The Science Group
Encyclopedia
The Science Group were an avant-rock group
founded in France
in 1997 by English
drummer Chris Cutler
from Henry Cow
and Yugoslav
contemporary classical composer and keyboardist Stevan Tickmayer. They released A Mere Coincidence, an album of songs on science
related topics in 1999, and an instrumental album, Spoors in 2003.
The Science Group were seen by some as an "avant-prog nerd's dream band". Their music was principally avant-rock but also covered a variety of other genres including avant-garde jazz
, contemporary classical
, avant-garde
, ambient
and electronic
. Piero Scaruffi
described their Spoors album as a "... stylistic gamut from the frantic minimalism of 'Timeline 6' to the effervescent rock'n'roll and drum'n'bass of 'Timeline 5', from the piano avantgarde of 'Dispersants' to the circus music of 'Marching Off' (a bagatelle)".
in the former Yugoslavia
while touring with Geoff Leigh
's band, Black Sheep. Cutler came into contact with Tickmayer again in the early 1990s when Cutler's Recommended Records
label in London
began importing and distributing some of Tickmayer's albums. In 1991 Tickmayer moved to France
and invited Cutler to work with him on the music for various choreographic
productions. In 1996 Cutler suggested to Tickmayer that they make a song record using "science" texts Cutler had been developing since 1992. Cutler remarked later in a 1999 interview:
Songs by Cutler on science
related topics had previously been recorded by Art Bears
and News from Babel
, but this was to be his first album devoted exclusively with this subject matter.
Using Cutler's texts, Tickmayer composed the music for a suite of songs that became The Science Group's first album, A Mere Coincidence. Tickmayer and Cutler began recording the album in May 1997 at Studio Midi Pyrenees in Caudeval, France. They invited Fred Frith
(ex-Henry Cow
) to join them and he added guitars to the mix. Then the ADAT
s recorded so far and a score
were sent to Claudio Puntin (from the Syntopia Quartet) in Germany
who added clarinet. After the tapes were returned to the studio in France, Amy Denio
(from Tone Dogs) joined them and sang the texts. Bob Drake
(from Thinking Plague
) handled all the mixing and also added bass guitar, singing and overdubbed guitars and percussion. The whole process continued on and off until January 1999 when the production work was completed. A Mere Coincidence was released later in 1999 on Cutler's Recommended Records label, with The Science Group being billed as Cutler (texts), Tickmayer (music), Drake (production), plus Frith, Puntin and Denio.
The group remained dormant until 2002 when they reassembled as a quartet of Cutler, Tickmayer, Drake and Mike Johnson
(from Thinking Plague) to record their second album, Spoors. It comprised four suites of purely instrumental pieces composed by Tickmayer and was released in 2003, also on Recommended Records.
The Science Group never performed live, although they were invited to play at the annual Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville
in Canada
which they had to turn down due to other commitments by some of the group members.
, cosmology
and genetic engineering
. Their second album was purely instrumental, but the group retained their name for this album.
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
founded in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1997 by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
drummer Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...
from Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
and Yugoslav
Yugoslavs
Yugoslavs is a national designation used by a minority of South Slavs across the countries of the former Yugoslavia and in the diaspora...
contemporary classical composer and keyboardist Stevan Tickmayer. They released A Mere Coincidence, an album of songs on science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
related topics in 1999, and an instrumental album, Spoors in 2003.
The Science Group were seen by some as an "avant-prog nerd's dream band". Their music was principally avant-rock but also covered a variety of other genres including avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz
Avant-garde jazz is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. Avant-jazz often sounds very similar to free jazz, but differs in that, despite its distinct departure from traditional harmony, it has a predetermined structure over which ...
, contemporary classical
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
, avant-garde
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
, ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
and electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. Piero Scaruffi
Piero Scaruffi
Piero Scaruffi received a degree in Mathematics in 1982 from University of Turin, where he did work on the General Theory of Relativity. For a number of years he was the head of the Artificial Intelligence Center at Olivetti, based in Cupertino, California. He has been a visiting scholar at...
described their Spoors album as a "... stylistic gamut from the frantic minimalism of 'Timeline 6' to the effervescent rock'n'roll and drum'n'bass of 'Timeline 5', from the piano avantgarde of 'Dispersants' to the circus music of 'Marching Off' (a bagatelle)".
History
Chris Cutler met Stevan Tickmayer in 1981 in Novi SadNovi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
in the former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
while touring with Geoff Leigh
Geoff Leigh
Geoff Leigh is an English jazz and progressive rock musician, playing primarily soprano sax and flute. He was a member of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow and founded several bands himself, including Red Balune, Random Bob, Black Sheep, Mirage, and Ex-Wise Heads.-Biography:Geoff Leigh's...
's band, Black Sheep. Cutler came into contact with Tickmayer again in the early 1990s when Cutler's Recommended Records
Recommended Records
Recommended Records is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected music released on other independent labels.In 1982 Cutler established November...
label in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
began importing and distributing some of Tickmayer's albums. In 1991 Tickmayer moved to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and invited Cutler to work with him on the music for various choreographic
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
productions. In 1996 Cutler suggested to Tickmayer that they make a song record using "science" texts Cutler had been developing since 1992. Cutler remarked later in a 1999 interview:
Songs by Cutler on science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
related topics had previously been recorded by Art Bears
Art Bears
Art Bears were an English avant-rock group formed during the disassembly of Henry Cow in 1978 by three of its members, Chris Cutler , Fred Frith and Dagmar Krause...
and News from Babel
News from Babel
News from Babel were an English avant-rock group founded in 1983 by Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins and Dagmar Krause. They made two studio albums with several guest musicians and disbanded in 1986.-History:...
, but this was to be his first album devoted exclusively with this subject matter.
Using Cutler's texts, Tickmayer composed the music for a suite of songs that became The Science Group's first album, A Mere Coincidence. Tickmayer and Cutler began recording the album in May 1997 at Studio Midi Pyrenees in Caudeval, France. They invited Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
(ex-Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
) to join them and he added guitars to the mix. Then the ADAT
ADAT
Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT is a magnetic tape format used for the simultaneous digital recording of eight analog audio or digital audio tracks at once, onto a Super VHS tape that is used by consumer VCRs.- History :...
s recorded so far and a score
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
were sent to Claudio Puntin (from the Syntopia Quartet) in Germany
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...
who added clarinet. After the tapes were returned to the studio in France, Amy Denio
Amy Denio
Amy Denio is a Seattle -based multi-instrumental composer of soundtracks for modern dance, film and theater, as well as a songwriter and music improviser. Often called an unclassifiable avant-garde jazz musician, she is also deeply inspired by world music. She is probably best known as a...
(from Tone Dogs) joined them and sang the texts. Bob Drake
Bob Drake (musician)
Bob Drake is an American multi-instrumentalist musician and recording engineer. He was a founding member of the avant-rock band Thinking Plague in the early 1980s, and a member of the 5uu's, Hail and The Science Group . He formed his own band, Bob Drake's Cabinet of Curiosities in 2007...
(from Thinking Plague
Thinking Plague
Thinking Plague is a United States avant-rock group founded in 1982 by guitarist/composer, Mike Johnson, and bass guitarist/drummer, Bob Drake. Based in Denver, Colorado, the band has been active off and on since 1982, taking on a number of musicians over the years...
) handled all the mixing and also added bass guitar, singing and overdubbed guitars and percussion. The whole process continued on and off until January 1999 when the production work was completed. A Mere Coincidence was released later in 1999 on Cutler's Recommended Records label, with The Science Group being billed as Cutler (texts), Tickmayer (music), Drake (production), plus Frith, Puntin and Denio.
The group remained dormant until 2002 when they reassembled as a quartet of Cutler, Tickmayer, Drake and Mike Johnson
Mike Johnson (guitarist)
Mike Johnson is a United States experimental rock guitarist and composer, best known as the cofounder and member of the Denver-based avant-rock group Thinking Plague...
(from Thinking Plague) to record their second album, Spoors. It comprised four suites of purely instrumental pieces composed by Tickmayer and was released in 2003, also on Recommended Records.
The Science Group never performed live, although they were invited to play at the annual Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville
Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville
The Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville is an annual international music festival held in Victoriaville, Quebec that showcases contemporary music.-External links:*...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
which they had to turn down due to other commitments by some of the group members.
Name
The Science Group took their name from the subject matter of Chris Cutler's song texts that were used on their first album. The texts focused on science related topics, including theoretical physicsTheoretical physics
Theoretical physics is a branch of physics which employs mathematical models and abstractions of physics to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena...
, cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
and genetic engineering
Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the direct human manipulation of an organism's genome using modern DNA technology. It involves the introduction of foreign DNA or synthetic genes into the organism of interest...
. Their second album was purely instrumental, but the group retained their name for this album.
Members
- Chris CutlerChris CutlerChris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...
– drums, electronics, texts - Stevan Tickmayer – keyboards, samples, piano, prepared piano, piano strings, electric organ, violin, electric guitar, double bass, Hungarian zither, music
- Bob DrakeBob Drake (musician)Bob Drake is an American multi-instrumentalist musician and recording engineer. He was a founding member of the avant-rock band Thinking Plague in the early 1980s, and a member of the 5uu's, Hail and The Science Group . He formed his own band, Bob Drake's Cabinet of Curiosities in 2007...
– bass guitar, guitar, percussion, vocals, production - Fred FrithFred FrithFred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
– guitars - Claudio Puntin – clarinet, bass clarinet
- Amy DenioAmy DenioAmy Denio is a Seattle -based multi-instrumental composer of soundtracks for modern dance, film and theater, as well as a songwriter and music improviser. Often called an unclassifiable avant-garde jazz musician, she is also deeply inspired by world music. She is probably best known as a...
– vocals - Mike JohnsonMike Johnson (guitarist)Mike Johnson is a United States experimental rock guitarist and composer, best known as the cofounder and member of the Denver-based avant-rock group Thinking Plague...
– guitars
Albums
- A Mere Coincidence (1999, CD, Recommended RecordsRecommended RecordsRecommended Records is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected music released on other independent labels.In 1982 Cutler established November...
, UK) - Spoors (2003, CD, Recommended RecordsRecommended RecordsRecommended Records is a British independent record label and distribution network founded by Chris Cutler in March 1978. RēR features largely "Rock in Opposition" and related music, but it also distributes selected music released on other independent labels.In 1982 Cutler established November...
, UK)
External links
- The Science Group at Piero ScaruffiPiero ScaruffiPiero Scaruffi received a degree in Mathematics in 1982 from University of Turin, where he did work on the General Theory of Relativity. For a number of years he was the head of the Artificial Intelligence Center at Olivetti, based in Cupertino, California. He has been a visiting scholar at...
. - Compositions for The Science Group. Stevan Tickmayer home page.
- Stevan Tickmayer. Chris Cutler home page.
- Interviews with Chris Cutler on The Science Group. Chris Cutler home page.