Lydia Lunch crossed paths with legendary Alan Vega and Martin Rev of Suicide in New York at the tender age of sixteen.
Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch) is a nomadic gypsy in eternal metamorphosis that almost lost her life for her art dozens of times. Musician, writer, photographer and performance artist, she appeared in the New York music scene in 1977 with the project founder No Wave, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks. In search of inspiration and cooperation she worked with Karen Finley, Hubert Selby Jr, Nick Cave, William Burroughs or Virginie Despentes, she lived in New York, Brooklyn, New Orleans, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, London. She has visited 656 cities to perform on stage for concerts, spoken word, installations in clubs, theatres and museums.
The first Suicide show she attended was a real shock! It was a revelation on a new form of a concert. It was a total show, very theatrical, free, and violent. Lydia then got to perform on stage with the band and appeared on the record ‘Frankie Teardrop’ by the duo. She also sang a duet with Alan Vega on the album ‘Sniper’ by Alan Vega and Marc Hurtado in 2010.
Marc Hurtado met Alan Vega and Lydia Lunch when they supplied vocals to his Étant Donnés ‘Re-Up’ album which dropped in 1999. French duo Étant Donnés, were one of the leading acts of the industrial/experimental European scene since the late 70s. The record also features Genesis P-Orridge, plus collaborations by Mark Cunningham and Bachir Attar, leader of The Masters Musicians of Jajouka. Étant Donnés interestingly was named after Marcel Duchamp’s last major work. The group consisted of brothers Marc and Eric Hurtado, born in Morocco and working mainly as performance artists and musicians. Marc Hurtado and Lydia Lunch have previously also worked together and released the ‘My Lover The Killer’ album.
Marc Hurtado is not only a musician and filmmaker, but also a poet, and painter. He has made more than 20 albums and played concerts around the world in places like Kitchen (New York), the Centre Pompidou (Paris), and the Atonal Festival (Berlin). He has collaborated with many other cult figures including Michael Gira (Swans), Gabi Delgado (DAF), and Mark Cunningham (MARS).
Lydia Lunch and Marc Hurtado have now joined forces again, this time around to pay homage to Suicide and Alan Vega songs. They are heading out on tour this coming November with a few specially chosen dates in Manchester, London, Nottingham, Bristol and here in Brighton on 11th November, when they will be performing in Queens Road at The Hope & Ruin.
It is said that it will be a kind of sonic “Blitzkrieg” and a visual shamanic ceremony, where both artists will burn their souls in the volcanic heart of the music of Alan Vega and Suicide. This performance will quite possibly meld with the kaleidoscopic 2016 film ‘Infinite Dreamers’ which was directed by Marc Hurtado and dedicated to Alan Vega and Martin Rev.
Tickets for these concerts will go on sale tomorrow (Friday 8th September) and can be found HERE.
