Last month it suddenly struck us that April marks the 40th anniversary of the Ralph release of Larvae! Scary how time flies!
All those years since a couple of British guys still in their twenties, ventured over to San Francisco to sign a contract, get to know the Ralph crew and do a bit of promo. It was all very new and exciting for us….not least of all that we also got to jam with the Residents.
At the time we had no expectations as to how Larvae would be received; the fact it was noticed by Ralph and actually released was probably enough for us. Its experimental edge wasn’t to everybody’s taste for sure and reviews were mixed. It was considered (and may still be) the ideal LP to clear people out from a party.
We could not have imagined that in the intervening years, it would become something of a cult classic and lauded for its experimentation, tape techniques and inordinate oddness. To make the Mojo readers chart of the Top 50 Weirdest Albums of All Time at no. 16 is something of an accolade!
But seriously, it was a collection made almost entirely in complete innocence, with no notion that it would ever be released – arguably it was the melting pot of ideas that would grow and develop into our subsequent albums. In some ways, the enquiring mind set of that time still influences us in our current music albeit through very different means. The ‘what if’, ‘let’s try’ and ‘be surprised’ attitude that feeds us still.
Perhaps this auspicious anniversary should have something to mark it… hmmm… more soon.
Renaldo & Ted