Amp

Long-running British outfit Amp have explored an array of sonic domains after emerging in the early '90s, encompassing space rock, dream pop, ambient drone, and trip-hop. Richard F. Walker, also known as Richard Amp, stands as the ensemble’s only unchanging participant; this musician, engineer, illustrator, and designer has issued solo recordings under the A.M.P. Studio moniker. French vocalist Karine Charff joined Walker as the other foundational figure and has remained since the band’s first proper album. Additional contributors, who once labeled themselves “Trans-European Esoterrorists,” have featured Matt Elliott of Third Eye Foundation, Matt Jones of Crescent, and Robert Hampson of Loop and Main. Amp have consistently challenged expectations in both studio and concert settings, balancing an equal focus on textural exploration and songcraft. Their output blends numerous experimental methods with elements drawn from pop, folk, and electronic music, yielding largely improvised pieces that stretch from extended, feedback-laden soundscapes to ethereal electropop numbers. Field recordings and natural sounds frequently appear in the group’s work, reinforcing its abstract, environmental character.

Richard Walker’s fascination with sonic manipulation began after encountering a BBC sound-effects record in the late '70s. He later collaborated with David Pearce, later associated with Bristol’s Flying Saucer Attack, on endeavors including the Secret Garden and the Distance. Walker’s initial Amp release arrived as the self-issued 1992 cassette Green Sky Blue Tree, which incorporated spoken-word segments atop atmospheric backdrops and featured saxophone contributions from Ray Dickaty, subsequently of Moonshake and Spiritualized. By the time Amp issued their 1995 vinyl debut single “Remember?,” the music had evolved toward hypnotic psych-rock. The 1996 debut album Sirènes appeared in the U.K. via Wurlitzer Jukebox and Matt Elliott’s Linda’s Strange Vacation imprint and in the United States on the short-lived Petrol Records. Two further singles surfaced on Wurlitzer Jukebox that same year, alongside a 7" on Enraptured that included an Amp/Third Eye Foundation collaboration. Enraptured followed in 1997 with Passé Présent, a compilation gathering the earlier 7" tracks plus previously unreleased material. Additional 1997 Amp releases comprised Astralmoonbeamprojections on Kranky, the ambient double-CD Perception issued as part of Darla’s Bliss Out series, and Heart & Soul Dissolves, also on Darla.

A split EP with Michigan space-rock duo Windy & Carl, released on the latter’s Blue Flea label, appeared in 1998. Later that year Kranky issued the group’s second album for the label, Stenorette, which included some of their most approachable material to date. Following several albums and singles under the A.M.P. Studio name, Amp returned properly with Saint Cecilia Sinsemilla on Space Age Recordings in 2001 and L’Amour Invisible in 2002. After another hiatus the band resurfaced in 2005 with the more accessible Us on Very Friendly, featuring early participant Dickaty, and simultaneously self-released the ambient double CD-R Transmissions: Phase 1. The extensive three-CD rarities anthology All of Yesterday Tomorrow emerged via RROOPP in 2007. Since that time Amp have issued numerous collections of live performances and non-album material through their own Ampbase.net label and website, typically as limited CD-R or digital editions. The properly distributed CD Q Factors (A Mixtape), assembling unreleased tracks and remixes dating back to 2000, appeared in 2017.