James Ray (rock musician)
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James Ray is a rock singer and band-leader, best known as a member of Andrew Eldritch's side-project The Sisterhood.
He was a founding member of "James Ray And The Performance", a rock band with ties to goth rock. James Ray has also formed the bands "James Ray's Gangwar", "The MK Ultra", and his current band "4080peru".
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[edit] James Ray And The Performance
The Performance was a band started by James Ray and Carl Harrison. An early demo of tracks such as "Mexico Sundown Blues", "Dance" and "Edie Sedgwick" (the latter named after the actress) was sent to The Sisters of Mercy's record label, Merciful Release. The band were signed, and after Ray's contribution to The Sisterhood project "Gift", Merciful released the Mexico Sundown Blues single in July 1986. The singles "Texas" and "Dust Boat" were also released on Merciful, followed by the compilation A New Kind Of Assassin.
[edit] James Rays Gangwar
After The Performance, Ray formed James Rays Gangwar. The band were still contracted to Merciful for an album, so the band recorded the Dios Esta De Nuestro Lado LP, a more aggressive sounding album, still with the southern American influence, and a cover of Alvin Stardust's "[My] Coo Ca Choo" closing the album. The opening track, Rev Rev Lowrider was released as a single. Other non-album tracks were released as singles, "Fuel", "Another Million Dollars" and "Without Conscience".
After this, Gangwar released the Third Generation LP on Surgery Records, a much more techno-based album, with fewer guitars, and a more trance-like feel. The song "Fuelled Up" draws heavily from the earlier song "Fuel," which in turn borrows heavily from the melody of Knock on Wood.
The final Gangwar album was 'Psychodalek'.
[edit] The MK Ultra
After the release of Third Generation, Ray formed the project "The MK Ultra", a solo effort, again releasing on Merciful Release. The first LP This Is This had a more dance-like feel than Third Generation, continuing to incorporate samples and Ray's own deep voice against the female backing vocals and techno rhythms. The first track, "Regeneration" is a remix of the title track from Third Generation. After This Is This, Ray released Beluga Pop, a collection of ambient techno pieces, far removed from much of his earlier work. The MK Ultra did not release any singles. Ray later wrote a novella entitled "Psychodalek" under the James Ray's Gangwar moniker, and released an album of the same name as a soundtrack to accompany the book. Both the novella and the album are currently available to download from his website.
[edit] Present day
In recent years, Gangwar have reformed, to play a handful of concerts, such as Wave-Gotik-Treffen. A further ambient project, 4080Peru was formed, writing long soundscapes. 4080Peru have also performed these tracks live. Ray is also currently working with the band 25men. And still keeping up with Speedy Dave.
[edit] 25men
25men consists of various transient musicians and artists from around the world who contribute to 25men. Designed and directed by James Ray, 25men present an amalgamation of musical and artistic ideas resulting in a sound that takes the sound of Gangwar and 4080peru to another dimension.
Most of his songs are available for free download from his website.
