Religious to Damn was an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

fronted by

Afghan-American Afghan Americans ( prs, آمریکایی‌های افغان‌تبار ''Amrikāyi-hāye Afghān tabar'', ps, د امريکا افغانان ''Da Amrīka Afghanan'') are Americans of Afghan descent or Americans who originated from Afghanistan. ...

songwriter Zohra Atash. Atash formed the group in 2009 in collaboration with several additional musicians and producers including

Joshua Strachan Joshua Strawn (born 1976), known professionally as Joshua Strachan, is a songwriter, record producer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. Biography Joshua Strachan was born in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa, grew up and currently resides in Roan ...

and Jim Sclavunos. Their music was described by the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' as "a mix of desert strum, hypnotic pulse, spirited-away synths, Lynchian weirdness, and Fleetwood Maximalism".

History

Religious to Damn made their live debut at the Wierd Records weekly party in

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 ...

. In 2010, they released their first single, "Falls Down Again", which featured production and drumming from Sclavunos (a member of

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock music, rock band formed in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its care ...

and

Grinderman Grinderman was an Australian-American rock band that formed in London, England, in 2006. The band included Nick Cave (vocals, guitar, organ, piano), Warren Ellis (tenor guitar, electric mandolin, violin, viola, guitar, backing vocals), Martyn ...

, also known for his work with

the Vanity Set The Vanity Set is an indie rock group of mostly second-generation Greek-Americans formed in New York City in 2000. Led by Jim Sclavunos, the drummer/percussionist with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, they describe their music as a blend of "low ar ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

, 8 Eyed Spy,

Teenage Jesus and the Jerks Teenage Jesus and the Jerks were an influential American no wave band, based in New York City, who formed part of the city's no wave movement. Background Lydia Lunch met saxophonist James Chance at CBGB and moved into his two-room apartment. ...

and

the Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. T ...

). The single was mixed by

Warren Defever Warren Defever (first name often spelled Warn; born April 30, 1969) is a musician and producer, originally from Livonia, Michigan, and now based in Detroit. He is most known for his chameleonic project His Name Is Alive, though he is active in nu ...

His Name Is Alive His Name Is Alive is an American experimental rock band/project from Livonia, Michigan. After several self-released cassettes, they debuted on 4AD Records in 1990, starting a long run at the label. Throughout the band's long history, leader Warre ...

. Following that release, Atash formed what would become the core of the group with Strachan (also of

Vaura Vaura is an American experimental band from Brooklyn, New York, United States, formed in 2009 by singer, guitarist and primary songwriter Joshua Strachan and featuring Kevin Hufnagel ( Dysrhythmia, Gorguts) on lead guitar, Toby Driver (Kayo Dot, ...

and

Blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

) acting as full-time collaborator and co-producer, and Charlie Schmid on drums and percussion. The band's first album release as a full band, ''Glass Prayer'', was mixed by

Brandon Curtis Brandon Curtis is the vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist in the space rock band The Secret Machines. Originally from Norman, Oklahoma, he was friends with members of The Flaming Lips, The Chainsaw Kittens and Tripping Daisy. Brandon and his broth ...

and included

Jesse Krakow Jesse Krakow (born April 12, 1977) is an American musician, bassist, producer, and composer based in New York City. Career Krakow has toured with Shudder to Think, playing bass on their 2009 live album ''Live From Home''. He collaborated with ...

on bass guitar for several tracks and Tamaryn providing guest vocals on two songs. It was released digitally in early May 2010 by Troubleman, and on vinyl in December 2010 by M'Ladys. ''Glass Prayer'' was named Rough Trade's Album of the Week and was promoted with several music videos, including one directed by Jason Akira Somma. Live dates in support of the record included performances with

Jarboe Jarboe Devereaux, known mononymously as Jarboe (), is an American singer and musician who came to prominence as a member of the New York City experimental rock band Swans in 1985. Jarboe and Michael Gira, the founder of Swans, were the two consta ...

, Tamaryn and

Chelsea Wolfe Chelsea Joy Wolfe (born November 14, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Her work has blended elements of gothic rock, doom metal, and folk music. Raised in Northern California with a country musician father, Wolfe began writin ...

. Shortly after the release of ''Glass Prayer'', Atash also acted as touring vocalist for

A Storm of Light A Storm of Light is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 2008. They have been categorized as post-rock, post-metal, doom metal, sludge metal and hard rock, but have moved toward a darker and heavier metal sound. Rock-A-Rol ...

, performing parts live that had originally been recorded by Jarboe and

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

. In January 2012, the band self-released the single "Lovely Day". The song showcased a more electronic sound which was assisted by Led Er Est's Shawn O'Sullivan. In October 2012,

Brooklyn Vegan ''BrooklynVegan'' is an American online music magazine founded in 2004 by David Levine. The company is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, United States and originally focused on vegan food and the music community in and around New York City, ...

announced that Religious to Damn had disbanded/retired and that Atash and Strachan had reconfigured under the name

Azar Swan Azar Swan is the musical project of singer-songwriter and musician Zohra Atash, co-produced by Atash and Joshua Strachan. After dissolving their previous band, Religious to Damn, Atash and Strachan chose to begin experimenting with electronic ins ...

.Pearis, Bill
Brooklyn Vegan
/ref>

Discography

Studio albums

*''Glass Prayer'' (2010, M'Lady's Records)

Singles

*"Falls Down Again" (2010, M'Lady's Records) *"Lovely Day" (2012, self-released)

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from Brooklyn