Füxa

by Sean CooperDetroit-based experimental rock duo Füxa focused on a lo-fi, electronics-heavy blend of droning, treated guitars, vintage synths (most often the Hammond B-3), and sparse percussion in the vein of Loop, Spacemen 3/Spiritualized, and Amp. Comprised of Randall Nieman and Ryan Anderson, the group formed in 1995 after Nieman left Dearborn-based space-rock group Windy & Carl to purse other projects. He hooked up with Anderson, whod recently severed his ties with another local group, Asha Vida, and a common interest in arcane instruments and electronics led the pair to each form a label — Nieman with Mind Expansion and Anderson with Astro Lanes — to put out collaborative material. What followed was a veritable flood of releases, not only on Mind Expansion and Astro Lanes, but labels such as Burnt Hair, Alley Sweeper, Che, and Darla, most of them meticulously conceived with an eye toward collectibility (hand-cut and numbered sleeves, colored vinyl, strategic split recordings, etc.). The result was Füxas quick ascension to cult status, buoyed by split recordings with artists such as Orange Cake Mix, Flowchart, Bright, and Stereolab. The group were also featured on Virgin U.K.s mammoth post-rock companion Monsters, Robots, and Bugmen in 1996 and conducted a brief U.K. tour as Stereolabs support that same year. The group released several full-lengths (including Three Field Rotation, which collects their first three singles and adds two new tracks). Though they were reportedly sitting on enough material for about a dozen more, the group disbanded before the end of the decade.