Patrick Miller, leader of underground ensemble Minimal Man, was born in Glendale, California,
on 2 January 1952. He studied art at Sonoma
State University,
where he concentrated chiefly on silk-screening. In 1979 he moved to San Francisco & began
working on experimental musick & film. Minimal Man began as a vehicle to
produce soundtracks for his films. Miller also began to collaborate with a wide
variety of punk, new wave & industrial musicians, including Tuxedomoon. By October Minimal Man was performing at the legendary Deaf Club & other
venues around the city. As the musick blossomed, Miller became less interested in film &
more interested in the music itself.
Minimal Man cut two albums of dark industrial punk rock (The
Shroud Of… & Safari ) while in San Francisco.
The debut Minimal Man album The
Shroud Of... was originally released by Berkeley label Subterranean Records in 1981,
when the core band was a trio made up of: Miller – vocals, keyboards, &
tape manipulation; Andrew Baumer – bass & saxophone & Lliam Hart (Pansy
Division) - drums. Minimal Man became one of a select handful of influential
groups from this era to bridge punk & industrial music. They mixed punk
aggression with tape-loops & atmospheric electronics, creating a dissonant,
unsettling sound described at the time as ‘antimusic’. Although usually
classified as industrial punk, Minimal Mam’a musick contained elements of cold
wave, art rock, post-punk, new wave, avant-garde, experimental electronics
& noise.
Although the foundation of the band was Miller, Baumer, & Hart, Miller wanted the group to be more of a musical collective, so their debut record featured contributions from a myriad of artists: Hitoshi Sasaki; Stephen Wymore (Pink Section); Stefano Paolillo; Michael Belfer (Sleepers, Tuxedomoon); Steven Brown (Tuxedomoon); Michael Fox (Code of Honor) & Gary Miles. However, only their debut & Slave Lullabyes (featured here) would showcase such an array of collaborators.
Miller relocated to Europe in 1985 after the dismal response
to the band here in America,
settling in Brussels
alongside fellow SF expats Tuxedomoon. While there, the band released four
albums: Sex With God; Slave Lullabyes; Hunger is All She has
Ever Known; & Pure.
In the 1990's Miller returned to America,
settling first in New York, then back to California, working as a
set dresser in the movie business. He stayed in that line of work &
never recorded any further music. He died at his home in Eagle Rock, California on 14th
December 2003 from Hepatitis C.
Minimal Man – Slave Lullayes, Fundamental SAVE 11, 1986.
decryption code in comments
Side One –
Trains
Heaven Lies
Far Away
War at Nite
The Light
Noose Gets Tight
Side Two –
I Wish
Rue du Cinema
Voice of Vacaville
Fun!
Enjoy,
NØ
ITjPvB0OOPoWrTAlf7GApgxgiHUWtZGnfm4RMw0T0Kc
ReplyDelete