Johanna Went - Hyena LP

Label: Box Editions

Red vinyl edition.

Johanna Went is a pioneering performance artist best known for her wild stage performances with hand-sewn costumes and live musical backing from the likes of Z'EV and K. K. Barrett of The Screamers. Went moved to Los Angeles from Seattle in the late 1970s, and quickly began to generate a cult following as a performer, headlining venues such as Hong Kong Café, the Whisky, and Club Lingerie. For more than ten years, Went was known as an innovative performance artist, particularly for the visual richness of her on-stage characters. She was equally renowned for her use of live improvised music that crossed over from jazzy rock grooves and jungle beats to electronic soundscapes and industrial noise. And always, above all the wild, driving music: Went's completely stream-of-consciousness vocals. Hyena, originally released on Posh Boy Records in 1982, harnessed this live power into studio recordings, which have now been remixed and remastered by Went's long-time collaborator and musical director, Mark Wheaton. Includes three bonus tracks.

"On Hyena, patterns emerge; each track takes on a character of its own. The instruments and voices coalesce into moods – seven different moods in the course of the record – and they feel like something. Chaos, spirit, electricity, creative anarchy – call it what you like. There's something wild here, and it's worth listening to again and again." – Bruce D. Rhodewalt (L.A. Weekly, 1983)