MuhMur Radio Broadcast March 16 2023.

 

The Broadcast starts with the whole of Side B from the latest album by Geography Of Hell. The album came from a recommendation as I had never heard of the project before ... but a kind of if you like Genocide Organ, Anenzephalia, Soldnergeist etc ... you'll love this album, so I bought the album and it is one of those great albums that I play again and again. Never dull, a pleasure every listen. 

Information about who are the members of Geography Of Hell is limited, they are an anonymous trio combining French and American artists. "Verdun 1916 is full of Ghosts. The voices of survivors now departed and the vacuum of the dead. Members of Geography Of Hell are rumoured to have relatives who fought in the hills, trenches, and bunkers where the longest battle of WWI was campaigned. .... Verdun 1916 expands heavily into the precise combination of martial sound collage and cold mechanical noise fog, supposedly created through archival interviews with veterans. Members of GOH travelled to the old battlefields for field recordings, scraping war objects along the side of old bullet holed pill boxes and collected fragments of shrapnel, helmets, belt buckles, rations, castings etc. Creating hand-made metal percussion and crude art brut electrical conductors that follows in the tradition of the early avant-garde while expanding further into chemical ambience delivered with the neutrality of a doomed soldier's field side doctor". Released on Dominick Fernow's Hospital Productions label, more information on the project and their activities can be found here : http://geographyofhell.free.fr.

Controlled Bleeding were a New York based sound project formed in 1978 and ceased activities in 2020. There founding (and constant) member was Paul Lemos. For their 1986 album "Headcrack" Controlled Bleeding were Paul Lemos and Joe Papa. 

Who are The Rights Of Sleepers? And what about their rights? I don't know ... this cassette was produced by Robin C.,  mastered by Thorsten Soltau and released by GerauschManufaktur. Any further information can be found here : https://geraeuschmanufaktur.bandcamp.com/album/and-what-about-the-rights-of-sleepers. Seah is the solo project of Chelsea Heikes. Chelsea is also one half of Post Doom Romance, the other half being Mykel Boyd and it is on Mykel's Somnimage label that Seah's new album is released. The track here is from "Conduits Of The Hydrosphere". 'All sounds created by Sean using manipulated field recordings from worn hydrophones and cameras while interacting with bodies of water; as well as instruments made by Tim Kaiser'. Available as a CD from https://www.somnimage.com. 

"Bid'Ah" (roughly translated means 'innovation') is from the 2020 7" "Juhayman Al-Utaybi" by Genocide Organ. It is part three of their Religious Extremism (Alternativism) series. 

On This Day in 1980 The Pop Group released their second album "For How Much Longer Do We Tolerate Mass Murder". The Pop Group were formed in 1977 by vocalist Mark Stewart, bassist Simon Underwood and guitars John Waddington. Later joined by Scottish guitarist Gareth Sager and drummer Bruce Smith. Simon left in 1979 to be replaced by Glaxo Babies bassist Dan Catsis. They released two albums "Y" and "For How Much Longer ..." before splintering in 1981. Off-shoot bands include Rip Rig And Panic, Maximum Joy, Pigbag and Playgroup. Mark Stewart moved to On-U Sound and formed The Maffia and appeared in the On-U Supergroup New Age Steppers. 

The Pop Group reformed in 2010 ... but we don't really talk about that ... back in 1979 and the release of their "Y" album prompted me to join CND. (I didn't stay a member for long). I mentioned in the first broadcast of 2023 that I would attempt to include a cover version in each programme. This programme's cover version is "Why Can't We Live Together" by Maximum Joy. Originally released in 1972 by American soul singer Timmy Thomas on the Glades label. As mentioned Maximum Joy were formed after the break up of The Pop Group by John Waddington and Dan Catsis along with vocalist Janine Rainforth. Ex Glaxo Babies drummer Charlie Llwellin was also added. Maximum Joy released one album and four singles between 1979 and 1983 before disbanding. "Why Can't We Live Together" was their last single. A few months ago I bought the single from a secondhand record shop in Exeter only to find it was a mis-press. What came out of the speakers was what sounded like a demo track by a fifth rate Fields Of The Nephilim band so I bought a copy from a seller on Discogs who sent me the wrong single! I thought I would never get to own this single again .... I luckily found a mint copy earlier this year. Maximum Joy reformed in 2015 for a few gigs. Janine know fronts the band MXMJoY with Charlie Llwellin. 

Daruin's "Follow Blindly For Masochistic Education" is from the 2009 CD "Follow Blindly" on the Japanese Final Scato Records label. Daruin is the noise-project of Japanese composer (and no stranger to MuhMur Radio) Kazuya Ishigami. 

Whilst compiling tonight's broadcast I was reading "Conform To Deform : The Weird And Wonderful World Of Some Bizzare" by Wesley Doyle. I don't consider myself as a 'fan' of the label but was interested in the birth of the label as I know it all started with B Movie. Mansfield's finest and a favourite at MuhMur HQ. 

                                                                            B Movie

The book tells the story of Some Bizzare through old press interviews, press reviews and phone calls / statements from over the years. It's a rollercoaster story of a label fuelled by ignorance and drugs from humble beginnings to becoming (thanks to the global hit "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell) one of the world's best selling labels. I remember B Movie well. Before signing to Some Bizzare they were on the Lincoln based label Dead Good Records and played live in Lincoln a few times .. usually the Cornhill Vaults. Steve Hovington (Bassist) recalls the days of starting out and setting up by the fag machine in the 'Vaults and being worried about the menacing crowd and skulking skinheads. Ahh the memories. I used to frequent The Porterhouse in Retford in my youth and remember seeing B Movie there, I seem to remember Stevo being the DJ that night dressed as Robin Hood ... but years have passed, alcohol has been drunk and  drugs have been taken since so I could just have dreamt it. I defiantly saw Stevo introduce B Movie at Futurama 3 and getting cans thrown at him ... I was quite tempted myself. So ... I dug out a few records I have that are on Some Bizzare or licensed through them. The Soft Cell track was recorded at The Porterhouse (by my friend Tim) ... what a time for the tape to run out! "Remembrance Day" by B Movie was their first single after signing to Some Bizzare and released by Deram Records. The Test Department tracks are from the 1984 box set "Beating The Retreat". "Cold Witness" features FM Einheit of Einsturtzende Neubauten on tapes and "Stolen Kisses" is from the first Psychic TV album "Force The Hand Of Chance". I recommend the book, there's some great stories and the talking heads include Jim Thirlwell, Stephen Mallinder, Steve Hovington, Matt Johnson, Martin Patton (Dead Good Records), Dave Ball, Gavin Friday and Alaura O'Dell (aka Paula P-Orridge) and Stevo (of course) to name but a few. Available from all good book shops, published by Jawbone Press. http://jawbonepress.com. 

Sensory Leakage Jas been a label to keep an ear on for the past two or three years. Sensory Leakage and it's off-shoot label Remote Viewing. With releases by the likes of Tippex Christ, Grey Frequency, Mark Waldron-Hyden, Mollbury Medical Research Centre, Andreas Brandal and Oscilloscope to name but a few. Sensory Leakage is a London (UK) based label. They do sometimes operate an "only available for 24 hours' sales policy on Bandcamp ... which I do not like ... but their catalogue is worth a listen. Go to their Bandcamp page at :https://sensoryleakage.bandcamp.com/music. In January this year they released "Zener_42" by Bloxham Research Group. (All Sensory Leakage cassettes are titled 'Zener'). Bloxham Research Group on this release are Henderson Downing and his daughter Evie. 

"...'Zener_42', field recordings compiled by the BRG during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020-21 while documenting the minor triangulation of churches around the village of Middleton Cheney on the Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire border. Acts of sonic trespass allow the BRG to record unexamined affinities in the memories and the histories of this rural landscape where access and ownership has been persistently concentrated into the possession of a minority. These field recordings are accompanied by 'MINOR TRIANGULATION' - a record of psychogeographical field notes from the BRG archive - available as an A5 16pp booklet". 

"Field Notes In Yellow" is from this cassette. Joshua James Wittman is the main man behind Shady Ridge Records based in Hutchinson, Minnesota. "Black Body Noise" is from the album "Orbital Patterns", recordings based on the theme of radio, satellite and wireless technology. The CD is available from Joshua at : https://shadyridgerecords.bandcamp.com/artists. The programme ends with a bit of BºTong.

The programme ends on a track from the new album by BºTong. "A Fleeting Moment Of Superabundance" is a joint release by Force Majeure and Les Nouvelles Propagandiese. BºTong is Basel based sound artist Chris Sigdell. The pieces on this album were recorded in 2020 / 2021 and sees Chris taking a more vocal direction, a sort of progression from his last album "The Eradication Of The Individual". https://forcemajeure.bandcamp.com for further information. 

Playlist :

01: Geography Of Hell : "Verdun 1916 (Side B)" (Hospital Productions) 2022.

02: Controlled Bleeding : "Headcrack #1" (Sterile Records) 1986.

03: The Rights Of Sleepers : "And What About The Rights Of Sleepers (B)" (Gerauschmanufaktur) 2023.

04: Seah : "Dinosaur Piss Runs Through Our Veins" (Somnimage) 2022.

05: Genocide Organ : "Bid'Ah" (Tesco Organisation) 2020.

06: The Pop Group : "Forces Of Oppression" (Rough Trade Records) 1980.

07: The Pop Group : "Blind Faith" (Rough Trade Records) 1980.

08: The Pop Group : "For How Much Longer" (Rough Trade Records) 1980.

09: Maximum Joy : "Why Can't We Live Together" (Garage Records) 1983.

10: Daruin : "Follow Blindly For Masochistic Education" (Final Scato Records) 2006.

11: Soft Cell : "Memorabilia (Live At Retford Porterhouse. March 1981)" (Not On Label) 1981.

12: B Movie : "Remembrance Day" (Dream) 1981.

13: Test Dept : "Inheritance" (Some Bizzare) 1984.

14: Test Dept : "Cold Witness" (Some Bizzare) 1984.

15: Psychic TV : "Stolen Kisses" (Some Bizzare) 1982.

16: Bloxham Research Group : "Field Notes In Yellow" (Sensory Leakage) 2023.

17: Joshua James Wittman : "Black Body Noise" (Shady Ridge Records) 2022.

18: BºTong : "Zerreissprobe" (Force Majeure/Les Nouvelles Propagandes) 2023.

Thanks for listening. The programme has been archived here : 

https://www.mixcloud.com/tamsin-jane-cammack/muhmur-radio-broadcast-march-16-2023/

Back on March 30 with tracks by Thomas LaRoche, Astral Social Club, White, Francisco Meirino, Razar, Chapman and much much more ....