Savage Republic (originally named Africa Corps) is an American,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

-based

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

band, formed in the early 1980s. The group reformed in 2002 and remains active with a different lineup. They are known for lengthy songs with an emphasis on percussion and droning guitars.

History

The band was originally named Africa Corps, and was formed by

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

students Bruce Licher (guitar) and Mark Erskine (drums/percussion).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , pp. 490-491 They were joined by Philip Drucker (aka Jackson Del Rey), Robert Loveless, and Jeff Long.Enthal, Andrea & Robbins, Ira
Savage Republic
, ''

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 ...

''. Retrieved March 22, 2013 Shortly before the release of debut album ''Tragic Figures'' in 1982 (on Licher's own Independent Project label) they changed their name to Savage Republic.Unterberger, Richie
Savage Republic 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 dat ...

. Retrieved March 22, 2013 Licher was also responsible for the group's sleeve designs, which were hand-letterpressed and numbered by him. In early 1983, they issued a single, "Film Noir", backed with a version of "O Andonis" by Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis (from the Costa-Gavras film '' Z''), which garnered international attention. The group split up towards the end of 1983 with a second album partially completed; Loveless and Drucker completed it and it was released as an album (''Jedda by the Sea'') by their side project 17 Pygmies. ''Tragic Figures'' was issued in Europe in 1984 on the Sordide Sentimental label. A 7" EP of material recorded in 1981, '' Tragic Figure'', was also issued that year. The band returned in 1985 with the album ''Ceremonial'', followed in 1986 with the ''Trudge'' EP. A live double album was released in 1987.

Brad Laner Brad Laner (born November 6, 1966 in Los Angeles, California) is an American musician and record producer best known for his work with the shoegaze band Medicine, which he founded and led. Prior to Medicine, he was involved in avant-improv ba ...

joined prior to the 1988 album ''Jamahiriya Democratique et Populaire de Sauvage'', and a further studio album (''Customs'') was released prior to the band splitting up in 1990. Licher continued to run his label, and received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination for the artwork for For Against's debut album. He formed Scenic in the mid-1990s, a group that also featured Loveless and former Shiva Burlesque member James Brenner. Laner went on to form

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...

. Savage Republic reformed in 2002 with original member Licher and members from the mid-1980s including Greg Grunke, Thom Fuhrmann and Ethan Port, although Licher left after a first tour. The remaining members recorded the album ''1938'', released by Neurot Recordings in 2007.

Musical style

The band's music has been called industrial, with

's Richie Unterberger describing it as music that "grafted tribal percussion, industrial drones, and raga-like guitar lines together". Unusual percussion was a large part of their sound, incorporating oil cans and metal pipes. ''

'' described the debut album as "a combination of industrial drone with deep machine-like swaths of dragging bass, Halloween horror-movie screams and some of the most delightfully tribal and tropical percussion found on disc". When the band reformed in 1985 they incorporated more Arabic influences. Later work also incorporated Greek influences. The band's music was described in ''Music USA: The Rough Guide'' as "hypnotic post-modern raga-rock instrumentals" and "clattering noise-rock jams".Unterberger, Richie (1999) ''Music USA: The Rough Guide'', Rough Guides, , p. 402

Discography

Studio albums

Singles and EPs

Live albums

Compilation albums

Home videos

References

External links

Official Savage Republic website

{{Authority control Musical groups from Los Angeles Punk rock groups from California American industrial rock musical groups American post-punk music groups Musical groups established in 1982 Musical groups disestablished in 1989 Musical groups reestablished in 2004 1982 establishments in California