Lumerians
Encyclopedia
Lumerians is a San Francisco Bay Area
based five-member band which has a psychedelic
"mindbender" space rock
sound. The group is notable for performances characterized by "transcendent live video projections" and having "incredible visuals," according to one music critic. One critic described the band as "Oakland's prize pony in the Bay Area
gloom-folk horse race". The sound has been compared to the German
experimental music
known as Krautrock
with overtones of '60s music
.
. The band's sound was influenced by groups such as Sonic Youth
, Krautrock
groups such as Can
and Neu!
, and Africa
n and South America
n Psych music from the 1960s and 1970s. One member, Luis Vasquez, has a solo project going as well called The Soft Moon
. The Lumerians have worked with vocalist Rebecca Coseboom. Coseboom and the Lumerians did the track Separate Half on the EP
entitled The Answer EP
by Unkle
. They performed in 2010 in Brooklyn with the Butthole Surfers
.
A report in SFGate described the band as "masked and draped in monastic cassocks" with performances that were "hypnotic" using "spirarling psych drones", according to music critic Michelle Broder Van Dyke, who elaborated that their "keyboard-driven rhythms" evoked "lost relics, like the mythic underseas continent its band name references." A music reporter described one performance:
When asked in an interview how the group chose their name, Miller said:
Some music critics have described the music as Space Rock
. When asked whether the group was described as a "space-rock" genre, Melzer elaborated that the group loves '60s psych bands, revivalism music, and Krautrock but that they were not trying to be one of those types of groups; rather, the aim was to create "trancelike music or ecstatic music" that "takes the listener to another place."
from listening to their music on MySpace
. Their debut album Transmalinnia was released in 2011 on the Knitting Factory Records label and featured nine tracks. According to Marc Melzer, the band took many years to record their first full-length because they wanted to have a coherent album sound. The cover art of the album Transmalinnia was done by the late outside artist Eugene Von Bruenchenhein
. The group released the new song Atlanta Brook in 2011.
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
based five-member band which has a psychedelic
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
"mindbender" 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...
sound. The group is notable for performances characterized by "transcendent live video projections" and having "incredible visuals," according to one music critic. One critic described the band as "Oakland's prize pony in the Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
gloom-folk horse race". The sound has been compared to the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
known as Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
with overtones of '60s music
1960s in music
For music from a year in the 1960s, go to 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1960s....
.
Beginnings
The band was founded by Tyler Green, Marc Melzer, Jason Miller and Chris Musgrave in 2006. Multi-instrumentalist Luis Vasquez joined in 2008. Early rehearsals and recordings were produced in San Francisco, but the group has since relocated to Oakland. They have their own recording studio in a converted church in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, 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...
. The band's sound was influenced by groups such as Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
groups such as Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
and Neu!
Neu!
Neu! was a German band formed by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother after their split from Kraftwerk in the early 1970s...
, and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n Psych music from the 1960s and 1970s. One member, Luis Vasquez, has a solo project going as well called The Soft Moon
The Soft Moon
The Soft Moon is a San Francisco based neo Post-Punk band composed of Luis Vasquez , Justin Anastasi , Damon Way , and Ron Robinson...
. The Lumerians have worked with vocalist Rebecca Coseboom. Coseboom and the Lumerians did the track Separate Half on the 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...
entitled The Answer EP
The Answer EP
The Answer EP is an EP released by Unkle on September 13, 2010. The EP was made available digitally, on limited edition 12” vinyl and limited edition CD.-Tracklist:# "The Answer "...
by Unkle
UNKLE
Unkle are a British musical outfit founded in 1994 by school friends James Lavelle and Tim Goldsworthy. Originally categorized as trip-hop, the group once included producer DJ Shadow and have employed a variety of guest artists and producers.-First incarnation :Lavelle and Goldsworthy were joined...
. They performed in 2010 in Brooklyn with the Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
.
Psychedelic performances
The band received positive critical attention not only for its "psychedelic sound" but for achieving "intense psychedelic projections" using a vast array of synchronized equipment during its public performances. Marc Melzer explained:A report in SFGate described the band as "masked and draped in monastic cassocks" with performances that were "hypnotic" using "spirarling psych drones", according to music critic Michelle Broder Van Dyke, who elaborated that their "keyboard-driven rhythms" evoked "lost relics, like the mythic underseas continent its band name references." A music reporter described one performance:
When asked in an interview how the group chose their name, Miller said:
Some music critics have described the music as 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...
. When asked whether the group was described as a "space-rock" genre, Melzer elaborated that the group loves '60s psych bands, revivalism music, and Krautrock but that they were not trying to be one of those types of groups; rather, the aim was to create "trancelike music or ecstatic music" that "takes the listener to another place."
Knitting Factory Records
In 2010, the band was discovered by talent scouts for Knitting Factory RecordsKnitting Factory Records
Knitting Factory Records is an independent American music label that is notable for promoting a variety of artists including deceased Nigerian political agitator and musician Fela Kuti...
from listening to their music on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
. Their debut album Transmalinnia was released in 2011 on the Knitting Factory Records label and featured nine tracks. According to Marc Melzer, the band took many years to record their first full-length because they wanted to have a coherent album sound. The cover art of the album Transmalinnia was done by the late outside artist Eugene Von Bruenchenhein
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein
Eugene Von Bruenchenhein was an American outsider artist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.His versatile body of work included over a thousand colorful apocalyptic landscape paintings; hundreds of sculptures made from chicken bones, ceramic and cast cement; pin-up style photos of his wife, Marie; plus...
. The group released the new song Atlanta Brook in 2011.
Reviews
Reviews have been positive for their albums and live performances.- Music critic Daniel Levin Becker of San Francisco Weekly wrote that their song Gaussian Castles on the album Transmalinnia was a "hallucination unto itself complete with cavernous room, ominous reverb and far-off galloping drums" and commented that the accompanying video "scans like the unholy lovechild of an iTunes visualization algorithm and a year's worth of footage of the Serengeti compressed into five minutes."
- Critic Ian S. Port in SF Weekly described the band as "stunning Oakland psych-rockers" and described the band as a "force––live especially" and commented that their album Transmalinnia was "entrancing" and "captures some but not all of the obsessive linearity and pounding drive of the band's live show." Port highly recommended Transmallinia in a review in 2011.
- Music critic Carla Selvin in SF Weekly described a live performance in which the bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
sound "reverberated so strong it felt like a seizureEpilepsyEpilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
" and that the beat was "intoxicating" from the congo drums with an "over-saturated synth-drone" which created a "trance-like lull" on the dance floor.
Discography
- "S/T EP", 2008, Subterranean Elephants
- "Burning Mirrors/Cheveux Fous 7"", 2010, Rococo Records
- Transmalinnia, 2011, Knitting Factory RecordsKnitting Factory RecordsKnitting Factory Records is an independent American music label that is notable for promoting a variety of artists including deceased Nigerian political agitator and musician Fela Kuti...