The Art Bears' music was often deeply political in content, reflecting the bands' socialist leanings, and frequently experimental. Art Bears were more "song oriented" than Henry Cow, although much of the material that comprised their debut album release was actually written with the intention of being performed by Henry Cow.
Art Bears were formed during the recording of Henry Cow's last album after disagreements arose over the album's content. Frith and Cutler favoured song-oriented material, while others in the band wanted instrumental compositions. As a compromise, Frith, Cutler and Krause agreed, early in 1978, to release the songs already created on their own album, Hopes and Fears, under the name Art Bears, with the rest of Henry Cow credited as guests. The instrumental material appeared later on the final Henry Cow album, Western Culture (1979).
Hopes and Fears (1978) thus consisted of Henry Cow songs plus new Art Bears material recorded later by Frith, Cutler and Krause to complete the album. Towards the end of 1978, Art Bears returned to the studio to record their first "true" album, Winter Songs (1979). It comprised fourteen short songs composed by Frith around texts by Cutler that were based on carvings on the stylobate of the Amiens Cathedral in France.
In December 1978, Art Bears joined Rock in Opposition (RIO), and toured Europe in April and May 1979. For the tour, they added Peter Blegvad (ex-Slapp Happy, guitar, bass guitar, voice) and Marc Hollander (Aksak Maboul, keyboards, clarinet) to their line-up, and rehearsed at the Cold Storage Recording Studios in Brixton, London before leaving for Italy in late April. They performed in Italy, France, Belgium and Czechoslovakia, including an RIO festival on the 1st of May in Milan. Some of the songs recorded during the tour were later added to the album release of Hopes and Fears and The Art Box (2003), a box set of Art Bears material.
The band returned to the studio in 1980 to make one final album, The World as It Is Today (1981), before splitting up. In October 1983 Frith, Cutler and Krause reunited again, this time with Heiner Goebbels and Alfred Harth from Cassiber, Tom Cora and from Skeleton Crew, and George Lewis from the ICP Orchestra under the name "Duck and Cover". The ensemble was initially commissioned for the 1983 Moers Festival at the request of festival director Burkhard Hennen to Alfred Harth, but the group only materialised later that year after another commission by the Berlin Jazz Festival. "Duck and Cover" performed a 40-minute musical piece entitled "Berlin Programme" at the Berlin Jazz Festival in October 1983 in West Berlin, and again at the Festival des Politischen Liedes (Festival of Political Song) in East Berlin in February 1984. The second performance was recorded by Rundfunk der DDR (East German Radio) and broadcast nationally. An edited version of the broadcast was released in September 1985 on one side of the "Rē Records Quarterly Vol.1 No.2" LP record. In 1993 Frith, Cutler and Krause worked together again on a song project, "Domestic Stories" (1993) by Chris Cutler and Lutz Glandien, with saxophonist Alfred Harth. While similar to Art Bears, the addition of Glandien's electronic music made "Domestic Stories" a distinctly different album.
An Art Bears "review" took place in May 2008 at the world premiere of the Art Bears Songbook at the 25th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada. It was performed by Cutler (drums), Frith (guitar, bass guitar, violin, piano), Jewlia Eisenberg (voice), Carla Kihlstedt (violin, voice), Zeena Parkins (keyboards, accordion), Kristin Slipp (voice) and The Norman Conquest (sound manipulation). Krause had been unable to participate and Frith and Cutler decided to rework the trio's repertoire for an expanded group, with the voices of Eisenberg, Slipp and Kihlstedt replacing Krause's "eccentric and idiomatic delivery". The project was so-named because Frith and Cutler did not want it to be seen as an Art Bears reunion. According to All About Jazz the Art Bears Songbook was "not just a highlight, but the highlight of the [five day] festival."
Labyrinth
Art Bears Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lusts made my labour,
Greed sustained me,
I, the manufacturer of Engines
Wrought the union, it was I.
From my inventions
Sprang the offspring who would
Slay his master.
Guilt persuaded me,
Necessity bound me,
Fate took away my will.
I built the cell – the labyrinth
To hold the half-man I had fostered
It was I
Who built the city
To contain him.
Science sustained me,
And time my master.
I acted eventually unbidden.
I gave her the twine, and she he
But the thread that he followed
Was mine from
Beginning to end. Now
I wait for my murder
With a cold heart.
The lyrics of Art Bears’s song “Labyrinth” depicts the narrative of a man who had been driven by his greed and desires, leading him to become a manufacturer of engines that in turn had created an offspring who lived to slay him. The singer’s guilt and necessity led him to build a cell, a labyrinth, in which he could contain the half-man he had fostered. However, the singer seemingly lost his independence as fate had taken away his will, leaving science and time as his master. Eventually, the singer was manipulated into giving the twine, which led to his inevitable murder. The singer acknowledges his impending doom with a cold heart.
The song highlights the concept of destiny and the idea that human actions and intentions do not necessarily influence the outcome of our fate. It showcases the unsavory consequences of human greediness, desire, and the selfishness that could lead to self-destruction. The singer is aware of his sins and acknowledges his inescapable fate. This song can resonate with people as it evokes a sense of doom and the feeling of the consequences of our actions that could ultimately lead us to where we are today.
Line by Line Meaning
Money bought me,
I was driven by my desire for wealth and financial gain.
Lusts made my labour,
My carnal desires were the driving force that fueled my work.
Greed sustained me,
My insatiable desire for wealth and possessions kept me going.
I, the manufacturer of Engines
I was the one who created the powerful machines that drove progress forward.
Wrought the union, it was I.
I brought together the necessary elements to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
From my inventions
The ideas and creations that originated from me
Sprang the offspring who would
Led to the creation of a creature who would
Slay his master.
Ultimately take control and destroy the one who created him.
Guilt persuaded me,
My remorse and feelings of wrongdoing led me to take a certain action.
Necessity bound me,
The circumstances and demands of the situation forced me to act in a certain way.
Fate took away my will.
I was powerless to change my destiny and the course of events that would unfold.
I built the cell – the labyrinth
I created a complex and confusing structure to restrict and contain the being I had created.
To hold the half-man I had fostered
To keep in check the creature who was only partially human, and whom I had created and nurtured.
It was I
I was the one responsible for taking the actions that led to this situation.
Who built the city
I was responsible for the creation and development of the society that surrounded me.
To contain him.
To keep the creature I had created under control and trapped within the confines of this society.
Science sustained me,
The principles and advancements of scientific discovery kept me going.
And time my master.
The unstoppable force of time eventually came to dominate over me and my work.
I acted eventually unbidden.
I was eventually forced to take certain actions beyond my control or original intentions.
I gave her the twine, and she he
I provided the necessary tools for someone else to take control of the situation.
But the thread that he followed
The path that the other person followed
Was mine from
Was originally my plan from
Beginning to end.
From the very start until the very end of this complex and twisted affair.
Now
In the present moment
I wait for my murder
I am now awaiting my inevitable downfall and demise.
With a cold heart.
I have become indifferent to my fate and the consequences of my actions.
Contributed by Jayce A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@massimomarchesin8708
Siamo nel labirinto di DAGMAR Arianna che con la sua voce ci guida fuori da Esso sfuggendo dal minaccioso pericoloso minotauro POP mainstream!!!!!