Material was an American band formed in 1979 and operating until 1999, led by producer and bassist Bill Laswell.
The group began in 1978 coalescing at Giorgio Gomelsky's Zu House in Manhattan with at its core Laswell, Michael Beinhorn, Fred Maher, Cliff Cultreri and Kramer, acting as a house band for visiting European musicians, such as Daevid Allen. Laswell, Beinhorn, Maher and Cultreri evolved as Material in 1979 first releasing the Temporary Music EP, followed by two more albums (Memory Serves and One Down) with an ever-revolving list of contributors, including singers such as Nona Hendryx, Bernard Fowler and Whitney Houston.
From 1982, the name would be used by Laswell and Beinhorn for many projects, including Herbie Hancock's Future Shock album and "Rockit" single, Timezone's "World Destruction" single, and from 1985 onward solely by Laswell such as on Sly and Robbie's Rhythm Killers and Public Image Ltd.'s Album.
Laswell would continue with the name as a front for his own projects up until 1999, releasing four more studio albums (Seven Souls, The Third Power, Hallucination Engine and Intonarumori).
History
1978–1979: Formation
In 1978, having received a substantial royalty payment for his work with The Yardbirds, Georgian music entrepreneur Giorgio Gomelsky relocated to New York City in an attempt to open up the American market to the European progressive jazz-rock bands he was working with, such as Gong, Henry Cow and Magma. He established the Zu Club in Manhattan and after meeting 24-year-old bass player Bill Laswell, encouraged him to form a band. Three young friends, Michael Beinhorn (17, synthesizer), Martin Bisi (17, engineering) and Fred Maher (14, drums), responded to Laswell's advert in The Village Voice and the band began rehearsing in the club's basement. They were joined by guitartist Cliff Cultreri and then by organist Mark Kramer, who had befriended Gomelsky while attending a Captain Beefheart concert.
The band became known as the "Zu Band" until Gomelsky hooked them up with former Gong frontman Daevid Allen for a performance at his Zu Manifestival at the Zu Club on October 8, 1978, for which they became "New York Gong". They were joined at this performance by saxophonist George Bishop and drummer Chris Cutler who were working on Allen's N'Existe Pas album, guitarist Michael Lawrence deputised for Cultreri, while Fred Frith guested on some pieces.
Allen returned in March 1979 and the group of Laswell, Beinhorn, Maher, Cultreri and Kramer were joined by drummer Stu Martin and alto-saxophonist Don Davis, a friend of Kramer. In autumn, they recorded the album About Time, followed by a September and October tour of France, after which Allen and the band amicably parted company when they "discovered they couldn't stand the European way of life".