
Airway is an American musical ensemble based within the
Los Angeles Free Music Society
The Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS) is a loose underground collective of experimental avant-rock artist-musicians formed in 1973. Described as a "lightning rod for art-damage, weird-music lovers everywhere," LAFMS was formed by Chip Chapm ...
.
Airway was initially a solo project of
Le Forte Four member
Joe Potts
Joe Potts was a British racing driver, turned racing car manufacturer, of the 1950s. He designed and constructed his 'JP' racing cars for the Formula 3 and Formule Libre racing classes. These are among the few single-seater racing cars to have ...
.
The first release was the ''Airway'' 7", which featured
subliminal message
Subliminal stimuli (; ' literally "below" or "less than") are any sensory stimuli below an individual's threshold or limit for conscious perception, in contrast to stimuli (above threshold). Visual stimuli may be quickly flashed before an indiv ...
s to coincide with an art exhibition in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. In August 1978 Airway made their live debut at the Lace Gallery. This lineup featured Potts and Chip Chapman on electronics, Vetza on vocals, Rick Potts on mandolin, Dennis Duck on saxophone, Juan Gomez on bass, and
Tom Recchion on drums. They attempted to create
subliminal message
Subliminal stimuli (; ' literally "below" or "less than") are any sensory stimuli below an individual's threshold or limit for conscious perception, in contrast to stimuli (above threshold). Visual stimuli may be quickly flashed before an indiv ...
s beneath a
wall of noise
''Wall of Noise'' is a 1963 American drama film directed by Richard Wilson, written by Joseph Landon, and starring Suzanne Pleshette, Ty Hardin, Dorothy Provine, Ralph Meeker, Simon Oakland and Jimmy Murphy. It was released by Warner Bros. o ...
by using
tape delay. Recordings from the performance were released as ''Live At LACE'' by the
Los Angeles Free Music Society
The Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS) is a loose underground collective of experimental avant-rock artist-musicians formed in 1973. Described as a "lightning rod for art-damage, weird-music lovers everywhere," LAFMS was formed by Chip Chapm ...
. "Live at LACE" was reissued by Harbinger Sound in 2006.
Throughout 1978 the group performed more concerts with differing lineups, but always with Joe Potts' subliminal message experiments. The project disbanded in 1979. Airway reformed in 1998 for a performance at the
Santa Monica Museum of Art
The Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (ICA LA; formerly known as the Santa Monica Museum of Art) is a contemporary art museum in Los Angeles, California, United States. As an independent and non-collecting art museum (or kunsthalle), it e ...
, which featured 18 musicians. Recordings from the performance were released as ''Beyond the Pink Live'' by the
Cortical Foundation.
Their sound influenced the Japanese noise band
Hijokaidan
is a Japanese noise and free improvisation group with a revolving lineup that has ranged from two members to as many as fourteen in its early days. The group is the project of guitarist , its one constant member, who is head and owner of the O ...
.
Discography
*
Live at LACE (1978, reissued on CD in 2006 and on LP in 2009)
*
Live at Beyond The Pink
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
* ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film
*'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...
(2001)
See also
*
Los Angeles Free Music Society
The Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS) is a loose underground collective of experimental avant-rock artist-musicians formed in 1973. Described as a "lightning rod for art-damage, weird-music lovers everywhere," LAFMS was formed by Chip Chapm ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Airway (Band)
Musical groups from Los Angeles