Codeine (band)
Encyclopedia
Codeine was an American indie rock
/slowcore band formed in 1989. They released two full-length albums — Frigid Stars in 1990 and The White Birch in 1994.
(drums), and John Engle (guitar). Codeine pioneered the slowcore and sadcore
subgenres of indie rock, but with a more experimental attitude than other bands in the genre, such as Low
, Idaho
and Red House Painters
. The band's original tone, marked by slow tempos, Immerwahr's nasal vocals, and Engle's ringing Telecaster, did not evolve much during their career.
Codeine released their first album Frigid Stars
on the German label Glitterhouse
in August 1990. The album was released on Sub Pop
in the Spring of the following year.
The Barely Real
EP, was issued in November 1992. Immerwahr rejected several of the songs after the recording session. Some of these songs would be re-recorded for the final album. The song "W." is a solo performance on piano by David Grubbs
(of Bastro
, Squirrel Bait
and Gastr del Sol
). A somewhat different full-band version of the song appears on Codeine's next album, now titled "Wird".
Brokaw left the band after the release of Barely Real to play full-time with his other band Come
, and after Josh Madell of Antietam
replaced him temporarily for a US tour, he was replaced permanently by Rex
drummer Doug Scharin.
Codeine's final release was the full-length album The White Birch
, released in May 1994. David Grubbs also participated on the album. After this release the band broke up. Doug Scharin continued in Rex and June of 44
, and later as the band leader of HiM
. Following the demise of Come, original drummer Chris Brokaw became a solo artist and itinerant musician, including playing drums for The New Year
and playing guitar with Thurston Moore
of Sonic Youth
. Immerwahr formed the band Raymond.
at All Tomorrow's Parties
sister event; I'll Be Your Mirror, set to be on 25th to 27th of May 2012 in London
, United Kingdom
at Alexandra Palace
. Codeine will perform on the 26th of May
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
/slowcore band formed in 1989. They released two full-length albums — Frigid Stars in 1990 and The White Birch in 1994.
History
Codeine was formed by members Stephen Immerwahr (vocal, bass), Chris BrokawChris Brokaw
Chris Brokaw is an American musician, mostly known for his work with the bands Come and Codeine.While studying at Oberlin College, Brokaw met many people who became figures on the American indie rock scene of the 1990s, among them Stephen Immerwahr, who formed Codeine with Brokaw, as well as...
(drums), and John Engle (guitar). Codeine pioneered the slowcore and sadcore
Sadcore
Slowcore is a subgenre of alternative and indie rock.The music of slowcore artists is generally characterized by bleak lyrics, downbeat melodies, slower tempos and minimalist arrangements. Slowcore is often used interchangeably with the term sadcore....
subgenres of indie rock, but with a more experimental attitude than other bands in the genre, such as Low
Low (band)
Low is an American indie rock group from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993. As of 2010, the group is composed of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker , both founding members, and Steve Garrington ....
, Idaho
Idaho (band)
Idaho is a rock band formed in 1992 in Los Angeles, California, founded as a duo by high school friends Jeff Martin and John K. Berry. They were signed to Caroline Records in December 1992 by Brian Long, then released the The Palms EP and Year After Year full-length in 1993...
and Red House Painters
Red House Painters
Red House Painters were an alternative rock group formed in 1989 in San Francisco, California by singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek.-History:While in Atlanta, Georgia, Ohio-born Kozelek became friends with Anthony Koutsos, a drummer. He then moved to San Francisco, California, adding guitarist Gorden...
. The band's original tone, marked by slow tempos, Immerwahr's nasal vocals, and Engle's ringing Telecaster, did not evolve much during their career.
Codeine released their first album Frigid Stars
Frigid Stars
Frigid Stars is the debut album by New York indie rock/slowcore band Codeine. It was released in August 1990 on Glitterhouse in Europe and in Spring 1991 on Sub Pop in the US. The album was released to generally positive reviews and is regarded as being one of the pioneering albums in the slowcore...
on the German label Glitterhouse
Glitterhouse Records
Glitterhouse Records is an independent record label based in Beverungen, Germany. The label specialises in the alternative country genre, and has released material by artists such as 16 Horsepower, The Walkabouts, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Hazeldine, Helldorado, The Shivers and Tom Liwa, but has...
in August 1990. The album was released on Sub Pop
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
in the Spring of the following year.
The Barely Real
Barely Real
Barely Real is an EP by slowcore band Codeine. It was released on Sub Pop in 1992. While the EP retains most of the stylistic elements of debut Frigid Stars, some new sounds are introduced, notably on "W.", which features solo atonal piano played by David Grubbs...
EP, was issued in November 1992. Immerwahr rejected several of the songs after the recording session. Some of these songs would be re-recorded for the final album. The song "W." is a solo performance on piano by David Grubbs
David Grubbs
David Grubbs , guitarist, pianist, and vocalist, was a founding member of Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr del Sol. He has also played in Codeine, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet and The Wingdale Community Singers....
(of Bastro
Bastro
Bastro was an American post-hardcore band in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's main line-up consisted of David Grubbs on guitar, Clark Johnson on bass guitar, and John McEntire on drums.-History:...
, Squirrel Bait
Squirrel Bait
Squirrel Bait was an American punk band from Louisville, Kentucky. They were in existence from 1983 to 1988. Squirrel Bait's dense, moody, melodic hardcore sound, featuring pronounced tempo shifts, foreshadowed the grunge sound of the late 1980s as well as math rock...
and Gastr del Sol
Gastr del Sol
Gastr del Sol was a Chicago band consisting, for most of their career, of David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke. Between 1993 and 1998 they put out seven albums ranging in genre from post-rock to musique concrète....
). A somewhat different full-band version of the song appears on Codeine's next album, now titled "Wird".
Brokaw left the band after the release of Barely Real to play full-time with his other band Come
Come (US band)
Come was an American alternative rock band from 1990-2001. Come was formed in Boston by Thalia Zedek , Chris Brokaw , Arthur Johnson , and Sean O'Brien .-Band history:...
, and after Josh Madell of Antietam
Antietam (band)
Antietam is an indie rock band from Louisville, Kentucky formed in 1984 by members of the Babylon Dance Band, husband and wife duo Tara Key and Tim Harris. They released six albums between 1985 and 1995, and since the late 1980s have been based in New York...
replaced him temporarily for a US tour, he was replaced permanently by Rex
Rex (band)
Rex was an American Indie rock band formed in 1994 . Rex was considered one of the most important and influential slowcore bands and released three albums and one EP on Southern Records, as well as a collaboration with Red Red Meat on Perishable Records...
drummer Doug Scharin.
Codeine's final release was the full-length album The White Birch
The White Birch
The White Birch is the second and final album by the New York band Codeine. Released in April 1994, the album is considered to be the band's best album and a clear influence on Low, among other bands.-Background:...
, released in May 1994. David Grubbs also participated on the album. After this release the band broke up. Doug Scharin continued in Rex and June of 44
June of 44
June of 44 was an American rock band which was formed in 1994 from ex-members of Rodan, Lungfish, Rex, and Hoover. The band's music is often described as 'math rock'. The band's name refers the period during which erotic fiction writers Henry Miller and Anaïs Nin corresponded.The band toured...
, and later as the band leader of HiM
HiM (band)
HiM is a dub influenced post-rock group formed in 1995 by Doug Scharin, drummer for the bands Codeine, Rex and June of 44. Their first album, Egg, was their most dub-based effort. Each successive album has gone more in a quasi-world music direction...
. Following the demise of Come, original drummer Chris Brokaw became a solo artist and itinerant musician, including playing drums for The New Year
The New Year
The New Year is an American indie rock band, formed in 1999, a year after the demise of the band Bedhead by former Bedhead members Bubba and Matt Kadane.-Band lineup:The New Year is often unable to escape frequent comparisons by critics and Bedhead fans...
and playing guitar with Thurston Moore
Thurston Moore
Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...
of Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
. Immerwahr formed the band Raymond.
Reunion
Codeine will perform on the request of MogwaiMogwai
The word mogwai is the transliteration of the Cantonese word 魔怪 meaning "monster", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon".-Mogwai/Mogui in Chinese culture:...
at All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties
"All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by The Velvet UndergroundAll Tomorrow's Parties may also refer to:* All Tomorrow's Parties , an annual festival in England...
sister event; I'll Be Your Mirror, set to be on 25th to 27th of May 2012 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 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...
at Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
. Codeine will perform on the 26th of May
Singles
- Losida Slide/Castle Codeine/Surgery split 7" (1990, Glitterhouse)
- D 7" (1990, Glitterhouse, Sub Pop)
- Pickup Song (1990, Glitterhouse)
- Valmead/Pea Bitch MagnetBitch MagnetBitch Magnet was a post-hardcore band during the late 1980s and early 1990s who formed at Oberlin College in Ohio and later moved to North Carolina. They released their first record in 1988. All of the band's full-length albums were released on Communion Records in the US; they were also signed to...
/Codeine split 7" (1990, The Communion Label) - A L'Ombre De Nous (In Our Shadow)/Produkt BastroBastroBastro was an American post-hardcore band in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's main line-up consisted of David Grubbs on guitar, Clark Johnson on bass guitar, and John McEntire on drums.-History:...
/Codeine split 7" (1991, Sub Pop, Glitterhouse) - Realize 7" (1992, Sub Pop)
- Sassy Codeine/Velocity GirlVelocity GirlVelocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, although it was generally known as a Washington, DC-area band...
/Beat HappeningBeat HappeningBeat Happening is an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members...
/SebadohSebadohSebadoh is an American indie rock band, formed in 1986 in Westfield, Massachusetts by Eric Gaffney and Dinosaur Jr bass player Lou Barlow. Along with such bands as Pavement and Guided by Voices, Sebadoh helped pioneer lo-fi music, a style of indie rock characterized by low-fidelity recording...
split 7" (1992, Sub Pop) - Ides/Working Holiday Codeine/The Coctails split 7" (1993, Simple MachinesSimple MachinesSimple Machines was a record label that operated out of Arlington, Virginia. The label was masterminded by Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson and, at its peak, had four paid workers- Toomey, Thomson, Pat Graham and Mickey Menard...
) - Tom 7" (1993, Sub Pop)