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Primitive Art Group - 1981-1986 [Indie Exclusive] (Gate) [Indie Exclusive]

Details

Format: Vinyl
Rel. Date: 12/20/2024
UPC: 859739001549

1981-1986 [Indie Exclusive] (Gate) [Indie Exclusive]
Artist: Primitive Art Group
Format: Vinyl
New: Not in stock
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Formats and Editions

DISC: 1

1. Swinging in the Rain
2. Cecil Likes to Dance (Live)
3. Five Tread Drop Down
4. The Big R
5. Lannie's Revenge
6. Predicament
7. Charles Mungbean
8. Truck Driving Man
9. Pickpocket Rag
10. Macho Groove
11. The Gander

More Info:

Primitive Art Group 1981-1986 combines the group's only two albums, consisting of one LP of Five Tread cuts plus "Cecil Likes to Dance" a never-before-released live recording from Thistle Hall (1984) and the full 1985 LP Future Jaw-Clap. This material that has been unavailable since mid-1980s. Features guitar playing of NY-based David Watson who has worked with artists such as Phil Niblock, Lee Ranaldo, Marc Ribot, Christian Marclay amongst others on the downtown scene. Gatefold 2xLP with liner notes by Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) and Bruce Russell (Dead C).  It is well documented that in the early '80's New Zealand was awash with adventurous new music. Though sharing the kind of happy isolation and the DIY ethic with contemporaneous outfits like Flying Nun, South Indies and Xpressway, one band cut a decidedly different path. The Primitive Art Group, formed in Wellington, devoted itself to collective improvisation coming out of a jazz tradition. With the line-up of Anthony Donaldson (drums), David Donaldson (bass), Neil Duncan (saxes), Stuart Porter (saxes), David Watson (guitar), and originally with Pam Grey (on cello), the group's relatively brief existence left a lasting impression on the New Zealand's free music scene. Musically, there was no precedent in New Zealand for their combination of noise, collective playing and compositional freedom. Gary Steel from the local music rag TOM, wrote "The first time I saw the Primitive Art Group they blew my tiny mind. Great sheets of architectural noise coming at you from the stage. Where else would you see free music in New Zealand in the early 80s? You just didn't." The band's five-year lifespan was non-stop activity: rehearsing, touring, the creation of Braille Records (their own record label which released ten LPs), dance and theater work, appearances at music festivals, and hosting two hugely influential national festivals of improvisation at Thistle Hall, Wellington. In 1984, Primitive Art Group spent a week making their first recording, an ambitious double LP, Five Tread (Braille 001) which had only a single pressing and sold-out locally. One year later they were back in the studio making their second album, Future Jaw-Clap (Braille 002). This outing contained tighter pieces, as the band widened it's repertoire with nods to broader influences and antecedents. In 1986, The Primitive Art Group gave their last concert at the Wellington Town Hall, just a half mile from Rawa House and the legendary Thistle Hall where their first shows had taken place. The band's Braille Records' recordings have never been released outside of New Zealand, nor have ever been available digitally. As Thurston Moore writes, "these are magic time capsule, lost-n-found recordings, previously shared only by deep-diving record collector aesthetes". The group's brief tenure has continued to inspire new generations of improvisers, but nothing has ever quite matched the visceral blast of the Primitive Art Group's arrival on the scene. Every member of the group has carried on doing creative work at the highest levels: scoring films, making art, mentoring, organizing, touring and always playing.
        
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