William Otis Laswell is an American bass guitarist, record producer, and record label owner. He has been involved in thousands of recordings with many collaborators from all over the world. His music draws from funk, world music, jazz, dub, and ambient styles.
Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser.
Material was an American band formed in 1979 and operative through to 1999, led by producer and bassist Bill Laswell.
Charles Hayward is an English drummer and was a founding member of the experimental rock groups This Heat and Camberwell Now. He also played with Mal Dean's Amazing Band, Dolphin Logic, and gigged and recorded with Phil Manzanera in the group Quiet Sun project as well as a short stint with Gong. He was a session musician on The Raincoats' second album, Odyshape, and on one occasion played drums for the anarchist punk band Crass. Since the late 1980s, Hayward has released several solo projects and participated in various collaborations, most notably Massacre with Bill Laswell and Fred Frith.
Massacre was founded in 1980 in New York City by guitarist Fred Frith, bassist Bill Laswell and drummer Fred Maher as an improvising and experimental rock band. They performed live for just over a year and recorded a studio album, Killing Time (1981). Frith and Laswell reformed Massacre in 1998 with drummer Charles Hayward, and released four more albums, Funny Valentine (1998), Meltdown (2001), Lonely Heart (2007) and Love Me Tender (2013). The last three albums were recorded live, the first in London, and the others at European festivals between 1999 and 2008.
Celluloid Records, a French/American record label, founded by Jean Georgakarakos operated from 1976 to 1989 in New York City, and produced a series of eclectic and ground-breaking releases, particularly in the early to late 1980s, largely under the auspices of de facto in-house producer Bill Laswell.
Martin Bisi is an American producer and songwriter. He is known for recording important records by Sonic Youth, Swans, John Zorn, Material, Bill Laswell, Helmet, Unsane, The Dresden Dolls, Cop Shoot Cop, White Zombie, Boredoms, Angels of Light, J.G. Thirlwell, and Herbie Hancock's Grammy-winning song "Rockit".
Guitar Solos is the debut solo album of English guitarist, composer, and improviser Fred Frith. It was recorded while Frith was still a member of the English experimental rock group Henry Cow and was released in the United Kingdom on LP record by Caroline Records in October 1974. The album comprises eight tracks of unaccompanied and improvised music played on prepared guitars by Frith without any overdubbing.
Gravity is a 1980 solo album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith from Henry Cow and Art Bears. It was Frith's second solo album and his first since the demise of Henry Cow in 1978. It was originally released in the United States on LP record on the Residents's Ralph record label and was the first of three solo albums Frith made for the label.
Speechless is a 1981 solo album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith of the group Henry Cow. It was Frith's third solo album, and was originally released in the United States on LP record on the Residents' Ralph record label. It was the second of three solo albums Frith made for the label.
Cheap at Half the Price is a 1983 solo album by English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith. It was Frith's fifth solo album, and was originally released in the United States on LP record on the Residents' Ralph record label. It was the third of three solo albums Frith made for the label.
Step Across the Border is a soundtrack double album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith, of the 1990 avant-garde documentary film on Frith, Step Across the Border. The album features music from the film performed by Frith and other musicians, and covers ten years of Frith's musical career from 1979 to 1989.
Un Peu de l'Âme des Bandits is the second album by Belgian avant-rock band Aksak Maboul. It was recorded at Sunrise Studio in Kirchberg, Switzerland in February and August 1979, and released on LP in January 1980 on founding member Marc Hollander's Belgian independent record label, Crammed Discs. At the time the band had changed the spelling of their name to "Aqsak Maboul", and this is reflected on the album's record sleeve. When the album was re-issued on CD in 1995 the spelling of their name reverted to "Aksak Maboul".
Temporary Music is the 1979 debut EP and 1981 debut album by the New York based no wave music group Material.
American Songs is a 1981 EP by the New York based No Wave music group Material.
Memory Serves is a 1981 album by the New York based No Wave music group Material.
One Down is a 1982 album by the New York based no wave music group Material, produced by Material, recorded by indie producer/engineer Martin Bisi in Brooklyn and musician/engineer Robert Musso in Manhattan. The album sees the band reduced to a duo of keyboardist Michael Beinhorn and bassist Bill Laswell, collaborating with different musicians and singers on each track. Whitney Houston made her recording debut as a lead vocalist on this album, for a version of the song "Memories".
Funny Valentine is the second studio album by avant-rock, experimental trio Massacre, recorded 17 years after the first. For this album guitarist Fred Frith and bass guitarist Bill Laswell were joined by English drummer Charles Hayward, who replaced original drummer Fred Maher.
Voice of America is a 1982 live collaborative album of improvised experimental music by Fred Frith, Bob Ostertag and Phil Minton. It was recorded live at PASS, New York City in January 1981, and the Actual Festival at the ICA, London in August 1981. The album was released on LP by Rift Records in 1982. RecRec Music reissued the album on CD in 1994.
French Gigs is a 1983 live collaborative album of improvised experimental music by Lol Coxhill and Fred Frith. It was recorded live in France in Limoges and Poitiers in October 1978, and in Reims in 1981. The album was released on LP by AAA in 1983, on CD by AYAA in 1991, and again on CD by Klanggalerie in 2020. The 1991 release includes a new track recorded via correspondence in 1991–92 by Coxhill in London and Frith in Munich, while the 2020 release includes the extra 1991 track, plus another new track recorded in Aubervilliers, France in 1999, the last performance by Coxhill and Frith. The 2020 release was re-mastered by Myles Boison.
