Saturday 19th July 01:00 PM
London group Rothko have been in existence since the spring of 1997, playing their first show at The Hope and Anchor in Islington in August the same year.
Their first release was the 7" single, For Danny, released on Fierce Panda in the Autumn of '97 followed by their first album, ‘A Negative for Francis’, released on Jon Tye’s Lo Recordings in ‘98
The original line up of founder member Mark Beazley, with Crawford Blair and Jon Meade, went on to release EP's, singles and albums on Lo Recordings, Bella Union, Foundry, Kraak, Zeal and Narwhal and appeared with exclusive tracks on various compilation albums around the globe.
The original line up disbanded in 2001 and Mark carried on the Rothko name. His first release on his own was the ‘Waters Edge’ 12” EP on Lo Recordings, his collaboration with Japanese ambient master Susumu Yokota, followed in 2002 by his album 'A Continual Search For Origins' and 7" single Red Cells on the Too Pure label.
In 2003 Mark started his own label, Trace Recordings, releasing the worldwide critically acclaimed album ‘Wish For A World Without Hurt’, his collaboration with BLK w/BEAR [aka Washington DC based sound and visual artist Jim Adams].
Since late 2003, the line up has been Mark, with Michael Donnelly, also on bass, Ben Page on keyboards and percussion, Tom Page, [Bens’ brother] on drums and percussion, [who all also played on ‘A Continual Search For Origins’]
June 2006 saw the release of the first Rothko single since ‘Red Cells’; the EP ‘A Personal Account Of Conflict’ on BadHand Records.
The band have played festivals and toured extensively in the UK, France and Belgium. They have also been part of various radio broadcasts, including BBC Radio 3's 'Mixing It'.
Following on from 2007’s Eleven Stages Of Intervention, the new retrospective album, A Life Lived Elsewhere, is out now.
www.tracerecordings.com
www.myspace.com/rothkomusic
www.rothkomusic.co.uk
Masters of sonic sparseness : Uncut
Wonderfully dark, ambient soundscapes : Rocksound
Eleven Stages of Intervention sounds like an inspired moment of musical improvisation frozen hard in an iceberg, trapped in time and left to melt : Sunday Times Culture Section
Strange, sad, beautiful, and compelling : All Music Guide United States
Rothko have tapped into the very sound of thought, sorrow, and confusion : One Times One . USA