Biography
Longstone emerged from Cheltenham, England, as an electronic-space rock duo formed by Mike Cross and Mike Ward, who brought in extra musicians for assorted projects. The pair’s sound draws from early-’70s Krautrock acts such as Cluster, Neu!, and Kraftwerk, alongside later German-leaning artists whose motorik pulse informs post-rock outfits like Autechre, To Rococo Rot, and Kreidler; critics frequently overlook the group’s avant-rock dimension and its broader debt to space rock and shoegazer acts, notably My Bloody Valentine and Experimental Audio Research.
In 1997 the duo issued its debut album, Surrounded By Glass, through the Ochre label. That year the band also played the CMJ music festival in New York; the set was captured and later appeared in 1998 as the live album Live in New York. Longstone’s next studio effort, Auto//:Genous, featured guest contributions from Echo & the Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant and The Christians’ Henry Priestman on marimba; former Spacemen 3 member Sonic Boom released the record on his U.K. imprint Spaceage Recordings. Static followed in 2001 as the group’s fourth Ochre outing. Its fifth album, L.I.F.E.span, assembled a sound collage from analog synths, electronic toys, found sounds, live recordings, samples, and acoustic instruments.
When performing live, the core duo has sometimes been joined by Will Sergeant and Sonic Boom. Longstone has also worked with Paul Simpson of Skyray (ex-Teardrop Explodes and Wild Swans). Both Ward and Cross took part in the Welsh-based collective the Serpents, whose participants have included Sergeant along with members of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals, Skyray, Land of Nod, and others. Ward maintains the additional project Brickwerk.
In 1997 the duo issued its debut album, Surrounded By Glass, through the Ochre label. That year the band also played the CMJ music festival in New York; the set was captured and later appeared in 1998 as the live album Live in New York. Longstone’s next studio effort, Auto//:Genous, featured guest contributions from Echo & the Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant and The Christians’ Henry Priestman on marimba; former Spacemen 3 member Sonic Boom released the record on his U.K. imprint Spaceage Recordings. Static followed in 2001 as the group’s fourth Ochre outing. Its fifth album, L.I.F.E.span, assembled a sound collage from analog synths, electronic toys, found sounds, live recordings, samples, and acoustic instruments.
When performing live, the core duo has sometimes been joined by Will Sergeant and Sonic Boom. Longstone has also worked with Paul Simpson of Skyray (ex-Teardrop Explodes and Wild Swans). Both Ward and Cross took part in the Welsh-based collective the Serpents, whose participants have included Sergeant along with members of Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Super Furry Animals, Skyray, Land of Nod, and others. Ward maintains the additional project Brickwerk.
Albums
