Attrition (band)
Attrition is an
electronic music band, formed in
Coventry,
England in
1980 by
Martin Bowes and
Julia Niblock. Influenced by
punk's do-it-yourself aesthetic, Attrition became leading lights of the nascent UK
Industrial music scene, appearing on compilation cassettes featuring contemporaries such as
Portion Control,
Konstruktivits,
Chris and Cosey,
Legendary Pink Dots,
Nurse With Wound,
Metamorphosis et al. Their early post-punk stylings soon gave way to a distinctive electro-acoustic sound, which laid the foundations for the
Darkwave style. This was based on Martin's deep growl, Julia's fretless bass work and breathy sub-operatic vocals, and a backline of electronic instrumentation, comprising analogue
synthesizers (including a
Korg MonoPoly and
Korg MS20), sequencer (
Roland MC202), drum machine (
Roland TR808), and various effects units.
In
1979, Martin started a zeroxed fanzine called "Alternative Sounds", to document the
Coventry music scene (including such notables as
The Specials and
Furious Apples). The fanzine ran for 18 issues until
1981, and culminated in a vinyl compilation, "Sent from Coventry" (on
Cherry Red records) and a brief appearance on the BBC's
Something Else programme. During this time, Martin met Julia at a local gig and Attrition was formed; the initial line-up included Martin's brother Chris on guitar, who left in 1981 to join the army, and Julia's brother
Ashley Niblock (who would become another mainstay) on synthesizer.
Two early home recordings, "Fear" and "Devoid", were issued in
1982 as a flex-disc given away with the "Adventures in Reality" fanzine run by
Alan Rider (later of
Stress and
Dance Naked), who would provide the band's visuals for live shows. Two experimental electronic soundtracks ("Crawling" and "Dead of Night") were released as the "Death House" cassette (later reissued on vinyl by
Hamster Records as "This Death House"). Also in 1982,
Gary Levermore included an Attrition track ("The Visitor") on the first volume of his "Rising from the Red Sands" series of compilation tapes, beginning a long running association with Gary and his
Third Mind label (formerly
Tone Death).
In
1983, Attrition received their first exposure in the national music press through a review by
Dave Henderson in his
"Wild Planet" column in
Sounds, which led to their "Dreamsleep" track appearing on Henderson's compilation "The Elephant Table Album", the band's first vinyl appearance. A postal collaboration with Seattle-based improvisational collective
Audio Leter led to the "Action and Reaction" cassette release for
Adventures in Reality. Attrition's first London concert followed, with a support slot for
Coil.
(selected; a full discography can be obtained from the official website — see links below)
Albums
* (1982)
Death House* (1983)
Action and Reaction* (1984)
The Attrition of Reason* (1985)
Smiling, at The Hypogonder Club * (1986)
In the Realm of the Hungry Ghosts (a compilation of remixed early material)
* (1988)
At the Fiftieth Gate* (1991)
A Tricky Business* (1993)
The Hidden Agenda* (1995)
Ephemera* (1996)
3 Arms and a Dead Cert* (1997)
Etude (early works performed by a chamber orchestra)
* (1999)
The Jeopardy Maze* (2000)
Heretic Angels Live* (2000)
The Hand that Feeds* (2004)
Dante's Kitchen* (2006)
Tearing Arms from Deities (25 year anniversary collection of rare, remastered and remixed material)
*
Official Website
