Polygraph Music+44 (0) 1267 267091
World / Dub band that thrives on festivals. Six self-financed
releases to date, three globally distributed. Line up;
drums, bass, synths, percussion, guitar, samples, decks, ethnic wind and vocals.
Derived from such differing genres it's hard to nail down a style, whatever that
is these days. Drums, bass &
percussion groove in tight hypnotic fluidity
while synths, guitar decks and samples dance away to evolving
melodies. The end product is close to Dub, World or
Ecclectic Dance, sometimes even Ska
or Drum n' Bass, but I wouldn't stick my neck out and say 'Yeah, we're a
@?#+ band', that'd be too easy.
Group Members:
Dave - Drums. Chris - Synths. Lyndon - Bass.
Paul - Percussion, Vocals. John - Decks, Samplers.
Kev - Vocals, Synths,
Didg. David - Guitars, Guitar synth.
1996 - 3 track demo 'Unlimbo'
1996 - Polygraph Records created
1997 - 2 track single 'Spellbound' POLY001
1997 - Live album 'Nine Lives' POLY002
1998 - First internationally distributed release 'Prahna Fish' POLY003 (ean 5 032966000621)
1999 - Track on Open Minds compilation album OM001
2000 - Session on Herzburg Festival album OM003
2000 - Archive EP 'Unlimbits' released POLY004
2001 - Second international release 'See What You Think' POLY005 (ean 5 032966000638)
2002 - Interactive multimedia CD-ROM 'See What You Think' POLY010
2002 - Released album 'Celestial Mechanic' POLY007
2002 - Released album 'Cosmic Debris' POLY0014
2003 - Released album 'Live & Sessions' POLY015
2003 - Released album 'Live & Sessions II' POLY016
Radio: Art
Damage Radio Cincinnati, Musical FM 105.5 Brazil, Art Rock Radio Poland,
Supanova Radio, Aural Innovations, Psychedelicatessen Holland, Greenwaves,
Overflow Radio Colchester, Psychic Shopping Club Ohio, Spiney Normans Psychedelicatessen
New York, Radio Postaja Vinkovci Croatia, Radio Never Say Die, Radio WTUL
Louisiana, RAZVAN RADU ROMANIA, Saskatoon Radio Canada, Radio Free
Kansas, WOUI Illinois, XFM.
Festivals: Glastonbury
Green Fields, Ambient Green Picnic, Megadog Beach Festival, Anstee Festival,
Herzburg Festival Germany, Exodus Luton, Earthworm Beltane Celebration, Guildford
Festival, Green Fair Maidstone, Leamington Peace Festival, Hull rainbow Festival,
Kingston Green Fair, Luton Carnival, Oxfam Rhythms of the World, Lazy Sunday
Bedford, Milton Keynes Global Festival, Mayfest Hertford, Brixton Park, Not
Fayre, Sundaze, Save Our World Brockwell Park, Sutton Green Festival, Tree
Dressing Fair, Spirit of Gorlenben Germany, York Peace Festival, Antwerpen
Festival.
Other gigs (UK): Bell
in Bath, Cellar Hemel, Colchester Arts centre, Esquires Bedford, Filanthropist
& Firkin St.Albans, Falcon Camden, Fibbers York, Garage Highbury, Horn
of Plenty St.Albans, Holy Cross Hall Leciester, Jailhouse Hereford, Mad Hatters
Luton, Monarch London, Madcap Wolverton, Norfolk College Hall, Boxmoor Hall
Hemel, Oliver Twist Colchester, Orange Kensington, Pelican Stroud, Roadmender
Northampton, Rising Star London, Racehorse Northampton, Richmond Cumbria,
Roadhouse Manchester, Salisbury Arms Luton, The Square Harlow, The Swan Stockwell,
Spreadeagle Leciester, Kebelle Bristol, Axiom Cheltenham, Portland Arms Cambridge,
Boatrace Cambridge, Samuel Peypes Hackney, Chats Palace Hackney.
European gigs: Biebob Belgium, Cafe de Overkant Holland, Dekreun Bissegem Belgium, Hotel Bosch Holland, Korenbeurs Holland, Blauw Anslaag Holland, La Zone Belgium, Bumerang Germany, Magazijn Belgium, Poortgebouw Holland, University Potsdam Germany, Plato Holland, RKZ Holland, Signalwerk Germany, Stereophonics club Germany, The Planet Belgium, Hotel Squad Holland.
Books & Magazines: Adrift
in the Ether, Rock & Reel Magazine, Crohinga Well, Waffle-on-Surreal,
Music & Elsewhere, Wake Up, Porthole Ohio, Nucleus Germany, Oberon Norway,
The Moor Sweden, Astro Zombie, Atropos Zine Spain, The Score, Back again zine
Germany, Cream of the Crop zine, Echtzeit Germany, Festival Eye, GuilFin,
Gew-Gaw Greece, Hawkzine
Germany, Hiddenculturz Scotland, Kadath Portugal,
Making Music, No Compass Scotland, The Organ, Ptolemaic Terrascope, Pocket
Zine, Sequences zine, Staubgold Germany, Sonic Bilby Australia, Stone 2, Charlie
Trotts x-press, Rose Tinted Windows, Sivullinten Finland, Zeitgeist, Robots
& Electronic Brains.
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Unlimbo - "See What You Think"
(Polygraph Music 2001, POLY005, CD)
From Aural
Innovations #18 (January 2002)
Unlimbo are a band from Wales in the British
Isles, and their sound is a mixture of the Ozric Tenticles, RDF and Culture
Shock to name but a few. They produce free festival vibe music that is a must
for fans of the fore mentioned bands. See What You Think has a very spacey
ethnic vibe to it, very dub orientated in places, but all the while it is
predominantly space music. It is an eight-track disc full of well played and
well produced material.
The opening track, 'Glassair', begins in a very
spacey mould packed with nice Synth orientated stuff. It opens slowly to unfold
an Ozric Tenticles styled piece, mostly Drum & Bass with layered Keyboards
as with the Ozrics. It is not a million miles away from fellow stoners Krom Lek
once it gets into the dub type ska part of the track the part where Music is the
Creator. So I'm told. This space ska vibe carries into the tracks 'Woodhenge',
'Douk Chat', 'Amber' and 'Atree', all having a similar flavour to them. There is
some nice Synth stuff here sequencer-wise as well. All tracks are very
atmospheric and they explore the vast something's of somewhere. As with 'Inner
Path' and 'Boin Go Theory', these tracks could possibly be likened to mellow Eat
Static, sort of 'Area 51' style from the album Implant. 'My Friend Ali' was the
track I had been waiting for because I knew inwardly that a Didgeridoo would
appear somewhere on this CD, and it did on this sort of Gong-like track that has
some enjoyable Vocals. I like it.
All in all Unlimbo produce good Ethnic
Space Dub vibe music that carries a variety of driving rhythms that are bound to
get feet tapping. I think that See What You Think is a great album done very
well indeed.
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Unlimbo - "Prahna Fish"
(Polygraph 1998, Poly #03)
From Aural Innovations #10 (June
2000)
Prahna Fish's seven tracks add up to almost 50 minutes, and so Unlimbo
likes to play around with each idea for about 6-8 minutes or so, relying on the
usual smattering of reggae/dub rhythms and eastern flavors. In lieu of any
'lyrical' vocals, the band employ lots of spoken-word voice samples from
numerous sources (Captain Kirk and Bones make an appearance). For example, in
the midst of the wonderfully dreamy title track, we hear "You don't have to do
anything now but hallucinate... I'll come back for you later." Shortly
thereafter, Gundula Grun's violin and Chris Muggeridge's synths dance amongst
themselves over an active bassline and punctuated beat. "Spellbound" is one of
the more evolved tracks, practically a medley of many different themes with
shifting focus (guitar to bass to synth) presented at intervals of thirty
seconds or so. Very nice. The album finishes off with "Inertia," yet another
eight-minute space-reggae tune that recalls any Ozrics or Dead Flowers tune you
care to mention... but at least it's a good one. Unlimbo does have a few of
their own tricks up their collective sleeves. Early in the album, "Flinch" is
only classifiable as a 'hoedown dub,' Grun's violin more aptly termed 'fiddle.'
And then the reggae stylings of "Bagdub" are less like the Ozrics' version than
the Police's take on things. A much freakier version of the Police, no doubt,
and a nice guitar solo to boot.
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