Fresh noise from ‘80s-era Savage Republic

Savage Republic’s ‘80s-vintage Southern California logo, a palm tree with crescent moon and star, still best conveys its mashed cornucopia of global beats, industrial noise, lilting melodies and variously disturbing and soothing vocals. These post-punk experimenters -- reunited after 13 years for a five-city tour supporting their new boxed-set retrospective -- pounded on 55-gallon drums, oil cans, pipes and the like long before Blue Man Group.

“The edges of the mainstream have moved a little bit closer to us,” says guitarist-percussionist Ethan Port, whose San Francisco-based Mobilization Records released the four-disc collection. Charting Savage Republic’s shift from noisy art-punk to more instrumental, epic sprawl, it includes the albums “Tragic Figures,” “Ceremonial,” “Jamahiriya Democratique ... “ and “Customs.” “A lot of the music is actually pretty accessible,” Port says. “Punk is now mainstream, and the audience for electronic/trance/ambient and world music sounds is huge as well.”

Founded at UCLA in 1980 by guitarist Bruce Licher and drummer Mark Erskine, Savage Republic has had numerous incarnations linked only by Licher. He’s best known as the owner of Independent Project Press, whose distinctive letter-pressed packaging is seen on releases by Camper Van Beethoven, R.E.M. and, of course, Savage Republic.

Licher and original keyboardist Robert Loveless will be joined at the Knitting Factory Hollywood on Wednesday by later Savages Port, Thom Fuhrmann and Greg Grunke, along with drummer Joel Connell.

The bill also includes class-of-the-’80s local artists Mike Watt and the Secondmen, the Urinals, and the Human Hands, but don’t expect a nostalgia trip.

“We aren’t the same people we were 13 years ago, and we’re continuing from a fresh perspective,” Port says.