Brain Damage (rock band)
Encyclopedia
Brain Damage are a French
rock
band
, formed in 1977 by Haylock M.S. Ellis (guitar) and Philippe Poiret (guitar, keyboards, vocals). The French science fiction writer Roland C. Wagner was added as a singer in 1983. At that time, they played a mixture of punk
, new wave
and garage rock
. They split in late 1984. 1984's Live au Cithéa is the only recording surviving from this period, recorded on 15 September 1984.
Ellis, Poiret and Wagner got together again in 1988, with a new rhythm section
, playing psychedelic garage. They obtained the nickname 'The French Fuzztones'. After the departure of Poiret in the early 1990s, Ellis and Wagner decided to stop performing and focus on recording. A single was issued in 1996, presenting Brain Damage on one side and X-men on the other, X-men being another side project of Ellis. Then a self-titled album
was issued in 1999 as a private release. Both are now very rare.
In 2006, Brain Damage released their second album under one of the Creative Commons license
s on the free music platform Jamendo
. It is a collection of recordings spawning more than fifteen years, mostly punk and/or psychedelic with science fiction inspired lyrics — among them "Quand le paysage se déchire" ("When the Landscape Tears") a song about Philip K. Dick; and "Un été de serre" inspired by Norman Spinrad
's novel Greenhouse Summer, which Wagner translated into French
. Most of their recorded work is now online as they work on projects including their next album, and the soundtrack to Wagner's next novel.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, formed in 1977 by Haylock M.S. Ellis (guitar) and Philippe Poiret (guitar, keyboards, vocals). The French science fiction writer Roland C. Wagner was added as a singer in 1983. At that time, they played a mixture of punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
. They split in late 1984. 1984's Live au Cithéa is the only recording surviving from this period, recorded on 15 September 1984.
Ellis, Poiret and Wagner got together again in 1988, with a new rhythm section
Rhythm section
A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...
, playing psychedelic garage. They obtained the nickname 'The French Fuzztones'. After the departure of Poiret in the early 1990s, Ellis and Wagner decided to stop performing and focus on recording. A single was issued in 1996, presenting Brain Damage on one side and X-men on the other, X-men being another side project of Ellis. Then a self-titled album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
was issued in 1999 as a private release. Both are now very rare.
In 2006, Brain Damage released their second album under one of the Creative Commons license
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...
s on the free music platform Jamendo
Jamendo
Jamendo is a music website and a community of music authors. It bills itself as "the world's #1 platform for free and legal music downloads under Creative Commons licenses."...
. It is a collection of recordings spawning more than fifteen years, mostly punk and/or psychedelic with science fiction inspired lyrics — among them "Quand le paysage se déchire" ("When the Landscape Tears") a song about Philip K. Dick; and "Un été de serre" inspired by Norman Spinrad
Norman Spinrad
Norman Richard Spinrad is an American science fiction author.Born in New York City, Spinrad is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science. In 1957 he entered City College of New York and graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree as a pre-law major. In 1966 he moved to San Francisco,...
's novel Greenhouse Summer, which Wagner translated into French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. Most of their recorded work is now online as they work on projects including their next album, and the soundtrack to Wagner's next novel.
Albums
- 1992 : La Ténèbre (tape)
- 1993 : (T'aimer) C'est aller à la Mort (tape)
- 1996 : Brain Damage (split single with X-Men)
- 1996 : Envie de huuurler ! (démo tape)
- 1999 : Brain Damage (CD)
- 2006 : Visages sur l'écran (e-LP)
- 2007 : Brain Damage (e-LP, modified reissue of the CD)
- 2007 : Clique sur le mulot (e-single)
- 2007 : 1984 (Live au Cithéa) (e-LP, recorded in 1984))
- 2007 : La Ténèbre (e-single)
- 2007 : Consensus zéro (e-single)
- 2007 : Love-In 67 (e-single)
- 2007 : Pompiers hallucinés (e-LP)
- 2007 : Drop-Out 68 (e-single)
- 2007 : Let's Go 69! (Single virtuel)
Compilation albums
- 2006 : "Un été de serre" on Compilsa vol. 1
- 2007 : "Sur le mont (Timothy Leary)" on Les Compiles à Marcel vol. 1