Chandra (band)

Last updated
Chandra
Origin New York City, U.S.
Genres
Years active1979–1982
Labels
  • GO GO Records
  • Telephone Explosion
Past membersChandra Oppenheim
Eugenie Diserio
Steven Alexander
Fred Maher
Website Official Site

Chandra was an American post-punk band founded in 1979. The band was fronted by Chandra Oppenheim, who was 11 years old when the band was founded. [1] A second incarnation of the band, TheChandra Dimension, was launched in 1981 but dissolved before a second EP could be released. [1]

Contents

History

Eugenie Diserio and Steven Alexander were former members of the band Model Citizens [1] and contemporaries of Chandra Oppenheim's father, conceptual artist Dennis Oppenheim. After seeing the 11-year-old Oppenheim perform, Diserio and Alexander decided to build a music group around her. [1] In 1979, they began rehearsing in a rented room at the Music Building in Hell’s Kitchen, with Fred Maher joining as drummer. [1] The band debuted at the Mudd Club in New York City. [1]

Chandra released their first and only EP, Transportation, in 1980. [2] A second incarnation of the band, the Chandra Dimension, was launched in 1981, and included three additional musicians between 12 and 19 years old. [1] The band performed on the children's television series Captain Kangaroo . [3] However, the Chandra Dimension dissolved in 1982 before a second EP could be released. [1] [3] “I had to make a decision, school or music, and I chose school,” said Oppenheim in 2018. [1]

Chandra received renewed interest in 2016, after their track "Subways" was sampled by the Avalanches in their song of the same name. [1] [2] Oppenheim had not previously heard about the Avalanches until they approached her regarding the sample but subsequently became a fan. [4] That same year, she performed live with the Avalanches in New York City. [1] In 2018, the label Telephone Explosion released a compilation album, Transportation EPs, which combined the 1980 EP with the unreleased second EP and two four-track demos. [2]

Discography

EPs

YearDetails
1980Transportation
  • Released: 1980
  • Label: GO GO Records

Compilations

YearDetails
2018Transportation EPs
  • Released: 2018
  • Label: Telephone Explosion

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Wray, Daniel Dylan (2018-11-13). "'It was grungy, gritty, rough': the 11-year-old who fronted an 80s post-punk band". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  2. 1 2 3 Beta, Andy (2019-01-10). "Chandra: Transportation EPs". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
  3. 1 2 Taysom, Joe (2020-07-22). "The story of Chandra, a unique 12-year-old post-punk sensation that ripped up the 1980s music scene". Far Out . Archived from the original on 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2025-01-20.
  4. Iadarola, Alexander (2016-06-07). "We Spoke to the Now-Grown Up 12-Year-Old The Avalanches Sampled on Their New Song". Thump. Vice. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2025-01-20.