Norman Fisher-Jones
Encyclopedia
Norman Fisher-Jones also known as Noko, is an English multi-instrumentalist musician
, composer and producer, has formed and/or played with a number of bands primarily as a guitarist or bassist. In chronological order they were: Alvin The Aardvark And The Fuzzy Ants, The Umbrella, The Pete Shelley Group
, The Cure
, Luxuria, Apollo 440
, Stealth Sonic Soul, Fast, Maximum Roach, James Maker and Noko 440 (also known as Frankenstein), Magazine
and Raw Chimp. He continues to play with Apollo 440, Magazine and Raw Chimp.
being a fan of their music, they never released any material, recording only an unreleased single at Open Eye Studios, in Liverpool
, in 1981, before disbanding the same year.
In 1983 he became involved with three bands. He joined The Cure
as bassist, playing for some European and UK live–TV dates, and formed two bands, Dynamo Futurista and The Umbrella. The latter group, consisting of Noko (guitar and vocals), Simon Hoare (drums), Mark Sanderson (bass) and James Gardner
, released a total of three songs before folding, which were released on an EP called Make Hell (For The Beautiful People).
In early 1984, he rejoined The Cure as bassist, that time as replacement of Phil Thornalley
, who was not available. The same year, he was seen in Pete Shelley
's The Pete Shelley Group, on bass, replacing Barry Adamson
, who left to join Nick Cave
's Bad Seeds, and then again in 1986 on guitar in a later line-up of the group until the association with the ex-Buzzcocks
member got Noko the attention of Howard Devoto
. There are many myths ranking around how exactly the first meeting took place, ranging from absurdly comical to realistic, most of which were distributed freely in interviews by the two themselves, but regardless which of these holds truth, the two came together to form the band Luxuria in 1986.
Founder Buzzcock and Magazine frontman, Howard Devoto, started writing with Noko in 1986 with a view to putting a band together to play Factory Records
' Festival Of The 10th Summer at G-Mex stadium in Manchester that summer to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Punk. They played a short set as Adultery, borrowing backline from The Smiths
. (Noko also played a set with Pete Shelley at the same gig in a line-up that also included ex Magazine drummer John Doyle
).
The line-up for that one Adultery gig was: Howard Devoto - Voice, Noko - Guitar/Viola, Leroy James - keyboards/Guitar, Simon Hoare - drums, Pete Kinski - bass. Signing to Beggars Banquet in 1987 and deciding on the name Luxuria, Devoto and Noko released two LPs: Unanswerable Lust (1988) and Beastbox (1990) and toured Europe and USA throughout 1988 with a line-up of Devoto and Noko on voice/guitars and viola as usual and Karl Leiker - bass, Mark Rowlett - Drums/Sequential Studio 440, James Gardner - Keyboards, Frog - guitar and keyboards. The final Luxuria gig at The Town & Country Club
(now the London Forum
) in London featured cameo appearances by Barry Adamson (bass) on a rendition of Magazine's "The Light Pours Out Of Me" for an encore, and Morrissey
, who read a passage of Marcel Proust
's "A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu" over the intro of "Mademoiselle" before throwing the tattered book into the crowd as the band kicked into the song. (There is a bootleg recording of the gig in circulation).
When Luxuria folded in 1990, Noko got together with school friends, brothers Trevor Gray and Howard Gray
, and James Gardner and formed Apollo 440
.
The band released a number of singles and EPs on their own StealthSonic Recordings label: "Lolita" (1990), "Destiny" (1991), "Blackout" (1992) and "Lolita/Destiny '92" (1992).
Apollo 440 made four albums: Millennium Fever (1995), ElectroGlide In Blue (1997), Gettin' High On Your Own Supply (1999), and Dude Descending A Staircase (2003) on Sony Records. The band have been playing live in one form or another since their inception in 1990 to the present day and chronologically the touring line-ups are as follows:
1990–1992: The band featured all founding members on keyboards, sequencers and drum machines and MCs Stevie Hyper-D and Tigga-Max guesting from time to time on vocals.
1993-1995: James Gardner left for New Zealand where he has since established himself as a prominent composer writing music for his ensemble 175 East. Noko moved over to electric guitar and lead vocals, Trevor Gray on keyboards, Howard Gray on bass, and ex-Modern Eon
drummer Cliff Hewitt was added to the line-up first on electronic, then onto acoustic drums. (Kenny Cougar briefly replaced Rej on bass during 1999).
1996-2000: Noko - guitar, Trevor Gray - keyboards, Howard Gray - vibe controller/live-mix, Cliff Hewitt - DDrums
, Paul Kodish
- drums, Reinallt Ap Gwynnedd - bass, Mary Byker (ex-Gaye Bykers on Acid
) - lead vocals, Harry-K - DJ/vocals. Simeon Bowring from A1 People replaced Rej on bass for a number of European festivals in 2000.
2007–2008: Noko - guitar, Trevor Gray - keyboards, Howard Gray - vibe controller/live-mix. Cliff Hewitt - drums, Reinallt Ap Gwynnedd - bass, Ewan MacFarlane - lead vocals, Ashley Krajewski - MPC/keyboards.
2008–present: Chuck Sabo briefly replaced Cliff Hewitt on drums in 2008 (and again in 2009) as Cliff had touring commitments with German artist Schiller; Steve Barney did the same in early 2010 and Mikey Cusick (who had previously played with Noko in Maximum Roach from 2004–2005) replaced Rej on bass in 2008 and remains the current Apollo 440 bassman.
The current 2010 Apollo 440 touring line-up: Noko - guitar, Trevor Gray - keyboards, Howard Gray - vibe controller/live-mix. Cliff Hewitt - drums, Mikey Cusick - bass/vocals, Ewan MacFarlane - lead vocals, Ashley Krajewski - MPC/keyboards/vocals.
2004 saw Noko in a two-man band with James Maker which was at first called Frankenstein, but was later renamed to James Maker and Noko 440. The band released only one EP via Morrissey's Attack imprint (I'm Unbearable/Born That Way) and the two musicians parted early 2005 after touring with a full band line-up on Morrissey's European and UK dates including his Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall supporting the newly reformed New York Dolls
. That line-up included Paul Kodish on drums, Simeon Bowring on bass, and Ashley Krajewski on keyboards.
In November 2008, Noko was announced as the guitarist of the reformed Magazine
, joining his former collaborators Howard Devoto, Barry Adamson, John Doyle and Dave Formula
.
In February 2009 the band played a handful of concerts across the UK. It was the first time Magazine had played live together since 1980. The "Real Life & Thereafter" shows sold out quickly and received widespread critical acclaim.
In Summer 2009, Magazine played "The Soap Show: Episode 2009" at the Royal Festival Hall. It was shown in two halves, the first of which was The Correct Use Of Soap LP in its original running order followed by the B-sides and the song "Upside Down" which had never been performed live before. They also played selected European festivals with a set culled from the "Real Life & Thereafter" tour.
The band rounded off the year's activities with appearances on BBC TV's "Later - with Jools Holland" and The BBC Electric Proms.
Magazine have released a brand new live DVD and CD, Real Life & Thereafter: Live at Manchester Academy 17.02.09.
2009 also saw the completion and release of Noko's first full movie score. Une Affaire D'etat, a French-language political thriller based on best-selling novel Nos Fantastiques Années Fric by Dominique Manotti was directed by Éric Valette and stars André Dussollier, Thierry Frémont and Rachida Brakni. European cinema release was in October of that year. A soundtrack CD is available on Milan Musique.
Noko is currently working on the score to Éric Valette's new movie "La Proie" which will be in cinemas in early 2011.
2010 also saw the formation of Raw Chimp with Noko (guitar/vocals), his wife Deborah Fisher-Jones (bass), and Constance Kaler (lead vocals). Raw Chimp played their live debut that same year at the Download Festival.
StealthSonicSoul was an alter-ego spin-off project by the three members of Apollo 440. One release "StealthSonicSoul" came out in 1992 on Scottish 23rd Precinct affiliated Limbo label. A further track "StealthSonic Sun In Her Hair" appeared on a Limbo compilation the following year.
The EZ Drum & Bass Orchestra consisted of Noko and Frederick Pasquan and made one commercially available EP "Beat Girl" b/w "EZ Beat Girl" and "Slow Beat Girl" on the Sliced label in 1996.
The Duo also remixed a number of other artists e.g. "Carrerra Rapida -EZ Drum&Bass Orchestra Remix" by Apollo 440 on Sony in 1997.
Noko played bass in 1991 on the Total Abandon EP and "Jubilee Twist" LP in 1992 by The Heart Throbs
, a group from Reading who folded in 1993.
In the same year he played abstract guitar on the song Ventriloquists and Dolls from Momus
's album Hippopotamomus.
In 1992 Noko collaborated with Stuart Crichton as Johnny Potatohead, releasing a single, "Johnny Potatohead" on Reverb Records.
From 2002-2004 Noko was involved as Producer/Musical Director for The Prada Meinhof Gang, an all-female Art-Terrorist troupe active between 2002–2004, whose activities included performance/installations at the Venice Biennalle, Tate Britain, ICA etc. Their track "Want Is Your Master" was included on the free CD compilation that accompanied the 'Music' issue of Modern Painters
magazine.
Noko made his feature-film debut with a brief cameo appearance as an accordion-playing Parisian street musician in Éric Valette's "Une Affaire D'Etat" movie in 2009.
While he was touring with Magazine in 2009, Noko used a pair of green Yamaha SG1500 guitars with an MXR dyna comp, MXR flanger, Boss DM-3 and Boss PS-5. The flanger was stand-mounted as per John McGeoch and Robin Simon's setup with the band in the late '70s. For amplification, Noko used two late '70s Marshall JMP 2x12" combos with Marshall 4x12'cabinets and a Fender Twin. A Variax 700 Acoustic was used for the intro of "I Want To Burn Again" through another late '70s MXR flanger.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, composer and producer, has formed and/or played with a number of bands primarily as a guitarist or bassist. In chronological order they were: Alvin The Aardvark And The Fuzzy Ants, The Umbrella, The Pete Shelley Group
Pete Shelley
Pete Shelley is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of Buzzcocks.-Biography:...
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, Luxuria, Apollo 440
Apollo 440
Apollo 440 are an English band formed in Liverpool in 1990. Apollo 440 have written, recorded and produced four albums, collaborated with and produced other artists, remixed as Apollo 440 and as ambient cinematic alter-ego Stealth Sonic Orchestra, and created music for film, television,...
, Stealth Sonic Soul, Fast, Maximum Roach, James Maker and Noko 440 (also known as Frankenstein), Magazine
Magazine (band)
Magazine are an English post-punk group active from 1977 to 1981, then reformed in 2009. Their debut single, "Shot by Both Sides", is now acknowledged as a classic and their debut album, Real Life, is still widely admired as one of the greatest albums of all time...
and Raw Chimp. He continues to play with Apollo 440, Magazine and Raw Chimp.
Biography
In 1980, he formed his first band called Alvin The Aardvark & The Fuzzy Ants, who made their first gig on After All That…This, a Granada TV show. Despite the DJ John PeelJohn Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
being a fan of their music, they never released any material, recording only an unreleased single at Open Eye Studios, in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, in 1981, before disbanding the same year.
In 1983 he became involved with three bands. He joined The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
as bassist, playing for some European and UK live–TV dates, and formed two bands, Dynamo Futurista and The Umbrella. The latter group, consisting of Noko (guitar and vocals), Simon Hoare (drums), Mark Sanderson (bass) and James Gardner
James Gardner (musician)
James Gardner is a British-born musician and composer , now resident in New Zealand.Schoolfriend of Noko and Howard Gray, with whom he later formed the band Apollo 440, Gardner spent much of the 1980s in London playing and programming keyboards and synthesizers for a variety of artists...
, released a total of three songs before folding, which were released on an EP called Make Hell (For The Beautiful People).
In early 1984, he rejoined The Cure as bassist, that time as replacement of Phil Thornalley
Phil Thornalley
Phil Thornalley is a songwriter-producer who has worked in the music industry since 1978. He is perhaps best known for co-writing the song "Torn" which Natalie Imbruglia later covered to great success for her 1997 debut album, Left of the Middle...
, who was not available. The same year, he was seen in Pete Shelley
Pete Shelley
Pete Shelley is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of Buzzcocks.-Biography:...
's The Pete Shelley Group, on bass, replacing Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson
Barry Adamson is a British rock musician who has worked with rock bands such as Magazine, Visage, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the electronic musicians Pan sonic and Depeche Mode. Adamson created the seven-minute opus "Useless " remix for the latter band in 1997...
, who left to join Nick Cave
Nick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
's Bad Seeds, and then again in 1986 on guitar in a later line-up of the group until the association with the ex-Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
member got Noko the attention of Howard Devoto
Howard Devoto
Howard Devoto is an English rock and roll singer-songwriter, who began his career as the frontman for the punk band Buzzcocks, but then left to form Magazine, one of the first post-punk bands...
. There are many myths ranking around how exactly the first meeting took place, ranging from absurdly comical to realistic, most of which were distributed freely in interviews by the two themselves, but regardless which of these holds truth, the two came together to form the band Luxuria in 1986.
Founder Buzzcock and Magazine frontman, Howard Devoto, started writing with Noko in 1986 with a view to putting a band together to play Factory Records
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
' Festival Of The 10th Summer at G-Mex stadium in Manchester that summer to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Punk. They played a short set as Adultery, borrowing backline from The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
. (Noko also played a set with Pete Shelley at the same gig in a line-up that also included ex Magazine drummer John Doyle
John Doyle (drummer)
John Doyle is a drummer who was member of New Wave bands like Magazine and The Armoury Show. He reunited with the first band for a tour which will be played in February 2009.-Biography:...
).
The line-up for that one Adultery gig was: Howard Devoto - Voice, Noko - Guitar/Viola, Leroy James - keyboards/Guitar, Simon Hoare - drums, Pete Kinski - bass. Signing to Beggars Banquet in 1987 and deciding on the name Luxuria, Devoto and Noko released two LPs: Unanswerable Lust (1988) and Beastbox (1990) and toured Europe and USA throughout 1988 with a line-up of Devoto and Noko on voice/guitars and viola as usual and Karl Leiker - bass, Mark Rowlett - Drums/Sequential Studio 440, James Gardner - Keyboards, Frog - guitar and keyboards. The final Luxuria gig at The Town & Country Club
The Town & Country Club
The Town & Country Club was a 2,100 capacity theatre-style venue in Kentish Town in North London, England. The venue was built in 1934 and was originally an art deco cinema....
(now the London Forum
London Forum
The London Forum, or sometimes Kentish Town Forum is a well-known venue for concerts in Kentish Town, London, United Kingdom owned by the MAMA Group. The venue was built in 1934 and was originally used as an art deco cinema. After the closure of the cinema, The Town & Country Club was established...
) in London featured cameo appearances by Barry Adamson (bass) on a rendition of Magazine's "The Light Pours Out Of Me" for an encore, and Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
, who read a passage of Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
's "A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu" over the intro of "Mademoiselle" before throwing the tattered book into the crowd as the band kicked into the song. (There is a bootleg recording of the gig in circulation).
When Luxuria folded in 1990, Noko got together with school friends, brothers Trevor Gray and Howard Gray
Howard Gray
Howard Gray is a musician, sound engineer, programmer, composer, re-mixer and producer who has worked with, and on the work of Public Image Ltd, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Kirsty MacColl, The Armoury Show, The Pale Fountains, Japan, The Stranglers, Simple Minds, The Pretenders, XTC, UB40,...
, and James Gardner and formed Apollo 440
Apollo 440
Apollo 440 are an English band formed in Liverpool in 1990. Apollo 440 have written, recorded and produced four albums, collaborated with and produced other artists, remixed as Apollo 440 and as ambient cinematic alter-ego Stealth Sonic Orchestra, and created music for film, television,...
.
The band released a number of singles and EPs on their own StealthSonic Recordings label: "Lolita" (1990), "Destiny" (1991), "Blackout" (1992) and "Lolita/Destiny '92" (1992).
Apollo 440 made four albums: Millennium Fever (1995), ElectroGlide In Blue (1997), Gettin' High On Your Own Supply (1999), and Dude Descending A Staircase (2003) on Sony Records. The band have been playing live in one form or another since their inception in 1990 to the present day and chronologically the touring line-ups are as follows:
1990–1992: The band featured all founding members on keyboards, sequencers and drum machines and MCs Stevie Hyper-D and Tigga-Max guesting from time to time on vocals.
1993-1995: James Gardner left for New Zealand where he has since established himself as a prominent composer writing music for his ensemble 175 East. Noko moved over to electric guitar and lead vocals, Trevor Gray on keyboards, Howard Gray on bass, and ex-Modern Eon
Modern Eon
Modern Eon was a British post-punk/New Wave band, formed in Liverpool, England in 1978. They released one album on the independent UK label Dindisc in 1981.-History:...
drummer Cliff Hewitt was added to the line-up first on electronic, then onto acoustic drums. (Kenny Cougar briefly replaced Rej on bass during 1999).
1996-2000: Noko - guitar, Trevor Gray - keyboards, Howard Gray - vibe controller/live-mix, Cliff Hewitt - DDrums
Ddrum
ddrum is a division of Armadillo Enterprises, Inc. that manufactures drums, percussion, and electronic drum triggers.-Acoustic drums:ddrum is a sister company to Dean guitars and produces drums that fall into one of several series, each following a motif of beginning with the letter "d" and grouped...
, Paul Kodish
Paul Kodish
Paul Kodish is a professional drummer born and raised in Willesden, London. Kodish has performed with several other artists including hip hop act Whodini in 1986, and drum and bass group Bad Company. He was also one of two drummers for electronica band Apollo 440 between 1997 and 2005 and the...
- drums, Reinallt Ap Gwynnedd - bass, Mary Byker (ex-Gaye Bykers on Acid
Gaye Bykers on Acid
Gaye Bykers On Acid were an English psychedelic rock band from Leicester, and one of the founder members of the Grebo music scene. They later released both thrash punk and dance music albums under various aliases.-Personnel:...
) - lead vocals, Harry-K - DJ/vocals. Simeon Bowring from A1 People replaced Rej on bass for a number of European festivals in 2000.
2007–2008: Noko - guitar, Trevor Gray - keyboards, Howard Gray - vibe controller/live-mix. Cliff Hewitt - drums, Reinallt Ap Gwynnedd - bass, Ewan MacFarlane - lead vocals, Ashley Krajewski - MPC/keyboards.
2008–present: Chuck Sabo briefly replaced Cliff Hewitt on drums in 2008 (and again in 2009) as Cliff had touring commitments with German artist Schiller; Steve Barney did the same in early 2010 and Mikey Cusick (who had previously played with Noko in Maximum Roach from 2004–2005) replaced Rej on bass in 2008 and remains the current Apollo 440 bassman.
The current 2010 Apollo 440 touring line-up: Noko - guitar, Trevor Gray - keyboards, Howard Gray - vibe controller/live-mix. Cliff Hewitt - drums, Mikey Cusick - bass/vocals, Ewan MacFarlane - lead vocals, Ashley Krajewski - MPC/keyboards/vocals.
2004 saw Noko in a two-man band with James Maker which was at first called Frankenstein, but was later renamed to James Maker and Noko 440. The band released only one EP via Morrissey's Attack imprint (I'm Unbearable/Born That Way) and the two musicians parted early 2005 after touring with a full band line-up on Morrissey's European and UK dates including his Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall supporting the newly reformed New York Dolls
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
. That line-up included Paul Kodish on drums, Simeon Bowring on bass, and Ashley Krajewski on keyboards.
In November 2008, Noko was announced as the guitarist of the reformed Magazine
Magazine (band)
Magazine are an English post-punk group active from 1977 to 1981, then reformed in 2009. Their debut single, "Shot by Both Sides", is now acknowledged as a classic and their debut album, Real Life, is still widely admired as one of the greatest albums of all time...
, joining his former collaborators Howard Devoto, Barry Adamson, John Doyle and Dave Formula
Dave Formula
Dave Formula, , is an English keyboardist and film-soundtrack composer from Manchester, who played with the post-punk band Magazine, and New Romantic ensemble Visage during the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s and in the "world music" band The Angel Brothers.-Early Years and St...
.
In February 2009 the band played a handful of concerts across the UK. It was the first time Magazine had played live together since 1980. The "Real Life & Thereafter" shows sold out quickly and received widespread critical acclaim.
In Summer 2009, Magazine played "The Soap Show: Episode 2009" at the Royal Festival Hall. It was shown in two halves, the first of which was The Correct Use Of Soap LP in its original running order followed by the B-sides and the song "Upside Down" which had never been performed live before. They also played selected European festivals with a set culled from the "Real Life & Thereafter" tour.
The band rounded off the year's activities with appearances on BBC TV's "Later - with Jools Holland" and The BBC Electric Proms.
Magazine have released a brand new live DVD and CD, Real Life & Thereafter: Live at Manchester Academy 17.02.09.
2009 also saw the completion and release of Noko's first full movie score. Une Affaire D'etat, a French-language political thriller based on best-selling novel Nos Fantastiques Années Fric by Dominique Manotti was directed by Éric Valette and stars André Dussollier, Thierry Frémont and Rachida Brakni. European cinema release was in October of that year. A soundtrack CD is available on Milan Musique.
Noko is currently working on the score to Éric Valette's new movie "La Proie" which will be in cinemas in early 2011.
2010 also saw the formation of Raw Chimp with Noko (guitar/vocals), his wife Deborah Fisher-Jones (bass), and Constance Kaler (lead vocals). Raw Chimp played their live debut that same year at the Download Festival.
Other appearances
The nature of the Apollo 440 remix and production process means Noko has played on too many records by other artists to list usefully here.StealthSonicSoul was an alter-ego spin-off project by the three members of Apollo 440. One release "StealthSonicSoul" came out in 1992 on Scottish 23rd Precinct affiliated Limbo label. A further track "StealthSonic Sun In Her Hair" appeared on a Limbo compilation the following year.
The EZ Drum & Bass Orchestra consisted of Noko and Frederick Pasquan and made one commercially available EP "Beat Girl" b/w "EZ Beat Girl" and "Slow Beat Girl" on the Sliced label in 1996.
The Duo also remixed a number of other artists e.g. "Carrerra Rapida -EZ Drum&Bass Orchestra Remix" by Apollo 440 on Sony in 1997.
Noko played bass in 1991 on the Total Abandon EP and "Jubilee Twist" LP in 1992 by The Heart Throbs
The Heart Throbs
The Heart Throbs is the name of a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Antonio Thomas and Romeo Roselli, currently wrestling on the independent circuit. Thomas and Roselli are billed as being popular "with the ladies", and typically approach the ring while performing pelvic thrusts to the...
, a group from Reading who folded in 1993.
In the same year he played abstract guitar on the song Ventriloquists and Dolls from Momus
Momus (artist)
Nick Currie , more popularly known under the artist name Momus , is a songwriter, blogger and former journalist for Wired...
's album Hippopotamomus.
In 1992 Noko collaborated with Stuart Crichton as Johnny Potatohead, releasing a single, "Johnny Potatohead" on Reverb Records.
From 2002-2004 Noko was involved as Producer/Musical Director for The Prada Meinhof Gang, an all-female Art-Terrorist troupe active between 2002–2004, whose activities included performance/installations at the Venice Biennalle, Tate Britain, ICA etc. Their track "Want Is Your Master" was included on the free CD compilation that accompanied the 'Music' issue of Modern Painters
Modern Painters (magazine)
Modern Painters is a monthly art magazine published in New York City by Louise Blouin Media. The magazine is published 10 times per year; it includes profiles on two international artists per issue; columns by international contributors; interviews with and articles by contemporary artists and...
magazine.
Noko made his feature-film debut with a brief cameo appearance as an accordion-playing Parisian street musician in Éric Valette's "Une Affaire D'Etat" movie in 2009.
Equipment
For Apollo 440 live, throughout the late '90s Noko used the following guitars: a green Parker Fly Classic, a blue Parker Fly Deluxe and a pink Fender 1962 reissue Stratocaster through a pair of Digitech 2112 rack FX units, an '80s Roland GP-8 and Fender Twins, but whilst the guitars remain the same,the preamps have been upgraded to Digitech GSP 1101 units with Control 2 foot controller through either a Marshall JCM2000 TSL through a Marshall 1960AX 4x12" cab or a Marshall EL34 50/50 power-amp and a pair of 4x12"sWhile he was touring with Magazine in 2009, Noko used a pair of green Yamaha SG1500 guitars with an MXR dyna comp, MXR flanger, Boss DM-3 and Boss PS-5. The flanger was stand-mounted as per John McGeoch and Robin Simon's setup with the band in the late '70s. For amplification, Noko used two late '70s Marshall JMP 2x12" combos with Marshall 4x12'cabinets and a Fender Twin. A Variax 700 Acoustic was used for the intro of "I Want To Burn Again" through another late '70s MXR flanger.
External links
- http://www.myspace.com/noko440
- The Stealthography (Apollo 440 and related discography)
- Apollo 440 (official page)