The Bran Flakes
Encyclopedia
The Bran Flakes are a sound collage
pop group with members in the United States and Canada who specialize in creating music from pre-existing sources. The group's members include Otis Fodder (in Montreal, Quebec, Canada), Mildred Pitt, Susan DeLint and The GRDNR (in Seattle, WA).
Along with other bands such as Negativland
and Evolution Control Committee, the Bran Flakes make extensive use of sampling
, recontextualizing the samples into new works. The group scours thrift shops for obscure and quirky LPs; some of their songs also make use of recognizably famous basslines, television shows, and soundtracks from video games. The unauthorized nature of much of their work has prevented the band's work from wide commercial release.
Following the 1998 release of I Remember When I Break Down on Ovenguard Music, on which Otis Fodder was sole writer, the group's first album as a duo (Otis Fodder and Mildred Pitt) was in 1999, with Hey Won't Somebody Come and Play on Ovenguard Music. 2001 saw the release of I Don't Have a Friend on Lomo Records. Their 2002 album Bounces! was released on the band's own Happi Tyme Records, and contained one of their most popular songs; "Good Times a Goo Goo", which sampled extensively from Kermit the Frog
and Fozzie Bear
's performance of "Moving Right Along" from The Muppet Movie
.
In 2008 the band signed with the label Illegal Art
, known for such acts as Girl Talk
and Steinski.
Sound collage
In music, montage or sound collage is a technique where sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage, the use of portions of previous recordings or scores...
pop group with members in the United States and Canada who specialize in creating music from pre-existing sources. The group's members include Otis Fodder (in Montreal, Quebec, Canada), Mildred Pitt, Susan DeLint and The GRDNR (in Seattle, WA).
Along with other bands such as Negativland
Negativland
Negativland is an experimental music and sound collage band which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. They took their name from a Neu! song, while their record label is named after another Neu! song...
and Evolution Control Committee, the Bran Flakes make extensive use of sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, recontextualizing the samples into new works. The group scours thrift shops for obscure and quirky LPs; some of their songs also make use of recognizably famous basslines, television shows, and soundtracks from video games. The unauthorized nature of much of their work has prevented the band's work from wide commercial release.
Following the 1998 release of I Remember When I Break Down on Ovenguard Music, on which Otis Fodder was sole writer, the group's first album as a duo (Otis Fodder and Mildred Pitt) was in 1999, with Hey Won't Somebody Come and Play on Ovenguard Music. 2001 saw the release of I Don't Have a Friend on Lomo Records. Their 2002 album Bounces! was released on the band's own Happi Tyme Records, and contained one of their most popular songs; "Good Times a Goo Goo", which sampled extensively from Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the protagonist of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show, and has appeared in various sketches on Sesame Street, in commercials and in public service announcements over...
and Fozzie Bear
Fozzie Bear
Fozzie Bear is a Muppet, created by Jim Henson. He is an orange, particularly fuzzy bear who works as a stand-up comic and has a catchphrase, "Wocka Wocka Wocka". Shortly after telling the joke, he is usually the target of rotten tomatoes and ridicule, especially from hecklers Statler and Waldorf...
's performance of "Moving Right Along" from The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie is the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets. Released in 1979, the film was produced by Henson Associates, Children's Television Workshop and ITC Entertainment....
.
In 2008 the band signed with the label Illegal Art
Illegal Art
Illegal Art is a sampling label that was started by a person using the name Philo T. Farnsworth in 1998. The label was instantly launched to infamy with the legal threats surrounding Deconstructing Beck, a compilation made exclusively from sampling Beck's music. This was followed by two other...
, known for such acts as Girl Talk
Girl Talk (musician)
Gregg Michael Gillis , better known by his stage name Girl Talk, is an American musician specializing in mashups and digital sampling. Gillis has released five LPs on the record label Illegal Art and EPs on 333 and 12 Apostles....
and Steinski.
Discography (CD)
- The Bran Flakes - I Remember When I Break Down (1998, Ovenguard Music)
- The Bran Flakes - Hey Won't Somebody Come and Play (1999, Ovenguard Music - Reissue 2003 on Happi Tyme)
- The Bran Flakes - I Don't Have A Friend (2000, Lomo)
- The Bran Flakes - Bounces! (2002, Happi Tyme)
- The Bran Flakes - Bubbles (2007, Happi Tyme)
- The Bran Flakes - I Have Hands (2009, Illegal Art)
Remixes
- R. Stevie Moore - Midi-Bran Piano-Rolls (2001, RSM Compact Cassettes)
- Tipsy Remix Party (2002, Asphodel)
- End - The Sick Generation (2005, Hymen)
- Jean-Jacques Perrey & Dana Countryman - The Happy Electropop Music Machine (2006, Oglio)
- R. Stevie Moore - Sentimental Ties (2009, RSM Compact Cassettes)
Compilations
- Various Artists - This Is Ovenguard Volume 1 (1998, Ovenguard Music)
- Various Artists - This Is Ovenguard Volume 2 (1998, Ovenguard Music)
- Various Artists - This Is Ovenguard Volume 3 (1999, Ovenguard Music)
- Various Artists - Meet The Sonicabal (1999, Sonicabal)
- Various Artists - Industrial Goat Frenzy (2000, Noisegood)
- Various Artists - Commercial Ad Hoc (2000, Illegal Art/Seeland)
- Various Artists - The R. Stevie Moore Family Album Volume 3 (2001, RSM Compact Cassettes)
- Various Artists - Sonicabal 2 (2001, Sonicabal)
- Various Artists - We Bore 2 (2003, Toast & Jam)
- Various Artists - My Malady (2003, Mental Monkey)
- Various Artists - Porky Pig: New Music Series No. 1 (2004, Standard Oil)
- Various Artists - Il Programma Di Religione (2005, Boyarm)
The Bran Flakes
Band members
Interviews
- Radio Feature, The Some Assembly RequiredSome Assembly RequiredSome Assembly Required is a sound collage radio program in the United States, produced in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the first radio show known to focus exclusively on works of sample based music, and appropriation in audio art...
Interview with The Bran Flakes.