Alien Christ:
Vocals: Kym Blattner (ex Alternahunk)
Guitars: Matthew Bright (ex Distant Locust, Krang)
Bass: Jasmine Guffond (ex Ba-Ka, Alternahunk, HISS, minit, supercute)
Drums: Stu Olsen (ex Box the Jesuit)
Sonically-driven, intense rock music with dark undertones, Sydney band Alien Christ’s music ventures across experimental rock, electronic, alternative and goth territories. Their music has been described as a “cross between Sonic Youth and Fur”; other comparisons include Jesus and Mary Chain, Bikini Kill, Mudhoney, Suicide, The Kills; and Mazzy Star, due to the beautifully cool vocals of Kym Blattner riding within the shadowy envelope of the band’s music.
Alien Christ’s first EP (self-titled, released in '99) featured spooky, jangly, trashy guitars with chunky electronic undertones. Their songs possess a wide range of dynamics and rythms, jumping and shifting from delicate acoustic chords to cataclysmic noise.
On the LP, posthumpuously released in 2005 (and also self-titled) the band forged a strong rock sound from varied alternative sub-styles. A darkly chilled atmosphere pervades the whole album. The music breathes with each new song as a real listening continuum, yet each song retains its individual vitality and structure. The spatial qualities and lingering afterglow are evidence of engineer and producer Shane Fahey’s involvement (Social Interiors, Makers of the Dead Travel Fast).
All the band were Sydney musicians with a long involvement in new independent music. Distant Locust toured Europe, playing with Christian Death in Florence; and with Laibach in Berlin. Jasmine toured major cities in the USA, playing in HISS, with support from DJ Spooky. Stu toured extensively in the USA with Viva Knievel, and with Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill. Kym and Jasmine were members of Alternahunk, the all-female electronica-punk band that burned bright while they lasted.
Alien Christ is remembered as part of the underbelly of the vibrant Sydney music scene that existed until the late ‘90s, along with their former bands Box the Jesuit, Alternahunk, Distant Locust, etc. The band in this form split in 2002 (after finishing the album), however Matthew Bright is recording a new album as Alien Christ, with a new lineup, to be released through Endgame in 2006. Shane Fahey is once again producing/engineering the album with Matt.
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