Boxcar (band)
Encyclopedia
Boxcar is an Australia
n Sydney
-based synth pop and techno band. Formed in the mid-1980s in Brisbane
by main songwriter guitarist and vocalist David Smith, he was soon joined by keyboardists Brett Mitchell and Carol Rohde and somewhat later by drummer-percussionist Crispin Trist. They initially released several cassette-only releases including the album P.C.M.. Boxcar's early material sounded similar to contemporaries such as Cabaret Voltaire
and Severed Heads
. Boxcar were also notable for playing many live shows in the Brisbane area and around the country, including shows where they performed wearing gas mask
s. Performing electronic music live was a difficult feat given the preference in Australian live venues for guitar-driven pub rock
and they would sometimes be jeered by members of the crowd.
They rose to prominence after releasing the single "Freemason (You Broke The Promise)" in 1988 after signing with Volition Records
, and hit number 8 in the United States
Billboard
dance music chart. Initially criticised in the local press for being derivative of New Order
they nevertheless built a local following, despite a lack of commercial radio airplay for electronic music. "Freemason" was soon followed by the singles "Insect" (remixed by noted producer Arthur Baker
) and "Gas Stop (Who Do You Think You Are?)" (remixed by Francois Kevorkian
) (both of which also charted in the US but had little local impact - "Gas Stop" peaked at #82 on the ARIA singles chart) and by their formal debut album Vertigo
on Volition in 1990.
Vertigo was well received by critics who noted the production was considerably more sophisticated than most electronic music produced in Australia to that point, due in large part to producer Robert Racic
, who had also worked with Severed Heads
and other Volition artists such as Single Gun Theory
. Overall, Vertigo had a fairly pop feel, however the band also included more experimental instrumentals on the album such as "Comet" (also on the B-side of the "Freemason" single) and "Lelore" (featuring an eerie wailing as the centrepiece "vocal", it was released as a single in its own right). A round of live dates and tours followed including supports for New Order, Depeche Mode
, Erasure
and Pet Shop Boys
.
Soon after the release of Vertigo, Rohde and Trist left Boxcar and the band relocated from Brisbane to Sydney and added keyboardist Stewart Lawler. A remix album
Revision with reworkings of Vertigo tracks by various local producers, including Tom Ellard
from Severed Heads, was released in 1992, but it was another two years until the follow-up album Algorhythm
was released in Australia in 1994.
Algorhythm was a notably more trance
and house
-influenced effort than the synth-pop of Vertigo and spawned the singles "Universal Hymn", "What Are You So Happy About?" (featured on the soundtrack
to the 1996 film Love and Other Catastrophes
) and "People Get High". The album took almost another two full years until it was released in the United Kingdom
and Europe
in 1996 on Pulse-8. Although not officially defunct, it was around about 1997 that Boxcar started to play fewer live dates.
In October 2007, an announcement was made of their return gig participating in the Upgrade night at QUT
. There is also a new track on their website, named for the infamous Atari ST
game, Llamatron
. It is also indicated that Brett Mitchell is no longer a member of the band.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
-based synth pop and techno band. Formed in the mid-1980s in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
by main songwriter guitarist and vocalist David Smith, he was soon joined by keyboardists Brett Mitchell and Carol Rohde and somewhat later by drummer-percussionist Crispin Trist. They initially released several cassette-only releases including the album P.C.M.. Boxcar's early material sounded similar to contemporaries such as Cabaret Voltaire
Cabaret Voltaire (band)
Cabaret Voltaire were a British music group from Sheffield, England.Initially composed of Stephen Mallinder, Richard H. Kirk and Chris Watson, the group was named after the Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub in Zürich, Switzerland that was a centre for the early Dada movement.Their earliest performances...
and Severed Heads
Severed Heads
Severed Heads is an Australian electronic music group based and founded in Sydney in 1979 as Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign. The original members were Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright, and were soon joined by Tom Ellard. Fielding and Wright eventually left the group, leaving Ellard as a singular...
. Boxcar were also notable for playing many live shows in the Brisbane area and around the country, including shows where they performed wearing gas mask
Gas mask
A gas mask is a mask put on over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Some gas masks are also respirators, though the word...
s. Performing electronic music live was a difficult feat given the preference in Australian live venues for guitar-driven pub rock
Pub rock (Australia)
Pub rock is a style of Australian rock and roll popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and still influencing contemporary Australian music today....
and they would sometimes be jeered by members of the crowd.
They rose to prominence after releasing the single "Freemason (You Broke The Promise)" in 1988 after signing with Volition Records
Volition Records
Volition Records was a Sydney, Australia-based record label specialising in electronic music styles such as house, techno, synthpop and trance. It was founded by Andrew Penhallow in the late 1980s, but folded in the late 1990s....
, and hit number 8 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
dance music chart. Initially criticised in the local press for being derivative of New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
they nevertheless built a local following, despite a lack of commercial radio airplay for electronic music. "Freemason" was soon followed by the singles "Insect" (remixed by noted producer Arthur Baker
Arthur Baker (musician)
Arthur Baker is an American record producer and DJ best known for his work with hip hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Planet Patrol, and the British group New Order.-Early career:...
) and "Gas Stop (Who Do You Think You Are?)" (remixed by Francois Kevorkian
François Kevorkian
François Kevorkian, alias François K, is a French DJ of Armenian origin, remixer, producer and record label owner. Having started his career in renowned clubs such as the Paradise Garage and Studio 54, the New York City resident is widely considered as one of the forefathers of house...
) (both of which also charted in the US but had little local impact - "Gas Stop" peaked at #82 on the ARIA singles chart) and by their formal debut album Vertigo
Vertigo (Boxcar album)
Vertigo was a 1990 album by Australian electronic-synthpop group Boxcar released by Volition Records in Australia and by Arista Records in the United States....
on Volition in 1990.
Vertigo was well received by critics who noted the production was considerably more sophisticated than most electronic music produced in Australia to that point, due in large part to producer Robert Racic
Robert Racic
Robert Racic was an Australian DJ and record producer. Born in Melbourne and highly influential within electronic and house music circles he was largely unknown outside Australia...
, who had also worked with Severed Heads
Severed Heads
Severed Heads is an Australian electronic music group based and founded in Sydney in 1979 as Mr. and Mrs. No Smoking Sign. The original members were Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright, and were soon joined by Tom Ellard. Fielding and Wright eventually left the group, leaving Ellard as a singular...
and other Volition artists such as Single Gun Theory
Single Gun Theory
Single Gun Theory is an Australian band made up of Jacqui Hunt , Pete Rivett-Carnac and Kath Power , recording on the Canadian label Nettwerk. Their music combines elements of downtempo electronic dance music with introspective, ethereal vocals and samples of dialogue...
. Overall, Vertigo had a fairly pop feel, however the band also included more experimental instrumentals on the album such as "Comet" (also on the B-side of the "Freemason" single) and "Lelore" (featuring an eerie wailing as the centrepiece "vocal", it was released as a single in its own right). A round of live dates and tours followed including supports for New Order, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, Erasure
Erasure
Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
and Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....
.
Soon after the release of Vertigo, Rohde and Trist left Boxcar and the band relocated from Brisbane to Sydney and added keyboardist Stewart Lawler. A remix album
Remix album
A remix album is an album consisting mostly of remixes or re-recorded versions of a music artists' earlier released material.One of the earliest remix albums was 1971's Aerial Pandemonium Ballet by Harry Nilsson, which was released by Nilsson after the successes of Everybody's Talkin and The Point!...
Revision with reworkings of Vertigo tracks by various local producers, including Tom Ellard
Tom Ellard
Thomas Ellard , is an Australian electronic musician best known as the founding member of the electronic and industrial music group Severed Heads.-Early life:...
from Severed Heads, was released in 1992, but it was another two years until the follow-up album Algorhythm
Algorhythm
- Additional musicians :* David Allen — congas * Amanda Brown — vocals * Nigel Jones — guitar * Lisa Maxwell — vocals- Credits :* Adrian Bolland — mixing* Boxcar — mixing, producer* Kathy Naunton — editing & mastering...
was released in Australia in 1994.
Algorhythm was a notably more trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
and house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
-influenced effort than the synth-pop of Vertigo and spawned the singles "Universal Hymn", "What Are You So Happy About?" (featured on the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to the 1996 film Love and Other Catastrophes
Love and Other Catastrophes
Love and Other Catastrophes is a quirky 1996 Australian romantic comedy film featuring Frances O'Connor, Radha Mitchell, Alice Garner, Matthew Dyktynski, Matt Day and Kym Gyngell...
) and "People Get High". The album took almost another two full years until it was released in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1996 on Pulse-8. Although not officially defunct, it was around about 1997 that Boxcar started to play fewer live dates.
In October 2007, an announcement was made of their return gig participating in the Upgrade night at QUT
Queensland University of Technology
Queensland University of Technology is an Australian university with an applied emphasis in courses and research. Based in Brisbane, it has 40,000 students, including 6,000 international students, over 4,000 staff members, and an annual budget of more than A$750 million.QUT is marketed as "A...
. There is also a new track on their website, named for the infamous Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
game, Llamatron
Llamatron
Llamatron is a computer game written by Jeff Minter of Llamasoft, and released as shareware in 1991 for the Atari ST. The game was converted to the Commodore Amiga and PC the following year. It is very similar in gameplay to the 1982 arcade game Robotron: 2084, although filtered through Jeff...
. It is also indicated that Brett Mitchell is no longer a member of the band.
Selected discography
- VertigoVertigo (Boxcar album)Vertigo was a 1990 album by Australian electronic-synthpop group Boxcar released by Volition Records in Australia and by Arista Records in the United States....
(1990) - Revision (1992)
- AlgorhythmAlgorhythm- Additional musicians :* David Allen — congas * Amanda Brown — vocals * Nigel Jones — guitar * Lisa Maxwell — vocals- Credits :* Adrian Bolland — mixing* Boxcar — mixing, producer* Kathy Naunton — editing & mastering...
(1994)