WOMAD

Eat Static

From United Kingdom

Live Techno??!! Isn’t that a bit like saying sweet anchovy or world class English footballer. To Merv Pepler and Joie Hinton, the duo behind Eat Static, the concept makes more than perfect sense. Back in 1991 when turntables were busy taking over the dance scene, ex Ozric Tentacles Pepler and Hinton decided to inject live stagecraft back into the raves. Their boldness paid huge dividends and a couple of years later, after audiences at Glastonbury, Phoenix and Megadog had been reduced to quivering jellyfish by their beat driven aural brilliance, readers of the NME bestowed the Dance Band of the Year nomination on Eat Static.The group’s roots are in sunk in deepest Somerset and their inspirations are unexplained phenomena of all kinds, kitsch sci-fi b-movies, aliens in general and the mysteries of pagan England. Couple those with musical mentors like Can, Devo, Roxy Music and the Electric Prunes and you KNOW you’re in for a fascinating ride. Eat Static’s psychaedelic Latin surf trance anthem ‘Mondo A Go Go’ and their latest album ‘Crash And Burn’ have recently been released on their own Mesmobeat label. A very special collaboration with the Indian dancer Tanusree Shankar is planned for this year’s festival.WOMAD July 2000