Upsilon Acrux is an American

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

band from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

formed in 1998.

History

Upsilon Acrux first appeared on record on a 1998 compilation entitled ''Trummerflora 2''. Soon after they contributed a song to a compilation entitled ''Before the Pirates Came''. They went from a 4 piece to a 3 piece before releasing 2002's ''Last Train Out''. They expanded to a five-piece, including two drummers for ''Volucris Avis Dirae-Arum'' in 2004. By 2005 they had done away with the dual-drummer setup, and signed with

Cuneiform Records Cuneiform Records is a record label in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1984, the label releases an mixture of musical styles, all with a Rock in Opposition aesthetic, including progressive jazz, jazz fusion, the Canterbury scene, and elec ...

later in the year. 2007 saw the release of their first album for Cuneiform, ''Galapagos Momentum''. They released their sixth full-length album, entitled ''Radian Futura'', on May 19, 2009. In 2015, on April 14, they released a new album called ''Sun Square Dialect''.

Releases

''Galapagos Momentum''

The lineup of Applehans, Kiersnowski (the King), Lai and Miller (Ice) performed for two years, recording ''Galapagos Momentum'' in 2006. Before the recording was pressed, a new incarnation was assembled with Cobb (McEnroe, Bart Garfunkel), Lai, Meszler (Mezz, Meszloforte), Moeggenberg (Moeggen) and Sataman (Martron, Marty-Party) in March 2007. This new lineup promoted ''Galapagos'' throughout the U.S. in summer 2007. The album was critically acclaimed, earning a number 2 position on Organ Magazine's end of the year album list. The group would share stages with

The Locust The Locust was an American hardcore punk band from San Diego, California, known for their mix of grindcore aggression and new wave experimentation. The band has been noted for their use of insect costumes when performing live. History Prio ...

, Qui,

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, Polar Goldie Cats,

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, and

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. On November 17, 2007, Upsilon Acrux played the Barking Tuna Fest in

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followed.

''Radian Futura''

In December 2007, Upsilon began work on their magnum opus, "Transparent Seas (Radio Edit)". On June 6, 2008, the song was premiered at Cafe Mariposa in Echo Park, CA. ''Radian Futura'' was released on CD by

Cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Middle East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. It is named for the characteristic wedge-sh ...

and in September 2009 on vinyl by Thin Wrist Recordings. Upsilon promoted the album nationally and on a month-long jaunt in Europe, autumn 2009. The album was met with critical acclaim, and the band shared stages with

Yowie Yowie is one of several names for an Australian folklore entity that is reputed to live in the Outback. The creature has its roots in Aboriginal oral history. In parts of Queensland, they are known as ''quinkin'' (or as a type of quinkin), an ...

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, Zs, Bad Dudes,

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, Honey Ride Me a Goat,

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, and Peter Kolovos. On September 18, 2009, Upsilon performed for a crowd of over 400 at the Gertje Fest 5 at the Landbouwebelang in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

. Upon the group's return from its European tour, Upsilon Acrux performed a 70-minute set at

The Smell The Smell is an all-ages, alcohol and drug-free, punk rock and experimental music venue in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The Smell, notable for its DIY ethic, is home to many of the area's avant-garde performers and artists. The venue is m ...

. The concert was professionally mixed and recorded.

Personnel

Paul Lai has remained with the group since its inception. ;Current lineup (2010–present) * Paul Lai – guitar *Noah Guevara – guitar *Patrick Shiroishi- Rhodes/sax *Mark Kimbrell – drums *Dylan Fujioka – drums ;Founding members * Paul Lai – guitar, Moog *Cameron Presley – guitars, Moog *Tommy Cutler – bass, vocals ;Former Members * Chris Meszler – drums * David Moeggenberg – guitar *Phil Cobb – Moog * Marty Sataman – bass *Jesse (Klecker) Applehans – drums *Eric Kiersnowski – bass * Nick Lejejs – Moog * Brady Miller – guitar *Josh Quon – bass *Muir Tennerstet – bass *Derek Bruns – drums ;Guest musicians *

Devin Sarno Devin Sarno (born in Glendale, California in 1966) began CRIB in early 1990 as a solo bass sound project focusing on improvised subsonics. Over the course of a decade (and over a dozen recordings) his music evolved from high volume feedback ex ...

– bass (''Last Pirates of Upsilon'') * Bobb Bruno – bass (''Last Pirates of Upsilon'', ''Last Train Out'') * Glen (Galaxy) Galloway – baritone sax (''In the Acrux of the Upsilon King'') * Brady Miller- drums, drum programming (''Radian Futura'') *Mike Armstrong – saxophone (''Radian Futura'', ''White LP'') * Peter Kolovos – guitar (''White LP'') *

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

– harmonica (''Last Pirates of Upsilon'')

Discography

* 1999 ''In the Acrux of the Upsilon King'' ( Accretions Records) * 1999 ''The Last Pirates of Upsilon'' ( Win Records) * 2002 ''Last Train Out'' ( Hactivist Records) * 2004 ''Volucris Avis Dirae-Arum'' ( Planaria Recordings CD / Epicene Records vinyl) * 2006 ''Last Train Out'' ( Daft Alliance vinyl reissue) * 2007 ''Galapagos Momentum'' (

) * 2009 ''Radian Futura'' (

) * 2009 ''White LP'' (split w/ Honey Ride Me A Goat) ( Kitchen Dweller Records) * 2015 ''Sun Square Dialect'' ( New Atlantis Records)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Los Angeles Cuneiform Records artists Progressive rock musical groups from California