à;GRUMH...

Originating in Charleroi, Belgium, the industrial duo à;GRUMH... drew primarily from the so-called electronic body of music of groups like SPK, Front 242, and Skinny Puppy, but also threw in some Throbbing Gristle-style experimentalism from time to time. à;GRUMH... consisted of the almost as obscurely named S@3 Evets (alias Steve Natrix, born Phillippe Genion) and J@3 Seuqcaj (aka Jacques), who got together circa 1982 and began recording cassette-only forays into experimental industrial music (their first release, By the Phone, was actually recorded over the phone). After a few years, the group graduated to vinyl with 1985's mini-LP Mix Yourself, which was produced by Front 242 member Daniel B. 1986 brought two full-length LPs, Rebearth and No Way Out, as well as the Underground EP. à;GRUMH...'s prolific release schedule continued the following year with Black Vinyl Under Cover (retitled Silver Circle Under Plastic for its CD release) and the punningly titled Too Many Cocks Spoil the Breath EP. That year, à;GRUMH... also teamed up with Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre and cEVIN Key for the side project A Chud Convention, which produced an ominous, ambient-tinged mini-LP called Sorrow. 1988 brought the duo's most widely acclaimed work, We Are à;GRUMH...And You Are Not, as well as another EP, Bloody Side. The LP A Hard Day's Knight (retitled A Hard Knight's Day for the longer CD version) followed in 1989, as did the EP The Price Is Right; however, J@3 Seuqcaj elected to leave the group that year, and was replaced by J@7 Cram-Naej (aka Jean-Marc). The blow proved fatal for à;GRUMH...; following the 1990 EP And Now for Something More Completely Different...But Not Too Much!, the group largely fell silent. ~ Steve Huey