Cultural Amnesia
Encyclopedia
Cultural Amnesia are an English
post-punk
music group, first active between 1979 and 1983 as participants in the so-called cassette culture
of the late 1970s and early 1980s in the UK. During this first period the band released three cassette albums: Video Rideo (1981), The Uncle of the Boot (1983) and Sinclair's Luck (1983) on English and German record label
s, and contributed to a number of compilation album
s. Early on in his career, CA worked with the late Geff Rushton (John Balance
) of Coil
, who wrote a handful of songs for them and who was an important supporter and enabler.
Working in the wake of the early industrial
bands, CA's output is diverse, ranging from ambient soundscapes to synthpop
, but it can be broadly characterized as song-based electronic music
, normally making use of synthesizer
, drum machine
and guitar
.
After fifteen years of silence the band produced three new tracks in 1998. Recent years have seen a return to sustained activity and some small-scale releases of old and new material. Enormous Savages, a compilation of material from 1981–1983, was released on LP in the summer of 2007; Press My Hungry Button, a double LP of 1980–1983 material, was released November 2007. The CD Enormous Savages Enlarged, from April 2009, includes five tracks recorded since 2004 in addition to the '80s tracks that appeared on the Enormous Savages LP. In November 2011 the band released This Is Not Your Shape, their first full album of new material since the early 1980s. The album was accompanied by a lyrics booklet, Verbose Logging, including the songs on the album and others recorded during their second period.
The CA website is an extensive source of information on the band's output, both released and unreleased, with a number of tracks available for download.
Discography sources: Discogs, culturalamnesia.com
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
music group, first active between 1979 and 1983 as participants in the so-called cassette culture
Cassette culture
Cassette culture, or the cassette underground , refers to the practices surrounding amateur production and distribution of recorded music that emerged in the late 1970s via home-made audio cassettes...
of the late 1970s and early 1980s in the UK. During this first period the band released three cassette albums: Video Rideo (1981), The Uncle of the Boot (1983) and Sinclair's Luck (1983) on English and German record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s, and contributed to a number of compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s. Early on in his career, CA worked with the late Geff Rushton (John Balance
John Balance
John Balance , born in Mansfield, England, was the founder of the experimental music group Coil, along with his partner Peter Christopherson...
) of Coil
Coil (band)
Coil were an English cross-genre, experimental music group formed in 1982 by John Balance—later credited as "Jhonn Balance"—and his partner Peter Christopherson, aka "Sleazy". The duo worked together on a series of releases before Balance chose the name Coil, which he claimed to be...
, who wrote a handful of songs for them and who was an important supporter and enabler.
Working in the wake of the early industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
bands, CA's output is diverse, ranging from ambient soundscapes to synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
, but it can be broadly characterized as song-based electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, normally making use of synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, drum machine
Drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
.
After fifteen years of silence the band produced three new tracks in 1998. Recent years have seen a return to sustained activity and some small-scale releases of old and new material. Enormous Savages, a compilation of material from 1981–1983, was released on LP in the summer of 2007; Press My Hungry Button, a double LP of 1980–1983 material, was released November 2007. The CD Enormous Savages Enlarged, from April 2009, includes five tracks recorded since 2004 in addition to the '80s tracks that appeared on the Enormous Savages LP. In November 2011 the band released This Is Not Your Shape, their first full album of new material since the early 1980s. The album was accompanied by a lyrics booklet, Verbose Logging, including the songs on the album and others recorded during their second period.
The CA website is an extensive source of information on the band's output, both released and unreleased, with a number of tracks available for download.
Albums and EPs
- Video Rideo (CAC, Conventional Tapes 1981, Datenverarbeitung 1983)
- Sinclair's Luck (CAC, Hearsay and Heresy 1983)
- The Uncle Of The Boot (CAC, Datenverarbeitung 1983)
- Enormous Savages (LP, Anna Logue Records 2007)
- Little Savage (Mini-CD, Iron Banana 2007)
- Press My Hungry Button (2xLP, VOD Records 2007)
- Still Hungry (EP, VOD Records 2007)
- Enormous Savages Enlarged (CD, Klanggalerie 2009)
- This Is Not Your Shape (MP3, Bleak 2011)
Compilation appearances
- "Yellow Song" on Standard Response (1979)
- "Cyberforms Dub" on Snatch 2 (1980)
- "Repetition For This World", "Reprise", "Dialogue Of Skull And Soul" and "Secrets Of The Passive Margin" on Endzeit (1982)
- "Colorblind" and "The Pigs Are Coming" on A Sudden Surge Of Power (1983)
- "Nobody Does It Like You Do!" on Qu'est-ce Qu'il Y A? (1983)
- "Resthome (The Man Who Worked With Tourists)" on Rising From The Red Sand (Volume Four) (1983)
- "Kingdom Come" on The Angels Are Coming (1983)
- "The Uncle Of The Boot" on Band-It 11 (1983)
- "Where Has All The Difference Gone?" on On-Slaught No. 6 (1985)
- "Down By The Canal" on Cassette Culture I: Pause And Rewind (2005)
- "Contains" on Cassette Culture II (2006)
- "I Am Taking Photographs" on Electricity 3 (2006)
- "Resthome (The Man Who Worked With Tourists)" on Nonpop 2 (2008)
- "Repetition For This World" on Messthetics Greatest Hiss: An Introduction to the DIY Cassette Scene 1979-1982 (2008)
- "Materialistic Man" on The Anna Logue Years (2010)
- "Little Blue Grains" and "Brand New Day" on Why Be Blake When You Can Be Bleak? (2010)
Discography sources: Discogs, culturalamnesia.com