Prehistory (album)

Last updated
Prehistory
Prehistory (album) cover.jpg
Studio album by Circle X
Released 1983
Recorded 1981 at Skyline Studios, New York City, United States
Genre Post-punk, experimental rock
Length35:38
Label Index, Enigma
Circle X chronology
Circle X
(1979)		Prehistory
(1983)		Celestial
(1994)

Prehistory is the debut studio album by American experimental rock band Circle X. It was recorded in 1981 but was not released until 1983, jointly through record labels Index and Enigma.

Experimental rock is a subgenre of rock music which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with some of the genre's distinguishing characteristics being improvisational performances, avant-garde influences, odd instrumentation, opaque lyrics, unorthodox structures and rhythms, and an underlying rejection of commercial aspirations.

Circle X was an American experimental rock band, formed in 1978 in Louisville, Kentucky. They were part of the late 1970s/early 1980s No Wave scene.

Contents

Background

Prehistory was recorded upon their return to New York City, after staying nine months in Dijon, France.[ citation needed ]

New York City Largest city in the United States

The City of New York, usually called either New York City (NYC) or simply New York (NY), is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2018 population of 8,398,748 distributed over a land area of about 302.6 square miles (784 km2), New York is also the most densely populated major city in the United States. Located at the southern tip of the state of New York, the city is the center of the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass and one of the world's most populous megacities, with an estimated 20,320,876 people in its 2017 Metropolitan Statistical Area and 23,876,155 residents in its Combined Statistical Area. A global power city, New York City has been described as the cultural, financial, and media capital of the world, and exerts a significant impact upon commerce, entertainment, research, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, fashion, and sports. The city's fast pace has inspired the term New York minute. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy.

Dijon Prefecture and commune in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France

Dijon is a city in eastern France, capital of the Côte-d'Or département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.

France Republic with mainland in Europe and numerous oversea territories

France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose territory consists of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The metropolitan area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany to the northeast, Switzerland and Italy to the east, and Andorra and Spain to the south. The overseas territories include French Guiana in South America and several islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The country's 18 integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and a total population of 67.3 million. France, a sovereign state, is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Other major urban areas include Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille and Nice.

Release

The LP went out of print rapidly, but was later reissued semi-legally by the French label Sordide Sentimentale, featuring the addition of a booklet of essay texts and skin disorder photos. [1]

Track listing

All tracks written by Circle X (David Letendre, Rick Letendre, Tony Pinotti, Bruce Witsiepe).

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Current"6:22
2."Prehistory (Part I)"5:10
3."Prehistory (Part II)"5:16
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Culture Progress"6:28
2."Underworld"7:49
3."Beyond Standard"4:33

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Trouser Press , whilst calling the album "more ambitious" than 1979's Circle X EP, wrote, "submerging energy in sloppy polyrhythms and echoey dub production, the album sometimes drags haphazardly and generally lacks its predecessor's field-plowing impact." [3]

<i>Trouser Press</i> American music magazine

Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press". Publication of the magazine ceased in 1984; the unexpired portion of mail subscriptions was completed by Rolling Stone sister publication Record, which itself folded in 1985. Trouser Press has continued to exist in various formats.

<i>Circle X</i> (EP) 1980 EP by Circle X

Circle X is an EP and the debut release by American experimental rock band Circle X. It was on 12" vinyl in 1980 in France, through then-nascent record label Celluloid.

Personnel

Circle X
Additional personnel
Technical

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References

  1. ↑ "Matador Records | Circle X Biography". matadorrecords.com . Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
  2. ↑ Unterberger, Richie. "Prehistory – Circle X : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  3. ↑ Mamone, Jordan. "trouserpress.com :: Circle X". trouserpress.com . Retrieved 14 March 2013.
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