Futurisk was a pioneering South Florida electro-punk group that recorded and performed in the pre-midi era of the early ‘80’s. They had two vinyl releases that sold out, a legendary live show and some videos, but for a number of reasons by 1984 Futurisk was history. Eventually the main core of Futurisk would be the Kolosine/Hess/Howard line up, but in ‘79 when a teenage Jeremy Kolosine won studio time & money in a competition with his drum-machine triggered guitar-synth act called ‘Clark Humphrey & Futurisk’, he decided to form a band around the name to record a more punk release “The Sound of Futurism 1980/Army Now”. It was an ambivalent anti-war anthem, with Jack Howard on drums, Frank Lardino on synth and Kolosine on vocals and guitar synth. In ‘81, Kolosine, who had gotten absorbed in a new synth/sequencer replaced Lardino with synthesist/recordist Richard Hess who had a myriad collection of Moogs, Oberhieims and KATs,etc. and the line up for the “Player Piano EP” was cast. The EP, like the live show, was a strange blend of punk/minimalist/disco influenced electro pop, with drum-machine triggered synths and often frantic real drums all led by Kolosine’s schizophrenic Bowie/Ferry/Foxx adulations (and about 20 seconds of punk-funk guitar). It was recorded by Rich and the band in the rooms of Ron K’s house.The drum sound, gotten in a bathroom, rocks, even today. Reportedly, Futurisk may have been the 1st synth-punk band in the American South…or something, and 1981’s track ‘Push Me Pull You (pt. 2)’ was an early pre-‘Rockit’ excursion into electro-funk. Limited edition run of silkscreened shirts, 90% cotton / 10% polyester.
