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Biography
About|a music group|the astronomical instrument|Sundial Sun Dial (occasionally spelled Sundial ) is a United Kingdom|British space rock band formed in 1990 by Gary Ramon.
History
Refimprove|date=May 2007The precursor to Sun Dial was Ramon's the Modern Art , formed in the mid-1980s with a loose lineup that never played gigs but did see the release of two studio albums. Ramon disbanded the group out of a desire "to make a more live-sounding group that could go out and play".Psychotropic Zone Sun Dial interview (20.03.2003) http://www.unimeri.com/PsychotropicZone/interview_004.en.php
The band gained prominence after the release of their first album, Other Way Out , which quickly sold out its initial run through word of mouth alone.Citation needed|date=May 2007 The album was near-universally praised in the independent music press,Citation needed|date=May 2007 winning several awards and accolades.Citation needed|date=May 2007 However, the album saw little popularity among mainstream critics and radio stations as their authentic 1960s psychedelic sound was out of fashion at the time.Or|date=September 2007 Other Way Out remains popular to this day in the psychedelic and progressive rock communities,Citation needed|date=May 2007 and has gone through eight reissues since its original release.Citation needed|date=May 2007 Subsequent albums have explored many branches of psychedelia, including space rock , acid rock , stoner rock , neo-psychedelia , and psych pop. Their music has been compared to, influenced, or praised by prominent artists such as MonsterMagnet , Nirvana (band)|Nirvana , Spiritualized , and Spacemen 3 .Citation needed|date=May 2007 Sun Dial in turn were influenced by the 1960s and 1970s psychedelia and hard rock of Jimi Hendrix , the Beatles , the Stooges , Pink Floyd , and Led Zeppelin , as well as the drug-influenced " Madchester " sound of the Stone Roses , Inspiral Carpets , and Happy Mondays .Citation needed|date=May 2007 After the 1996 live album Live Drug , Ramon took Sun Dial on an extended hiatus and devoted his time to producing records by other bands, including Chemical, and Fantasyy Factoryy.Citation needed|date=May 2007 Many of these records were released on Ramon's own Acme Records|Acme label. During this time Ramon also worked with Coil (band)|Coil and Current93 and released Quad (music)|Quad , a solo project exploring ambient electronica and kraut rock . Sun Dial reconvened for a live performance in December 2002 and released their next album, Zen For Sale , a few months thereafter.
In 2010, they released a 20th anniversary 2-CD anthology, Processed For DNA, via Shrunken Head, their own imprint with Cherry Red, before returning with a new eponymous studio album, musically much heavier than before, and more influenced by early 1990s Seattle than late 1960s psychedelia. It was released alongside a major Sun Dial reissue campaign.
Members
As with fellow psych rocker Nick Saloman 's The Bevis Frond , Sun Dial has always been an instrument of its frontman Gary Ramon;Citation needed|date=May 2007 the band's lineup tends to change from album to album. The most stable lineups include the following:
Sun Dial are noted for releasing limited-edition albums and singles on independent labels.citation The discs (often printed on gramophone record|vinyl only) become highly sought-after by collectors.Citation needed|date=May 2007
Albums
Other Way Out Tangerine Records (1990)|Tangerine Records (1990); Dutch East India Trading Company (1991); UFO Records (1991); Acme Records (1994, 1996, 2003); Gallium Arsenide (1996); Lava (1997); Relapse Records (2006)
Reflecter UFO Records (1992); Dutch East India Trading Company (1992); Midi Inc. (1992)
Libertine Beggars Banquet Records (1994); CD/MC (1994); Atlantic Records (1993)
Return Journey Acme Records (1994); Gallium Arsenide (1996); Relapse Records (2006)
Acid Yantra Beggars Banquet Records (1995); Acme Records (1995, 2007)
Live Drug Acme Records (1996)
Zen For Sale Acme Records (2003); Headspin (2003)
Shards Of God Acme Records (compilation, 2007)
Libertine - Deprogrammed Acme Records (2007)
Processed For DNA (The 20th Anniversary Anthology) Shrunken Head (2-CD, 2010)
Sun Dial Shrunken Head (2010)
Singles
Exploding in your Mind 12", Tangerine Records (1990)
Visitation 7", (1991)
Exploding in your Mind one-sided 12", UFO Records (1991)
Fireball 7", UFO Records (1991)
Reflecter CD, UFO Records (1992)
Fazer 12", UFO Records (1992)
Fazer remix 12", UFO Records (1992)
Going Down 7"/CD, Beggars Banquet Records (1993)
