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 "RÄ“ 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."
The Slave
Art Bears Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A slave came to the gate
Day dying.
On its fiery tongue
An obol lay
Of copper spun.
Then did we dream?
Lambent gold?
In Winter's pool
Did glory pass
And hold us speechless
In its spell?
Where he had fallen,
Used and cast aside,
All he had touched
Was trembling and alive –
each life is present
In this way:
Each fashioned thing
Speaks of its change.
The lyrics of Art Bears's song The Slave are rich and open to interpretation. The song is about a slave who comes to the gate as the sun is setting, and he is holding an obol made of copper. The imagery used in the song is powerful, and it leaves a lasting impression on the listener.
The lyrics suggest that the slave's presence has transformed everything he has touched, making everything that he has interacted with "trembling and alive". The last two lines of the song are particularly meaningful, as they suggest that everything that exists is subject to change, and every created thing speaks of that change.
The lyrics of this song are thought-provoking and deeply reflective. They encourage the listener to reflect on the power of transformation and the fleeting nature of our lives. The song asks us to consider the meaning of existence and the implications of our actions. It is a powerful and moving piece of music.
Line by Line Meaning
Once as the sun was setting
At one point during the sunset
A slave came to the gate
A person who is forced to work for another person came to the entrance
Day dying.
The end of the day
On its fiery tongue
On the red hot surface
An obol lay
A small Greek coin was there
Of copper spun.
Made of a copper material
Then did we dream?
Did we imagine this?
Or were our houses
Or maybe our homes
Lambent gold?
Shining with a golden color?
In Winter's pool
During the winter season
Did glory pass
Did a great beauty move by
And hold us speechless
Leaving us unable to speak
In its spell?
Under its charm?
Where he had fallen,
Where he had dropped down
Used and cast aside,
Used and abandoned
All he had touched
Everything he had come into contact with
Was trembling and alive –
Was shaking and full of life -
each life is present
Everything is here
In this way:
In this manner:
Each fashioned thing
Every created thing
Speaks of its change.
Has a story of its transformation.
Contributed by Eli J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
David Clyne
Excellent 👌🎼
Ôm Perkuterr
Magnifique !