Lucrate Milk (short for Lucrative Milk) were a French

art punk Art punk is a subgenre of punk rock in which artists go beyond the genre's rudimentary garage rock and are considered more sophisticated than their peers. These groups still generated punk's aesthetic of being simple, offensive, and free-spirit ...

and No Wave band from Paris, France. The band lasted from 1979 to 1983. The group has retained a certain aura to this day in France's punk circles due to their complete lack of compromise and influence on the French DIY scene. Sometime after the disband of Lucrate Milk, some of the former members formed the band

Bérurier Noir Bérurier noir is a French punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk ro ...

and Les Négresses Vertes.

Biography

The band was formed in 1979 by two former milk delivery men, Lombrick Laul (bass player, and the future designer the band

), and Masto Lowcost (born Tomas Huser, saxophonist and photographer). The two began stenciling the band's name on the walls of Paris which led to the originality of their look and their approach. The band was later joined by American-born keyboardist and singer Nina Childress, percussionist Raoul Gaboni, and vocalist

Helno Noël Rota (December 25, 1963 – January 22, 1993), better known by his stage name Helno, was a French singer and member of the alternative rock bands Lucrate Milk, Bérurier Noir, and Les Négresses Vertes. Early life Rota was born in the easter ...

(born Noël Rota). The story of the band was they originally started as joke and picked which instruments they hated the most, and often were known playing mainly in squats in the Pali-Kao plant of Belleville. The music was often called "Wild, dadaist, juvenile, and anti-commercial", and the band had been likened to UK based punk bands the Slits, Crass and X-Ray Spex. With Laul and Nina's artistic backgrounds, the band also designed their own graphics and videos which often accompanied them when they played live. The band's debut EP was the self-released vinyl ''Nepla Relou'', which was later followed by a split with fellow French punk band MKB Fraction Provisoire, which had also featured drummer Raoul Gaboni in 1983. The band continued to play live supporting acts such as Einsturzende Neubauten before playing their last gig in February 1984 at the Théâtre du Petit Forum des Halles. A collected album from the first two EPs entitled ''I Love You, Fuck Off'' was released in 1987; another reissue of the band's music entitled ''La Qui Vache Rit'' was released in 1991. The latest self-titled compilation of Lucrate Milk's music was released in France in 2005, which included a DVD and a backstory of the band's success in the French punk underground. After the band's breakup, many of the members went on to form various other bands including

. Nina Childress became a painter, and a member of the

art collective An artist collective is an initiative that is the result of a group of artists working together, usually under their own management, towards shared aims. The aims of an artist collective can include almost anything that is relevant to the needs ...

the '' Frères Ripoulin''.''France's pre-Banksy art provocateurs'

URL last accessed 2010-02-07 Helno (rechristened Helno Rota de Lourcqua) became the singer of Les Negresses Vertes; in 1993, he died of a heroin overdose at age 29.

Discography

* 1981 ''Lustiges Tierquartett'', EP 3 titres, Zeb Prod., MILK 001 * 1983 ''Nepla Relou'', EP 4 titres, Autoprod., MILK 007 * 1984 ''Lucrate Milk / MKB'', Split-LP avec MKB Fraction Provisoire, W.W. Rds, WW3326 * 1986 ''Live'', K7, Androidia flux, AF 015 / V.I.S.A. * 1987, ''Lucrate Milk'', LP, Bondage Records, BR 009 * 1991 ''La Rage Qui Vit'', CD / K7, Division Nada, NADA004 CD / K7, * 1995 ''La Rage Qui Vit'', CD / K7, Crash Disques, CRASH CD07/K707 * 2006 ''Lucrate Milk'', DVD+2CD, Archives de la Zone Mondiale, FZM016 * 2006, ''Lucrate Milk'', DVD, Archives de la Zone Mondiale, FZM017 * 2014, ''Lucrate Milk'', LP : Archives de la Zone Mondiale. Digital : Atypeek Music ATY061

Compilations

* 1982 ''Passeport Pour l’Exportation / Cascades 82'', K7 V.I.S.A. / Androidia flux, AF 00 * 1983 ''Canoë 1'', K7, Canoë * 1983 Canoë vidéo 1, VHS, Canoë * 1984 ''30 tubes pour l'été'', Gargl ! Tapes 001 * 1985 ''

V.I.S.A. Présente ''V.I.S.A. Présente'' was a live compilation released in 1984 by labels Bondage Records and V.I.S.A. This release included 14 tracks by experimental groups from the European alternative scene, including Kukl, an Icelandic group led by singer Bj ...

'', Compilation Live, LP, V.I.S.A./ Bondage Records, RRR 00B * 1988 ''Bondage Records'', LP, Oihuka, 0-164, Espagne * 1988 ''Radio Bondage'', LP/K7, Bondage Records

References

External links

Official site

Myspace page
Lucrate Milk on Myspace
ninachildress.com
Official site of Nina Childress.
Label site
{{Authority control Musical groups from Paris French punk rock groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1984