Abecedarians were an American, Los Angeles–based
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 ...
trio, active in the mid to late 1980s. The lineup consisted of Chris Manecke (guitar, vocals, keyboards), Kevin Dolan (drums) and John Blake (bass). They specialized in sparse, guitar-driven post-punk, though their most well-known song, "Smiling Monarchs", is
alternative dance
Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the United States) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained worldwide exposure ...
in the vein of
New Order, and was in fact mixed by that band's guitar player and vocalist,
Bernard Sumner
Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English musician. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, Electronic, and Bad Lieutenant. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the post-punk, synth-pop, and ...
.
Discography
*1985: "Smiling Monarchs"/"Benway's Carnival" (single,
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.
The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...
)
*1986: ''Eureka'' (mini-LP, Southwest Audio Reproductions)
*1987: ''Eureka'' (re-release,
Caroline Records
Caroline Records is a record label that was founded in 1973. Founded in the United Kingdom to showcase British progressive rock groups, the label ceased releasing titles in 1976 and then re-emerged in the United States in 1986. The label rel ...
)
*1988: ''Resin'' (LP, Carlina Records)
*1988: ''AB-CD'' (CD, Carlina Records)
*1990: ''The Other Side Of The Fence'' (
Independent Project Records Independent Project Records (IPR) is an independent record label based in Bishop, California. It was founded by Bruce Licher in 1980 in Los Angeles, then moved to Sedona, Arizona, between 1992 and 2009. The label started when the ''Project 197'' 7†...
) - recordings from 1983 to 1985
*2012: ''Eureka'' (re-release, Pylon)
An instrumental edit of "Soil" (from ''Eureka'') was used in the 1987 film ''Billabong: Surf Into Summer''. "They Said Tomorrow" (from ''The Other Side of the Fence'') appeared on Trance Port Tapes' ''L.A. Mantra II'' in 1984 and its
Calypso Now reissue in 1985. It was also used on
Geffen Records
Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...
' ''Scream: The Compilation'' in 1987. Abecedarians' single "Smiling Monarchs" appeared on more compilation albums than any of their other songs: ''Hardest Hits Volume Two'' (SPG Music, 1992); ''Voices In The Air'' (Wavestation, 1993); ''Too Young To Know, Too Wild To Care...1978–1992 The Factory Story Part One'' (
London Records
London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
, 1997); and ''Auteur Labels: Factory Records 1984'' (Les Temps Modernes, 2009). "Benway's Carnival" appeared on Les Temps Modernes' 2010 ''Auteur Labels: Independent Project Records'' CD.
References
External links
Abecedarians at MySpace
{{Authority control
Factory Records artists
American experimental musical groups
American post-punk music groups
American new wave musical groups
Caroline Records artists
Musical groups established in 1983