In June 1980 The Ex make their recording debut: the 7″ EP All Corpses Smell The Same. Two more releases follow that same month: a 7″ flexi-disc for the anarchist punk magazine Raket from Rotterdam, and a contribution to Utregpunx, a 7″ vinyl compilation. In October they release their first LP Disturbing Domestic Peace.

In August 1981, The Ex squats the Villa Zuid in Wormer together with members of punk bands Svätsox and De Groeten. To save the villa from being demolished, they spread a free flexi-disc with a brochure around the village to explain why the monumental Villa Zuid, a.k.a. the White Villa, must stay. Members of The Ex keep living in the squat for years to come.

From 1981 on The Ex starts touring abroad and releases more LP’s and singles. Their 1984 album Blueprints for a Blackout marks a musical turning point for the band. Much of it is produced while improvising in the studio and contains experiments with more complex song structures. The combinations of unlikely instruments such as violin, oil drums, accordion, oboe and marimba give a new twist to the Ex-sound. Check out the video of Jack Frost is Innocent taken from the Blueprints for a Blackout album here below.

The Ex will perform and curate an evening at Incubate 2010 on Monday September 13th.