Hula

Hula originated in Sheffield, England, launched by guitarist and tape experimenter Ron Wright, though bassist John Avery remained the sole steady presence while other participants rotated through the lineup. Their sound drew strong inspiration from Cabaret Voltaire along with assorted electronic and ambient acts, yet the group infused a sharper industrial bite and a wildly unpredictable experimental streak across their albums, which generally proved far more demanding than the shadowy, hard-edged techno-funk of the singles. Live shows frequently unfolded as dense multimedia assaults, deploying a dozen or more film projectors to intensify the already disorienting sonic experience. Stephen Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire produced the band’s inaugural single. Their first album, Cut From Inside, appeared in 1983, with Murmur arriving the following year. On the 1986 double album 1,000 Hours the group leaned further into its most avant-garde impulses, mixing live and studio material, while the subsequent Shadowland consisted entirely of improvised pieces created to accompany an art exhibit. Voice, also issued in 1986, marked Hula’s final full-length collection of original work apart from the Threshold singles compilation. After the Red Rhino label collapsed in 1988 the band issued only one additional recording, an EP built around a dance reinterpretation of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile.”