Zoviet France

Last updated

:zoviet*france:
Zoviet France @ Norbergfestival 2011.jpg
:zoviet*france: at Norbergfestival, Norberg, Sweden, 2011. Left to right: Mark Warren, Ben Ponton
Background information
Origin Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Genres
Years active1980present
Labels
Spinoffs Reformed Faction, Rapoon, Dead Voices on Air
Members
  • Ben Ponton
  • Mark Warren
Past members

Zoviet France (also known as :$OVIET:FRANCE:, Soviet France, :Zoviet-France: and latterly usually written as :zoviet*france:) are a music group from Newcastle upon Tyne in north east England. While often dissonant and made of industrial textures, their music also falls into the ambient music category. Formed in 1980, and remaining largely anonymous, [1] the group has had a number of members; presently it consists of co-founder Ben Ponton and Mark Warren. Former members included Neil Ramshaw, Peter Jensen, Robin Storey (who now records as Rapoon), Lisa Hale, Paolo Di Paolo, Mark Spybey (who now records as Dead Voices on Air) and Andy Eardley. In 2005 Storey, Spybey and Eardley formed a new group, Reformed Faction.

Contents

The band participated in the early-eighties underground tape scene. The packaging of their releases was often unconventional, involving materials such as hessian, tar paper and aluminium foil. [2]

Zoviet France also provided the music for the 2015 movie Savageland, a mockumentary that depicts the aftermath of a massacre on a US-Mexico border town that leaves every citizen dead except for an amateur photographer who is accused of committing it.

Discography

YearTitleLabel
1982 Garista Self-released
1982 [untitled] Red Rhino Records
1983NorschRed Rhino Records
1983MohnomisheRed Rhino Records
1984EostreRed Rhino Records
1985 Popular Soviet Songs and Youth Music Red Rhino Records/Singing Ringing
1985Gris No Man's Land
1986Misfits, Loony Tunes and Squalid CriminalsRed Rhino Records
1986Gesture Signal ThreatRed Rhino Records
1987A Flock of RotationsRed Rhino Records
1987Assault and MirageRed Rhino Records
1987Loh Land Staalplaat
1988Shouting at the GroundRed Rhino Records
1990Look Into Me Charrm
1990Just an IllusionStaalplaat
1991Shadow, Thief of the SunDOVentertainment
1991Vienna 1990Charrm
1992Collusion Mute Records
1993What Is Not TrueCharrm
1996 Digilogue Soleilmoon
1996in.versionCharrm
1998Mort Aux Vaches: FeedbackStaalplaat
2000The Decriminalisation of Country Music Tramway
2003utdragamino
2008shteirlel King Worldwide via alt.vinyl
20127.10.12alt.vinyl
2013The Tables Are TurningSoleilmoon

Notable performances

See also

References

  1. Interview with Brent Bambury, CBC Radio, 2 May 1991
  2. Reed, S. Alexander (2013). Assimilate: A Critical History of Industrial Music . New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 118–121. ISBN   9780199832583. OCLC   1147729910 via the Internet Archive.
  3. "Variations VII". AV Festival. Archived from the original on 6 March 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  4. "JOHN CAGE 29 February - 2 March 2008 Variations VII". Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art . Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  5. "Star and Shadow: Savageland + :zoviet*france: live set". starandshadow.org.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  6. "Autechre + Zoviet France". barbican.org.uk. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2025.