MuhMur Radio Broadcast 14 March 2019.

This broadcast starts with a twenty four minute ambient sound construction by Kazuya Ishigami + Boban Ristevski. Regular listeners to MuhMur Radio will recognise the sounds of Kazuya. I have played many of his sounds before and back in November 2015 he provided an exclusive piece for the programme. (Worth checking the MixCloud archive for that one). I have very little idea who Boban is  although my guess is that he is a Russian sound-artist. The tape is released by Asemic Sound Letters and they are based in Russia. The tape is also limited to 30 copies and (I believe) sold out from source. It's a great piece that puts me in mind of early Organum.

                                                    Artwork for Ishigami/Ristevski tape.

Last week I received a copy of "Death Of The Bull", a new release from Cumbrian based label Aurora Borealis. "Death Of The Bull" is a collaboration between Latvian artist Darja Kazimira and Russian artist Dagmar Gertor.

  "Darja Kazimira (Latvia) & Dagmar Gertor (Russia) are engaged in experimental art practices based on the research of various funeral and initiation rituals of the peoples of the world, with emphasis on the territory of the Balkans and Ancient Greece. With a solid foundation of musical and classical archaeology, religious studies, mythology, philosophy and thanatology, they have sought to create an entirely new ritualised imaginal space. Through improvisation and glossolalia, a new mythic realm is born.
  "For us, music is an opportunity to articulate a myth, to make tangible imaginary space, to deform the environment through sound, shifting its stable temporal and local criteria".
  "With a mix of various ethnic vocal traditions, extreme and academic vocal practices, and a radical approach to traditional notions of folk music in its truest sense, "Death Of The Bull" is undoubtedly highly demanding of the listener. While many albums can be termed immersive, the mythic-space and otherworldliness of "Death Of The Bull" holds the listener to it's rough hide and drags them into the underworld."

The CD is available from March 20 at https://aurora-b.com

Regular listeners to this programme will be no strangers to the sound of The Dead Mauriacs. This is their second 'exclusive' piece for MuhMur Radio. "Les 418 Numáros Du Vice-Consul" is 14 minutes of classic French surreality. Also in the programme is a track from the recent CDR "Tension + Hypnose" released on their own L'Art Penultieme label. Cromlech Shadow are a new (to me) project comprised of Belgian artist Chadnor Gloomy and ex Dogliveroil and Vile Plumage member Andy Jarvis.

Their latest (could be debut) release is the eponymous mini CDR on Coma Kultur. 4 tracks comprising of concrete sounds, tape manipulation, scrapings and restraints. It does have the 'air' of Vile Plumage in the sound but I suppose that is to be expected. I think the CDR is sold out but is available for download : https://comakultur.bandcamp.com/album/c-r-o-m-l-e-c-h-s-h-a-d-o-w?fbclid=IwAR0mZE3lBcVPo4slI4mcd8H5kA3ZpKvnvxUk8sXKlhIUpK3bgMbTKmIdH2E

I have said it before and I will say it again, one of the greatest 7" singles ever released is "Work" by Blue Orchids. "Work" was released 'on this day' in 1981. I was fortunate to see Blue Orchids live back when they were performing "Work" and other greats like "The Flood", "Disney Boys" and "Low Profile". (For those who don't know) Blue Orchids were formed by Martin Brahmah on his exit from The Fall, he also recruited ex-The Fall keyboardist Una Baines and Invisible Girl Rick Goldstraw. They released a trio of great singles and a classic LP on Rough Trade Records before disintegrating. For a brief period afterwards Martin and ex-The Fall drummer Karl Burns formed Thirst. I remember going to see Thirst at their debut gig at Manchester PSV Club. Eric Random and a street dance crew from Moss-Side that featured future Take That star Jason Orange were support. I sat on a table watching this all pass by drinking cheap Jamaican lager with Tony Wilson, Bob Geldof, Pete Shelley and ex SPK/The Cure bass player Derek Thompson. This was not a dream! Thirst released one single (also on Rough Trade Records) before Martin reformed Blue Orchids in the early 1990's. The A and B side of "Work" are sandwiched by a track from Sporten Är Dōd. Sporten Är Dōd were an all girl trio formed in Kungälv, Sweden in the early 1980's. Inspired by the sound of John Peel and the British 'new wave' the three girls grabbed instruments taught themselves the rudiments and started writing and playing songs. They played a handful of gigs and released one cassette before splitting and got on with their lives.

The LP is a straight copy of the cassette plus some live material. It has been released by Fordämning Arkiv, a side label to I Dischi Del Barone. It's a great LP, really refreshing with some catchy tunes. It does take me back to the late 70's/early 80's when bands were formed to fill 3 TDK C60's perform one gig and then on to the next project. It was something I did myself with (good friend) Dave Uden. We would form a band with another friend - Mark Collins, Rose Ingleton, Drew Cormack - write and rehearse a dozen or so songs, do a gig locally (Lincoln + Newark) then disband and on to the next. Great fun. Innocence. No trying to record demos in 8 track studios or get a record deal or tour support - just playing for the fun of it. All this is in the sound of Sporten Är Dōd.
Another re-issue this time from Belgian label EE Tapes is "Nothing Subtle (About Psychotic Demon Karaoke)" by Psych Krist Kastrator. The tracks on the CD album are culled from tapes released between 1992 - 1997.

Psych Krist Kastrator was the brainchild of Belgian artist Marc Ceulemans. Marc was also the creator of the project Brainquake. All information on EE Tapes is here : http://www.eetapes.be. Staying in Belgium, it was sad to read that Ant-Zen is ceasing as a distribution / mail order outlet. Their latest releases of Michael Idehall and Trepaneringsritualen and staple diets here at MuhMur HQ.

Please take a listen : https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-14-march-2019/

Playlist:
01: Kasuya Ishigami & Boban Ristevski : "Collaboration (B)" (Asemic Sound Letters) 2019.
02: Darja Kazimira & Dagmar Gertor : "Pisn Ouroch" (Aurora Borealis) 2019.
03: The Dead Mauriacs : "Les 418 Numáros Du Vice Consul (Not On Label) 2019.
                                             (exclusive piece for MuhMur Radio).
04: AmPh : "Control (B)" (Verlautbarung) 2019.
05: Cromlech Shadow : "Invoice Eyes Multiply" (Coma Kultur) 2019.
06: The Dead Mauriacs : "Tension Pop" (L'Art Penultieme) 2019.
07: Blue Orchids : "Work" (Rough Trade Records) 1981.
08: Sporten Är Dōd : "John Peel" (Fordämning Arkiv) 2019.
09: Blue Orchids : "House That Faded Out" (Rough Trade Records) 1981.
10: Darja Kazimira & Dagmar Gertor : "Smrt Do Zimnego Zilncu" (Aurora Borealis) 2019.
11: Anji Cheung : "Luma Black Luna White" (Oakseer) 2014.
12: Psych Krist Kastrator : "Thee Wardome" (EE Tapes) 2019.
13: Michael Idehall : "Snake Messiah" (Ant Zen) 2015.
14: Trepaneringsritualen : "Decoupage De L'Orme" (Beläten) 2012.

Next programme is on March 28 and will feature a lot of <<SPK>>.