Material (band)
Encyclopedia
For the rock band of the same name, see The Material
Material is a musical group formed in 1979 and led by bass guitar
ist Bill Laswell
.
, Russian music entrepreneur Giorgio Gomelsky
relocated to New York
in an attempt to open up the American market to the European progressive jazz-rock bands he was working with, such as Gong
, Henry Cow
and Magma
. He established the Zu Club in Manhattan
and after meeting 24 year old bass player Bill Laswell
, encouraged him to form a band. Three young friends, Michael Beinhorn
(17, synthesizer), Martin Bisi
(17, engineering) and Fred Maher
(14, drums), responded to Laswell's advert in The Village Voice
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 Gong
frontman Daevid Allen
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 Time
. 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-punk
industrial
funk
Temporary Music 1
EP for Gomelsky's Zu Records. The band then signed to Celluloid Records
, 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 2
. Their first full album, Memory Serves
, which featured strong jazz leanings, had contributions from guitarists Sonny Sharrock
and Henry Cow's Fred Frith
, cornetist Olu Dara
, saxophonist Henry Threadgill
and violinist Billy Bang
.
They started working with singers and their music became more melodic and funkier. Their next single "Ciquiri" (included on the American Songs
EP) which featured guitarist Robert Quine
, became popular in New York City dance clubs. The 1981 "Bustin' Out
" single was released as an extended club mix peaking at number two on the dance charts. On "Busting Out", they were fronted by singer Nona Hendryx
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 Down
, drummer Maher had left the band, and they embraced a multitude of singers including Hendryx, B.J. Nelson, R. Bernard Fowler
and Whitney Houston
in one of her first lead singer recordings. Houston's vocal was on a cover version of Hugh Hopper
's "Memories", which also featured a lead break by saxophonist Archie Shepp
. Critic Robert Christgau of The Village Voice
called her contribution "one of the most gorgeous ballads you've ever heard". As an indication of the direction the band headed for, Chic
's guitarist Nile Rodgers
was involved alongside Frith and Drayton, but perhaps more significantly, was one of the first appearances of longtime Laswell collaborator Nicky Skopelitis
.
, collaborating with turntablist D.St
and rappers PHASE 2
and Fab Five Freddy
.
A chance meeting between Laswell and Herbie Hancock
at Elektra Records
, in which the latter expressed interest in making music in the vein of Malcolm McLaren
's "Buffalo Gals" lead to a collaboration that brought forth the Future Shock album and the hit single "Rockit
". They would collaborate with Hancock on two further albums released under his name, 1984's Sound-System
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 Timezone
, they released the single "World Destruction" which featured disc jockey
Afrika Bambaataa
and John Lydon
(former singer of the Sex Pistols
).
In 1985 Laswell and Beinhorn parted company. Beinhorn went into record production for the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
and Marilyn Manson
. Laswell retained the Material name and was calling upon a large group of musicians with, at its core, guitarist Nicky Skopelitis
, keyboardist Jeff Bova
, percussionist Aiyb Dieng
, former Parliament-Funkadelic
keyboardist Bernie Worrell
and bassist Bootsy Collins
, plus Jamaican reggae duo Sly Dunbar
and Robbie Shakespeare (Sly and Robbie
).
, featuring William S. Burroughs
reading portions of his novel The Western Lands
. In 1998, the album was subject to a series of re-mixes by Laswell, Talvin Singh
, Spring Heel Jack
, DJ Olive
and released as The Road to the Western Lands.
The Third Power
was released in 1991, with duo Sly and Robbie
and Bootsy Collins being Laswell's main collaborators. Vocal performances were given by the Jungle Brothers
' Baby Bam and Mike G, The Last Poets
's Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin
, and Shabba Ranks
. Other musicians included members of Funkadelic
, Herbie Hancock, Henry Threadgill
and Olu Dara
.
1993's Hallucination Engine
was a fusion of jazz, Indian and Middle Eastern influences. Noted jazz players included Wayne Shorter
, Jonas Hellborg
, and from John McLaughlin's
Shakti
tabla player Zakir Hussain
, violinist L. Shankar
and Vikku Vinayakram
(on ghatam
). Palestinian violinist Simon Shaheen
, Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu, and William S. Burroughs
also contributed.
The final release under the name Material was 1999's Intonarumori
. Sub-titled "Rap is still an art", it featured contributions from Rammellzee
, Kool Keith
, Flavor Flav
and Killah Priest
.
Laswell has on occasion used the name for live performances, the last being at the Bonnaroo Music Festival
on June 13, 2004 with, among others, his wife Gigi
, drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia and guitarist Buckethead
(both from Laswell's other project, Praxis
).
The Material
For the New York City band of the same name, see Material The Material is a rock music quintet from San Diego, California. Colleen D'Agostino moved to San Diego to pursue a music degree at San Diego State University. In her third year, she began playing with Jon Moreaux and Noah Vowles...
Material is a musical group formed in 1979 and led by bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
.
1978-82: The band
In 1978, having received a substantial royalty payment for his work with The YardbirdsThe Yardbirds
- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...
, Russian music entrepreneur Giorgio Gomelsky
Giorgio Gomelsky
Giorgio Gomelsky is a filmmaker, impresario, music manager, songwriter 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...
relocated to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by 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 Gong
Gong (band)
Gong is 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, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
, Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry 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 Magma
Magma (band)
Magma 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 Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and after meeting 24 year old bass player Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
, encouraged him to form a band. Three young friends, Michael Beinhorn
Michael Beinhorn
Michael 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 Bisi
Martin bisi
Martin Bisi is an American producer and songwriter.He is known for recording important records by Sonic Youth, Swans, John Zorn, Material, Bill Laswell, Helmet, Unsane, Cop Shoot Cop, White Zombie, Boredoms, Angels of Light and Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning song Rockit,In 1979, Martin Bisi...
(17, engineering) and Fred Maher
Fred Maher
Fred 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 Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, 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 Gong
Gong (band)
Gong is 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, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
frontman Daevid Allen
Daevid Allen
Daevid Allen , sometimes credited as Divided Alien, an Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist is co-founder of psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine and Gong .-Biography:In 1960, inspired by the Beat Generation writers he had discovered...
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 Time
About Time (New York Gong album)
About Time is a 1979 album by Daevid Allen and Gong-offshot New York Gong. The basic line-up of New York Gong would continue as Material....
. 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-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...
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...
funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, 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 1
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...
EP for Gomelsky's Zu Records. The band then signed to Celluloid Records
Celluloid Records
Celluloid Records, a French/American record label, founded by Jean Georgakarakos operated from 1976 to 1989 in New York, and produced a series of eclectic and ground-breaking releases, particularly in the early to late 1980s, largely under the auspices of de facto in-house producer Bill...
, 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 2
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...
. Their first full album, Memory Serves
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...
, which featured strong jazz leanings, had contributions from guitarists Sonny Sharrock
Sonny Sharrock
Warren 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 Frith
Fred Frith
Fred 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 Dara
Olu Dara
Olu Dara Jones is an American cornetist, guitarist and singer.-History:...
, saxophonist Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. Threadgill came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating a range of non-jazz genres....
and violinist Billy Bang
Billy Bang
Billy Bang was an American free jazz violinist and composer.-Biography:...
.
They started working with singers and their music became more melodic and funkier. Their next single "Ciquiri" (included on the American Songs
American Songs
American 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 Quine
Robert Quine
Robert Wolfe 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 (song)
"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 peaking at number two on the dance charts. On "Busting Out", they were fronted by singer Nona Hendryx
Nona Hendryx
Nona Hendryx is an American vocalist, producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress.Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady Marmalade." Her music has ranged from soul, funk, dance, and R&B to hard rock, art...
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 Down
One Down
One Down is a 1982 album by the New York based No Wave music group Material, recorded by indie producer/engineer Martin Bisi. The album sees the band reduced to a duo of Michael Beinhorn and Bill Laswell, collaborating with different musicians and singers on each track."Let Me Have It All" is a...
, drummer Maher had left the band, and they embraced a multitude of singers including Hendryx, B.J. Nelson, R. Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler
Bernard Fowler is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and actor. He has provided backing vocals with The Rolling Stones for over 20 years on recordings and tours, and has been a featured guest vocalist on the majority of solo albums released by the members of that band. He has also been a...
and Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
in one of her first lead singer recordings. Houston's vocal was on a cover version of Hugh Hopper
Hugh Hopper
Hugh 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 Shepp
Archie Shepp
Archie 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-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
. Critic Robert Christgau of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, 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, Chic
Chic (band)
Chic was an African American disco and R&B band that was organized during 1976 by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards. It is known best for its commercially successful disco songs, including "Dance, Dance, Dance " , "Everybody Dance" , "Le Freak" , "I Want Your Love" , "Good Times"...
's guitarist Nile Rodgers
Nile Rodgers
Nile Gregory Rodgers is an American musician, producer, composer, arranger, and guitarist.-Biography:...
was involved alongside Frith and Drayton, but perhaps more significantly, was one of the first appearances of longtime Laswell collaborator Nicky Skopelitis
Nicky Skopelitis
Nicky 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
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, collaborating with turntablist D.St
Grand Mixer DXT
Grand Mixer DXT is an American turntablist. He was formely known as Grand Mixer D.ST. "D.ST" is a reference to Manhattan, New York City's Delancey Street on the Lower East Side...
and rappers PHASE 2
PHASE 2
PHASE 2 is one of the most influential and well known New York City aerosol artist. Mostly active in the 1970s, Phase 2 is generally credited with originating the "bubble letter" style of aerosol writing, also known as "softies"...
and Fab Five Freddy
Fab Five Freddy
Fred 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 Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
at Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra 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....
, in which the latter expressed interest in making music in the vein of Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm McLaren
Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
's "Buffalo Gals" lead to a collaboration that brought forth the Future Shock album and the hit single "Rockit
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.-History:...
". They would collaborate with Hancock on two further albums released under his name, 1984's Sound-System
Sound-System (album)
Sound-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 Timezone
Time Zone (band)
Time Zone was a electro 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 jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York 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 the Amen Ra of Universal...
and John Lydon
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
(former singer of the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were 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 Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
and Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn 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 Skopelitis
Nicky Skopelitis
Nicky 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 Bova
Jeff Bova
Jeff 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 Dieng
Aïyb Dieng
Aïyb Dieng is a Senegalese drummer and percussionist specializing in hand drums. He has recorded one solo album , and has worked with a wide range of musicians but is perhaps best known for his long-term association with prolific bassist/producer Bill Laswell.-Biography:He was born and raised in...
, former Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic is a funk, soul and rock music collective headed by George Clinton. Their style has been dubbed P-Funk. Collectively the group has existed under various names since the 1960s and has been known for top-notch musicianship, politically charged lyrics, outlandish concept albums...
keyboardist Bernie Worrell
Bernie Worrell
George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
and bassist Bootsy Collins
Bootsy Collins
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins is an American 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 Dunbar
Sly Dunbar
Lowell "Sly" Fillmore Dunbar is a drummer.-Biography:Dunbar, whose nickname was reportedly given for his passion for Sly & the Family Stone, launched his musical career while still in his adolescence, playing with a local group, The Yardbrooms, at the age of fifteen...
and Robbie Shakespeare (Sly and Robbie
Sly and Robbie
Sly and Robbie is the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production team of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare who joined in the mid 1970s after having established themselves separately in Jamaica as professional musicians...
).
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
Seven Souls is a 1989 album by the New York based 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. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
reading portions of his novel The Western Lands
The Western Lands
The 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 Singh
Talvin Singh
Talvin Singh Matharoo , is a producer and composer and tabla player, known for creating an innovative fusion of Indian classical music and drum and bass...
, Spring Heel Jack
Spring Heel Jack
Spring 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 Olive
DJ Olive
DJ 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....
and released as The Road to the Western Lands.
The Third Power
The Third Power
The Third Power is a 1991 album by the New York based music group Material. The album mixes reggae. 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...
was released in 1991, with duo Sly and Robbie
Sly and Robbie
Sly and Robbie is the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production team of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare who joined in the mid 1970s after having established themselves separately in Jamaica as professional musicians...
and Bootsy Collins being Laswell's main collaborators. Vocal performances were given by the Jungle Brothers
Jungle Brothers
The 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 July 1988...
' Baby Bam and Mike G, The Last Poets
The Last Poets
The 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 Nuriddin
Jalal Mansur Nuriddin
Jalaluddin 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 Ranks
Shabba Ranks
Shabba Ranks is a Jamaican dancehall musician.He was one of the most popular dancehall artists of his generation. He was also one of the first Jamaican deejays to gain worldwide acceptance, and recognition for his 'slack' lyrical expressions and content, when "ridin' di riddim"...
. Other musicians included members of Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
, Herbie Hancock, Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill
Henry Threadgill is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. Threadgill came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating a range of non-jazz genres....
and Olu Dara
Olu Dara
Olu Dara Jones is an American cornetist, guitarist and singer.-History:...
.
1993's Hallucination Engine
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...
was a fusion of jazz, Indian and Middle Eastern influences. Noted jazz players included Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
, Jonas Hellborg
Jonas Hellborg
Jonas 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....
, and from John McLaughlin's
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
Shakti
Shakti (band)
Shakti 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 Hussain
Zakir Hussain (musician)
Zakir Hussain , , is an Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor and composer.-Early life:Hussain was born in Mumbai, India to the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha. He attended St...
, violinist L. Shankar
L. Shankar
Lakshminarayanan Shankar, also known as L. Shankar and Shenkar, is an Indian-born American violinist, singer and composer.-Early life:...
and Vikku Vinayakram
Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram
Thetakudi Harihara Vinayakram , also known as Vikku Vinayakram is a Grammy Award–winning Indian percussionist. Vinayakram plays Carnatic music with the ghatam, an earthen pot. Vinayakram is credit for the progress and development as well as popularizing of the ghatam.-Early life:Vikku Vinayakram...
(on ghatam
Ghatam
The ghaṭam is a percussion instrument used in the Carnatic music of South India. Its analogue in Rajasthan is known as the madga and pani mataqa "water jug"....
). Palestinian violinist Simon Shaheen
Simon Shaheen
Simon Shaheen is a Palestinian-American oud and violin virtuoso and composer....
, Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu, and William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
also contributed.
The final release under the name Material was 1999's Intonarumori
Intonarumori (album)
Intonarumori is a 1998 album by the New York based no 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 Rammellzee
Rammellzee
Rammellzee was a visual artist, graffiti writer, performance artist, hip hop musician, art theoretician and sculptor from New York.-Life and work:...
, Kool Keith
Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton, better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper from The Bronx, New York. A founding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both as a solo artist and in group collaborations. Kool Keith is the self-proclaimed inventor of...
, Flavor Flav
Flavor Flav
William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. , better known by his stage name Flavor Flav, is an American rapper and television personality who rose to prominence as a member of the rap group Public Enemy...
and Killah Priest
Killah Priest
Walter Reed, better known as Killah Priest, Iron Sheik from the Middle East, or Masada, is an American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant & Brownsville neighbourhoods in Brooklyn. He is known for intensely spiritual lyrics loaded with metaphors and religious...
.
Laswell has on occasion used the name for live performances, the last being at the Bonnaroo Music Festival
Bonnaroo Music Festival
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual four day music festival created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, held at Great Stage Park on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. It hosted its tenth annual event June 9–12, 2011...
on June 13, 2004 with, among others, his wife Gigi
Gigi (singer)
Ejigayehu 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 Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
(both from Laswell's other project, Praxis
Praxis (band)
Praxis was 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 MusicTemporary MusicTemporary 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 ServesMemory 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...
- 1982: One DownOne DownOne Down is a 1982 album by the New York based No Wave music group Material, recorded by indie producer/engineer Martin Bisi. The album sees the band reduced to a duo of Michael Beinhorn and Bill Laswell, collaborating with different musicians and singers on each track."Let Me Have It All" is a...
- 1989: Seven SoulsSeven SoulsSeven Souls is a 1989 album by the New York based 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 SoundscapeLive from SoundscapeLive 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 PowerThe Third PowerThe Third Power is a 1991 album by the New York based music group Material. The album mixes reggae. 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...
- 1993: Live in JapanLive in Japan (Material album)Live in Japan is a 1993 live album by the New York based No Wave music group Material.-Track listing:#"Invocation" – 5:21#"Leaving Earth" – 6:39#"Desert Star" – 9:38...
(live 1992) - 1993: Hallucination EngineHallucination 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...
- 1998: The Road to the Western Lands (remixes of Seven Souls)
- 1999: IntonarumoriIntonarumori (album)Intonarumori is a 1998 album by the New York based no wave music group Material.-Track listing:#Rammellzee – "Intime" – 1:11#Kool Keith and Kut Masta Kurt – "Conspiracies" – 4:22...