TOTAL

Total was the side project of Skullflower guitarist Matthew Bower, and actually predates his more well-known band (Total sprang into existence in 1982). It was originally the group that evolved out of Pure, with much of the early Skullflower's same lineup; some of them, particularly Alex Binnie and Stefan Jaworzyn, played in Zos Kia as well. Somewhere between 1985-1987 (depending on whose memory you trust best), Total mutated into Skullflower, and Total subsequently became Matthew Bower's solo project. At that point it served as a more "ambient" counterpart to Skullflower's wall-of-noise approach; in recent years, however, the dynamic reversed itself until Tot al's releases were often considerably noisier and more chaotic than Skullflower's. Since Skullflower's demise, Total has become Bower's main vehicle of violent guitar expression. Total is essentially a solo project but he has drawn in the likes of Jo hn Godbert (reeds, mandolin, cybal, etc.), Neil Campbell (A Band, Smell & Quim). There was even a big London show at Paul (Blast First) Smith's club Disobey which featured the Total Big Band; Bower (guitar/fan), Dennison (Violin), Campbell (Violin), Best (Oscillator) and Godbert (cymbal). More recently Total has been involved with more pure noise and has collaborated with Japan's Merzbow on a small run cassette and with Newcastles Culver, an even smaller run cassette and even a live performa nce. Total has since packed it in and has been "replaced" by Sunroof.

CASSETTES:	84-87 (1987) [Anomalous Records] BURST OPEN LIKE THE SKIN OF A RIPE FRUIT (???) [demo] HARD+LOW (???) [Broken Flag] SUTRA (1987) [no label] MERZBOW MIXED TOTAL (1997) [Sterlized Decay] [limited to 250]
LPs / CDs:	BEYOND THE RIM (1993) [Majora] HERE, TIME IS SPACE (1994) [Majora] [Note: This is a double album.] SKY BLUE VOID (1995) [Freek Records] GLASSY WARHEAD (1995) [Pure] EXPLODED STAR SAD SERVANT (1995) [Self Abuse] TANSMUSIK DER RENAISSANCE (1995) [Freek Records] CLEAR FACTORY (1996) [Majora] BUFFIN' THE CELESTIAL MUFFIN (1997) [Rural Electrification Program] TO FALL LIKE CHERRY BLOSSOMS (1997) [American Tapes] KASPAR HAUSER (1997) [Metonymic] ETERNITY'S BEAUTIFUL FRONTSPIECE (1998) [VHF] SOLID OBJECTS CAST AS GOBLINS (2000) [VHF]
SINGLES:	"Dog Throat Sun (pts. 1 & 2)" (1994) [Anomalous] (limited to 205, hand-painted and printed covers) SILVER PILLOWS 10" ep (1995) [Majora] "The Starlit Mire" 7" (1997) [Rural Electrification Program] "Mountain Tasting/Thin Autumn Sky" (1998) [no label listing]
COMPILATIONS:	NEVER SAY WHEN (1986) [Broken Flag] OSCULUM INFAME C60 (???) [M.T.T. Records XXIII] AMBIENT 4: ISOLATIONISM (1994) [Virgin Records] ("Six") "Optional Ingredients from a Vile Recipe, Vol. II" (1995) [Trackshun Industries]