In 1978, having received a substantial royalty payment for his work with
The YardbirdsThe Yardbirds are an English rock band, notable for starting the careers of three of rock's more famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, all of whom were in the top fifteen of Rolling Stones' 100 Top Guitarists list...
, Russian music entrepreneur
Giorgio GomelskyGiorgio Gomelsky is a filmmaker, impresario, music manager and record producer. He owned the Crawdaddy Club where The Rolling Stones were house band, and he was involved with their early management. He hired The Yardbirds as a replacement and managed them. He was also their producer from the...
relocated to
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in an attempt to open up the American market to the European progressive jazz-rock bands he was working with, such as
GongGong are a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett and Pierre...
,
Henry CowHenry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
and
MagmaMagma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the course of their first album, the band tells the story of a...
. He established the Zu Club in
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
and after meeting 24 year old bass player
Bill LaswellBill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner. He is married to Ethiopian singer Gigi....
, encouraged him to form a band. Three young friends,
Michael BeinhornMichael Beinhorn is an American musician and record producer.Beinhorn started his professional career as a musician, playing keyboards in Bill Laswell's Material during the 1980s...
(17, synthesizer),
Martin BisiMartin Bisi is an American producer and songwriter.He is known for recording important records by Sonic Youth,Swans, John Zorn, Material, Bill Laswell, Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning Rockit, Helmet Unsane , Cop Shoot Cop, White Zombie, Boredoms, and Angels of Light.
In 1979, Martin Bisi...
(17, engineering) and
Fred MaherFred Maher is an American drummer, programmer and record producer.He was a member of Massacre , Material, Scritti Politti, Lou Reed, and is best known as the producer of I'm Talking's album Bear Witness , Lou Reed's album New York , Matthew Sweet's album Girlfriend , and Information Society's self...
(14, drums), responded to Laswell's advert in
The Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper in New York City, United States featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City...
and the band began rehearsing in the club's basement.
The band became known as the "Zu Band" until Gomelsky hooked them up with former
GongGong are a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett and Pierre...
frontman
Daevid AllenDaevid Allen is an Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist best known as co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine and Gong . He is sometimes credited as "Divided Alien"...
for a performance at his Zu Manifestival at the Zu Club on October 8, 1978, for which they became "New York Gong".
1978-82: The band
In 1978, having received a substantial royalty payment for his work with
The YardbirdsThe Yardbirds are an English rock band, notable for starting the careers of three of rock's more famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, all of whom were in the top fifteen of Rolling Stones' 100 Top Guitarists list...
, Russian music entrepreneur
Giorgio GomelskyGiorgio Gomelsky is a filmmaker, impresario, music manager and record producer. He owned the Crawdaddy Club where The Rolling Stones were house band, and he was involved with their early management. He hired The Yardbirds as a replacement and managed them. He was also their producer from the...
relocated to
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in an attempt to open up the American market to the European progressive jazz-rock bands he was working with, such as
GongGong are a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett and Pierre...
,
Henry CowHenry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
and
MagmaMagma is a French progressive rock band founded in Paris in 1969 by classically trained drummer Christian Vander, who claimed as his inspiration a "vision of humanity's spiritual and ecological future" that profoundly disturbed him. In the course of their first album, the band tells the story of a...
. He established the Zu Club in
ManhattanManhattan is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.New York County, which has the same boundaries as the Borough of Manhattan , is the most densely populated county in the United States, with a 2008 population of 1,634,795...
and after meeting 24 year old bass player
Bill LaswellBill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner. He is married to Ethiopian singer Gigi....
, encouraged him to form a band. Three young friends,
Michael BeinhornMichael Beinhorn is an American musician and record producer.Beinhorn started his professional career as a musician, playing keyboards in Bill Laswell's Material during the 1980s...
(17, synthesizer),
Martin BisiMartin Bisi is an American producer and songwriter.He is known for recording important records by Sonic Youth,Swans, John Zorn, Material, Bill Laswell, Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning Rockit, Helmet Unsane , Cop Shoot Cop, White Zombie, Boredoms, and Angels of Light.
In 1979, Martin Bisi...
(17, engineering) and
Fred MaherFred Maher is an American drummer, programmer and record producer.He was a member of Massacre , Material, Scritti Politti, Lou Reed, and is best known as the producer of I'm Talking's album Bear Witness , Lou Reed's album New York , Matthew Sweet's album Girlfriend , and Information Society's self...
(14, drums), responded to Laswell's advert in
The Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper in New York City, United States featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City...
and the band began rehearsing in the club's basement.
The band became known as the "Zu Band" until Gomelsky hooked them up with former
GongGong are a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett and Pierre...
frontman
Daevid AllenDaevid Allen is an Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist best known as co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine and Gong . He is sometimes credited as "Divided Alien"...
for a performance at his Zu Manifestival at the Zu Club on October 8, 1978, for which they became "New York Gong". Guitarist Cliff Cultreri, who was replaced by guitarist Michael Lawrence for the Manifestival, and second drummer Bill Bacon joined them for a Spring 1979 tour of the USA in an old school bus playing most of Gong's Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy. In autumn, they recorded the album
About TimeAbout Time is a 1979 album by Daevid Allen and New York Gong."Much Too Old" / "I Am A Freud" was issued as a 1979 7" single , and "Jungle Windo" / "Much Too Old" / "Materialism" as a 1980 10" EP....
. Allen and the band amicably parted company when they "discovered they couldn't stand the European way of life" during a tour of France.
The band then took the name Material, from the Laswell/Cultreri composed instrumental "Materialism" on the
About Time album. Their debut recording was 1979's instrumental
post-punkPost-punk is a popular musical 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...
industrialIndustrial music is an experimental music style, often including electronic music, that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s to describe Industrial Records artists...
funkFunk is an American music genre that originated in the late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
Temporary Music 1Temporary Music is the 1979 debut EP and 1981 debut album by the New York based No Wave music group Material.The band had previously worked with Daevid Allen on New York Gong's 1979 About Time album. The Temporary Music 1 EP was recorded in 1979 and the Temporary Music 2 EP in 1980...
EP for Gomelsky's Zu Records. The band then signed to
Celluloid RecordsCelluloid Records, a French/American record label, founded by Jean Karakos operated from 1976 to 1989 in New York, and produced a series of eclectic and ground-breaking releases, particularly in the early to late 1980's, largely under the auspices of de facto in-house producer Bill Laswell.Karakos...
, and the single "Discourse" was issued in 1980.
They were reduced back to the trio of Beinhorn, Laswell and Maher for the 1981 EP
Temporary Music 2Temporary Music is the 1979 debut EP and 1981 debut album by the New York based No Wave music group Material.The band had previously worked with Daevid Allen on New York Gong's 1979 About Time album. The Temporary Music 1 EP was recorded in 1979 and the Temporary Music 2 EP in 1980...
. Their first full album,
Memory ServesMemory Serves is a 1981 album by the New York based No Wave music group Material.-Track listing:#"Memory Serves" – 5:08#"Disappearing" – 7:11...
, which featured strong jazz leanings, had contributions from guitarists
Sonny SharrockWarren Harding "Sonny" Sharrock was an American jazz guitarist. He was once married to singer Linda Sharrock, with whom he sometimes recorded and performed....
and Henry Cow's
Fred FrithFred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best-known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
, cornetist
Olu DaraOlu Dara is an American cornetist, guitarist and singer. He first became known as a jazz musician, playing alongside avant-garde musicians such as David Murray, Henry Threadgill, and Art Blakey.His first album under his own name, 1998's In the World: From Natchez to New York, revealed another...
, saxophonist
Henry ThreadgillHenry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist.-Early life and career:Threadgill first performed as a percussionist in his high school marching band before taking up the baritone saxophone and later a large portion of the woodwind instrument family...
and violinist
Billy BangBilly Bang , is an American free jazz violinist and composer.-Early life:...
.
They started working with singers and their music became more melodic and funkier. Their next single "Ciquiri" (included on the
American SongsAmerican Songs is a 1981 EP by the New York based No Wave music group Material.-Track listing:#"Ciquiri" – 6:22#"Detached" – 5:02...
EP) which featured guitarist
Robert QuineRobert W. Quine was an American guitarist, known for his innovative guitar solos.A native of Akron, Ohio, Quine worked with a wide range of musicians, though he himself remained relatively unknown in comparison...
, became popular in New York City dance clubs. The 1981 "
Bustin' Out"Bustin' Out" is a 1981 EP by the New York based No Wave music group Material. The vocal here is provided by Nona Hendryx. This single sees the band move further away from their experimental beginnings into a clubier funkier direction.-Track listing:...
" single was released as an extended club mix, and they were fronted by singer
Nona HendryxNona Hendryx is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress...
with support from guitarist Ronnie Drayton. This line-up also recorded "It's a Holiday" for a split single with Cristina.
By 1982's
One DownOne Down is a 1982 album by the New York based No Wave music group Material. The album sees the band reduced to a duo of Michael Beinhorn and Bill Laswell, collaborating with different musicians and singers on each track....
, drummer Maher had left the band, and they embraced a multitude of singers including Hendryx, B.J. Nelson,
R. Bernard FowlerBernard Fowler is an American musician and songwriter, known as powerful vocalist with a wide range, who has provided backing vocals with the Rolling Stones, for over 20 years on recordings and tours, collectively and individually, as well as being a regular featured singer on other musicians'...
and
Whitney HoustonWhitney Elizabeth Houston is an American recording artist, actress, and former fashion model. A relative to several prominent soul singers, including her mother Cissy Houston, cousins Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick, and godmother Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing at her New Jersey church as a...
in one of her first lead singer recordings. Houston's vocal was on a cover version of
Hugh HopperHugh Colin Hopper was a progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and various other related bands.-Early career:...
's "Memories", which also featured a lead break by saxophonist
Archie SheppArchie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African race, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and his...
. Critic Robert Christgau of the
The Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper in New York City, United States featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City...
called her contribution "one of the most gorgeous ballads you've ever heard". As an indication of the direction the band headed for,
ChicChic is an American disco and R&B band that was formed in 1976 by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards...
's guitarist
Nile RodgersNile Gregory Rodgers is an American musician, composer, arranger, and guitarist, and is considered one of the most influential music producers in the history of popular music.-Biography:...
was involved alongside Frith and Drayton, but perhaps more significantly, was one of the first appearances of longtime Laswell collaborator
Nicky SkopelitisNicky Skopelitis is an American guitarist and composer from Greek heritage. He is best-known as a guitarist, but also performs on banjo, oud, lute, keyboards and other instruments....
.
1982-89: Collaborations
Bill Laswell and Michael Beinhorn settled into a duo and began working with other musicians, producing, writing and performing. They worked initially in the electro genre, but quickly moved into the fields of hip-hop and
rapRapping is the rhythmic spoken delivery of rhymes, wordplay, and poetry. Rapping is a primary ingredient in hip hop music, but the phenomenon predates hip hop culture by centuries. Rapping can be delivered over a beat or without accompaniment...
, collaborating with turntablist
D.StGrandMixer DXT is an American turntablist. "D.ST" is a reference to Manhattan, New York City's Delancey Street on the Lower East Side...
and rappers
PHASE 2PHASE 2 is one of the most influential and well known New York City graffiti artists. Mostly active in the 1970s, Phase 2 is generally credited with originating the "bubble letter" style of graffiti writing, also known as "softies"...
and
Fab Five FreddyFred Brathwaite , more popularly known as Fab 5 Freddy, is an American Hip hop historian, Hip hop pioneer and former graffiti artist...
.
A chance meeting between Laswell and
Herbie HancockHerbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American jazz pianist and composer. He is regarded as one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century. His music embraces elements of funk and soul while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz...
at
Elektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009.-Beginnings:...
, in which the latter expressed interest in making music in the vein of
Malcolm McLarenMalcolm McLaren is a performer, impresario, self-publicist and most famously, former manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls.-Early years:...
's "Buffalo Gals" lead to a collaboration that brought forth the
Future Shock album and its the hit "
Rockit"Rockit" is a song recorded by Herbie Hancock. It was released as a single from his 1983 album Future Shock. The song was written by Hancock, bass guitarist Bill Laswell and synthesizer/drum machine programmer Michael Beinhorn....
". They would collaborate with Hancock on two further albums released under his name, 1984's
Sound-SystemSound-System is the thirty-sixth album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and the second of three albums with the Rockit Band.-About the Album:The second of the three Rockit band albums, Sound-System was another smash for Herbie Hancock....
and 1988's
Perfect Machine. Hancock himself would go on to contribute to many of Material and Laswell's projects.
In 1984, under the name
TimezoneTime Zone was a hip hop band headed by Afrika Bambaataa. Bambaataa worked with different musicians for each Time Zone project.-History:The first Time Zone single was the 1983 electro song "The Wildstyle" which featured music from a German project called Wunderwerke. Bambaataa was introduced to...
, they released the single "World Destruction" which featured
disc jockeyA disc jockey is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, dis
k referred to phonograph records, while dis
c referred to the Compact Disc, and has become the more common spelling...
Afrika BambaataaAfrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and "Godfather" and The Amen Ra of...
and
John LydonJohn Joseph Lydon , also known as Johnny Rotten, is a British rock musician and lyricist, best known as the lead vocalist of the punk rock group Sex Pistols during the 1970s and 2000s, and also as the vocalist of post punk group Public Image Ltd in the 1980s and 1990s.Lydon became notorious in the...
(former singer of the
Sex PistolsThe Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They are responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
).
In 1985 Laswell and Beinhorn parted company. Beinhorn went into record production for the likes of the
Red Hot Chili PeppersRed Hot Chili Peppers is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1983. For most of the band's existence, the members have been vocalist Anthony Kiedis, guitarist John Frusciante, bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary, and drummer Chad Smith...
and
Marilyn MansonMarilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
. Laswell retained the Material name and was calling upon a large group of musicians with, at its core, guitarist
Nicky SkopelitisNicky Skopelitis is an American guitarist and composer from Greek heritage. He is best-known as a guitarist, but also performs on banjo, oud, lute, keyboards and other instruments....
, keyboardist
Jeff BovaJeff Bova is an American Grammy Award winning keyboardist, composer, arranger and record producer. He has been active in music industry since the mid-1970s, contributing to dozens of recordings by significant mainstream artists like Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Blondie, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker,...
, percussionist
Aiyb DiengAïyb Dieng is a Senegalese drummer and percussionist. He has worked and recorded frequently with Bill Laswell.He was born and raised in Senegal. By the age of 14 he was playing professionally in a band that consisted of nine relatives....
, former
Parliament-FunkadelicParliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. They are the main performers of the soul and funk subgenre known as P-Funk and performed under the names Parliament and Funkadelic , and also in a score of offshoot groups and solo ventures...
keyboardist
Bernie WorrellGeorge Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known for his work with Parliament-Funkadelic and Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.-Biography:Worrell was born in...
and bassist
Bootsy CollinsWilliam "Bootsy" Collins is a funk bassist, singer, and songwriter.Rising to prominence with James Brown in the late 1960s, and with Parliament-Funkadelic in the '70s, Collins's driving bass guitar and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk...
, plus Jamaican reggae duo
Sly DunbarLowell "Sly" Fillmore Dunbar is a drummer.-Biography:Working together with Robbie Shakespeare, Sly and Robbie are considered one of the world's premier rhythm sections for their work in the field of reggae...
and Robbie Shakespeare (
Sly and RobbieSly and Robbie are one of reggae's most prolific and long lasting production teams. The rhythm section of drummer Lowell Dunbar and bass guitarist Robert Shakespeare started working together in the mid 1970s, after having established themselves separately on the Jamaican music scene...
).
1989-99: Projects
By 1989, Laswell had ceased using the Material name as an umbrella for his own activities and began to use it as a front for specific projects. The first of these projects was the album
Seven SoulsSeven Souls is a 1989 album by the New York based No Wave music group Material.The album was re-released in 1997 with bonus tracks, three re-mixes that were added to the beginning of the album...
, featuring
William S. BurroughsWilliam Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word performer.Much of Burroughs's work is semi-autobiographical, drawn from his experiences as an opiate addict, a condition that marked the last fifty years of his life...
reading portions of his novel
The Western LandsThe Western Lands by William S. Burroughs, published in 1987, is a novel which is the final part of the trilogy that begins with Cities of the Red Night and The Place of Dead Roads. The title refers to the western bank of the Nile River, which in Egyptian mythology is the Land of the Dead...
. In 1998, the album was subject to a series of re-mixes by Laswell,
Talvin SinghTalvin Singh , is a producer and composer and tabla player, known for creating an innovative fusion of classical Indian music and drum and bass...
,
Spring Heel JackSpring Heel Jack is an English electronic music group consisting of John Coxon and Ashley Wales.Formed in 1993 in London, England, Spring Heel Jack began their career exploring drum and bass and jungle, but have since branched out into free improvisation and jazz, collaborating with many acclaimed...
,
DJ OliveDJ Olive is an American disc jockey and turntablist active in free improvisation, jazz and illbient music. He is often credited with coining the latter term.DJ Olive is a member of We and Liminal...
and released as
The Road to the Western Lands.
The Third PowerThe Third Power is a 1991 album by the New York based music group Material. The album mixes funk, dub and rap music.Engineer Martin Bisi claims the album began as a Sly and Robbie record but "Bill really took over... And then, before you know it, the record's done and they're staring at something...
was released in 1991, with duo
Sly and RobbieSly and Robbie are one of reggae's most prolific and long lasting production teams. The rhythm section of drummer Lowell Dunbar and bass guitarist Robert Shakespeare started working together in the mid 1970s, after having established themselves separately on the Jamaican music scene...
and Bootsy Collins being Laswell's main collaborators. Vocal performances were given by the
Jungle BrothersThe Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop group that pioneered the fusion of jazz and hip-hop and also became the first hip-hop group to use a house-music producer. The group began performing in the mid-1980s and released its first album, Straight Out the Jungle, in 1988...
' Baby Bam and Mike G,
The Last PoetsThe Last Poets is a group of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African American civil rights movement's black nationalist thread...
's
Jalaluddin Mansur NuriddinJalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin born in Brooklyn, New York, 1944, is one of the founding members of The Last Poets, a group of poets and musicians that evolved in the 1960s out of the Harlem Writers Workshop in New York City.-Biography:...
, and
Shabba RanksShabba Ranks is a Jamaican dancehall/ragga recording artist....
. Other musicians included members of
FunkadelicFunkadelic was an African American music band most prominent during the 1970s. It and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
, Herbie Hancock,
Henry ThreadgillHenry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist.-Early life and career:Threadgill first performed as a percussionist in his high school marching band before taking up the baritone saxophone and later a large portion of the woodwind instrument family...
and
Olu DaraOlu Dara is an American cornetist, guitarist and singer. He first became known as a jazz musician, playing alongside avant-garde musicians such as David Murray, Henry Threadgill, and Art Blakey.His first album under his own name, 1998's In the World: From Natchez to New York, revealed another...
.
1993's
Hallucination EngineHallucination Engine is a 1994 album by the New York based music group Material. The album mixes jazz, dub and Indian music."Mantra" was issued as a 12" and CD single in 1993 featuring a 17 minute "Praying Mantra Mix" by The Orb, the album's "Doors of Perception Mix", and a 5 minute edit.A Tetsu...
was a fusion of jazz, Indian and Middle Eastern influences. Noted jazz players included
Wayne ShorterWayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer, commonly regarded as one of the most important American jazz musicians of his generation. His efforts have arguably made him a household name amongst jazz fans around the world, and won him honors and recognition, including multiple...
,
Jonas HellborgJonas Hellborg is a Swedish bass guitarist. He has collaborated with John McLaughlin, Ustad Sultan Khan, Fazal Qureshi, Bill Laswell, Shawn Lane, Jens Johansson, Michael Shrieve, V. Selvaganesh, Mattias IA Eklundh and Buckethead.-Career:...
, and from
John McLaughlin'sJohn McLaughlin may refer to:*John McLaughlin , English former professional footballer active in the 1970s for Liverpool FC.*John McLaughlin , former Jesuit priest; host of The McLaughlin Group*John McLaughlin John McLaughlin may refer to:*John McLaughlin (footballer), English former professional...
ShaktiShakti was a group which played a novel acoustic fusion music which combined Indian music with elements of jazz; it was perhaps the earliest practitioner of the musical genre world fusion....
tabla player
Zakir HussainUstad Zakir Hussain , , is an Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor and soundtrack composer.-Early life and background:...
, violinist
L. ShankarLakshminarayanan Shankar , also known as L. Shankar, Shankar or Shenkar, is a violinist, vocalist and composer.-Early life:L. Shankar was born in Madras, Tamil Nadu. Growing up in Jaffna, Ceylon, where his father V...
and
Vikku VinayakramThetakudi Harihara Vinayakram , also known as Vikku Vinayakram is an Indian percussionist. Vinayakram plays Carnatic music with the ghatam, an earthen pot.-Biography:...
(on
ghatamThe ghatam is a percussion instrument, used in the Carnatic music of South India. It's analogs in Rajasthan knows as madga and pani mataqa ....
). Palestinian violinist
Simon ShaheenSimon Shaheen is an American oud and violin virtuoso and composer.At the age of 2, Shaheen moved with his family to Haifa, but he spent most of the weekends in Tarshiha, an Israeli Arab town.The Shaheen family is known for its musicality.-Music career:He began playing the oud at 5, and the violin...
and Indian percussionist
Trilok GurtuTrilok Gurtu is a percussionist and composer, who has also "crossed over" into jazz-rock fusion and world music genres....
also contributed.
The final release under the name Material was 1999's
IntonarumoriIntonarumori is a 1998 album by the New York based new wave music group Material.-Track listing:#Rammellzee – "Intime" – 1:11#Kool Keith and Kut Masta Kurt – "Conspiracies" – 4:22...
. Sub-titled "Rap is still an art", it featured contributions from
RammellzeeRammellzee , is a graffiti writer, performance artist, rap/hip-hop musician and sculptor from New York....
,
Kool KeithKeith Matthew Thornton, better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper. A founding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, Kool Keith has also recorded extensively both as a solo artist and under multiple aliases.-History:...
,
Flavor FlavWilliam Jonathan Drayton Jr. , better known by his stage name Flavor Flav, is an American rapper, television star, and member of the rap group Public Enemy...
and
Killah PriestWalter Reed, better known as Killah Priest or simply Priest, is an American rapper and affiliate of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. He is known for intensely spiritual lyrics loaded with metaphors and religious references...
.
Laswell has on occasion used the name for live performances, the last being at the
Bonnaroo Music FestivalThe Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual, four to five-day music festival, created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, first held in 2002. The festival is held at Great Stage Park on a 700 acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, southeast of Nashville, Tennessee...
on June 13, 2004 with, among others, his wife
GigiEjigayehu Shibabaw, or Gigi as she is popularly known, is one of the most successful contemporary Ethiopian singers worldwide. Coming from an ancient tradition of song originating in the Ethiopian Church, she has brought the music of Ethiopia to wider appreciation and developed it in combination...
, drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia and guitarist
BucketheadBrian Patrick Carroll, better known as Buckethead, is an American musician and songwriter. He has released 28 solo albums and performed on over 50 more...
(both from Laswell's other project,
PraxisPraxis is the name of an ever-changing musical project, led by prolific producer Bill Laswell. Praxis combine elements of different musical genres such as funk, jazz, hip-hop and heavy metal into highly improvised music...
).
Discography
- 1981: Temporary Music
Temporary Music is the 1979 debut EP and 1981 debut album by the New York based No Wave music group Material.The band had previously worked with Daevid Allen on New York Gong's 1979 About Time album. The Temporary Music 1 EP was recorded in 1979 and the Temporary Music 2 EP in 1980...
(compilation)
- 1981: Memory Serves
Memory Serves is a 1981 album by the New York based No Wave music group Material.-Track listing:#"Memory Serves" – 5:08#"Disappearing" – 7:11...
- 1982: One Down
One Down is a 1982 album by the New York based No Wave music group Material. The album sees the band reduced to a duo of Michael Beinhorn and Bill Laswell, collaborating with different musicians and singers on each track....
- 1989: Seven Souls
Seven Souls is a 1989 album by the New York based No Wave music group Material.The album was re-released in 1997 with bonus tracks, three re-mixes that were added to the beginning of the album...
- 1991: Live from Soundscape
Live from Soundscape is a 1994 released album of a live 1981 performance by the New York based No Wave music group Material.-Personnel:*Bill Laswell – electric bass*Michael Beinhorn – electronics*Fred Frith – guitar*Charles Noyes – percussion...
(live 1981)
- 1991: The Third Power
The Third Power is a 1991 album by the New York based music group Material. The album mixes funk, dub and rap music.Engineer Martin Bisi claims the album began as a Sly and Robbie record but "Bill really took over... And then, before you know it, the record's done and they're staring at something...
- 1993: Live in Japan
Live in Japan is a 1993 live album by the New York based new wave music group Material.-Track listing:#"Invocation" – 5:21#"Leaving Earth" – 6:39#"Desert Star" – 9:38...
(live 1992)
- 1993: Hallucination Engine
Hallucination Engine is a 1994 album by the New York based music group Material. The album mixes jazz, dub and Indian music."Mantra" was issued as a 12" and CD single in 1993 featuring a 17 minute "Praying Mantra Mix" by The Orb, the album's "Doors of Perception Mix", and a 5 minute edit.A Tetsu...
- 1998: The Road to the Western Lands (remixes of Seven Souls)
- 1999: Intonarumori
Intonarumori is a 1998 album by the New York based new wave music group Material.-Track listing:#Rammellzee – "Intime" – 1:11#Kool Keith and Kut Masta Kurt – "Conspiracies" – 4:22...
External links