The Legendary Pink Dots

The Legendary Pink Dots
LPD vocalist Edward Ka-Spel on the piano and Niels van Hoorn at an October 14 2007 show at the Stubnitz boat in Amsterdam
Background information
Origin	London, UK
Genre(s)	Ambient, Avant-garde, Experimental, Folk, Goth, Industrial, Noise, Neo-Psychedelia, Rock, Synth-pop
Years active	August 1980 – present
Label(s)	Beta-lactam Ring Records Terminal Kaleidoscope Car Crash International Flesh Eating Ants Records InPhaze PIAS ROIR Soleilmoon
Associated acts	Mimir The Tear Garden
Website	Cloud-Zero.org
Members
Edward Ka-Spel Phil Knight Martijn de Kleer Niels van Hoorn Raymond Steeg
Former members
cEvin Key Ryan Moore Bob Pistoor April White Patrick Wright Lilly Ak "Macrobiotic" Bart Marylou Busch Rik Chevrolet Tony Copier Erik Drost Sally Graves Barry Gray Vincent Hoedt Ignit Calyxx Ka-Spel Lisa Michael Marshall Hans Meyer Nienke Elke Peucker Jason Salmon Mark Thrasher Keith Thompson Edwin von Trippenhof Frank Verschuuren Julia Niblock Waller Patrick White Graham Whitehead Halekka Malaizhista

The Legendary Pink Dots (LPD) are an Anglo-Dutch experimental rock band formed in London in August 1980. Although far outside the mainstream (in terms of their music and career path), LPD have released more than 40 albums, have a devoted worldwide following, and tour frequently.

Overview

The Legendary Pink Dots formed in August 1980 in London. In 1984 the band transplanted itself to Amsterdam which led to a shift in the original lineup, the original bassist Roland Callaway leaving at this time. The core members of the group are vocalist/songwriter/keyboardist Edward Ka-Spel and keyboardist Phil Knight. Many others have passed through the group over the years. As of 2007^[1] the group is comprised of:

• Edward Ka-Spel - vocals, keyboards, songwriter
• Phil Knight (a.k.a. The Silverman) - keyboards, electronics
• Martijn de Kleer - guitars
• Niels van Hoorn (a.k.a. Niels Van Hoornblower) - saxophones, clarinets, flutes, MIDI wind controller
• Raymond Steeg - live sound engineer

The story behind the band's name traces back to the mysteriouse pink dots on certain keys of the bands main recording studio piano named "Osbert", the dots that can be found at either end of the keys do not make any particular chord or scale pattern and the reason for them remains unknown to this day. The piano itself which is still to this day owned by one of the founding band member April White, can be found at her home recording studio in Cambridgeshire. Their music touches on elements of neo-psychedelia, ambient music, electronic music, tape music, industrial, psych folk, synth-pop and goth rock, with a distinctly experimental/avant-garde bent; their sound has evolved over time and remains distinctive, making it difficult to place the group into a concise style or genre. The group in general (and Ka Spel's lyrics and singing in particular) have earned comparisons to Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett^[2]; the group has also been compared to a lot of classics seventies deranged bands as Can ^[3], Faust, Brainticket, Magma or Neu! (of whom they do their only cover). Anyway, Ka-Spel has said that they have seventies influences not in a "revival way" -think in the non revival "seventies underground reference" of projects like Nurse With Wound, Current 93 or Coil, all close to LPD. A very important fact is that in these days LPD have a lot of influence in younger bands.

Related bands

The Pink Dots also collaborated with Skinny Puppy's cEvin Key, forming a side project named The Tear Garden. Key also appears on the 1994 LPD album 9 Lives to Wonder. Others groups related to present and past pink dots members are: Strange Atracttor, Mimir, Download, Twilight Circus and Minizza.

Bands influenced by the Pink Dots

• Christus and the Cosmonaughts (beta-lactam ring records)
• La STPO (beta-lactam ring records)
• Orbit Service (beta-lactam ring records)
• Un Festìn Sagital (beta-lactam ring records)
• Brunnen (beta-lactam ring records)
• Thanatoloop (templosagital)
• The Dresden Dolls (roadrunner)
• Halbes Vakuum (hotel-encore)
• Pètalo Bisturì (templo sagital)
• Nessie & Her Beard (Orchestral Colour Records)

Recurring themes

There are many concepts and words that recur in Pink Dots lyrics. Some of these include:

• Premonition: (song examples: "Premonition 13," "Premonition 11," "Premonition 12," "Premonition 5," "Premonition 18," "Premonition 2")
• Lisa (song examples: "Lisa's Christening," "Lisa's Party," "Lisa's Funeral")
• Tower (song examples: "Tower 5," "Tower 1," "Tower 6," "Tower 4")
• Hotel (song examples: "Hotel Blanc," "Hotel Noir," "Hotel X," "Hotel Z")
• Gladiator
• China Doll
• 834
• Tarot

Discography

Studio albums

• (1981) Only Dreaming
• (1981) Kleine Krieg
• (1981) Chemical Playschool 1+2
• (1981) Dots on the Eyes
• (1982) Brighter Now
• (1982) Atomic Roses
• (1982) Premonition
• (1982) Apparition
• (1983) Basilisk
• (1983) Chemical Playschool 3+4
• (1983) Curse
• (1984) The Tower
• (1984) The Lovers
• (1984) Faces in the Fire
• (1985) Asylum
• (1985) Prayer For Aradia
• (1986) Island Of Jewels
• (1986) Curious Guy
• (1987) Premonition 11
• (1988) Any Day Now
• (1988) Traumstadt 1
• (1988) Traumstadt 2
• (1988) Traumstadt 3
• (1988) Traumstadt 4
• (1989) Traumstadt 5
• (1989) The Golden Age
• (1989) Greetings 9
• (1990) Four Days
• (1990) The Crushed Velvet Apocalypse
• (1991) The Maria Dimension
• (1992) Shadow Weaver
• (1993) Malachai (Shadow Weaver Part 2)
• (1994) Nine Lives to Wonder
• (1995) From Here You'll Watch the World Go By
• (1997) Hallway of the Gods
• (1997) Chemical Playschool 10
• (1998) Nemesis Online
• (2000) A Perfect Mystery
• (2001) Chemical Playschool 11+12+13
• (2002) All the King's Horses
• (2002) All the King's Men
• (2002) Synesthesia
• (2004) The Poppy Variations
• (2004) The Whispering Wall
• (2006) Alchemical Playschool
• (2006) Your Children Placate You From Premature Graves

Live albums

• (1988) Dot-to-Dot
• (1997) Live '85-'88
• (1997) Live 89
• (1999) Live at the Metro
• (2000) Goodbye, Milky Way

Compilations

• (1988) Stone Circles
• (1989) The Legendary Pink Box
• (1991) Greetings 9+Premonition 11/It's Raining in Heaven (1991/1996)
• (1995) Chemical Playschool 8+9
• (1996) Canta Mientras Puedas
• (1996)
• (1997) Ancient Daze
• (1997) Under Triple Moons
• (1997) Stained Glass, Soma Fountains
• (1999) Poi Poka Mozhesh
• (2000)
• (2002) El Kaleidoscopio Terminal
• (2003) I Did Not Inhale
• (2003)
• (2004) Singe Wahrend du Bist
• (2004) Crushed Mementos

Singles & EPs

• (1988) Under Glass
• (1990) Princess Coldheart
• (1996) Remember Me This Way
• (1997) Sterre
• (1998) Pre-Millenial Single
• (2006) Legacy

References

External links

• Cloud-Zero.org – official LPD Online Centraal: news, discography, mailing-list, etc.
• Terminal Kaleidoscope.com – official mail-order service for LPD
• Live-Archive.de – official archive of live LPD and Edward Ka-Spel concerts available for free download