I haven’t written about them here in a little while (the last time was probably 2019), but as well-documented on this blog over the years, I continue to harbor a longtime fandom and fascination for the music and surrounding mythos of Missing Foundation. Back in the `80s and `90s, of course, Missing Foundation accrued something of an ominous reputation via their uncompromising music and anarchic live performances, but also for their equally uncompromising stance on several political and municipal issues. You can enjoy a taste of same here via this footage from 1991.
Their cryptic insignia (the upended cocktail glass over three slashed tines) becoming synonymous with squatters’ rights, Missing Foundation’s ubiquitous graffiti campaign became a sort of street-art shorthand for real estate developers to basically stay the fuck away from certain areas of town. Despite their best efforts, of course, the portions of the Lower East Side they strove to declare off-limits eventually fell prey to sweeping gentrification. In the wake of some frankly hilarious media sensationalism about the band, something had to give. As the man behind the band, the art, the insignia, the music and the message, Peter Missing decamped for Europe, leaving his notorious tenure in NYC behind him for a long while.
Anyway, in more recent years, Peter Missing has both literally and figuratively changed his tune. He continues to make art and music, but the actively confrontational aspects of that distant era of Missing Foundation are no longer the order of the day. As his message has evolved, so too has his music. Where the Missing Foundation of the late `80s and early `90s practiced a bludgeoning blend of pounding, primal rock punctuated by rumbling percussion and slabs distorted noise under Missing’s bullhorn exhortations, he more recently plays a more nuanced blend of mesmerizing electronic music.
As I’ve mentioned on other posts, Missing took full advantage of the Bandcamp platform, and now offers much his band’s sizable discography there. You can find that all here, but I recently stumbled upon this brief interview with the man from last summer wherein he gives a bit more information on his current doings, his art, his new music and his interesting journey.
Check it out here…
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