Ultra Vivid Scene was an American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band, started by

Kurt Ralske Kurt is a male given name of Germanic or Turkish origin. ''Kurt'' or ''Curt'' originated as short forms of the Germanic Conrad (name), Conrad, depending on geographical usage, with meanings including counselor or advisor. In Turkish, Kurt (surn ...

Background

Former Nothing But Happiness and

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

guitarist Ralske started Ultra Vivid Scene in 1987, was signed to 4AD Records in 1988, and released his first UVS EP, ''She Screamed'', in 1988. The debut album '' Ultra Vivid Scene'' released October 1988, was written, produced and performed entirely by Ralske, whose influences include

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...

and

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. After signing to independent label Creation Records, they re ...

. The second album, '' Joy 1967-1990'', was released in April 1990. The same month they played their first tour dates in the United Kingdom. The last album, '' Rev'', was released in October 1992, and was performed by a band comprising Julius Klepacz (drums) and Jack Daley (bass) with Ralske on vocals and guitar. This album was picked up by the Chaos imprint of Columbia Records (Sony Music Distribution) during the time rival

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

was having some success with its imprints' 4AD relationships (4AD/Sire, 4AD/Elektra, 4AD/Reprise). As a live act, Ultra Vivid Scene performed only a handful of US dates in support of the first album in 1989. The second album in 1990 was supported by one month of touring in Europe and two months in the US. 1993 saw one month of US tour dates for the third and final album. Ralske has gone on to do solo work, and has also produced albums for such artists as Rasputina,

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

and Charles Douglas. His last known musical endeavor was his 2001 solo release ''Amor 0 + 01''. Since that time, Ralske has worked as a visual artist.

Videos

In the "Mercy Seat" video, a young Moby appears playing the guitar, as he performed with the group at the time that single was released. The 1990 video for the song ''Special One'' featured guest singer

Kim Deal Kimberley Ann Deal (born June 10, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was the bassist and the co-vocalist in the alternative rock band Pixies, before forming the Breeders in 1989. Deal joined Pixies in January ...

from the

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...

Discography

Singles

Albums

*'' Ultra Vivid Scene'' (1988) 4AD/ Columbia (UK Indie #10) *'' Joy 1967-1990'' (1990) 4AD/Columbia *'' Rev'' (1992) 4AD/Columbia

References

External links

UVS ArchiveKurt Ralske's SiteDISCOGS
{{Authority control 4AD artists Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1993