Epic
Soundtracks was the drummer with Swell Maps. His rattling percussion
lifted the band head and shoulders above their contemporaries and
he also contributed the haunting piano heard on many of their records.
After the band split, Epic played with a 'who's who' of alternative
musical talent including Red Krayola, Crime and the City Solution,
The Jacobites (with his brother Nikki Sudden), These Immortal Souls,
various members of Sonic Youth etc etc etc...
He popped out his first solo single on Rough Trade in 1981 and collaborated
with Jowe Head on the excellent (and way ahead of it's time...)
Rain, Rain, Rain 12". An album ("Daga Daga Daga ")
was planned by Epic and Jowe but only this single was released,
other tracks cropped up later on the Jowe Head album Strawberry
Deutchsmark.
It
wasn't until 1992 that he released his first solo album and his true
voice was heard.
From
his first to his posthumous last album, Epic delighted and surprised
everyone with his gentle and beautifully crafted songs! For the first
time his Brian Wilson, Carole King & Laura Nyro influences were
allowed to blossom. The songs, often about lost love and sang with
a fragile vocal, stand as a testament to an artist who never got the
recognition he deserved.
Epic
sadly died in 1997 - "Good Things" is a recent release of
the songs he was working on at the time.
Epic
Soundtrack Website | Nikki
Sudden's Website
The
NoMen were late developers
when it came to discovering Epic's talents. It wasn't until 2003
that they bought his first album and immediately started doing a
few covers! Lewis from the Deciders
joined them with an impassioned vocal on 'Meet me on the Beach'...
"Something New" and "She Sleeps Alone" are probably
the softest recordings the NoMen have ever done; no screeching feedback
on these tracks! [They also recorded a version of "Hear the
Whistle Blow" but it was crap.]
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