Hugo Largo was an American musical group formed in 1984, known for their unique lineup: two

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

s, a

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

and singer/performance artist

Mimi Goese Mimi Goese (last name rhymes with ''hazy'') is an American professional musician. Career Goese was the vocalist for dream pop band Hugo Largo. Solo Under the mononym "Mimi", she released a solo album, ''Soak'', on the Luaka Bop label, with contri ...

. Their sound has been characterized as

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ...

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...

, ambient and

avant-rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

History

Hugo Largo formed in 1984, initially as a trio featuring vocalist Goese and bassists

Tim Sommer Timothy Andrew Sommer (born March 5, 1962 in New York City) is an American music journalist, musician, record producer and former Atlantic Records A&R representative. Sommer was the bass player for the slowcore/dreampop band Hugo Largo. Mus ...

WNYU WNYU-FM (89.1 FM) is a college radio station owned and operated by New York University. Its offices and studios are located at NYU's campus in lower Manhattan. WNYU's main transmitter is located at University Heights in the Bronx, the former lo ...

DJ, journalist for ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' and ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'', and former member of

Even Worse ''Even Worse'' is the fifth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on April 12, 1988. The album was produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between November 1987 and February 1988, this album helped to revitalize ...

and

Swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

) and Greg Letson (who Sommer had met while they played together in the

Glenn Branca Glenn may refer to: Name or surname * Glenn (name) * John Glenn, U.S. astronaut Cultivars * Glenn (mango) * a 6-row barley variety Places In the United States: * Glenn, California * Glenn County, California * Glenn, Georgia, a settleme ...

Ensemble). In January 1985, Letson left, and was replaced by Adam Peacock. Shortly thereafter, they were joined on violin by

Hahn Rowe Hahn Rowe is an American violinist, guitarist, composer, and engineer/producer, involved in a wide range of projects. He also performs using the stage name Somatic. Career Originally a violinist and guitarist with New York City dream-poppers H ...

, who had been engineering their live sound. In February 1987, they released the

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Pos ...

-produced EP ''

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

'' on

Relativity Records Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metro New York. Relativity released music that covers a wide variety of musical genres. When it entered in ...

(Stipe also sang backing vocals on two tracks). The EP was reissued in 1988 as a full album with additional material on

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop a ...

's label, Opal Records. Their second album, '' Mettle'', was released in 1989, first on Opal, then on All Saints Records (and on Land Records in the United Kingdom). This lineup of the band performed their final shows in July 1989. In late 1990, Goese, Peacock and Rowe decided to reform the band without founding member Sommer (who had become an

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

veejay), and recruited bassist Bill Stair (ex-

Art Objects A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

) via an ad in ''

''. This new lineup of Hugo Largo spent several months rehearsing and composing new material before making their debut at a sold-out gig at the

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

in New York City on April 12, 1991, with Stipe and Mike Mills of R.E.M. - in New York for a taping of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'' - in attendance. The reformed lineup played several more shows in New York, but a third album was never recorded (although some demos and live recordings were made). Hugo Largo played their last gig at the Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage on September 5, 1991.

Later projects

Under the name Mimi, Goese released a solo album, ''Soak'', in 1998, and has collaborated with artists like

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

and

Ben Neill Ben Neill (b. November 14, 1957) is an American composer, trumpeter, producer, and educator. He is the inventor of the "Mutantrumpet", a hybrid electro-acoustic instrument. Early life, family and education Neill was born in Winston-Salem, Nort ...

. Sommer later played with the New Orleans-based Hi-Fi Sky, who released ''Music for Synchronized Swimming in Space'' in 2005.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1988, Opal Records) *'' Mettle'' (1989, Opal Records/ All Saints Records)

Singles and EPs

*''Drum'' 12" EP (1987,

) *"Turtle Song" 12" single (1989, Land Records)

References

External links

Unofficial website
American ambient music groups American pop music groups Musical groups established in 1984 All Saints Records artists {{US-band-stub