Pump (band)
Encyclopedia
Pump was an experimental
, pre-electronica
, band, active between 1979-93. They released five cassette albums as MFH on the YHR label before changing their name to Pump in 1986 and recording the LP “The Decoration of the Duma Continues” in 1987 (Final Image) and “Sombrero Fallout” in 1992 (released by Plague Recordings in 2010).
in October 1979. The two lived on the same corridor of campus dorm York House and quickly realised they had similar left field musical interests, particularly krautrock
and the newly happening industrial music
scene. Elliott had written for a few music fanzines and, with Cox's help, decided to start his own, Neumusik, together with a campus radio show of the same name. Cox had a synthesizer and circuit boards and Elliott had some musical ideas so they also formed a band, MFH. Some thought this referred to the term Master of the Fox Hounds but in truth they were named after the author of a teach-yourself German book by Margaret Frohlich Hardy.
These were the days of cassette culture
when legions of bedroom-based bands across the UK, taking a leaf from punk's Do-It-Yourself ethos, set up independent cassette labels to distribute their own music. MFH's "First Move" became the first release on York House Recordings in January 1980, comprising rudimentary sound collages and four synthesizer pieces by Cox. This was swiftly followed by a Cox solo, "Arioch", recorded using two radio oscillators. The duo's second album "Within 30 Miles", released in the summer, showcased shorter, more minimal pieces.
MFH's third album, "Masks", released in early 1981, represented what might be called a more mature affair, taken a step further with their fourth, "Ground Zero" which was recorded in Cornwall
and released in the autumn, along with a second Cox solo, "Methods".
The combination of Elliott moving to France for a year and Cox dropping out of university altogether put MFH on hold for a while, although Elliott continued to build an impressive YHR catalogue including albums by Conrad Schnitzler
, Asmus Tietchens
, and Cluster
& Farnbauer's Live In Vienna
, all of whom he had interviewed for Neumusik. It was not until the spring and summer of 1982 that Cox and Elliott were able to record their fifth album, "Head", mainly using ARP Odyssey
and Korg
synthesizers. During this time, numerous tracks appeared on compilations, including The Elephant Table Album, inspired by the Wild Planet column in Sounds
.
On graduating Elliott briefly moved back home to Chichester
- where MFH played their first and (according to them) best ever concert, playing a variety of live electronics and guitar
- before moving to London
in 1984 where he started writing for Sounds and ZigZag
amongst others. But with Cox still based in Cornwall, recording was sporadic, although they did record with Nurse With Wound
and perform with Attrition (band)
in 1985. The following year Cox moved to Southend, thus enabling more frequent sessions, not least a week at the relatively sophisticated Unicorn Studio in north London. It was also at this time that Elliott met Andrew Hulme of O Yuki Conjugate
and founder of the Final Image label, who offered to release an LP.
Cox and Elliott continued recording on and off into 1987, enlisting guest appearances by Karl Blake and Malcolm Lane of Metabolist for sessions at IPS Studio in west London (where Nurse With Wound had recorded their early albums). The duo then decided to change their name from MFH to Pump and the album, "The Decoration of the Duma Continues", was finally released in the autumn. It featured a more sophisticated palette as well as two songs, fairly accurately described as "bad-mood music" by Simon Frith in The Observer
. The LP was promoted by a few concerts at the London School of Economics
(supporting Danielle Dax), London Musicians Collective
and UK Electronica festival.
1988 saw a new track "Do This" for the Final Image compilation, "Nightlands" (also used in a BBC
documentary
about a railway line between Carlisle
and Settle
) and more sessions in Southend, but their day jobs were becoming more demanding: Elliott worked at the British Council, Cox as a computer programmer in the City. In 1991 they contributed tracks to Laurence Crane's and Johnny Miller's "30" cover versions project (30 cassettes of 30 songs each) and also formed a Nick Cave-inspired spin-off group, Henry, comprising Cox (guitar), Elliott (drums) and Paul Woods (vocals), although nothing was ever released. It was not until the autumn of 1992 when Pump traveled to Colin Potter's ICR studio near York, that they finally completed their follow-up album, "Sombrero Fallout" (named after a Richard Brautigan
novel). Trident Music International (God, Test Department, etc.) offered to release the album the following year but for inexplicable reasons it never happened.
The group never officially dissolved but when Elliott moved to Japan in 1999 it was effectively the end of Pump. And tragically, Cox died of drink-related causes in January 2009. It was not quite the end, however. Plague Recordings released "Sombrero Fallout" in April 2010.
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
, pre-electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, band, active between 1979-93. They released five cassette albums as MFH on the YHR label before changing their name to Pump in 1986 and recording the LP “The Decoration of the Duma Continues” in 1987 (Final Image) and “Sombrero Fallout” in 1992 (released by Plague Recordings in 2010).
History
Andrew Cox (born 14 July 1961) met David Elliott (born 14 March 1961) at the University of SussexUniversity of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
in October 1979. The two lived on the same corridor of campus dorm York House and quickly realised they had similar left field musical interests, particularly krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
and the newly happening industrial music
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...
scene. Elliott had written for a few music fanzines and, with Cox's help, decided to start his own, Neumusik, together with a campus radio show of the same name. Cox had a synthesizer and circuit boards and Elliott had some musical ideas so they also formed a band, MFH. Some thought this referred to the term Master of the Fox Hounds but in truth they were named after the author of a teach-yourself German book by Margaret Frohlich Hardy.
These were the days of 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...
when legions of bedroom-based bands across the UK, taking a leaf from punk's Do-It-Yourself ethos, set up independent cassette labels to distribute their own music. MFH's "First Move" became the first release on York House Recordings in January 1980, comprising rudimentary sound collages and four synthesizer pieces by Cox. This was swiftly followed by a Cox solo, "Arioch", recorded using two radio oscillators. The duo's second album "Within 30 Miles", released in the summer, showcased shorter, more minimal pieces.
MFH's third album, "Masks", released in early 1981, represented what might be called a more mature affair, taken a step further with their fourth, "Ground Zero" which was recorded in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
and released in the autumn, along with a second Cox solo, "Methods".
The combination of Elliott moving to France for a year and Cox dropping out of university altogether put MFH on hold for a while, although Elliott continued to build an impressive YHR catalogue including albums by Conrad Schnitzler
Conrad Schnitzler
Conrad Schnitzler was a prolific German experimental musician.Schnitzler was born in Düsseldorf. He was an early member of Tangerine Dream and a founder of the band Kluster. He left Kluster in 1971, first working with his group Eruption and then focusing on solo works...
, Asmus Tietchens
Asmus Tietchens
Asmus Tietchens , who also records under the monikers Hematic Sunsets and Club of Rome, is a German composer of avant-garde music....
, and Cluster
Cluster (band)
Cluster is a German experimental musical group who influenced the development of contemporary popular electronic and ambient music. They have recorded albums in a wide variety of styles ranging from experimental music to progressive rock, all of which had an avant-garde edge. Cluster has been...
& Farnbauer's Live In Vienna
Live in Vienna
Live in Vienna is the first live album of the German rock band Böhse Onkelz. It was recorded on December 13, 1991 at the Vienna Messepalast.-Track listing:# Intro# Wir ham' noch lange nicht genug ...
, all of whom he had interviewed for Neumusik. It was not until the spring and summer of 1982 that Cox and Elliott were able to record their fifth album, "Head", mainly using ARP Odyssey
ARP Odyssey
The ARP Odyssey was an analog synthesizer introduced in 1972. Responding to pressure from Moog Music to create a portable, affordable "performance" synthesizer, ARP scaled down its popular 2600 synthesizer and created the Odyssey, which became the best-selling synthesizer they made.The Odyssey is...
and Korg
Korg
is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...
synthesizers. During this time, numerous tracks appeared on compilations, including The Elephant Table Album, inspired by the Wild Planet column in Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
.
On graduating Elliott briefly moved back home to Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...
- where MFH played their first and (according to them) best ever concert, playing a variety of live electronics 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...
- before moving to 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...
in 1984 where he started writing for Sounds and ZigZag
ZigZag (magazine)
ZigZag was a British rock music magazine. It was started by Pete Frame and the first edition rolled off the printing presses on 16 April 1969...
amongst others. But with Cox still based in Cornwall, recording was sporadic, although they did record with Nurse With Wound
Nurse with Wound
Nurse with Wound is the main recording name for British musician Steven Stapleton. Nurse with Wound was originally a band, formed in 1978 by Stapleton, John Fothergill and Heman Pathak...
and perform with Attrition (band)
Attrition (band)
Attrition are an electronic music band, formed in Coventry, England in 1980 by Martin Bowes and Julia Niblock. The band emerged from the experimental post-punk scene of the early 1980s and, along with other groups such as Throbbing Gristle, Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, and In the Nursery, greatly...
in 1985. The following year Cox moved to Southend, thus enabling more frequent sessions, not least a week at the relatively sophisticated Unicorn Studio in north London. It was also at this time that Elliott met Andrew Hulme of O Yuki Conjugate
O Yuki Conjugate
O Yuki Conjugate is an organic ambient musical group, formed in Nottingham in 1982, now sometimes based in London. Their music has variously been categorized as darkwave, industrial, ambient and tribal-ambient. Members of the group vary, but include C. Elliot, R. Horberry, T. Horberry, A. Hulme,...
and founder of the Final Image label, who offered to release an LP.
Cox and Elliott continued recording on and off into 1987, enlisting guest appearances by Karl Blake and Malcolm Lane of Metabolist for sessions at IPS Studio in west London (where Nurse With Wound had recorded their early albums). The duo then decided to change their name from MFH to Pump and the album, "The Decoration of the Duma Continues", was finally released in the autumn. It featured a more sophisticated palette as well as two songs, fairly accurately described as "bad-mood music" by Simon Frith in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
. The LP was promoted by a few concerts at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
(supporting Danielle Dax), London Musicians Collective
London Musicians Collective
The London Musicians' Collective is a cultural charity based in London, England devoted to the promotion of contemporary, experimental and improvised music...
and UK Electronica festival.
1988 saw a new track "Do This" for the Final Image compilation, "Nightlands" (also used in a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
about a railway line between Carlisle
Carlisle railway station
Carlisle railway station, also known as Carlisle Citadel station, is a railway station whichserves the Cumbrian City of Carlisle, England, and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line, lying south of Glasgow Central, and north of London Euston...
and Settle
Settle
Settle is a small market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is served by the Settle railway station, which is located near the town centre, and Giggleswick railway station which is a mile away. It is from Leeds Bradford Airport...
) and more sessions in Southend, but their day jobs were becoming more demanding: Elliott worked at the British Council, Cox as a computer programmer in the City. In 1991 they contributed tracks to Laurence Crane's and Johnny Miller's "30" cover versions project (30 cassettes of 30 songs each) and also formed a Nick Cave-inspired spin-off group, Henry, comprising Cox (guitar), Elliott (drums) and Paul Woods (vocals), although nothing was ever released. It was not until the autumn of 1992 when Pump traveled to Colin Potter's ICR studio near York, that they finally completed their follow-up album, "Sombrero Fallout" (named after a Richard Brautigan
Richard Brautigan
Richard Gary Brautigan was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. His work often employs black comedy, parody, and satire. He is best known for his 1967 novel Trout Fishing in America.- Early life :...
novel). Trident Music International (God, Test Department, etc.) offered to release the album the following year but for inexplicable reasons it never happened.
The group never officially dissolved but when Elliott moved to Japan in 1999 it was effectively the end of Pump. And tragically, Cox died of drink-related causes in January 2009. It was not quite the end, however. Plague Recordings released "Sombrero Fallout" in April 2010.