Zu, the Roman metal/math/no-wave/free noise/punk/jazz trio, is perhaps best known in the US as a band who have had an unbelievable line-up of recording partners which includes The Stooges’ Steve Mackay, Fugazi’s Joe Lally and Guy Picciotto, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, Can’s Damo Suzuki, jazz masters Ken Vandermark and Mats Gustafsson, percussionists Han Bennink and Hamid Drake, improvisationalist Eugene Chadbourne and the like-minded Nobukazu Takemura.
The Italian trio of Jacopo Battaglia (drums), Massimo Pupillo (bass) and Luca T. Mai (saxophone) formed in 1999 after having worked together in local theater. Driven by a punk rock work ethic, Zu have played an astounding number of over 1,000 gigs worldwide including Europe, North America, Asia, Russia, and even Africa. The have released fourteen albums to date.
[b]“...combining the abstractions of Sonic Youth with the out-there explorations of the best free jazz” – The Times
“Musically they’re one mind only, ever-so-slightly inconvenienced by the necessity of being spit into 3 bodies. Their post-human tightness and devious compositions have carried them across the world’s ocean, and attracted collaborators ranging from free-jazz legends to the godfathers of experimental sludge” - Rock-A-Rolla[/b]
That Fucking Tank is a band that operates on DIY principles; booking gigs, recording records and making music in a way that contributes towards the creation of alternative spaces to the boring mechanisms of 'industry', and challenging the assumption that 'good' music has to be made 'professionally' (i.e as a job).
That Fucking Tank was formed in 2004 for a one-off performance by friends-since-school Andy Abbott and James Islip who met over an owl. Andy plays a specially tuned baritone guitar through guitar and bass amplifiers, James plays a minimal drum kit. Their novel name, energetic performances and manish volume saw them play all over Europe and the UK with brain-mangling regularity, sharing stages and tours with bands including Hella, Q and not U, Lungfish, Oxes, Unsane, Kid Commando, GI Joe, Chevreuil, Grabba Grabba Tape, Poltergroom, US Maple, Neptune, Whitehouse, AIDS Wolf, Vialka, Nervous Kid, Don Caballero, The Fucking Champs, Hoover and the like.