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All Music Guide:
The trio that comprise Bablicon -- the Diminisher, Marta Tennae, and Blue Hawaii -- play music that draws from experimental jazz, fusion, rock, Indian music, and contemporary composition, but elude easy fits into any of these categories. In that respect they do fit in with the late-1990s Chicago "post-rock" scene. Presumably, they are from Chicago, as their debut LP, In a Different City, was recorded in an abandoned machine shop there; indeed, it was so close to Chicago's elevated train that they were sometimes interrupted by the noise. Everyone in Bablicon is a multi-instrumentalist, between them covering various horns, electronic keyboards, bass, cello, "fuzz banjo," theremin, and more. Several friends also pitch in, and tape splices and edits are employed, although the music largely retains a pretty live feel. The band's album roster includes In A Different City (1999) and Orange Tapered Moon (2000). Flat Inside a Fog: The Cat That Was a Dog appeared in spring 2001.
Wikipedia:
Bablicon was an Elephant 6-related free-jazz band consisting of members of Neutral Milk Hotel and The Gerbils.
The band was formed in 1996 when Dave McDonnell (credited as The Diminisher), Jeremy Barnes (as "Marta Tennae"), and Griffin Rodriguez ("Blue Hawaii") teamed up to write and improvise music. Their almost-entirely-improvised album In A Different City was recorded in Chicago during this time, and later released in 1999. In a unique twist, the band had an audience paint vinyl LP covers while they performed, which were later collected as "painticons" and distributed as the actual album covers for the LP version of the album.
The Orange Tapered Moon EP followed in 2000, recorded during a late night marathon session at WFMU. The LP covers were again created in the same way the In a Different City covers were.
In 2001, the band released A Flat Inside A Fog, The Cat That Was A Dog, another ambitious project. The band split following this release, with McDonnell studying in China and starting the Michael Columbia project with drummer Dylan Ryan, Barnes going to France to work on other projects, and Rodriguez working on his Icy Demons project. Barnes now records as A Hawk and a Hacksaw.
