Limbo District Vinyl, CD & Tape 4 Items

"Esoteric, yet oddly vivacious, Athens legends Limbo District never released any music during their 25-month career from April 1981 until their less-than-ceremonious dissolution in May 1983. They did several tours up and down the East Coast in addition to playing local haunts like 688, TV Dinner, the I&I, the Last Resort, Tyrone’s, and, of course, the 40 Watt. Over the past year, Chunklet has released four singles and restored the apparition of Limbo District to where the world can now experience their unique take on no wave. Primordial Void, in tandem with Chunklet, is proud to release a cassette compilation of their singles along with never-before-heard live material from the Nitery in 1982. Love Tractor’s Mark Cline calls Limbo District 'an art band’s art band.' Sin-Gles! sheds a spotlight on an ignored (yet pivotal!) band from Athens’ golden age. Cuts such as 'Encased' and 'Factory Margo' have a distinctly Beefheart-y, Branca-esque flavor to them, yet their murky take on the classic punk ethos, combined with their innovative visual elements (more on that below), frame Limbo District as early pioneers of a rather clever aesthetic later adopted by groups such as Hype Williams, Pocahaunted, and Immaterial Possession. Limbo District is also notable for some of its core members; vocalist/percussionist Jeremy Ayers was a member of Andy Warhol’s Factory (as 'Sylva Thinn') in the 1970s, a major, major scene staple in Athens, and a co-writer of songs by R.E.M. and the B-52s; Limbo’s bassist and arranger was Dublin, Georgia’s Davey Stevenson whose brother Gordon was, not coincidentally, the bassist of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks; vocalist/organist Dominique Amet was a French foreign exchange student who collaborated with Tom Smith’s legendary experimental group Boat Of; and lyricist/vocalist Craig Woodall co-wrote Pylon’s eternal classic 'Feast On My Heart.' There was a rotating cast of guitarists starting with Spainiard Margarita Bilbão, then Art In The Dark’s Tim Lacey, and closing with Kelly Crow. The aforementioned Tom Smith, an avant-garde composer who influenced an entire generation of noise musicians with his groups Peach Of Immortality and To Live And Shave In L.A., once stated that Limbo District were the only Athens band that Boat Of ever identified with as being kindred spirits. A powerful testament to this short-lived act’s embodiment of true Southern weirdness."

In August 1982, Limbo District—percussionist Jerry Ayers, vocalist Craig Woodall, bass player Davey Stevenson, Farfisa player and vocalist Dominique Amet, and guitarist Tim Lacy—traveled from Athens, GA to Winston-Salem, NC to record at Mitch Easter’s Drive-In Studio. The session took place just two months after fellow Athens band R.E.M. had gone there to record their debut Chronic Town EP.

With Easter, Limbo District recorded a five-song set of bewitching rhythms and guttural poetry, chants, and howls that culminated in a Dionysian, avant-garde pulse.

These songs later accompanied photographer Marlys Cox’s images brought to life in Jim Herbert’s experimental film, “Carnival.” Aside from the few seconds of “Carnival” that appeared in Tony Gayton’s documentary “Athens, GA: Inside/Out,” Limbo District has remained unheard by anyone who wasn’t there to witness the band's powerful blend of music and performance art as it happened.

Carnival offers a glimpse behind the curtain, revealing a contemporary of the B-52’s, Pylon, R.E.M., the Method Actors, Love Tractor, and more, and presents a thread to unravel a perfect mystery.

Limbo District’s significance is matched only by its obscurity, and the complete Mitch Easter session has remained unreleased until now.

"When I moved to Georgia in 1991, the only Athens band I was looking for was Limbo District. For decades, I remained empty handed. And now, the crown jewel of the Limbo story is unearthed: Carnival. Chunklet is proud to have excavated this apparition and it is now time to celebrate the band's delirious, cryptic and in-the-moment existence. Behold: Limbo District!"—Henry Owings, Chunklet Industries

“It was exactly the kind of thing that I wanted to be doing. … Limbo District stood tall as being absolutely their own thing, and not remotely concerned with commercial music at all. Still, the songs were catchy.”—Mitch Easter (original producer, owner of Drive-In Studio, Let’s Active)

“Everything about Limbo District is kind of a surprise. Their music is its own category. What struck me was the uniqueness of it. In a college town music scene, there are so many creative young people who tend to wear their influences on their sleeve. Limbo District's music is not easily pegged.”—David Barbe (2023 producer, Chase Park owner, Mercyland)

“Michael Stipe championed Limbo District because he connected with Jerry. They were such close friends back in those early days. He helped Michael see a vision for himself that he would not have seen on his own, and things wouldn't have been the same for R.E.M.”—Lady Clare Butler, The Now Explosion

Esoteric, yet oddly vivacious, Athens legends Limbo District never released any music during their 25 month career from April 1981 until their less-than-ceremonious dissolution in May 1983. They did several tours up and down the east coast in addition to playing local haunts like 688, TV Dinner, the I&I, the Last Resort, Tyrone’s and, of course, the 40 Watt. Over the past year, Chunklet has released four singles and restored the apparition of Limbo District to where the world can now experience their unique take on no-wave. Primordial Void, in tandem with Chunklet, is proud to release a cassette compilation of their singles along with never before heard live material from the Nitery in 1982. Sin-Gles! (Plus Live) sheds a spotlight on an ignored (yet pivotal!) band from Athens’ golden-age. Cuts such as “Encased” and “Factory Margo” have a distinctly Beefheart-y, Branca-esque flavor to them, yet their murky take on the classic punk ethos, combined with their innovative visual elements (more on that below), frame Limbo District as early pioneers of a rather clever aesthetic later adopted by groups such as Hype Williams, Pocahaunted, and Immaterial Possession. “They were one of the greatest bands on Earth.”—Michael Stipe, R.E.M.

The B-52s, R.E.M., Pylon, Love Tractor... The roster of early Athens legends is quite distinguished, but one of their closest peers never so much as put a record out. That band is Limbo District. Active from April 1981 until their unceremonious disbanding in May 1983, there was a grand total of one movie made of them by Jim Herbert entitled Carnival while they existed. "They were the band's band," as Mark Cline from Love Tractor so eloquently put it on NPR. While the "Encased" track is on this, the band's first session in the summer/fall of 1981, two other tracks ("Knock Knock Lobo" and "Rhythm Forward") are included. The lyrics were written by vocalst Craig Woodall and songs were arranged and written by the band that included former Factory star Jerry Ayers (neé Jeremy Ayers, Silva Thin) on percussion, from northern France, Dominique Amet on Farfisa organ, Spaniard Margarita Bilbao on guitar and from Dublin, Georgia, Davey Stevenson on bass. This line up of the band existed no more than a few seasons and then went away to be reborn with TIM Lacy (later of ART IN THE Dark) and Kelly Crow both replacing Margarita on guitar in their own time. Behold the greatest ghost to ever haunt Athens, GA: Limbo District. Expect more. Much more.