Prehistory (album)
Encyclopedia
Prehistory is the first full length album by No Wave
band Circle X
. It was recorded in 1981 but was not released until 1983.
The album was recorded upon their return to New York
, after staying 9 months in Dijon
, France
.
Submerging energy in sloppy "polyrhythms" and "echoey" dub
production, the album sometimes drags haphazardly and generally lacks its predecessor’s field-plowing impact. Although it has enough to be worthwhile, the group’s unfortunate tendency to flail off-beat or out-of-tune makes this a developmental document.
Some say this recording served as a crucial blueprint for the subsequent New York
noise
scene that spawned Sonic Youth
, Swans
and Live Skull
. The LP went out of print rapidly, but was later reissued semi-legally by the French label Sordide Sentimentale with the addition of a booklet of essay texts and skin disorder photos.
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
band Circle X
Circle X
Circle X was a No Wave/art-rock band that began in 1978 in Louisville, Kentucky. They were part of the same late '70s/early '80s No Wave scene that included bands like Mars and DNA.-Career:...
. It was recorded in 1981 but was not released until 1983.
The album was recorded upon their return 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...
, after staying 9 months in Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Submerging energy in sloppy "polyrhythms" and "echoey" dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
production, the album sometimes drags haphazardly and generally lacks its predecessor’s field-plowing impact. Although it has enough to be worthwhile, the group’s unfortunate tendency to flail off-beat or out-of-tune makes this a developmental document.
Some say this recording served as a crucial blueprint for the subsequent 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...
noise
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
scene that spawned 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...
, Swans
Swans (band)
Swans are an influential American post-punk band initially active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. The band was one of the few groups to emerge from the early 1980s New York No Wave scene and stay intact into the next decade. Formed by Gira in...
and Live Skull
Live Skull
-Overview:Live Skull created abrasive no wave music not unlike their 1980s contemporaries Sonic Youth, Swans, Rat at Rat R, The Chameleons, Mars, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and Band of Susans. Their music featured angular guitar parts interspersed with bleak, quieter passages, for a haunting...
. The LP went out of print rapidly, but was later reissued semi-legally by the French label Sordide Sentimentale with the addition of a booklet of essay texts and skin disorder photos.
Track listing
- "Current" - 6:22
- "Prehistory (Part I)" - 5:10
- "Prehistory (Part II)" - 5:16
- "Culture Progress" - 6:28
- "Underworld" - 7:49
- "Beyond Standard" - 4:33
Credits
- Drums, Percussion, Guitar ("Current") - David Letendre
- Engineer - David Lichtenstein
- Guitar, Drums, Percussion, Tape, Vocals - Rick Letendre
- Guitar, Tape, Vocals - Bruce Witsiepe
- Vocals, Tape, Bass ("Current") - Tony Pinotti
- Guest Performer: Hammond Organ ("Underworld") - Jason Huang