Majeure is an American
space rock
Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...
and kraut rock outlet for the Pittsburgh based musician Anthony E. Paterra. He has released four studio albums, two collaborations, an EP and a remix EP. As Majeure, Paterra has performed live internationally.
Career
At the age of 12, Paterra became interested in electronic music after seeing the film ''
Dawn of the Dead'', which featured music by
Goblin
A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on ...
.
During his teens, Paterra took up drumming and developed an interest in progressive rock, sci-fi and horror soundtracks.
In the early 2000s drummer Paterra formed the band
Zombi together with Steve Moore.
They released four albums together and toured as support to
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
,
Trans Am and
The Psychic Paramount
The Psychic Paramount is an American experimental rock group from New York City that was formed in 2002.
History
The band was formed by guitarist Drew St. Ivany and bassist Ben Armstrong after the dissolution of noise rock band Laddio Bolocko. ...
.
In 2007 the band ceased touring and Paterra began to explore his solo recordings while continuing to collaborate with Moore.
He signed to
Temporary Residence Limited
Temporary Residence Limited (shortened TRL) is a Brooklyn, New York-based record label. TRL was started in Louisville, Kentucky in 1996 by Jeremy DeVine, and initially concentrated on releasing music by Louisville-based bands. and released the debut
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
, ''Timespan'' in 2009.
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
gave the track "Teleforce" a seven out of ten rating, saying it is a "welcome and exhilarating breath of fresh air". Self Titled described the band as "disco music for paranoid androids". In July 2010 a remix EP featuring contributions by Steve Moore,
Justin K Broadrick and
Black Strobe appeared. In December 2011 he released the three track EP ''Synthesizer Of The Gods''.
His second album, ''Solar Maximum'' was released in October 2012.
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
critic, Heather Phares noted "While the album is satisfyingly epic, Paterra's real artistry is in how he brings listeners back down to earth frequently enough so they don't get lost in space.
Moore and Paterra reconvened Zombi to support Goblin on their 2013 North American tour.
In June 2014, Paterra released the album ''Termination Shock'' on VCO Recordings and Music Fear Satan. In October 2015 the ''Union of Worlds'' album appeared on Constellation Tatsu. Paterra featured on the second Brain Machine album ''Peaks'', released in May 2016. In June 2016 Majeure toured as support to
Black Mountain.
He also forms the duo Contact with the English film-maker and musician Paul Lawler.
After VCO Recordings (part-owned by Paterra) has released the Lawler album ''Opus'', the two decided to collaborate under the name Contact. In October 2014 they released the four track EP ''First Contact'' on Temporary Residence. In June 2016 they released the album ''Zero Moment,'' it was preceded by the streaming of the song "Sensorium" on Soundcloud.
Style
Paterra performs both as a drummer and electronic musician. He uses looping synthesizer beats to create the music for his Majeure outlet, while in Zombi and Contact he plays drums.
He uses
DSI Mono evolver and a
Moog Source
The Moog Source is a monophonic Z80 microprocessor-controlled analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 1981 to 1985. The Source was Moog's first synthesizer to offer patch memory storage. The design was also the first (and only) Moog sy ...
.
Discography
;Albums
*''Timespan'' (
Temporary Residence A temporary resident is a foreign national granted the right to stay in a country for a certain length of time (e.g. with a visa or ), without full citizenship. This may be for study, business, or other reasons.
Various countries have their own ru ...
, 2010)
*''Brainstorm'' (split LP with
Steve Moore, Temporary Residence, 2012)
*''Solar Maximum'' (Temporary Residence, 2012)
*''Termination Shock'' (VCO, 2014)
*''Union of Worlds'' ( Constellation Tatsu, 2015)
*''Timespan Redux'' (2018)
EPs
* ''Timespan remixes'' (2010)
* ''Synthesizer Of The Gods'' (2011)
* ''Apex'' (2017)
As Contact
Album
* ''Zero Moment'' (2016)
EP
* ''First Contact'' (2014)
References
{{Authority control
Musical groups from Pittsburgh
American space rock musical groups
American instrumental musical groups
Temporary Residence Limited artists