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All Music Guide:
Manhattan-based drone-rock duo Bowery Electric comprised vocalist/guitarist Lawrence Chandler, a former protégé of minimalist composer LaMonte Young, and vocalist/bassist Martha Schwendener. Originally a three-piece rounded out by a series of drummers, Bowery Electric bowed in 1994 with a double 7" on their self-owned Hi-Fidelity Recordings which helped land them on the indie label Kranky, which issued their self-titled debut LP in 1995. With 1996's Beat, the duo's swirling, chaotic sound began to incorporate elements of the electronica movement; a subsequent series of 12" remixes by the likes of Disjecta, CHASM, and Immersion further solidified their new affiliation with electronic music, as did 1997's remix collection Vertigo. The long-awaited Lushlife finally appeared in early 2000.
Wikipedia:
Bowery Electric was an American indie band formed in New York's East Village in 1992 by Lawrence Chandler and Martha Schwendener.
Music
Bowery Electric's music defies easy classification. Part of the initial wave of American shoegazers and seminal members of the post-rock movement, the duo earned critical acclaim for experimentation across genres and mixing elements of ambient, drone, electronic and experimental music with '70's soul soundtracks, disco, dub and hip hop. They were one of the first American bands to perform with a laptop, mixer and sampler on stage alongside bass, drums and guitars.
Current status
Chandler has studied with La Monte Young, Pauline Oliveros, at The Juilliard School and Goldsmiths College and is a composer and sound artist living in London. Appearances as a performer have been rare but he has played with Experimental Audio Research (E.A.R.), "a loose affiliation of non-resident sound makers including from time to time Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, Spectrum), Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) and Eddie Prévost (AMM)." He has produced remixes as Metrotech for bands including Calla Mercova and Tristeza.
A recent BBC Radio 6 music show linked him romantically with Donna Matthews of Britpop band Elastica.
Schwendener has recorded as Echostar. In 2003, she released the downtempo album Sola for Shadow Records, a sub-label of Instinct Records.
