Hangedup was an

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 ...

duo from

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, Canada, featuring Genevieve Heistek on

Viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

and Eric Craven on

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

. They combined viola with strong percussion, sometimes using self-made instruments, to create intense experimental

Post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

music.

History

Heistek and Craven performed with the band Sackville. Heistek was also part of The Mile End Ladies String Auxiliary,

Set Fire to Flames Set Fire to Flames was a Canadian instrumental music ensemble consisting of thirteen musicians from Montreal, Quebec.

HṚṢṬA Hrsta (stylized as HṚṢṬA) (; sa, हृष्ट , "thrilling with rapture," "rejoiced") is a Montreal post-rock band currently signed to Constellation Records. The band's leader, Mike Moya (guitar and vocals), was one of the founding ...

, and Land of Kush. Craven was associated with Shortwave, HṚṢṬA, and formerly Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band. In 1999 they came together to form Hangedup, and were signed in Montréal by Sackville's label, Constellation Records. Their first album, self-titled, was recorded at

Hotel2Tango The Hotel2Tango (sometimes referred to as Thee Mighty Hotel2Tango and abbreviated H2T) is a 24-track analogue recording studio situated in the Mile End district of Montreal, Quebec. The current facility is the second to bear the name, and was pr ...

studios and released in 2001. In 2002, they released ''Kicker in Tow''. ''Clatter for Control'' came out in 2005. In 2012, Constellation released ''Musique Fragile 02'', a limited-edition boxed set of three vinyl LPs: one each from the bands Kanada 70 and Pacha, and ''Transit of Venus'', a six-track collaborative album by Hangedup and

Tony Conrad Anthony Schmalz Conrad (March 7, 1940 – April 9, 2016) was an American video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician, composer, sound artist, teacher, and writer. Active in a variety of media since the early 1960s, he was a pioneer of both ...

. Hangedup performed all over the world. In 2003, it played Barcelona's Primavera Sound Festival. In October 2005, Hangedup joined

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album '' Horses''. Called the "punk poe ...

and

Guy Picciotto Guy Charles Picciotto ( ) (born September 17, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, and producer from Washington, DC. He is best known as the guitarist and vocalist in Fugazi and Rites of Spring. Career Rites of Spring ...

onstage at

Jem Cohen Jem Alan Cohen (born 1962) is an Afghan-born American filmmaker based in New York City. Cohen is especially known for his observational portraits of urban landscapes, blending of media formats ( sixteen-millimetre, Super 8, videotape) and collab ...

's Fusebox festival in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

. In December 2010, the duo appeared at England's

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

Butlin's Minehead Butlins Resort Minehead is a holiday camp operated by Butlins, located in Minehead in Somerset, England. It opened in 1962 and remains in use today. It was known as Butlin's Minehead until 1987, and as Somerwest World from then until 1999, wh ...

. Also in 2012, Hangedup was featured in ''And We Made the Room Shine'', a film by François Clos and Thomas Lallier about Constellation Records. The film was presented at the 2012

Vienna International Film Festival The Vienna International Film Festival, or Viennale, is a film festival taking place every October since 1960 in Vienna, Austria. The average number of visitors is about 75,000. Traditional cinema venues are ''Gartenbaukino'', ''Urania'', ''Metro ...

Discography

* ''

Hangedup Hangedup was an experimental rock duo from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, featuring Genevieve Heistek on Viola and Eric Craven on drums and percussion. They combined viola with strong percussion, sometimes using self-made instruments, to create intense ...

'' (2001, Constellation Records) * '' Kicker In Tow'' (2002, Constellation Records) * '' Clatter For Control'' (2005, Constellation Records) * ''Transit Of Venus - With Tony Conrad'' (2012, Constellation Records)

External links

Constellation Records Artist Page

References

{{Authority control Canadian post-rock groups Musical groups from Montreal Constellation Records (Canada) artists