Flying Saucer Attack
Encyclopedia
Flying Saucer Attack was an experimental
space rock
band that formed in Bristol
, England in 1992. David Pearce was the core member of the group, and Rachel Brook (of Movietone
, another Bristol band) was a member for most of the band's lifetime.
The band were marked by quiet vocals and sheets of feedback with similarities to contemporary shoegazing
bands, or The Jesus and Mary Chain
. FSA were able to create a small but enthusiastic fanbase as one of the more remarkable experimental bands of the day. The band were notable for recording most of their output at home into a normal home stereo system, avoiding recording studios as much as they could. This gave their music a DIY feel and gave them the freedom to experiment as much as they wanted.
Other allied bands, often sharing musicians, were Crescent
, The Third Eye Foundation
, Light and Amp
. Pearce attended Farnham Art College
in the late 1980s. Pearce collaborated in a variety of bands with Matt Elliott
(the Third Eye Foundation), Richard Walker (Amp) and Rachel Brook and Kate Wright (future partners in Movietone), before forming FSA with Brook (his girlfriend at the time) in 1992. Brook continued to play with Movietone throughout the history of Flying Saucer Attack, and is still a member of that group.
's contemporary single "The Drowners
", which provoked press interest in the record. The Third Eye Foundation (Matt Elliott) played bongos, drums, programming and clarinet, & guitar on some tracks. Like the early singles, the album was released on FSA's own label by Heartbeat Productions
, and was deliberately only made available on vinyl. Also like the singles it sold out very quickly despite minimal publicity, due to the band's cult reputation. The album was released in the USA by VHF Records
in early 1994, on CD and vinyl - the CD bore the legend "compact discs are a major cause of the breakdown of society" (other releases would carry messages such as "keep vinyl alive", "home taping is reinventing music"
and "less is more").
By 1994, the band had signed to Domino Records (which became home to many of the bands from Bristol's experimental music scene), and although records continued to be released on vinyl, CDs usually accompanied Pearce's preferred format. The first release for the new label was Distance, which collected the early singles and some unreleased material. Over the next three years the band released two albums and further singles including a cover of Wire
's "Outdoor Miner", and a version of the folk song "Sally Free and Easy" which was initially only released on CD - the sleevenote explained that the pressing plant had been unable to cut it to vinyl (a US plant later achieved the feat by using a monaural master and it was issued on 12" by Drag City
). Another singles compilation followed alongside an album consisting of live tracks (mainly unstructured noise, released by Bruce Russell's Corpus Hermeticum imprint) and an LP with two long tracks constructed by fellow Domino act Tele:Funken from samples of the band. In 1995 Brook left the band to concentrate on Movietone. Chorus had a sleeve note in which it was stated that "This album marks the end of FSA phase one". Subsequent releases (New Lands was described as "phase two") did not depart from the usual mixture of aggressive feedback and noise, and gentle folk-influenced melody.
In 1999, the "phase 2" version of Flying Saucer Attack accepted an invitation to participate in a tribute album
to Moby Grape
co-founder Skip Spence
, who was dying of lung cancer
.
After New Lands and a final vinyl-only 7" single, Pearce left Domino Records - one further album was released in 2000 on Pearce's own FSA Records, and this effectively marked the end of the group. Pearce subsequently collaborated with Jessica Bailiff
under the name Clear Horizon, a self-titled album being released on Kranky Records
in 2003.
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
space rock
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
band that formed in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England in 1992. David Pearce was the core member of the group, and Rachel Brook (of Movietone
Movietone (band)
Movietone is an English post-rock band. They formed in Bristol, England in 1994. Core members are Kate Wright and Rachel Brook . Brook was also a member of Flying Saucer Attack during the first few years of the band's existence, and Wright is also currently the bass player for Crescent...
, another Bristol band) was a member for most of the band's lifetime.
The band were marked by quiet vocals and sheets of feedback with similarities to contemporary shoegazing
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
bands, or The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain
The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride, Glasgow in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...
. FSA were able to create a small but enthusiastic fanbase as one of the more remarkable experimental bands of the day. The band were notable for recording most of their output at home into a normal home stereo system, avoiding recording studios as much as they could. This gave their music a DIY feel and gave them the freedom to experiment as much as they wanted.
Other allied bands, often sharing musicians, were Crescent
Crescent (band)
Crescent are an alternative music band from Bristol, England, formed in the early 1990s by Matt Jones , Chris Locke and Jasper Larsen . Currently, the two principal members are brothers Matt Jones and Sam Jones...
, The Third Eye Foundation
Matt Elliott (musician)
Matt Elliott is a guitarist and singer from Bristol, UK, who plays dark folk music. He also produced and recorded electronic music under the name The Third Eye Foundation....
, Light and Amp
Amp (band)
Amp is an electronic space rock band formed in London by Richard F. Walker in 1992, after collaborating with David Pearce on the The Secret Garden and the Distance projects...
. Pearce attended Farnham Art College
University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester
The University for the Creative Arts is a specialist art and design university in the south of England.-History:The university was formed in 2005 as University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester, through the merger of the Kent Institute of Art &...
in the late 1980s. Pearce collaborated in a variety of bands with Matt Elliott
Matt Elliott (musician)
Matt Elliott is a guitarist and singer from Bristol, UK, who plays dark folk music. He also produced and recorded electronic music under the name The Third Eye Foundation....
(the Third Eye Foundation), Richard Walker (Amp) and Rachel Brook and Kate Wright (future partners in Movietone), before forming FSA with Brook (his girlfriend at the time) in 1992. Brook continued to play with Movietone throughout the history of Flying Saucer Attack, and is still a member of that group.
History
Early releases were limited edition vinyl 7" singles, often in handmade packaging. The first album (self-titled, but sometimes called Rural Psychedelia as those words appear on the cover) included a noisy cover of SuedeSuede (band)
Suede are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1989. The group's most prominent early line-up featured singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Bernard Butler, bass player Mat Osman and drummer Simon Gilbert. By 1992, Suede were hailed as "The Best New Band in Britain", and attracted...
's contemporary single "The Drowners
The Drowners
"The Drowners" is the debut single by Suede, released on 11 May 1992 on Nude Records. It charted at number 49 on the UK singles chart. Though not a hit at first, it amassed airplay over time and has become one of the band's definitive singles. It garnered much acclaim from New Musical Express and...
", which provoked press interest in the record. The Third Eye Foundation (Matt Elliott) played bongos, drums, programming and clarinet, & guitar on some tracks. Like the early singles, the album was released on FSA's own label by Heartbeat Productions
Heartbeat Productions
Heartbeat Productions is the parent company of a number of record labels originating from Bristol, England. Heartbeat Records was formed in 1978, and other labels have been added over the years to cater for specific niche markets or bands: Riot City Records in 1980, Disorder Records in 1981, FSA...
, and was deliberately only made available on vinyl. Also like the singles it sold out very quickly despite minimal publicity, due to the band's cult reputation. The album was released in the USA by VHF Records
VHF Records
VHF Records is an American record label, known for their extensive work with several major experimental artists. The label is based in the Washington, DC suburb of Fairfax, Va., and it initially focused on indie and experimental bands from that region...
in early 1994, on CD and vinyl - the CD bore the legend "compact discs are a major cause of the breakdown of society" (other releases would carry messages such as "keep vinyl alive", "home taping is reinventing music"
Home Taping is Killing Music
"Home Taping Is Killing Music" was the slogan of a 1980s anti-copyright infringement campaign by the British Phonographic Industry , a British music industry trade group. With the rise in cassette recorder popularity, the BPI feared that people being able to record music from the radio onto...
and "less is more").
By 1994, the band had signed to Domino Records (which became home to many of the bands from Bristol's experimental music scene), and although records continued to be released on vinyl, CDs usually accompanied Pearce's preferred format. The first release for the new label was Distance, which collected the early singles and some unreleased material. Over the next three years the band released two albums and further singles including a cover of Wire
Wire (band)
Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed...
's "Outdoor Miner", and a version of the folk song "Sally Free and Easy" which was initially only released on CD - the sleevenote explained that the pressing plant had been unable to cut it to vinyl (a US plant later achieved the feat by using a monaural master and it was issued on 12" by Drag City
Drag City (record label)
Drag City is a Chicago-based independent record label. It was established with a Royal Trux release in 1990 in Chicago, Illinois by Dan Koretzky and Dan Osborn.Drag City specializes in experimental indie rock acts...
). Another singles compilation followed alongside an album consisting of live tracks (mainly unstructured noise, released by Bruce Russell's Corpus Hermeticum imprint) and an LP with two long tracks constructed by fellow Domino act Tele:Funken from samples of the band. In 1995 Brook left the band to concentrate on Movietone. Chorus had a sleeve note in which it was stated that "This album marks the end of FSA phase one". Subsequent releases (New Lands was described as "phase two") did not depart from the usual mixture of aggressive feedback and noise, and gentle folk-influenced melody.
In 1999, the "phase 2" version of Flying Saucer Attack accepted an invitation to participate in a tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
to Moby Grape
Moby Grape
Moby Grape is an American rock group from the 1960s, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz together with rock and psychedelic music...
co-founder Skip Spence
Skip Spence
Alexander Lee "Skip" Spence was a Canadian-born musician and singer-songwriter. He was co-founder of Moby Grape, and played guitar with them until 1969. He released one solo album, 1969's Oar, and then largely withdrew from the music industry...
, who was dying of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.
After New Lands and a final vinyl-only 7" single, Pearce left Domino Records - one further album was released in 2000 on Pearce's own FSA Records, and this effectively marked the end of the group. Pearce subsequently collaborated with Jessica Bailiff
Jessica Bailiff
Jessica Bailiff is an American singer-songwriter from Toledo, Ohio. Her music is largely classified as slowcore, although it contains elements of post-rock and shoegaze. Bailiff was discovered by Low's Alan Sparhawk, who recommended her earlier demos to Kranky Records, the label on which Bailiff...
under the name Clear Horizon, a self-titled album being released on Kranky Records
Kranky Records
Kranky is an independent record label, located in Chicago, Illinois. It was started in 1993 by Bruce Adams and Joel Leoschke.The bands it houses are noted for combining experimental and often electronic influences with elements of more traditional rock structures, and many of the artists on Kranky...
in 2003.
Albums and compilations
- Flying Saucer Attack (FSAHeartbeat ProductionsHeartbeat Productions is the parent company of a number of record labels originating from Bristol, England. Heartbeat Records was formed in 1978, and other labels have been added over the years to cater for specific niche markets or bands: Riot City Records in 1980, Disorder Records in 1981, FSA...
, 1993) - Distance (singles compilation) (1994)
- Further (1995)
- Chorus (singles compilation) (1995)
- Distant Station (FSA samples arranged by Tele:Funken) (1996)
- In Search of Spaces (live tracks from 1994) (Corpus Hermeticum, 1996)
- New Lands (1997)
- Mirror (FSAHeartbeat ProductionsHeartbeat Productions is the parent company of a number of record labels originating from Bristol, England. Heartbeat Records was formed in 1978, and other labels have been added over the years to cater for specific niche markets or bands: Riot City Records in 1980, Disorder Records in 1981, FSA...
, 2000) - PA Blues (2004) (CD-R compilation of live and rehearsal tracks)
Singles and EPs
- "Soaring High" (FSAHeartbeat ProductionsHeartbeat Productions is the parent company of a number of record labels originating from Bristol, England. Heartbeat Records was formed in 1978, and other labels have been added over the years to cater for specific niche markets or bands: Riot City Records in 1980, Disorder Records in 1981, FSA...
, 1992) - "Wish" (FSAHeartbeat ProductionsHeartbeat Productions is the parent company of a number of record labels originating from Bristol, England. Heartbeat Records was formed in 1978, and other labels have been added over the years to cater for specific niche markets or bands: Riot City Records in 1980, Disorder Records in 1981, FSA...
, 1993) - "Crystal Shade" (FSAHeartbeat ProductionsHeartbeat Productions is the parent company of a number of record labels originating from Bristol, England. Heartbeat Records was formed in 1978, and other labels have been added over the years to cater for specific niche markets or bands: Riot City Records in 1980, Disorder Records in 1981, FSA...
, 1994) - "Land Beyond the Sun" (1994)
- "Beach Red Lullaby" (1995)
- "Outdoor Miner" (1995)
- "At Night" (split 7" with JessamineJessamine (band)Jessamine was a band that recorded three albums for Kranky records between 1994 and 1998 and a number of singles for other record labels. These singles were later collected by the band on a self-released compilation album....
) (1996) - "Sally Free and Easy" (1996)
- "Goodbye" (featuring Roy MontgomeryRoy MontgomeryRoy Montgomery is a guitarist from Christchurch, New Zealand.He has played in several New Zealand bands, including Compulsory Fun, Murder Strikes Pink, The Pin Group, The Shallows, Dadamah and Dissolve...
) (1997) - "Coming Home" (1997)
Other Contributions
- "Since When" on Harmony of the Spheres (Drunken Fish, 1996)
- More Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence AlbumMore Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence AlbumMore Oar: A Tribute to the Skip Spence Album is a 1999 tribute album completed shortly before and released shortly after the death of Moby Grape founding member Skip Spence. The album contains cover versions by various artists of Spence's music from his Oar album, released in 1969, presented in...
(BirdmanBirdman RecordsBirdman Records is an independent record label based in South San Francisco, founded by former Warner Bros. Records A&R vice-president David Katznelson.-History:...
, 1999) - Chamber Music - James Joyce 1907 (2008) (Various artists; compilation of James Joyce's poems put to music)
External links
- Heartbeat Productions
- FAQ - with contributions from Dave Pearce
- FSA interviews - fan site