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The Skaters (band)

The Skaters were an American experimental music duo based in San Diego and San Francisco, California, formed by James Ferraro and Spencer Clark. The group released cassettes, CD-Rs, and LPs of their work between 2004 and 2008 and toured the United States and Europe until 2009. They have been regarded as part of the "post-noise psychedelia" movement.

Music journalist Simon Reynolds described the Skaters, along with Ariel Pink, as the "godparents" of hypnagogic pop, and credited a comment made by Ferraro with inspiring the use of the term "hypnagogic". He had also credited the group with catalyzing an "international post-noise network".

History

In 2004, Ferraro turned 18 and moved from New York to San Diego, where he would meet Clark at an "all-day improvisational noise jam". Later moving to San Francisco, the duo would record jam sessions in their apartment, which were described by SF Weekly in 2006 as "vocal-dominated psychedelia" and "noise-drenched cosmic soul". The cover artwork of these releases was typically low-quality, black and white collages.

Discography

  • Dark Rye Bread (2004)
  • Humming Lattice Flowers (2004; with Yellow Swans)
  • Mountain of Signs (2004)
  • Rippling Whispers (2004)
  • White Rye Bread (2004; remixes of the Beatles)
  • Palm Shaper (November 2004)
  • Axolotl / The Skaters (2005; with Axolotl)
  • Crowned Purple Gowns (2005)
  • Gambling in Ohpa's Shadow (2005)
  • Pavilionous Miracles of Circular Facet Dice (2005)
  • Receding Smokebath (2005)
  • The Skaters / Wooden Wand / The Vanishing Voice (2005; with Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice)
  • Live at KDVS 90.3 FM, Sacramento, CA 3-25-2005 (March 2005; with Axolotl and Mouthus)
  • Untitled or The Skaters (August 2005)
  • Diminishing Shrine Recycles (2006; VHS)
  • Live Split (2006; with Tomutonttu)
  • Shadow Watcher Levitations (2006; released under the aliases "Acid Eagle" (Ferraro) and "Vodka Soap" (Clark))
  • Talking Head (2006)
  • Raising Spheres of Crossing Angel Minds (April 2006)
  • The Skaters / Axolotl (June 2006; with Axolotl)
  • Dripping Avenues / Wind Drapeing Incense (December 2006)
  • Dispersed Royalty Ornaments (May 2007)
  • Monopoly Child Star Searchers / Angel Snake (2008; released under the aliases "Angel Snake" (Ferraro) and "Monopoly Child Star Searchers" (Clark))
  • Wind Drapeing Incense (2008)
  • The Temple Defectors / Claypipe (March 2008; with Claypipe, released under the alias "the Temple Defectors")
  • Physicalities of the Sensibilities of Ingrediential Stairways (August 2008)
  • Mountaineer Skyness of Majestic Planes (October 2008)
  • Live at Spooky Action Palace (year unknown; with Axolotl, C. Spencer Yeh, and Lambsbread)

Note: Some Ferraro releases, such as Rerex 1–2 and Body Fusion 1–2, have been referred to by Ferraro as being a part of the Skaters' catalog.

References

Bibliography