MATERIAL
Memory Serves (1981)

Material's first long play release stands somewhere between their Temporary Music EPs and Laswell's own Baselines. Angular funk grooves punctuate most of the album, at times recalling mid-80s Miles metrics, but the musicians are plastic enough to allow less stringent forms of movement to flow in. Threadgill's sax and Lewis' trombone are partly responsible for this wider reach, often stretching tempos so as to elude the band's circular rhythms, while Beinhorn, Frith and Sharrock add sonic depth to Laswell's trademark obese bass.

Bill Laswell - bass.
Sonny Sharrock - guitar.
Fred Frith - guitar, violin, xylophone.
George Lewis - trombone.
Henry Kaiser - guitar.
Olu Dara - cornet.
Billy Bang - violin.
Robert Musso - guitar.
Grand Mixer D.S.T. - turntable.
Daniel Ponce - percussion.
Anton Fier - drums.
Charles K. Noyes - drums, percussion.
Michael Beinhorn - synth, voice, tapes, radio, guitar, drums.

Released in 1981 by Celluloid Records. Re-released in 1992 by Mau-Mau, featuring an extra track (#9).

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