Biography
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Years Active
1995 – 2002 (7 years)
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Founded In
Oakland, Alameda County, California, United States
Noisegate refers to two bands:
1: Noisegate (1996-1998) were an indie/electronic band based in Newcastle upon Tyne, influenced by Joy Division, Massive Attack and Radiohead. Personnel: Rob Maddison, Graeme Wood, Scott Hartop, Andy Davis, James Rusk
2: Noisegate began in 1995, when Trevor Paglen, Nicolas Lampert and Tae K Kim began to experiment with using timbre as a basis for a musical language. In November of 1995, Excavation Day was released. A tape-only release, limited to 500 copies, this is an early document of our development.
Barren Earth was released in the summer of 1996. At this point, Noisegate's musical language had expanded to include a much wider range of textures, all of which were composed into one another. An early version of 'Solar Eclipse' was on this release.
In the fall of 1996, Noisegate embarked on their first major tour of the US, with filmmaker Laura Klein. Upon their return, Chris Fitzpatrick was enlisted to run sampler. The new lineup began work on the music which became the Towers Are Burning LP, released in 1998 by the One Hundred Years of Solitude label. After several tours supporting the LP, it was decided to record two more tracks, and release all four on Tumult and Legion as the Towers Are Burning CD.
After more touring, Chris Fitzpatrick and Trevor Paglen began work on Suspended Animation, where the new emphasis of the compositions were fluidity and subtlety. Suspended Animation was released in May 2000, and supported in the Summer of 2000 with a lengthy multimedia tour of the U.S., accompanied by filmmaker, Jon Frechette.
As We Were Walking was a recorded version of the interpretations of Suspended Animation that Noisegate performed on their U.S. tour, and was released exclusively in Europe in December of 2001. In January of 2001, Noisegate toured Europe in support of As We Were Walking. Where in the past, Noisegate tours have created rich, immersive, multimedia environments, for this tour, the opposite was achieved. The performances occurred in absolute darkness with the performers unseen, disarming rather than facilitating spectacle.
Noisegate members Chris Fitzpatrick and Trevor Paglen currently live and work in the California Bay Area and are dedicated to the exploration of sound as an artistic medium.
Discography
Full-length Releases:
* We Stood There Watching (2001) (limited European-only release) Manufracture Records
* Suspended Animation (vol. 1) (2000) Tumult Records
* The Towers Are Burning (1999) (full-length compact disc) Tumult Records
* As We Were Walking (1999) (split 7” with KK Null) Wagonhault Records
* Towers Are Burning (1998) (original LP version, edition of 1000, out of print)
* Barren Earth (1996) (tape edition of 500, out of print)
* Excavation Day (1995) (tape edition of 500, out of print)
Compilations featuring Noisegate:
* In Formation: A Tribute To Throbbing Gristle (Released on ADR and Invisible Records)
* Audio Terrorism: 99 Bands (Released on C.N.P Records)
Useful Links
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