You had to seek it out, show up, and interact. Perhaps in the age of internet search, that doesn't seem remarkable because of accessibility, but at the time, if you wanted to know about something, you had to be into it body, mind, and spirit. It wasn't so much how well your particular project was branded, but how much culture you could capture within it. At the time, an eclectic aesthetic was in ascendancy. We absorbed our influences mostly through osmosis and serendipity. The possibilities, for better and worse, appeared endless. The cultural scene in NYC at that point was very dynamic. How did that musical environment shape Liquid Liquid's sound? Late-'70s and early-'80s New York City saw the confluence of radical new music styles like disco, hip-hop, punk, and no wave. After not too long, we hooked up with Ed Bahlman and 99 Records, which was the official start of the band. And because I wrote poetry, I became the singer.

It seemed whatever medium of art you practiced, you also should form a band. It was during the original punk era it was all about DIY. Scott Hartley and Dennis Young, who shreds on marimba, are also from Jersey. We bonded one summer at a job that was supposed to keep kids off the streets.

Richard McGuire and myself are from the same hometown in New Jersey. The band evolved more than being formed whole, meaning there wasn't a big concept at the start, but there was a feeling and approach that was natural without being too folky funky without being derivative intense in an understated way. Sal P.: Liquid Liquid appreciates that acknowledgment. What glued you together creatively at the start? New Times: Liquid Liquid has gone down as one of America's seminal postpunk dance acts. to chat about the roots of Liquid Liquid, the new record, and his ongoing collaborative projects. And most recently, he teamed up with Italian producer Shield of Rebirth Records for an edgy house cut he's sure to drop during a rare Miami DJ set for the label's tenth-anniversary party at Do Not Sit on the Furniture.Īhead of Monday night's soirée, New Times caught up with Sal P. These days, Liquid Liquid frontman Salvatore Principato continues to push the dance-music envelope as a DJ and producer. Over the years, its decidedly idiosyncratic sound has seen the group's records sampled by Grandmaster Melle Mel, Tricky, and Massive Attack. But for its considerable obscurity and only a modest batch of limited vinyl pressings, the foursome has attained definite iconic status among America's alternative-dance pioneers.įorged in New York City's underground no-wave scene, Liquid Liquid is set apart by a singular DIY blend of punk, funk, dub, and Afro-Latin rhythms. It's difficult to quantify the influence of Liquid Liquid on popular music since the band's early-'80s heyday.

Dynamics liquid rhythm