Labradford is a U.S.
post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...
musical group from
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
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, founded in 1992.
[Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Labradford" in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 827] They have released six full albums from 1993 to 2001. Though not disbanded, its members have since been active with separate projects.
Biography
Founded in 1991, Labradford consists of
bassist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...
Robert Donne,
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
/vocalist Mark Nelson, and
keyboardist
A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...
Carter Brown. Their music style is experimental
ambient
Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to:
Music and sound
* Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds
* Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere
* ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby
* ...
and
post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...
,
[Cooper, Sean " Labradford Biography, ]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 databas ...
, retrieved 2010-10-23 although their first releases were much more related to dark
drone rock
Drone music, drone-based music, or simply drone, is a minimalist genre that emphasizes the use of sustained sounds, notes, or tone clusters – called drones. It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harmon ...
.
[Raggett, Ned " ''Prazision'' Review, ]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 databas ...
, retrieved 2010-10-23
After a début single in 1992, they were signed by
Kranky (which has remained their home since) who issued their début album ''
Prazision LP
''Prazision LP'' is the debut studio album by American post-rock band Labradford. It was released in October 1993 by Kranky, serving as the label's first album release. It was re-released by Kranky on November 12, 2007, with an additional trac ...
'' in 1993.
The group's music mostly drifts on the guitar effects and the keyboard passages, with the vocals, when present, in the background.
In 1999, they started a tour with
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation, an independent record label also located i ...
and their Festival of Drifting series, which featured appearances from
Pole
Pole may refer to:
Astronomy
*Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets
*Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...
,
Robin Guthrie
Robin Andrew Guthrie (born 4 January 1962) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, composer, record producer and audio engineer, best known as the co-founder of the alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has performed ...
,
Matmos
Matmos is an experimental electronic music duo originally from San Francisco but now residing in Baltimore. M. C. (Martin) Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their per ...
,
Papa M
David Pajo (born June 25, 1968) is an American alternative rock musician. He has played a wide variety of music, loosely fitting into several other genres such as hardcore punk, math rock, post-rock, electronica, folk rock and indie pop. Though ...
, and
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...
.
Though the group has not officially disbanded, they have not released another album since 2001's critically acclaimed ''
Fixed::Context'', and the band members have apparently moved away from their former base of
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
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, pushpin_label = Richmond
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.
Robert Donne
Robert Donne (born 1967) is a musician and film composer from Richmond, Virginia. He has recorded works with a variety of groups and individuals including Labradford (Kranky), Aix Em Klemm (Kranky), Spokane (Jagjaguwar), Gregor Samsa, Cristal (F ...
has joined the
slow-core group
Spokane
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...
, and is currently joining
Gregor Samsa
''Metamorphosis'' (german: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himsel ...
for their European tour. Mark Nelson continues to release records on
Kranky under the name
Pan American
Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to:
* Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean
* Something of, from, or related to the Americas
* Pan-Amer ...
.
Discography
Full albums
* 1993: ''
Prazision LP
''Prazision LP'' is the debut studio album by American post-rock band Labradford. It was released in October 1993 by Kranky, serving as the label's first album release. It was re-released by Kranky on November 12, 2007, with an additional trac ...
''
* 1995: ''
A Stable Reference
''A Stable Reference'' is the second studio album by American post-rock band Labradford, released on May 23, 1995 by Kranky.
Reception
Reviewing ''A Stable Reference'' for AllMusic, Ned Raggett stated, "The biggest change on ''Reference'' h ...
''
* 1996: ''
Labradford
Labradford is a U.S. post-rock musical group from Richmond, Virginia, founded in 1992.Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Labradford" in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 827 They have released six full albums from 1993 to 2001. Though not ...
''
* 1997: ''
Mi Media Naranja
''Mi Media Naranja'' ("My Better Half" in Spanish) is the fourth studio album by American post-rock band Labradford. It was released on October 13, 1997 by Blast First and on November 19, 1997 by Kranky.
In 2016, '' Fact'' placed ''Mi Media ...
''
* 1999: ''
E Luxo So
''E Luxo So'' is the fifth studio album by the Virginian post-rock band Labradford, released on July 13, 1999, by Blast First and Kranky. The titles of the album's six songs are made up of the recording and production credits. Track 4, "By C ...
''
* 2001: ''
Fixed::Context''
Other releases
* 1992: "Everlast", U.S. 7", Retro 8 (now collected on ''Prazision LP'': A-side since the 1993 CD, B-side since its 2007 remaster)
* 1995: "Julius", U.S. 7", Merge
* 1996: "Scenic Recovery", UK 10", Duophonic
* 1996: ''The Kahanek Incident, Vol. 3'', U.S. 12" (split with
Stars of the Lid
Stars of the Lid is an American ambient music duo consisting of Brian McBride and Adam Wiltzie. The duo formed in Austin, Texas in 1993. They have been acclaimed for their music incorporating droning, effects-treated guitars along with piano, st ...
), Trance Syndicate
* 2000: ''Ene'', 10" LP split with Surfers of Romantica, Eerie Materials
Compilation appearances
* 1992: Repugnating The Wombat US CS Retro 8
* 1994: Dixie Flatline (Wilson Interrupt Mix), Skyliner (live) US CD Radioactive Rat
* 1994: Ambient 4: Isolationism Air Lubricated Free Axis Trainer UK 2CD Virgin AMBT 4
* 1994: The Church Song (remix of a Jim O'Rourke track) US CD Astralwerks ASW6153
* 1995: Excursions In Ambience IV: The Fourth Frontier
* 1996: Newman Passage, Pico / Elec. Security UK CD Blast First bffp141cde
* 1996: Volume 16, The Window UK CD Volume 16 VCD16
* 1996: Monsters, Rugrats and Bugmen, Sedr 77 UK 2CD Virgin ambt111
* 1998: The Wire Tapper 2
iven away free with The Wire issue 177, November 1998V (Harold Budd Remix) UK CD WIRECD002
* 1999: Drifing A.F.U.
imited edition CD given away free at Labradford's ''Second Festival of Drifting'', 1999* 2000: The Wire Tapper 5
iven away free with The Wire issue 193, March 2000So Remix (Matmos Remix), UK CD WIRECD005
* 2016: By Chris Johnston, Craig Markva, Jamie Evans (Original Version), The Young Pope Soundtrack, WB CD 5054197508028
See also
*
List of ambient music artists
This is a list of ambient music artists. This includes artists who have either been very important to the genre or have had a considerable amount of exposure (such as those who have been on a major label). This list does not include little-known ...
*
Pan American
Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to:
* Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean
* Something of, from, or related to the Americas
* Pan-Amer ...
, solo project of band member Mark Nelson
References
External links
Labradfordat
Brainwashed
Brainwashed may refer to:
*Brainwashing, to affect a person's mind by using extreme mental pressure or any other mind-affecting process
Music Albums
* Brainwashed (George Harrison album), ''Brainwashed'' (George Harrison album), 2002, or the ...
(official website)
Labradfordat
Kranky
*
{{Authority control
Music of Richmond, Virginia
Ambient music groups
American experimental rock groups
American post-rock groups
Blast First artists
Trance Syndicate artists
Drone music groups
Musical groups from Virginia