Listen to the newly-unearthed demo of Kurt Cobain's pre-Nirvana band Fecal Matter
It's raw
A demo tape has emerged online of Kurt Cobain's first band, which would eventually lead to the formation of Nirvana.
Alternate versions of Nirvana tracks 'Polly', 'Come As You Are' and more found their way onto YouTube earlier in the week, and now, origin unknown, we have a complete 58-minute demo tape Cobain made with friends when he was 19.
Recorded on a four track in the room of someone's house onto a cassette tape, it is lo-fi as all hell - with fuzzy, acidic guitar riffs and vocals that include a lot of coughing and wretching.
There are certain moments however when you catch the sound that Cobain would go onto cultivate with Nirvana on Bleach.
Cobain is on guitar and vocals in the demo, with Dale Crover on drums, bass and backing vocals.
The demo has never been heard in its entirety before and was crucial to the formation of Nirvana.
The story goes that, while hanging out at the Melvins' practice space, Cobain met Krist Novoselic, a fellow punk rock fan. Novoselic's mother owned a hair salon, and the pair would occasionally practice in the upstairs room of the salon. A few years later, Cobain tried to convince Novoselic to form a band with him by lending him a copy of the home demo he made with Fecal Matter. After months of asking, Novoselic finally agreed to join Cobain, and Nirvana was born.
While it isn't clear who leaked the demos, there's a rumour going round that good guy Dave Grohl is responsible, with long-awaited Foo Fighters' demos having also surfaced recently.
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