Back to Previous Page

Rolling Stone *****
"Ruthlessly mono, scratchy and badly lit."

Daily Planet
"Offbeat... breathtaking... real genius..."

Long-time collaborators Chris Cutler and David Thomas team up for a new program, Musique Noir. 'Drums n Singer' is the style. Both play electronics and samplers.

Chris Cutler and David Thomas met in Washington DC in 1978, brought together by a shared interest in early Etruscan pottery. A little while later Chris, planning to see his ex-Henry Cow bandmate Lindsay Cooper playing with David in London, found himself inducted into a trio which, as the Pedestrians, toured in Europe and America for the next 3 years. Thomas and Cutler continued to work together in the Wooden Birds, the Accordion Club, The Pale Orchestra and Pere Ubu, as well as making live soundtracks to 'It Came From Outer Space' and 'The Man with the X-Ray Eyes.' On the side they also collaborated on a number of one-off vanity projects, before founding the hit-machine that was the Archimedes Quartet with failed folksinger Peter Blegvad and badass bassman John(ny) Edwards.

So, as you can imagine they're pretty fed up with the sight of one another. Quite often this leads to fights, one of the main attractions of their otherwise lacklustre performances. For Sonic Circuits the duo's hurriedly assembled programme will stake out rain-streaked streets, brood on the treachery of avaricious frails, drink too much of the wrong brands in the wrong bars and get frequently and pointlessly beaten up. All this and worse just for your voyeuristic pleasure. It takes a lot to drag these old hacks away from their poolside idylls these days, so do make the most of it.

And bring fruit.