SPK were an Australian industrial music and noise music group formed in 1978. They were fronted by mainstay member, Graeme Revell on keyboards and percussion. In 1980 the group travelled to the United Kingdom where they issued their debut album, Information Overload Unit. In 1983 Sinan Leong joined on lead vocals. The group disbanded in 1988. Two years later Revell and Leong relocated to the United States, where Revell works as a Hollywood film score composer. According to Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane, SPK were "at the forefront of the local post-punk, electronic/experimental movement of the late 1970s ... [their] music progressed from discordant, industrial-strength metal noise to sophisticated and restrained dance-rock with strange attributes".
Choking Victim was an American punk rock band formed in New York City, which lasted from 1992 to 1998. They played a mix of hardcore punk and ska. Following the breakup of the band, which occurred the same day as the recording of their only studio album No Gods, No Managers, members went on to form Leftöver Crack and INDK, among others.
Tarentel is a band based in San Francisco, California, which formed in 1995. Initially, the band consisted of Danny Grody and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma. The line-up altered over the years and has included John Hughes, Trevor Montgomery, Patricia Kavanaugh, Kenseth Thibideau, Jeffrey Rosenberg, Jim Redd, Tony Cross, Steve Dye and others.
Maurizio Bianchi is an Italian pioneer of industrial music, originating from Milan.
The Undead is an American horror punk band formed in 1980 in the East Village, New York City, United States, by Bobby Steele, Chris "Jack" Natz (bass) and Patrick Blanck (drums). They were one of the pioneers in the New York hardcore scene.
Ashtray Navigations is an English experimental music group centred upon Phil Todd and active since 1991. Colloquially referred to as "Ash Nav", the group operates out of Todd's home in Stoke-on-Trent, from which he also ran the record labels Betley Welcomes Careful Drivers and, subsequently, Memoirs of an Aesthete. The project has also released music through labels such as Siltbreeze, Jewelled Antler, American Tapes, Fargone Records, Menlo Park, E.F. Tapes and Freedom From.
Alex Neilson is an English drummer, percussionist and singer who is based in Glasgow but grew up in Leeds. He is a founding member and main songwriter of folk-rock group Trembling Bells (2008-2018). He is also known for his continuing collaborations with Alasdair Roberts, Will Oldham and Richard Youngs, and for his work with elusive American singer/songwriter Jandek.
Steven R. Smith is an American musician, instrument-builder, and printmaker often associated with the Jewelled Antler collective. Born in Fullerton, California and based in San Francisco and, more recently, Los Angeles, he has been musically active since the mid-1990s. His main instrument is guitar, both acoustic and electric, although other instruments, including the hurdy-gurdy, bouzouki, fretted spike fiddles, and assorted ethnic instruments, have been incorporated into his work.
Jack Rose was an American guitarist originally from Virginia and later based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rose is best known for his solo acoustic guitar work. He was also a member of the noise/drone band Pelt.
Simon Scott is an English musician, best known as the drummer in Slowdive and formerly of Lowgold and The Charlottes. He also fronted Inner Sleeve/Televise, and has released ambient music as a solo artist.
Jozef van Wissem is a Dutch minimalist composer and lute player based in Brooklyn. In 2013 van Wissem won the Cannes Soundtrack Award for the score of Only Lovers Left Alive at the Cannes Film Festival.
Hush Arbors is the primary musical project of singer-songwriter/guitarist, Keith Wood. His music uses traditional folk merged with elements of country and psychedelic music. Along with releasing solo material Wood is also a current member of Chelsea Light Moving. He has toured with and worked with musicians including Current 93, Six Organs of Admittance, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Jack Rose, Wooden Wand and Voice of the Seven Woods.
Micah Smaldone is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist based in Maine. He was a member of several New England area bands, and is best known for the solo music made under his given name, Micah Blue Smaldone.
Peter Walker is an American folk guitarist noted for dexterous instrumental pieces that reference the Indian classical and Spanish flamenco traditions. Recognized principally for his recorded output in the mid-to-late sixties, his rediscovery by the current generation of American and European outsider folk artists has seen his work accorded similar reverence to that of other notable American finger-pickers such as Sandy Bull, John Fahey, Robbie Basho and Leo Kottke, and granted him a renewed platform for both touring and recording.
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma is a multi-instrumentalist, member of several bands and co-founder of the Root Strata record label based out of San Francisco, California. Cantu-Ledesma got his start in the band Tarentel. He was one of the founding members and is still a primary figure in the band's line-up. In addition, Cantu-Ledesma is, and has been, involved in many other musical projects.
Sharron Kraus is an English singer, songwriter and musician with strong ties to the US. Kraus was born in New York but grew up in Leicester, England. She has lived in Philadelphia and collaborated with American musicians, including Meg Baird, Helena Espvall, Christian Kiefer, Tara Burke (Fursaxa), and Gillian Chadwick.
Helena Espvall is a Swedish-American musician noted for her participation in the post-millennial psychedelic folk and free improv scenes. Her primary instruments are cello, guitar and voice.
Important Records is an American independent record label based in Groveland, Massachusetts. The idea behind the label is to be like a good record store, with releases from diverse artists and genres.
Kraus is a New Zealand experimental musician and composer. The New Zealand Listener called him "a national treasure" and "one of the most quietly important and interesting people making music in New Zealand". His music crosses the boundaries of electronic music, post-rock, no wave, space folk, noise pop, punk rock and martian stomp.
Tompkins Square Records is an independent record label producing archival releases of gospel, blues, jazz, and country music.
