Oppenheimer Analysis

Andy Oppenheimer and Martin Lloyd met at the 1979 World Science Fiction Convention in Brighton, England. They quickly became good friends, sharing an interest in the work of David Bowie, electronic music and early synthesizer bands such as the Human League and Soft Cell. They also shared a love of old science fiction movies, 1950s graphics and comic book imagery, and a fascination with post-World War II propaganda, the politics and aesthetics of the Cold War and the social impact of the atomic bomb.Over the next few years Andy and Martin frequented the growing club scene, including Studio 21 in Oxford Street, and became involved in the developing Futurist and New Romantic style sub-cultures. During this period Martin recorded as Analysis, both alone and with David Rome of Drinking Electricity. They released their first single, "Surface Tension/Connections" on David's Survival label in 1981. Meanwhile Andy held his own occasional club nights and continued to work as a science writer and editor, later becoming a nuclear expert.In 1982 Andy and Martin began writing and recording together at Feedback Studio in Battersea, and performed several times as Oppenheimer Analysis at The Bell, Islington, the 1983 World David Bowie Convention in Hammersmith, the Starzone Birthday Party at Camden Palace, the 1984 European Science Fiction Convention in Brighton and other live venues. Their first demo tape and the later twelve-track “New Mexico” cassette were sold at gigs and by mail-order, and were reviewed in Melody Maker, Sounds and Soundmaker.Andy subsequently recorded and performed with Chris Ransome as Oppenheimer Ransom, supporting Bronski Beat at the 1984 Miners’ Benefit at the Electric Ballroom, Camden, Erasure at The Bell, and at other gigs including the Shaw Theatre, London.Although they have been musically inactive during the last twenty years, Andy and Martin have stayed in touch. They are now recording and performing again following the recent revival of interest in early electronic minimalism and Cold Wave music. Four tracks from the 1982 "New Mexico" cassette were released on 12" vinyl by Minimal Wave in December 2005 (catalogue number MW001) The second edition of this 12" vinyl EP is now available from Minimal Wave. "The Devils's Dancers" is included on the "Clone Classic Cuts" CD compilation recently released on Clone Records, based in Rotterdam. The song also features on a four track 12" sampler (CC12) released by Clone in the Classic Cuts series on 21 January 2008.Since reforming as Oppenheimer Analysis in 2005, Andy and Martin have played live at Neon Welt (Zwischenfall, Bochum), Weird Science (Loch Ness, Wiesloch) and at the Minimal Electronic Night (OJC Kompas, Sint Niklaas)Details and selections of Martin Lloyd's early 80s collaborations and solo work are now available at his mySpace page, http://www.myspace.com/martinlloydanalysis