Biography

Dominated by lo-fi electronics, buzzy guitars, witty and subversive lyrics, and the coolly passionate vocals of Ian Svenonius, Escape-Ism represents another vehicle for the unique talents of the man who founded the Nation of Ulysses, the Make-Up, Weird War, and Chain & the Gang. Debuting in 2017 with Introduction to Escape-Ism, Svenonius has declared it to be his first true solo project, in which he writes all the songs, handles all the vocals, and plays all the instruments. Ian Svenonius has long been one of the most intriguing figures in the firmament of underground rock, known for the distinctive brand of political and social commentary he's expressed as a musician, as the host of the talk show Soft Focus, and as the author of the books The Psychic Soviet and Supernatural Strategies for Making a Rock 'n' Roll Group. As with many of his projects, Svenonius fashioned a specific thematic outlook for Escape-Ism, framed by a rejection of nostalgia and an emphatic embrace of stylistic primitivism. Svenonius debuted the Escape-Ism project in 2017, running concurrently with Chain & the Gang (who released two albums that year) and a reunion tour for the Make-Up. The first Escape-Ism recording, the album Introduction to Escape-Ism, was released in November 2017 by Merge Records. While the debut was a one-man-band project, for the second Escape-Ism album, 2018's The Lost Record, he featured guest musicians and vocalists, though the lo-fi attack of the first album was little changed. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi