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It was 30 years ago that Tuxedomoon came out of the electronic music lab of San Francisco City College and began making, provocative, idiosyncratic music. Music which shapeshifted with beguiling ease , aswell as with an almost underworld magick and mystical hypnotism. Formed in San Francisco in 1977 by two electronic music students at San Francisco City College, Blaine L. Reininger (keyboards, violin) and Steven Brown (keyboards, other instruments). Brown's local theater connections supplied equipment and occasional vocalists in Gregory Cruikshank and Victoria Lowe, plus more frequent contributions from singer and performance artist Winston Tong. Lowe quit the band before their first EP, No Tears, which featured off-and-on members Michael Belfer (guitar) and Paul Zahl (drums). Tong and Belfer departed temporarily, and Peter Principle (b. Peter Dachert) joined as a full-time member. Tuxedomoon signed to the Residents' Ralph Records in 1979, which eventually got them overseas exposure. Feeling that their ideas were more in tune with the European electronic music scene, the band toured Europe after 1980's Half Mute. After 1981's Desire, the band relocated in an artist's commune in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Within a year though they were forced to leave and moved to Brussels, to find first shelter in the Plan K. Throughout the 80s and some of the 90s the band lived in Europe, absorbing more influences and sounds from their privileged position in Brussels. Today the core members are as disparate geographically as they are sonically, with Steven Brown in Mexico, Peter Principle in New York, Blaine Reininger in Greece, and Dutch trumpet player Luc Van Lieshout (who had joined the band in 85) residing in Brussels.
In 82 Tuxedomoon was hired to score a Maurice Bejart ballet, the results of which were released as Divine. Afterwards Reininger left for a solo career in 1983 and was replaced by Frankie Lievaart and horn player Luc Van Lieshout. In between side projects and scoring, the band sought an international deal for their forthcoming LP Holy Wars; it was eventually released in 1985 and became the band's biggest commercial success. Tong left the group for good that year, leaving Brown and Principle the only remaining San Francisco members; multi-instrumentalist Ivan Georgiev was hired to replenish the group's sound for 1986's Ship of Fools album and tour. 1987's jazz-fusion-oriented You was Tuxedomoon's last studio album for more then a decade, although scoring work from past projects was subsequently reissued in Belgium. Meanwhile Reininger, Brown, Principle, and Tong all recorded as solo artists.
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Tuxedomoon - Half-Mute / Scream With A View (80 ^ 99mb)
Tuxedomoon's debut album on Ralph Records followed in the wake of several EPs and singles released on their own label. Unlike many techno bands in the wake of punk, they punctuated the electronics with instruments such as sax and violin, the sax reminiscent of the self-taught sounds of David Bowie -- not entirely polished, but unmistakable. The lyrics are dark and morose with glimpses of humor. Peter Principle's bass sounds positively chunky as well, contrasting with the rather fey but propulsive drum machines. "What Use?" is as close as they get to pop here. The experimental musicianship is what makes this album recommended.
01 - Nazca (3:06)
02 - 59 To 1 (3:52)
03 - Fifth Column (2:57)
04 - Tritone (Musica Diablo) (2:45)
05 - Loneliness (2:56)
06 - James Whale (2:42)
07 - What Use ? (4:00)
08 - Volo Vivace (2:47)
09 - 7 Years (3:06)
10 - KM / Seeding The Clouds (11:36)
Scream With A View
11 - Nervous Guys
12 - Where Interests Lie
13 - Special Treatment For The Family Man
14 - Midnite Stroll
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Tuxedomoon - Desire (81 ^ 161mb)
The follow-up to Half Mute was seen by most critics (of a certain kind) as the lesser of the two albums, i disagree but then .. . There is more of a leaning towards pop in tracks such as "Jinx" and the most excellent "Incubus (Blue Suit)" which, surprisingly, full of catchy synth lines by way of Vangelis/Kraftwerk, assaultive guitars, and "serious" lyrics, it's all here. Regrettably, the saxophone is mostly absent from this recording. The album is infused with the exotic melancholia..as they planned to leave the US and settle in Europe after what they experienced when touring there..but this desire brought mixed feelings with it..
01 - East / Jinx / ... / Music # 1 (14:54)
02 - Victims Of The Dance (5:48)
03 - Incubus (Blue Suit) (3:50)
04 - Desire (7:06)
05 - Again (6:20)
06 - In The Name Of Talent (Italian Western Two) (6:02)
07 - Holiday For Plywood (5:38)
---No Tears--
08 - New Machine (4:22)
09 - Litebulb Overkill (3:12)
10 - Nite And Day (Hommage A Cole Porter) (5:11)
11 - No Tears (5:39)
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Tuxedomoon - Suite En Sous-Sol + Time To Lose + Short Stories (82 ^ 99mb)
"Suite en Sous-Sol" is based on the principle of the suite of dances from the baroque period, and was recorded in 82 with the participation of Moroccan musicians (on the Camus-inspired track "Stranger"). It originally came out in 82 on an Italian label as a double-12". This re-release also includes two excellent twelve-inchers from 82: "Time To Lose", and "Short Stories" ("The Cage/This Beast").
01 - Prélude (1:19)
02 - Allemande Bleue (6:01)
03 - Courante Marocaine (7:42)
04 - Sarabande En Bas De L'Escalier (4:20)
05 - Polonaise Mécanique (2:24)
06 - L'Etranger (Gigue Existentielle) (5:48)
07 - Time To Lose (5:06)
08 - Music # 2 (3:28)
09 - Blind (7:27)
10 - The Cage (4:10)
11 - This Beast (5:24)
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All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !
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