Dif Juz
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Dif Juz were an English instrumental
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
band, formed in London in 1980 and remaining active until 1986. The band comprised Dave Curtis (guitar), Alan Curtis (guitar), Gary Bromley (bass guitar) and Richard Thomas (percussion and saxophone).


Background

Dif Juz band developed out of the
punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band London Pride that was formed by the Curtis brothers. In late 1979, Alan Curtis was involved with new wave band
Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...
. He apparently disappeared and missed a particularly volatile gig after the band hired the owners of the Birmingham
Rum Runner Rum-running, or bootlegging, is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. The term ''rum-running'' is more commonly applied to smuggling over water; ''bootlegging'' is applied to smuggl ...
nightclub as managers. In a 2003 interview, John Taylor (bass guitarist for Duran Duran) said "straight away Alan Curtis skipped town, thinking getting involved with two nightclub owners meant he would end up in pieces down a city alleyway." Following Alan Curtis' return to London, he resumed his collaboration with his brother Dave and Richard Thomas (all of whom played in London Pride), and was joined by Gary Bromley. They determined to create something new and different. Dave Curtis was a trained classical guitarist, Alan Curtis's guitar play was self-taught and innovative, Thomas had a thirst for mastering wind instruments and production values, and Bromley's bass playing, whilst honed in West London, could have found home in
Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...
, Jamaica. The resulting soundscape was dense, atmospheric, and spacious, driven by pounding bass lines and rhythm. The name Dif Juz, according to Thomas, was a spur-of-the-moment utterance that "didn't mean anything". The band signed with the
4AD 4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...
label, and a demo was played by
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
. The band performed a number of gigs in the London area in 1981, most notably at the Moonlight Club in West Hampstead and at
Ealing Town Hall Ealing Town Hall is a municipal building in New Broadway, Ealing, London, England. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building was commissioned to replace the old town hall, designed by the town surveyor, Charles Jones, in The Mall ...
. The band's debut album with the label, '' Extractions'', was released in 1985. It reached No. 11 on the
UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the ...
. The band befriended fellow labelmates
Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock music, rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 19 ...
and frequently collaborated with them. Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie produced several of their recordings and vocalist
Elizabeth Fraser Elizabeth Davidson Fraser (born 29 August 1963) is a Scottish singer. She was the vocalist for the band Cocteau Twins, who achieved success in the UK from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. Their studio albums '' Victorialand'' (1986) and '' H ...
sang on "Love Insane" from the album ''Extractions''; in turn, Thomas played saxophone and
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on Cocteau Twins' 1986 album '' Victorialand''. Occasionally, the two bands toured together and played together at the Sadlers Wells Theatre. Although the band was mainly instrumental, they occasionally worked with a vocalist from North London, Hollis Chambers. At one point they served as a backing band for
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
/ dub luminary Lee Scratch Perry for a few live dates. A studio album of this collaboration was recorded with Robin Guthrie as producer, but the album was never released and sits unheard in the 4AD vaults.


Present

The band never officially disbanded. However, due to health issues, neither Dave Curtis nor Bromley were able to devote the time needed to the band, and this led to a "slow dissolve". For a time, the band continued with bass player Scott Rodger who performed recorded with the band on "Out of The Trees" and subsequent touring, but the spark seemed to be diminishing. The final step to dissolution occurred when Thomas became a touring drummer for
The Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid, who are the two founders and only consistent members of the ...
. Thomas has also worked with Butterfly Child,
Moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...
,
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, Cocteau Twins, The Wolfgang Press and April March. In 2017 Thomas joined with Simon Raymonde (former Cocteau Twins) under the name of Lost Horizons, releasing music via the Bella Union label. Bromley lives in Louisville, Kentucky where he hosts his weekly radio show, Outernational with Sir Basil Bromley, on ARTxFM and continues to release solo material. He has been a major influence on many of the bands that are based in Louisville and often performs with an outfit called The Children. Bromley is seen as a major contributor to the dub and reggae scene in Louisville. Dave Curtis spent some time collaborating with the Wolfgang Press,
This Mortal Coil This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotat ...
and Tranquil Trucking Company.


Discography

; Studio albums * ''Time Clock Turn Back'' (1983) * ''Who Says So?'' (1983) * '' Extractions'' (1985) ; EPs * ''Huremics'' (1981) * ''Vibrating Air'' (1981) ; Compilation albums * ''Out of the Trees'' (1986) * ''Soundpool'' (1999)


References


External links


Dif Juz discography
at
Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

Dif Juz biography on 4AD's official website
{{Authority control 4AD artists 1980 establishments in England English gothic rock groups British instrumental musical groups British dream pop musical groups English post-punk music groups Punk rock groups from London Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups disestablished in 1986 Cocteau Twins