Formed in 1978 by Mikel Rouse, a native of Missouri, the band made a spectacular debut that same year when they took the stage for the first time as the opening act for a Talking Heads concert in Kansas City, Missouri. David Byrne continued to support Mikel Rouse thereafter, and as the band shifted its focus to New York’s experimental music scene, they deepened their connections with contemporary musicians, including Arthur Russell. This album is based on recordings made during that very transitional period, combining early Tirez Tirez tracks with sessions held later in New York and Brussels.
Released in 1982–83 by the Belgian label 〈Les Disques du Crépuscule〉, incorporates the “system-based composition” techniques Mikel Rouse experimented with early on. Listeners can hear multi-layered rhythms, repetitions utilizing phase shifts, and the approach that would later lead Mikel Rouse to help develop the style known as “totalism.”
This album captures a crucial transitional period—just before Mikel Rouse’s music more clearly stepped into the realm of “composition” itself—blurring the boundaries between rock, punk, no wave, contemporary music, and dance music. (Original Japanese text by AYAM)