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we-1173772
  • Formed in: Brooklyn, NY
  • Band Members: DJ Olive, Lloop, Once11
  • Years Active: 1990s
  • Genre: Dance & Electronic

We are one of the more bizarre and eclectic outcroppings of New York City's experimental ambient/dub/hip-hop scene, also the source of such artists as DJ Spooky, Sub Dub, Byzar, Liminal, and Brooklyn's WordSound collective. A trio of performance artists with hands in nearly a dozen different projects, We evolved out of a series of high-concept multimedia parties, clubs, and gallery exhibitions members Ignacio Platas (Once 11), Gregor Asch (DJ Olive), and Rich Panciera (Lloop) engineered over the previous several years. The three met in 1992 while living in Brooklyn, and their first work together under the name Lalalandia Entertainment Research Corporation included events thrown in retired mustard plants and meat-packing warehouses. In 1994, the group began a series of multimedia design and music installations under the name Multipolyomni (including a massive piece for Creative Times' Art at the Anchorage series titled "Early Aquatic Episode"), and We grew out of the musical end of that. Their first tracks appeared on WordSound's compilation Crooklyn Dub Consortium, Vol. 1 and Virgin's second installment of Macro Dub Infection, the latter of which placed them in the company of such edge-leading electronica artists as Bill Laswell, Techno Animal, Zulutronic, and Alec Empire. The group signed with the New York-based Asphodel label soon after, and their debut LP, As Is, was released in the spring of 1997. The Square Root of Minus One followed in 1999, with Decentertainment appearing one year later. Also involved in NYC's vibrant downtown experimental music scene, two of We's three members also perform with guitarist Danny Blume under the name Liminal. We have also remixed tracks for Arto Lindsay, Free Kitten, Tipsy, and Medeski, Martin, and Wood. ~ Sean Cooper, Rovi

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