Colourbox - Music of the Band (1982-1987)

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 12 / 6 / 2017

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Colourbox's 'Music of the Band (1982-1987)' has been compiled by Wolfgang Tillmans as a celebration of Colourbox, and was released to coincide with the contemporary artist’s first major exhibition at the Tate Modern in London. All of the sixteen tracks were originally selected to be played on a loop machine and played back at Tillmans’ Berlin gallery, Between Bridges, in 2014, where lyrics and samples were pasted on the walls. Both Colourbox and the Playback Room now form part of Tillmans’ exhibition in London, and this gatefold 2xLP edition of the compilation is now available exclusively through the Tate shops and via the 4AD online store. This version features a new variation of the Tillmans-designed CD sleeve, a previously unreleased photograph series of his that features his prized Canon Colour Laser Copier, ripped apart and dismantled after a decade of service; “Eighties technology has influenced me a lot. When I won the Turner Prize I bought this copier with the money. Ten years later it was no longer repairable and I made this 'deconstruction' of it." 'Music of the Band (1982-1987)', including the black vinyl which is housed in a glorious double sleeve, is a wonderful creation. In a bid to describe the Colourbox sound I would like to let Wolfgang himself tell you in his own words, "Brothers Martyn and Steven Young together with Ian Robbins, Lorita Grahame and Debian Curry were pioneers of experimental pop music. They created an eclectic sound drawing from reggae and soul influences, beat-box driven hip-hop rhythms, blue-eyed soul, as well as a fusion of far-ranging influences spanning from classic R&B, to dub and industrial. Using montages of analogue magnetic tape pieces and experimenting with tape machines, Colourbox were at the fore-front of sampling, which in its digital form would become ubiquitous in the course of the 1980's. The band worked in a seeming contrast of pure artistic research in the studio and an anti-intellectual stance towards the outside world.” This doesn't happen very often but I have been sent the actual vinyl version which is just sublime. In addition, a 96k/24 bit HD audio version of the compilation is also now available. Sadly, between the initial exhibition in Berlin and this, Steven Young has sadly passed away. This release is also being pressed as a tribute to him and to Ian Robbins (who died in 2014), and the unique music they made. If you weren't aware of Colourbox I urge you to go out and spend money on this. It is marvellous!

Track Listing:-

1 Looks Like We're Shy One Horse/Shoot Out
2 Sleepwalker
3 Just Give 'em Whiskey
4 Baby I Love You So
5 Edit the Dragon
6 Hipnition
7 We Walk Around the Streets
8 Nation
9 Justice
10 Sex Gun
11 Shotgun
12 The Moon Is Blue
13 Keep On Pushing
14 Fast Dump
15 Arena
16 Hot Doggie

Band Links:-

http://www.fedge.net/colourbox/home.html
http://www.4ad.com/artists/colourbox

Label Links:-

http://www.4ad.com/
https://www.facebook.com/fourad/
https://twitter.com/4AD_Official
https://plus.google.com/explore/4AD

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