Focus 23

Infobox musical artist |
Name = Focus 23


Landscape = yes
Img_capt = Jeremy Morrow under a sou'wester.
Background = group_or_band
Origin = Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Genre = Experimental and/or Drone
Years_active = 1993 – present
Label = Mutant Records
Associated_acts = Parasites, Industrial Strength Noise, Idiot Spaceman
Current_members = Jeremy Morrow (with contributors)

Focus 23 is a Canadian musical group that was formed on December 25, 1993 in Hamilton, Ontario. This one-man group primarily consists of Jeremy Morrow, although other people have worked with him in collaboration on this project. Focus 23’s primary musical style is instrumental experimental or drone. Morrow often makes extensive use of found sound, field recordings, and tape loops, straying away from traditional instrumentation in favor of sound manipulation as instrumentation.

Purpose

The original website for Focus 23 stated: "The main thrust of the music is based largely on ideas stemming from chaos, exploration and meditation. Music is one of the best mediums for expressing the communication of experimental thought. Focus 23 is a project for which there is no concrete goal except the exploration of musical experimentation and ideas. Hopefully, a learning experience can be achieved for each of its participants.""Focus 23" website.]

Influences and Associations

Influences on Morrow would most notably include Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, Nurse With Wound, The Infant Cycle and The Hafler Trio (aka. Andrew MacKenzie). Focus 23 have also had loose associations with similar artists or groups. Some of these include Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth (most notably during the early days), Orphx (good friends during the 1990s), and Cancerhead. Focus 23 is the product of Morrow's label, Mutant Records.

History

Formed on Christmas Day of 1993, the first release, "50/50", collected old material rejected and reworked from Morrow's early days in bands like Parasites and Industrial Strength Noise. In an attempt to collect the old with the new, the first part of the project consisted of material recorded during the first four months after the creation of the group, while the second part reworked old and rejected material from years of experimenting previous to the inception of the group. Most of the material was created from tape submissions and manipulations done both by Morrow and the other contributors to the project. "50/50" was later issued in an even more limited print run as a two CD package including over fifty minutes of extra material.

Focus 23's second release was "A Snake In The Glade". Printing of the CD ceased when the next album arrived. This started a pattern in which no Focus 23 album would be printed after the release of a follow-up. Where the first album centered mainly around found sounds, "Snake" is somewhat more rhythmical.

The third release, "I'll Think That Way Too" contains a single 71 minute track and is a long, meditative piece of work. In contrast to the previous projects, there is almost no rhythmical core to the piece at all. This also marks the start of Focus 23 releasing limited editions in strange or difficult packaging.

The fourth release, "The Last Silent Wave Crashes The Hardest" adds some traditional instruments, combining found sound with guitars and pianos.

The fifth release is currently under construction.

Live Performances

Focus 23 are not a group that traditionally performs live. They have appeared only once. Instead of actually playing, they told the audience they were performing live, then put on a tape. The track played was called "Live" and also appears on "A Snake In The Glade". This was intended as a joke, questioning the nature of what live performance really means in the context of experimental music.

Discography

50/50 (1994)

The Last Silent Wave Crashes The Hardest (2003)

Appearances on compilations

Trivia

* The title, "50/50" is a reference to Schrödinger's cat.
* The photo on the cover of, "A Snake In The Glade" is an obscured photo of Morrow.
* The photo on the cover of, "I'll Think That Way Too" is of a black walnut tree in Morrow's backyard.
* Morrow often refers to each release as "projects", rather than albums, records, or CDs.

Links

* [http://www.interzone23.com/focus23 The Focus 23 Website]
* [http://www.interzone23.com/mutant The Mutant Records Website]
* [http://www.orphx.org Orphx website]
* [http://profile.myspace.com/orphx Orphx via MySpace]
* [http://www.theceiling.ca/infdisc.html The Infant Cycle via The Ceiling]
* [http://www.myspace.com/the_ceiling The Infant Cycle via MySpace]

Notes