Sunday, January 3, 2010

Liquid Liquid - "Cavern" video - 1983

Liquid Liquid are a New York based combo that created some spectacular post punk music with a heavy allocation of propulsive, minimalist funk in the early eighties. Reforming recently, they continue to perform worldwide. Their style leans more towards highlighting rhythms and drum sounds with sparse vocals and guitar, think of a mix of P.i.L., Can or dub as amorphous sonic touch points.

Released on 99 Records, their three initial eps are: Liquid Liquid (1981), Successive Reflexes (1981) and Optimo (1983). Found on the Optimo ep the track "Cavern" wasn't sampled, instead Sugarhill Records had session musicians produce similar sounding backing music for Melle Mel's "White Lines" and a controversy ensued as 99 Records took Sugarhill to court in an attempt to get paid for the use of the song's distinctive bassline. In the subsequent judgement, 99 won damages in the court case, but Sugarhill folded and declared bankruptcy soon after so no money was ever collected. All three eps had been out of print since the late 90s, but UK based Domino Records reissued everything they recorded as the 2008 release Slip In and Out of Phenomenon.



"Cavern" video
Produced in 1983 by Michael Sporn Animation Studios.


at Santos' Party House NYC
19 November 2008


plus

Optimo


Scraper


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