Bowery Electric was an American
post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation w ...
band, formed by
Lawrence Chandler
Lawrence Chandler is an American composer, musician, producer and artist living in London. He is best known for his work as a founding member of the band Bowery Electric.
Biography
Following Bowery Electric's final tour in 2000 Chandler took a ...
and Martha Schwendener in 1993.
History
Formed by
Lawrence Chandler
Lawrence Chandler is an American composer, musician, producer and artist living in London. He is best known for his work as a founding member of the band Bowery Electric.
Biography
Following Bowery Electric's final tour in 2000 Chandler took a ...
and Martha Schwendener in late 1993, Bowery Electric played their first show 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 January 1994.
The band's debut double 7-inch single was recorded by
Kramer and released by Hi-Fidelity Recordings in 1994.
After listening to it,
Kranky contacted the band.
The band's first album, ''Bowery Electric'', was recorded by Michael Deming at Studio .45 in
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
and released by Kranky in 1995.
The album was included by Andrew Earles in his 2014 book, ''Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981–1996''. In 2016, ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
'' named it the 36th best shoegaze album of all time.
In 1996, the band released an album, ''
Beat''.
It includes a single, "Fear of Flying".
In 2016, ''Beat'' was reissued on vinyl as a 20th anniversary edition by Kranky.
''Vertigo,'' a remix album of tracks from ''Beat'', was released in 1997. ''Vertigo'' featured a roster of artists including
Third Eye Foundation
Matt Elliott is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter, originally from Bristol, England and now based in France, who plays dark folk music. He also produced and recorded electronic music under the name The Third Eye Foundation.
Biography ...
,
Robert Hampson
Joshua Robert Hampson (born 10 June 1965 in Bromley, London, England) is an English musician and composer, known primarily as a guitarist in the band Loop, which he co-founded in London in 1985 with his then-girlfriend Becky "Bex" Stewart. Loo ...
, Witchman and others.
In 2000, the band released an album, ''
Lushlife
Raj Haldar (born August 1, 1981), better known by his stage name Lushlife, is an American rapper and record producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the co-author of '' P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever''. He is one half ...
'', which was recorded at Electric Sound. The album peaked at number 14 on the
CMJ Top 200 chart and number 11 on the Core Radio chart.
They have not performed or released any recordings as Bowery Electric since.
Musical style
In the November 1995 issue of ''
The Wire
''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...
'',
Simon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds (born 19 June 1963) is an English music journalist and author who began his professional career on the staff of ''Melody Maker'' in the mid-1980s. He has since gone on to freelance and publish a number of full-length books on musi ...
listed Bowery Electric as one of the bands that are "a distinctively American
post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation w ...
".
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Bowery Electric'' (
Kranky, 1995)
* ''
Beat'' (Kranky,
Beggars Banquet Records
Beggars Banquet Records is a British independent record label. Beggars Banquet started as a chain of record shops owned by Martin Mills and Nick Austin and is part of the Beggars Group of labels.
History
In 1977, spurred by the prevailing ...
, 1996)
* ''
Lushlife
Raj Haldar (born August 1, 1981), better known by his stage name Lushlife, is an American rapper and record producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the co-author of '' P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever''. He is one half ...
'' (Beggars Banquet Records, 2000)
Remix albums
* ''Vertigo'' (Beggars Banquet Records, 1997)
Singles
* "Drop" (Hi-Fidelity Recordings, 1994)
* "Fear of Flying" (Beggars Banquet Records, 1997)
* "Without Stopping - Witchman Mix (Hell or High Water Dub)" (Beggars Banquet Records, 1997)
* "Coming Down - Immersion Mix" (Beggars Banquet Records, 1997)
* "Blow Up" (Happy Go Lucky, 1997)
* "Floating World" (Beggars Banquet Records, 2000)
* "Freedom Fighter" (Beggars Banquet Records, 2000)
See also
*
List of ambient music artists
This is a list of ambient music artists. This includes artists who have either been very important to the genre or have had a considerable amount of exposure (such as those who have been on a major label). This list does not include little-known ...
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Musical groups from New York (state)
American post-rock groups
Shoegazing musical groups
Trip hop groups
Male–female musical duos
Musical groups established in 1993