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Dirty Three

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Instrumental rock band

Known for their elaborate, rough-cut symphonic pieces, the melancholy instrumental trio Dirty Three uses sounds, not words, as a vehicle for self-expression. "We don’t have words to tell you what it’s about; people can kind of work it our for themselves," explained classically-trained violinist Warren Ellis in an interview with Colin Berry for Magnet. Comprised of Ellis along with guitarist Mick Turner and drummer Jim White, Dirty Three create a sound described as raucous, wistful, fiery, bittersweet, and intimate, and share a musical vision with singer-songwriter Nick Cave. Their albums, from their debut Sad & Dangerous through Whatever You Love, You Are, all won the acclaim of critics who applauded Dirty Three’s musicianship, and provided the trio a following among independent music fans.

"Ellis’ violin is capable of evoking sounds that range from shimmering insect wings to the rollicking clankery of a runaway locomotive," wrote Berry. "White’s drums are booming and palpably live—he seems to be playing right in the room while you listen. For his part, Turner strums with the kind of thoughtful violence borne of any good garage guitarist: part country, part city, part Crazy Horse." Boston Globe staff writer Jim Sullivan agreed: "There’s the quiet and the storm, the anger and the resolution, the surreal and the grounded. It’s a head trip, a journey well worth taking. It’s art, it’s punk, it’s a joyous mess."

Dirty Three formed in 1992 in Melbourne, Australia, under the leadership of Ellis, a formally-trained musician who first began writing and performing his work for art openings and plays. In addition, he tenured in the groups Blackeyed Susans, Paranoid, and the Nursing Mothers. After enlisting Blackeyed Susans’ guitarist Mick Turner, formerly of the Moodists, and drummer Jim White, a veteran of several Melbourne bands including the Sick Things, the Moodists, Fungus Brain, and Venom P. Stinger, Ellis took his new group and his unique violin style to the high-energy bar room set. At the trio’s first live show, he attached a guitar pickup to his violin with a rubber band, providing the instrument with a distorted, feedback-drenched tone far removed from a violin’s more traditional sound.

Soon a main attraction in Melbourne, Dirty Three picked up impressive support slots, opening for bands such as Pavement and the John Spencer Blues Explosion even before releasing a debut album. Sad & Dangerous, essentially a repackaging of the trio’s demo tape that blended free jazz with noise rock, saw release in 1994 on the independent Boston label Poon Village Records in North America and on Torn & Frayed in Australia. This collection, coupled with subsequent touring with Sonic Youth, John Cale, Morphine, and again Pavement, led to a record deal with Chicago’s Touch and Go Records, which released the group’s self-titled second album in 1995. Dirty Three, featuring the classic epics "Indian Love Song" and "Kim’s Dirt," was also issued on the Big Cat label in Europe.

In support of their first two efforts, Dirty Three traveled that year to North America and Europe, joining the Lollapalooza tour in the United States and playing live at the Reading and Phoenix festivals in the United Kingdom. These performances enabled the trio to convert thousands of new fans, despite their unusual lineup, wordless compositions, and inclination to improvise—a formula that may seem at odds with conventional rock. "Paganini was supposedly spawned by the devil because he could incite such powerful feelings in people with his violin," Ellis once commented, as quoted by Bradley Bambarger in Billboard. "There’s something about the instrument that seems to speak to people’s souls."

After touring, the trio took on a number of other projects before concentrating on a new album. Prior to hitting the studio, they recorded ten tracks with the venerable Will Oldham (who records under the name Palace) in Northern California at Prairie Sun Studios. The project came about, Ellis informed Berry, when "Will wrote us a card and told us how much he liked our records. It sort of transpired from there." During the sessions, both Oldham and Dirty Three realized a mutual admiration for one another. "Will seems to work the same way we do," Ellis added. "He goes with the feel of things, and isn’t worried if a certain cymbal isn’t on a perfect beat. That’s how we work; we never do more than two takes. If it’s not working, we just stop and do something else."

Subsequently, Dirty Three worked with the musician who would become their truest soulmate musically— fellow Australian Nick Cave. He became a fan of the trio at one of their furious live shows back in 1994 and often appears with the group for an impromptu jam. Likewise, Ellis sometimes plays live with Cave’s band, the Bad Seeds. In 1995, Dirty Three performed with Cave (also a participant on the Palace project) in London for a live soundtrack for Carl Dreyer’s silent film La Passion De Jeanne d’Arc, shown at the National Film Theatre. The following year, they collaborated with the singer on original and unbilled songs for the X-Files soundtrack entitled Songs In the Key of X. "He’s a really fantastic person, Nick," said Ellis of Cave, as quoted by Berry. "Totally uncompromising, always done what he wanted to do. I think he’s been one of the most consistent people for the past 20 years. There’s not many that can continually come up with such quality."

Although years from matching Cave’s lengthy discography, Dirty Three sustained their talent for offering a genuine alternative to contemporary rock with their third album, Horse Stories. For this acclaimed set, the trio formed their own label called Anchor & Hope, distributed by Shock in Australia, Big Cat in Europe, and Touch and Go in the United States. Released in 1996, Horse Stories featured several standout tracks, among them the hard-luck piece "I Knew It Would Come to This" and the lamentful "At the Bar." "It’s a staggering performance," wrote Jason Fine of "At the Bar" for a Rolling Stone review, "and one that doesn’t need lyrics to convey the despair and debauchery already resonant in the band’s playing." Ellis himself further explained, as quoted by Bambarger, "That’s the power of instrumental music: It encourages listeners to draw on their own emotions, their own experiences."

Dirty Three resurfaced with another evocative album, Ocean Songs, in 1998. In a four-star review for Melody Maker, Stevie Chick concluded, "Forget the words, say it with melodies." The group released Whatever You Love, You are in 2000. For their fifth album, Dirty Three decided to record in London following some gigs in Norway that finally pulled them together from various locations. At the time, the members of Dirty Three—by now living in separate countries—had been busy throughout 1998 and 1999. White and Turner spent much of their energy performing with Cave, though the three-piece ensemble found time to perform at a major Australian concert, The Big Day Out. Additionally, Dirty Three performed at the opening for the music of Estonian composer Arvo Part as part of Cave’s Melton Festival. This event also featured such luminaries as Nina Simone, Lee Hazelwood, the Bad Seeds, Les Patterson, and Billie Whitelaw. Meanwhile, Turner released his second solo record called Marian Rosa, the follow-up to Tren Phantasma, and toured in America; White joined Oldham for a handful of shows; and Ellis recorded with German diva Ute Lemper. Then Dirty Three played nine shows with Pavement in the United States, from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Tuscon, Arizona.

After recording some demos in a deserted railway storage building in Paris, the trio returned to the famous September Sounds studio to make the album. Produced by Dirty Three along with Lincoln Fong, Whatever You Love, You Are continued the trio’s exploration of instrumental structures. As with all their records, the work earned rave reviews. "In a world plagued by plastic perfection," wrote Billboards Michael Paoletta, "it’s nice to know that Dirty Three are still making a brave, beautiful mess of things."

Selected discography
Sad & Dangerous, Poon Village, 1994.
Dirty Three, Touch and Go, 1995.
Horse Stories, Touch and Go, 1996.
Ocean Songs, Touch and Go, 1998.
Whatever You Love, You Are, Touch and Go, 2000.

Sources
Periodicals
Billboard, September 7, 1996; April 4, 1998; February 19, 2000.
Boston Globe, March 31, 1997.
Los Angeles Times, August 10, 1995.
Magnet, December/January 1997.
Melody Maker, March 28, 1998.
Rolling Stone, October 31, 1996; May 14, 1998.
Village Voice, September 24, 1996.
Washington Post, May 15, 1998; April 7, 2000.

Online
Billions Corporation Online, http://www.billions.com (December 16, 2000).
Yahoo! Music, http://www.musicfinder.yahoo.com (December 16, 2000).
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:

Dirty Three

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  • Genres: Rock

Biography

Melancholy instrumental trio Dirty Three formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1992, led by classically trained violinist Warren Ellis, who began writing and performing music for art openings and plays and also tenured in the groups Blackeyed Susans, Paranoid, and the Nursing Mothers. After enlisting Blackeyed Susans guitarist Mick Turner and drummer Jim White -- veterans of Melbourne bands including the Sick Things, the Moodists, Fungus Brain, and Venom P. Stinger -- Ellis formed Dirty Three; at the group's debut performance, he used a rubber band to attach a guitar pickup to his violin, giving the instrument a distorted, feedback-drenched feel far removed from its original sound. Recorded as a demo, the trio's debut Sad & Dangerous appeared in 1994; subsequent tours in support of Pavement, Sonic Youth, and John Cale helped win Dirty Three a deal with the Touch & Go label, which issued a 1995 eponymous effort and 1996's acclaimed Horse Stories. In 1998, Dirty Three resurfaced with Ocean Songs; Whatever You Love, You Are followed two years later.

Celebrating their tenth anniversary, Dirty Three headed back into the studio. Initially, the trio had recorded songs for a follow-up to Whatever You Love, You Are in early 2001; however, the songs were scrapped. White went on to tour with Smog and Will Oldham. Turner founded his own label, King Crab Records, and worked with Marquis de Tren. Ellis joined his fellow mates Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds for a monumental world tour in spring 2002. Somewhere amidst all this activity, Dirty Three reconvened with producer Fabrice Laureau, chief of Prohibited Records, who recorded part of the soundtrack to Amelie. Together, he and Dirty Three arrived with the enigmatic, dark album She Has No Strings Apollo in February 2003. Cinder, which features appearances by Cat Power's Chan Marshall and Sally Timms from the Mekons, followed two years later.

Following the release of Cinder, all three bandmembers concentrated on various solo projects for the next six years. White moved to Brooklyn from Chicago; he recorded and toured with PJ Harvey, Nina Nastasia, Marshall, and Bonnie "Prince" Billy. Ellis joined the Bad Seeds full-time, and was a member of a Bad Seeds off-shoot band, the short-lived Grinderman. He also became Nick Cave's film-scoring partner. Turner issued a solo album, and focused on his career as a successful visual artist. Dirty Three secretly began working on another album in 2011 and emerged with Toward the Low Sun, their debut for Drag City, in early 2012. ~ Jason Ankeny & Thom Jurek, Rovi
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Dirty Three

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Dirty Three

Warren Ellis
Background information
Origin Melbourne, Australia
Genres Instrumental[1]
Years active 1992–present[2]
Labels Shock Records[3], Rough Trade, Drag City, Touch and Go, Bella Union, Anchor & Hope, Torn & Frayed[4]
Associated acts Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Tren Brothers, Grinderman, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Mick Turner, The Blackeyed Susans, Cat Power
Members
Warren Ellis
Jim White
Mick Turner

Dirty Three are an instrumental band, consisting of Warren Ellis (violin), Mick Turner (electric guitar) and Jim White (drums), originating from Melbourne, Australia. Since the Dirty Three formed in 1992, they have spent a lot of time overseas. Mick Turner is currently based in Melbourne, drummer Jim White lives in New York, and Ellis lives in Paris.[5]

Contents

History

Prior to the formation of the Dirty Three, Warren Ellis studied classical violin, worked briefly as a schoolteacher in regional Victoria, after completing a degree – a Diploma of Education in Music and English; traveled and busked in Greece, Hungary, Scotland and Ireland; wrote music for theatre groups and performed at art openings and plays in Melbourne and then began playing with Melbourne bands. He was also a member of The Blackeyed Susans[6][7] Mick Turner and Jim White have a shared musical history via the numerous bands they played in during the 1980s and early 1990s. Throughout the Dirty Three's existence, both have contributed their respective talents to numerous artists and groups. Turner was a member of The Moodists for a few months prior to, and including the length of, their first European sojourn (1983–5), and was also a member of the Sick Things (as Mick Sick), Fungus Brains and Venom P. Stinger. White was also in Venom P. Stinger . He has also been a member of People With Chairs Up Their Noses, Feral Dinosaurs (this group also featured Conway Savage, later a member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds) and The Blackeyed Susans. He has also played on records by Hunters and Collectors and Tex, Don and Charlie.

The Dirty Three first played as a pub act in 1993, in Melbourne, Australia. At the trio's first live show, Ellis attached a guitar pickup to his violin with a rubber band, providing the instrument with a distorted, feedback-drenched tone unlike the violin's more traditional sound.[8] From then on they grew in stature within the Melbourne music scene, and went on to become the support act for many groups such as Pavement and the John Spencer Blues Explosion before the release of their debut album, Sad & Dangerous, in 1994 – essentially the trio's demo tape. The album, along with subsequent tours with Sonic Youth, John Cale, and again Pavement, led to a record deal with Chicago's Touch and Go.

In 1995, Dirty Three toured the United States four times, Greece, Israel, Germany and the UK, where they performed with Cave (also a participant on the Palace project) in London for a live soundtrack to the Carl Dreyer silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc, at the National Film Theatre.[6] They then toured the United States again in 1996, one of the shows was at Maxwell's, New Jersey.[9] In May 1998, they again toured the United States, this time for 2 months.[10]

In 2002, they toured Taiwan, and in 2004 returned to Taiwan.[11][12]

In late 2005, the band released their seventh major album, Cinder, which, though following in the spirit of Ocean Songs, diverges from all of their previous works on several points. It was the first Dirty Three album to feature vocals (those of Chan Marshall aka Cat Power and Sally Timms of The Mekons), though only on two of nineteen songs. The songs are also generally much shorter and more concise than their early work, which allows for the rather large number of tracks. Perhaps most notably, instead of the usual recording live technique, they opted, for the first time in their career, to record in the studio individually.

In 2006 they toured to Malaysia[13], Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.[14][15]

In May 2007 the band curated a weekend of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival, booking bands they admired in addition to performing twice themselves. 2007 was also the year of the release of a live concert DVD, shot in Tokyo, Japan in HD by Taiyo Films with a multi-track sound record. Film director Darcy Maine also has completed a feature length documentary on the bands history for release worldwide.[16]

In February 2012, the band released the album Toward the Low Sun, and in March 2012, the band performed at the Sydney Opera House.[17]

Collaborations

Since 1996 Ellis has been a member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Ellis and Turner have both released solo albums. In addition, Turner and White have released several EPs as The Tren Brothers, and appear as backing musicians on albums by Cat Power, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and PJ Harvey (White drums).[18] Turner is also an internationally exhibited painter with his own work gracing the covers of all of their major albums except Sad & Dangerous. He also runs the band's own record label Anchor & Hope Records. In 1999, Dirty Three with Low recorded an In the Fishtank session for Konkurrent records.

Dirty Three have released albums on Touch & Go Records and have toured with Nick Cave, Sonic Youth, Low, Pavement, Throwing Muses, Cat Power, PJ Harvey, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Devendra Banhart, Josh T. Pearson, Shannon Wright and The Pogues.[6]

Style

In describing Dirty Three's sound, music journalists have mentioned folk, rock, classical, chamber music, jazz and blues, Celtic music, and other European folk styles.[19]

Discography and filmography

Albums and documentaries

Featured in:

Singles, EPs and tour albums

  • Obvious is Obvious (split with Low) (1997)
  • Sharks (CD only for sale during the 1998 tour in Australia and US)
  • A Strange Holiday (7" split with Scenic) (1998)
  • Ufkuko (1998)
  • In the Fishtank (with Low) (2001)
  • Great Waves (2005)
  • Doris/I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (7" split with Josh T. Pearson) (2006)
  • Lowlands (Collection of studio outtakes and radio session tracks. CD only available during the 2000 Australia and US tour)

Compilations and soundtracks

  • Absolutely Live 1995 (compilation) (1995)
  • Why Should the French Have All the Fun? (compilation) (1996)
  • Songs in the Key of X (compilation) (1996)
  • Recovery: Ready for Transmission (compilation) (1999)
  • Homebake 3 (1999)
  • Praise (1999)
  • At Least You Can Die With A Smile On Your Face (2003)
  • Un Cadavre Exquis (2005)
  • Come Fly With Us – Glitterhouse Records

References

  1. ^ CMJ New Music Monthly, No. 26, Oct 1995, Page 13
  2. ^ http://www.fromthearchives.com/dt/discography.html
  3. ^ Billboard (magazine), Vol. 107, No. 27, 8 Jul 1995, Page 54
  4. ^ http://www.discogs.com/artist/Dirty+Three
  5. ^ http://www.thevine.com.au/music/news/thevine-feature-album-_-dirty-three-%27toward-the-low-sun%2720120220.aspx
  6. ^ a b c http://www.fromthearchives.com/dt/chronology.html
  7. ^ http://www.dublintheatrefestival.com/artists/display.asp?m=&artistID=742
  8. ^ CMJ New Music Monthly, No. 41, Jan 1997, Page 6
  9. ^ New York Magazine, Vol. 29, No. 36, 16 Sep 1996, Page 100
  10. ^ Billboard (magazine), Vol. 110, No. 10, 7 Mar 1998, Page 51
  11. ^ http://www.fromthearchives.com/dt/discography.html
  12. ^ http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2004/01/09/2003086969
  13. ^ http://ecentral.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/10/26/music/15808913&sec=music
  14. ^ http://www.fromthearchives.com/dt/videography.html
  15. ^ http://shanghaiist.com/2006/11/02/dirty_three_upd.php
  16. ^ http://www.myspace.com/dirtythreedoco
  17. ^ http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/About/12EventMediaRelease_DirtyThree.aspx
  18. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/mar/01/dirty-three-towards-the-low-sun
  19. ^ CMJ New Music Monthly, No. 26, Oct 1995, Page 13

External links

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Mentioned in

Tren Phantasma (1997 Album by Mick Turner)
Horse Stories (1996 Album by Dirty Three)
The Tren Brothers (Rock Band, '90s)
Whatever You Love, You Are (2000 Album by Dirty Three)
Tren Brothers EP (1998 Album by The Tren Brothers)
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