Mission of Burma

Mission of Burma
Company type	Band
Industry	Music
Founded	1979 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Founder	Roger Miller, Clint Conley, Peter Prescott, Martin Swope
Defunct	June 2020
Headquarters	Boston, United States
Products	Music albums, singles, EPs

Mission of Burma was a post-punk group hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, established in 1979 by guitarist Roger Miller, bassist Clint Conley, drummer Peter Prescott, and sound engineer/audiotape manipulator Martin Swope. The songwriting and vocal responsibilities were shared among Miller, Conley, and Prescott.

Their early releases appeared on the Boston-based label Ace of Hearts. Although they gained recognition within the independent music circuit, the band dissolved in 1983 after Miller developed tinnitus attributed to loud live shows. During their initial tenure, their discography included two singles, an EP, and a full-length album titled Vs..

In 2002, Mission of Burma reunited with Bob Weston stepping in for Swope. This era produced four more albums: ONoffON, The Obliterati, The Sound the Speed the Light, and Unsound. The group amicably concluded their activities in June 2020.

Origins and early development

Mission of Burma emerged from the Boston rock outfit Moving Parts, which included Roger Miller from Ann Arbor, Michigan and Clint Conley from Darien, Connecticut. Following Moving Parts’ breakup in December 1978, Miller and Conley began rehearsing together and soon enlisted former Molls drummer Peter Prescott. The band’s name was inspired by a "Mission of Burma" plaque spotted by Conley on a diplomatic building in New York City, chosen for its enigmatic and unsettling connotation. Their first performance as a trio took place on April 1, 1979, at The Modern Theater.

Miller expanded their sonic palette by incorporating tape loops through Martin Swope, who served as their live sound engineer and tape-effects specialist. By 1981, Swope’s innovative tape manipulations had become a defining element of both their recordings and live shows.

Support from local outlets such as Boston Rock magazine and MIT's WMBR radio station helped elevate their status. WMBR heavily rotated Conley’s "Peking Spring," which became the station’s most frequently played track in 1979. Although the band contemplated issuing it as a single, they ultimately decided against releasing it.

Signals and Vs.

In 1981, Mission of Burma inked a deal with Boston’s Ace of Hearts Records. Their first single featured Conley’s "Academy Fight Song" with Miller’s "Max Ernst" as the B-side. Despite initial doubts about producer Rick Harte’s polished production style, the single quickly sold out, solidifying confidence in his approach.

The debut EP Signals, Calls, and Marches, also released in 1981, saw its initial pressing of 10,000 copies sell out rapidly. The following year brought their first LP, Vs., which garnered critical praise for its ambitious scope and lasting influence.

In February 1982, the band collaborated with vocalist Dan Ireton on a two-track single released under the name Dredd Foole and the Din, with members switching instruments from their usual roles. This partnership extended into live performances that continued for nearly a year following Mission of Burma’s original disbandment in 1983 and remained their sole side project during that time.

Disbandment and Consequences

Following the release of Vs. in 1983, the band dissolved as Miller's tinnitus worsened, a condition largely caused by their intensely loud concerts. During their final tour, Miller enhanced his foam earplugs with rifle-range headphones for onstage protection. A live album titled The Horrible Truth About Burma, compiled from recordings of their farewell shows, was issued in 1985. In 1988, Rykodisc released Mission of Burma, notable for being the first compact disc to surpass 80 minutes of playback time.

Miller and Swope concentrated on their side venture, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, before both departing in the 1990s—Miller shifted toward solo work and composing film scores, while Swope retired to Hawaii. Prescott continued his involvement in Boston's music community by founding Volcano Suns, Kustomized, and The Peer Group, and currently performs with Minibeast. Conley produced the debut album for Yo La Tengo but mostly stepped back from music until establishing Consonant in 2001.

Reformation

During the band's inactive period, Mission of Burma's following expanded significantly. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Taang! Records and Rykodisc kept their music available through reissues and previously unreleased tracks. Their inclusion in Michael Azerrad's book Our Band Could Be Your Life solidified their importance within American indie rock history.

In 2002, Mission of Burma reassembled without Swope, who chose not to participate. Conley, Miller, and Prescott recruited Bob Weston (formerly of Shellac and Volcano Suns) to handle tape manipulation and mixing duties. Weston initially preserved the original tape loop technique but by 2007 had integrated digital looping technology during live performances while still using studio tape methods. Occasionally, he also played bass during encore segments on stage.

Originally intending only two reunion concerts, overwhelming ticket demand extended their shows across multiple nights in Boston and New York, leading to a full-fledged reunion with ongoing touring and new recordings.

Their 2004 release, ONoffON, co-produced by Weston and Rick Harte and issued via Matador Records, was ranked 90th in the Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll. This was followed by Snapshot, a digital live album. In 2006, they unveiled The Obliterati on Matador; it earned #33 on Pitchfork’s top albums of that year and placed 50th in Pazz & Jop.

The documentary Not a Photograph: The Mission of Burma Story premiered in 2006. Key albums were remastered by Matador in 2008. Prescott remarked on the physical challenges of performing live, suggesting future tours would be limited.

In 2009, the band recorded fourteen songs for their fourth studio album, The Sound The Speed The Light, which Matador released that October alongside a two-track single.

By 2012, Mission of Burma had ended its relationship with Matador and signed with Fire Records (UK), releasing their fifth album Unsound in July, preceded by the single "Dust Devil".

A Facebook update in 2019 indicated no plans for additional albums. In June 2020, Boston NPR station WBUR-FM reported that the band had amicably dissolved; Conley, Miller, and Prescott remain close friends. Their last live show took place in Berlin in 2016.

Musical style and influences

Mission of Burma's sound merges experimental avant-garde elements with the raw vigor of post-punk. Drummer Peter Prescott once described their musical fusion as "melding John Coltrane with the Ramones," highlighting a blend of innovation and elemental force.

John Dougan from AllMusic depicted their style as emblematic of early 1980s post-punk, characterized by jittery beats, unconventional time signatures, and assertive vocal delivery, comparable to bands such as Gang of Four and Pere Ubu. He emphasized Roger Miller’s guitar playing, noting its dense, distorted chord progressions and deliberate use of feedback that contributed a unique auditory dimension.

Songwriting and lead vocals were mainly managed by Roger Miller and Clint Conley, with Prescott providing occasional input. Critic Franklin Bruno praised Conley for his talent in crafting catchy hooks, whereas Miller’s songwriting was recognized for its lyrical eccentricity and atypical structural choices.

Tape manipulation

A distinctive aspect of Mission of Burma’s sound was Martin Swope’s tape manipulation technique. He captured live audio, modified it in real-time, and reintegrated it through the mixing board as an unpredictable sonic element. This approach enriched their noise rock texture, ranging from subtle feedback effects in tracks like "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" to more pronounced sounds such as the piercing squeal heard in "Red." Although Swope seldom appeared on stage, his work was essential to shaping the band’s signature sonic identity.

Live performances

Early live shows by Mission of Burma were noted for their raw intensity and variable quality, a fact reflected in the title of their initial live album, The Horrible Truth About Burma. Boston journalist Tristam Lozaw observed that their concerts could swing between remarkable and disorderly, propelled by improvisational elements and Swope’s tape effects. Challenges during performances included inconsistent sound quality and pacing; when venue acoustics were problematic, Swope often favored loudness over clarity. Set lists were typically assembled shortly before the show, deliberately avoiding repeated song sequences to maintain freshness.

Legacy

Mission of Burma has left a lasting imprint on many musicians and groups such as Foo Fighters, the Replacements, Thurston Moore, Hüsker Dü bassist Greg Norton, Buffalo Tom, Drive Like Jehu, Unwound, Metz, and the Dirtbombs. Their influence is evident through numerous covers of Clint Conley’s "That's When I Reach for My Revolver" by artists including Grand Theft Audio, Scott Sorry, and Moby. Similarly, "Academy Fight Song" has been interpreted by bands like R.E.M. and Miracle Legion. The indie rock group Versus derived their name from Mission of Burma’s album Vs..

In recognition of the band’s cultural significance, the Boston City Council proclaimed October 4th as "Mission of Burma Day" in 2009, commemorated with an event held at MIT in Cambridge.

Studio albums

Vs. (1982)
ONoffON (2004)
The Obliterati (2006)
The Sound the Speed the Light (2009)
Unsound (2012)

References

Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life. Little, Brown and Company, 2001.

External links