Chicks on Speed formed in Munich in 1997, when members Melissa Logan, Kiki Moorse and Alex Murray-Leslie met at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1995.
Though usually considered part of such musical genres as electroclash, Chicks on Speed actually started as a multidisciplinary art group who applied punk-inspired DIY ethic to performance art, collage graphics and home-made fashion (they have created their own stage costumes with cheap and recycled material such as plastic bags and gaffer's tape, for example).
They originally got their name when they earned some extra money at art galleries by hanging paintings on the walls and someone quipped that they worked like "chicks on speed".
They had their own club nights at Munich's Bar "Seppi Bar": Chicks on Speed had created an installation piece which was called I Wanna Be A DJ, Baby, where they stood behind DJ decks and smashed records while a sound collage tape was playing. For this project they also put together a "box set" with a T-shirt, a cassette, a paper record and a fake interview for their "band", at this stage still imaginary. During this time period they met Upstart (a.k.a. Peter Wacha) of Disko B record label who helped Chicks on Speed to actually get started in music.
Chicks on Speed (Melissa and Alex) are currently performing LIVE DJ SETS in Europe from October-December 2009, preparing for a major solo exhibition at Dunde Contemporary Arts Centre, 23rd may, 2010 and collaborating on an Art Scarf project, with Little Red Ridinghood in Berlin to be launched this December.
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