Airway was a musical ensemble based within the

Los Angeles Free Music Society The Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS) is a loose underground collective of experimental avant-rock artist-musicians formed in 1973. Described as a "lightning rod for art-damage, weird-music lovers everywhere," LAFMS was formed by Chip Chapma ...

. Airway was initially a solo project of Le Forte Four member

Joe Potts Joe Potts was a British racing driver, turned racing car manufacturer, of the 1950s. He designed and constructed his 'JP' racing cars for the Formula 3 and Formule Libre racing classes. These are among the few single-seater racing cars to have be ...

. The first release was the ''Airway'' 7", which featured

subliminal message Subliminal stimuli (; the prefix ' literally means "below" or "less than") are any sensory stimuli below an individual's threshold for conscious perception, in contrast to stimuli (above threshold). A 2012 review of functional magnetic resonance ...

s to coincide with an art exhibition in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. In August 1978 Airway made their live debut at the Lace Gallery. This lineup featured Potts and Chip Chapman on electronics, Vetza on vocals, Rick Potts on mandolin, Dennis Duck on saxophone, Juan Gomez on bass, and Tom Recchion on drums. They attempted to create

s beneath a

wall of noise A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the sup ...

by using tape delay. Recordings from the performance were released as ''Live At LACE'' by the

. "Live at LACE" was reissued by Harbinger Sound in 2006. Throughout 1978 the group performed more concerts with differing lineups, but always with Joe Potts' subliminal message experiments. The project disbanded in 1979. Airway reformed in 1998 for a performance at the

Santa Monica Museum of Art The Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA), formerly known as the Santa Monica Museum of Art (SMMoA), is a contemporary art museum in Los Angeles, CA. As an independent and non-collecting art museum (or kunsthalle), it exhibits the ...

, which featured 18 musicians. Recordings from the performance were released as ''Beyond the Pink Live'' by the Cortical Foundation. Their sound influenced the Japanese noise band

Hijokaidan is a Japanese noise and free improvisation group with a revolving lineup that has ranged from two members to as many as fourteen in its early days. The group is the project of guitarist , its one constant member, who is head and owner of the Os ...

Discography

* Live at LACE (1978, reissued on CD in 2006 and on LP in 2009) * Live at Beyond The Pink (2001)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Airway (Band) Musical groups from Los Angeles

Discography

See also

References