Arianna Forster

Arianna Forster (aka Ari Up, Ari-Up & Madusa, 1962 - 2010) was the legendary punk band-member of the British Punk Rock movement’s arguably first band The Slits. The Slits were themselves the only punk band of the period whose music sounded like what the punk rockers were themselves listening to, Jamaican dub and reggae. ‘The Slits’ fusion of punk rock and reggae cemented their place in punk rock forever. Ari Up continued to experiment, going on to try sampling and mixing with other groups extensively, and collaborating with various other punk and techno sounding groups. She had numerous solo and small collaboration projects, and did a revival album with ‘The Slits’ later. She was almost as famous for her work in dub techno as she is for her punk rock innovation by this point. Her work was recognized in the British punk and post-punk scenes. On October 20, 2010, it was announced that Ari died as a result of a “serious illness”.