Circus Mort was a post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...

 band from new York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Formed in 1979, the band included future Swans

Swans (band)

Swans are an influential American post-punk band initially active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. The band was one of the few groups to emerge from the early 1980s New York No Wave scene and stay intact into the next decade. Formed by Gira in...

 leader Michael Gira

Michael Gira

Michael Rolfe Gira is an American musician, author, and artist. He is the main force behind the recently reformed New York City musical group Swans and fronts the Angels of Light...

 on vocals, guitarist Rick Oller, bassist Dan Braun, Josh Braun on keyboards and Angelo Pudignano on drums. Jonathan Kane, also of Swans, would become the third drummer for the group. The group recorded only one 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...

, a self-titled effort on Labor Records, before disbanding in 1981.

History

The first members of Circus Mort included Don Christensen on bass guitar. Before adopting the name Circus Mort the band was called Metal Envelope. Twin brothers Josh and Dan Braun joined in September 1979 on the recommendation of Christensen, followed by Pudignano who answered an advetisement in the Village Voice. The band recorded two songs at Sorcerer Sound Studios in late 1979, "Require Require" and "Working for Pleasure", which led to the interest of promoter Jim Fouratt. He hired the band to play at the rock disco Hurrah in February 1980, opening for Snatch.

Pudignano left the band, and was replaced by Mike Pedulla. The band gigged around New York throughout 1980 playing at various clubs. In late 1980, Pedulla announced that he was leaving the band, and Jonathan Kane took his place. Shortly after, the band landed a recording contract

Recording contract

A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...

 with the newly formed Labor Records. The band recorded demos

Demo (music)

A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...

 of two songs, "Children Remember" and "Yellow Light" at Sorcerer Sound to prepare for a forthcoming EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

. Producer Peter Ivers oversaw the recording of further tracks at Minot Sound in White Plains, New York

White Plains, New York

White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...

.

Their first concert

Concert

A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...

 after the recording was with Bauhaus

Bauhaus (band)

Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...

 in early 1981. The band's final performance was in Boston, with the Neats

The Neats

The Neats were a Boston rock band that existed from the late 1970s to early 1990s. They first recorded for the independent Propeller label, which in 1981 released the song, "Six", a swirling, Vox-washed slab of garage rock reminiscent of Question Mark & the Mysterians...

, before disbanding thereafter.

Gira with Kane later went on to form Swans

Swans (band)

Swans are an influential American post-punk band initially active from 1982 to 1997, led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. The band was one of the few groups to emerge from the early 1980s New York No Wave scene and stay intact into the next decade. Formed by Gira in...

. Dan Braun also joined Swans for a short period, and recorded live with them at CBGB

CBGB

CBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...

, which was released as Body to Body, Job to Job

Body to Body, Job to Job

Body To Body, Job To Job is a compilation album by the American no wave/noise rock band Swans. It was released simultaneously on LP, CD and audio cassette in 1991. It presents various live recordings, tape loops and previously unavailable material from the years 1982-1985...

. Kane went on to play with Rhys Chatham

Rhys Chatham

Rhys Chatham is an American composer, guitarist, and trumpet player, primarily active in avant-garde and minimalist music. He is best known for his "guitar orchestra" compositions...

 and La Monte Young

La Monte Young

La Monte Thornton Young is an American avant-garde composer, musician, and artist.Young is generally recognized as the first minimalist composer. His works have been included among the most important and radical post-World War II avant-garde, experimental, and contemporary music. Young is...

. Gira later formed the Angels of Light

The Angels of Light

Angels of Light are an experimental group that was formed circa 1998 by singer/guitarist Michael Gira after he disbanded Swans, the group he had founded in 1982...

, and was the founder of Young God Records

Young God Records

Young God Records is an independent record label formed by Michael Gira in 1990 that specializes in experimental, avant-garde and often non genre-specific releases...

.

External links

• Allmusic
• Circus Mort on lastfm.com