Bio
Volcano the Bear formed in May 1995, in Leicester, England, by Daniel Padden, Laurence Coleman, Nick Mott and Aaron Moore. These four musicians encountered frustrations with the limitations of traditional musical endeavors and sought an outlet that could defy convention. Volcano the Bear quickly became the platform for their total artistic freedom and personal expression, where they could explore collective ideas and interests in a new and inventive manner.
The music that came forth from this collective ideology was a beautiful cross-section of the English underground of years past (R. Wyatt, This Heat, Nurse With Wound) alongside the rhythms of Can, the trickery of Faust and a Residents-like surrealist bent. Volcano the Bear adapt these lofty inspirations into a sound that is distinctly their own creation, one that blurs the lines between songs, composition, noise and improvisation.
Volcano the Bear’s own Volucan imprint was home to their first recordings, released in limited cassette and CD-R formats. Glowing reviews in magazines like The Wire and Audion quickly expanded the group’s fan base, and soon Volcano the Bear released the mini-LP Yak Folks Y'are on the Pickled Egg label. Devout fans included United Dairies/Nurse With Wound mastermind Steven Stapleton, who made Volcano the Bear the first non-NWW release on his label in nearly a decade. With The Inhazer Decline, Volcano the Bear had finally produced a widely available release, and the public was now fully aware of this potent Leicester band.
The One Burned Ma is Volcano the Bear’s first release on an American label and perhaps the truest and most complete representation of their sound. It is an album of 4-track recordings made between March 1996 and February 2000, assembled as a seamless collection of songs, sounds and ideas. Sparsely plucked guitar melodies, crackling electronics, effects-laden keyboard washes, shrieking violins, rumbling percussion, eerie clarinet sounds and warbling English vocals create a beautiful and haunting mood reminiscent of This Heat’s most experimental output paired with the surreal oddness of The Residents or Nurse With Wound. The One Burned Ma breathes new life into a stagnant rock underground, confirming Volcano the Bear’s place as groundbreaking innovators rooted in musical experimentation and free expression.
Discography
The One Burned Ma (2000)
CD - $12.00