The Ex (band)

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The Ex
The Ex performing with Tom Cora
The Ex performing with Tom Cora
Background information
Origin Amsterdam
Genre(s) Punk, Anarcho-punk, Punk jazz
Years active 1979–present
Members
Terrie Ex
G.W. Sok
Katherina Ex
Andy Moor
Former members
Luc
Rozemarie

The Ex is an anarchist band from the Netherlands. They formed in 1979 at the height of the original punk explosion and have released more than twenty full length albums since.

The band's music has undergone significant evolution over the years, beginning as a simple lo-fi anarcho-punk band. They debuted with a single titled "Stupid Americans" on the Utregpunx vinyl 7" compilation released by Rock Against records in Rotterdam. The release of their first 7" All Corpses Smell the Same came shortly thereafter in 1980. Through the decades they gradually developed into their current form of highly intricate, experimental punk/post-punk/no wave-inspired work. Breaking from the relatively narrow confines of punk rock, The Ex has incorporated a wide array of influences, often from non-Western and non-rock sources. Some include Hungarian and Turkish folk songs, and more recently music from Ethiopia, Congo and Eritrea (whose independence song is covered by The Ex on Turn). Other examples of branching out stylistically include the improvised double album Instant and a release under the moniker Ex Orkest, a 20 piece big band assembled for performances at Holland Festival.

The band has had successful collaborations with many disparate artists, including UK anarchist band Chumbawamba (sometimes using the name Antidote), the Dog Faced Hermans (one former member of that band, Andy Moor, is currently part of the The Ex), and with the late avant-garde cellist Tom Cora in the early 1990s, resulting in the album Scrabbling At the Lock in 1991 and the follow-up And the Weathermen Shrug Their Shoulders in 1993. They have also collaborated with members of Sonic Youth, Dutch improvisers ICP, and released a collaborative EP with America's Tortoise.

Bass guitar player Luc left the band in 2003, replaced by double bassist Rozemarie. [1] In 2005 Rozemarie left the band. [2]

The Ex is the subject of the documentary film Building a Broken Mousetrap (2006), directed by Jem Cohen. [3]

Contents

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Cover of the "Disturbing Domestic Peace" LP (1980).
Cover of the "Disturbing Domestic Peace" LP (1980).

[edit] EPs and singles

The cover art for the "6" series of 7" singles was influenced by Alexander Rodchenko's 1924 portrait of Lilya Brik.
The cover art for the "6" series of 7" singles was influenced by Alexander Rodchenko's 1924 portrait of Lilya Brik.
  • 1980 All Corpses Smell the Same (4 track 7")
  • 1980 New Horizons in Retailing (7" flexi)
  • 1980 Live-Skive (live 7")
  • 1981 Weapons for El Salvador (7")
  • 1981 Villa Zuid Moet Blijven (split 7" flexi with Svatsox/De Groeten)
  • 1983 Dignity of Labour (4x7")
  • 1983 Gonna Rob the Spermbank (12")
  • 1983 The Red Dance Package (split 12" with Alerta)
  • 1984 Enough is Enough (split 7" with Awara)
  • 1986 1936 - The Spanish Revolution (2x7" + photobook) (UK Indie #6)[4]
  • 1987 Destroy Fascism! (7" with Chumbawamba)
  • 1988 Rara Rap/Contempt (7")
  • 1990 Stonestampers Song/Lied Der Steinklopfer (7")
  • 1990 Dead Fish (10" LP/3" CD)
  • 1990 Keep on Hoppin'/Crap Rap (split 7" with The Mekons)
  • 1991 6.1 Slimy Toad/Jake's Cake (7")
  • 1991 6.2 Ceme Ryne/Millitan (7" with Brader)
  • 1991 6.3 Hidegen Fujnak A Szelek/She Said (7")
  • 1991 6.4 Bimhuis 290691 (2x7" with guests)
  • 1991 6.5 This Song is in English (7" with Kamagurka and Herr Seele)
  • 1992 6.6 Euroconfusion/Bird in the Hand (12")
  • 1998 In the Fishtank 5 (with Tortoise)
  • 2002 In the Fishtank 9 (with Sonic Youth and Instant Composers Pool)

[edit] Compilations

  • 1980 Utregpunx (Rock Against, Rotterdam, NL)
  • 1987 Viva Umkhonto! (anti-apartheid benefit LP, featured the song "Dallas, Texas 1988")
  • 1988 Hands Up! You're Free (3 Peel Sessions on LP)
  • 1991 Ample (compilation tape)
  • 2005 Singles. Period. The Vinyl Years 1980–1990 (CD)

[edit] Videos/DVDs

  • 1992 Live at the Bimhuis (live video with guests)
  • 2001 Beautiful Frenzy (DVD)

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Newsletter 12. The Ex homepage. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
  2. ^ Newsletter 14. The Ex homepage. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
  3. ^ List of Works. Jem Cohen Films. Retrieved on 2007-06-18.
  4. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1999. Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-9517206-9-4. 

[edit] External links