Kevin Blechdom
Encyclopedia
Kevin Blechdom, born Kristin Erickson, is an American experimental electronic musician
/performance artist from San Francisco, California.
in Oakland, California
, where she founded Blectum from Blechdom
with Blevin Blectum
, an experimental electronic group. In 2001, Blectum From Blechdom won an Award of Distinction for digital music at the Prix Ars Electronica
.
Blechdom also played in an art-rock band, Adult Rodeo, with her brother lumberob, a.k.a. Rob Erickson, and his wife mephany stankins. They released records on Shimmy Disc
and Four States Fair.
Kevin Blechdom's solo release Eat My Heart Out features a 13-minute "musical movie" called Countdown to Nothing, a collaboration with Lucile Desamory.
Blechdom produced two albums for New York City anti-folk
/cabaret
group Ching Chong Song
; their debut album, Little Naked Gay Adventure, and their second album, Everything is for Babies.
Blechdom also performs with Christopher Fleeger as the computer-country band Barnwave.
She collaborated with Chicks on Speed
on the song "Wordy Rappinghood
" from their album 99 Cents
in 2003 along with other female musicians such as Miss Kittin
, Le Tigre
, Adult.'s Nicola Kuperus
, and Tina Weymouth
of the Tom Tom Club
. "Wordy Rappinghood" became a moderate dance hit in Europe, peaking at number five on the Belgian Dance Chart
, and at number sixty-six on the UK Singles Chart
.
Electronic musician
An electronic musician is a musician who composes or plays music from synthetic sounds generated with synthesizers, samplers, drum machines or music sequencers....
/performance artist from San Francisco, California.
Life and career
She attended Mills CollegeMills College
Mills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, where she founded Blectum from Blechdom
Blectum from Blechdom
Blectum from Blechdom was an experimental electronic music duo, formed in 1998 by Kristin Erickson and Bevin Kelley and disbanded in 2001. Erickson and Kelley met at the Mills College in Oakland, California...
with Blevin Blectum
Blevin Blectum
Blevin Blectum is an electronic musician.Blectum comes from a musical family, and she studied the violin during her youth. At Mills College, she partnered with Kevin Blechdom to form Blectum From Blechdom, a performance art electronica duo. In 2001, Blectum From Blechdom won an Award of...
, an experimental electronic group. In 2001, Blectum From Blechdom won an Award of Distinction for digital music at the Prix Ars Electronica
Ars Electronica
Ars Electronica is an organization based in Linz, Austria, founded in 1979 around a festival for art, technology and society that was part of the International Bruckner Festival. Herbert W. Franke is one of its founders. It became its own festival and a yearly event in 1986. Its director until 1995...
.
Blechdom also played in an art-rock band, Adult Rodeo, with her brother lumberob, a.k.a. Rob Erickson, and his wife mephany stankins. They released records on Shimmy Disc
Shimmy Disc
Shimmy Disc was an influential New York City based record label founded in 1987 by Mark Kramer. Before it was sold to the Knitting Factory, it was responsible for providing a mass audience for acts including Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, Ween,...
and Four States Fair.
Kevin Blechdom's solo release Eat My Heart Out features a 13-minute "musical movie" called Countdown to Nothing, a collaboration with Lucile Desamory.
Blechdom produced two albums for New York City anti-folk
Anti-folk
Anti-folk is a music genre that takes the earnestness of politically charged 1960s folk music and subverts it. The defining characteristics of this anti-folk are difficult to identify, as they vary from one artist to the next...
/cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
group Ching Chong Song
Ching Chong Song
Ching Chong Song are Dan Gower and Julie LaMendola, a vocal duo rooted in New York City's Anti-folk scene. Gower typically plays piano, while LaMendola plays singing saw. Their music is often experimental and off-kilter in nature, shifting from humorous to dark, serious, or thoughtful in tone,...
; their debut album, Little Naked Gay Adventure, and their second album, Everything is for Babies.
Blechdom also performs with Christopher Fleeger as the computer-country band Barnwave.
She collaborated with Chicks on Speed
Chicks on Speed
Chicks on Speed is a multi-national musical ensemble, formed in Munich in 1997, when members Melissa Logan, Kiki Moorse and Alex Murray-Leslie met at the Academy of Fine Arts....
on the song "Wordy Rappinghood
Wordy Rappinghood
"Wordy Rappinghood" is a song by the American band Tom Tom Club. The song was the lead single from the band's debut studio album, Tom Tom Club. It uses part of the 1971 Rolf Harris song "A Ram Sam Sam". In the United States, the song was released as a double a-side with "Genius of Love" and topped...
" from their album 99 Cents
99 Cents
A video clip for "We Don't Play Guitars", directed by Deborah Schamoni, is included....
in 2003 along with other female musicians such as Miss Kittin
Miss Kittin
Miss Kittin is an electronic music DJ, vocalist, and songwriter. Since rising to prominence in 1998 for her singles "1982" and "Frank Sinatra" with The Hacker, she has worked with other musicians such as Chicks on Speed, Felix da Housecat and Golden Boy...
, Le Tigre
Le Tigre
Le Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run...
, Adult.'s Nicola Kuperus
Nicola Kuperus
Nicola Kuperus is an American musician and photographer. She is a member of the band ADULT. with her husband Adam Lee Miller . ADULT. owns and manages Ersatz Audio, a record label based out of Detroit, Michigan...
, and Tina Weymouth
Tina Weymouth
Martina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the New Wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club .-Profile:Weymouth is of French heritage on her mother's side. Weymouth was a cheerleader in high school...
of the Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club
Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, both also known for being bandmembers of Talking Heads.-Biography:...
. "Wordy Rappinghood" became a moderate dance hit in Europe, peaking at number five on the Belgian Dance Chart
Ultratop
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts...
, and at number sixty-six on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Discography
- "I Heart Presets" (2001) - CD EP on Tigerbeat6Tigerbeat6Tigerbeat6 is a San Francisco and Berlin based independent and electronic record label run by Kid606. The name reflects Kid606's obsession with cats, which also comes to light in the catalogue numbers, all of which start with MEOW, and is also a loose reference to the top-selling teen magazine,...
- The Inside Story (2001) - 3" CD on Tigerbeat6
- "Jelly Donuts" (2002) - 7" vinyl on Four States Fair Records
- "And The Tempo Of Doom (2002) - 7" vinyl on Unbearable Recordings.
- "Your Butt" (2003) - Dudini
- Bitches Without Britches (2003) - CD album on Chicks on SpeedChicks on SpeedChicks on Speed is a multi-national musical ensemble, formed in Munich in 1997, when members Melissa Logan, Kiki Moorse and Alex Murray-Leslie met at the Academy of Fine Arts....
Records. - Eat My Heart Out (2005) - CD album on Chicks on Speed Records.
- "The Children's Suite" (2008) with Ad Hawk - 7" vinyl on Dual PloverDual PloverDual Plover is a pioneering independent Australian record label, founded in Sydney in 1996, notable for discovering some of the most enigmatic artists in experimental music....
. - Gentlemania (2009) - CD album on Sonig.