Total

Biography

London’s Total was the largely single side task of Skullflower and Sunroof! innovator Matthew Bower, who generally utilized it as a car for his multi-instrumental skills so when a free-form, ambient counterpoint towards the scabrous sound assault of his additional endeavors. Oddly, Total in fact predated Skullflower by five years, having produced from Bower’s previous music group, Pure, in 1982. Although they didn’t record very much, Total’s middle-’80s lineup included many musicians — included in this guitarist Stefan Jaworzyn and bassist Alex Binnie — who later form the first primary of Skullflower. Their early period was chronicled around the cassette-only launch 84-87, on Anomalous Information. When Skullflower became Bower’s main band task in 1987, he held the full total name for his single function, but didn’t perform very much with it until 1993, when he released the entirely single Beyond the Rim on Majora Information. Featuring Bower on acoustic guitar, piano, bass, discovered sounds, along with other devices, it arranged the firmness for a lot of Total’s catalog, like the double-LP follow-up, Right here, Time Is usually Space. Freek’s 1994 launch Sky Blue Void, nevertheless, was a very much noisier outing offering many of Bower’s Skullflower cohorts — reed participant John Godbert, keyboardist Simon Wickham-Smith, and guitarist Russell Smith; Bower himself actually played the vacuum on one monitor. As Skullflower relocated inside a quieter, even more ambient path, Bower’s Total produces grew progressively noisier and much more abrasive. 1995 brought a overflow of materials: Glassy Warhead, around the Pure label; Tanzmusik der Renaissance, on Freek; as well as the high-volume chaos of Exploded Celebrity Sad Servant, on Personal Misuse. 1996’s vinyl-only Crystal clear Factory designated a one-off go back to Majora, while 1997’s Buffin’ the Celestial Muffin made an appearance on Bower’s personal Rural Electrification System label, and presented another around of Skullflower guests. That 12 months brought two even more releases within the uncommon (actually for Total) To Fall Like Cherry Blossoms, on American Tapes, and Kaspar Hauser, for Metonymic. 1998’s Eternity’s Gorgeous Frontispiece, on VHF, was probably one of the most accessible Total releases, offering guest places from Godbert and violinist Neil Campbell (also of Vibracathedral Orchestra). Total’s name caused an improbable crossing of pathways with Sean “Puffy” Combs, who was simply pushing a lady hip-hop trio of the same name in the past due ’90s. They effectively won rights towards the moniker, and Bower — currently possessed of other innovative retailers — retired Total and only his main task, Sunroof!. VHF provided one additional archival discharge within the CD-R Solid Items Thrown at Goblins, that was released in 2000 and noted a live show of four years prior that also highlighted John Godbert.

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