Biography
Eardrum consists of percussionist Richard Olatunde Baker and drummer Lou Ciccotelli. The pair formed in 1996 and absorbed influences from free jazz, Afro-beat, musique concrète, and dub while extending the exploratory impulses of Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Fela Kuti, and the outer reaches of 23 Skidoo. Their work stays dark yet remains hypnotic at every turn, built from nothing but rhythm and layered with bold post-production interventions. Leaf signed them early and released notable recordings such as the 2001 album Side Effects; the duo later reassembled at intervals for further albums, among them the 2014 set Colonised.
Two years after their 1997 debut 12" on Soul Static Sound, Ciccotelli and Baker delivered the Last Night LP on Leaf. Multiple guests participated while every instrument was captured live, after which the parts were assembled through exacting edits modeled on Teo Macero’s methods. Mid-2000 brought Last Light Remixes, Vol. 1, a collection of reinterpretations contributed by Monolake, Ashley Beedle, and the Sofa Surfers. The year 2001 saw a complete return with Side Effects, an album that drew on the skills of engineer Guy Fixsen (My Bloody Valentine, Laika), Nii Tagoe (African Head Charge), and Jason Yarde (Manu Dibango). Probing deeper into African-based musics, Eardrum once again displayed a taste for tightly controlled disorder. Recording sessions grew less frequent thereafter. After issuing the third album Back to Now, Vol. 1 in 2007, they folded bhangra and fuji into their approach for Colonised, released in 2014.
Two years after their 1997 debut 12" on Soul Static Sound, Ciccotelli and Baker delivered the Last Night LP on Leaf. Multiple guests participated while every instrument was captured live, after which the parts were assembled through exacting edits modeled on Teo Macero’s methods. Mid-2000 brought Last Light Remixes, Vol. 1, a collection of reinterpretations contributed by Monolake, Ashley Beedle, and the Sofa Surfers. The year 2001 saw a complete return with Side Effects, an album that drew on the skills of engineer Guy Fixsen (My Bloody Valentine, Laika), Nii Tagoe (African Head Charge), and Jason Yarde (Manu Dibango). Probing deeper into African-based musics, Eardrum once again displayed a taste for tightly controlled disorder. Recording sessions grew less frequent thereafter. After issuing the third album Back to Now, Vol. 1 in 2007, they folded bhangra and fuji into their approach for Colonised, released in 2014.
Albums
