Biography
Ike Yard was founded in 1979 in New York. Members are Stuart Argabright, Kenny Compton (bass/vocals), Fred Szymanski (synthesizers/ programming) and Michael Diekmann (guitar).
Influenced by their punk upbringing, avant-garde schooling, and no wave surroundings in early 1980s NYC,- but not beholden to any genre - Ike Yard managed to create a new sound. By tapping into equal parts the krautrock experimentation of Can, the Neue Deutsche Welle of DAF and the UK post-punk dub of Public Image Ltd. and Joy Division they created sounds and songs unique enough to catch the attention of Factory Records, who made them their first American signing.
But what really set Ike Yard apart were their cutting edge techniques. The mixing board and effects processors were as important as the bass, synth or occasional guitar, giving Ike Yard an aggressive and propulsive sound, where drum machines beat against the sound of scrap metal and angular guitar slashes darted through arpeggiated synth patterns.
The band dissolved in 1983 and Argabright went on to form Black Rain. The re-release of the early material on Acute Records in 2006 created a renewed interest in Ike Yard. The group reformed in 2007 and released the 2010 album Nord on the French Desire Records. In 2012 and 2013 the band released three EPs containing remixes of tracks from their eponymous 1982 album (a.k.a. "A Second" or "A Second A Fact") by contemporary artists such as Vessel, Powell, Tropic of Cancer, The KVB and Regis. These releases were compiled into the 2014 album Remixed (A Second).
Ike Yard's remix of Sistol's Nuomo is also available on the Sistol rerelease on Cyan Halo, Phathalo Records subsidiary 2010.
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