Schedule

Sunday, April 18th, 5:00pm

Radio Massacre International

Plan now to join us for a special Sunday matinee show as we welcome England's Radio Massacre International back to the Orion Stage!

Radio Massacre International (RMI) is an electronic improvising trio that is carving out new ground in the genres of electronic space music and space rock. Composed of Steve Dinsdale (keyboards, electronics, drums), Duncan Goddard (keyboards, electronics, bass) and Gary Houghton (guitar, keyboards), the trio improvises with a mixture of vintage and modern analogue and digital equipment to create massive, shifting electronic soundscapes. Instantly recognizable, RMI’s organic, visceral, and at times rough-edged explorations in space music transport the genre popularized by Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel/Manuel Gottsching and Klaus Schulze in the 1970s into the 21st century. The world’s best current exponents of epic electronic space improvisations, RMI expose the genre to be as vital and vibrant today as it was in its infancy, and more accessible to mainstream audiences than ever before.

Dinsdale, Goddard and Houghton began playing together when they were 16-year-old students. In 1979, Dinsdale and Goddard formed a band with Mark Spybey (later of Sofortkontakt!), which Houghton soon joined. The group evolved into a collective called DAS and recorded 12 albums of material between 1980-87, before disbanding in 1988.

RMI was born in late 1993/early 1994, when former DAS bandmates Dinsdale, Goddard and Houghton reunited to play music. They named their new band Radio Massacre International. RMI immediately began to record its epic electronic improvisations; by 1995, when their first official release, Frozen North, came out on the UK electronic label Centaur, the band had an archive of 30 recordings. RMI continued its highly prolific output, releasing 7 more CDs on Centaur and appearing on 6 compilations. To further accelerate its release schedule, in 1997 RMI started its own label, Northern Echo, which has released 20 recordings, as well as a growing number of 'download-only releases.

RMI’s live improvised performances are legendary, leaving audiences enthralled with their atmospheric journeys. They have appeared at numerous high-profile electronic music festivals in Europe, including 1995’s EMMA (UK), 1997’s KLEM Dag (Holland), 2000’s Alpha Centauri Festival 300 (Holland) and 2004’s Virtaa Arts Festival (Finland). RMI was the first group to perform at Britain’s Jodrell Bank Observatory, playing in the shadow of the radio dish in 1996 and remaining a fixture in the electronic music series subsequently associated with Jodrell Bank. Between 2003-2006, RMI performed four times at another venue with space associations: the National Space Centre in Leicester. RMI has also performed on European television and radio. The trio appeared on BBC TV’s “Don’t Look Down” special on Jodrell Bank, and in 1996 RMI co-hosted and performed on European MTV’s “Chill Out Zone’. RMI was influential in founding the Hampshire Jam concert series in southern England, and have performed there numerous times. In 2004, deviating from its practice of working solely as an electronic trio, RMI collaborated with vocalist Damo Suzuki (Can) for a Manchester, UK concert and improvised on guitar/bass/drums. They played NEARFest in Bethlehem, PA to a sold-out audience of over 1,000 in 2008, have appeared at the electronic music concert series The Gatherings, in Philadelphia four times, and have appeared at Holland's E-Live Festival on numerous occasions.

The group's US debut was 2005's Emissaries (Cuneiform). Containing some of RMI’s best epic space improvisations – over “2 hours of…genius” [Sequences Electronic Music]. Acid Dragon insisted it was “essential listening for all lovers of inspired electronic/space rock music.” Numerous magazines cited the release as proof that, “among the improvising Berlin school followers, Radio Massacre International stands out as the current reference point for the style,” [Axiom of Choice].

Emissaries introduced RMI to wider audiences. In the words of Terrascope Online: “…‘Emissaries’, despite only having been recently released, stands firm as a perfect introduction to the band; I just believe it should carry a warning sticker to the effect that listening to it could potentially be damaging to the pocket, since few bands this side of Acid Mothers Temple have been as prolific. …This, friends, is good old-fashioned space rock played at it’s very HIGHest level – think Tangerine Dream, Ash Ra Tempel and Klaus Schulze, laced with a dash of scorching guitar from Houghton…”

Rain Falls In Grey released in 2007 was RMI’s second Cuneiform release and was, in the band’s words, “quite a departure from the sequencer/electronics of ‘Emissaries’ but if you listen closely, it’s the same people at the core.” Instead of RMI’s customary electronic space improvisations, sculpted by the trio using electronics, keyboards and guitars, the disc – a tribute to Syd Barrett – is pure space rock. RMI expand their sound by adding more conventional rock instrumentation (bass, drums) to their electronic arsenal, and by adding guest musicians. The band states that, “The album is in many places like a greatly expanded RMI line-up (with us all doubling on keyboards too)…”

The record was exceptionally received and press for Rain Falls in Grey reached beyond RMI's traditional base. The Wire noted: “Rain Falls In Grey is a heartfelt tribute to Pink Floyd founder and missing-in-action frontman Syd Barrett. From the title phrase borrowed from Barrett’s “Baby Lemonade” to the instrumentation chosen to echo Pink Floyd circa 1967–68, trio Steve Dinsdale, Duncan Goddard and Gary Houghton make their 27th album together sound and feel like a lost Floyd recording. All the pieces of the puzzle are present: the snippet “Syd” has the descending power chord riffing and paranoid howls; “bett’r day-s” explores the same laidback, funky Ambience that Air made stretch for a full album on Moon Safari (and then across their whole subsequent career). The title track is a monster with passages propelled by looped synth and some inspired soloing from Gary Houghton, who is never as smug or pompous in his playing as Dave Gilmour could be. Cover art from Gong man Daevid Allen sleeves the enterprise perfectly.”

After over 15 years together as RMI and over 30 albums and hundreds of concerts, you might think that there might be no surprises left, but like their music, the musicians are always finding new twists and turns to incorporate into their sound. At its root, Time & Motion, their third Cuneiform release, very much has their "Berlin-school electronic music" sound intact, with music that gradually develops in the manner of the classic pioneers of this sound; the synthesizers and clouds of guitars take us all on a journey into the cosmos! But they've added guest Martin Archer on reeds and electronics on about 40% of the album and he is fully integrated into the ensemble, adding a very unique solo and ensemble contribution to the spacey electronic music presented - a sound that has not previously been heard in electronic trance/space music.

COVER: $15 at the door; no pre-show sales

ALL-AGES SHOW!

DA RULZ: Please note 5:00pm start time!!! You are welcome to bring whatever liquid refreshments you care to drink, and coolers are welcome. Our shows are all-ages shows, but we do not tolerate underage drinking. We do have a few couches, stools, and chairs, but you are welcome to bring your own SMALL folding chair if you'd like. The bands typically have some merchandise to sell such as T-shirts, CDs, etc., so bring your wallet and help support the music you love! Chris Lamka, owner of Of Sound Mind, is at almost all Orion shows and offers a wide variety of hard-to-find progressive rock titles at his table near the showcase room entryway.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS: Take I-95 to exit 50A, which is Caton Ave., south. If you are coming from the south beware of the merge onto Caton Ave as there is no merge area. Take Caton to the third traffic signal, which is Washington Blvd., and turn left. Follow Washington for about a quarter mile until you approach a "U-Haul" sign on your right. Turn right, just before the sign, onto Inverness. Take Inverness to its end and turn left onto Whittington Ave. Take Whittington to its end and turn right, into our parking lot. The showcase entry is door B, on your right as you enter the lot.