Minimal Compact is an Israeli

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band associated with the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

and

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 ...

movement of the 1980s.

Biography

Between its foundation in 1980 and its dissolution seven years later, Minimal Compact played an important role in the European rock scene.

Malka Spigel Malka Spigel (Hebrew: מלכה שפיגל, born 19 July 1954) is a London-based Israeli musician and artist. She was founding member of the Israeli-Belgian rock band Minimal Compact. She has also worked as a solo musician and as a visual artist, ...

(bass, vocals), Samy Birnbach (vocals, lyrics) and

Berry Sakharof Berry Sakharof ( he, ברי סחרוף, ; born 7 July 1957) is an Israeli rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. Sakharof is one of Israel's most popular and critically acclaimed rock musicians, and is often referred to as "the prince ...

(guitars, keyboards, vocals) left their native Tel Aviv in 1981 for

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

in search of an escape from the provincial attitudes of their own city. Of the trio, only Berry was a "real" musician. Malka was "learning to play the bass", while Samy was better known as a DJ (Morpheus) and a music fan who dabbled in poetry. They recorded a 2-song demo at home, and became one of the first artists signed to the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

Crammed label. During the recording for a speculative 7" in a little studio in the

countryside, it became quickly evident that the trio had hit upon something worthy of development and their first, self-titled, mini album ''Minimal Compact'' was the fruit of this. Their burgeoning style was a heavily Middle-Eastern coloured brand of post- new wave, based on driving rhythms, scratchy guitars and their own very un- "Anglo-American" style of vocalisation. In this way they both prefigured

alternative dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the U.S.) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained American and worldwide expos ...

and later fascinations with so called world music. This mini-album (now re-released on CD along with its successor "One by One") features "Statik Dancin' " which remained a live staple throughout the band's career, and "Creation Is Perfect", based on a text by the beat poet

Bob Kaufman Robert Garnell Kaufman (April 18, 1925 – January 12, 1986) was an American Beat poet and surrealist as well as a jazz performance artist and satirist. In France, where his poetry had a large following, he was known as the "black American ...

. ''One by One'', the second album, was recorded in London in 1982, and like its predecessor co-produced by Dirk Polak (from Mecano (Dutch band)) and Crammed supremo

Marc Hollander Marc Hollander is a Belgian musician, producer and creator of the independent record label, Crammed Discs. Hollander is the leader of the Belgian avant-rock group Aksak Maboul, which he founded in 1977 with Vincent Kenis. Aksak Maboul first rele ...

. It includes tracks such as "Babylonian Tower", "Disguise" (another live staple), "It Takes a Lifetime". With this release Minimal Compact had become a "real band" with the addition of the native Amsterdammer Max Franken on drums. Now Minimal could play live, this was to prove a strong element in their career. As Minimal began to tour more extensively they went from strength to strength as a live band. ''Deadly Weapons'', produced by

Gilles Martin Gilles Martin, born May 14, 1956, is a French photojournalist and artivist. Biography Gilles Martin spent his early years in Touraine where his father painted watercolors. Thus he learned to appreciate nature and then, to take pictures of it. A ...

and

Tuxedomoon Tuxedomoon is an experimental music, experimental, post-punk, New wave music, new wave band from San Francisco, California, United States. The band formed in the late 1970s at the beginning of the punk rock movement. Pulling influence from punk an ...

Peter Principle The Peter principle is a concept in management developed by Laurence J. Peter, which observes that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to "a level of respective incompetence": employees are promoted based on their success in previous jobs until ...

dates from 1984 and is considered by some their most experimental album. Nonetheless it threw up a "club classic" of the time in the shape of "Next One Is Real" (famously remixed by Dick O'Dell, one time boss of the Guerilla label). The sleeve was by

Neville Brody Neville Brody, (born 23 April 1957) is an English graphic designer, typographer and art director. He is known for his work on ''The Face'' magazine (1981–1986), ''Arena'' magazine (1987–1990), and designing record covers for artists such a ...

. On this album the "classic" 5-person line up became complete with the addition of guitarist/vocalist

Rami Fortis Rami Fortis ( he, רמי פורטיס, , born July 7, 1954), or simply Fortis, is an Israeli rock singer. Born in Tel Aviv, Fortis became known as a pioneer of Israeli punk rock. His debut album ''Plonter'', released in 1978, was not a commercia ...

a long time Minimal cohort from

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

who was arguably

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

's most innovative

musician with his solo debut Plonter (tangle). Fortis had previously collaborated with Malka on their "7 codes" tape (a low-fi home tape effort which had been sold in the indie shops in Amsterdam). Touring by this point took them further and further afield, everywhere from

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

fell to their conquest, although British success was limited to an

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

single of the week and a

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

session. ''Raging Souls'' was released in 1985. Produced by

Colin Newman Colin John Newman (born 16 September 1954) is an English musician, record producer and record label owner. He is best known as the primary vocalist and songwriter for the post-punk band Wire. Early life Newman was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire ...

, with artwork by Eno/ Sylvian collaborator Russell Mills, it has proved their most popular album, with tracks like "My Will", "When I Go" (which was included in

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docum ...

Wings of Desire ''Wings of Desire'' (, ; ) is a 1987 romantic fantasy film written by Wim Wenders, Peter Handke and Richard Reitinger, and directed by Wenders. The film is about invisible, immortal angels who populate Berlin and listen to the thoughts of its ...

movie soundtrack), "The Traitor", "Autumn Leaves" all of which became live favorites. By this time Minimal had become established in Brussels and were at the hub of the local "International Indie Scene" which featured at various times,

(both individually and collectively),

Bel Canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

, Sonoko,

and Benjamin Lew. As a follow up Minimal Compact recorded a 12" ''Immigrants Songs'' (featuring a

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

cover) with Israeli Uri Barak. Like "Next One Is Real" before it the 12" received extensive US college/dance attention and figures amongst their most enduring work. ''The Figure One Cuts'' was their last studio album, recorded in 1987 with producer

John Fryer John Fryer may refer to: *John Fryer (physician) (died 1563), English physician, humanist and early reformer *John Fryer (physician, died 1672), English physician *John Fryer (travel writer) (1650–1733), British travel-writer and doctor *Sir John ...

(

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

M/A/R/R/S MARRS (stylised M, A, R, R, S) were a 1987 recording collective formed by the groups A.R. Kane and Colourbox, which only released one commercial disc. It became "a one-hit wonder of rare influence" because of their international hit " Pump Up ...

). Tracks include "Nil-Nil"", "Inner Station", "New Clear Twist", "Piece of Green". The ''Lowlands Flight'' instrumental album was released at the same time in Crammed's "Made To Measure" series. The touring continued but their goal of following up their record success in the USA was never achieved as several planned tours were cancelled because the US immigration authorities refused to grant them visas. ''Minimal Compact Live'' was recorded in 1987 in Rennes, France, this last album came out after the band split in '88. In 2004, The band reformed briefly for a series of shows in Israel and a European tour. Crammed published a "best of" compilation and a box set containing unreleased material and remixes to coincide with the reunion. Berry & Fortis are currently collaborating under the name Fortisakharof, Malka & Max are in

Githead Githead is a musical collaboration that includes Wire's Colin Newman as well as electronic musician Robin Rimbaud ( Scanner) alongside Minimal Compact members Malka Spigel and Max Franken. Biography The appearance of Githead and the relea ...

& Samy continues to DJ and make music under the name

DJ Morpheus A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile D ...

. In July 2008, the band reunited for series of live shows in

, starting on July 8, 2008, marking the 60th birthday of Samy Birnbach. On November 12, 2011, it was announced that Minimal Compact would be reuniting for a short tour of five dates in Israel in January–February 2012. The band would perform in

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, between January 25–February 2, 2012. On August 12, 2012, it was announced that Minimal Compact would perform a live gig at Lodz, Poland in September 2012. On November 8, 2015, it was announced that Minimal Compact would be reuniting for two dates in Israel in January 2016. The high demand caused the band to extend the short tour to four dates; the band would perform in

, between January 20–26, 2016. In October 2019 the album ''Creation Is Perfect'' was released.

Band members

- bass, vocals * Samy Birnbach - vocals, lyrics *

- guitars, keyboards, vocals * Max Franken - drums *

- guitars, vocals

Discography (albums and EPs)

Albums

* 1981: ''Minimal Compact'' (

Crammed Discs Crammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released around 375 albums and 275 ...

) * 1982: ''One By One'' (Crammed Discs) * 1984: ''Pieces for Nothing'' – Soundtrack for the 1983 ballet by Pierre Droulers. Included in the compilation "''Made to Measure Vol. 1''" (Crammed Discs), featuring Tuxedomoon, Aqsak Maboul and Benjamin Lew * 1984: ''Next One Is Real'' (

Wax Trax! Wax Trax! Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago. It began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado, opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that ...

) * 1984: ''Deadly Weapons'' (Crammed Discs) * 1985: ''Raging Souls'' (Crammed Discs) * 1987: ''Lowlands Flight (Made to Measure Vol. 10)'' (Crammed Discs) * 1987: ''The Figure One Cuts'' (Crammed Discs) * 1988: ''Minimal Compact Live'' (Crammed Discs) * 2003: ''Returning Wheel (Classics)'' (

NMC Records NMC Music ( he, אן אם סי) is an Israeli record label. It was established in 1964 as a subsidiary company of CBS, and became independent in 1988. Artists represented by NMC include Noa Kirel, Mashina, Yehuda Poliker, Shlomi Shabat, Chava ...

) * 2004: ''There's Always Now (Remixes & Remakes)'' (Crammed Discs) * 2019: ''Creation Is Perfect'' (Minimal Compact)

References

External links

*Sutton, Michael " Minimal Compact Biography, allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation *Sheridan, David
Minimal Compact
, TrouserPress
Minimal Compact - When I Go Live 25.1.2012
{{Authority control Israeli alternative rock groups Israeli new wave musical groups Wax Trax! Records artists Musical groups established in 1980