Locrian (band)
Encyclopedia
Locrian is an experimental music/drone rock band from Chicago
, Illinois
, United States
formed in late 2005.
In 2009, the band released their first studio album, Drenched Lands. The album was met with acclaim from the Chicago Tribune
, the Chicago Reader, and Rock-A-Rolla magazine. Locrian followed its release with a U.S. tour, including a special Pitchfork Media
sponsored 'Show No Mercy' show in New York City
, NY. Their 2009 Rain of Ashes release features two 30-minute long tracks recorded live at the University of Maryland's radio station WMUC. A second album, Territories, was released in 2010, which took the band in a more rock-oriented direction, featuring guest appearances from members of Nachtmystium
, Bloodyminded, Yakuza
, and Velnias, and this was followed by a third, The Crystal World, later the same year, the title coming from a J. G. Ballard
novel. The Crystal World features a new member, percussionist Steven Hess.
Locrian provided the soundtrack to Scott Treleaven
's film piece The Last 7 Words featuring Genesis P-Orridge
.
In addition to playing in the band, Terence Hannum is an installation artist who exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
in 2007, and at the Peeler Art Center in 2010. Both Hannum and Foisy teach at Columbia College Chicago
.
influences on The Crystal World. The band have identified krautrock
and 1990s death metal
as influences.
Chicago
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...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
formed in late 2005.
History
Locrian was formed in late 2005 by André Foisy and Terence Hannum, who had previously played together in Unlucky Atlas. Foisy is originally from Northern New York, while Hannum is from Florida. The group has released over 20 recordings in their relatively short lifespan, on labels such as Small Doses, Bloodlust!, and At War With False Noise, as well as on the group's private label Land of Decay.In 2009, the band released their first studio album, Drenched Lands. The album was met with acclaim from the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, the Chicago Reader, and Rock-A-Rolla magazine. Locrian followed its release with a U.S. tour, including a special Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
sponsored 'Show No Mercy' show in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, NY. Their 2009 Rain of Ashes release features two 30-minute long tracks recorded live at the University of Maryland's radio station WMUC. A second album, Territories, was released in 2010, which took the band in a more rock-oriented direction, featuring guest appearances from members of Nachtmystium
Nachtmystium
Nachtmystium is an American psychedelic black metal band formed by Blake Judd, formerly known as Azentrius, and Pat McCormick. The band's name is derived from the German word Nacht meaning "night", and the made-up term mystium which resembles the Latin adjective mysticum...
, Bloodyminded, Yakuza
Yakuza (band)
Yakuza is an avant-garde metal band, formed in Chicago in 1999. They have been acclaimed for their incorporation of jazz and world music elements.-History:...
, and Velnias, and this was followed by a third, The Crystal World, later the same year, the title coming from a J. G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
novel. The Crystal World features a new member, percussionist Steven Hess.
Locrian provided the soundtrack to Scott Treleaven
Scott Treleaven
Scott Treleaven is a Canadian artist whose work employs a variety of media including collage, film, video, drawing, photography and installation.-Artwork:...
's film piece The Last 7 Words featuring Genesis P-Orridge
Genesis P-Orridge
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge is an English singer-songwriter, musician, writer and artist. P-Orridge's early confrontational performance work in COUM Transmissions in the late 1960s and early 1970s along with the industrial band Throbbing Gristle, which dealt with subjects such as prostitution,...
.
In addition to playing in the band, Terence Hannum is an installation artist who exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues...
in 2007, and at the Peeler Art Center in 2010. Both Hannum and Foisy teach at Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago
Columbia College Chicago is one of the largest art colleges in the United States with nearly 12,000 students pursuing degrees within 120 undergraduate and graduate programs...
.
Musical style
The band's music was described by Allmusic as an "eclectic mixture of black metal, electronics, drone, and noise rock". Allmusic writer Ned Raggett also identified progressive rockProgressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
influences on The Crystal World. The band have identified krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
and 1990s death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
as influences.
2008
- "Exhuming the Carnival/Burying the Carnival" Cassette (Self-Released)
- "Greyfield Shrines" LP (Diophantine Discs)
- "Plague Journal 7" (Bloodlust!)
- "Rhetoric of Surfaces" CDR (Bloodlust!)
- "Ruins of Morning (Plague Journal)" CDR(Crank Satori)
- "Ruins of Morning (Plague Journal)" Cassette (Catholic Tapes)
- "Locrian/Colossus" Cassette (Heavy Nature Tapes)
- "Locrian/Continent" Cassette (Self-Released)
2009
- "Drenched Lands" CD (Small Doses/At War With False Noise)
- "Drenched Lands" LP +3 CD (Bloodlust!)
- "Land of Contamination" Cassette (Land of Decay)
- "Land of Erosion" Cassette (Land of Decay)
- "Land of Decay" VHS +3" CD (Land of Decay)
- "Locrian/Katchmare" 7" (Pilgrim Talk)
- "Visible/Invisible" 3" CD (Small Doses)
- Rain of Ashes CD
Members
- André Foisy—guitar, bass, percussion
- Terence Hannum—vocals, synthesizers, organs, tapes, guitar,