Vendor’s Box
Song by Gina X Performance
The beginning of "Gina X Performance" goes way back to the 1978s. The project collaborated between the charismatic singer and lyricist Gina Kikoine and writer and producer Zeus B. Held.
“Rising from Cologne, Gina X Performance was a fuse of many different genres of music: Electronic, DarkWave, Euro-Disco, Synth-Pop. At the same time, their music was intermixed with many art performances and sexual prompts. ”
Many classic singles and EPs by GXP delivered the experimental and futuristic sounds that eventually dominated the world and are still among the most well-established and recognized pioneers of the field. Even today, we feel the influence of GXP in many different electronic musicians' works.
It's easy to feel the breeze of the big influencers in the works of GXP. Artists like Lou Reed, Patti Smith as well as visual art Avant-garde. And that was the sum from where their journey began.
GXP's main drive was to combine all-around conceptual works. The work of their manifesto was to create music which was a combination of poetry, sounds, and visual elements. Not only to listen and enjoy but to entertain, provoke and push the "traditional."
The classic and one of the most well-renowned singles, "No GDM," appeared in 1979. It was a perfect showcase of Gina's narrative vocal, minimalist beat, and slinky-soft styles. From the 1979s, the single quickly became a hit, and the duo started touring worldwide.
“In the middle of the 1980s, the perfect duo started working on the second album titled “ X-traordinaire.” The album released in 1980 on the label “Rio Records” appeared to have much more warmth than expected and displayed some traditional way towards the funky sound and its equipment.”
The album contains eight tracks and exhibits many different sides of GXP. Side A kicks off with a funky bite of a track called "Strip Tease." Introducing many exciting parts but also unveiling the elements of brass. The "Opposite Numbers" quickly looks towards the darker sides and recalls their very first debut.
The "Vendor's Box" is the 7th track on the album and perhaps is one of the finest crafts from the duo. It opens up with a sequencer and a synth immediately grasping onto one's ear—kicking around 90 BPM, complete with a tense cold wave.
Hearing the voice of Gina completely transforms the audience into a different world. It is almost vanishing every other part of the track. Heavy kicks and hi-hats are a bit faded while we listen to the provocative voice and lyrics from the expert. Her voice and tone that is full of coldness and armed sounds, are building up the tension. The more rigid the voice gets, so does the dramaturgy of the track. Accompanied by heavy bass lines, Gina delivers very tough and determined stages.
Somewhere in the middle, we hear a playful part of the synth paired with bass and continuous kicks. This piece, amongst many others, is the exact exhibition of the creative vision, absolute union of music, poetry, and at the same time, the travesty that the duo was in search of.