Henry Cow
| Henry Cow | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Art rock |
| founding | 1968 |
| resolution | 1979 |
| Founding members | |
| Fred Frith | |
| Tim Hodgkinson | |
Drums |
Frank Perry (until 1970) |
| Last occupation | |
| Lindsay Cooper (1974-1979) | |
Drums , piano, trumpet |
Chris Cutler (1971-1979) |
| Fred Frith | |
| Tim Hodgkinson | |
| Ann Marie Roelofs (1977–1979) | |
| Georgie Born (1976–1979) | |
| former members | |
Guitar, vocals, clarinet |
Peter Blegvad (1974–1975) |
Bass, celesta , piano, vocals |
John Greaves (1969-1976) |
| Geoff Leigh (1972-1973) | |
Vocals, piano |
Dagmar Krause (1974–1977) |
Piano, live electronics , tapework
|
Anthony Moore (1974-1975) |
| Guests | |
Pixiphon |
Jeremy Baines |
oscillator |
Phil Becque |
| Mongezi Feza | |
singing |
Sarah Greaves |
piano |
Irène Schweizer |
singing |
Maggie Thomas |
singing |
Cathy Williams |
singing |
Robert Wyatt |
Henry Cow was a British jazz and art rock group that played in various line-ups between 1968 and 1979.
history
As part of the so-called Canterbury scene , Henry Cow was founded in 1968 by Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson in Cambridge . The band name has been traced back to the avant-garde composer Henry Cowell on various occasions , but the band members have always denied it. After a few line-up changes, drummer Chris Cutler and bassist John Greaves stabilized the band. The saxophonist Geoff Leigh was replaced in 1974 by Lindsay Cooper , who played other wind instruments in addition to the bassoon . In 1973 Henry Cow signed a recording deal with the then new and independent label Virgin Records . This collaboration corresponded to the wishes of the musicians for complete control over their records and initially seemed commercially satisfactory with the debut album Legend (also Leg End ). As the group's willingness to experiment became increasingly evident, the interest of the British audience waned, appearances became less frequent and the band organized itself again. They continued to be successful in continental Europe. In 1974 and 1975 two records were released, which were recorded together with the trio Slapp Happy : Desperate Straights and In Praise Of Learning . In 1975 their German singer Dagmar Krause joined Henry Cow.
After the appearance of Concerts , the recording contract with Virgin was terminated in 1976, as this only led to the band's debt due to the contractually fixed production costs. The band now produced their own albums and achieved economic viability. With the founding of the two successor groups Art Bears and Feminist Improvising Group , the band was dissolved. Henry Cow's last record , Western Culture , wasn't recorded and released until 1979. Several musicians from the Feminist Improvising Group already play on it ( Irène Schweizer , Georgie Born and Annemarie Roelofs ).
style
Henry Cow , a decidedly politically left-wing formation , at times also organized as a collective, shows a variety of influences: In addition to the general characteristics of progressive rock , the free improvisation adopted from jazz plays a major role. On the other hand, avant-gardists of new music were also received, such as Olivier Messiaen , but also Kurt Weill . In this amalgamation process, Henry Cow's music deliberately and typically very playfully exceeded the boundaries of tonality and enriched the songs with parodic episodes. In addition to complex time signatures, mixing and recording manipulations played a major role.
Henry Cow was particularly influential in some British bands . "Concerts" was added to The Wire's "100 Records That Set the World on Fire (While No One Was Listening)" list.
Discography
- Legend (1973)
- Unrest (1974)
- Greasy Truckers Live at Dingwalls Dance Hall (1973; double LP with Camel , Global Village Trucking Co and Gong )
- Desperate Straights (1975)
- In Praise Of Learning (1975)
- Concerts (1976) (with Robert Wyatt )
- Western Culture (1978)
- Stockholm & Göteborg (2008, recorded 1975 and 1977)
- 40th Anniversary Box (1971–1978)
References and comments
- ↑ The other music. ( Memento of the original from April 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 37 kB) About the establishment of the RecRec label
- ↑ For the band's fortieth birthday, Chris Cutler put together an extensive collection of live recordings by the group (on Recommended Records ) consisting of nine CDs and a DVD , which was also released as Road Box Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 in 2009.
