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{{Short description|English band}}
{{otheruses|Disco Inferno}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Musicians -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
| Name = Disco Inferno
{{Infobox musical artist
| Img = DiscoInferno.jpg
| Img_capt = (left to right): Ian Crause, Rob Whatley and Paul Wilmott | name = Disco Inferno
| Img_size = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels --> | image = DiscoInferno.jpg
| caption = Disco Inferno. From left to right: Ian Crause, Rob Whatley and Paul Wilmott
| Landscape =
| image_size = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| Background = group_or_band
| Birth_name = | landscape = yes
| Alias = D.I. | birth_name =
| Origin = ], ] | alias = D.I.
| Genre = ]<br/>] | origin = ], England
| genre = ], ], ], ]
| Years_active = 1989 – 1995
| Label = | years_active = 1989–1995
| label = Ché<ref>{{cite web|last=Kulkarni|first=Neil|title=A New 90s Part Two: Burning Up With Disco Inferno|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/07144-disco-inferno-interview|work=The Quietus|access-date=9 February 2013}}</ref><br/>]
| Associated_acts = ]
| associated_acts = ]
| URL =
| Current_members = | website =
| current_members =
| Past_members = Daniel Gish<br/>Ian Crause<br/>Paul Willmott<br/>Rob Whatley
| past_members = Ian Crause<br/>Paul Willmott<br/>Rob Whatley<br/>Daniel Gish
}} }}


'''Disco Inferno''' were an English ] band active in the late 1980s and the 1990s. Initially a trio of guitar, bass, and drums performing in an identifiable ] style, the band soon pioneered a dynamic use of ] in addition to standard rock instruments.<ref name="Allmusic">{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/disco-inferno-p45138/biography |title=Disco Inferno - Biography |author=Kellman, Andy |work=] |access-date=17 October 2011}}</ref> While commercially unsuccessful during their existence, the band is considered to be a key ] act.<ref name="quietus">{{cite web|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/14477-disco-inferno-di-go-pop |title=A Deliberate Rejection Of Beauty? Disco Inferno's D.I. Go Pop |work=The Quietus |access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="popmatters1">{{cite web|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/discoinferno-digopop2004/ |title=Disco Inferno: D.I. Go Pop |website=PopMatters.com |date=18 May 2004 |access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref>
'''Disco Inferno''' was a band formed in ] in the late ] by ] (guitar & vocals), Paul Wilmott (bass), Rob Whatley (drums) and Daniel Gish (keyboards).


==History==
After the departure of Gish (who would later join ]) the three-piece Disco Inferno recorded the single 'Entertainment' with producer Charlie McIntosh. Their first album, ], was released in 1991 on ] and received positive reviews, although most mentioned the heavy influence of late ] ] bands, particularly ] and ] (In fact Disco Inferno's manager, Michael Collins, had previously managed Wire during their 70's incarnation).
Disco Inferno formed in 1989 in ] by teenagers Ian Crause (guitars and vocals), Paul Willmott (bass), Daniel Gish (keyboards) and Rob Whatley (drums), although Gish soon quit the band to join ], leaving Disco Inferno as a trio.<ref name="allmusic2">{{cite web|author=Andy Kellman |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/disco-inferno-mn0000135196/biography |title=Disco Inferno &#124; Biography & History |publisher=] |access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref> They were initially a ] band heavily influenced by bands such as ] and ],<ref name="popmatters1" /> releasing their first album '']'' in July 1991, alongside the "Entertainment" single, also from 1991, and 1992's ''Science'' EP, all of which were compiled onto the compilation album '']'' (1992).<ref>{{cite web|author=Ned Raggett |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/in-debt-mw0000180972 |title=In Debt – Disco Inferno &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits |publisher=] |date=13 March 1995 |access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref>


However, Crause soon became infatuated with the unique sounds of bands ] and ], as well as ]'s ] production and ] on the music of ],<ref name="allmusic2" /> and with the release of the ''Summer's Last Sound'' EP, released later on in 1992 by, the band's musical style changed towards sample-based ] sounds.<ref name="popmatters1" /> The band "hit upon a seemingly simple but ultimately world-opening idea" with the EP: to write their instruments through ], and unlike their contemporaries who sampled elements of music, film dialogue or other media, Disco Inferno "engaged with the whole world", using their set up to record sounds ranging from running water, the wind, whistling birds, boots, car crashes and angry voices.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} Crause had purchased a ] S-750 sampler with his savings and started programming towards the band's sound for six months.<ref name="thequietus3">{{cite web|url=http://thequietus.com/articles/07144-disco-inferno-interview |title=A New 90s Part Two: Burning Up With Disco Inferno |work=The Quietus |access-date=15 July 2016}}</ref> In a 2011 interview, Wilmott recalled of the era:
'Entertainment', ] and the 'Science' EP would later be collected on the album ].
] and ] was an important influence on Disco Inferno.]]
{{quote|"We had recorded the ''Science'' EP, got some slightly better press, but were still playing to the bar staff most nights in any venue that would let us play. We were frustrated, ambitious and wanted to make an impression. Bands that we liked were using samplers and there seemed to be no reason apart from the financial that we shouldn't look to use them. We were listening to '']'', '']'', '']''; open to possibilities. We were conscious of the clone indie kid and wanted to be anything but tribal. We had been together just over three years and collectively were getting nowhere; it became a shit or bust moment. At least we would die trying. I always thought that the thing that made DI distinctive post-''In Debt'' was the complete lack of pretence in our approach."<ref name="thequietus3" />}}


''Summer's Last Sound'' was praised for its uncompromising, innovative and experimental sound,<ref name="allmusic2" /> and the group expanded the approach with their subsequent EPs ''A Rock to Cling To'' (1992) and '']'' (1993), both of which were released on ] after their previous label Cheree closed. According to Andy Kellman of ], the new label "saved the band's life, as the members believed that they were too challenging for anyone else to understand or care for."<ref name="allmusic2" /> Kellman commented that, "disorienting, confusing, and highly schizophrenic, the challenging releases were in direct contrast to the prevailing ] scene of the time," taking "]'s futurist pop a couple steps further and secured a devout and small following that found solace in their wildly imaginative, peerless nature."<ref name="allmusic2" /> The band became characterized as one of the first ] bands.<ref name="thequietus3" /> Crause and Whatley purchased ] instruments to order the replicate the samples live, with Willmott's bass serving as an anchor to the unpredictable sounds being made. ] described their sample-based work as a pioneering example of ] music.<ref name=indieelectronic>{{cite web |title=Indie Electronic Music Genre Overview |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/indie-electronic-ma0000012275 |website=AllMusic |access-date=9 September 2023}}</ref>
In 1992 the band released 'Summer's Last Sound', widely regarded as the first in a run of classic Disco Inferno EPs which saw the band's increasing use of ].


In a 2011 interview, Crause explained "Most of these other what are now called ] groups, I think they regarded us as a kind of ] group because of the pop songs and the sampling so there was little chance of them deciding to follow us in the sampling - no critical consensus had been built for them to aspire to it - we kind of got ours from Public Enemy, who were too black and the Young Gods, who sang in French, for fuck's sake! And it wasn't seen as 'serious' enough, perhaps meaning it wasn't seen as commercially viable enough... who knows. Anyway, I did it 'cos I had the ideas."<ref name="quietus" />
The band's use of sampling combined with traditional instruments - particularly Wilmott's bass - continued on the EPs 'A Rock To Cling To' and 'The Last Dance' and reached it's peak on their second album ].


The melody on the album's 8 tracks is often carried by the bassline, while an imaginative array of samples (including running water, breaking glass, car crashes, fax machines) builds dense aural collages. Unlike many of the ] bands Disco Inferno were labelled alongside, the music on ] was harsh and concise, with Crause's vocals (often buried in the mix) concerning frustration rather than bliss. The band's musical approach reached its peak on their second album '']'', released in February 1994. The album's music was harsh and concise, with the melody on the eight tracks often carried by the bassline, while an array of samples (including running water, breaking glass, car crashes and fax machines) built the musical collages. After ''D. I. Go Pop'' the band opted for restraint on the ''Second Language'' EP, which also featured a new-found optimism in Crause's lyrics. The band's next single, "It's a Kid's World", sampled the drumbeat from ]'s "]" and added in a series of old children's TV themes.


Despite critical acclaim, Disco Inferno attracted little commercial success. Combined artistic and financial pressure began to erode their sense of common purpose and loyalty. The band split acrimoniously in 1995, prior to the release of their final album, '']'', which was released in July 1996.<ref name="quietus" />
After the full-on assault of ] the band opted for restraint on the beautiful 'Second Language' EP which also had a new-found ] in Crause's lyrics.


In September 1999, the Tugboat label released '']'', which featured six instrumental tracks the band had recorded for radio, while ] reissued ''D. I. Go Pop'' and gave ''Technicolour'' a belated ] release in 2004. In September 2011, One Little Indian released a compilation entitled '']'', featuring tracks from all five of the now out-of-print EPs released between 1992 and 1994.
Their final single, 'It's A Kid's World', sampled the distinctive drumbeat from ]'s ] and added in a series of old children's TV themes to good effect, but despite critical acclaim the band attracted little commercial success and split before their final album, ] was released in 1996.


==Subsequent projects==
After the split, ] formed Floorshow who recorded some material for an unreleased album which was to be called 'The Vertical Axis'. Some of these songs later appeared on his solo singles 'Elemental' and 'Head Over Heels' which featured drummer Ritchie Thomas (], ]).


===Ian Crause===
Paul Wilmott formed Transformer who recorded a cover of ]'s ] which appeared on the ] tribute album, ] (] 1996), before making recordings under the name Lisp.


After the split, Ian Crause formed Floorshow who recorded some material for an unreleased album which was to be called ''The Vertical Axis''. Some of these songs later appeared on his solo singles in the early 2000s ("Elemental" and "Head Over Heels"), which featured drummer Ritchie Thomas (], ]). Crause would then spend the best part of a decade away from music and eventually left the UK to move to ].
In 1999, the Tugboat label released the 'Mixing It Session' which featured 6 instrumental tracks the band had recorded for the radio, while ] gave ] and ] a belated US release in 2004.


Crause returned to music in mid-2012 with a track called "More Earthly Concerns", which resurrected Disco Inferno's sample-heavy textured approach and was released via various blogs. This was followed in November 2012 by "The Song of ]", a long-form single release on ] inspired by both Greek mythology and British involvement in the ]. Several other tracks ("The Vertical Axis", "Suns May Rise", "Black Light", and "A World of Ghosts") were released on Bandcamp in early 2013. Crause's long-delayed debut solo album, ''The Vertical Axis'' (also a Bandcamp release) followed in December 2013.
== Discography ==


===Paul Wilmott===
*Entertainment (Che, 1990 single)
*] (Che, 1991 album)
*Science (Che, 1991 EP)
*Summer's Last Sound (Cheree, 1992 EP)
*A Rock To Cling To (Rough Trade, 1993 EP)
*The Last Dance (Rough Trade, 1993 EP)
*] (Rough Trade, 1994 album)
*Second Language (Rough Trade, 1994 EP)
*It's A Kid's World (Rough Trade, 1994 EP)
*] (Rough Trade, 1996 album)
*] (Tugboat, 1999 EP)
Compilation:
*] (Che, 1995 album)


Paul Wilmott formed Transformer, who recorded a cover of Wire's "Outdoor Miner", which appeared on the Wire ], ''Whore'' (1996). He would later play in the short-lived ]-signed ] band ].
== External links ==
*
*


==Discography==
]
===Albums===
*'']'' (Ché, July 1991)
*'']'' (Rough Trade, February 1994)
*'']'' (Rough Trade, July 1996)


===Compilations===
]
*'']'' (Ché, 1992)
*'']'' (], September 2011)

===Singles and EPs===
*"Entertainment"/"Arc in Round" single (Ché, 1991)
*''Science'' EP (Ché, 1991)
*''Summer's Last Sound'' EP (Cheree Records, October 1992)
*''A Rock to Cling To'' EP (Rough Trade, July 1993)
*'']'' EP (Rough Trade, November 1993)
*''Second Language'' EP (Rough Trade, May 1994)
*''It's a Kid's World'' EP (Rough Trade, September 1994)
*'']'' EP (Tugboat, September 1999)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*
*
*{{bandcamp|iancrause|Ian Crause}}
*

{{Authority control}}

]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 05:06, 9 September 2023

English band

Disco Inferno
Disco Inferno. From left to right: Ian Crause, Rob Whatley and Paul WilmottDisco Inferno. From left to right: Ian Crause, Rob Whatley and Paul Wilmott
Background information
Also known asD.I.
OriginEssex, England
GenresPost-rock, experimental rock, post-punk, indie electronic
Years active1989–1995
LabelsChé
Rough Trade
Past membersIan Crause
Paul Willmott
Rob Whatley
Daniel Gish

Disco Inferno were an English experimental rock band active in the late 1980s and the 1990s. Initially a trio of guitar, bass, and drums performing in an identifiable post-punk style, the band soon pioneered a dynamic use of digital sampling in addition to standard rock instruments. While commercially unsuccessful during their existence, the band is considered to be a key post-rock act.

History

Disco Inferno formed in 1989 in Essex by teenagers Ian Crause (guitars and vocals), Paul Willmott (bass), Daniel Gish (keyboards) and Rob Whatley (drums), although Gish soon quit the band to join Bark Psychosis, leaving Disco Inferno as a trio. They were initially a post-punk band heavily influenced by bands such as Joy Division and Wire, releasing their first album Open Doors, Closed Windows in July 1991, alongside the "Entertainment" single, also from 1991, and 1992's Science EP, all of which were compiled onto the compilation album In Debt (1992).

However, Crause soon became infatuated with the unique sounds of bands My Bloody Valentine and the Young Gods, as well as the Bomb Squad's hip hop production and sampling on the music of Public Enemy, and with the release of the Summer's Last Sound EP, released later on in 1992 by, the band's musical style changed towards sample-based electronic sounds. The band "hit upon a seemingly simple but ultimately world-opening idea" with the EP: to write their instruments through samplers, and unlike their contemporaries who sampled elements of music, film dialogue or other media, Disco Inferno "engaged with the whole world", using their set up to record sounds ranging from running water, the wind, whistling birds, boots, car crashes and angry voices. Crause had purchased a Roland S-750 sampler with his savings and started programming towards the band's sound for six months. In a 2011 interview, Wilmott recalled of the era:

The production style of Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad was an important influence on Disco Inferno.

"We had recorded the Science EP, got some slightly better press, but were still playing to the bar staff most nights in any venue that would let us play. We were frustrated, ambitious and wanted to make an impression. Bands that we liked were using samplers and there seemed to be no reason apart from the financial that we shouldn't look to use them. We were listening to Blue Lines, Loveless, Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld; open to possibilities. We were conscious of the clone indie kid and wanted to be anything but tribal. We had been together just over three years and collectively were getting nowhere; it became a shit or bust moment. At least we would die trying. I always thought that the thing that made DI distinctive post-In Debt was the complete lack of pretence in our approach."

Summer's Last Sound was praised for its uncompromising, innovative and experimental sound, and the group expanded the approach with their subsequent EPs A Rock to Cling To (1992) and The Last Dance (1993), both of which were released on Rough Trade Records after their previous label Cheree closed. According to Andy Kellman of AllMusic, the new label "saved the band's life, as the members believed that they were too challenging for anyone else to understand or care for." Kellman commented that, "disorienting, confusing, and highly schizophrenic, the challenging releases were in direct contrast to the prevailing Britpop scene of the time," taking "A.R. Kane's futurist pop a couple steps further and secured a devout and small following that found solace in their wildly imaginative, peerless nature." The band became characterized as one of the first post-rock bands. Crause and Whatley purchased MIDI-controlled instruments to order the replicate the samples live, with Willmott's bass serving as an anchor to the unpredictable sounds being made. AllMusic described their sample-based work as a pioneering example of indie electronic music.

In a 2011 interview, Crause explained "Most of these other what are now called post-rock groups, I think they regarded us as a kind of tinker-toy group because of the pop songs and the sampling so there was little chance of them deciding to follow us in the sampling - no critical consensus had been built for them to aspire to it - we kind of got ours from Public Enemy, who were too black and the Young Gods, who sang in French, for fuck's sake! And it wasn't seen as 'serious' enough, perhaps meaning it wasn't seen as commercially viable enough... who knows. Anyway, I did it 'cos I had the ideas."

The band's musical approach reached its peak on their second album D. I. Go Pop, released in February 1994. The album's music was harsh and concise, with the melody on the eight tracks often carried by the bassline, while an array of samples (including running water, breaking glass, car crashes and fax machines) built the musical collages. After D. I. Go Pop the band opted for restraint on the Second Language EP, which also featured a new-found optimism in Crause's lyrics. The band's next single, "It's a Kid's World", sampled the drumbeat from Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" and added in a series of old children's TV themes.

Despite critical acclaim, Disco Inferno attracted little commercial success. Combined artistic and financial pressure began to erode their sense of common purpose and loyalty. The band split acrimoniously in 1995, prior to the release of their final album, Technicolour, which was released in July 1996.

In September 1999, the Tugboat label released The Mixing It Session, which featured six instrumental tracks the band had recorded for radio, while One Little Indian Records reissued D. I. Go Pop and gave Technicolour a belated US release in 2004. In September 2011, One Little Indian released a compilation entitled The 5 EPs, featuring tracks from all five of the now out-of-print EPs released between 1992 and 1994.

Subsequent projects

Ian Crause

After the split, Ian Crause formed Floorshow who recorded some material for an unreleased album which was to be called The Vertical Axis. Some of these songs later appeared on his solo singles in the early 2000s ("Elemental" and "Head Over Heels"), which featured drummer Ritchie Thomas (Dif Juz, The Jesus and Mary Chain). Crause would then spend the best part of a decade away from music and eventually left the UK to move to Bolivia.

Crause returned to music in mid-2012 with a track called "More Earthly Concerns", which resurrected Disco Inferno's sample-heavy textured approach and was released via various blogs. This was followed in November 2012 by "The Song of Phaethon", a long-form single release on Bandcamp inspired by both Greek mythology and British involvement in the Second Gulf War. Several other tracks ("The Vertical Axis", "Suns May Rise", "Black Light", and "A World of Ghosts") were released on Bandcamp in early 2013. Crause's long-delayed debut solo album, The Vertical Axis (also a Bandcamp release) followed in December 2013.

Paul Wilmott

Paul Wilmott formed Transformer, who recorded a cover of Wire's "Outdoor Miner", which appeared on the Wire tribute album, Whore (1996). He would later play in the short-lived London Records-signed trip hop band Lisp.

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Singles and EPs

  • "Entertainment"/"Arc in Round" single (Ché, 1991)
  • Science EP (Ché, 1991)
  • Summer's Last Sound EP (Cheree Records, October 1992)
  • A Rock to Cling To EP (Rough Trade, July 1993)
  • The Last Dance EP (Rough Trade, November 1993)
  • Second Language EP (Rough Trade, May 1994)
  • It's a Kid's World EP (Rough Trade, September 1994)
  • The Mixing It Session EP (Tugboat, September 1999)

References

  1. Kulkarni, Neil. "A New 90s Part Two: Burning Up With Disco Inferno". The Quietus. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  2. Kellman, Andy. "Disco Inferno - Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  3. ^ "A Deliberate Rejection Of Beauty? Disco Inferno's D.I. Go Pop". The Quietus. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Disco Inferno: D.I. Go Pop". PopMatters.com. 18 May 2004. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  5. ^ Andy Kellman. "Disco Inferno | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  6. Ned Raggett (13 March 1995). "In Debt – Disco Inferno | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  7. ^ "A New 90s Part Two: Burning Up With Disco Inferno". The Quietus. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  8. "Indie Electronic Music Genre Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 September 2023.

External links

Categories: