ArtistInfo

Zyklon
The Heartland

Compil. US 2006 on Grim Records label
Electronic (Industrial, Synth-pop, Experimental)

Compiles the complete recordings of seminal Grand Rapids, MI electronic band Zyklon. 1,2,3,4a,6,8,10 & 11 recorded in Wyoming, MI, November 1981 4b, 5 & 7 recorded at WCBN-FM, Ann Arbor, MI, October 1981 12 & 13 recorded at Monroe Center Amphitheater, Grand Rapids, MI August 1981 15 recorded at 311 Hellhole, Ann Arbor, MI May 1981 17 recorded by Tom Purdy in his kitchen, November 1979: synth by Art Damage Factory sounds on 9 & 10 recorded by Tom Purdy Confrontation with US Steel recorded by Steve Zuldema in Gary, IN August 1981 Electronic percussion on 1-6 recorded by Steve Zuldema in Jenison, MI 1981 Produced by Zyklon/GRIM This compilation produced by Jon Koeze All compositions by Zyklon except 6 (Safka/EMI April Music Inc.) Remastered by Andrew Mitchell, Jon Koeze & Brian Younker Photography/Design by Zuidema Zeeland & Zyklon "A tornado was what a lot of their music sounded like." New Wave fans and critics tended to be hostile to any deviation from safety pins and skinny ties. And as if Zyklon s sound wasn t foreign enough, here they were on stage three guys playing three boxes on slide projector stands. Twenty five years ago, audiences had no reference point for a live band with no drums, no guitars, not even a recognizable keyboard. They felt exposed to something alien and did not like it. They cheered when someone pulled the plug Today it s kind of funny to consider the resemblance between Zyklon s 1981 stage set up and Kraftwerk on tour in 2006 (four men with laptops on slide projector stands). But Zyklon were unwittingly ahead of their time, and had not calculated their presentation. None of them had been to art school. They didn t come out of any scene; they had no mentor. There wasn t anyone like them within a thousand mile radius. Stateside, the only still-living bands they felt any kinship with were Pere Ubu and Devo (significantly, both from neighbor state Ohio). But TG, the Cabs, Ubu et al. all performed using conventional rock instruments. And every synth-pop act from Kraftwerk on down at the very least had somebody reassuringly hitting a syndrum. Not Zyklon. In 1981 America, they were the only band of their generation playing live using voice and synthesizers only (sometimes augmented with backing tapes of machine rhythms recorded by Tom Purdy at the refrigerator factory where he worked). This sort of activity was marginal enough in 1981 West Berlin. Zyklon s hometown was the last possible place on earth you would expect. Grand Rapids is so normal it s strange. Geographically, Grand Rapids, MI., is a curious confluence of northern end stations. Last stop north of the bible belt. Last Michigan stop of the rust belt. Meteorologically, the MI terminus of tornado alley. A mid-sized Midwestern city midway between Chicago and Detroit. Zyklon was as all-American as Skafish, Sparks and Suicide. They didn t need to act strange. By the time of Heartland (late 1981, cat. no. GR002, distributed by Rough Trade US; track 10 included on SUB POP 7) they were even making some effort to fit in Like a tornado that, in between reducing your neighborhood to the waste you knew it always was, has the nerve to turn friendly, try to be funny, then losing patience laughs itself sick. Nowadays, almost anyone with a computer can create electronic noise with basic software replete with presets named industrial. But if there s one thing you can t do with a computer, it s make the music on Heartland. --GRiM Records From 1979-1982 there was only ONE minimal synth / industrial band in Michigan and that band was ZYKLON.... Killer washes of heavy electronic noise connected by buzzes of melodic synth.... Totally WEIRD SH*T that sounded like nothing else. This CD is a heavy historical document of NOISE! --Aaron Dilloway, WOLF EYES America s answer to THROBBING GRISTLE comes pulsating and vibrating out of ... where? --Unidentified zine clipping in GRiM archives. More online at grim-records.com

Musicians

	Zyklon , album by
	Steve Zuidema Zeeland vocals, synthesizer, arp axxe
	Brian Younker vocals, synthesizer, korg ms-20
	Tom Purdy vocals, synthesizer, roland sh-1

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