984) perfectly encapsulated their position: one side was beat driven and 'electronic', the other side was 'organic' and made up of ambient soundscapes. Today their approach to music-making is deliberately eclectic, combining high tech editing, low tech electronics and found instrumentation.
In May 2017, following a lengthy period of hibernation (a regular feature of the band's career), OYC released a new album called 'Tropic', essentially two long pieces generated out of material recorded during the 'Equator' sessions almost 20 years earlier. As such it is an excellent example of OYC's self-described "wilfully obscure" approach. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Neon were an English new wave band active in the early 1980s. All members went on to have successful careers in other bands, notably Naked Eyes and Tears for Fears. The band were formed in 1979 in Bath, Somerset, by Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher. They were then joined by Neil Taylor and Manny Elias, and then Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal as session musicians.
The band's first single, 'Making Waves / Me I See in You', was released in October 1980 on Byrne and Fisher's own label, 3D Music, followed by 'Communication Without Sound / Remote Control' in July 1981 on Carrere UK. The band broke up in December 1981. After the split, Byrne and Fisher formed Naked Eyes and found success with "Always Something There to Remind Me" and "Promises, Promises". After Naked Eyes, Byrne moved to California and did session work for other artists, while Fisher did sessions in London and later formed the duo Climie Fisher, who had hits with "Love Changes (Everything)" and "Rise to the Occasion". Fisher died on 25 August 1999 from cancer.
Smith and Orzabal formed Tears for Fears and achieved great success throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, with both Elias and Taylor also playing with the band. Taylor has also been the guitarist for many other artists, including Robbie Williams and Chris de Burgh. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Mieses Gegonge
was an alternate name used by Hirsche Nicht Aufs Sofa (H.N.A.S.). While creating name for their band (around 1983), members had two choices left: H.N.A.S. and Mieses Gegonge, and as P. Li Khan says "as we couldn't agree on one name for the then-imminent 'Abwassermusik' LP, we choose both, leaving the listener alone with the guesses who Mieses Gegonge were".
Hailing from San Sebastian, the origins of La Dama Se Esconde are in Agrimensor K, one of the most outstanding darkwave groups that appeared in the early 80's in the Basque Country, and formed by Nacho F. Goberna, Ignacio Valencia and drummer José Manuel Gandasegui. They recorded two 7" singles released by DRO, 'Principio y Fin' (1982) and '¿Juegas al Escondite?' (1983).
Once Agrimensor K disbanded, Goberna and Valencia formed La Dama se Esconde and moved to Madrid.
Their first two songs, "Un Avestruz" and "El Cielo Azul", were included in the compilation 'La Única Alternativa', released by DRO/GASA to promote new bands. In 1985, La Dama se Esconde recorded with DRO/GASA 'Avestruces', a mini-LP produced by Paco Trinidad. A year later they released 'Armarios y Camas', produced by Nacho Goberna himself. The lyrics of their songs, with descriptions of distant landscapes, still reflect the darkness of their first compositions. Musicians like Suso Saiz or Javier Paxariño collaborated in this album, combining electronic bases with acoustic guitars.
After leaving GASA in 1986, they moved to the multinational Warner, releasing their remaining albums. They became known to the general public and moved to a more commercial style, with a greater presence of electric guitars in their songs. They gained their greatest successes with 'La Tierra De Los Sueños' (1987), 'Coge el Viento' (1989) -an album when they used dance rhythms-, and 'Lejos Del Puerto' (1990).
Their last two works, the remixes album 'De Colores, Tu Color' (1991) and 'Hoy' (1993), did not have the repercussion of the previous ones.
In 1995 they recorded what would be their last song, "A Años Luz", which was released in a compilation in 1999.
In 2002 and 2010 respectively, Nacho Goberna, voice, guitars and composer of all the songs of La Dama Se Esconde, released two solo albums, 'Transparente' and 'Un Bosque de Té Verde' with songs that deepen in that markedly intimate character that Nacho began with La Dama Se Esconde.
[SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Kitchen & The Plastic Spoons were a Swedish post-punk band that existed in the years 1980–1981. Iggo Karlson was playing in a band called Psyco wich had a gig planned at Musikverket in Stockholm. Due to illness the gig was cacelled but Iggo wanted to take the opportunity to do something else. Jackie Pazda and Mats Wigerdal played at that time in Porno Pop and together with Jackie's new girlfriend Anne Taivanen, within two days, wrote and rehearsed three songs that they performed under the name Gdansk. After two gigs the name was changed into Kitchen and the Plastic Spoons. At the same time Helena Lönnqvist joined in playing synth.
After a few more concerts they were invited by the producer Johan Vävare to record a single in a studio he had access to. Four tracks were recorded but only two were put on the record -"Fantastic" and "Happy Funeral". In the beginning of 1981 Patrik Lindvall joined the band on guitar at the same time as the second single 'Ice Cream to God' was recorded and to be released that spring. Around summer later that year Anne quit to be replaced by Iodine Jupiter but a few month later Mats and Helena left and the band and continued with different members and the name shorten into Kitchen and considered as a different band. The band broke up in November 1981 before recording their debut LP, but reunited for some gigs in 2008-2010.
After a couple lineup shuffles, Tubeway Army -Gary Numan (aka Valeriun), Paul Gardiner (aka Scarlett), and Numan's uncle Jess Lidyard (aka Rael)- debuted in February of 1978 with "That's Too Bad" on Beggars Banquet, a furious fusion of punk and pop, but darkly cold and clinical. During a studio session a few months later, Numan began fiddling with a mini-Moog synthesizer that remained from another band's recording stint. Instantly falling in love with the instrument's capabilities, he decided that he would use synths to achieve the sounds he heard in his imagination. Though he fought the temptation to associate synths with prog rock, he felt they would help distance the band from the limitations and clichés of punk. Numan and his mates were influenced by Bowie and T. Rex as much as J.G. Ballard and William S. Burroughs (as well as being inspired later on by contemporaries Ultravox and The Human League), so the band's extraction from punk wasn't surprising at all.
After releasing their stellar eponymous record later in 1978, Tubeway Army cut a session for BBC's John Peel. Two more singles followed early in 1979, garnering the band further chart success and increased exposure, especially for Numan. The band's second LP, 'Replicas', was released in June. Since Tubeway Army had increasingly become the sole vision of Numan, this moniker was abandoned, and 'Replicas' was the last release to feature the name. Lidyard, who had pretty much been involved out of necessity, removed himself from the scene, and Gardiner continued for a while with Numan, also lending duties with his live band. 'Cars', the first release as Gary Numan (only two months after 'Replicas'), was an instant hit and became one of the songs most synonymous with the '80s. Numan continued on his own, establishing himself as a prolific cult artist (with a rabid following) throughout the next decades, and become one of the most important figures in the history of electronic pop. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Three members of the recently defunct Rezillos (Jo Callis, Simon Templar, Angel Paterson) stayed on Sire and carried on as Shake (or S.H.A.K.E.), releasing an unrecorded Rezillos tune "Culture Shock" as the main song on their debut 10" EP, a four song affair that nobody really bothered with. Two songs from the EP, "Culture Shock" and "Dream On" were extracted for a single which did nothing either. Troy Tate (ex-Index) joined after the first single and prior to the band's Peel Session in April. It was some time before the band's next outing, and 'Invasion Of The Gamma Men' met with the same lack of interest that befell the debut EP. After this Tate joined The Teardrop Explodes and Callis joined The Human League. And then, in 1981, 'Woah Yeah!' came out, credited to Jo Callis on the front cover and Jo Callis S.H.A.K.E. Project on the labels -it was presumably recorded in 1980 as it featured the same lineup as the 'Gamma Men' single. [SOURCE: PUNKY GIBBON]
Treponem Pal is a French industrial metal band formed in Paris in 1986. The current line-up of the band consists of Marco Neves (vocals), Polak (guitar), Didier Bréard (sampler), Mathys Dubois (drums) and Syn-Anton (bass). The band went through multiple line-up changes with Neves being the only constant member. The band is named after treponema pallidum, the bacterium that causes syphilis. The band's music was described as a mixture of "aggressive metal and a hint of industrial" similar to Godflesh and The Young Gods.
Treponem Pal formed in France in 1986. Their first ('Treponem Pal') and third ('Excess & Overdrive') albums were produced by Franz Treichler (The Young Gods). Their second, 'Aggravation', was produced by Roli Mosimann (Swans, Wiseblood). It was their third album, however, which was to prove most popular with fans. Live performances were notable due to their policy of employing two bass players which gave them a massive sound.
They maintained this style up until fourth album 'Higher', by which time the focus had shifted towards sampling and electronics, giving that album a more techno feel. 'Higher' was produced by Sascha Konietzko from KMFDM.
The band then broke up, though vocalist Marco Neves and several other members formed a new band called Elephant System, which released one album produced by On-U Sound's Adrian Sherwood. This reflected Neves' longstanding interest in Jamaican and European dub as well as his work as a DJ and MC with the Dub Action Sound System and his involvement with the Hammerbass record label. Bass player Goran Juresic went in a more industrial dub direction with the band Lab° while drummer Didier Serbourdin formed the ultra-aggressive band Fast Forward which combined hardcore techno beats with powerful metal guitars.
Treponem Pal returned with a new album in March 2008, entitled 'Weird Machine'. The album featured Ted Parsons (from Swans and Prong) on drums and Paul Raven (from Killing Joke, Ministry and Prong) on bass, though tragically Raven suffered heart failure and died while collaborating with the band on the French-Swiss border. The album combined their earlier aggressive sound with more "rock" pieces as well as some "industrial ballads". The album was produced by David Weber and mastered by Maor Appelbaum.
[SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Formed in Brussels in 1979, Isolation Ward centred around musicians Stéphane Willocq and Jean-Pierre Everaerts. Following gigs at venues such as Plan K, the sextet cut haunting classic 'Lamina Christus' as their first single, produced by Peter Principle of Tuxedomoon, and released by Les Disques du Crépuscule in April 1982. After live dates with diverse artists including The Birthday Party, Antena, 23 Skidoo and Siouxsie and the Banshees, the band issued their second Crépuscule single 'Absent Heart' a year later. However line-up changes would ultimately destabilise the band, and Isolation Ward played their final gig in May 1983 in Brussels. The Présence label releases a tape ('Point Final') featuring their last recordings as well as another tape ('Point de Départ') with the demos recorded two years earlier. Jean-Pierre joined Arte Magica, with singer Krishna (Liaisons Dangereuses) for a short while. Jean-Pierre later formed the band Vertical Slums with singer-violinist Pip Knapp. Stéphane forms a short-lived duo with Marc Portée named Sonofabitch. [SOURCE: LTM RECORDINGS]
Tragic Mulatto was an American rock band based in San Francisco. Performing under pseudonyms, the band's nucleus consisted of vocalist Flatula Lee Roth (Gail Coulson) and bass guitarist Reverend Elvister Shanksley aka Lance Boyle (Alistair Shanks). The band released their albums on Jello Biafra's label Alternative Tentacles, with Dead Kennedys' bassist Klaus Flouride acting as producing several of their early albums. Tragic Mulatto's music has been called "Butthole Surfers-esque", their label describing them as "[t]he dark and seedy underbelly of the average big city underbelly. A twilight zone for the already poorly adjusted." Coulson has also received praise for her vocal contributions, with her powerful delivery earning comparisons to Janis Joplin and Grace Slick.
Tragic Mulatto formed in 1982, initially consisting of Gail Coulson on saxophone, Alistair Shanks on bass guitar, Karl Konnerth on trumpet, Daved Marsh on vocals and Patrick Marsh on drums. The quintet recorded two records for Alternative Tentacles, an eponymously titled 7" single in 1983 and the EP 'Judo for the Blind' in 1984. Konnerth and the Marsh brothers left the band afterward to pursue other interests. Coulson and Boyle became the core creative force behind the group and took the stage names Flatula Lee Roth and Reverend Elvister Shanksley respectively. The duo recruited guitarist Tim Carroll of The Dicks (Richard Skidmark) and recorded the album 'Locos por el Sexo' in 1986. Representing a change in musical direction for the band, the album emphasized melody and "enough structural backbone to give the songs non-satirical legitimacy". Spin described them as sounding "like a throbbing punkoid cross between Frightwig, real early Jefferson Airplane, and a fertile war pig from Planet 9".
The band changed guitarists and expanded their line-up to include dual percussionists Bambi Nonymous and Humpty Doody (Marc Galipeau) for their second album titled 'Hot Man Pussy'. The album included a cover of "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin and exhibited further musical maturity by the band. Their final release, 'Chartreuse Toulouse', incorporated psychedelic and Middle Eastern influences. Tragic Mulatto disbanded in 1990 after they had released their third album, with its members pursuing separate projects.
The band was infamous for their deliberately perverse live performances, which sometimes consisted of its members performing lewd acts onstage. This lewd imagery exploited the perverse and racist mentality white society had towards mixed-race people, particularly women. Lead vocalist Coulson was known to perform mostly naked, while adorning her breasts with duct tape, polyethylene food wrap and fried eggs, and clothespins. Boyle occasionally performed naked or used a Pink Panther puppet to cover his genitals. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Toxic Reasons were an American punk rock band, formed in in Dayton, Ohio in 1979. The band released nine full-length studio albums between 1982 and 1995. The founding members were Bruce Stuckey (bass guitar and vocals), Joel Agne (guitar and vocals), Ed Pittman (lead vocals) and Mark Patterson (drums).
In 1980, Agne left the band and was replaced by Greg Stout on bass, while Stuckey switched to lead guitar. In 1981, Patterson left the band and was replaced by James J. "J.J." Pearson on drums. Rob "Snot" Lucjak also joined on rhythm guitar.
They recorded their first studio album, 'Independence', at Keystone Recording in Indianapolis, Indiana, then went on tour and moved to San Francisco, where their label, Risky Records, was located. David "Tufty" Clough (formerly of Zero Boys) joined the band on bass guitar.
Pittman left the group following the release of 'Independence'. During this time, the band created a logo showing the U.S., Canadian, and British flags joined. The symbol not only represented their tri-national roots (Pearson from Canada, Clough and Lucjak from England, and Stuckey from the U.S.), but also came to symbolize the diversity of their sound, which mixed fast hardcore punk with melodic guitar lines and elements of punk-reggae.
The band's last album, 'No Peace in Our Time' (1995), was the first-ever punk rock CD-ROM released for Mac and Windows. It included short videos, a history of the band's history as told by Stuckey and a karaoke competition with "White Noise". Several songs from 'No Peace in Our Time' appeared in the 1997 feature film "The Waiter", directed by G. Allen Johnson. In 2007, Pearson released a solo album, 'Only One Reason', Clough later rejoined the reformed Zero Boys, and
Pittman plays with the band New Regrets. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Hailing from France, Hellebore was the collective effort of Jean Cael (Bass, Crumar and Vocals), Alain Casari (Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute and Vocals), Antoine Gindt (Guitar and Crumar), Daniel Koskowitz (Drums, Percussion, and Vocals) and Denis Tagu (Piano, Organ, Guitars and Vocals). Stylistically Hellebore's sound is almost impossible to categorise. Forming and composing throughout a period where 'Rock In Opposition' was anything but flourishing, they held firmly to the roots of many earlier R.I.O. bands, taking influences from pioneers such as Henry Cow, Etron Fou Lebloublon and Univers Zero (delving into their more sinister side).
To the distress of many, Hellebore was to only release one album 'Il y a Des Jours'. Originally recorded over a 20-day period, from December 1983 to January 1984, it was not until 1985, when 'Il y a Des Jours' found the light of day, published under Ayaa Records. Taking into account the limited 1007 issues, alongside the extravagant sleeve and in lay design, 'Il y a Des Jours' has become a much sort after item among collectors. The album moulds 7 blinding tracks, from as many genre one can possibly fathom; classical, Zeuhl, New wave, Free-Jazz, Electronic etc; while maintaining an almost dangerously relaxing state amidst the onslaught of oddities. Though criminally over looked, Hellebore is a must for anyone interested in the more absurd forms of music. A masterpiece of R.I.O. and music in general. Essential listening. [SOURCE: PROG ARCHIVES]
If there was ever a band that burned out rather than fading away, it was the Germs. One of the most infamous bands to rise from the Los Angeles punk scene in the '70s, the Germs were a group that, even by the edgy standards of punk, left remarkable chaos in their wake, and had a seismic impact on the local scene during their short but memorable run. Punishingly raw and confrontational, the twin centers of the band's sound were the howling vocals and lyrical barrage of singer Darby Crash and the rough-edged but fluid guitar work of Pat Smear, with bassist Lorna Doom and drummer Don Bolles providing the relatively solid foundation that kept their songs from flying off the rails. Initially a strikingly inept band who could barely play (the fact they were willing to release a performance as faulty as "Forming" on their 1977 debut single speaks volumes), the manic energy and human-cannonball theatrics of Crash made them the talk of the Los Angeles scene even when the music wasn't effective. As they matured into a singularly powerful punk band with a surprisingly literate style -as documented on their 1979 album '(GI)', produced by Joan Jett- their music forced the skeptical music press to take them seriously. But the Germs were at the peak of their abilities and reputation when their career came to a screeching halt with the death of Crash in December 1980.
The Germs were formed in 1976 by Jan Paul Beahm and Georg Ruthenberg, two friends who attended University High School in West Los Angeles. Beahm and Ruthenberg were fascinated with glam rock (especially David Bowie), while Beahm had a more than academic interest in fascism, cult leaders, mind control techniques, and other esoteric subjects. As they became aware of the burgeoning punk rock phenomenon -especially British bands such as The Sex Pistols and The Damned, as well as proto-punks like The Stooges, The New York Dolls, and The Runaways- they decided to form a band, though Ruthenberg was only a rudimentary guitarist at the time and Beahm had no musical experience. Posting flyers inviting "two untalented girls" to join their band, they recruited bassist Diana Grant, aka Dinky, and drummer Michelle Baer, and adopted the name Sophistifuck and the Revlon Spam Queens. However, the expense of putting their name on T-shirts led them to coin a shorter moniker, and they became the Germs. The band had barely practiced before Grant and Baer dropped out, and they recruited a new bassist, Teresa Ryan. The Germs also decided they needed cooler stage names, so Beahm became Bobby Pyn, Ruthenberg became Pat Smear, and Ryan became Lorna Doom. Belinda Carlisle, calling herself Dottie Danger, was brought in to play drums, though she had to drop out before their first show after contracting mononucleosis, and Becky Barton, aka Donna Rhia, filed out the first proper Germs lineup. (Carlisle would have better luck with her next band, The Go-Go's.)
The Germs played their first official gig in April 1977, after talking their way onto a bill with local bands The Weirdos and The Zeros. Pyn took the stage wrapped in red licorice, and friends of the band threw spoiled food at the stage as others dumped pounds of sugar over the singer's head while they staggered through The Archies' "Sugar Sugar." Shortly afterward, they recorded a single on a Sony two-track machine in Smear's parents' garage, with the ultra-primitive "Forming" on the A-side and a lo-fi live take of "Sex Boy" on the flip. Released by the tiny What? Records label, the single brought the Germs an unexpected degree of attention, and after Donna Rhia quit, they worked with a succession of short-term drummers, with Nickey Beat of The Weirdos sitting in when they cut a second single for the newly minted Slash Records, an offshoot of L.A.'s leading punk 'zine. 1978's 'Lexicon Devil b/w Circle One' and "No God" showed the band had improved by leaps and bounds since forming, and the Germs attracted a rabidly loyal following, especially the singer, who had dropped the name Bobby Pyn in favor of the more dangerous-sounding Darby Crash. The Germs' fans were known for being every bit as chaotic as the band, and while Crash careened around the stage under the influence of alcohol and drugs, their audience would react with an early version of slam dancing that turned performances into near riots.
The Germs' notoriety had spread far enough that a drummer from Phoenix, Arizona, Jimmy Michael Giorsetti, heard that the band was in need of a percussionist and relocated to California to offer his services. Giorsetti proved to be a solid drummer, and he became the final piece in the definitive Germs lineup. Giorsetti took on the esoteric stage name Don Bolles, after an investigative journalist from Arizona who died when his car was bombed while he was working on a piece about organized crime. By 1979, the Germs found themselves in a paradoxical position -they finally had a functional lineup and an eager fan base, but their reputation for violent and destructive shows caused them to be banned from most punk-friendly venues, and when filmmaker Penelope Spheeris wanted to film a Germs show for her documentary "The Decline … of Western Civilization", she had to hire a soundstage so the band would have a place to play. In late 1979, Slash released the Germs' first album, titled '(GI)', an abbreviation of "Germs Incognito," a handle the group used to perform at unsuspecting clubs. Produced by Joan Jett, the album was incendiary but presented the songs with an elemental clarity that made it possible to hear how strong the material was in a way their shows did not permit. '(GI)' received largely favorable reviews, and the Germs made an unlikely fan in filmmaker William Friedkin, who recruited the group to write and record a batch of fresh songs for the soundtrack to his movie "Cruising". One of the songs Crash and the band wrote for the film, "Lion's Share," made it onto the film's soundtrack album, giving the Germs a highly unlikely appearance on a major label.
However, while early 1980 found the Germs on the cusp of wider notoriety, the band hit a snag when personal differences led Crash to fire Bolles and replace him with his friend Rob Henley. Henley had never played drums before, and he proved to be a very poor fit for Smear and Doom, who had grown past their initial clumsiness. The Germs quietly split in July 1980, and Crash launched a solo project that was poorly received. After a sojourn in England, where he became a major fan of Adam and the Ants and adopted a Mohican hairstyle, Crash returned to Los Angeles and reconciled with the Germs, arranging for them to play a reunion show at the Starwood on December 3, 1980. Fans and critics called the gig one of the Germs' finest performances, but it proved to be the band's final bow. On December 7, 1980, Crash died from a deliberate overdose of heroin at the age of 22; it was said one of the reasons he played the reunion show was to make enough money for a fix that would end his life. The Germs immediately broke up. "The Decline … of Western Civilization" was released in July 1981, with a photo of Darby Crash writhing on-stage used on the film's poster and the cover of the soundtrack album.
The legend of the Germs continued to grow after the band's demise, and various reissues and archival releases appeared in the years that followed, most notably '(MIA)', a CD compilation that contained nearly everything the group recorded during their career, including the unreleased songs cut for "Cruising". In 1996, a Germs tribute album was released, 'A Small Circle of Friends', which included appearances from the Meat Puppets, L7, Mike Watt and J. Mascis, The Posies, The Melvins, and many more. 2002 saw the publication of "Lexicon Devil: The Fast Times and Short Life of Darby Crash and the Germs", an oral history of the group assembled by Brendan Mullen (who opened L.A.'s first important punk venue, the Masque) with Don Bolles and Adam Parfrey. In 2007, a film about the life of Darby Crash, "What We Do Is Secret", was released, with actor Shane West playing Crash. At the wrap party for the movie, the surviving members of the Germs played a short set, with West taking Darby's place on vocals. Smear (who had gone on to play with Nirvana and The Foo Fighters), Doom, and Bolles enjoyed it so much that to the surprise of many, they staged a handful of Germs reunion gigs, with West on vocals (sometimes using the name Shane Wreck). While the reunited edition of the Germs made plans to record (performing Germs tunes that were never committed to tape during their original run), no material was ever released, and the next major Germs release was 2010's 'Live at the Starwood December 3, 1980', a warts-and-all recording of Crash's final show. On January 16, 2019, Teresa Ryan, aka Lorna Doom, died at the age of 61 after a year-long battle with cancer. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
If history is kind to Fugazi, their records won't be overshadowed by their reputation and methods of operation. Instead of being known for their community activism, five-dollar shows, ten-dollar CDs, and resistance to mainstream outlets, they will instead be known for their intelligent songwriting and undeniably proficient musicianship, which drew from their roots in Washington, D.C. hardcore, as well as post-punk and dub reggae. Songs like "Waiting Room" and "Suggestion," as well as albums such as 'Repeater' and 'Red Medicine', are considered post-hardcore benchmarks.
Drummer Brendan Canty, bassist Joe Lally, and guitarists/vocalists Ian MacKaye, and Guy Picciotto formed Fugazi in 1986. Initially a trio, Picciotto was added to the lineup after the band's first live shows. Prior to forming, the members already had deep roots in the D.C. punk scene. Dischord labelhead MacKaye, who had previously been in The Teen Idles and Minor Threat, had just come from Embrace. For better or worse, Embrace, along with Picciotto and Canty's better Rites of Spring, kick-started the emo subgenre that reached prominence years later.
After further honing their cathartic live act and expanding their material, the band's first EP, 'Fugazi', was released in late 1988. More an extension of Rites of Spring's thick, dynamic, varied-tempo soul-baring than anything else, the EP featured "Suggestion," which became the group's most well-known song. Though the course of rock history shows that loud music created by angry men tends to be of a predatory nature, "Suggestion" was an anomaly. MacKaye spoke from a woman's point of view and railed against objectification. The similarly 'Margin Walker' EP followed the next year and was later coupled with Fugazi on CD as '13 Songs'.
'Repeater', the band's first proper album, was released in 1990. A toughened and refined progression, it's generally regarded as a classic. 'Steady Diet of Nothing', issued in 1991, was clearly the band's most challenging material to that point. Two years passed until the arrival of 'In on the Kill Taker', an abrasive set that registered on the Billboard 200 at number 153. While major labels were interested in signing the band and even linking with Dischord, a label that had lost Jawbox to Atlantic and Shudder to Think to Epic, they were turned away.
As the responsibilities of adulthood and outside musical involvements increased, Fugazi's recordings and tours became more sporadic during the latter half of the '90s. Both 'Red Medicine' (1995) and 'End Hits' (1998) were looser and more exploratory than the band's earliest recordings. 'Instrument' (1999), a documentary video directed by Jem Cohen, was released with an accompanying soundtrack and included live performances and interviews. The soundtrack featured demos, jams, and incidental cutting-room scraps. Fugazi's sixth proper album, 'The Argument' (2001), was simultaneously issued with the three-song 'Furniture' EP.
Outside Fugazi, both MacKaye and Picciotto helped other bands with production. MacKaye continued to operate Dischord, and Lally began his own label, Tolotta. Picciotto also ventured into filmmaking. Though they never officially disbanded, Fugazi remained dormant as the years spun on. MacKaye toured and recorded more with The Evens, his band with Amy Farina. In 2011, Dischord launched the "Fugazi Live Series", an online archive that grew to house recordings of various qualities of every one of the group's more than 1,000 shows. When the series reached its goal of complete documentation of Fugazi's live work, Dischord marked the end of the phase with the 2014 release of 'First Demo', a remastered issue of the band's previously unreleased ten-song demo recording from 1988. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Ende Shneafliet was a Dutch new wave band from Heiloo active from 1981 to 1983.
Ende Shneafliet released several cassettes on the Trumpett label. The only concert the group gave took place in the studio of the VPRO radio program Spleen on September 18, 1983 and was broadcast live. The material played was written especially for the broadcast. The recording was given a catalog number by Trumpett (TRUM 0020) but was not issued at the time. Subscribers to the Spleen Magazine received a sleeve for the cassette to be recorded by the listener with that TRUM number on it. Steel Tape released the concert on cassette in 1988, supplemented by demo and practice material for the concert. Trumpett re-released it in 1999, on CD, and some of the group's other tapes and previously unreleased songs were also released on CD. In 2006, Trumpett and Enfant Terrible also released the compilation album 'Twistin' On The Tombstones' on a double LP. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
