Longstone

Longstone -- an electronic-space rock duo comprised of Mike Cross and Mike Ward, with additional musicians assisting on various projects -- is from Cheltenham, England. Stylistically, it is often described as being directly influenced by early-'70s Krautrock bands (Cluster, Neu!, Kraftwerk), as well as more recent Teutonic artists, including motorik-sounding post-rock acts like Autechre, To Rococo Rot, and Kreidler. Descriptions like these usually tend to forget about Longstone's avant-rock side or its wide range of space rock and shoegazer influences, especially My Bloody Valentine and Experimental Audio Research. In 1997, Longstone released its debut album, Surrounded By Glass, on the Ochre label. That same year, the band appeared at the CMJ music festival in New York; its performance was recorded and later released in 1998 as Live in New York. The band's second studio album, Auto//:Genous, was a collaboration with Echo & the Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant and the Christians' Henry Priestman guesting on marimba. It was released on former Spacemen 3 member Sonic Boom's U.K.-based Spaceage Recordings label. Longstone's fourth release for Ochre was Static, which was issued in 2001. Its fifth full-length, L.I.F.E.span, was a sound collage that blended analog synths and electronic toys with found sounds, live recordings, samples, and acoustic instruments. When Longstone perform live, the duo has occasionally been assisted by Will Sergeant and Sonic Boom; Longstone has also collaborated with Paul Simpson of Skyray (ex-Teardrop Explodes and Wild Swans). Both Ward and Cross have also participated in a Welsh-based collective called the Serpents (along with Sergeant and various members of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals, Skyray, Land of Nod, and others). Mike Ward also has a side project, Brickwerk. ~ Bryan Thomas, Rovi...

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