Rational Youth was a Canadian new wave synth-pop band that was originally active between 1981 and 1986, and at various points up until the end of 2021.

History

Rational Youth was formed in 1981 in Montreal, Quebec, by synthesizer players Tracy Howe and Bill Vorn, both of whom idolized the German synthpop pioneers Kraftwerk. The band is considered to be one of Canada's first synthpop groups.

Howe's music career began as a singer and drummer for Montreal punk band The Normals.

Following Vorn's departure, the group — now consisting of Howe (vocals, keyboards, guitars), Komoda (keyboards), Denis Duran (bass), and Angel Calvo (drums) – was signed to Capitol Records. That year, Rational Youth issued an eponymous EP. Following the release of the EP and immediately before a national promotional tour, Komoda, Duran, and Calvo left the band, purportedly because of about the level of full-time commitment.

Rational Youth toured throughout Scandinavia over the next two years, playing its final concert on November 3, 2001, at the Tinitus Festival in Stockholm, Sweden.

Original members Tracy Howe and Bill Vorn came together again in 2009, at the initiative of Marc Demouy, recording a new version of their 1982 track "Dancing On The Berlin Wall" in honour of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Wall. In 2010, the recording was issued by YUL Records as a CD EP.

In 2013, the band issued a number of archival recordings, including live material recorded in Ottawa and Winnipeg in 1983. A rarities compilation called Magic Box was also released, which consisted of early 1980s Rational Youth demos and remixes, and solo recordings from Howe, Vorn and Komoda.

In 2014, the band did a few shows as a six piece, featuring Tracy Howe on vocals and synth, Kevin Komoda on synths, Brian Arsenault on synths, Scott Cameron on bass, Paul Grainville on drums, backing vocals, Gaenor Howe on electronic percussion, theremin, backing vocals. This lineup played in Montreal on January 10, Ottawa on January 18, and four shows in Scandinavia in April and May 2014, billed together with the band Psyche. In November 2014, Rational Youth paired with Psyche to record and issue a cover of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck", a collaborative single that credited both bands.

In May 2016, Rational Youth (now a two-piece with Tracy and Gaenor Howe) released the EP Future Past Tense through Artoffact Records.

In September 2016, the band appeared on the compilation, Heresy, released by Cold War Night Life. A play on the title of Heredity, Heresy also featured covers of Rational Youth tracks by eighteen artists from Canada, Norway, Britain, Sweden, and Germany. Contributions included recordings by former band members, Dave Rout and Kevin Komoda, as well as collaborators Psyche.

In 2019, Cold War Night Life was re-released in deluxe 2-LP and CD formats by Universal Music Canada.

In early 2020, Rational Youth undertook their final live performances, with Canadian shows alongside UK band China Crisis and a tour of Mexico, with a final performance in Mexico City on 7 March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold, affecting many aspects of normal life, not the least of which were international travel and live music globally.

In 2021, to mark the 40th anniversary of Rational Youth's founding, the band released the EP Wavelength on their Donkeyland label. Three of the EPs four tracks were re-recordings of songs from their self-titled EP of 1983.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

  • Cold War Night Life (1982)
  • Rational Youth (EP) (1983)
  • Heredity (1985)
  • To the Goddess Electricity (1999)
  • Future Past Tense (EP) (2016)
  • Wavelength (EP) (2021)

Live albums

  • Live 1983 (2013)

Compilations

  • Total Rational! (unauthorised Dutch compilation, 1994)
  • All Our Saturdays (1981-1986) (compilation, 1999)
  • Early Singles (CD box, 2000)
  • The 20th Anniversary Collection (compilation, 2001)
  • Magic Box (rarities and demos compilation, 2013)
  • Recordings 1981-84 (5-LP vinyl box set, 2014)

Singles

  • "I Want to See the Light/Coboloid Race" (12", 1981)
  • "Cité Phosphore" (7", 1982)
  • "City of Night" (12", 1982)
  • "Saturdays in Silesia" (7"/12", 1982)
  • "In Your Eyes" (7"/12", 1983)
  • "Dancing on the Berlin Wall" (Dutch 12", 1984; unauthorised extended edit)
  • "No More and No Less" (7"/12", 1985) - No. 87 RPM
  • "Call Me" (7"/12", 1985) - No. 89 RPM
  • "Bang On" (7"/12", 1985) - No. 91 RPM
  • "Malade" (7", 1985)
  • 3 Remixes for the New Cold War (EP, 1998)
  • "Everything Is Vapour/Money and Blood" (CD single, 1999)
  • "Dancing on the Berlin Wall" (CD single, 2010)
  • "City of Night"/"Cite Phosphore" (CD single, 2011)
  • "Coboloid Race"/"I Want to See the Light" (30th Anniversary Edition) (CD single, 2011)
  • "Thunderstruck" - Rational Youth & Psyche (7" single, 2014)

References