Changes (band)
Encyclopedia
Changes are an American
folk band formed in 1969 by cousins Robert N. Taylor and Nicholas Tesluk. Changes saw three distinct periods with rotating band members before their contemporary incarnation, heavily associated with the neofolk
genre.
Robert Nicholas Taylor, better known as Robert N. Taylor is an American
musician, artist, Germanic Neopagan, writer and political activist whose musical projects include Changes and Soul Of Steel.
venues. The duo began playing in small coffee houses and clubs before branching out to other folk music
venues in the Chicago area, such as University campuses. In 1973, Taylor moved to New Mexico
, resulting in a year long break for the group.
, the group decided to split.
card of various lyrics used by Changes from Taylor, Michael Moynihan
took interest in reworking and releasing demo recordings the band had previously put together. After a dormancy of almost 18 years, the group had resurfaced.
1995 saw the release of Changes' first proper release, Fire Of Life, a 2-track 7" as a joint release by Moynihan's Storm Records and the German
Cthuhlu Records. This was followed in 1996 by a full length CD of the same name, containing 11 songs. Both releases contain analog open reel Changes demo material from 1969 to 1974 remastered and reworked by Moynihan and Taylor. In 1998, Changes released another proper full length - Legends, based around the concept of various historical European legends, although now long out of print.
The Austrian label HauRuck! rereleased Fire Of Life in both LP and CD form in 2001 before releasing a new full length Changes album, Orphan In The Storm. German label Eis Und Licht released Time, a split 10" with Changes and Cadaverous Condition
in 2004 with an appearance by Matt Howden. 2004 also saw Changes appear live at the Flammenzauber
festival in Heldrungen
, Germany. This recording was later released by the German Neue Aesthetik label as the Hero Takes His Stand double LP.
Changes released another 7" through HauRuck! in 2005 titled Twilight and an untitled split CD later that year with Andrew King
through the Portuguese
Terra Fria label.
November 2005 found Changes performing in six cities of five European countries during their "The Men Among the Ruins Tour". Starting in Sintra, Portugal (with Andrew King (UK)), continuing to Antwerp, Belgium; Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary (with The Moon and the Nightspirit
); and concluding with two cities, St. Petersburg and Moscow in Russia (with Allerseelen).
In 2005, Nicholas Tesluk and Robert N. Taylor also met with the German musician Axel Frank of the Folk music
outfit Werkraum
followed by a close collaboration and the common, international acclaimed release "Kristalle" E.P. through Steinklang Industries Austria. Since then both are part of Werkraum
's growing musical collective and further activities and releases are scheduled.
As part of the joint performance between Changes and Allerseelen in Russia in November 2005, a split CD was produced by Indiestate in Moscow, "Men Among the Ruins", containing three new songs by Changes and also three new songs by Allerseelen. It was released in autumn 2006.
The LP "A Ripple in Time" was released by White Label on October 31, 2006. The LP contains several songs that Robert and Nicholas co-wrote in the late '60s and early '70s but had never recorded outside of rough recordings for personal or demo use. In the new studio recordings
Changes revised and enhanced the vocal harmonies, guitar work and embellishments to better reflect their current style. Also included on the album is the new song "Somewhere in the Night" and two new guitar instrumentals, "Eldorado" and "Paradiso", thus essentially bridging the years from Changes' inception to the group's present incarnation. The album will later become available in CD format with extra tracks.
A limited edition LP, Legends, was released by HauRuck! on July 17, 2007. Though an LP version of their work originally published as a CD by Taproot Productions in 1998, this version contains additional musical interludes that had not been previously recorded. The graphics of the gatefold cover, though similar to those of the CD, were completely revised. Robert Ferbrache of Studio Absenta also revised the dynamics of the sound. "Legends" is a six part song with each part retelling a story of heroism in six major European regions: "Homeric" (Greece), "The Aeneid" (Italy), "Eddic" (Scandinavia), "Song of Igor" (Russia), "Arthurian" (United Kingdom) and "El Cid" (Spain/Iberia).
In 2008, again as part of the Folk music
collective of Werkraum
, both Nicholas and Robert were involved in the release of the very well received traditional album "Early Love Music" (once again via Steinklang Industries), which Nicholas contributed several vocal and lyric parts as well as guitars for, while Robert Taylor interprets narrative poems and the song "Casey", well-known from the old classic by Shawn Phillips
song: "A Ballad of Casey Deiss", helped by Denver-based legend Bob Ferbrache in guitar and recordings. Having worked for this exceptional work, the Changes duo returns to a side of its roots, contributing to inspiring ideas from the late sixties and giving the outcome of Axel Frank from Werkraum
their authentic touch.
Changes' fifth studio album "Lament" was released in February, 2010. This album was an outgrowth of Robert and Nicholas's lives following the dissolutions of each of their marriages of many years. Poignant songs include, "The Invisible Man", "Emily" (based on the life of Emily Dickinson), "The End of the Road", a remix of "Mountains of Sorrow" by the members of Der Blutharsch consisting of a dramatic musical background to a voice-over of R. N. Taylor's heart-felt poetic verse. Also included are remakes of three of Changes' earlier works: "The Saddest Thing", "Memorabilia" and "Sweet Eve" (the last featuring the vocal talents of Jane Elizabeth of TESCO US).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
folk band formed in 1969 by cousins Robert N. Taylor and Nicholas Tesluk. Changes saw three distinct periods with rotating band members before their contemporary incarnation, heavily associated with the neofolk
Neofolk
Neofolk is a form of folk music-inspired experimental music that emerged from post-industrial music circles. Neofolk can either be solely acoustic folk music or a blend of acoustic folk instrumentation aided by varieties of accompanying sounds such as pianos, strings and elements of industrial...
genre.
Robert Nicholas Taylor, better known as Robert N. Taylor is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician, artist, Germanic Neopagan, writer and political activist whose musical projects include Changes and Soul Of Steel.
Early live performances (1969-1973)
Changes formed in 1969 as a duo of Taylor and Tesluk playing small ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
venues. The duo began playing in small coffee houses and clubs before branching out to other folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
venues in the Chicago area, such as University campuses. In 1973, Taylor moved to New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, resulting in a year long break for the group.
Reformation (1974-1977)
After moving back to Chicago, Taylor and Tesluk decided to reform the group in 1974, adding Robert Taylor's ex-wife, Karen Taylor, to the roster as a vocalist and musician. Between 1975-1976 , Carol DePugh joined the group. The group played sporadic live shows during this period although never releasing any recorded material. In 1977, due to Tesluk's marriage and subsequent relocation to ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, the group decided to split.
Contemporary Changes (1994–present)
In 1994, after receiving a YuleYule
Yule or Yuletide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January...
card of various lyrics used by Changes from Taylor, Michael Moynihan
Michael Moynihan (journalist)
Michael Moynihan is an American journalist, publisher and musician. He is best known for co-writing the book Lords of Chaos, about black metal....
took interest in reworking and releasing demo recordings the band had previously put together. After a dormancy of almost 18 years, the group had resurfaced.
1995 saw the release of Changes' first proper release, Fire Of Life, a 2-track 7" as a joint release by Moynihan's Storm Records and the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Cthuhlu Records. This was followed in 1996 by a full length CD of the same name, containing 11 songs. Both releases contain analog open reel Changes demo material from 1969 to 1974 remastered and reworked by Moynihan and Taylor. In 1998, Changes released another proper full length - Legends, based around the concept of various historical European legends, although now long out of print.
The Austrian label HauRuck! rereleased Fire Of Life in both LP and CD form in 2001 before releasing a new full length Changes album, Orphan In The Storm. German label Eis Und Licht released Time, a split 10" with Changes and Cadaverous Condition
Cadaverous Condition
Cadaverous Condition are an extreme Metal band from Austria, founded in 1990 by René Kramer and Wolfgang Weiss.Their style ranges from old school Death Metal to acoustic guitar songs with typical Deathmetal growl vocals the band themselves describe as "Death Folk".-Albums:* In Melancholy * "For...
in 2004 with an appearance by Matt Howden. 2004 also saw Changes appear live at the Flammenzauber
Flammenzauber
Flammenzauber is an annual festival held at the Wasserburg castle in Heldrungen, Germany. The festival showcases various musical artists within the neofolk, martial and post-industrial music spectrums, as well as artists working within other media....
festival in Heldrungen
Heldrungen
Heldrungen is a town in the Kyffhäuserkreis district, Thuringia, Germany.Nearby rivers are the Unstrut and the Wipper.It is known for its fortification with two water ditches, four vauban bastions and five rondells. In the center of the fortification is a renaissance castle, which was built within...
, Germany. This recording was later released by the German Neue Aesthetik label as the Hero Takes His Stand double LP.
Changes released another 7" through HauRuck! in 2005 titled Twilight and an untitled split CD later that year with Andrew King
Andrew King
Andrew King or Andy King may refer to:*Andrew King , member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri*Andy King , British Labour politician...
through the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Terra Fria label.
November 2005 found Changes performing in six cities of five European countries during their "The Men Among the Ruins Tour". Starting in Sintra, Portugal (with Andrew King (UK)), continuing to Antwerp, Belgium; Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary (with The Moon and the Nightspirit
The Moon and the Nightspirit
The Moon and the Nightspirit is a Hungarian Pagan folk duo founded in 2003 by Ágnes Tóth und Mihály Szabó. Their songs deal mostly with pagan fairy tales and shamanism.-History:...
); and concluding with two cities, St. Petersburg and Moscow in Russia (with Allerseelen).
In 2005, Nicholas Tesluk and Robert N. Taylor also met with the German musician Axel Frank of the Folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
outfit Werkraum
Werkraum
-Overview:Growing up in the fields of experimental music and post-industrial music with several other projects since the early 1990s, Axel Frank began to adapt a more melodic neofolk, electronic and dark ambient approach...
followed by a close collaboration and the common, international acclaimed release "Kristalle" E.P. through Steinklang Industries Austria. Since then both are part of Werkraum
Werkraum
-Overview:Growing up in the fields of experimental music and post-industrial music with several other projects since the early 1990s, Axel Frank began to adapt a more melodic neofolk, electronic and dark ambient approach...
's growing musical collective and further activities and releases are scheduled.
As part of the joint performance between Changes and Allerseelen in Russia in November 2005, a split CD was produced by Indiestate in Moscow, "Men Among the Ruins", containing three new songs by Changes and also three new songs by Allerseelen. It was released in autumn 2006.
The LP "A Ripple in Time" was released by White Label on October 31, 2006. The LP contains several songs that Robert and Nicholas co-wrote in the late '60s and early '70s but had never recorded outside of rough recordings for personal or demo use. In the new studio recordings
Changes revised and enhanced the vocal harmonies, guitar work and embellishments to better reflect their current style. Also included on the album is the new song "Somewhere in the Night" and two new guitar instrumentals, "Eldorado" and "Paradiso", thus essentially bridging the years from Changes' inception to the group's present incarnation. The album will later become available in CD format with extra tracks.
A limited edition LP, Legends, was released by HauRuck! on July 17, 2007. Though an LP version of their work originally published as a CD by Taproot Productions in 1998, this version contains additional musical interludes that had not been previously recorded. The graphics of the gatefold cover, though similar to those of the CD, were completely revised. Robert Ferbrache of Studio Absenta also revised the dynamics of the sound. "Legends" is a six part song with each part retelling a story of heroism in six major European regions: "Homeric" (Greece), "The Aeneid" (Italy), "Eddic" (Scandinavia), "Song of Igor" (Russia), "Arthurian" (United Kingdom) and "El Cid" (Spain/Iberia).
In 2008, again as part of the Folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
collective of Werkraum
Werkraum
-Overview:Growing up in the fields of experimental music and post-industrial music with several other projects since the early 1990s, Axel Frank began to adapt a more melodic neofolk, electronic and dark ambient approach...
, both Nicholas and Robert were involved in the release of the very well received traditional album "Early Love Music" (once again via Steinklang Industries), which Nicholas contributed several vocal and lyric parts as well as guitars for, while Robert Taylor interprets narrative poems and the song "Casey", well-known from the old classic by Shawn Phillips
Shawn Phillips
Shawn Phillips is a folk-rock musician, primarily influential in the 1960s and 1970s.Phillips has recorded twenty albums and worked with musicians including Donovan, Paul Buckmaster, J. Peter Robinson, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bernie Taupin, and many others...
song: "A Ballad of Casey Deiss", helped by Denver-based legend Bob Ferbrache in guitar and recordings. Having worked for this exceptional work, the Changes duo returns to a side of its roots, contributing to inspiring ideas from the late sixties and giving the outcome of Axel Frank from Werkraum
Werkraum
-Overview:Growing up in the fields of experimental music and post-industrial music with several other projects since the early 1990s, Axel Frank began to adapt a more melodic neofolk, electronic and dark ambient approach...
their authentic touch.
Changes' fifth studio album "Lament" was released in February, 2010. This album was an outgrowth of Robert and Nicholas's lives following the dissolutions of each of their marriages of many years. Poignant songs include, "The Invisible Man", "Emily" (based on the life of Emily Dickinson), "The End of the Road", a remix of "Mountains of Sorrow" by the members of Der Blutharsch consisting of a dramatic musical background to a voice-over of R. N. Taylor's heart-felt poetic verse. Also included are remakes of three of Changes' earlier works: "The Saddest Thing", "Memorabilia" and "Sweet Eve" (the last featuring the vocal talents of Jane Elizabeth of TESCO US).
Albums and EPs
| Year | Title | Format, Special Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Fire Of Life | 7", 2 tracks. |
| 1996 | Fire Of Life | CD, full album. |
| 1998 | Legends | CD |
| 2001 | Fire Of Life | CD, LP |
| 2001 | Orphan In The Storm | CD, LP |
| 2001 | Time | 10" |
| 2004 | Hero Takes His Stand | 2xLP, live at the Flammenzauber festival. |
| 2005 | Twilight | 7" |
| 2005 | Untitled | CD, split with Andrew King Andrew King Andrew King or Andy King may refer to:*Andrew King , member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri*Andy King , British Labour politician... . |
| 2006 | Men Among the Ruins | CD, split with Allerseelen |
| 2006 | A Ripple in Time | LP |
| 2007 | Legends | LP |
| 2010 | Lament | CD |
External links
- Official Changes website
- Biography and discography at discogs.com
- An Interview with Robert N. Taylor of Changes on Alternative Right (February 17, 2011).
- Robert N. Taylor Changes Interview on Neo-Form.
- Interview with Robert N. Taylor from February to April 1996 by Fluxeuropa. Mirror:http://www.fluxeuropa.com/roberttaylor-interview.htm