Tanakh (band)

Last updated

Tanakh is the name of a musical collective from Richmond, Virginia as well as a reference to the music produced by the group. The collective was formed in 2000 by its primary songwriter, producer and recording engineer Jesse Poe. [1]

Contents

Background

Poe and Phil Murphy were then working as apprentices under John Morand at Sound of Music Studios to improve their recording skills. The two musicians would take turns recording each other after hours at the studio, using whatever instruments happened to be left around. This included many international instruments that Joan Osborne had recently left in studio. They would layer track upon track taking turns recording while the other played, and vice versa; some recordings from this time appeared on the bonus CD with the band's 2002 debut album Villa Claustrophobia. [2] They also composed and recorded the score for Andrew Carnwath's silent film Greater Than Half which won The Audience Choice Award at Bare Bones International and the Rosebud Film Festival in Washington, D.C. [3]

The duo began to perform live using analogue loops created live on stage with old tape machines and half broken equipment they salvaged from the Sound of Music equipment graveyards and thrift stores. Frustrated with limitations of analogue looping, they enlisted the help of Jeff 'Sanford' Krones, who lived with Poe at the Pyramid Institute, an abandoned Shriners Temple atop the collapsed Church Hill Tunnel, and Pat Best of Pelt. This quartet formed the core of the original Tanakh collective, playing live shows and recording improvisations at the Pyramid Institute and Sound of Music Studios along with many guests who joined performances as they were available. [4]

Inspired in part by John Zorn's Tzadik label, Poe and Murphy's original idea was to provide a name that they could perform under and that anyone who they liked to play could perform or record under, with their dream being that there might be two or three Tanakh shows at the same time in different geographic locations. The band's self-titled 2004 EP [5] on Alien8 Recordings came from a Pyramid Institute performance recorded by Bryan Hoffa who would later start a band Broken Hips with Murphy on guitar, and various instruments. This instrumental double disc was later mixed and mastered by King Crimson engineer Ronan Chris Murphy. [6]

After initial plans to record a studio effort fell through due to other commitments, Poe worked as an engineer in Berlin at the Schaubu:hne am Halleschen Ufer before returning to record Villa Claustrophobia with Brian Paulson as engineer and with previous Tanakh guest performers such as the Dirty Three's Mick Turner, Anomoanon/Palace member Ned Oldham and Ravi Shankar associate Nirmal Bajekal. Via Turner and Oldham's brother Will Oldham, members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor heard the album, leading Montreal label Alien8 to contact Poe and sign Tanakh. Villa Claustrophobia was released in April 2002 [7] to a variety of positive reviews, including Mark Richardson in Pitchfork Media [8] and Ian Penman in The Wire. [9]

Various line-ups of Tanakh performed and toured from this point forward, with a new key member being bassist/singer Michele Poulos, who Poe met around the time of Villa Claustrophobia's release. Poe, Poulos and a further core group of performers, including Agents of Good Roots drummer Brian Jones and guests Jim White and Sparklehorse associate/producer Alan Weatherhead, recorded the band's third full album Dieu Deuil, released in early 2004 on Alien8. [10]

Poe relocated to Italy prior to the release of Dieu Deuil after the offer of an ESL teaching job in Florence; further Tanakh performances and tours were based out that city for the next few years. Most of Tanakh's fourth album, 2006's Ardent Fevers, [11] was written in Italy but recorded in Richmond by Hoffa during a return visit to the city in the summer of 2004. Guest performers on Ardent Fevers included Isobel Campbell and Alex Neilson, who had been introduced to Poe by Alasdair Roberts after the two had played shows together in Scotland. [12]

Taken from the same recording period as the Ardent Fevers sessions, Tanakh's fifth album, the 2007 release Saunders Hollow, [13] was distinctly different from the collective's previous work in that Poulos was the lead vocalist throughout, with Poe concentrating on producing and performing and Hoffa once again recording an expanded lineup of the band, again featuring Campbell and Neilson as guest performers. Saunders Hollow was also unique in being released on Australian label Camera Obscura rather than Alien8, home to all the band's previous releases.

Other than singles on compilations, no further Tanakh releases have appeared since Saunders Hollow but the collective has continued to perform irregularly, including the opening set at the sixth Terrastock festival in Providence, Rhode Island in April 2006 [14] and a one-off performance at the seventh Terrastock festival in Louisville, Kentucky in June 2008. [15] This latter performance featured a unique lineup of Poe, Acid Mothers Temple lead figure Kawabata Makoto and members of Abunai! and United Bible Studies. [16]

As of summer 2010 Poe is reported to be working on a series of collaborative singles; it is not certain if they will appear under the Tanakh name.

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queens of the Stone Age</span> American rock band

Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Seattle, Washington. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple lineup changes. Since 2013, the lineup has consisted of Homme alongside Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman, Dean Fertita, and Jon Theodore. The band also has a large pool of contributors and collaborators. Queens of the Stone Age are known for their blues, Krautrock and electronica-influenced style of riff-oriented and rhythmic hard rock music, coupled with Homme's distinct falsetto vocals and unorthodox guitar scales.

<i>Action Pact</i> (album) 2003 studio album by Sloan

Action Pact is the seventh album by Canadian rock band Sloan. The album was named after "Youth Action Pact," a song by the 1980s Halifax band Jellyfishbabies. Action Pact was released on August 19, 2003 by ViK Recordings. The album debuted at #11 on the Canadian Albums Chart. The album does not include any songs written by Andrew Scott, and is therefore the only Sloan album that does not include at least one track written by each band member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeah Yeah Yeahs</span> American indie rock band

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O, guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are complemented in live performances by second guitarist David Pajo, who joined as a touring member in 2009 and replaced Imaad Wasif, who had previously held the role. According to an interview that aired during ABC's Live from Central Park SummerStage series, the band's name was taken from modern New York City vernacular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blonde Redhead</span> American alternative rock band

Blonde Redhead is an American alternative rock band composed of Kazu Makino and twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace that formed in New York City in 1993. The band's earliest albums were noted for their noise rock influences, though their sound evolved by the early 2000s with the releases of Misery is a Butterfly (2004) and 23 (2007), which both incorporated elements of dream pop, shoegaze and other genres. They have released ten regular studio albums and have toured internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sun Kil Moon</span> American folk rock act

Sun Kil Moon is an American folk rock act from San Francisco, California, founded in 2002. Initially a continuation of the defunct indie rock band Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon is now the primary recording moniker of vocalist and guitarist Mark Kozelek. The project is named after the Korean super flyweight boxer Sung-Kil Moon.

<i>Telegraphs in Negative/Mouths Trapped in Static</i> 2003 studio album by Set Fire to Flames

Telegraphs in Negative/Mouths Trapped in Static is a double album by the Canadian musical collective, Set Fire to Flames. The album was recorded in the span of several months in late 2002, and was then published by both Alien8 Recordings and FatCat Records in 2003.

<i>Sings Reign Rebuilder</i> 2001 studio album by Set Fire to Flames

Sings Reign Rebuilder is the debut album of the Canadian band Set Fire to Flames. It was released by Alien8 Recordings, FatCat Records in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shalabi Effect</span> Rock band from Montreal

Shalabi Effect is a mostly instrumental band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band was originally formed in 1996 as a duo composed of Anthony Seck and Sam Shalabi. Shalabi is an Egyptian-Canadian musician who is also the founder of Swamp Circuit, Detention, Nutsak, The Dwarfs of East Agouza, Moose Terrific and the orchestra Land of Kush. Seck is a filmmaker and member of the supergroup Valley of the Giants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LCD Soundsystem</span> American indie rock band

LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy, Nancy Whang, Pat Mahoney (drums), Tyler Pope, Al Doyle, Matt Thornley, and Korey Richey. They have been signed to DFA since their inception, and also signed to Columbia Records in 2016.

<i>Who Will Cut Our Hair When Were Gone?</i> 2003 studio album by The Unicorns

Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? is the second and final studio album by Canadian indie rock band the Unicorns. It features several re-arranged versions of songs from their earlier self-released album Unicorns Are People Too. The album was first issued on CD and on vinyl in North America by Alien8 Recordings on October 21, 2003, and on CD in Europe by Rough Trade Records in 2004. It has since been repressed in limited quantities on pink and brown vinyl by Alien8 and was re-released on August 26, 2014 on the band's own label, Caterpillar Records.

Terrastock is a music festival organised periodically by Phil McMullen, formerly editor of the Ptolemaic Terrascope and since 2005 the publisher of the Terrascope Online website. The event typically features independent bands playing psychedelic rock. It has been held on six occasions in the USA and once in London, UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim White (guitarist)</span> American singer (born 1957)

Michael Davis Pratt, known professionally as Jim White, is an American singer-songwriter, visual artist and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Murphy (electronic musician)</span> American musician

James Jeremiah Murphy is an American musician, DJ, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His most well-known musical project is LCD Soundsystem, which first gained attention with its single "Losing My Edge" in 2002 before releasing its eponymous debut album in February 2005 to critical acclaim and top 20 success in the UK. LCD Soundsystem's second and third studio albums, Sound of Silver (2007) and This Is Happening (2010) respectively, were met with universal acclaim from several music review outlets. Both albums have also reached the top 50 in the Billboard 200.

Jesse Poe is a songwriter and primary member of Tanakh, the musical collective. He spent a decade in Virginia, beginning in 1993; the first half of the decade was spent in Blacksburg, and relocated to Richmond where he met David Lowery and several Sound of Music Studios stalwarts.

Ted Hutt is a British record producer, musician, and songwriter, residing in Los Angeles, California, United States. He was the original guitar player and one of the founding members for The Promise, The Great Unwashed, Gods Hotel, Reacharound, and Flogging Molly.

Et Sans was a Canadian experimental rock band from Montreal. Their music was characterized by lengthy compositions with lyrics in French, combined with loud, distortion-filled electronic and instrumental sounds with a heavy bass beat.

<i>Par Noussss Touss Les Trous de Vos Crânes!</i> 2005 studio album by Et Sans

Par Noussss Touss Les Trous de Vos Crânes! is the second album of Et Sans. It was released in April 2005 by Alien8 Recordings, their first album on the record label.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Handsome Family</span> US alternative country and Americana band

The Handsome Family is an American music duo consisting of husband and wife Brett and Rennie Sparks formed in Chicago, Illinois, and as of 2001 based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They are perhaps best known for their song "Far from Any Road" from the album Singing Bones, which was used as the main title theme for the first season of the 2014 crime drama True Detective. The band's tenth album, Unseen, was released in 2016. The band's 11th studio album Hollow, was released on September 8, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dum Dum Girls</span> American rock band

Dum Dum Girls was an American rock band, formed in 2008. It began as the bedroom recording project of singer and songwriter Dee Dee. She is currently based in Los Angeles. The name is a double homage to the Vaselines' album Dum Dum and the Iggy Pop song "Dum Dum Boys".

Camera Obscura was a record label founded by Australian music journalist Tony Dale in 1996. Described by Dale as 'a conduit for the release of contemporary acid-folk, psych-pop and space-rock,' the label put out almost ninety releases over fourteen years, the vast majority of which were full-length CDs. Bands and musicians who released material on the label included the Green Pajamas, Patrick Porter, Abunai!, the Azusa Plane, Black Sun Ensemble, Sharron Kraus and Primordial Undermind. Dale formally discontinued the label in 2010, shortly before he died due to cancer.

References

  1. ↑ "Tanakh interview" . Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  2. ↑ "Villa Claustraphobia[sic] Vinyl Only Bonus CD". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  3. ↑ "Blackbird Filmworks: About Us" . Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  4. ↑ "Tanakh interview" . Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  5. ↑ "Tanakh". Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  6. ↑ "Ronan Chris Murphy" . Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  7. ↑ "Villa Claustrophobia". Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  8. ↑ "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Tanakh: Villa Claustrophobia". Pitchfork . Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  9. ↑ "Villa Claustrophobia Reviews". Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  10. ↑ "Dieu Deuil". Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  11. ↑ "Ardent Fevers". Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  12. ↑ "Tanakh interview" . Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  13. ↑ "Saunders Hollow". Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  14. ↑ "Terrastock Schedule". Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  15. ↑ "Terrastock 7" . Retrieved 23 August 2010.
  16. ↑ "The Tanakh Collective, Terrastock 7". 23 June 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.