Füxa (pronounced like the color

fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. Almost 110 species of ''Fuchsia'' are recognized; the vast majority are native to South America, but a few occur north through Central America to Mex ...

) is an American rock band. Füxa was formed in Detroit in 1994 by musicians

Randall Nieman Randall Nieman is an American musician and entrepreneur. In addition to being a guitarist and percussionist in several bands, he has played a variety of exotic instruments, including the theremin. Nieman departed the post-rock Post-rock is ...

(formerly of

Windy & Carl Windy & Carl is an American space rock duo based in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. Cited as "a leading light of the Michigan space-rock scene" by AllMusic, the minimalist group was formed in 1993 by the husband-and-wife duo of guitarist Ca ...

) and Ryan Anderson (formerly of Asha Vida and later to join Delta Waves). Band members include

(

synths A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis an ...

guitars The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

/ Space), Tom Meade (

electronic percussion Electronic drums are a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit. Electronic drums consist of an electronic sound module which produces the synthesized or sampled percussion sound ...

/ studio effects) Mark Refoy, Jonny Mattock and Stefan Persson. The band quickly achieved cult status with their split recordings with artists such as the Azusa Plane,

The Telescopes The Telescopes are an English noise, space rock, dream pop and psychedelic band formed in 1987 by artist, composer, and musician Stephen Lawrie, with band members David Fitzgerald and Joanna Doran joining later. The band's line-up is in ...

Martin Rev Martin Reverby, better known by his stage name Martin Rev, (born December 18, 1947) is an American musician who was one half of the influential synth-punk band Suicide. Rev has also released several solo albums for a number of record labels, in ...

, Dean and Britta and

Stereolab Stereolab are an English people, Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's sound incorporates repetitive motorik beats with the use of vintage electronic keybo ...

History

Füxa's first collaborative effort, which was immediately bracketed within the

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

and experimental category, was a collection of short, guitar and synth driven, primal instrumental space rock songs, recorded at home on a borrowed 6-track cassette recorder. The tapes were later brought to friend

Erik Kassab The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Nor ...

Gravity Wax In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. Gravity of Earth, On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the ...

for mixing and mastering at his Mission Control home studio. The resulting masters totaled over 90 minutes, and the best hours worth of music was selected for their first release, a hand colored, labeled and numbered cassette. This tape was sold at local indie record shops, and quite a few copies were given away by the band. College DJ Lunar Larry played many selections from this tape on his Friday night program, "The Life According to Larry", on WHFR radio. Nieman & Anderson at that time began to play at Detroit coffee houses, quickly building a cult following with their brief, psychedelic, erratic performances. The duo performed with the assistance of an old, literally falling apart

Korg Mono/Poly The Korg Mono/Poly (MP-4) is a paraphonic analog synthesizer released by Korg in 1981, bridging the gap between Polyphony and monophony in instruments, monophonic and polyphonic synthesis. Released in the same year as the Korg Polysix, as a comp ...

synthesizer, often left to its own devices to produce loud, random arpeggios throughout the entire performance, which almost always emulated in a drum circle where audience participation was encouraged to "feel good" with the band. It has been suggested that the Detroit-based experimental rock band focus on a lo-fi, electronics-heavy blend of droning, treated guitars, vintage synths, and sparse percussion in the vein of suicide, Spacemen 3 / Spiritualized, and neu!. Ryan Anderson departed from the outfit in 1998, and Randall Nieman took over Füxa as a solo project. In 2001-2003 Ryan Anderson Joined Delta Waves to play drums and perform on a few recordings.

Releases

Their debut single was the self-released

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

with friends

, followed by "Free Your Soul" EP, which featured the song, "Photon". Füxa's first full-length CD was a compilation of their first 3 singles, entitled "3 Field Rotation", released by England's Che Records in May 1996. To correspond with the release of the disc, the duo was invited over to London to play shows supporting the disc. Later that year, the band was featured on a split 7-inch with Stereolab, and performed a few shows with

in the United States. Other bands they have split recordings with include Azusa Plane, Orange Cake Mix,

Flowchart A flowchart is a type of diagram that represents a workflow or process. A flowchart can also be defined as a diagrammatic representation of an algorithm, a step-by-step approach to solving a task. The flowchart shows the steps as boxes of v ...

and Bright. The band's second full-length came out in late 1996, entitled "Very Well Organized" - a collection of songs composed around a 1963

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

situated in the band's living room. 1997 saw the release of "Venoy", a contribution to

Darla Records Darla Records is an independent record label founded by James Agren in October 1993 while he was in New York (state), New York. Darla's first release was a 7-inch by Grifters (band), Grifters, an indie rock/lo-fi music, lo-fi band from Memphis. ...

famous Bliss-out series of EPs. The band also focused on the publication of their

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

, '' Masstransfer'', with the first issue arriving in November 1997. Fuxa's swirling electronica and atmospheric downbeats are suggested to evoke a forgotten transient landscape. Füxa's first album in a decade, Electric Sound of Summer, was released on

Rocket Girl Rocket Girl is a London-based independent record label. It has released records by Robin Guthrie, Pieter Nooten, God Is an Astronaut, Ulrich Schnauss, A Place to Bury Strangers, Bell Gardens (band), Bell Gardens among others, including many a ...

in 2012. Both

Britta Phillips Britta Phillips (born June 11, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and actress. Phillips' music career spans more than 30 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s as the singing voice of the title character ...

and

Dean Wareham Dean Wareham (born 1 August 1963) is an American musician and actor who co-founded the band Galaxie 500 in 1987. He departed from Galaxie 500 in April 1991 and went on to establish the band Luna (1990s American band), Luna. Following Luna's di ...

(of

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin, Spanish and other languages * Luna (goddess) In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin ''Lūna'' ). She is often presented as t ...

and, later,

Dean & Britta Dean & Britta is an American musical duo consisting of Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, both members of Luna (1990s American band), Luna. Wareham had formed Luna in 1991 after leaving his first band, Galaxie 500. Phillips joined Luna in 2000, ...

) donate vocals, as does

Seefeel Seefeel is a British electronic and post-rock band formed in the early 1990s by Mark Clifford (guitar, programming), Daren Seymour (bass), Justin Fletcher (drums, programming), and Sarah Peacock (vocals, guitar). Their work became known for f ...

’s

Sarah Peacock Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...

, while members of

Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centred on Pie ...

Spacemen 3 Spacemen 3 were an English rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of "trance-like neo-psyched ...

and

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

all contribute. It is suggested to be the cross-pollination of these collaborators’ talents which gives Electric Sound of Summer its strength and bottomless depth. It was dubbed as a "celebration of creativity; of community; of music past, present… and Füxa". Comprising a sixteen-strong army of collaborators, including

BJ Cole Brian John Cole (born 17 June 1946) is an English pedal steel guitarist, who has long been active as a session and solo musician. Coming to prominence in the early 1970s with the band Cochise, Cole has played in many styles, ranging from main ...

Ann Shenton Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie and Ana. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in t ...

Add N to (X) Add N to (X) were an English electronic music band formed in London in 1994. The original members were Andrew Aveling, Barry Smith (aka Barry 7) and Ann Shenton. Steven Claydon replaced Aveling in 1997. After several releases on small labels ...

Judy Dyble Judith Aileen Dyble (pronounced ''Die-bull''; 13 February 1949 – 12 July 2020) was an English singer-songwriter, most notable for being a vocalist and a founding member of Fairport Convention and Trader Horne. In addition, she and Ian McDona ...

and Britta Phillips. Füxa's tenth full-length album, ''Dirty D'', was released on

in 2013. It is suggested to display a penchant for swirling electronica and atmospheric downbeats that have been compiled in a way which is constantly pleasing to the ear. The dirty ‘D’ of the title could refer to a number of disquieting facets of today's society – the dominance of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

, the illusion of democracy, dereliction – and, in contrast to Disney's sickly saccharine supremacy over our children's imaginations.

Selected discography

Singles and EP's

* ''100 White Envelopes'' 1995 (Mind Expansion - Split 7-inch with Gravity Wax) * ''Free Your Soul'' 1995 (Burnt Hair - 7-inch) * ''Dreamlanding'' 1995 (Mind Expansion/Blue Flea - Split 7-inch with Windy & Carl) * ''Standing Under U'' 1996 (Alley Sweeper - 7-inch) * ''Pivot'' 1996 (Mind Expansion - 7-inch) * ''City/Metro'' 1997 (Darla - Split 7-inch with Bright) * ''Greenfield'' 1997 ( Ché Trading/Mind Expansion - CD5/12"EP) * ''Venoy'' 1997 (Darla - CD5/12"EP) * ''Green Field'' 1997 (12-inch

I (label) I, or i, is the ninth Letter (alphabet), letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western Languages of Europe, European languages and others wor ...

) * ''Techno Lite'' 2000 (

- 7-inch) * ''Hideaway'' 2001 (Mind Expansion - 7-inch) * ''Fuxa Vs. Six Clips'' 2004 (Mind Expansion - CDEP) * ''Electric Sound Of Summer'' 2006 (Static Caravan - 7-inch) * ''Fuxa Commits Suicide'' 2007 (Mind Expansion - CDEP) * ''Füxa / Dean & Britta'' 2011 (

Split 7-inch) * ''Füxa / Martin Rev Marty Suicide / Coyote'' 2011 (7-inch The Great Pop Supplement) * ''Sun Is Shining'' 2013 (7-inch

) * ''Photon'' 2013 (7-inch

) * ''Füxa, Cheval Sombre - I Love You / You've Got To Hide Your Love Away'' 2013 (7-inch Mind Expansion)

CD/LP/Cassette

* ''In Another Direction'' 1994 (High Tokes - Limited Edition cassette only) * ''3 Field Rotation'' 1996 ( Ché Trading/Mind Expansion - CD/LP) * ''Very Well Organized'' 1996 ( Ché Trading/Mind Expansion - CD/LP) * ''Inflight Audio'' 1998 ( Ché Trading/Mind Expansion - CD) * ''Accretion'' 1998 (Mind Expansion - CD/LP) * ''Fuxa2000'' 2000 (

/Mind Expansion - CD) * ''Supercharged'' 2001 (

/Mind Expansion - CD) * ''The Modified Mechanics Of This Device'' 2001 (Antenna Records - CD) * ''Füxa Versus Ectogram - Füxa Versus Ectogram'' 2001 (Ochre Records - CD, MiniAlbum) * ''Electric Sound Of Summer'' 2012 (

- CD/LP) * ''Dirty D'' 2013 (

- CD/LP) * ''Füxa & Neil Mackay - Apollo Soyuz'' 2015 (Emotional Response Records - LP, MiniAlbum)

Compilations

* ''Mind Expansion Vol. 1'' 1995 (Mind Expansion - 4-way split 7-inch) * ''Mind Expansion Vol. 2'' 1996 (Mind Expansion - 4-way split 7-inch) * ''Noise Reduction'' 1996 (Alley Sweeper - CD) * ''Disco Sucks'' 1996 ( Ché Trading- CD) * ''Elsie, Jack & Chair'' 1996 (EJC - CD) * ''An Evening In The Company Of Vespertine'' 1997 (Vespertine - CD) * ''A Mind Expansion Compilation'' 2007 (Mind Expansion - 2xCD)

References

External links

* *
Rocket Girl Page

Discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuxa Rock music groups from Michigan American space rock musical groups Musical groups from Detroit Rocket Girl artists 1994 establishments in Michigan Darla Records artists