AFTERGLOW

Union Wireless formed in 1988 from the embers of lo-fi outfit The Throat and surf-punk pioneers The Woodies, driven by a collective desire to fuse spontaneous live energy with meticulous studio craft. Fronted by Alberto Iniesta’s alter ego Ultranol—here reimagined as Ben Morris (voice, keyboards, clarinet)—the trio, rounded out by Gonzalo Viña (guitars), Steve Gillard (viola, keyboards) and Pete Flood (drums, percussion, vibraphone), embraced a philosophy of “calculated simplicity,” where a single note could outshine a flurry of chords. Their inaugural single, “Hypnotic Eye” (1996), cut in a weekend at London’s analog haven Toe Rag Studios, stunned listeners with its relentless motoric beat, swirling keyboard patterns and eruption of deranged guitar. The B-side, “Come and Tell Me,” revealed an intimate, brooding counterpoint. Over the next year, twelve months of subterranean improvisations yielded their debut LP Saturn Ascension Experiments (1996), recorded and distilled in just five days at Toe Rag. The album navigated from cosmic krautrock grooves (“Saturn Ascension”) through monolithic synth-driven vamps (“Now Time Styling”) to outright chaos on “Ten Miles of Bad Road,” weaving art-rock and late-’60s jazz influences into a cohesive, if demanding, whole. Subsequent releases—the Mid Tonal Tracking CD-single (1997) and the Some Morning club single (1998)—expanded their sonic frontier, including an installation-soundtrack collaboration with performance artist Angélica Fernando. In 2000, Elefant Records issued their bold sophomore LP All Her Life, co-produced by Toby Robinson (Can), which balanced hypnotic experimentation with accessible pop touchstones and showcased Steve Gillard’s viola to stunning effect.