Circle X was an American

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

band, formed in 1978 in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. They were part of the late 1970s/early 1980s No Wave scene.

Background

Early career

Circle X formed in

in 1978 when art students Bruce Witsiepe and Tony Pinotti abandoned the punk band No Fun to join brothers Rik Letendre and Dave Letendre, who played in the I-Holes – both bands of which were considered the first punk bands in Louisville. By the end of 1978, the four had relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, joining in on the No Wave scene and building a reputation for themselves. The band then relocated to

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, touring for nine months with their new manager, Bernard Zekhri. The band received strong attention from the press and the public, whilst the band were writing new material. An untitled four-song EP, for then-nascent

Celluloid Records Celluloid Records, a French/American record label, founded by Jean Georgakarakos (sometimes shortened to Jean Karakos) operated from 1976 to 1989 in New York City, and produced a series of eclectic and ground-breaking releases, particularly in the ...

, was released in 1980. Following this, the band returned to New York, where they recorded their debut studio album, ''

Prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

'', in 1981. The album went unreleased until 1983, when it was released by the

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

-based consortium of Enigma and Index Records.

Later career

As the decade progressed, the band recruited drummer Mike McShane and guest violinist Lois Dilivio, while the band started to perform complex art performances, often involving mechanical constructions as well as collaborative visuals with filmmakers

Bradley Eros Bradley Eros (born in 1952 in Fairfield, Illinois) is an experimental film director, actor, curator, poet, and performance artist who also makes Musique concrète sound collages, music videos, photographs, live projection performances, works on pa ...

and

Jeanne Liotta Jeanne Liotta (born 1960) is an American visual artist who is primarily known for her experimental films. She is also currently a professor of film studies at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts a ...

. In addition, the band's music now saw the integration of synth, tape and sample technology. In 1989, the band published a limited-edition book, ''Anti-Utopia''. In 1992, drummer Martin Koeb joined Pinotti, Witsiepe and Letendre for four white vinyl 7" singles for

Matador A bullfighter (or matador) is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter and describe all the performers in the activit ...

, American Gothic and Lungcast Records, titled ''The Ivory Tower'' and released over the course of a year. The music remained eerie and harsh, but was increasingly more complex. In 1994, Circle X released their second studio album, ''Celestial'', on Matador. The band disbanded in 1995 after founding member and guitarist Bruce Witsiepe died from

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

complications. A reformed Circle X with Letendre, Pinotti, Dilivio, Byron Stevens, and Michael Evans was invited to perform at

Cropped Out Cropped Out is an annual multi-venue music festival held in Louisville, Kentucky, co-founded in 2010 by Ryan Davis and James Ardery. According to the festival's website, "Cropped Out aims to celebrate a select fistful of contemporary musicians, a ...

VII in 2017.

Discography

; Studio albums * ''

'' (1983) * ''

Celestial Celestial may refer to: Science * Objects or events seen in the sky and the following astronomical terms: ** Astronomical object, a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe ** Celes ...

'' (1994) ; EPs * ''

Circle X Circle X was an American experimental rock band, formed in 1978 in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky. They were part of the late 1970s/early 1980s No Wave scene. Background Early career Circle X formed in Louisville, Kentucky, Lou ...

'' (1980) * ''Frammenti De Junk'' (1994) ; Live albums * ''Live in Dijon '79'' (2009) ; Singles * "Heartbreaker"/"Look at the People" (1979) * "Shiny Blue Orb" (1992) * "Millions" (1992) * "33/Puerto Rican Ghost" (1992) * "Compression of the Species" (1992)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Circle X Rock music groups from Kentucky American post-punk music groups American experimental rock groups No wave groups Musical groups from Louisville, Kentucky