Snog (band)

Snog
Origin Melbourne, Australia
Genres Experimental music
Electronic body music
Intelligent dance music
Industrial music
Electro-industrial
Anti-folk
Years active 1988–present
Labels Machinery Records
Metropolis Records
Zoth Ommog Records
Shock Records
Hymen Records
Karmic Hit
Psy-Harmonics
Associated acts David Thrussell
Black Lung
Dark Side of Berlin
So Fuckin' Jazz
Soma
Veruschka
Website Official MySpace
Members David Thrussell
Past members Pieter Bourke
Tim McGrath
Julia Bourke

Snog is a band that was formed by Australian musician David Thrussell, along with fellow art school friends Tim McGrath and Julia Bourke in 1989.[1] The band's music is a fusion of many different styles, including industrial, techno, ambient, experimental, funk and country music.[2][3] The band name is a reference to "kissing and cuddling,"[1] and Thrussell has stated that the name symbolizes the Marxist concept of destroying barriers between people. Thrussell also records as Black Lung, which started as a brand to release extra Snog recordings.

History

Snog's first album Lies Inc. was released in 1992 and Pieter Bourke, who has since worked with Dead Can Dance and Lisa Gerrard, joined the band soon afterwards. The second album Dear Valued Customer, which drew heavily on techno influences, was then released in 1994. Also in 1994, the side projects Soma (Thrussell and Pieter Bourke)[4] and Black Lung.[1]

By 1997, the band was primarily a solo project for Thrussell, who collaborated with guest musicians on recordings. The next album release was Buy Me... I'll Change Your Life and country western-style guitar was featured, as well as a cover version of Lee Hazlewood's "Let the Little Flowers Grow". Third Mall from the Sun followed in 1999 and the album blended the styles of the previous two albums, in addition to new influences. Thrussell described the progression of Snog's musical styles in a 1998 interview with Sonic Boom Magazine: "In the past Snog has written a lot of dance floor material and while it has been successful, I kind of felt that I needed to write something different. I intentionally try and do something new with every Snog release. I do not want to get caught up in the musical trap of remaking the same album over and over".[5]

Third Mall from the Sun was followed by the remix album Relax into the Abyss. In 2003, the album Beyond the Valley of the Proles was released and its follow-up Snog vs. the Faecal Juggernaut of Mass Culture was released three years later.

Snog continued to release music into the 21st century and the EP Everything Is Under Control (consists of remixes and the additional song "The Lament of the Lost Sheep") was released on iTunes on 25 March 2013.[6] The EP was followed by the 23 April 2013 album release Babes In Consumerland and both recordings are part of a contract with the Metropolis record label.[7]

A music video for Everything Is Under Control was published on the Internet on 19 March 2013.[8] On 20 March 2013 Snog also released a 12" vinyl record with French record label M-Tronic entitled "The Plug-In Drug"; produced as blue-coloured vinyl and limited to 300 copies,[9] the record features three songs from Babes In Consumerland, in addition to remixes and unreleased songs.[10]

A music video for "Adolph's Library", from Babes in Consumerland, was published on the Internet in June 2013. The video was directed by Richard Wolstencroft, filmmaker and founder/director of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF) and was filmed on location at the State Library Of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.[11]

The press release that accompanied the release of Babes in Consumerland stated that Snog has developed into an all-female band that consists of Samantha Sanders, Christine Arkley Smith and Dee—Dee is the new identity of Thrussell, who is living as a transgender woman as of the time of the press release. The list of guests on the album include Ash Wednesday, John Justin Stewart (Grace Jones), Felix Kubin, German producer Atom TM and the City of Prague Philharmonic choir.[12]

Black Lung

In 1994 Thrussell released Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars, an album of B-sides from Snog's lengthy Australian CD singles for the German market - the Australian singles were up to 80 minutes, whereas chart-eligible singles in Germany could not be more than 21 minutes, so many tracks were left over. The album was mostly composed of instrumental tracks taken from Snog's first album Lies Inc. and the Hey, Christian God single. (A year later, the album was also released on Germany's Machinery Records as Silent Weapons for Silent Wars. Thrussell disowned this later release due to the incorrect title, changes made to the artwork, and the fact that the tracks were in the wrong order, destroying the album's continuity.)

Since 1999, nearly all Black Lung releases have been on German industrial label Ant-Zen. In 1999, Thrussell collaborated with John Sellekaers from Xingu Hill to produce the 10" EP The Andronechron Incident, purportedly a soundtrack for an obscure Italian science fiction film. A full-length CD of the same title, containing many more additional tracks, was released in 2002 .

Thematically, Thrussell has used the project as an opportunity to indulge his fascination with conspiracy theories, with many album and track titles referencing conspiracies. Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars, also used by, Killarmy), refers to a document which came to light in the mid 1980s detailing a New World Order plan. Rhic-Edom is a direct reference to the acronym RHIC-EDOM: Radio-Hypnotic Intracerebral Control & Electronic Dissolution of Memory. The albums' liner notes frequently contain essays on various esoteric subjects, excerpted from conspiracy books or written by Thrussell himself.

2014 saw the return of the project with a Vinyl,"The Business Of Selling" release on M-Tronic records as a limited edition of 300 copies.

Politics

Thrussell's songs frequently contain themes of anti-consumerism,[13] individuality and anti-big-brotherism.

The albums Third Mall from the Sun (1999), Relax into the Abyss (2000) and Beyond the Valley of the Proles (2003), The Last Days of Rome (2006) and City (2008) featured artwork by Canadian artist Chris Woods,[14] whose paintings lampoon the advertising tactics of major corporations such as McDonald's, The Gap and Nike.

Snog supports the copying of its music and[5] depending on the recording label, many releases are designated copyleft (or "copyright-free"), as indicated by a crossed-out "©" symbol that is printed on the album case.

Reception

In a 2008 review of The Last Days of Rome, Matthew Rich from Left Hip Magazine described Snog as "the greatest band at the moment".[15]

Snog discography

Compilation appearances

Other

Black Lung discography

Albums

Compilation appearances

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jester (11/07/1996). "Interview with David Thrussel of Black Lung, Snog & Soma - conducted by phone 11/7/96". Sonic Boom Magazine. Retrieved 30 May 2011. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ↑ Collins, Karen. "SNOG". Effigy Magazine. Archived from the original on 04/10/2001. Retrieved 30 May 2011. Check date values in: |archive-date= (help)
  3. ↑ Ben (DJ VSX). "Snog...Black_Lung...Soma = David Thrussell". KDVS Radio. The Associated Students of the University of California Davis. Archived from the original on 2001-07-25. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  4. ↑ Burns, Alex (01/07/2001). "david thrussell". Disinfo. Retrieved 30 May 2011. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. 1 2 Jester (06/05/1998). "Interview with David Thrussel of Black Lung, Snog & Soma - conducted by phone 6/5/98". Sonic Boom Magazine. Retrieved 30 May 2011. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ↑ "Everything Is Under Control (Remixes) - EP Snog". iTunes Preview. Apple, Inc. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "Everything Is Under Control (digital only)". Metropolis Mail Order. Metropolis Records. 2001–2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  8. ↑ rgrant (19 March 2013). "SNOG - Everything Is Under Control" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  9. ↑ "SNOG "the Plug-In Drug" officially released today the 20th of March". M-tronic. M-tronic. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  10. ↑ B. Van Isacker (20 March 2013). "SNOG present 'Everything Is Under Control' video from new 'Babes In Consumerland' album". Side-Line Music Magazine. Side-Line. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  11. ↑ rgrant (10 June 2013). "Snog - Adolph's Library" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Bob Baker Fish (11 August 2013). "Snog – Babes In Consumerland (Omni Corporation)". Cyclic Defrost. Cyclic Defrost. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Cameron, Dan (2007-07-29). "David Thrussell interview by Dan Cameron". Cyclic Defrost Magazine. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  14. ↑ "Chris Woods (3)". Discogs. Discogs. 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  15. ↑ Rich, Matthew (March 2008). "Snog - The Last Days of Rome". Left Hip Magazine. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
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