New 7th Music

New 7th Music existed from 1979 to 1986. It was a group of amateur musicians with an interest in improvisation. They would meet on occasional weekends at a place called the Arun Leisure Center, where they would play in a rented room without the presence of an audience. 

Nearly all of New 7th's Music is spontaneous and unedited. Its members were not professional musicians, just friends getting together for jam sessions. The music was sometimes "New Age", sometimes "Tribal / Ethnic" with emphasis on percussion (a type of performance known as "Gamelan"), and sometimes involving avant-garde or experimental music. They also threw in a bit of rock and roll on occasion. Some recordings were accompanied by live reading of texts, or improvised spoken word. While the musicians of New 7th Music were not professionals, some of them were rather good at improvising, which is an art in itself. 

The line-up of the group was continually changing, and not all members could make it to every session. Occasionally there were guest musicians -including Paul Kelday! The 2 constant members were Phil Kelday, who distributed the tapes, and Heather Rolfe, who designed most of the covers. [SOURCE: DISCOGS] 

The Land Of Yrx

The Land Of Yrx were an obscure instrumental, synth, space-rock, electro post new-wave band from Shrewsbury in the 1980s. They comprised David Gate, Rob Andrews, and sundry other friends during their original phase of existence. Despite getting some prestigious exposure at Electronica Festivals in Sheffield and London, and regular local gigs, The Land Of Yrx never quite got the audience they deserved. They also had to be one of the most unstable of bands, in that they kept splitting up and trying out other projects before getting back together for a while, expanding to four or five piece on at least two occasions before splitting again.

Since the band split in the early 1990s, David and Robert both went their separate ways, David moving to Preston (Lancashire) and later forming the band Hyberus, whereas Robert stayed in Shrewsbury forming Aerie and Ra and working in several other collaborative projects and bands, some of them along with Steve Hillman. After almost a decade's hiatus, The Land Of Yrx got together to record some new albums. None of the releases of the 90s or those by the later reformed version resemble the original 1980s band however, being much more pastoral keyboards and guitars. [SOURCE: ULTIMA THULE] 

Alto Stratus

The duo of Alan and Steve Freeman (owners of Ultima Thule), experimenting with synthesizers, industrial-noise-ambient sound collage. Since 1981 they recorded more than 30 releases as Alto Stratus (and under other guises: as Vrije, Q.S.O., Electric Junk), also as soloists, and the trio with Nigel Harris in ZBB. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]

[More info on ULTIMA THULE] 

Kevin O'Neill

Pioneering Welsh synthesist primarily active during the 1980s. Kevin O'Neill was one of the rare examples of a unique talent with a distinctive personal style. True, he did occasionally display his roots and influences in his music, but he never set out to copy or emulate anyone. So Kevin was not another Schulze or Tangerine Dream wannabe, and this was what made his music so invigorating and exciting. For this reason alone Kevin's music has remained fresh and vital. Kevin released a total on 9 albums over 9 years, starting in 1984 with 'Icon' -an album that was released with universal acclaim from the "electronica" community. A playful, yet dark edged, music full of unique ideas, it established his style which he developed on and came up with further new angles from, never quite repeating himself throughout his career. Keys to the development of his sound included the OSCar synthesizer, manufactured by the Oxford Synthesiser Company from 1983, an instrument that was ahead of its time in many ways and one of the few mono-synths of its time to have MIDI. Kevin was also not a musician, but a dabbler. He had some training in electronic studio techniques, with help from Steve Howell at his Cardiff Hollow Sun Studio. But that was it, everything else was down his own exploration and experimentation. And throughout those 9 years Kevin never stopped experimenting. Kevin also played at 2 of the annual Electronica festivals, in Stafford and in London, and also at some other special events organised by the Network 23 collective of electronic musicians. It seems that he only gave up on music when cassette sales in the 1990s dwindled, and he since turned his attention to other things, as an author and computer artist. [SOURCE: ULTIMA THULE] 

Ken Moore

Multi-instrumental talent who released lots of cassettes in the 1980s, Ken Moore started to explore electronic music in the mid 1970s alongside working in various rock formations, including Elixir and the one-man-band Minas Tirith. Whilst settled in Baltimore, Maryland, USA he established Anvil Creations as a cottage industry cassette label, releasing old and new recordings. Ken's solo work of that era bridges electronic music, abstract stuff with synthesizers and Mellotron, through to more psychedelic rock based material. He also collaborated with Stuart Rosenzweig and (born out of the bands Kameleon and Runner) he founded the progressive rock duo Moore/Myers with David Wayne Myers. After a long public hiatus, Ken started musical musical activities again circa 2011. [SOURCE: DISCOGS] 

Region 5

Region 5 were the early sound experiments of the Freeman brothers (aka Alto Stratus) doing a form of plunderphonics before anyone had coined the term. Sourced from tons of library LP's and obscure synthesizer music albums, adding processing and some live electronics too, for a spooky balance of melody and dissonance. [SOURCE: DISCOGS] 

Colin Potter

Colin Potter is a sound engineer and musician currently based in London. He has worked within the fields of electronic and experimental music for over 35 years, collaborating with the likes of Current 93, The Hafler Trio, Organum, Andrew Chalk, and most notably as a key part of Nurse With Wound alongside Steven Stapleton. He started the esteemed ICR (Integrated Circuit Recordings) label in 1981 releasing a clutch of wonderful home recordings of his own, over half a dozen small run cassette only releases. [SOURCE: DARK ENTRIES RECORDS] 

Peter Frohmader

Peter Frohmader (born May 9, 1958) is a German electronic composer, musician and visual artist. He began listening to electronic music such as Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel when he was twelve years old. He quickly began composing music of his own and started several bands such as Alpha Centauri, an avant-garde band, Electronic Delusion, a Tangerine Dream inspired electronic band and Kanaan, which was an electronic music outfit with jazz rock leanings. He is also known by the pseudonym Nekropolis, a name under which he released several early works. Taking cues from Carl Orff, Magma, Glenn Branca, and Black Sabbath, Frohmader was recognized for his nightmarish and gothic compositions and as an important figure on the European progressive electronic scene. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA] 

The Effigies

The Effigies were an important part of Chicago's seminal post-hardcore punk scene, along with Big Black, Naked Raygun, and Strike Under. Their legacy isn't as heralded as the former two, in part because they didn't push so many boundaries, either thematically or stylistically. But that assessment shortchanges The Effigies as a vital, intelligent, clearly capable band, one that helped lay the groundwork for a Chicago indie scene that would evolve and thrive for many years to come. Their music was a well-executed, fully mature product of its influences -the D.C. hardcore of Minor Threat, the British post-punk of bands like The Stranglers, Killing Joke, and The Ruts- and was often more melody-friendly. Less political than many of their peers of the era, The Effigies were most concerned with the gritty realities of everyday urban life, but were no less fierce in their musical attack. After three albums that helped draw attention to the Chicago scene, the group lost its stability and eventually disbanded, but reunited periodically to a still-fond local fan base. 

The Effigies were formed in 1980, making them one of Chicago's earliest significant punk bands. Their initial lineup featured guitarist John Kezdy, bassist Paul Zamost, drummer Steve Economou, and a vocalist known only as Norman. Norman didn't stick around for long, and Kezdy took over lead vocals and lyric writing; however, he was unable to play guitar and sing at the same time. With the recruitment of guitarist Earl Letiecq, Kezdy gave up the instrument to focus on singing full-time. The Effigies made their live debut in late 1980, and in early 1981 they made their vinyl debut on the locally seminal compilation 'Busted at Oz', named after the club that served as the epicenter of the early Chicago scene. The band's own debut EP, 'Haunted Town', followed late in 1981 on the small Autumn label. Unhappy with the label's handling of the record, The Effigies started their own Ruthless label, which would also release early material by Naked Raygun and Big Black, and land a distribution deal with Enigma.

 

The Effigies' inaugural Ruthless release was the 1982 single 'Bodybag', which was accompanied by extensive national touring. It was followed by another EP, 'We're da Machine', in 1983, which drew fire from some scenesters for refusing to make explicit political statements, despite the band's clear musical improvement. It was followed in 1984 by The Effigies' first ever full-length album, 'For Ever Grounded', which bore a stronger post-punk flavor and found the band hitting its full musical stride. However, Letiecq subsequently left, and was replaced by Robert O'Connor. O'Connor made his debut on the second Effigies album, 1985's 'Fly on a Wire', which found the band now on Enigma affiliate Fever Records. 'Fly on a Wire' was a stripped-down, eclectic affair that threw some fans for a loop, but still won positive reviews. 

The Effigies returned to a steadier post-punk, post-hardcore sound on 1986's 'Ink', which proved to be the band's final album. Its release was delayed until after the tour that had been intended to support the record, and the resulting intraband tensions led to Kezdy's departure and the group's disbandment. They reunited briefly when Metallica offered them an opening slot on their European tour that year, but Kezdy rejected the opportunity over the objections of his bandmates; perhaps it was a fortunate choice, since Metallica bassist Cliff Burton was subsequently killed in a tour-bus accident. In any case, The Effigies disbanded once again. 

Kezdy would reunite with Letiecq in 1987, adding a brand-new rhythm section of former Bloodsport members: bassist Chris Bjorklund (also ex-Strike Under) and drummer Joe Haggerty (whose brother John was a member of Naked Raygun). Letiecq departed again in 1988, and when Bjorklund moved to guitar, ex-Bloodsport bassist Tom Woods joined up. Neither of these incarnations made any recordings, due in part to Kezdy's outside commitment to law school, but they did play around Chicago from time to time. In 1989, Roadkill released a retrospective of the group's early, Letiecq-related work called 'Remains Nonviewable', which was later reissued on CD by Touch & Go in 1995. The Effigies disbanded again in 1990, and the original lineup reunited for a one-off show in late 1992; they also reunited again for several shows in late 1995 and early 1996 to commemorate the reissue of 'Remains Nonviewable'. Five songs from one of those gigs were released on a limited-edition EP by VML. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

Paul Nagle

After touring the USA in a choir in his youth, Paul Nagle began to compose and perform electronic, experimental music in late 1970s. A leading figure in the UK electronic music scene, he released his early albums on cassette and performed at the legendary first UK Electronica festival in 1983. He has, over the years, released many new age / chillout and electronic albums, often in collaboration with other musicians. 

With an emphasis on live spontaneity, Paul has performed at Jodrell Bank Planetarium (UK), the Alpha Centauri Festival (Holland), Different Skies (Arizona, USA), the Harmonia Festival (Spain) and at the Ricochet Gathering events in Italy, Croatia, Romania and more. With collaborations that include the bands Binar (with Andy Pickford), Joint Intelligence Committee (with Phil Smillie), Ideation (with Pete Ruczynski) and Headshock (with Tim Rafferty), he has gained a vast amount of experience in both composition, production and performance. 

Sound On Sound magazine regularly reaps the benefit of this long experience: Paul is a highly respected reviewer of musical instruments, effects and software. Paul has also notched up programming credits for Roland, Access, DSI and Waldorf and has provided technical input to Steinberg, Access, Waldorf and most recently UK company Sequentix, in the development of the P3 and Cirklon sequencers. 

Turning to music and writing full-time, he has recently embraced the world of Apple, running Logic, Ableton Live, Wavelab and softsynths such as Omnisphere, Diva and Kontakt. Of course, the hardware side of the studio is still close to hand, integrated beautifully with the Mac thanks to the Sequentix Cirklon sequencer. [SOURCE: BOGUSFOCUS.COM]