Diminished Men are an instrumental group formed by guitarist Steve Schmitt, bassist Simon Henneman, and drummer Dave Abramson. (Abramson is also member of Master Musicians of Bukakke, and has collaborated with Eyvind Kang, Secret Chiefs 3, Climax Golden Twins, Grails, etc.)  Drawing from elements of film noir, psychedelic exotica, experimental rock, deviant surf and musique concrète, the band refocus their influences into something entirely unique. 

Their 2005 first full length "Names of the Dead" introduced the band's jagged, hard-charging approach and cinema obscura ethos. A bizarre series of cassettes "American Volume Swells" and their "Six O' Clock Baby" album revealed a raw and unchecked side of the band through live recordings, improvisations and collage. It was their 2009 "Shadow Instrumentals" LP on the Sun City Girls label, Abduction Records, that got the band wider recognition for their creative and distinctive sound. 

Followed by “Capnomancy” and "Vision in Crime”, they cemented their status as formidable figures, developing a dedicated audience of audiophiles who found themselves entranced by Diminished Men’s high energy live performances. 

Their latest release, DAMAGE MÉCANIQUE, released through 2182 Recording Company in September 2022, showcases Diminished Men as masters of their subgenre. Over the years they have shared the stage with bands such as Pere Ubu, Chrome, Secret Chiefs 3, Alan Bishop, Master Musicians of Bukkake, Climax Golden Twins, Helen Money, etc. 

Diminished Men's new album, DAMAGE MÉCANIQUE, thrusts the listener into a malfunctioning industrial sci-fi soundscape. Trance inducing guitars beckon with haunting wails, high-tension wires spin and spit with a crackling hiss. Circular kosmische rhythms and anxiety-drenched beats destroy and rebuild around fractured melodies and noise. The band oxidizes and melts into experimental post-punk and acousmatic environments as hypnotic groove and vertigo copulate in cinematic assemblage.