Iconic No Wave band Ut is assembling this November for a rare trio of shows to celebrate a reissue series co-released by their own Out Records + Forte Distribution (UK).
Ut shows are uncompromising, thrilling and truly not to be missed — as Hank Schteamer wrote in The Wire about their 2010 Issue Project Room return, “The band’s enthralling set, their first in the US since 1991, exhibited a deep idiosyncrasy, yet it also thrived on time-tested rock & roll energy.”
The reissue series kicks off on November 17 with the Ut EP + the Confidential 12” as a paired release.
The shows are as follows:
- Nov. 7: Ut + Smith Farm Blues at the Lexington, Pentonville Rd. (tickets)
- Nov. 12: Sonic City Festival in Kortrijk, Belgium
- Nov. 18: Rough Trade East, Brick Lane
More details as follows from the Out Records/Forte announcement:
The UT reissue series. The band is reissuing its remastered catalogue on Out Records through Forte Distribution in 2017 and 2018.
To celebrate the first reissue – the Ut EP and Confidential 12” on 17 November 2017 – Ut will be performing in London at The Lexington on Pentonville Road on 7 November, the Sonic City festival in Kortrijk, Belgium on 12 November and the Rough Trade shop in Brick Lane, London on 18 November.
Ut, S/T & Confidential (Out Records)
2×12” OUT0102 £12.50
CD OUT0102CD £6.55
The reissue campaign starts with the Ut and Confidential EPs. Both have been remastered by Dominique Brethes at Wolf Studios and repackaged as a double 12” (both cut at 45rpm for maximum sound fidelity) and a CD version. The double 12” has both 12”’s in a PVC outer bag (with DL code), and the CD is a 3-fold digifile. There will be 500 only of the double-pack 12” set.
Ut EP:
A1 Sham Shack
A2 This Bliss
B1 New Colour
B2 Exilee Goes Out
Confidential EP:
A Confidential
B1 Bedouin
B2 Tell It
Ut is a radical rock group founded by Nina Canal, Jacqui Ham and Sally Young in NYC in Dec 1978. Originating in the downtown No Wave scene and inheritors of the collision between rock, free jazz and the avant-garde, Ut exploded the rigidity of conventional rock, constructing songs through collective improvisation, swapping instruments and rotating the role of singer/director.
Migrating to London in 1981, Ut played with bands like The Fall and The Birthday Party and released music on their own label, Out Records. Ut became a favorite of BBC’s John Peel and recorded sessions for his show.
Joining forces in 1987 with the label Blast First, they released the critically acclaimed In Gut’s House in 1988 and made the NME ‘Top 50 Albums’ that year. As The Washington Post exclaimed, “With In Gut’s House, Ut has scraped and droned one of the finest underground rock albums of the year… The tightly interwoven, firmly focused sound… is rich, spooky, urgent and quite unexpectedly beautiful.”
The album Griller followed in 1989, engineered by labelmate Steve Albini, who shared Ut’s raw aesthetic and captured the band’s intensity. Ut disbanded in 1990 and began performing again in 2010. They have since toured the US, UK, Ireland and Europe.
DISCOGRAPHY
Ut Live at The Venue (cassette)
Ut (EP)
Confidential (12”)
Conviction (LP)
Early Live Life (LP)
In Gut’s House (LP)
Griller (LP)
Buy tickets to the Nov 7 Lexington show. Follow Ut on Twitter + Facebook.
