"Resolutionary"Year: 1979
Country: UK
City: London
Label: Staubgold
Format: CD, LP
Tracks: 10
Time: 30 min.
Genre: rock
Style: Reggae Punk
Vivien Goldman released only a few songs into the world in 1981, but
they are critically acclaimed. Her release, the Dirty Washing EP, had
"Launderette" as the A-side, a track that was co-produced by John Lydon
(Johnny Rotten). There's a myth about music critics according to which
they are frustrated wannabe performers. Evidence to the contrary: Vivien
Goldman. The London-born, New York-based Goldman is one of the foremost
chroniclers of the perfect storm of reggae, punk, hip hop, and
Afrobeat, but between 1979 and 1982, she was also a working musician,
creating songs that, years later, would be sampled by The Roots and
Madlib. These rare girl grooves are now collected for the first time on
Resolutionary, covering Goldman's first three musical formations; first
as a member of experimental British new wavers The Flying Lizards, next
as a solo artist with her single "Launderette" featuring post-punk
luminaries, and then as half of the Parisian duo Chantage with
Afro-Parisian chanteuse Eve Blouin. Goldman's eclectic musical crew
included PiL's John Lydon, Keith Levene, and Bruce Smith; avant-gardists
Steve Beresford and David Toop; The Raincoats' Vicky Aspinall; the
mighty Robert Wyatt; Zaire's Jerry Malekani; Manu Dibango's guitarist;
Viv Albertine, then of Goldman's good friends The Slits; and dubmaster
Adrian Sherwood, who produced the majority of these tracks. Goldman sang
in a lilting, clear-toned soprano honed during childhood. She began her
singing career in the late '70s, doing backup with Neneh Cherry and Ari
Up (The Slits) on Sherwood records by reggae artists including Prince
Far I. Goldman was grooving to the innovations of dub. The contrast
between Goldman's high, lilting tones and the deep rumble of the bass is
a hallmark of all her work, giving a haunting frisson of sex and
alienation to songs like The Flying Lizards' "The Window." Reggae had
been her London soundtrack, but after moving to Paris in the early '80s,
she absorbed music from Africa, an interplay audible in exultant
Chantage tracks like "It's Only Money," a mix of steelpan, African
soukous guitar, and sobbing Romani violin riding ferocious funk. As the
1990s began, Goldman moved to Manhattan and became New York University's
"Punk Professor," teaching original courses on punk, Bob Marley, David
Bowie, and Fela Kuti. But she never stopped singing and writing songs.
Chicks on Speed released a later cut, "7 Days," on their 2006 Girl
Monster compilation (COSR 033CD). Her house 12" records with artists
including Berlin's Moritz von Oswald are compiled on LPs. Goldman has
also co-written tracks with Massive Attack, Coldcut, Ryuichi Sakamoto,
and Luscious Jackson. Early in 2016, she performed dub readings onstage
with Boston's Berklee Marley Ensemble. Her multimedia beat goes on.
