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Noisegate was a group of artists dedicated to the exploration of sound as an artistic medium, based in Oakland, California, United States. Constantly recording, touring, and collaborating with other experimental artists and filmmakers, they became a staple of the Bay Area experimental music and sound-art scenes between 1995 and 2002.
Noisegate began in 1995, when Trevor Paglen, Nicolas Lampert and Tae K Kim began to experiment with using timbre as a basis for a musical language. In November 1995, Excavation Day was released. This tape-only release, limited to 500 copies, is an early document of their development. Barren Earth was released in the summer of 1996, and at this point, Noisegate's musical language had expanded to include a much wider range of textures, all of which were composed into one another. An early version of "Solar Eclipse" was on this release.
In the fall of 1996, now consisting of Trevor Paglen, Nicolas Lampert, and Sean Thomas, Noisegate embarked on their first major tour of the United States, with filmmaker Laura Klein. Upon their return, Chris Fitzpatrick was enlisted to run sampler. This new lineup began reworking the music which became the Towers Are Burning LP, produced by Lars Savage and released in 1998 by the One Hundred Years of Solitude label. After several tours supporting the LP across the US and in Canada, it was decided to record two more tracks, and release all four on Tumult Records and Legion Records as the Towers Are Burning CD. One of these tracks, "Alamogordo", featured Dave Edwardson of Neurosis on bass guitar and vocals. Noisegate also recorded As We Were Walking, a split-release with KK Null on Wagenhault Records.
After more touring, Nicolas Lampert left Noisegate and Chris Fitzpatrick and Trevor Paglen began work on Suspended Animation (Vol. 1), where the new emphasis of the compositions were fluidity and subtlety. Suspended Animation was released in May 2000, and supported that summer with a lengthy multimedia tour of the US, accompanied by filmmaker Jon Frechette. This tour included a string of West Coast tour dates with Bastard Noise.
We Stood There Watching was a recorded version of the interpretations of Suspended Animation that Noisegate performed on their U.S. tour, and was released exclusively in Europe in December 2001 on Manufracture, and supported by a European tour in January 2001. Where in the past, Noisegate tours have created rich and immersive multimedia environments, for this tour, the opposite was achieved. The performances occurred in absolute darkness with the performers unseen, disarming rather than facilitating spectacle.
Noisegate amicably disbanded in 2002 to pursue other projects.
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Kazuyuki Kishino, known by his stage name KK Null, is a Japanese experimental multi-instrumentalist active since the early 1980s. He began as a guitarist but learned how to compose, sing, play drums, and create electronic music. He also studied Butoh dance at Min Tanaka's workshop.
Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California, in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout their career, the band is best known for music created during their most experimental era. During this time, they developed a highly eclectic style, cycling through several musical genres, often within the course of a single song, including heavy metal, avant-garde jazz, ska, disco, and funk, which is further enhanced by lead vocalist Mike Patton's versatile singing style. This period also saw the band utilizing unconventional song structures and samples; playing a wide array of instruments; dressing up in masks, jumpsuits, and other costumes; and performing a diverse selection of cover songs during live performances.
Fantômas is an American heavy metal supergroup formed in 1998 in California. It features vocalist Mike Patton, drummer Dave Lombardo (ex-Slayer), guitarist Buzz Osborne (Melvins) and bassist Trevor Dunn. The band is named after Fantômas, a supervillain featured in a series of crime novels popular in France before World War I and in film, most notably in the '60s French movie series.
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Rowland Stuart Howard was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the post-punk group The Birthday Party and his subsequent solo career.
"Welcome to the Machine" is the second song on Pink Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here. It features heavily processed synthesizers and acoustic guitars, as well as a wide range of tape effects. Both the music and the lyrics were written by bassist Roger Waters.
Zeni Geva is a Japanese noise rock band featuring singer and guitarist KK Null and drummer Tatsuya Yoshida. Formed in Tokyo in 1987, the group's name translates roughly as "money violence".
The Music Tapes is an experimental pop music and performance art project of Elephant 6 member Julian Koster. The Music Tapes is characterized by unusual orchestrations, the use of musique concrète and narrative storytelling, vintage home-recording practices, and musical inventions. They are also known for their unique live performances, such as the Caroling and Lullaby tours that bring them into the homes of fans, and theatrical shows like The Traveling Imaginary, which takes place in a circus tent.
Daniel Menche is an American experimental musician and multidisciplinary artist from Portland, Oregon. Since 1989 he has recorded many albums that are categorized as electro-acoustic, noise music, dark ambient music, abstract, avant-garde, experimental, field recordings, drone, minimalist music, percussion and soundtrack film music.
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Brise-Glace was a 1990s instrumental avant-rock "supergroup" composed of Jim O'Rourke, Darin Gray, Dylan Posa (guitar), and Thymme Jones (drums).
Thanksgiving and Adrian Orange & Her Band are the names under which Portland, Oregon singer/songwriter Adrian Orange performs. First adopting the "Thanksgiving" moniker around 1999–2000, Orange played experimental folk music, often accompanying himself on guitar and self-recording his albums using analog equipment. While Thanksgiving is essentially a solo act, Orange often collaborates with other musicians in his recordings and performances.
The Business were an English punk band formed in 1979 in Lewisham, South London, England. The band lasted for four decades until their frontman Micky Fitz died from cancer in December 2016.
Nautical Almanac was a noise music group based in Baltimore, Maryland with a rotating membership fronted by Carly Ptak and Twig Harper.
Guapo is a British experimental rock/art rock band formed in the mid-1990s by drummer/percussionist Dave Smith and guitarist/vocalist Matt Thompson, though the band gained a wider audience with the contribution of multi-instrumentalist Daniel O'Sullivan. The current lineup consists of Smith, guitarist Kavus Torabi, bassist James Sedwards and keyboardist Emmett Elvin of Chrome Hoof.
Ashes Are Burning is the fourth studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1973. It was the first of several Renaissance albums to feature an orchestra playing along with the band. It was the band's first album to make the Billboard 200 album chart, peaking at No. 171.
Ramleh are a British experimental music group formed by musician Gary Mundy in 1982. The current line-up of the band includes Gary Mundy, Anthony di Franco and Stuart Dennison. Originally a part of the English power electronics and industrial music scene in early 1980s, Ramleh experimented with a more traditional rock format in their later releases.
Experimental Products were an American electronic group. Founded in 1982 by Mark Wilde and Michael Gross, they were a Philadelphia-based group.
