Biography
Kurt Ralske bears the same defining relationship to Ultra Vivid Scene that Trent Reznor holds to Nine Inch Nails. Although the project’s atmospheric art pop bears no sonic resemblance to Reznor’s heavy industrial disco, the two share comparable aesthetic priorities; Ralske’s repeated focus on the classic gothic themes of sex, religion, and death renders the trio of albums an instinctive choice for any introspective adolescent drawn to black clothing.
Raised in New York, Ralske displayed prodigious talent early, gaining admission to the Berklee School of Music in Boston at sixteen. Despite his skill on keyboards, he drew fresh direction from the deliberate amateurism of the city’s late-1970s no wave movement, an approach that pushed punk’s do-it-yourself principle to its furthest limit. Acting on that impulse, he abandoned formal studies, relocated to London in 1986, took up guitar, and immersed himself in the emerging dream pop environment centered on acts such as Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. He assembled a brief-lived band called Crash, titled after the J.G. Ballard novel, before returning to New York in 1988 and securing a deal with 4AD Records under the Ultra Vivid Scene moniker.
Although issued under a group name, the first two Ultra Vivid Scene albums—1988’s Ultra Vivid Scene and 1990’s Joy: 1967-1990—were essentially solo efforts. On 1992’s Rev, Ralske collaborated with additional musicians for the first time, yet soon afterward retired the Ultra Vivid Scene identity and spent several years contributing as producer and session player to Ivy, Lloyd Cole, and Richard Davies. In the late 1990s he resurfaced as Cathars, issuing the ambient electronica album Amorphous in 1999.
Raised in New York, Ralske displayed prodigious talent early, gaining admission to the Berklee School of Music in Boston at sixteen. Despite his skill on keyboards, he drew fresh direction from the deliberate amateurism of the city’s late-1970s no wave movement, an approach that pushed punk’s do-it-yourself principle to its furthest limit. Acting on that impulse, he abandoned formal studies, relocated to London in 1986, took up guitar, and immersed himself in the emerging dream pop environment centered on acts such as Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine. He assembled a brief-lived band called Crash, titled after the J.G. Ballard novel, before returning to New York in 1988 and securing a deal with 4AD Records under the Ultra Vivid Scene moniker.
Although issued under a group name, the first two Ultra Vivid Scene albums—1988’s Ultra Vivid Scene and 1990’s Joy: 1967-1990—were essentially solo efforts. On 1992’s Rev, Ralske collaborated with additional musicians for the first time, yet soon afterward retired the Ultra Vivid Scene identity and spent several years contributing as producer and session player to Ivy, Lloyd Cole, and Richard Davies. In the late 1990s he resurfaced as Cathars, issuing the ambient electronica album Amorphous in 1999.
Albums
Singles
