Swell Maps originally consisted of brothers Epic Soundtracks (Kevin Godfrey) and Nikki Sudden (Nicholas Godfrey) from Birmingham, England. According to allmusic.com, they were "named after the charts used by surfers to gauge wave intensities." Although exisiting as far back as 1972, the group really took shape around '76 or '77 after adding members Richard Earl, David Barrington, John Cockrill and Jowe Head. They sporadically released singles until 1979 when they released their first album, A Trip to Marineville. Their music contributed to the rise of post-punk through its combination of snarly punk and Krautrock inspired noise. Throughout all of Jane from Occupied Europe, the Swell Maps sound as though they were at an extremely high level of creativity. They remained true to the sound of A Trip to Marineville while becoming even more sophisticated at integrating their songs and experimenation. I've yet to hear any of their compilations of unreleased material, but I've been highly interested for some time.
R.I.P.
Epic Soundtracks - 23 March 1959 - 5 November 1997
Nikki Sudden - 19 July 1956 – 26 March 2006
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4 comments:
I bought this from Rough Trade in Notting Hill on its day of release and it remains one of my favourite ever records by my favourite band. They were a huge influence on the American bands who transformed post-punk during the Eighties especially Sonic Youth. If you've not heard A Trip To Marineville go immediately to your nearest record store and buy a copy.
Right on. Love this band so much.
Very informative and helpful. This is a nice information shared here. Keep Posting :)
Right on. Love this band so much.
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