KIM SALMON AND THE SURREALISTS

Kim Salmon and the Surrealists are an Australian indie rock band formed by Kim Salmon in 1987 when he was living in Perth between the final two tours by The Scientists. When the Scientists stopped, Salmon continued the Surrealists as his main band, while also playing in The Beasts Of Bourbon. Salmon formed the first lineup of the Surrealists in mid-1987, with Brian Henry Hooper on bass and Tony Pola on drums. He formed the band to record the album 'Hit Me With The Surreal Feel', using minimalist lo-fi approaches to recording a basic trio: recording the band live with microphones around the studio capturing the entire sound, rather than one instrument per track. The recording and mixing cost was A$240 total. The band also played live around Perth in mid-1987. The album was released in October 1988. The Surrealists did a few songs by the Scientists (particularly "Shine" from 'The Human Jukebox') and had a similar sound, in that Salmon remained the leader and primary songwriter, but the feel of the music was notably different: far less tense and confrontative.

The second album, 'Just Because You Can't See It ... Doesn't Mean It Isn't There', was recorded more conventionally in 1989 and released in early 1990. Comparing this album with 'The Human Jukebox', there is a similarity in songwriting but a difference in feel is readily apparent. The band's third album 'Essence' was released in 1991, followed by 'Sin Factory' in 1993, which arguably gained the most attention for the band. The sound by now was strong rock riffery, also blending their take on Blaxploitation music. When The Beasts of Bourbon reformed in early 1988, Salmon started touring with that band too. When James Baker and Boris Sujdovic left The Beasts of Bourbon to go full-time with The Dubrovniks, Hooper and Pola joined to replace them.

Salmon fired Tony Pola from the Surrealists in 1993, replacing him with Greg Bainbridge. Brian Henry Hooper later left as well, after the 'Kim Salmon and the Surrealists' album, and was replaced by Stu Thomas in 1995. This new trio put out 'Ya Gotta Let Me Do My Thing' in 1997, touring Australia and Europe once more, and USA for the first time. A horn section was added to the band soon after. In 1999, Salmon renamed the band Kim Salmon and the Business, and released one album 'Record' in 1999. Stu Thomas remained on bass, and a slew of different brass players (sax and trumpet) and drummers came through the band. Phil Collings was recruited in 2000.

In September 2006, Kim Salmon and the Surrealists reformed for a show in Spain at Azkena Rock Festival. This line-up of Kim Salmon (guitar/vocal), Stu Thomas (bass) and Phil Collings (drums), also played later in Australia. 2010 marked the release of the 'Grand Unifying Theory' album, the first Kim Salmon and The Surrealists record for 13 years. Line-up: Kim Salmon (guitar/vocal/sampler), Stu Thomas (bass) and Phil Collings (drums). The approach to recording was similar to the first album, hence a thematic link between the two records. The band was recorded live during rehearsals. The results were sifted through by Salmon and co-producer Mike Stranges, spliced together in some cases (ala Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew"), and made into songs. The sound is equal measures jazz and punk, with improvisation a key ingredient.

In June 2020, during COVID lockdowns the band performed two improvised livestream gigs from Rolling Stock Studios, Melbourne. These were seen by 7500 worldwide. The livestreams were also recorded then released as the double-LP 'Rantings From The Book Of Swamp'. In 2022 the band completed the Ya Gotta Let Me Swamp My Rantings tour of Australia, included the current lineup, plus previous drummer Greg Bainbridge. Two sets featured the two different lineups, first performing the current 'Rantings' LP, followed by 1997's 'Ya Gotta Let Me Do My Thing' album. Brian Hooper died in 2018 and Tony Pola died in 2021.

Members

Kim Salmon (vocals, guitar), Brian Hooper (bass, guitar), Tony Pola (drums),
Greg Bainbridge (drums), Warren Ellis (violin), Stuart Thomas (bass), Leon de Bruin (trumpet), Michael Redman (saxophone, flute), Phil Collings (drums)

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Salmon_and_the_Surrealists