Chandra (band)
Chandra | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1979–1982 |
| Labels |
|
| Past members | Chandra Oppenheim Eugenie Diserio Steven Alexander Fred Maher |
| Website | Official Site |
Chandra was an American post-punk band founded in 1979. The band was fronted by Chandra Oppenheim, who was 11 years old when the band was founded.[1] A second incarnation of the band, The Chandra Dimension, was launched in 1981 but dissolved before a second EP could be released.[1]
History
[edit]Eugenie Diserio and Steven Alexander were former members of the band Model Citizens[1] and contemporaries of Chandra Oppenheim's father, conceptual artist Dennis Oppenheim. After seeing the 11-year-old Oppenheim perform, Diserio and Alexander decided to build a music group around her.[1] In 1979, they began rehearsing in a rented room at the Music Building in Hell’s Kitchen, with Fred Maher joining as drummer.[1] The band debuted at the Mudd Club in New York City.[1]
Chandra released their first and only EP, Transportation, in 1980.[2] A second incarnation of the band, the Chandra Dimension, was launched in 1981, and included three additional musicians between 12 and 19 years old.[1] The band performed on the children's television series Captain Kangaroo.[3] However, the Chandra Dimension dissolved in 1982 before a second EP could be released.[1][3] “I had to make a decision, school or music, and I chose school,” said Oppenheim in 2018.[1]
Chandra received renewed interest in 2016, after their track "Subways" was sampled by the Avalanches in their song of the same name.[1][2] Oppenheim had not previously heard about the Avalanches until they approached her regarding the sample but subsequently became a fan.[4] That same year, she performed live with the Avalanches in New York City.[1] In 2018, the label Telephone Explosion released a compilation album, Transportation EPs, which combined the 1980 EP with the unreleased second EP and two four-track demos.[2]
Discography
[edit]EPs
[edit]| Year | Details |
|---|---|
| 1980 | Transportation
|
Compilations
[edit]| Year | Details |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Transportation EPs
|
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wray, Daniel Dylan (2018-11-13). "'It was grungy, gritty, rough': the 11-year-old who fronted an 80s post-punk band". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
- ^ a b c Beta, Andy (2019-01-10). "Chandra: Transportation EPs". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
- ^ a b Taysom, Joe (2020-07-22). "The story of Chandra, a unique 12-year-old post-punk sensation that ripped up the 1980s music scene". Far Out. Archived from the original on 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2025-01-20.
- ^ Iadarola, Alexander (2016-06-07). "We Spoke to the Now-Grown Up 12-Year-Old The Avalanches Sampled on Their New Song". Thump. Vice. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2025-01-20.