***Esoteric, yet oddly vivacious, Athens legends Limbo District never released any music during their 25 month career from April 1981 until their less-than-ceremonious dissolution in May 1983. They did several tours up and down the east coast in addition to playing local haunts like 688, TV Dinner, the I&I, the Last Resort, Tyrone’s and, of course, the 40 Watt. Over the past year, Chunklet has released four singles and restored the apparition of Limbo District to where the world can now experience their unique take on no-wave. Primordial Void, in tandem with Chunklet, is proud to release a cassette compilation of their singles along with never before heard live material from the Nitery in 1982. Love Tractor’s Mark Cline calls Limbo District “an art band’s art band.”
Sin-Gles! (Plus Live) sheds a spotlight on an ignored (yet pivotal!) band from Athens’ golden-age. Cuts such as “Encased” and “Factory Margo” have a distinctly Beefheart-y, Branca-esque flavor to them, yet their murky take on the classic punk ethos, combined with their innovative visual elements (more on that below), frame Limbo District as early pioneers of a rather clever aesthetic later adopted by groups such as Hype Williams, Pocahaunted, and Immaterial Possession.
Limbo District is also notable for some of its core members; vocalist/percussionist Jeremy Ayers was a member of Andy Warhol’s Factory (as “Sylva Thinn”) in the 1970s, a major, major scene staple in Athens, and a co-writer of songs by R.E.M. and the B-52s; Limbo’s bassist and arranger was Dublin, Georgia’s Davey Stevenson whose brother Gordon was, not coincidentally, the bassist of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks; vocalist/organist Dominique Amet was a French foreign exchange student who collaborated with Tom Smith’s legendary experimental group Boat Of; and lyricist/vocalist Craig Woodall co-wrote Pylon’s eternal classic “Feast On My Heart.” There was a rotating cast of guitarists starting with Spainiard Margarita Bilbão, then Art In The Dark’s Tim Lacey and closing with Kelly Crow.
The aforementioned Tom Smith, an avant-garde composer who influenced an entire generation of noise musicians with his groups Peach Of Immortality and To Live And Shave In L.A., once stated that Limbo District were the only Athens band that Boat Of ever identified with as being kindred spirits. A powerful testament to this short-lived act’s embodiment of true Southern weirdness.
Tracklist
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#12 Encased- partial (Live)
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#13 A La Maison- partial (Live)
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