// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did Chandra go to the doctor? It had a stellar cough.
Chandra | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1979–1982 |
| Labels |
|
| Past members | Chandra Oppenheim Eugenie Diserio Steven Alexander Fred Maher |
| Website | Official Site |
Chandra was an American post-punk band founded in 1979. The band was fronted by Chandra Oppenheim, who was 11 years old when the band was founded.[1] A second incarnation of the band, The Chandra Dimension, was launched in 1981 but dissolved before a second EP could be released.[1]
History
[edit]Eugenie Diserio and Steven Alexander were former members of the band Model Citizens[1] and contemporaries of Chandra Oppenheim's father, conceptual artist Dennis Oppenheim. After seeing the 11-year-old Oppenheim perform, Diserio and Alexander decided to build a music group around her.[1] In 1979, they began rehearsing in a rented room at the Music Building in Hell’s Kitchen, with Fred Maher joining as drummer.[1] The band debuted at the Mudd Club in New York City.[1]
Chandra released their first and only EP, Transportation, in 1980.[2] A second incarnation of the band, the Chandra Dimension, was launched in 1981, and included three additional musicians between 12 and 19 years old.[1] The band performed on the children's television series Captain Kangaroo.[3] However, the Chandra Dimension dissolved in 1982 before a second EP could be released.[1][3] “I had to make a decision, school or music, and I chose school,” said Oppenheim in 2018.[1]
Chandra received renewed interest in 2016, after their track "Subways" was sampled by the Avalanches in their song of the same name.[1][2] Oppenheim had not previously heard about the Avalanches until they approached her regarding the sample but subsequently became a fan.[4] That same year, she performed live with the Avalanches in New York City.[1] In 2018, the label Telephone Explosion released a compilation album, Transportation EPs, which combined the 1980 EP with the unreleased second EP and two four-track demos.[2]
Discography
[edit]EPs
[edit]| Year | Details |
|---|---|
| 1980 | Transportation
|
Compilations
[edit]| Year | Details |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Transportation EPs
|
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Wray, Daniel Dylan (November 13, 2018). "'It was grungy, gritty, rough': the 11-year-old who fronted an 80s post-punk band". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
- 1 2 3 Beta, Andy (January 10, 2019). "Chandra: Transportation EPs". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
- 1 2 Taysom, Joe (July 22, 2020). "The story of Chandra, a unique 12-year-old post-punk sensation that ripped up the 1980s music scene". Far Out. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
- ↑ Iadarola, Alexander (June 7, 2016). "We Spoke to the Now-Grown Up 12-Year-Old The Avalanches Sampled on Their New Song". Thump. Vice. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2025.