Eyeless in Gaza (band)
| Eyeless in Gaza | |
|---|---|
Peter Becker of Eyeless in Gaza, 2010
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1980–1987, 1993–present |
| Labels | Cherry Red, Ambivalent Scale |
| Associated acts | In Embrace, Hungry I, Drift, Twelve Thousand Days |
| Website | www |
| Members | Martyn Bates Peter Becker Elizabeth S. (occasional member) |
| Past members | Joby Palmer |
Eyeless In Gaza are an English musical duo of Martyn Bates and Peter Becker, based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. They have described their music as "veer[ing] crazily from filmic ambiance to rock and pop, industrial funk to avant-folk styles." Formed in 1980, the group went into hiatus in 1987, re-emerging in 1993.
Becker, a laboratory technician, had played in a covers band before buying and experimenting with a Wasp synthesizer (he released a solo cassette-album in June 1980 and a second a year later). Bates, a hospital worker, had previously been in a very early lineup of the unclassifiable Coventry-based band Reluctant Stereotypes, and also released a cassette of experimental electronic music in January 1980. Shortly afterwards they met (interestingly after having both been turned down for membership in Nuneaton's other famous band, Bron Area) and together they formed Eyeless in Gaza, both contributing vocals and several instruments. The band name is a reference to the novel Eyeless in Gaza by Aldous Huxley (which in turn was influenced by John Milton's Samson Agonistes). Bates has said he chose the name "for the sound of it.... I was reading the Huxley book when I met Pete.... It sounded perfectly nice." But Bates has also acknowledged an allusion to the "biblical myth" of Samson, saying, "I feel attracted by religion. I feel that people don’t pay enough attention to the spiritual side of their life; it is a very interesting side of the human psychism and it fascinates me." (Interview in Les Inrockuptibles, number 14, 1988)
After a self-released single, Kodak Ghosts Run Amok, they signed to Cherry Red Records, releasing debut album Photographs as Memories in February 1981. The duo became known for their unconventional instrumentation and arrangements, and for Bates passionate vocals, which at times were howled, whispered, or stammered. After three further albums for Cherry Red and an album for Norwegian label Uniton, they added Aztec Camera drummer Dave Ruffy for the more pop-oriented single "Welcome Now" (1985), recruiting former Sinatras/In Embrace drummer Joby Palmer for the next album, Back from the Rains. They toured with Depeche Mode in 1986.
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