View source for Praxis (band)

{{Short description|American experimental rock band}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Other uses|Praxis (disambiguation)}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2011}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name                = Praxis
| image               = 
| caption             = 
| background          = group_or_band
| origin              = 
| genre               = [[Experimental rock]], [[funk metal]],<ref>{{cite journal|url= http://blurtonline.com/review/praxis-profanation-preparation-for-a-coming-darkness/ |access-date= 3 March 2014 |title= Praxis – Profanation: Preparation For a Coming Darkness |journal= [[Blurt (magazine)|Blurt]]}}</ref> [[experimental metal]], [[progressive rock]], [[noise rock]]   
| years_active        = 1984–2011, 2022
| label               = [[Axiom Records|Axiom]]/[[Island Records|Island]]/[[PolyGram Records]], [[M.O.D. Technologies]], [[Subharmonic (record label)|Subharmonic]], ROIR, Yikes, Innerhythmic
| associated_acts     = [[Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains]], [[Guns N' Roses]], [[Primus (band)|Primus]], [[James Brown|James Brown Band]]
| website             =
| current_members     = 
| past_members        = {{ubl|[[Bill Laswell]]|[[Buckethead]]|[[Bryan Mantia|Brain]]|[[Bernie Worrell]]|[[Bootsy Collins]]}}
}}

'''Praxis''' is an [[experimental rock]] project, led by producer/bassist [[Bill Laswell]] and featuring guitarist [[Buckethead]] and drummer [[Bryan Mantia|Brain]] in nearly every incarnation of the band.

The group worked with many other artists such as [[Serj Tankian]] from [[System of a Down]], [[Iggy Pop]], [[Grand Mixer DXT|DXT]] and [[DJ Disk]].

==Biography==
===Early days===
Bill Laswell initially used the name Praxis for an experimental solo EP recorded for [[Celluloid Records]] in 1984, simply named "1984".

===1992–1996===
The band's debut album, ''[[Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis)]],'' released in 1992, was well received by critics. Praxis was composed of guitarist [[Buckethead]], keyboardist [[Bernie Worrell]], drummer [[Bryan Mantia|Brain]],  bassist [[Bootsy Collins]] and [[Jungle Brothers|Afrika Baby Bam]] as "AF Next Man Flip" on turntables. Bill Laswell masterminded the project and served as producer and co-writer of much of the album's material. Praxis combined elements of different musical genres such as [[funk music|funk]], [[jazz music|jazz]], [[Hip hop music|hip-hop]] and [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] into highly improvised music. The [[P-Funk]]-inspired track "[[Animal Behavior (Praxis single)|Animal Behavior]]," with a lead vocal from Collins, was released as a single. A video was also shot for the track.

Their next studio album, ''[[Sacrifist]],'' was released two years later on the new Laswell-led label [[Subharmonic (record label)|Subharmonic]] and featured a rotating roster of guests including sax player [[John Zorn]], drummer [[Mick Harris]] from [[Painkiller (band)|Painkiller]], and members of the band [[Blind Idiot God]]. The [[death metal]]-influenced album was not as acclaimed as their debut.

The same year saw the album [[Metatron (Praxis album)|Metatron]], with a trio of Buckethead, Laswell and Brain, which included the song "Wake the Dead."

In 1996 the band toured Europe and recorded two live albums called ''Live in Poland'' and ''[[Transmutation Live]]'' containing material from shows in [[Zürich]] and [[Warsaw]]. Both albums featured members of the [[Invisibl Skratch Piklz]]. After the shows, the project broke up.

===1997–2004===
In 1997, [[Bill Laswell]] re-released his [[Material (band)|Material]] EP ''[[1984 (Praxis album)|1984]]'' under the Praxis name. This was followed by the album ''[[Mold (Praxis album)|Mold]]'' with [[Pat Thrall]], Peter Wetherbee and Alex Haas instead of [[Buckethead]], [[Bryan Mantia|Brain]] and [[Bernie Worrell]] respectively. The album was essentially somewhat of a remix album with Wetherbee and crew taking elements from 1984 and crafting a full-length release. Laswell's involvement with this album was minimal. In 1998, Laswell contributed "Dreadnot" to the compilation ''Abstract Depressionism''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.silent-watcher.net/billlaswell/discography/collections/abstractdepressionism.html|title=Bill Laswell Discography |publisher=silent-watcher.net |access-date=2013-02-21}}</ref> Though labeled a Praxis track, this was essentially a solo Laswell creation.

In the same year a first compilation album also containing two songs from the [[Buckethead|Death Cube K]] album ''[[Dreamatorium]]'' (Death Cube K is an anagram of Buckethead) was made available.
 
In 1999, a re-worked version of ''Live in Poland'' was released as ''[[Warszawa (Praxis album)|Warszawa]]''. Little was heard of the band for the next years, while Brain and Buckethead played for [[Guns N' Roses]] and Laswell concentrated more on his dub releases.

===2004–2010===
Most original members reunited for a small tour in 2004 culminating in their appearance as part of a Bill Laswell themed episode of the PBS series Soundstage. Laswell also began working on their next studio album ''[[Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness)]]'', but due to the label (Sanctuary) going broke the project was put on hold for about three years.

In 2005 ''Transmutation Live'' was re-worked and re-released as ''[[Zurich (Praxis album)|Zurich]]''. Another live album called ''[[Tennessee 2004]]'' was released in 2007 which was a truncated version of a longer show performed at the Bonnarroo festival.

On 5 April 2005, Laswell performed a 2-hour concert at [[WTTW]] Stusios, Chicago with three incarnations of his groups: [[Tabla Beat Science]] (with [[Zakir Hussain (musician)|Zakir Hussein]], [[Ustad Sultan Khan]], [[DJ Disk]], [[Karsh Kale]], Selim Merchant and [[Nils Petter Molvaer]]), [[Material (band)|Material]] (with [[Pharoah Sanders]], [[Foday Musa Suso]], [[Hamid Drake]], [[Aïyb Dieng]] and Abegasu Shiota) and Praxis (with Buckethead, Brain and [[Toshinori Kondo]]), with Bootsy Collins performing [[Master of ceremonies|MC]] duties at its climax. An hour long edit was broadcast on the [[Soundstage (TV series)|Soundstage]] series on 13 July 2006.<REF NAME="SOUNDSTAGE">{{IMDb title|qid=Q128789586|id=tt1499397|title=Bill Laswell/Axiom Sound System/Musical Freezone}}</REF>

On January 1, 2008 the studio album ''[[Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness)]]'' was released in Japan with guest contributions by [[Serj Tankian]], [[Mike Patton]] and [[Iggy Pop]] as well as Buckethead's old friend [[Maximum Bob (singer)|Maximum Bob]] and many more.

===2011–present: Hiatus and Sound Virus===
In early 2011, ''[[Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness)|Profanation]]'' was re-released on Bill Laswell's new [[M.O.D. Technologies]] label with two additional live tracks. Later that month Bill Laswell stated in an interview that there was likely no more future for the band:

{{quotation|I doubt it. I think they're like closed chapters, but fairly well-documented ones. [...] The same thing goes for Praxis. [[Buckethead]] has mostly been performing solo. He also had a health issue recently with his back, so he hasn't been that active. If you want to do something new, there are better things to do than going back to something you did years ago and starting it over.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.innerviews.org/inner/laswell2.html |title=Interview with Bill Laswell by Anil Prasad (1/11) |publisher=Innerviews.org |access-date=2012-02-29}}</ref>}}

M.O.D. Technologies also has a vinyl version of ''[[Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness)|Profanation]]'' scheduled for an April 2013 release.

In 2015, the band released a new album entitled "Sound Virus".

In 2022, Bill Laswell, Buckethead and Brain returned to the stage as Praxis to play two shows in New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sonyhall.com/events/praxis/|title=Praxis Buckethead Bill Laswell Brain Tuesday, August 30, 2022 |publisher=sonyhall.com |access-date=2022-08-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sonyhall.com/events/praxis-08-31-2022/|title=Praxis Buckethead Bill Laswell Brain Wednesday, August 31, 2022 |publisher=sonyhall.com |access-date=2022-08-31}}</ref>

== Notable guests ==
The following musicians have contributed to the various Praxis experiments (though arguably, those appearing on "Mold" are not proper collaborators as this album is only tenuously part of the Praxis canon):
{{colbegin}}
*[[Jungle Brothers|Afrika Baby Bam]] as AF Next Man Flip on turntables
*[[Cindy Blackman]] on drums
*[[Bootsy Collins]] on bass and vocals
*[[DJ Disk]] on turntables
*[[Grand Mixer DXT|DXT]] on turntables
*[[Yamatsuka Eye]] on vocals
*[[Mick Harris]] on drums
*[[Lili Haydn]] on violin
*[[Invisibl Skratch Piklz]] on turntables
*[[Toshinori Kondo]] on trumpet
*[[Maximum Bob (singer)|Maximum Bob]] on vocals
*[[Mike Patton]] on vocals
*[[Iggy Pop]] on vocals
*[[Serj Tankian]] on vocals
*[[Pat Thrall]] on guitars
*[[John Zorn]] on saxophone
{{colend}}

== Musical styles ==
Between the influence of Laswell and Buckethead, Praxis' musical experimentation in both studio, street and live settings have combined elements of mid-1970s [[Funkadelic]] & [[Miles Davis]], hip-hop's more avant-garde leanings, and [[Last Exit (Free jazz band)|Last Exit]]'s ferocious yet organic jazz/metal aesthetic. Many of these experiments defined diverse, eclectic, and freeform genres including avant-garde, heavy metal, funk and jazz-fusion.

== Discography ==
===Studio albums===
*1992: ''[[Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis)]]''
*1993: ''[[Sacrifist]]''
*1994: ''[[Metatron (Praxis album)|Metatron]]''
*1998: ''[[Mold (Praxis album)|Mold]]''
*2008: ''[[Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness)]]''

===Singles===
*1992: ''[[Animal Behavior (Praxis single)|Animal Behavior]]''

===EPs and compilations===
*1984: ''1984''
*1992: ''A Taste of Mutation''
*1998: ''Collection''
*2015: ''Sound Virus''<ref>[https://modtechnologies.bandcamp.com/album/sound-virus "This is not a reissue nor compilation. This is re-stored, edited, enhanced and remastered Version, a Reconstruction."],

''Sound Virus'' by Praxis. Retrieved 2016-11-06.</ref>

===Live===
*1997: ''Live in Poland''
*1997: ''[[Transmutation Live]]''
*1999: ''[[Warszawa (Praxis album)|Warszawa]]''
*2005: ''[[Zurich (Praxis album)|Zurich]]''
*2007: ''[[Tennessee 2004]]''

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://billlaswell.net/ Bill Laswell's website]

{{Praxis}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Praxis}}
[[Category:American funk metal musical groups]]
[[Category:Buckethead]]
[[Category:Island Records artists]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1992]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2011]]
[[Category:ROIR artists]]