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| Praxis | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Rock, avant-garde, experimental, funk rock, progressive rock, noise rock |
| Years active | 1992–2011 |
| Members | |
| Bill Laswell Buckethead Bryan "Brain" Mantia Bernie Worrell |
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Praxis was the name of an ever-changing musical project, led by prolific producer Bill Laswell. Praxis combine elements of different musical genres such as funk, jazz, hip-hop and heavy metal into highly improvised music. First appearing in 1992 with the critically acclaimed Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis), Laswell, guitarist Buckethead, bassist Bootsy Collins, keyboardist Bernie Worrell and drummer Brain have defined the direction of the band over the last 15 years. The group worked with many other artists such as Serj Tankian from System of a Down, Iggy Pop, and Les Claypool of Primus fame.
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Biography [link]
Early days [link]
Bill Laswell initially used the name Praxis for an experimental solo EP recorded for Celluloid Records in 1984, simply named "1984".
1992–1996 [link]
The band's debut album, Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis), released in 1992 was well received by critics and spawned the group's only single, the Bootsy Collins sung "Animal Behavior". Their next studio album, Sacrifist, released two years later featured John Zorn and Mick Harris from Painkiller. The obscure mix of death metal was not as acclaimed as their debut.
The same year saw the album Metatron which included the song "Wake the Dead". In 1996 the band toured Europe and recorded two live albums called Live in Poland and Transmutation Live containing material from shows in Zurich and Warsaw. Both albums featured members of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz. After the shows, the project broke up.
1997–2004 [link]
In 1997, Bill Laswell re-released his Material EP 1984 under the project's name. This was followed by the album Mold with Laswell introducing Pat Thrall, Peter Wetherbee and Alex Haas instead of Buckethead, Bryan Mantia and Bernie Worrell respectively. In 1998, Laswell contributed "Dreadnot" to the compilation Abstract Depressionism.[1] In the same year a first compilation album also containing two songs from the Death Cube K album Dreamatorium (Death Cube K is an anagram of Buckethead) was made available. In 1999, a re-worked version of Live in Poland was released as Warszawa. Little was heard of the band for the next years, while Brain and Buckethead played for Guns N' Roses and Laswell concentrated more on his dub releases.
2004–2010 [link]
Most original members reunited for a small tour in 2004 and began working on their next studio album Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness), but due to the label (Sanctuary) going broke the project was put on hold for about three years. In 2005 Transmutation Live was re-worked and re-released as Zurich. Another live album called Tennessee 2004 was released in 2007.
On January 1, 2008 the studio album Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness) was released in Japan with guest contributions by Serj Tankian, Mike Patton and Iggy Pop as well as Buckethead's old friend Maximum Bob and many more.
2011: End of the band [link]
In January 2011, Profanation was re-released on the M.O.D. Technologies label with two additional tracks. Later that month Bill Laswell stated that there was no future of the band:
I doubt it. I think they’re like closed chapters, but fairly well-documented ones. [...] The same thing goes for Praxis. Buckethead has mostly been performing solo. He also had a health issue recently with his back, so he hasn’t been that active. If you want to do something new, there are better things to do than going back to something you did years ago and starting it over.[2]
Notable guests [link]
The following musicians have contributed to the various Praxis experiments:
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Musical styles [link]
Between the influence of Laswell and Buckethead, Praxis' musical experimentation in both studio, street and live settings have combined elements of mid-70’s Funkadelic & Miles Davis, hip-hop’s more avant-garde leanings, and Last Exit's ferocious yet organic jazz/metal aesthetic. Many of these experiments defined (and in some sense, invented) diverse, eclectic, and freeform genres including avant-garde, heavy metal, funk and jazz-fusion.
Discography [link]
Studio albums [link]
- 1992: Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis)
- 1993: Sacrifist
- 1994: Metatron
- 1998: Mold
- 2008: Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness)
Singles [link]
- 1992: Animal Behavior
EPs and compilations [link]
- 1984: 1984
- 1992: A Taste of Mutation
- 1998: Collection
Live [link]
- 1997: Live in Poland
- 1997: Transmutation Live
- 1999: Warszawa
- 2005: Zurich
- 2007: Tennessee 2004
References [link]
- ^ "Mick Harris Discography". Mickharris.net. https://www.mickharris.net/discography/collections/abstractdepressionism.html. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
- ^ "Interview with Bill Laswell by Anil Prasad (1/11)". Innerviews.org. https://www.innerviews.org/inner/laswell2.html. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
External links [link]
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