MuhMur Radio Broadcast #287 : 23 November 2025.

My summer read has been (and still is, I am a notoriously slow reader) the book "Shock Factory" by Nicolas Ballet. The book has the subtitle 'The Visual Culture Of Industrial Music'. 

"An exploration of the multidisciplinary creative culture encapsulated by the industrial scene, spanning musical, visual, multimedia and performance arts. Shock Factory introduces the visual and aesthetic elements of the 1970s and 1980s industrial culture to a general history of contemporary art. Nicolas Ballet analyses the different approaches taken and topics addressed by the primary protagonists of the movement, who perceptively anticipated current discourse concerning the media and their collective coercive power" 

The book (a very hefty tome) is split into three parts. Part One is titled "The Last England: Post-Industrial Trauma And A Tradition Of Subversion". Part Two is titled "Nothing Short Of A Total War: Industrial Dissidence And Shock Tactics and Part Three is "Body And Soul" Industrial Occulture. In addition to the words, the pages (587 of them) are filled with fantastic pictures, photographs, artworks, posters etc of all those discussed. Naturally the internet has reviewed the book. One of the best I have seen (so far) is by Alan Rider at https://outsideleft.com/main.php?story=shock-factory. Alan used to operate the label and 'zine 'Adventures In Reality' in the early 1980s and was a member of the bands Stress and Attrition. 

There is nothing more enjoyable than sitting in the 'gimproom' at MuhMur Radio HQ reading a book and playing sounds from my library. Whilst reading "Shock Factory" I have been (re) discovering artists I haven't played in quite a while and for MuhMur Radio Broadcast #287 I have attempted to create a soundtrack for the book. 

  A relic of the past .. my old TG 'Gary Gilmore Memorial Society' shirt from the 70s. I wore it until it fell apart!

If 1977 was year zero, then 1978 was year zero 2.0. 1977/78 was the year of punk for me, the spotty 15/16 year old, my bands were XTC, Ultravox!, The Lurkers, The Stranglers, The Vibrators etc (you get the picture). Evenings listening to John Peel on the radio and watching TV programmes like The Old Grey Whistle Test and Rock Goes To College. I have mentioned before how I chanced upon Throbbing Gristle, but just to recap ... It was a rainy day in Doncaster. I had travelled there with my parents from Lincoln, they had business there and I wanted to buy some white baseball boots from the outdoor market. We parted company and arranged a pick-up time and location. I was early for the rendezvous, it was raining, I spotted a shop called 'Fox's Music' and went in to dry off ... Fox's music mainly sold musical instruments, pianos, hammond organs, acoustic guitars, that kind of thing but there was a record rack, a small selection but 12" vinyl all the same. Back in those days I'd go into any place that sold records, Rediffusion, C.R. Spouges and Rumbelows in Lincoln all sold records and they were secondhand TV & electrical repair shops. It was all Pickwick, Hallmark and (going back to an earlier post) Top Of The Pops compilation albums. Vinyl is vinyl and you never know what might be hiding in the racks. Amongst the Tangerine Dream and Jean-Michel Jarre I saw a copy of Throbbing Gristle's "Second Annual Report". The Fetish Records edition with insert and questionnaire. It was some daft price like £3 so I bought it. Curiosity got the better of me. Back then I was discovering new music all the time and would often buy a record (or cassette) on the strength of the artwork, song title(s) or band name. (To be honest, I still do). So I filled in the questionnaire and posted off to Industrial Records, probably with a bit of teenage 'fan mail' inside the envelope too ... and shortly afterwards I received a copy of "Industrial News" the TG/Industrial Records magazine packed full of information, contacts and direction. 

                                                                 Industrial News 1979.

         

Inside the magazine was a list of artists / bands / projects that had mailed in cassettes and mail-art to Industrial Records with contact details, a whole new world of fascinating names producing fascinating sounds with fascinating ideas was now upon me. Cabaret Voltaire had a release on Industrial Records, their cassette "1974-1976" (1980) followed their first album "Mix-Up" on Rough Trade Records. '4th Shot' is from this album. 

Club Moral are Danny DeVos (DDV) and Annie-Mie Van Kerckhoven (AMVK). Club Moral began in 1981 in Antwerp, Belgium. "Hendrik De Man" first appeared on the compilation album 'L'Enfer Est Intime - Volume Général' on the French VP 231 label, the version I play here is from the Club Moral eponymous cassette released by Staalplaat in 1985. 

Nocturnal Emissions track is from the 1981 LP "Fruiting Body". The album has recently been re-issued as a double CD, a deluxe edition by Klanggalerie. http://www.klanggalerie.com. 

Zero Kama and the works / art of Michael / Zoe DeWitt features in the book. The role of Nekrophile Records and DeWitt's projects (Zero Kama / Korpses Katatonic). "Prayer Of Zos" is from the 10" EP 'The Goatherd And The Beast' originally released on Athanor in 2001. There is a beautiful 3 LP (or 3 CD) available of collected Zero Kama works available via Infinite Fog Productions in Austria. Well worth tracking down. https://infinitefog.bandcamp.com/album/zero-kama. The Reed Ghazala and Psy 23 tracks are from the cassette "Anti White Bastards" released in 1991 on Korm Plastics.

"This compilation is directed against racist tendencies in the network in general and the activities of AWB/Terre Blanche in particular. Musicians from the USA, Europe and South Africa have joined in the struggle against what we think is a mis-use of the network system of audio information exchange. Available from us is an article from the Chemical Castration magazine which gives an insight in the ideas of AWB. USA side compiled by PBK, European side compiled by Korm Plastics". 

Psy 23 is a collaboration between Psyclones (Brian Ladd and Julie Frith) and Pierre Jolivet of Pacific 231. 

The two Soviet France tracks are from the 1983 12"EP "Norsch" on Red Rhino Records. At this point Soviet France were Ben Ponton, Robin Storey and Peter Jensen. The Diamanda Galas track is from the 1986 LP "The Divine Punishment". The Einstürzende Neubauten track is from the 1981 double 7" EP "Schwarz" on ZickZack and the NON track is from the 1982 12"EP "Rise" on Mute Records. I know (I have been told) that Steve Stapleton does not like Nurse With Wound being associated with 'Industrial Music'. Which for his sound and approach is quite understandable. "Shock Factory" uses Industrial music as an umbrella term rather than focus directly on the works of known industrial musicians. I think Nurse With Wound belong in the book. 'Summertime Belongs To Me' appeared on the 1983 cassette compilation "Bethel" released by German label Datenverarbeitung. (also on the cassette are pre-Skullflower project Pure, You've Got Foetus On Your Breath, Coil and Virgin Prunes amongst others). The version I play here is from the "Flawed Existence" box set on Vinyl On Demand. https://www.vod-records.com.

                                              Chance Meeting with a Nurse With Wound. 2009.

A name that features throughout the book is Frans de Waard and his activities through Kapotte Muziek and Korm Plastics. On October 18 this year Kapotte Muziek appeared at the Dead Mind Festival in 'S Hertogenbosch, Netherlands celebrating 25 years of Dead Mind Records alongside Alice Kemp. Organ Of Corti, Ricardo Mazza and Truus de Groot amongst others. For the occasion Kapotte Muziek released a cassette given to the first 50 people through the door. "Den Haag I & II" is from this cassette. 

"I was a teenage S.P.K. roadie" will not be the title of my memoirs ... mainly due to the fact that I was in my twenties. I remember writing to Throbbing Gristle, probably telling them my thoughts and tastes. And I got a letter back suggesting I would like the upcoming 7" on Industrial Records by S.P.K. They suggested I write to Graeme T'uatara who had just moved to London from Paris to restart the project in the U.K. He was staying with Peter Christopherson at the time. So I did, it's what I did back then and Graeme wrote back with a copy of the "No More" 7". I finally met with Graeme when S.P.K. played at The Haçienda in Manchester. 1983. It was the S.P.K. 'Metal Dance' tour and I was invited to join in and help out. S.P.K. at the time were Graeme, Sinan Leong, John Murphy and Derek Thompson. Dave Kenny was doing the live sound. I reprised the role in 1984 on the 'Junk Funk' tour. Lustmord and Howard Hughes had replaced John and Derek. This tour ended at the ICA and the (in)famous 'riot gig'. The S.P.K. track I play here is from the August 1983 John Peel Session. Just as an aside Sinan has a track on the new D-Generation compilation CD that comes with the latest edition (magazine). I got my copy from Cold Spring Records in the UK. https://www.coldspring.co.uk. I shall be playing the Sinan track on the next MuhMur radio broadcast. 

The Test Dept "Compulsion" is from their first 12"EP. Le Syndicat formed in Paris in 1982 by Jean-Marie Onni. The track here is from the 1986 compilation cassette "6x10=60 Volume 3" on Korm Plastics. The cassette also features Irritant, Mauthausen Orchestra, Kapotte Muziek, Controlled Bleeding and Chavez. In 2022 the cassette was reissued by Korm Plastics D and is available through Staaltape. 

https://kormplasticsd.bandcamp.com/album/6-x10-60-vol-3. Le Syndicat are one of the few projects that has never ceased releasing great sounds. I was fortunate to play live with Le Syndicat in Lille, 2014. At the time Le Syndicat were Jean-Marie and Saphi from Nocturne. 

Esplendor Geometrico are from Spain, formed in 1981 their name is inspired by "Geometric And Mechanical Splendour And The Numerical Sensibility" by the Italian futurist Fillipo Tommaso Marinetti. Originally a three-piece but now just the core members Arturo Lanz and Saverio Evangelista remain. The track here is from the 1982 album "El Acero Del Partido/Héroe Del Trabajo" originally released by Tic Tac, remastered and reissued on CD by Geometrik Records in 2000. Arturo now lives in China, all Esplendor information is here : https://www.rotordiscos.com/sellos/geometrik/1/.

                                          Arturo (EG), Graeme (SPK) + Adi (Clock DVA). 2025.

                                                                          Cranioclast.

Cranioclast, sometimes spelt Kranioklast, were formed in 1982 in Hagen, Germany. Comprising of two members ; Sankt Klario and Soltan Karik all their releases are anagrams of their name. The piece here is from the 7: "Can I Talk Or S....". 

Otto Muehl was part of the Austrian Artists Kollective (AAK), sometimes referred to as the Viennese Aktionists formed in the 1960s. Also in the group were Hermann Nitsch, Günter Brus, Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Anni Brus and Valie Export. Their works and influence are heavily studied in 'Shock Factory'. The Current 93 tracks are a couple of my favourite releases. "I Have A Special Plan For This World" has lyrics by Thomas Ligotti and also features Steve Stapleton and Colin Potter from Nurse With Wound. "LAShTAL" was the debut 12"EP on the Belgian L.A.Y.L.A.H. Antirecords label and features Fritz from 23 Skidoo and John Balance of Coil. 

The Laibach track is from the compilation album "Vhutemas Archetypi" released in 1984 on Side Effects Records. The Hermann Nitsch piece is from the triple album box set on Vinyl On Demand. "Dornenkrönung" is part of the "Die Geburt Des Dionysos Christos" trilogy recorded on the 9th December at Linz, Austria. 

"Boy In A Wheelchair" by Sudden Infant is from the CD album "Psychotic Einzelkind" on the now defunct Blossoming Noise label. "Elias In The Mirror" is on the latest cassette release by Himukalt. Ester Kärkkäinen's project are mentioned alongside Puce Mary, Vomir and Prurient (amongst others) as artists carrying the industrial banner in the 21st Century. "Katoptronophilia, Part One" is available as download via : https://himukalt.bandcamp.com. Also available via this site is Ester's book "Sex Works", a collection of statements and interviews (including Andrew Fletcher's piece from Intrusive Signals Magazine) and photographs / artwork. Recommended. 

There's a lovely 4xCD release by Cherry Red Records called "Third Noise Principle (Formative North American Electronica 1975-1984)" This features a lot of sounds by projects / artists discussed in the "Shock Factory" book. The Boy Dirt Car track is from this compilation. 

I played the Whitehouse track "Great White Death" at 45rpm on purpose! 

Sleep Chamber formed in 1981 by John Zewizz, Eugene Difrancisco and Phil Brosseau. At some points Jonathan Briley and Michael Moynihan (Coup De Grace) were also members. "Sleep In Morocco" is from the 10"EP "Sonorous Invokations Ov Brian Jones". The Metgumbnerbone track is from the self-released double CD "Anthropological Field Recordings Of The Dispossessed". For more details please visit : https://metgumbnerbone.bandcamp.com/album/anthropological-field-recordings-for-the-dispossessed. G.X. Jupitter-Larsen track is from the 7xCD box set "Old Europa Cafè" the 100th release by this great Italian label. 

"Candy Man" is the B-Side to "To Mom On Mother's Day" by Monte Cazazza, released on Industrial Records in 1979. It was Monte that coined the phrase "Industrial Music For Industrial People" back in 1977. 

The John Duncan track is from the split 7"EP on Die Stadt. Relaesed on 26th September 2003 in conjunction with a live performance by John, Leif Elggren and Carl Michael Von Hausswolff in the Bremen Lagerhaus. The broadcast ends with Con-Dom's "Right To Be Here" part of the '8 Sermons' 7" series .... 

As mentioned all sounds are pulled from artists / projects that are featured, mentioned and reviewed in Nicolas Ballet's book "Shock Factory". I guess the book is still available from all good bookstores, I bought mine from Waterstones (in the UK). Please don't buy from Amazon. 

The broadcast is available on Mixcloud, split in to two two-hourly parts for easier aural digestion.

Part One.

https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-23-november-2025-shock-factory-part-one/

Part Two.

https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-23-november-2025-shock-factory-part-two/

Playlist:

01: Throbbing Gristle : "Industrial Introduction" (Fetish Records) 1978.

02: Throbbing Gristle : "Slug Bait (ICA/Southampton/Brighton)" (Fetish Records) 1978.

03: Throbbing Gristle : "Maggot Death (Rat Club/Studio/Southampton)" (Fetish Records) 1978.

04: Cabaret Voltaire : "Fourth Shot" (Rough Trade Records) 1979.

05: Club Moral : "Hendrik De Man" (Staaltape) 1985.

06: Nocturnal Emissions : "Smear Campaign 7" / Legs" (Sterile Records) 1981.

07: Zero Kama : "Prayer Of Zos" (Athanor) 2001.

08: Reed Ghazala : "Maelstrom In The Dust Of Ages" (Korm Plastics) 1991.

09: Psy 23 : "The Fourth Reich" (Korm Plastics) 1991.

10: Soviet France : "Norsch Tauss" (Red Rhino Records) 1983.

11: Soviet France : "Norsch Ballmaen" (Red Rhino Records) 1983.

12: Diamanda Galas : "Sono L'Antichristo" (Mute Records) 1986.

13: Einstürzende Neubauten : "Kalte Sterne" (ZickZack) 1981.

14: NON : "Rise" (Mute Records) 1982.

15: Nurse With Wound : "Summertime Belongs To Me" (Vinyl On Demand) 2009.

16: Kapotte Muziek : "Den Haag I & II" (Dead Mind Records) 2025.

17: S.P.K. : "Metal Dance" (SAT Records) 2014.

18: Test Dept : "Compulsion" (Some Bizzare) 1983.

19: Le Syndicat : "Sorry" (Korm Plastics) 1986.

20: Esplendor Geometrico : "Héroe Del Trabajo (I)" (Geometrik) 2000.

21: Cranioclast : "No Caveman Bites The Dog" (Sonaria) 1997.

22: Otto Muehl : "Untitled" (Play Naked) 2005.

23: Current 93 : "I Have A Special Plan For This World" (Durtro) 2000.

24: Current 93: LAShTAL" (L.A.Y.L.A.H. Antirecords) 1984.

25: Laibach : "(Overture) To..." (Side Effects Records) 1986.

26: Hermann Nitsch : Dornenkrönung" (Vinyl On Demand) 2008.

27: Sudden Infant : "Boy In A Wheelchair" (Blossoming Noise) 2008.

28: Himukalt : "Elias In The Mirror" (EK Verlag) 2025.

29: Boy Dirt Car : "Catalyze (Subject To Catalyst)" (Cherry Red Records) 2019.

30: Whitehouse : "Great White Death" (Come Organisation) 1985.

31: NON : "Romance Fatal Dentro De Un Auto" (Mute Records) 1982.

32: Sleep Chamber : "Somewhere In Morocco" (Manhood Records) 1995.

33: Metgumbnerbone : "Black Middens" (Not On Label-Self Released) 2020.

34: G.X. Jupitter-Larsen : "Norge Om Polybelge" (Old Europa Café) 2008.

35: Monte Cazazza : "Candy Man" (Industrial Records) 1979.

36: John Duncan : "The Gossamer Dispatch" (Die Stadt) 2003.

37: Con-Dom : "The Right To Be Here" (Tochnit Aleph) 1996.

There are interludes between some of the tracks by Vagina Dentata Organ (from the new CD "Concrete Music"), Peter Sotos CD "Buyers Market" and the voice of Henry Lee Lucas ( from the 2x7" "Murder" on Alamut Records). 

Again, thanks for listening. Thanks also to Chris Booth and Tamsin. Next broadcast will be the last of 2025 on December 21. 18:00 gmt. https://soundartradio.org.uk

MuhMur Radio Broadcast #286 : 26 October 2025.

 

A special broadcast, for the second time in thirteen years MuhMur Radio has a live performance in the studio. In August 2018 Nocturnal Emissions came into the studio to perform 'Wireless Broadcast', and tonight Soloman Tump came into the studio for a live improvised performance. 

Soloman Tump is the project of Andrew Fletcher. Earlier this month I interviewed Andrew for ReMuhMuration. The full interview can be found here : 

https://remuhmuration.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-muhmur-radio-soloman-tump-interview.html

There is also a link to the performance in the interview (just in case you don't want to listen to the whole show). In celebration of the performance the rest of the show is built of tracks by 'solo performers / projects'. * I know in the broadcast I mention that all tracks are by "Solo Men", I know Sirpa Kalla is a solo female sound artist, I wasn't go to play "Oodi Variksille", but I brought it off the subs bench (so to speak) as I forgot to bring my copy of Elton Motello's "Jet Boy Jet Girl" single! 

Playlist :

01: Nurse With Wound : "All The Dead Men" (Lenka Lente) 2025.

02: Ekoplekz : "Fluktuate" (More Than Human) 2014.

03: Dale Cornish : "New Chest" (The Death Of Rave) 2025.

04: Bruce Gilbert : "Where Did The Time Go?" (Mute Records) 1996.

05: Coagulant : "Interiors" (Kringloop Kassettes) 2025.

06: Mark Vernon : "Spectral Marketplaces" (Flaming Pines) 2025.

07: Soloman Tump : "Shewte Rights" (Human Geography Recordings) 2023.

08: Söldnergeist : "Terror (Part One)" (Pure) 2001.

09: Linekraft : "One Kills One" (Tesco Organisation) 2021.

10: Soloman Tump : "Live At SoundArt Studio" 2025.

11: The New Blockaders : "TNB : The Musical!" (Not On Label) 2025.

12: Cheapmachines : "Safeword" (Harbinger Sound) 2008.

13: Putrefier : Sonictrashelectronicasmith" (Birthbiter) 1999.

14: Hyware : "Hypercieve" (Kringloop Kassettes) 2025.

15: Duncan Harrison : "Guardian Dreams" (Adhuman) 2025.

16: Modelbau : "Superimproved" (Grisaille) 2025.

17: Rainier Lericolais : "Fügung Und Niedergang" (Geräuschmanufaktur) 2014.

18: Altar Of Flies : "A Lifetime. Life. Time" (Satatuhatta) 2025.

19: Baudouin De Jaer : "Assiisen = Des = Mittels = Landes" (Sub Rosa) 2011.

20: Organum : "HORII" (L.A.Y.L.A.H. Antirecords) 1986.

21: Dale Cornish : "Bring Out Your Dead" (The Death Of Rave) 2025.

22: Sirpa Kalla : "Oodi Variksille" (Hyster Tapes) 2025.

23: Kevin Hewick : "Haystack" (Les Disques Du Crépuscule) 1980.

24: Secret Cinema : "Under My Skin" (Carnifex Recordings) 1987.

25: Soloman Tump : "Roamer" (Intrusive Signals) 2025.

26: Throbbing Gristle : "Weeping".

The broadcast has been archived on MixCloud, split in to two for easier aural digestion. Part Two starts with The New Blockaders ... 

Part One: https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-26-october-2025-part-one/

Part Two: https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-26-october-2025-part-two/

The New Blockaders track was kindly sent by Richard Rupenus and broadcast with his permission. Last broadcast featured tracks from compilation albums. The Kevin Hewick track is from the cassette "From Brussels With Love" and the Secret Cinema track is from the unreleased compilation CDR of Carnifex Recordings projects. Secret Cinema was the project of Gary Warmington. Gary, myself and Andy (Wright) were Rise, also a Carnifex Recordings project. I know Throbbing Gristle were not a solo project. On the "D.o.A. Third And Final Report" album each member has a solo piece and "Weeping"is a solo piece by Genesis P-Orridge.  

As always, thanks to Chris and Tamsin and a Huge thanks to Andrew. Next MuhMur Radio is on November 23. 

                                                              Soloman Tump & Chris.

                                                                       Table Of Elements.

                                                                     Live in the Studio.

              

The MuhMur Radio Soloman Tump interview ..

First of all, I would love to know about the music you listened to in your teenage years .

 My parents listened to a lot of Rod Stewart so I absorbed a lot of his work at an early age. And then some Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell I (and to a lesser extent II), which i've since introduced my kids to. I grew up in a little town called Carterton in Oxfordshire, which did have Ginger Records store for a while, selling mainly rock and classical tapes and CDs. The tiny studio upstairs was where John Peel filmed some of his Sounds of the Suburbs Oxford edition, interviewing Lab 4 up there. I would go in and buy tape then CD singles on a regular basis with my pocket money. I suppose we are talking early to mid 90s, and I was a Blur fan (still don't like Oasis). I think my first exposure to rave / jungle would have been 1995 with the CD single of Shaggy's Boombastic, the fantastic Firefox & 4-Tree Bassboom Remix which I just listened to again and it's kinda fun. But I quickly strayed from the mainstream sounds and Ginger Records didn't get too much of my money after that, maybe just to buy the new Prodigy or Chemical Brothers singles when they came out. I would stay up late to listen to John Peel like all the cool kids did, taping some of the sessions (such as Kemistry & Storm which I've still got on C60, it's on youtube if you want to hear a proper masterclass in decent drum and bass). Music has never really been a deal with my family, so I've grown up as an outsider in that respect. We never went to live concerts or anything. I remember having a sleepover at a friends house in Lechlade and his older brother came back about 9 in the morning clutching a bottle of water and looking very happy with himself. It didn't take me too long after that to discover what rave music was but I was always just a little bit too young to get into it. Some of the old tape packs with the likes of DJ Hype, Ellis Dee, great stuff. I somehow managed to persuade my parents to get me some belt drive beginner dj turntables and a mixer for my 17th birthday, and would then often visit the iconic Massive Records in Oxford. It was always a great place to hang out in and become fascinated by electronic music culture, even though I was still (officially) too young to go to clubs / raves. Of course HMV around the corner was cheaper if you knew what you were looking for, and there was also AVID Records with the basement full of 2nd hand dance tunes. All 3 shops have gone now unfortunately. Oxford was somehow great for buying electronic music, but never really had a great club. All the music venues played indie rock bands (and mostly still do to be honest). 

  What were the influences / reasons to start making a noise, the inspiration to make SoundArt as were.

 I got deep into clubbing when I went to uni in the year 2000, using and abusing my new found freedom away from home. GodsKitchen in Birmingham was the place to go on a Friday night, lapping up the big sounds of trance and progressive house which had sort of taken over where the rave scene had been killed off by the criminal justice bill. Suddenly it was big money, and I (and my mates) were the target audience. As well as trips to paSSion in Coalville, Gatecrasher in Sheffield, we would travel all over, have amazing weekends, met some great people (many of whom i'm still friends with now, and we still do occasionally head back to those big club rooms). After that honeymoon period of uni I soon tired of the "big" sounds and started diving into techno and abstract forms of electronic music, seeking out smaller venues with less lighting and more esoteric sounds. I suppose listening to noise and dark electronics came about as a way to counteract all the positivity of the big club music that my well meaning mates kept dragging me along to. So I was late to noise as a genre, but it had figured in the fringes of my listening for a while. I discovered Autechre back in 2003 with the release of the Draft 7.30 album which was the recommended electronic album of the week in HMV Coventry. It probably took me about 6 months to begin to understand what it was all about - so different and alien from everything else I had been listening to at the time, but I soon began to realise how important that record would become. And thus this led me down deeper and weirder paths. Diving into anything I could find on Rephlex, Planet Mu, Warp, Blueprint. Buying online stuff from Boomkat and Bleep. Then later when I started making zines around 2017, I discovered other niche distributors and labels like Tordon Ljud, OutsiderArt and White Centipede Noise. I think the first actual "noise" album I bought was the 2016 album by Wince called "Traum" on Freak Animal. 

 Where did the moniker Soloman Tump come from.

 A drive in the country heading west on the A40...you'll find a signpost towards the hamlet of 'Solomon's Tump'... it's maybe at most a couple of farms and cottages in the middle of the Gloucestershire countryside. The remoteness of the place and the name stuck with me as I started recording my own electronic sounds. I bastardized the name slightly as I was a "solo man" doing lonely dismal sounds. I think the Memowrekz album by Ekoplekz was a huge inspiration for me in terms of the lo-fi noisy sounds that I wanted to try and create. In the early days of Soloman Tump it started with plugging a couple of pedals into my DJ mixer; I had a Boss loop pedal and a noise generator synth. So I could sample and loop short snippets of records and layer them with square waves or white noise blasts. All very silly but fun experiments. Then I would loop and layer the run-out groove of records. I don't think many of those recordings still exist. 

This is a little convoluted but when Dieter Müh was becoming recognised (30+ years ago) a question that was often asked was 'what is the U.K. scene like?' . It was as if UK sound-artists and noise-makers knew each. We were all part of one big club, which back then was quite untrue. But times have changed. Along comes the Internet, file sharing, things like MySpace (R.I.P) and Bandcamp. Small compact & bijou live sound events etc. You have collaborated with other artists, so, What is the U.K. scene like. 

The whole covid/lockdown thing was a huge creative period for me - whilst I was still fortunate enough to still be working and earning, I had more "spare" time in which I could create. So yes, this is when I started making zines and collaborating. Theo (Territorial Gobbing) ran some online events under the Heinous Whining name which were pretty much essential for tuning in and seeing a bunch of artists from all over the UK come along and do their stuff. Really informative times, and I got chatting with loads of different folks via there, many whom I went on to meet at events like Supernormal Festival or shows about the place. The likes of Blackcloudsummoner, Luxury Mollusc, Knifedoutofexistence.... Heinous Whining also featured the first "live" performance by Soloman Tump, I recorded a video performance which I then edited over with some glitchy filters and stuff. It was fun. Then I performed on other virtual live "noise fests" across the globe that were looking for artists - such as Nim Brut, Wonder Valley Experimental. Hugely prolific times for anyone who was looking to contribute creatively and I do kinda miss it in a way. In terms of collaborations I worked with Lee Riley, a great guitarist from Oxford who I met through an ongoing monthly show called Gappy Tooth Industries. I say Guitarist but he plays it in such a way (with effects) that it's really unlike anything else. Drone wizard, and a great guy. The modern virtual world allows for easy international collaboration too, so I had a one-off project called Clarvont where myself and an artist called Stonejaw from Connecticut (https://clairvont.bandcamp.com/album/the-first) did a faux-psychic "clarvoyant" recording just from a few prompts, each providing 2 tracks of the same length that we just layered over each other. The only bit of mastering I did was adjusting some levels when sounds clashed. Worked surprisingly well to be honest and i'm still impressed at the outcome, a shame we never did part 2. Have I even answered the question? I guess the UK "scene" is still pretty much fragmented but there are great pockets of stuff going on in different towns. Bristol and Leeds seem to be powerhouses in the New Weird Britain sound as the Quietus call it. If I want a big day out of live music it's often far and between in Devon as you know... Bristol always delivers on that front. So yes, the internet (bandcamp / instagram) help to a certain degree with connecting people, but you really cannot beat turning up at a dingy venue somewhere, paying a few quid to get in, and having your ears blasted whilst sipping a random pint of lager.

Has moving down here to Devon changed the outlook / direction of Soloman Tump. A lot of your recordings are made on Dartmoor. 

 I've always been inspired by trying to blend industry with nature; rhythm with noise. Taking my roots of techno music and 4/4 beats and sort of mashing them with the experimental noise of recent years, incorporating field recordings and found sound samples where possible. My first "proper" release was in 2018 via netlabel The Dark Thursday, when I still lived in Oxfordshire. Most of my work since with DIY physical releases were self released, save a few tapes for other labels. I don't think moving to Devon has changed the sound of Soloman Tump more cementing the ideas that I had started with. Grim's Ditch was my first DIY EP on 3" CDr, a great medium that I want to release more of (i've still got a load of them sat in the cupboard ready to burn up). The EP was about the folklore legend surrounding these bronze age ditches, possibly furroughed out by the devil himself. Dartmoor is dripping with dark folklore and i've attempted to convey some of it with my dismal electronics. 

  You also produce a magazine called 'Intrusive Signals'. Is this an ongoing project.

 Zines were a great way to get into the scene and meet folk, both virtually and in real life. I started with a zine called Snare Rush which ran for 7 issues from July 2016, producing a couple a year. These were slightly more electronic / fun focused with interviews, crosswords, art, reviews, silly stuff. Loved it. Then a short gap as life got in the way, before I started Intrusive Signals which only ran for 3 issues from 2021 - 2022. It was slightly more "serious" in tone, taking in more noise / experimental music, drawing inspiration from the mighty Noise Receptor Journal. Zines were great for trading and I acquired a great collection of zines from all over the world for a good few years. I probably traded as many as I sold. The process led me to interviewing some real inspirations of mine, including the aforementioned Ekoplekz and Knifedoutofexistance, Qebrus (rip), Himukalt (recently reprinted in the Sex Works book) and Isnt'ses, amongst many others and including Dieter Muh! Interviewing was the bit that I enjoyed the most. I've been sat on Issue 4 of Intrusive Signals for a while now, never quite finding the right time or motivation to dive deep into it again. I've just not had the mental capacity to sit down and give it the attention it deserves. Recently I've had these internal barriers that stop me from sitting down and "getting creative". I get guilty, like I should be doing some "more constructive". I've found it harder to make music because of this reason too (although this is mainly why Soloman Tump has remained a "hardware" project - as little computer time involved as possible please!). Hopefully i'll get over it soon. Maybe I need the chance of an interview that I cannot possibly turn down! The other thing is that my new day-job contains way more screen time than my previous job, so I tend to spend a lot less time on my phone/laptop in the evenings. I've lost touch with some people, and find less time for the music research that goes into making the zine. But I do hope to return to it at some point, it was very good for my mental health. 

  Can you tell me about your radio programme 'The Tump Clump'. 

 Amassing a great music collection over a couple of decades, it's only right that I get to play some out to people and hopefully there might be a few people out there that like it. The Tump Clump also started as a lockdown project, in 2021, and Chris @ SoundArt was very responsive to me having a show as long as there was no swearing. Brilliant, I can do that. And for the slightly socially nervous me, recording it at home in advance works very well so I can edit out my mistakes. Although thankfully there have been less over time, I could probably do a live show now given the opportunity. The original artwork was drawn up by Blackcloudsummoner, which led to us working on and releasing a split tape a few months later. Each month I slightly altered the original art (different colour filters, moving things slightly, I hope they didn't mind). I know of a few people around the world who listen in each month, but it's mainly nice to know that someone might accidentally tune in whilst driving down the A38 on their way to Cornwall for a family holiday. The Tump Clump is really a melting pot of all the different sounds that I listen to. Be it techno, drone,electronic, noise, soundart, ambient, anything considered weird really. I try not to make it just a noise show or just an hour of drone. There is usually a conscious effort to mix up the sounds and play contrasting stuff adjacent to each other because that's fun. I recorded one show from a forest on Dartmoor. A couple of shows were all from bands I heard at Supernormal the week before. Some were full of exclusives or live tracks sent in by friends of the show. And so this is a reflection on the sounds that I release as Soloman Tump - I can't fully shake the thumping rhythm of a dark dancefloor, even if i'm ankle deep in mud on the moor, clutching my tascam.

The recording of Soloman Tump live on MuhMur Radio 26 October 2025 can be found here : https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/soloman-tump-live-ritual-26-oktober-2025/

 

MuhMur Radio Broadcast #285 : 28 September 2025.

 

The 'Various Artists' releases, filed under 'Compilations' at the local record shop. The compilation has always been a favourite of mine. In my youth (the 1960s) there was always music in the house. We did not have a record player but the radio was on all the time. The BBC Light Programme that was later to become BBC Radio 1, Radio Luxembourg (Fab 208) and Radio Caroline. A continual compilation of music. The chart topping pop programme 'Top Of The Pops' was essential family viewing on a Thursday night. The Top 40 chart rundown on a Sunday evening with Alan Freeman meant it was bath time .. anyway, I am just trying to figure out why I like the compilation albums / singles so much. I do know people who don't like them at all, too varied  and not enough time to get in to what's being played etc. I know people who don't like 'Live' albums either, I wasn't there, so what's the point of listening to it? You know these people .. fools. 

Christmas 1969 and we moved house. A house-warming present from the grandparents was a radiogram. I can't remember if it was stereo or mono .. but it was big, chunky and loud. It came with a few of my grandparents old records too .. I remember being given the Gene Vincent single "Pistol Packin' Mamma" and some Thunderbirds (The Puppets) 7" singles. This meant pocket-money was now spent at Woolworths and/or Boots The Chemist record counter. I used to go for the 'Top Of The Pops' compilation albums. A selection of recent chart toppers performed by session musicians, not the real artists, but session musicians and the BBC  Pop Orchestra. I imagine it was something to do with copyright but my ten year old ears couldn't tell the difference and indeed, did not care. Besides the covers of all 'Top Of The Pops' albums came with a glamour model proactively posing on the front sleeve. Win Win.

                            Please let it be known that I had this album in my collection (1973).

                           

Another selling factor for the 'Top Of The Pops' albums was that they were cheap. Cheaper than your average album. I don't remember much about compilation albums in the mid 1970s. I know that Charisma Records and Virgin Records released label samplers, but I think they were full price and who wants to listen to Henry Cow, Van Der Graff Generator, Capability Brown, Genesis and Hatfield And The North tracks when there's a whole lotta Black Sabbath and Deep Purple to listen to for the same price .. I remember in the 1980s my friend Tim having the compilation album "The Age Of Atlantic", he bought it cheap just so he could use it as a rolling mat. Never played it. Then there were the compilation albums you could get by collecting vouchers in Record Mirror and Sounds magazines. They can't have been very good as I never collected the vouchers. 

1977 / 1978 and I was brought back into the world of the compilation. The various artists albums ... and singles. The rise of the independent, the surge of the New Wave, and discovering John Peel's radio show on Radio 1. I taped each programme and then edited the broadcast to the tracks I like best and stuck them on a separate cassette, it was like compiling my own compilation album. The John Peel Sessions were on a separate C90 naturally. I still have a couple of those C90 cassettes with John Peel Sessions and play them often, there is a great JPS compilation double CD called "Movement : BBC Radio 1 Peel Sessions 1977-1979" released by BBC/EMI in 2011. Recommended. I bought the "Streets" and "Business Unusual" compilations when they came out. Mainly a collection of singles released by independent albums from 1977 - 1978. There was a "Business Unusual" tour in 1978, it came to Lincoln. UK Subs, The Outsiders and Skunks played AJ's. One of my favourite gigs of '78. There were also Rough Trade Records tours, some visited Lincoln, Robert Rental & The Normal, Essential Logic & Stiff Little Fingers being the most memorable. Spizz Energi, Kleenex and The Raincoats was a good one too. 

What then followed was a slew, a plethora of compilation albums, cassettes and singles highlighting various independent label releases, various live venues, cities, towns and regions. 

Here's a few examples ... 

"Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival" released in 1978 by Albion / Warner Brothers Records was recorded live at the North London venue. It features bands such as XTC, The Stranglers, Suburban Studs, Burlesque, The Saints and Steel Pulse amongst others. "Can You Hear Me? Music From The Deaf Club" was released in 1980 on the Optional Music label. All bands recorded live at The Deaf Club in San Francisco, USA. It features bands such as Dead Kennedys, Tuxedo Moon, Offs and Mutants amongst others. 

"Hicks from The Sticks" is an essential compilation album to have. It featured bands from the North of England. Bands such as Airkraft, Section 25, Radio 5, Clock DVA, Modern Eon, Ada Wilson & The Keeping Dark and Music For Pleasure amongst others. Released in April 1980 on the Rockburgh Records label this album introduced me to so many new bands. An album I did not know existed "Heat From The Street" subtitled "The Sequel To Hicks From The Sticks" was released by Charisma Records in 1981. I found this album in Croc Records, Toulouse a couple of years ago. 

'We had a great deal of fun working on 'Hicks from The Sticks' compilation LP which we released through Rockburgh Records last year. The album may have well had its flaws but it was generally well received and seemed to be followed by similar records, most of which were lumped together under the generic heading of Hicks-Like LPs. We had ideas about a follow up compilation even before Hicks was released and we have spent the past few months putting it together. We have widened the catchment area for the bands, deliberately including several from the London area (Paul Brown)'. 

Needless to say, the LP is not anywhere near in quality of sound or interest, but I had to buy it! It features Airkraft, Eyeless In Gaza, Cuban Heels and a queue of wannabes who were never heard of again. 

The compilation album, and 7"EP that was dedicated to a town, city, region (and sometimes country)  always interested me. Lincoln had its' own compilation. "East" features bands from Lincoln and its' surrounds and all the tracks were recorded at The Playground Studios in Wragby, a small town about 8 miles east of Lincoln. If memory serves, the guy that ran the studio also worked part-time at Sanctuary Records (in Lincoln). He was locally known as 'Tramp'. I went to Playground Studios in 1979 to assist Collide on their "Demo Tape". Admittedly "East" has bands from Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, but it was a representation of the Lincoln based label Company Records and Dead Good Records. It was released in 1980 and featured bands such as The Cigarettes, Whizz Kids, Fatal Charm, Half Life and B Movie amongst others (Unfortunately no Collide). There is a band called Vick Sinex & The Nasal Sprays. I have a feeling this was an 'in-house studio band. 

The album has probably one of the worst sleeve artwork I have in my collection, done by Martin Patton of Dead Good Records / X.S. Energy. "Aylesbury Goes Flaccid" is another 'local area' compilation made up of artists from the Buckinghamshire town. I like this LP mainly as it features bands that only appear on this record ... they didn't make a single or cassette, just one track on this album. It does feature Aylesbury giants Vice Creems as well as Wild Willy Barrett and reggae artist The Man Ezeke but what of The Speedos, Clumsy, The Haircuts and Anal Surgeons? I picked this beauty up from Discovery Music 2 in Barnstaple, Devon for a tenner about 20 years ago. If you see it .. buy it! 

A few more local area / towns & cities compilation that are recommended ... "A Manchester Collection" on Object Music. Released in 1979 and featuring Grow-Up, Vibrant Thigh, Mediators and I.Q. Zero amongst others. Compiled to promote the Manchester Musicians Collective. "Bouquet Of Steel" on Aardvark, compiled by Sheffield label boss and promoter Marcus Featherby features bands from in and around Sheffield. Artery, Disease, Comsat Angels, De Tian, Negatives, I'm So Hollow and Shy Tots (Doncaster's finest) are all on there, it comes with a fanzine like booklet too. Great album. "Where The Hell is ... Leicester?" is pretty similar to the 'Aylesbury Goes Flaccid' album as it features a few bands that only appear on this compilation. Bands like The Danceable Solution, Tribal Games, Modern Living and Last Resort, it also has great tracks by Deep Freeze Mice and The Amber Squad. The Amber Squad also released a single on Lincoln label Dead Good Records but didn't make it to "East". "Street To Street - A Liverpool Album" from 1979 is basically that .. with tracks from The ID (a pre-Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark project), Big In Japan, Echo & The Bunnymen, Jaqui & Jeanette and Modern Eon. There is a "Street To Street" Volume 2 album, but I've yet to see a copy.

The label compilation was always a good way to delve in to new sounds. Cherry Red Records put out "Pillows And Prayers" in 1982 suggesting not to pay more than 99p for the album. A year earlier they had released the (less commercial) compilation "Perspectives & Distortion" which was full price. (about £3.99 in those days). 

"The Crap Stops Here" is a great sample of the output of Manchester's Rabid Records. Rabid Records was started in 1976 by the recently departed Tosh Ryan and John Crumpton. The album is a compilation of early singles on the Rabid label and features Slaughter & The Dogs, John Cooper-Clarke, Gyro, Jilted John and The Nosebleeds amongst others. A great sampler for the time. In the mid 1980s I appeared on the compilation album "Songs For The New International" on Recloose Organisation. An album to promote the upcoming 'New International' label featuring Bourbonese Qualk, Muslimgauze, Het Zweet and I.B.F. amongst others. As part of I.B.F. we recorded our track at Recloose Org studios which were then based in New Cross (London). We did record a couple of other tracks whilst down there but we never got to release them, I.B.F. folded in early 1986. 

1982, two years after forming, 4AD Records released the compilation "Natures Mortes - Still Lives" for the Japanese market. Now a highly collectable and essential album. It features Rema-Rema, Sort Sol, Bauhaus, Mass, The The ... all the early 4AD artists, again, a great marker of the time. The 7"EP is an ideal format for the label sampler. There are plenty but a couple of favourites of mine are "1980 : The First Fifteen Minutes" (1979) and "The Soft Volcano Erupts" (1986). 7" Flexi-Disc on Broken Flag Records which originally appeared in the fanzine 'Distant Violins' and features Controlled Bleeding, Nails Ov Christ and Uncommunity amongst others. 

As this is the 13th Anniversary Broadcast (#285) I thought I would share my love of the compilation / various artists releases and dedicate the programme to sounds that are from this genre. Is it a genre? I couldn't think of a better description. 

Also as a rule when I arrive in the studio and dump my pile of records, tapes, CDs on the desk, Chris says "what's the theme Steve" ... so this time I thought I'd have one ... 

The programme is archived on Mixcloud in to 2 digestible parts for easier aural pleasure.

Part I : 

https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-28-september-2025/

Part II : 

https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-28-september-2025-part-two/

Part Two begins with Minny Pops.

 

Playlist.

01: Current 93 : "I'm The One" (Dom) 1985.

      (From the LP "Ohrenschrauben").

02: Za Siódma Górạ : "Odejście Golema" (90% Wasser) 2005.

      (From the CD "Archive I").

03: Cranioclast : "N 43 Breezy Le Ramier" (Kaon) 1997.

      (From the double CD "Régénération - Dégénérescence").

04: Dieter Müh : "Wood Land" (Wholeness Recordings) 2010.

      (From the CDR "Squeezing Being Issue #2").

05: AmPh : "Werken Der Hand" (Release The Bats Records) 2021.

      (From The LP "Sverige").

06: Dusa : "Märkliga Timmar : Nattslut" (Segerhuva) 2008.

      (From The LP "Höga Nord").

07: Cabaret Voltaire : "Raising The Count" (New Musical Express/Rough Tapes) 1981.

      (From the cassette "NME/Rough Trade C81").

08: Johnathan Coleclough & Tim Hill : "Beech" (The Ajna Offensive) 2002.

      (From the 4xCD+Book "Infernal Proteus").

09: Militia : "A Kite Of Glass In A Blood Red Sky" (DPRK) 2008.

      (From the CD "Juche").

10: Richard Jobson : "The Armoury Show" (Les Disques Du Crépuscule) 1980.

      (From the cassette "From Brussels With Love").

11: Kallabris : "No, My Dear, It's Only The Heating" (EE Tapes) 2003.

      (From the CDR "The Walls Are Whispering").

12: No Festival Of Light : "Divide Et Impera Pt. II" (The Releasing Eskimo) 1998.

      (From the 2x7" "Disco-Mortem").

13: Terre Blanche : "Still Brilliant" (New Strength) 1988.

      (From the LP "The Decay Of The Angel (New Strength Recordings International Compilation").

14: Genocide Organ : "Viva La Guerre" (MSBR Records) 2004.

      (From the CD+Magazine "Noise #8").

15: Inade : "Kraak JP.V (A Stitch From Nowhere)" (Stateart) 1997.

      (From the double LP "Natural Order").

16: Homicide Society : "Death Machinery 1" (Stateart) 1997.

      (From the double LP "Natural Order").

17: First Law : "Holy War" (Stateart) 1997.

      (From the double LP "Natural Order").

18: Aaron Dilloway : Untitled" (Hanson Records/Chondritic Sound/RRRecords) 2009.

      (From the 6xLP "Michigan").

19: Himukalt : "Don't Go" (Helen Scarsdale Agency) 2019.

      (From the 10xcassette box "On Corrosion").

20: Minny Pops : "She Said Go Go Go" (Les Temps Modernes) 1985.

      (From the LP "Heures Sans Soleil").

21: Thursdays : "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of A Bay" (Fast Product) 1979.

      (From the 12"EP "Earcom 2").

22: Kutzkelina : "Es Fährt Ein Zug Nach Nirgendwo" (Edizioni Passarotto) 2013.

      (From the 2xcassette "36 Aus 430 Von 30").

23: MNEM : "Genocide Mobile" (Negative Foundation) 1999.

      (From the CDR "Halogen Ball").

24: Frieder Putzmann & Genesis P-Orridge : "Tales Of Death" (90% Wasser) 2001.

      (From the CD "90% Wasser").

25: Tho-So-Aa : "Missing Link" (Neo-Form) 2006.

      (From the CD "Salon Décadence").

26: Dieter Müh : "Let Him To Sleep" (Licht Und Stahl) 2010.

      (From the CD "Stählerne Lichter").

27: Edward Sol : "Thoughts Of Endless" (Sentimental Productions) 2023.

      (From the CD "Tomorrow Is A Big Distance").

28: Ochu : "Förnuftsflimmer" (Styggelse) 2018.

      (From the cassette "Stadsbranden 3").

29: Frans de Waard : "Punch" (Helicopter) 2010.

      (From the CD+Book "Drilling A Hole Through The Sky").

30: Alice Rabbit / Airworld : "De Stijl Est Là" (NPH) 2017.

      (From the cassette "De Stijlphone").

31: Maninkari : "Enstase 1&2" (Drone Records) 2014.

      (From the LP "Drone-Mind // Mind-Drone Volume 3").

32: Marikan Volkov : "Battle Ritual" (Drone Records) 2017.

      (From the LP "Drone-Mind // Mind-Drone Volume 6").

33: Die Form : "Are You Before" (Strut) 2013.

      (From the double CD "Mutazione (Italian Electronic & New Wave Underground 1980-1988").

34: Roma Amor : "Der Treue Hussar" (Old Europa Café) 2008.

      (From the 7xCD Box "The Old Europa Café Box Set").

35: Nurse With Wound : "The Strange Play Of The Mouth" (Vinyl On Demand) 2013.

      (From the 5xLP "Rising From The Red Sand Volumes I-V").

36: I.B.F. : "Ka" (Nihilistic Recordings) 1986.

      (From the double cassette "Wolfsangel").

37: They Must Be Russians : "Glory Of God" (Office Box Records) 1983.

      (From the 7"EP "Four From The Floor").

38: O Yuki Conjugate : "Sedation" (Cherry Red Records) 2016.

      (From the 4xCD "Close To The Noise Floor (Formative UK Electronica 1975-1984").

39: D.A.F. : "Ich Und Die Wirklichkeit" (Fast Product) 1979.

      (From the 2x7"EP "Earcom 3").

40: Art Vs Filth : "The Ostracised Man" (Not On Label) 1989.

      (From the unreleased CDR "Carnifex").

41: Starfuckers : "Dear Prudence" (Bananafish Magazine/Tedium House Publications) 1996.

      (From the CD "Vidas Ilustres").

A couple of notes on the broadcast ... one or maybe two tracks might have been played at the wrong speed. The track by Die Form is by the Italian project that became Tasaday, not the French project operated by Phillippe Fichot.

Art Vs Filth was a short lived project from 1985. It was created for a live performance at Lincoln Music Festival. Members on this studio recording are Dave Uden and myself. The track was to appear on a Carnifex Recordings compilation, a project that was never realised. Tim Bayes kindly remastered the cassette and transferred it to CDR for me. 

Thanks as ever to Chris and Tamsin for being there .. and also to Alice Kemp who popped in to say hello. Always welcome. 

MuhMur Radio Broadcast #284 : 31 August 2025.

 

MuhMur Radio Broadcast #284 kicks off with an 'on this day' release. "Centuries" is from the 1982 Ludus album 'Danger Came Smiling'. This was their third and final album released on the New Hormones label. Ludus were formed by Linder Sterling in Moss-Side, Manchester in 1978. They had many members including Phil Tomanov (later of the Blue Orchids) and 'Dids' (ex Bedlamite and future Pere Ubu drummer). Ludus broke up in 1984. In 2002 LTM re-issued the album with Ludus's second album 'Pickpocket' on CD. https://www.ltmrecordings.com for further details. Another great Manchester group from the same period were Crispy Ambulance. "Sexus" was released in 1984 on Factory Benelux and was the final (studio) release of the first 'period' Crispy Ambulance. Soon afterwards they changed their name to Ram Ram Kino and appeared on the Temple Records label. In 1999 they reformed with a gig at The Band On The Wall in Manchester (with support from Biting Tongues featuring Jah Wobble), I was there ... t'was a great night but I have struggled to get my ears around their reformed sound ... "Sexus" is followed by "Sexus" by Organ Of Corti, the latest project from Joachim Nordwall, Dan Johanson and Mattias Gustafsson. "Sexus" is from their latest album 'Insania' on the US based Philatélie label. It's the second Organ Of Corti LP related this year. https://philatelie.bandcamp.com/music. 

"Sexus" is followed by "Arc Nexus Moon" (getting the theme here?) by 400 Lonely Things. This piece is from the split cassette with Fossil Aerosol Mining Project 'Nigths And Prefecy'. 400 Lonely Things is the solo project of Craig Varian. https://400lonelythings.bandcamp.com for more information, and go to the Helen Scarsdale Agency website https://www.helenscarsdale.com/published/famp-400lt-nigths.htm to find out more about this release. Searching through the MuhMur Radio HQ for anything 'Plexus', I could only find the first Mark Stewart & Maffia album 'Learning To Cope With Cowardice', the copy I have is on the Dutch Plexus label, and that did not seem to go with the flow if you know what I mean? (as the mighty Depressions once asked).

During the summer break I received some sounds from Lesley & Stew at the Perth (Australia) based label Burnt Seed Records. A new label to me, although they do seem to have been actively releasing since the early 2000's. Oderous Bait are a duo from Boorloo (Perth). "Yardtime evolves organically, revealing depth and spatial nuance. The sonic palette is rich and unconventional, offering snarling tomes from the KORG MS-20, rhythmic pulses, and warm analogue washes from the Roland Juno 106 to form the beautifully evolving sonic sculpture. Distortion pedals twist and fracture the audio terrain, while looping techniques multiply and morph motifs into hypnotic cycles. Improvised acoustic percussion adds a raw, human touch to the electronic swirl".

Errorserror is sound artist Jasmine Priest. "Porphyrim is a beautifully crafted longform exploration of abstracted rhythm. A work that invites listeners into a shifting soundscape where awareness flickers as guitar textures emerge and recede beneath hand driven metallic edged strokes to create a sonic experience that is both haunting and intimate. This track is made of a broken guitar played with a five cent coin, a detuned Casio keyboard and a very old dirty harmonica. All these sounds were captured on tape in a dilapidated house that had more holes punched in the wall than it had windows letting in light. "Porphyrim" is a last surviving artefact, something that shouldn't exist. A sentimental memory that we all have yet refuse to visit".

Lesley of Burnt Seed Records also hosts a radio broadcast available to stream on : https://rtrfm.com.au/shows/difficultlistening/

Discover more about Burnt Seed Records at https://linktr.ee/burntseedrecords.

Staying in Perth, Australia, I dug out Schuster's "The Brutal Arc" lathe-cut 7" on Adeptsound. Schuster (aka Tim Bayes) and I created I.B.F. in the early 1980s (alongside Sean Rorke), and was an early member and later collaborator of Dieter Müh. The single is a limited edition of 50 and is avaialble in the UK through Cold Spring Records. https://coldspring.co.uk.                                                

Grodock is the solo project of David Leutkart. David also operates the Grubenwehr Freiburg label. The two pieces here are from the CD 'Gesammelte Hintergründe', a collection of electro-acoustic recordings recorded between 2013 and 2023. Grodock/David can be contacted through his Bandcamp page at : https://grubenwehrfreiburg.bandcamp.com/merch. 'Gesammelte Hintergründe' is released by Krater Recordings. https://krater.audiophob.de.

Frans de Waard's Kringloop Kassettes project releases in batches. All recorded on to recycled cassettes (a la Hyster Tapes, Vacancy Records and RRRecycled) the latest batch includes Hyware, Jeans Beast, Nÿland, Bertin and Coagulant. 

Coagulant is the project of Fabio Kubic. Coagulant began in the 1990s and in 2000 self released the CDR 'Free Noise And Loop Liberations'. Since then Coagulant has released on labels such as L. White Records, Antenna Non Grata, Veinte 33 Records and Rizosfera. I was going to play the latest Coagulant album 'Spatial Emission Places', it's a 74 minute piece and unfortunately couldn't be fitted in to this broadcast, but it's a magnificent piece and I will play it! https://coagulant.bandcamp.com. All releases on Kringloop Kassettes can be found here : https://kringloopkassettes.bandcamp.com. I'm looking forward to the next batch. 

Sticking with releases that are on labels that begin with the letter "K", the latest Creep Of Paris album is on the Krim Kram label. Krim Kram is based in Cork, Ireland and over the past three years has been putting out essential sounds from Smegma, Rick Potts, Arv & Miljö, Kapotte Muziek, Usurper and now 'Virgin Brood' by Creep Of Paris. C.O.P. (no stranger to MuhMur Radio) is Thomas LaRoche, who I first met many years ago when we were both drummers for Vagina Dentata Organ. Thomas also operates the label Research Laboratories who last year released a cassette of Aum Shinrikyo speeches, sermons and chants and the CDR 'Wine And Cheese' by Rubber Demon. I think Rubber Demon is another one of Thomas' aliases (alongside Poultry Breeders Union, Eudocimus Ruber and Generic White Male) alongside  Maureen from Teignmouth Electron. (I could be wrong though ... I usually am). 

Krim Kram can be found at https://www.krimkram.com and Thomas can be contacted via Research Laboratories at https://researchlaboratories.bandcamp.com/music. In the last broadcast on July 6th I played some O Yuki Conjugate and talked about their beginnings, I had a great conversation with Nick Cope from O Yuki Conjugate and Jonathan Tait from Metamorphosis about the early days of both groups / projects, which had me dig out my Metamorphosis records .. "Fire Gates" first appeared on the compilation cassette 'Rising From The Red Sand Volume 1/Volume 2" on Third Mind Records in 1983. Thirty years later Vinyl On Demand released the five LP box set 'Rising From The Red Sand Volimes I-V'. 

Filed under field recordings, spoken word, occult is the compilation CD "Spectra Ex Machina : A Sound Anthology Of Occult Phenomena 1920-2017 Volume I". Featuring recordings of seances, mediums and poltergeists "Annelise Michel's Exorcism Ritual By Father Arnold Renz (Klingenberg, Germany, 1976)" is also on the CD. I remember film of this exorcism being on BBC TV at the time, it would have been on some news magazine type programme ... it also influenced the track "Annalisa" by Public Image Limited. The song features on their debut album. 'Spectra Ex Machina' is on the Belgian label Sub Rosa. Go to https://subrosalabel.bandcamp.com/music for more details.

During the summer break I have been reading some great publications including Nicolas Ballet's "Shock Factory", Ester Kärkkäinen's "Sex Works" and a couple of issues of Untitled magazine, a magazine published by Chris Gibson of Buried In Slag And Debris. Issue #10 features an article by William A. Davison on early days of cassette labels in Canada. William A. Davison is part of the sound project Six Heads. "Smaller, Larger, Lighter (Incantation Of The Naugahyde Witch)" is from the LP 'Cardboard Oracle" released in 2011 on the Wintage Records & Tapes label. 

                                                                   "Cardboard Oracle".

Also in Isue #10 is an in depth interview with Jonas Torstensen. Jonas is from Odense in Denmark. Jonas also records and releases under the names Franking, Eva and Franciska. Franciska has released some great albums on Discreet Music, Joy De Vivre and Förfall labels recently. Jonas also operates the label Pladeseiskabet Pladesselvskab. Copies of Untitled (#9 features a great interview with Relay For Death and artwork from Small Cruel Party) can be found at https://buriedinslaganddebris.bigcartel.com. The Jonas Torstensen piece here is from the cassette "Arvesynd" on Edinburgh based label Molt Fluid. Available here : https://moltfluid.bandcamp.com/album/arvesynd. 

Secret Science are Max Kuiper and Jacob DeRaadt. 

Last year Fletina released the album 'Serrof' on the Unfathomless label. Sounds constructed from the time working in a swimming pool, Fletina's new album 'Environments & Mechanisms" is built from sounds of what I would describe as white goods. Washing machine, electric oven, ground floor elevator (probably not white goods, but you get my gist) and printer. Released by the Bulgarian Mahorka label. 

Copies are available from https://mahorka.bandcamp.com. Fletina at : https://fletina.bandcamp.com. The project reminded me of the time when Dieter Müh released an album where most of the sounds were culled from machinery, office machinery and factory machinery. In 1999 Dieter Müh released the album "Eponymous" on the French label Naninani Recordings, it was a planned cassette release but finally came out on CDR format. In 2017 Ukranian label Sentimental Productions remastered the recordings and put it out as a vinyl LP. "E Coli Tsar" is built from the sounds of a printer. I was going to play another track from the "Eponymous" album and then .. "A Lifetime" the latest album by Altar Of Flies landed on the MuhMur Radio HQ doormat. I bumped my own stuff! Altar Of Flies are a MuhMur Radio favourite and friend of the programme. 

"A Lifetime" is a double CD on the Satatuhatta label. https://altarofflies.bandcamp.com. 

A few weeks ago I discovered the sound of Dolores Mondo Stash on the David Warmbier's excellent radio show 'Institute Of Spectra Sonic Sounds" and just had to here more ... Dolores Mondo Stash is the project of Romanian sound artist Dan Tecucianu and has been active since 2017. The two pieces here are from his latest album "Dirt Collected Reminiscences, Like Rivers Of Molasses" on the UK Cruel Nature Records label. Like the first time I heard David Walraff and Himukalt ... I want to hear more ... The cassette is available from https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/dirt-collected-reminiscences-like-rivers-of-molasses and listen to : https://www.mixcloud.com/spectrasonicsound/. 

The broadcast ends on the classic "Christine Keeler' by The Glaxo Babies ... released on this day in 1979.

The broadcast has been archived in to two parts for easier aural digestion (part two begins with Aum Shinrikyo). 

Part One:

https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-31-august-2025-part-one/

Part Two:

https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-31-august-2025-part-two/

Playlist:

01: Ludus : "Centuries" (New Hormones) 1982.

02: Crispy Ambulance : "Sexus" (Factory Benelux) 1984.

03: Organ Of Corti : "Sexus" (Philatélie) 2025.

04: 400 Lonely Things : "Arc Nexus Moon" (Helen Scarsdale Agency) 2020.

05: Oderous Bait : "Yardtime" (Burnt Seed Records) 2025.

06: Errorserror : "Porphyrim" (Burnt Seed Records) 2025.

07: Schuster : "The Brutal Arc (Adeptsound) 2008.

08: Grodock : "Hab Acht" (Krater Recordings) 2024.

09: Grodock : "Das Halbe Abwesen" (Krater Recordings) 2024.

10: Coagulant : "At Forms" (Kringloop Kassettes) 2025.

11: Creep Of Paris : "Dehydrator As Economic God" (Krim Kram) 2025.

12: Aum Shinrikyo : "Unknown Title" (Research Laboratories) 2024.

13: Rubber Demon : "Wine And Cheese (Communication III)" (Research Laboratories) 2024.

14: Creep Of Paris : "In Fear Of A New Queen" (Krim Kram) 2025.

15: The Fall : "Underground Medicin" (Step-Forward Records) 1979.

16: Metamorphosis : "Fire Gates" (Vinyl On Demand) 2013.

17: Annelise Michel : "Exorcism Ritual" (Sub Rosa) 2024.

18: Public Image Limited : "Annalisa" (Virgin Records) 1978.

19: Ludus : "Redress" (New Hormones) 1982.

20: Six Heads : "Smaller, Larger, Lighter (Incantation Of The Naugahyde Witch)" (Wintage Records & Tapes) 2011.

21: Jonas Torstensen : "Anspændte Forventninger" (Molt Fluid) 2025.

22: Secret Science : "Cycle 4" (Basement Tapes) 2021.

23: Fletina : "Back Room/Printer" (Mahorka) 2025.

24: Dieter Müh : "E Coli Tsar" (Sentimental Productions) 2017.

25: Altar Of Flies : "The Last Capitalist We Hang Shall Be The One That Sold Us The Rope" (Satatuhatta) 2025.

26: Dolores Mondo Stash : "Fabrica Fantasma" (Cruel Nature Records) 2025.

27: Dolores Mondo Stash : "To The Wildlife Left Orphan By The Fire" (Cruel Nature Records) 2025.

28: Glaxo Babies : "Christine Keeler" (Heartbeat Records) 1979.

Huge thanks, as always to Chris for being there and Tamsin for the support ... beers and transport.

                                                  Tamsin & Chris grooving to the sounds.

A slight technical hitch meant that this broadcast could not be live streamed, the Internet seems to be down on the Dartington Hall Estate. I am sorry for those that tuned in and realised that I wasn't starting the programme with John Cage's 4'33 ... MuhMur Radio is back on September 28th. 18:00 GMT, I have a plan to play tracks from compilation (various artists) releases ...