Punk was not Washington DC ‘s only notable contribution to American Rock music of the late 20th /early 21st Century. A strong vein of Avant-Progressive / Art / Ambient / Experimental / Post-genre music flourished in DC and its suburbs, running parallel to the popular spotlight on Punk music.
That Progressive, Experimental tradition continues to flow through DC music today, as evident in DC’s thriving Experimental/ Avant Jazz/ Post-genre music scene and in home-grown label Cuneiform Records, which launched in 1984 after being inspired by The Muffins‘ music to release, support and promote cutting-edge music from around the world.
Stream the track “Monkey In The Middle” through the Soundcloud player below:
The Muffins were a Washington, D.C. area band who existed from 1974-81 and then again with their best-known line-up still intact from 1993-2015. They were called “…the finest progressive band that America produced… even at it’s most complicated, (they) sounded effortless & convincing”
by Fred Frith, the reknowned international icon of Avant-Garde music. They also acted as Fred’s backing band on his first post-Henry Cow solo album, “Gravity.”
It is an all-too-rare occurrence for a band, throughout its career, to create music that continually pushes the envelope and transforms the landscape. It is an even rarer occurrence for such a band to reunite after a long separation, and embark on a second musical career that continues to be as innovative as the first.
The Muffins, a group equally influenced by the then-current British Progressive Rock sounds of bands such as Henry Cow, National Health and Soft Machine as they were by contemporary American Jazz and improvisational artists like Anthony Braxton, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Sun Ra and Miles Davis, were formed in Washington, DC in the early 1970s and recorded three albums before disbanding in 1981. In 1998 the group reformed and recorded a further six albums.
During their two lifetimes, the band performed at now legendary festival events, including the ZU Festival (NYC), the Rock In Opposition Festival (France), the Villa Celimontana Jazz Festival (Rome), Sonic Circuits Festival (D.C.) and NEARFest (Bethlehem, PA), among many others.
The band were a hugely creative force during both lifetimes, combining intense, rehearsal intensive compositions with spirited free play, and moving effortlessly between musical boundaries and genres. They were one of the great American contemporary music ensembles of our time.
“Baker’s Dozen” is a 13 disc boxset of nearly all previously unreleased live and studio recordings from 1975 – 2010! It includes 12 CDs, a DVD, and a huge, informative booklet. The entire box is a treasure trove of never seen and never heard material.
Pre-order the boxset on Bandcamp: https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/bakers-dozen