Martin Swope (b. June 1, 1955,

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

, Michigan, US) is an American musician and composer. He was the tape manipulator and sound engineer for the Boston-based postpunk band Mission of Burma from 1979–1983, when they split up due to lead vocalist/

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 ...

Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...

's problem with the hearing disorder tinnitus. Swope's first role was as a tape loop engineer for Mission of Burma's live performances, but his role gradually evolved into live sound mixing as well. From his seat off stage at the mixing console, Swope used a reel to reel tape machine to record and manipulate sounds produced by the musicians onstage by speeding or slowing them, reversing them and/or creating tape loops. These techniques were inspired by composers like

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

and Karlheinz Stockhausen who earlier led Miller (also a pianist) to write compositions for piano and tape loops. Swope would then re-introduce the manipulated tape effects into the

public address A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...

system, essentially as fourth instrument. The tape effects ranged from recognizable as their original source, or distorted and manipulated beyond recognition; see the live album ''

The Horrible Truth About Burma ''The Horrible Truth About Burma'' is a collection of live recordings by Boston-based post-punk band Mission of Burma, recorded during their 1983 farewell tour. The band had decided to retire because leader Roger Miller's chronic tinnitus had rea ...

'' whose songs feature Swope's tape work perhaps most clearly among their discography. Drummer Peter Prescott was quoted as saying it was difficult to predict how Swope's tape effects would sound in live performances, "and that andom factorgot to be the really fun thing." Journalist Michael Azerrad later wrote: "A lot of people never knew about Swope's contribution and were mystified by how the musicians onstage could wring such amazing phantom sounds from their instruments."Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life. Little, Brown and Company, 2001. Though his contribution is widely considered an integral part of Burma's sound, Swope very rarely appeared onstage, only occasionally appearing to play second guitar during encores. in 1981, Swope (on electric guitar) and Miller (on

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

) joined the mostly instrumental, classical-rock group Birdsongs of the Mesozoic that later became their main musical project. Miller left Birdsongs after their first album but Swope stayed until 1993 contributing guitar, percussion, tape effects and compositions to three albums. Swope declined to rejoin Mission of Burma when they reformed in 2002, and was replaced by Bob Weston of Shellac. Miller reported that Swope "dropped off the map" and moved to Hawaii.

Discography

With Mission of Burma *

Signals, Calls and Marches ''Signals, Calls, and Marches'' is an EP and the debut release by American post-punk band Mission of Burma. It was released in 1981 by record label Ace of Hearts. Content The album's first track is "That's When I Reach for My Revolver," whic ...

(Ace of Hearts 1981) * Vs. (Ace of Hearts 1982) *

(Ace of Hearts 1985) With Birdsongs of the Mesozoic * Birdsongs of the Mesozoic (Ace of Hearts, 1983) *

Magnetic Flip ''Magnetic Flip'' is the debut studio album of the American avant-rock band Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, released in 1984 by Ace of Hearts Records. Release and reception Never being individually issued on Compact Disc, only some of ''Magnetic Fl ...

(Ace of Hearts, 1984) *

Beat of the Mesozoic ''Beat of the Mesozoic'' is the second EP by the American Avant-rock band Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, released in 1985 by Ace of Hearts Records. Release and reception Brian Olewnick of Allmusic gave the album two out of five stars, saying that ...

(Ace of Hearts, 1986) * Faultline (Cuneiform, 1989) *

Pyroclastics Pyroclastic rocks (derived from the el, πῦρ, links=no, meaning fire; and , meaning broken) are clastic rocks composed of rock fragments produced and ejected by explosive volcanic eruptions. The individual rock fragments are known as pyroc ...

(Cuneiform, 1992)

References

1955 births Living people American male musicians 20th-century American musicians Mission of Burma members American post-punk musicians {{US-music-bio-stub