Ike Yard

Bio:

Matt Ingram on the new 10" ...
'Their cavernous, ice-cold, half-stepping, reverb-resonating, left-footed grooves ARE very redolent of Dubstep – albeit one superficially bleached of African and Afro-Caribbean influence. Actually as a vision of Dubstep, which to my mind makes too much of it’s supposed Reggae connections and not enough of its arty bohemian leanings, it’s pretty useful to all parties. Those discs still sound light years ahead of their time. They couldn’t possibly sound as cold in the light of 2010 as they did when they came out, and that they still feel frosty and forbidding suggests that time hasn’t diminished their power. Why this critic’s infatuation with the future and the (hackneyed) “seminal”? Well that’s all we’re trying to do isn’t it? To hear into the future. Ike Yard have no right to sound this damned fresh! “Citiesglit” is a bullet-train ride at night through abandoned industrial estates. “Oshima Cassette” is a reworking of an old tune they used to play live. It is driven forward by a churning bass-line though never once loses its sang froid. Synthetic drums spark and flex like severed megawatt energy cables (a metaphor i’ve used to describe Ike Yard drums before) – Argabright mutters atop like a lost prophet. Twenty years later and they still navigate the interzone between Electronic music and Rock with aplomb. ' Cybore - Matt Ingram

Simon Reynolds one word about the new 10" ... 'Excellent'.

Reviews of Ike Yard 1980-82 Collected ...

'Ike Yard, whose baleful, relentlessly chittering tunes at their best sounding like some dream merger of DAF and PIL' Simon Reynolds, Rip It Up And Start Again.Discog 2

'Ike Yard just might be the darkest and most experimental music Factory ever laid their hands on. Yes they had the cold metallic radiance of Joy Division and A Certain Ratio but their coming from a different place. New York City , to be exact.' Tiny Mix Tapes

'The 1982 Factory Album features numerous cuts wuth deep head nodding grooves evoking rainy nights in a NY during an era when it was actually dangerous to go outside onto the streets' Downtown Music Gallery

'20 years ahead of their time' Woebot

Although IKE YARD dissolved by the beginning of 1983, the band reformed as a three piece unit with original members Stuart Argabright, Kenneth Compton and Michael Diekmann. A career spanning compilation was released on the Acute label in 2006 (see below for details).

The name comes from Anthony Burgess's novel "A Clockwork Orange". You know the scene where Alex is in the record shop ...if you look on the wall there is a list of names, the Heaven 17 are there too

In NYC Spring 1980 Stuart Argabright, founder/drummer/vocalist of the FUTANTS, began sessions with Kenneth Compton on bass/vocals at Kristian Hoffman's rehearsal Studio on the edge of Chinatown. The group was completed when Fred Szymanski (synthesizers/ programming /treatments) and Michael Diekmann (guitar, synthesizer) joined in August 1980.

IKE YARD began with a lineup that included guitar, synthesizer, bass, drums and percussion. The additional percussion was often ‘found’ scrap metal: brake drums, sheet metal, and other debris from the streets and vacant lots of the Lower East Side. During 1982, with the guitar and finally bass being replaced fully by a four-piece synthesizer set up, IKE YARD’s sound transformed into a music bleached of flesh, reduced to a glistening skeleton – the music of machines haunted by ghosts.

The band’s modular analog synthesizer set up included gear by Korg (MS-20, MS-50, SQ-10, VC-10), Roland (TR-909, TR-606, TR 808, TB-303, MC-202, CSQ-600), Arp (Solus, Axxe), the EMS Synthi-AKS, and the Buchla Modular 112 keyboard controller.

In Spring 1981, IKE YARD recorded an EP for Belgium’s Crepuscule records (which was named single of the week in Melody Maker upon its release in November 1981). IKE YARD was the first US group to record for the Manchester UK’s Factory label; an album “A FACT A SECOND” was released on Factory America in September 1982. The band performed with NEW ORDER at Ukrainian National Home, SECTION 25 at Peppermint Lounge & Maxwell’s, SUICIDE and 13:13 (w/Lydia Lunch) at Chase Park, and with the DEL BZYZENTEENS (w/Jim Jarmusch) at CBGB’s and the Music for Millions festival. In addition, the band played at Danceteria, the Mudd Club, the Pyramid Club and Tier 3.

Discography:

"Night After Night" 12" EP on Disque du Crepuscule TWI 39. Recorded April 1981, released November 1981. Tracks:

1). Night After Night. 2). Sense of Male. 3). Infra-ton. 4). Cherish. 5). Motiv.

Untitled album (often referred to as "A Fact A Second" - the catalog number) on Factory America. Recorded May 1982, released September 1982. Tracks:

1). M. Kurtz. 2). Loss. 3). NCR. 4). Kino. 5). Cherish 8. 6). Half a God.

In August of 2006, Acute Records (via Carpark) released a definitive compilation, "1980-82 Collected" ACT008. Tracks:

1). Night After Night. 2). Sense of Male. 3). Infra-ton. 4). The Whistler. 5). Cherish. 6). Motiv. 7). M. Kurtz. 8). Loss. 9). NCR. 10). Kino. 11). Cherish 8. 12). Half a God. 13). Nocturne. 14). 20. 15). War=Strong. 16). We Are One. 17). Dancing and Slaving. 18). Wolfen.

Reviews of "1980-82 Collected"

From Pitchfork:

Ike Yard 1980-82 Collected [Acute; 2006] Rating: 7.3

"The NYC-based art rock collective Ike Yard emerged during the waning days of the No Wave movement, eventually becoming most noteworthy for being the first American group signed to Factory Records and for the fact that bass player Kenneth Compton reportedly once dated Madonna. But now-- as part of an ongoing mission to illuminate all the dark, neglected corners of the post-punk era-- Acute Records presents Ike Yard 1980-82 Collected. This comprehensive overview includes Ike Yard's self-titled LP for Factory America, their earlier Night After Night EP, and a generous assortment of previously unreleased live and studio rarities. And though it would probably be inaccurate to declare Ike Yard's work to have been particularly influential, on this collection their music appears to have aged quite well, as many of their jittery, post-industrial rhythms closely anticipate the thuggish motions of contemporary acts like Black Dice or Liars.
Cribbing their name from a record sleeve in A Clockwork Orange, Ike Yard sculpted a doom-laden experimental sound that drew heavily upon first wave Krautrock (particularly Can and Faust) and the post-punk dub maneuvers of PiL and Joy Division. Unlike No Wave's many unschooled or self-taught musicians, however, Ike Yard's Michael Diekmann and Fred Szymanski both had an academic background in music, studying Stockhausen and modern composition at the McColl Studio of Electronic Music at Brown. It's perhaps due to these academic origins, then, that much of Ike Yard's work matches their sinuous, bass-heavy grooves with a rather dry, formalistic precision. This sense of clinical detachment is often accentuated by Stuart Argabright's clipped, semi-spoken vocals, his monochromatic announcements often struggling helplessly to compete against the dark music's forceful technological currents.
Recorded virtually live with few overdubs, the Night After Night EP was originally released on the Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule in 1981. At this time the group were experimenting with various instrumental line-ups, and beginning to incorporate early Roland and Korg MS-20 drum machines with Argabright's live scrap metal percussion. Combined with Compton's loping, dub-inflected bass lines, the interactive rhythms of tracks like opening "Night After Night" or the instrumental "Motiv" contain the echoes of Miles Davis' edgy 70s jazz-funk as well as Can's shapeshifting beat action. But tracks like the clattering, dissonant "Cherish" give a better hint at the direction Ike Yard would soon take, as their sound grew increasingly dependent upon the stark, alien textures of their modular analog electronics.
This evolution is apparent immediately on "M. Kurtz" and "Loss", the opening tracks from Ike Yard's 1982 Factory LP. On these later tracks, the music's cell structure is completely governed by the group's overlapping synthesized rhythms, with all other sonic and lyrical elements rooted in the tiny cracks between Ike Yard's densely compacted electronic pulsations. The Expressionist propulsion of "Kino" is shrouded by black veils of dense insect noise, while the aggressive minimalism of "Half a God" updates Suicide, with its lyrics ("We hear the drums again and fall back in step again") obedient to the music's martial gravity. One can only imagine what Madonna must have made of this onslaught. According to Michael Diekmann's exhaustive liner notes, Ike Yard continued to write and record music at a ferocious pace following the release of their sole Factory album, but the group began to disintegrate before they could get the label interested in another release. This collection features four unreleased studio tracks, as well as an live track that was mixed live by New Order's Peter Hook while the two groups were on tour together. While these additional tracks do contain the occasional tantalizing song fragment or idea, they do little to improve upon the bulk of Ike Yard's slim discography, and will likely be only of interest to true diehards. Upon Ike Yard's dissolution in early 1983, the group's members went on to front various underground dance and hip-hop projects, but largely abandoned their collective's avant-garde techniques and innovations. And judging by the documents gathered on 1980-82 Collected, this would seem to be our small loss. -Matthew Murphy, September 28, 2006"

From Boomkat:

"I can't say I've ever heard Ike Yard before a recent flurry of interest on some key blogs I've been reading, but thankfully Acute records have packaged up their modest output into one easy package for those like me who need desperately to be educated on this evidently important act. Formed in 1980 in New York City, the band were heavily influenced by the local no-wave scene but also took their cues from 70s Kraut rock pioneers Can and Neu! Building a sound which was one part Joy Division and one part looping Kraut textures, with a bleakness and an overt experimental outlook which set them into a place of their own very quickly. The first six tracks are from the band's debut EP 'Night After Night' and are easily the most out and out 'commercial' tracks on the compilation, ranging from dark vocal post-pop ('Night After Night') to distorted drums, bass and drone ('Infra-ton'). With this EP the band showed that they were a force to be reckoned with, and while the songs have obvious connections to various musical genres, bands and artists.
The band had started to sound like nobody else I can bring to mind. The next six tracks on the compilation are taken from their Factory Records released self-titled album and surprisingly take their sound into a totally different and shockingly experimental direction. The no-wave punk songs are disposed of, the drums are replaced by machines, guitars are swapped for synthesizers and vocals are mostly processed through masses of effects. Obviously this wasn't a commercially sound move, but these 'songs' really seem to be the stuff of electronic legend, bringing to mind the darker moments of John Foxx or the more experimental (and less bombastic) end of the EBM scene. I would almost say that many of the tracks exhibit proto-acid qualities as looped step-sequenced synthesizers squelch behind echoing drum machines... there's definitely a hint of Richie Hawtin's Plastikman albums in there somewhere, I'm sure I'm not imagining it! The compilation is neatly rounded off with a handful of unreleased rarities making the disc pretty much indispensable for old fans and new converts alike. Ike Yard deserve some extra exposure and this collection of tracks shows just how pioneering the band were - if you want to hear some really jaw dropping experimental rock music, then here it is... they just don't make 'em like this anymore."

From: San Francisco Bay Guardian:

"Ike Yard may be the most innovative band you hear this year, although their only album was recorded more than 20 years ago. Yet another example of artists cheated of the recognition they deserve, Ike Yard were, among other things, the only American group signed to Factory Records. ... The material that makes up "Night after Night" is cased in heavy, dark dub with scraping guitars and swirling synth sounds. It's so good it may make you pause the next time you automatically reach for PiL's Second Edition or Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures.
On A Second a Fact, however, the electronics take over. You can hear traces of D.A.F., Cluster, and what would become Detroit techno, with Argabright arbitrarily singing like an entranced street shaman. "Loss" merges the infinite arpeggios of Ashra with Grauzone and Throbbing Gristle. It's really what you wanted last year's Black Dice album to be. The brilliant "NCR," meanwhile, predates Autechre by about two decades and outdoes them to boot. Whether or not these reference points mean anything to you, this group deserves its legendary status. And you need to hear them."
Alexis Georgopoulos . August 23, 2006

Also well worth investigating:

Anti-NY
Gomma 2001

This CD surveys NYC's Mudd Club scene of the late 70's early 80's. Includes: "NCR" from the Factory album, as well as a remix of that song by Funkstorung.

New York Noise 3
Souljazz 2007

This third CD in Souljazz's incomparable New York Noise series highlights the eclectic New York music scene in the 1979-84 period, focusing on the electronic dance/post-punk mutations and proto-electro music. Produced by Ike Yard's Stuart Argabright.
Includes: "Loss" from the Factory album. plus "A Dull Life" - an unreleased track.

Member Since:

February 21, 2007

Members:

Current members: Stuart Argabright, Michael Diekmann, Kenneth Compton; previous member 1980-82: Fred Szymanski

Record Label:

Phisteria;Acute;Souljazz;Gomma;Factory;Crepuscule