Party of One...

jmc

PARTY OF ONE (FatCat) + very special guests
+ DJ ALEX KNIGHT (FatCat)

Date:
Monday, June 16th '03

Venue:
The Sugar Club, Lower Leeson St, Dublin 2.

Tickets:
Eur10, available on the door on the night only.

Doors:
8.00pm sharp til' late.


In advance of their forthcoming Dublin appearance, Party Of One's 'Caught The Blast' album is out this Friday, May 30th on FatCat Records.

FatCat Records stop off for a special night in Dublin for the Irish debut of the deservedly highly-rated new act, Minnesota three-piece, PARTY OF ONE on June 16th. The label has already brought the likes of Sigur Rós, Múm, Black Dice, Kid 606, and *that* Funkstörung mix of Björk's All is Full of Love' (she's a friend of the label and was a regular customer at the FatCat record shop) to a much wider audience,

Linking the night together is co-founder of the label and acclaimed DJ in his own right, ALEX KNIGHT.

Known for his uncompromising but eclectic musical tastes, like FatCat's repertoire, he covers a wide range of musical styles, leaning towards the experimental.


The brainchild of partners DAVE CAWLEY and ALEX KNIGHT, and dating back to 1990, FatCat was initially established as an electronic-based record store operating from London satellite town, Crawley.

From the outset, Fat Cat had always held an interest in other (complimentary and experimental) musics, and as the store evolved, increasingly stocked and pushed customers to explore genres like hip hop, drum 'n' bass, dub, post-rock, noise and post-industrial.

Moving to London's Covent Garden in 1991, the shop rapidly developed an avid fanbase, gaining wide respect as London's finest outlet for the genre; operating as both a meeting place and nerve-centre for the ever-expanding electronic scene. Regular customers included the likes of DJs and producers Andrew Weatherall, Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Richie Hawtin, as well as a large number of others who would go on to establish themselves as prime movers within the post-techno scene (Aphex Twin, Mu-Ziq, Black Dog, etc.).

Yet the whole ethos of the shop was about treating people equally, regardless of who you were - you didn't have to be part of some scene, some big name DJ or producer. You could just be some guy with a tape. You were accepted for being into the music. For attempting to push things onwards.

Having movied to a basement beneath a clothing store (yet remaining in Covent Garden) in '94, in late '96, Fat Cat announced its intentions to simultaneously operate as a label, testing the waters with their first 12" release, the 'EVA' EP by Japanese techno act, Web.

The record went down well, but soon disaster beset the store. Having been forced to close down in the summer of '97 due to excessive rents, Cawley & Knight took their plans for the nascent label to One Little Indian (home of friend & regular FatCat customer Bjork), who soon took them under its wing, funding releases whilst (crucially) allowing complete creative freedom.
(more info on the label's recent history and independent development follows further below under Extra Info & Links).


PARTY OF ONE are a tight, angular and intriguing three-piece from the coldest state in the USA, Minnesota, and are based around the enigmatic presence of guitarist/songwriter, ERIC FIFTEEN.

Recorded on an 8-track, their album is trebly, dessicated, underfed and stretched taut as can be across a skeletal musical framework. Sometimes it
teeters on the verge of collapse, only to find wiry strength in its stubbornness to survive and kick against the pricks, firing bilious broadsides at a whole raft of targets right across the history and geography of the globe - genocide, gang violence, religion, exposure of military personnel to war-related illnesses, sexual violence... yet any liberal sensibilities are entirely washed away by Eric's apparent deep-seated misanthropy.

His refusal to take an obvious stance in his lyrics is frequently disconcerting and often provocative, from the ethnic cleansing concerns of 'Belgrade Sends Its Regards' to the blackly humoured 'Baghdad Boogie', but it's all set to a peppy, kick-up-your-heels beat that references everything from Patti Smith, Nirvana, T Rex, Ramones and Captain Beefheart, to slightly less apparent influences of James Brown, Dirty Three and Can.

The tunes are of the once-heard-never-forgotten variety: nagging, insistent and thrilling. In this sense 'Caught the Blast' is somewhat in a (battle)field of its own. It's hard to think of many other songwriters currently operating who strive so hard to be lyrically thought-provoking while at the same time caring to craft memorable pop.

Eric: " 'Caught the Blast' has all these violent images, because I felt surrounded by music that didn't go in that direction; all these happy songs, and that's not what I wanted to do. I suppose I look for things to write about that are not your typical love song. My aim is to get people to say 'Wow! I haven't heard that in a song before'."

As well as Eric on guitar and vocal duties, Party of One comprises TERRIKA KLEINKNECHT playing the bass and sometimes singing, and GEOFF McCUSICK playing the drums.

Geoff teaches fourth grade and Terrica teaches girls to play the drums, as well as playing the same in the Portland-based excellently named Pom Pom Meltdown.

PARTY OF ONE + very special guests
+ DJ ALEX KNIGHT.
Monday, June 16th '03 at The Sugar Club, Dublin.
Doors: 8.00pm sharp.