Spasmodique was an underground rock band from

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from 1981 to 2005.

Sound

Spasmodique formed at the height of new wave's popularity and existed somewhere near that genre's

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 ...

fringes. They sang almost exclusively in English. Early demos reveal a sound not dissimilar to

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

, including prominent basslines, baritone vocals, dark lyrical themes and minimalist guitar. Later in their career, their music was sometimes described as

goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

. Their last album was more musically complex and had a hard rock edge, similar to the work of

Billy Duffy William Henry Duffy (born 12 May 1961) is an English rock musician, best known as the guitarist of the band The Cult. Early life Duffy was born and grew up in Manchester. He has Irish and Jewish heritage and ancestry. He began playing the guit ...

. Their musical influences also included The Swans and The Sound.RED SUN RECORDS online MUSIC store
/ref>

History

1980s

Spasmodique was formed in 1982 by singer/guitarist

Mark Ritsema Mark Ritsema (born 8 March 1962 in Amsterdam) is a singer, guitarist, songwriter, journalist and writer from the Netherlands. During the eighties and nineties he fronted cult bands Spasmodique and Cobraz and currently he plays with Raskolnikov (b ...

, guitarist Arjo Hijmans, bassist Martin Doctors van Leeuwen and drummer Reinier Rietveld (formerly of

Quando Quango Quando Quango were a British electronic music group, formed by The Haçienda DJ and Factory Records A&R man Mike Pickering, Hillegonda Rietveld and Reinier Rietveld. Their unique sound influenced the underground dance music scenes in New York a ...

). They released a self-titled five-song ep in 1986. The same year, they recorded songs for an opera that were later released on their album ''North''. In 1987 Spasmodique released their full-length debut ''From the Cellar of Roses'' and toured with Umberto di Bosso e Compadres. The next year they released another album with three new studio tracks and five live tracks, ''Start to Believe/Someone's Out There to Get You''. In 1989 they finally debuted a single, "The Square", and released another full-length album, ''North''. By the end of the decade, the band had grown more popular internationally, with growing audiences in Germany and Austria.Dutch Rock & Pop Institute
/ref>

1990s

1990 would see the birth of Spasmodique's master work, the album ''Haven''. Upon completion of the recording sessions, Hijmans left the band. The band promptly replaced him with Niek den Braven and Hans Brusse and released the non-album single "Spilling". The next year saw more personnel changes when the two new members were replaced by guitarist Raymond Gerrits. Spasmodique almost came to an end then, and embarked on a farewell tour, but the public's enthusiastic response convinced them to stay together. They released ''Who's Afraid'', a compilation of demos and outtakes. In 1992 the band took a break from live performances that would stretch over a decade.

2000s

In 2000 Spasmodique began work on what would become new album ''Villa Delirium''. It was released in 2002. That same year the book ''20 Jaar Spasmodique, From the Cellar of Roses'' was published, detailing the band's history and discography. In 2005 singer Ritsema left the band, effectively ending Spasmodique.

Post-Spasmodique

Singer/songwriter/guitarist

has continued to record and perform with his new band

Raskolnikov Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Родион Романович Раскольников, Rodión Románovich Raskólʹnikov, rədʲɪˈon rɐˈmanəvʲɪtɕ rɐˈskolʲnʲɪkəf) is the fictional protago ...

References

External links

Spasmodique distributor Red Sun RecordsSpasmodique official siteSinger Mark Ritsema's Web page, including Spasmodique lyrics and other information
{{Authority control Dutch musical groups Dutch post-punk music groups