.
Artist Biography
by John Bush
Name-checking a diverse cast of progenitors including
Varése,
Xenakis, and
Robert Moog, as well as
Can and
Stereolab,
Add N to X
are electro-historians of a sort, collectors of vintage synthesizer
technology, and fierce propagators of the man-machine aesthetic (the
cover of their second album features member
Ann Shenton on the operating table with a synthesizer either being inserted or taken out of her organ cavity). The trio formed when
Shenton met
Barry Smith in 1993; both were fans of vintage synth and the proto-electronica crafted in the 1960s and '70s by such luminaries as
Wendy Carlos,
Pierre Henry and even
Roxy Music. After becoming
Add N to X one year later,
Shenton and
Smith recruited theremin expert Steven Claydon plus an organic rhythm section for their live show, consisting of
Stereolab's Andy Ramsay on drums and Rob Hallam from
the High Llamas. After the debut
Add N to X album
Vero Electronics was released in 1996 on Blow Up, the group toured America, where their propulsive live show earned more comparisons to
Suicide than an ostensibly sympathetic group like
Tortoise.
On the Wires of Our Nerves appeared in 1998 and
Avant Hard followed in April of 1999. The following year they released
Add Insult to Injury, which saw the group move in a more accessible, pop direction.
Tracklist
| 1 |
We Are Add N To X |
2:13
|
| 2 |
Murmur One |
7:06
|
| 3 |
Sound Of Accelerating Concrete |
4:01
|
| 4 |
Gentle Germans |
2:30
|
| 5 |
The Black Regent |
6:57
|
| 6 |
Planet Munich |
2:04
|
| 7 |
King Wasp |
3:35
|
| 8 |
Orgy Of Bubastus |
5:15
|
| 9 |
Grey Body, Green Gun |
5:02
|
| 10 |
On The Wires Of Our Nerves |
5:28
|
| 11 |
Hit Me |
6:00
|
| 12 |
Sir Ape |
4:45 |
