The Tronics were a London-based band that released records from 1979 to 1984. The band was formed and fronted by musician, songwriter, and music producer Zarjaz Baby, also known as Ziro Baby.

Background and influences

The band was known for being primitive and strange, with an underground reputation. They released a string of highly acclaimed records during the

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

and new wave periods. Tronics has been recognised for releasing the first independent cassette album, ''Tronics'', to be distributed both nationally and internationally. The Tronics' cassette album was soon followed by another cassette album of outsider

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...

, in 1980, ''What's the Hubub Bub'', that was later reissued on vinyl in 2013 on M'lady's Records. The last Tronics release was "Wild Cat Rock", a 7" record on

Red Rhino Records Red Rhino Records, also known as Red Rhino, was a British independent record label which was developed by the independent record shop and wholesaler of the same name, all formed and run by "Tony K" (Tony Kostrzewa) and his wife Gerri. It was part ...

in 1984.

Style and sound

The Tronics' style and sound saw several changes during their activity described as a clash of punk attitude, sixties psychedelic (Jimi Hendrix), a

Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionist Moe Tuc ...

comparison, the spirit of

Rock 'n' Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

, a fine line between hypnotism and

somnambulism Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of l ...

, with a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

atmosphere. Tronics recordings are mainly known to have influences from ''

A Clockwork Orange ''A Clockwork Orange'' may refer to: * ''A Clockwork Orange'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Anthony Burgess ** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (film), a 1971 film directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel *** ''A Clockwork Orange'' (soundtrack), the film ...

'',

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

and T. Rex,

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground, the MC5, and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved ...

Johnny Burnette John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny, his brother Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison, formed the band that became ...

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

and Ronettes. From their beginnings, Tronics and Zarjaz Baby were reported to be troubled by

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

and

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

events, described as everyday occurrences. In 1982, the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' reported that although Tronics attracted diverse groups of people, gangs of

Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in California whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells ...

followed Tronics and were seen lining the back of Tronics audiences. In 1983, Zarjaz was reported to claim that he was married to

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

in the afterlife and that she had influenced him to create the sleeve artwork of 1983's Tronics "Wild Cat Rock" single depicting Marilyn Monroe on a subway air vent, with a tiger's head.

The end of Tronics and beyond

The Tronics series ended when Zarjaz Baby moved into other music areas, including the innovative development of classical music as pop music with The Zarjaz, La Leggenda Del Block releases, firstly on

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

in 1984, and then to release records with the band Freakapuss. Tronics records remained highly collectible, being extensively bootlegged into the 21st century, including on the ''Messthetics'' series and then legitimately reissued, firstly on the Wrench Records CD reissue of the 1980 cassette album ''What's the Hubub Bub'' and then the ''Messthetics Greatest Hits'' album in 2006. In 2013, '' UNCUT'' magazine noted that it had taken the best part of 30 years for the pop world to catch up to Zarjaz.''UNCUT Magazine'', November 2013

Discography

*"Suzy"/"Favorite Girls" – 7" double A-side single (1979, Tronics, T001) *"Time Off"/"Goodbye" – 7" single (1980, Tronics, T002) *''Tronics'' – cassette album (1980, Tronics, T003) *''What's the Hubbub Bubb'' – cassette album (1981, Tronics, T004) *'' Love Backed by Force'' – vinyl album (1981, Alien Records, BEALIEN 3) *"Love Backed By Force" – flexi-disc, free with ''Chainsaw Magazine'' No. 12, September 1981 *"I'm a Diver" – compilation track on ''The Snoopies Album'' (1981, House of Noise, RSB1) *"Tranzister Sister" – 6 track 12" 45 rpm single (1982, Press Records, PRESS 1) *"Wild Cat Rock"/"Tonight" – 7" single (1983, Red Rhino Records, Red 31) *''What's the Hubub Bub'' – CD reissue of the 1980 cassette album (2001, Wrench Records, Wrench 17) *''Shark Fucks'' – compilation track on ''Messthetics Greatest Hits'', The Sounds of UK D.I.Y. 1977–80 (2006, Hyped To Death, Messthetics 100) *''Love Backed By Force'' – MP3 digital download album (2012, Basilica Records) *''What's the Hubub Bub'' – debut vinyl album release of the 1980 cassette album (2013, M'lady's Records, MLADYS 9) *''Say! What is This?'' – vinyl compilation album of rare and previously unreleased Tronics recordings from between 1978 and 1984. (2013, M'lady's Records, MLADYS 10)

References

External links

Official Freakapuss websiteOfficial M'Lady's Records websiteLight in the Attic Tronics reviewErdal Can Alkoçlar
* ttps://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.678331298852151.1073741829.178603775491575&type=3 Images of Tronics LPs, 45s and CDs {{Authority control English post-punk music groups English new wave musical groups Punk rock groups from London Cassette culture 1970s–1990s