American Band ESG Was Named After Its Members' Birthstones – Emerald, Sapphire and Gold – by a Mother Who Bought Instrumen

MUSIC ESG South Bronx. 99 Records Words Andy Thomas American band ESG was named after York. Tracks such as ‘Moody’ and ‘UFO’ awful,” says Renee, laughing. “So I said its members’ birthstones – emerald, sounded like the future to a New York to Valerie, ‘You know if we turn around sapphire and gold – by a mother who underground ripe with cross pollination, and start doing our own songs nobody bought instruments to keep her four played hard by DJs such as Larry Levan will ever know we are messing up.’ So girls off the streets. They went on to and providing some of the most that’s how we started writing.” Their become one of the most infl uential borrowed breaks in the history of hip mother, Helen, looked for places for the groups of New York’s post-punk “no hop. After years of sampling, bootlegs girls to perform in local talent contests. wave” scene. The records they released and legal wrangling, ESG fi nally got “She didn’t enter us in anything until on Ed Bahlman’s 99 Records were as some offi cial recognition thanks to the she thought we had got to the point raw and urgent as anything on that Soul Jazz compilation A South Bronx where we were good enough,” says cultish label. But their minimal yet Story in 2001. Thirty years on and The Renee. “Every Friday after she fi nished polyrhythmic sound was somehow apart ESG Story, a documentary by fi lmmaker work we would put on a little show for from the other bands emerging from Greg Harding, is going to tell their her of songs we had been writing. She’d the New York underground – untainted, story properly for the fi rst time. usually say we needed more practice, pure and primal. “ESG were from a That story begins in the South but after two or three years she said we different planet,” Richard McGuire, Bronx projects in the late 1970s; a scene were ready.” A spot was eventually from 99 label mates Liquid Liquid, told of devastation and danger. The decay found in a talent show in Manhattan, journalist Simon Reynolds. Youthfully had begun when the Cross Bronx sponsored by CBS Records. “Ed soaking up what ESG vocalist and lead Expressway, completed in 1972, Bahlman was one of the judges,” Renee guitarist Renee Scroggins would later displaced workers from their jobs. By recalls. “He took my number and called call the “savage drive” of beats from then, white fl ight and further economic up that night. I thought, ‘Oh my god their South Bronx neighbourhood, strife had created a poisonous we’ve won.’ He said, ‘No, but you girls ESG produced a naive but acutely concoction. “The area we were growing have something special and I’d like to funky sound all of their own. up in was very rough,” Renee tells me be your unoffi cial manager and get you “I don’t feel like a disco group, I from her home in Atlanta, Georgia. a couple of gigs around Lower don’t feel like a punk group, I feel like a “Full of drugs and gangs in the projects; Manhattan and see how you do.’” funk group, maybe like Rick James says, it was really crazy. Our mom didn’t like Bahlman was dating British expat ‘punk funk’,” said Renee, speaking to what she saw outside and knew that Gina Franklyn, who ran a clothing Deborah Scroggins, Renee Scroggins, Marie Scroggins, Collusion magazine in 1983 about the I was interested in music. And she boutique at 99 MacDougal Street in the Tito Lebron and Valerie Scroggins, 1981 hybrid music she and her teenage sisters promised to get us these instruments. West Village. “It was a time in New created in the early 1980s. “I feel we’re I didn’t believe her but one day there it York when the punk scene had started right here, in between, we’ve got was. Her love of her children was more to get a bit more fun in terms of style. something for everybody.” than her worrying about how she was And Gina was really part of that,” Straddling funk, punk, hip hop, going to get the money.” explains Vivien Goldman, journalist proto-house and mutant disco, ESG’s Renee was joined by her sisters and punk authority. Franklyn agreed to unique place in dance music history was Valerie on drums, Deborah on bass and let Bahlman sell records alongside the cemented by playing the opening night Marie on percussion, and they started post-punk threads. During a buying of Manchester’s Hacienda and the rehearsing in their front room. “We trip to London she introduced him to closing night of Paradise Garage in New began doing cover songs – which were Geoff Travis from Rough Trade > 123 MUSIC | ESG (ACR) were also feeling the funk of sound as raw and alien today. Often would ‘take it the bridge’. And when New York. The austere Manchester labelled as minimal, the group’s sound he did, this musical breakdown was let funk outfit had been booked into East actually owed as much to the loose and I was like, ‘Man, why can’t a Orange studios in New Jersey by Tony polyrhythmic complexity of Latin song always just be a breakdown?’” By Wilson. ESG were to support ACR at music. “Our neighbourhood was honing in on the breaks, ESG mirrored Hurrah in what was a pivotal moment predominately black and Hispanic and the early block party DJs such as Kool in the girls’ career. Wilson was in the growing up we would hear all this Herc, who were extending the audience that night. “I had no idea music coming from the parks,” says percussion section of tracks such as who he was,” says Renee. “But he was Renee. “The congas, cowbells and James Brown’s ‘Funky Drummer’. watching our sound check and timbales would be playing all night. So Drummer Valerie Scroggins recently afterwards he came up and said, ‘Hey, that gave us our Latin influence. I think told Tom Tom Magazine: “The sound I really like what you are doing. How comes from being in the street and would you like to make a record?’ I being around other kids in the parks didn’t take him seriously because we and stuff like that. It was just had been bugging Ed for two years ‘THEY DIDN’T something in me. I started beatin’ on about releasing us.” pots and pans and on my thighs and With ACR finishing the To Each LP JUST TAKE IT legs at school.” But what made their three days early, ESG were offered their sound unique? “Because we never had last three days studio time. The studio DOWNTOWN, any training we didn’t realise you’re sessions introduced the teenage sisters THEY TOOK IT not supposed to mix things,” explains Records and a seed was planted for his our first professional show as ESG with a rapper, a punk band and the to Factory Records’ genius producer Renee. “Like there is only supposed to own record label. Soon 99 Records was at this club called Popfront at the crowd would just take it all in.” For Martin Hannett. “It’s so funny because EVERYWHERE’ be one tempo. So I think the fact that releasing music from the many corners Mechanics’ Hall,” says Renee. “That Goldman, ESG brought something everyone talks about him and I’ve seen we had no knowledge that these things of New York’s downtown scene, with was a totally strange culture shock for different to this counter-cultural the movie 24 Hour Party People, but this were not supposed to go together had early releases by Glenn Branca, Y Pants us. Here were us girls coming from the amalgam. “They were unique. Very little was not the guy that I met,” says Renee. it just soaked in and became almost a lot to do with how we sounded. and Bush Tetras. Goldman remembers Bronx, where the majority of people is new under the sun but they had their “The guy that I met was calm; he was subliminal because when you went to Otherwise we might have sounded like how the 99 releases became as in were black and Hispanic, and we played own place. Just their creativity put them respectful. I had no idea who he was, sleep you heard this all night. At first everyone else. We never thought, ‘This demand in London as those from this punk club with an all-white outside what were the expectations for that he was this big important producer you wanted it to stop because you had is jazz’ or ‘This is funk’. We just used Rough Trade were in New York. audience. But they loved us.” The girls their race, age and class.” because he was just a cool guy. He took to go to sleep but soon it was one of the to throw it all together.” “Honestly those US 45s coming into also appeared at other key venues As with Rough Trade, Bahlman me in and showed me around the things that was luring you to sleep.” Released on Factory (and a few the Rough Trade shop; people would including Club 57, the Roxy, Mudd was starting to forge a relationship with mixing boards and after we’d record The group’s rhythmic, heavy sound, months later on 99), their first EP wait for them. It was like a cargo cult.” Club and Danceteria, supporting bands another influential UK independent something he’d ask if I liked it.” which was augmented by created a buzz amongst influential With his finger on the pulse of the such as Public Image Ltd (PiL), Gang label with growing links to New York.

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