Medusa Cyclone

Keir McDonald conceived Medusa Cyclone as his personal project. His distinctive sonic experiments first took shape during the 1980s inside the electronic-psychedelic Detroit collective Viv Akauldren. After that collective disbanded in 1990, McDonald refrained from launching another group at once and instead devoted time to solitary home recordings plus occasional partnerships with filmmaker and songwriter Clem Fortuna. In 1992 he launched the independent imprint Manta Ray Fleet together with associate Chris Girard, running the operation from McDonald’s basement.

The pair issued their opening 7-inch, “Rusted House” backed with “Wonderful Ear Trees,” on the new label and appeared at scattered live shows. Their follow-up 7-inch, “Wristwatch Walk” backed with “Perfect World,” became the final joint release, after which McDonald elected to record alone as Medusa Cyclone while Girard, formerly employed as a librarian, shifted focus to research on UFO phenomena and altered consciousness. McDonald produced three Medusa Cyclone singles between 1992 and 1994, then joined Pavement admirers for a split 7-inch issued by Third Gear Records in 1995. The project’s 1995 debut full-length, also on Third Gear, gathered the earlier Manta Ray Fleet singles and added several new tracks. Mr. Devil arrived in 1998.