MINIMAL MAN - "THE SHROUD OF"

ORIGINAL 1981 1st PRESSING !!  on SUBTERRANEAN RECORDS, BERKELEY

VERY RARE!!

Classic debut from avant-postpunk-industrial band, formed in San Francisco (1979) by visual artist and musician PATRICK MILLER (1952-2003) who started MINIMAL MAN intending at first to make music for his film experimentations. Patrick Miller pushed punk /DIY attitude to industrial-experimental extremes drawing grey environments and hostile situations that lead people to wildness, poorness or madness. His spoken words, wild screams and mournful murmurs fill the noise-crossed spaces with the sad, violent, desperate echo of efforts for surviving. Despite of its raw character, Miller`s music reflects a sensitive spirit, a high artistic instinct and also hides some hope. "THE SHROUD OF", whose front cover was painted by Miller himshelf, was followed by a second LP, SAFARI (1983), before Miller`s relocation to Belgium, where he was related with Tuxedomoon and released four more LPs. Early 90`s Miller returned to USA, giving though, no further music documents of his persona of "minimal man".

Patrick Miller, avant-garde leader of underground 'antimusic' ensemble Minimal Man, was born in Glendale, California, on 2 January 1952 and studied art at Sonoma State University, where he concentrated chiefly on silk-screening.

After moving to San Francisco in 1979 he immediately began to experiment with music and film. Minimal Man began as a vehicle to produce soundtracks for these films, with the realization that anyone could do so given access to the tools. Miller also began to collaborate with a wide variety of punk, new wave and industrial musicians, including Tuxedomoon, and by October Minimal Man were performing at the legendary Deaf Club venue, and elsewhere.

Minimal Man became one of a select handful of influential groups from this era to bridge punk and industrial music with aggressive blasts of noise and electronic effects. As the core of Minimal Man, Miller sang (and screamed), played keyboards and manipulated tapes to create their dissonant, unsettling, experimental sound. One critic described the result simply as 'antimusic.'

The band name was inspired by people who lived in the low income Fillmore district of San Francisco. Though often without basic needs, these were people creative in adapting to life on the street. Miller's conception of Minimal Man was a character with 'everything against him.'

The debut Minimal Man album The Shroud Of was originally released by Berkeley label Subterranean Records in 1981, when the core band comprised a trio of Miller with Andrew Baumer and Lliam Hart. Guest musicians included Tuxedomoon members Steven Brown and Michael Belfer (Sleepers), along with several others who reflect a revolving door policy with regard to personnel that Miller actively encouraged. Bond Bergland and Cole Palme also played in Minimal Man prior to founding Factrix.

The cover of The Shroud Of features one of Miller's signature paintings. Writer Neil Strauss recalls: 'They were all variations on one image: a featureless head or mask, usually wrapped in strips of bandages that were peeling off to reveal a discoloured, decomposed face. It was a self-portrait. It wasn't even a mask; it was what lay beneath the mask (at least in his darkest moments) - a paranoid, dark, disturbed shell of a human being."