MuhMur Radio Broadcast 23 November 2017.

Quite a few 2017 new releases played on tonights broadcast. November has been a great month for new sounds from the likes of BºTong, Thorsten Soltau, Contrastate, Neutral, Arkhe, Aaron Dilloway and Sfår.
The broadcast starts with a piece from Edgar Kerval. "Transjuggotian Transmission" is from the split cassette with Michael Idehall which came out earlier this year. I know very little about Edgar, but research finds that he is a Columbian occultist and author who has a few 'musical' projects such as Emme Ya, The Red Angle, The Red Path, Lux Astralis and NOX 210 to name a few ... This piece has the sound of signals from space, deep, dark space and fits in well with the following BºTong tracks. It was rather excellent listening to the start of the broadcast in an unlit studio looking out in to the dark night with the lights of Berry Pomeroy and further distant Dartmoor villages shimmering on the horizon.

                                                                   Edgar Kerval.

The Thorsten Soltau track is from a limited edition 7.5" square lathe cut single called "DeStijnation". Released on the Russian Cyland Audio Archive label. Cyland specialise in limited lathe cuts, an interesting project that can be found at : http://cyland.org/lab/ (copy & paste).
In October (last month) German label Tesco Organisation held a 30th Anniversary weekend featuring projects that have had (or are going to have) Tesco Org releases. Naturally a plethora of releases came out that were only available on the weekend or were released especially for the event. The album "Your Reality Is Broken" was released at the event by Black Rose Recordings ... home of Contrastate. "Your Reality Is Broken" is an album of Contrastate 'covers' featuring Band Of Pain, Troum, Genocide Organ, RLW, Ȇtat D'Urgence and Contrastate (covering themselves).

                                              Contrastate Live At Tesco Org. Anni. 2017.

Next March sees a very special event happening in Belper, Derbyshire. The Kunst Gallery (KGB) is holding an exhibition by Anita Varney. Anita took photographs of the Throbbing Gristle concert at the Ajanta Cinema in Derby 1979 and has unearthed a collection of unseen documentation of the evening. The opening evening will see accompanying live performances from Dark Union (Glenn M. Wallis) and Vagina Dentata Organ along with a talk and discussion with cult author Jack Sergeant.

                                                                       Event Poster.

"Chat Up" is a live improvisation by Throbbing Gristle recording live in Derby, it comes from the 2x12" "Thee Psychick Sacrifice" a posthumous 1982 release. MuhMur Radio will be at the KGB event.
A couple of weeks ago my eight year old daughter (Isabel) performed a puppet show to gain her 'entertainer' badge at Brownies and ever since the Blurt song "Puppeteer" has become an earworm. "Puppeteers of the world unite! Don't make love make war, fight the good fight". Classic! And for the "On This Day" section, Simple Minds. Their second album "Real To Real Cacophony" was released on 23rd November 1979 by Virgin Records. Probably their last decent release. Also on this day The Cortinas released their "Defiant Pose" single (1977) and Poison Girls released the album "Chappaquidick Bridge" (1980) but I couldn't find room for tracks in the playlist.

                                                      Isabel (4th from left) "Puppeteer"

Arkhe is the project of Swedish noise musician Andreas Johansson. After a number of cassette releases "Deep In Sleep" is the first Arkhe CD album. I first came across the sound of Andreas in 2008 and his sound as Pestdemon. The name grabbed me straight away, I had to hear what Pestdemon sounded like! (The same could be said for Trepeneringsritualen ... a bloody good name that demands to be heard). "Deep In Sleep" is available on the Lithuanian Terror label. http://www.terror.lt

Please take a listen to the broadcast here : (Copy & Paste) :
https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-soundart-radio-broadcast-23-november-2017/

Playlist.
01: Edgar Kerval : "Transjuggotian Transmission" (Black Horizons) 2017.
02: BºTong : "W95/Abyssus" (Reverse Alignment) 2017.
03: BºTong : "Hybris  - MM" (Reverse Alignment) 2017.
04: Sfår : "Ur Sprickorna/Ett Halvt Liv" (Järtecknet) 2017.
05: Thorsten Soltau : "Dance Of The Formants" (Cyland Audio Archive) 2017.
06: Contrastate : "The People Who Control The Information" (Black Rose Recordings) 2017.
07: Blurt : "Puppeteer" (Factory Records) 1980.
08: Neutral : "Köldgatan" (Omlott) 2017.
09: Aaron Dilloway : "Switch 11/12" (Cejero) 2017.
10: Throbbing Gristle : "Chat Up" (Illumination Records/Karnage Records) 1982.
11: BºTong : "O.T.O. (Ode To Oblivion)" (Hots) 2017.
12: Simple Minds : "Factory" (Virgin Records) 1979.
13: Kristian Olsson : "Adieu" (Styggelse) 2017.
14: Arkhe : "The Wraith At The Bottom Of The Stairwell" (Terror) 2017.
15: Arkhe : "Black Doors And Red Doors" (Terror) 2017.

The next broadcast will be on December 7. Uncertain as to the playlist at the moment as it will be broadcast a few hours before my 55th Birthday. Dave Mutch (the guy that makes this programme happen) says I should play stuff he doesn't like! My only chance to get away with it ... we shall see.

MuhMur Radio Broadcast 9 November 2017.

A very very quiet start to this broadcast. The opening from Side Two of Sophie Cooper's new cassette release on Crow Versus Crow. The full title is "Tribute To La Monte Young And Marian Zazeela's OCEANS (Recorded On Location At Cusenden Beach, Northern Ireland)", but I just shortened it to "Oceans". It's a wonderful piece and my thoughts on the cassette were blogged last month.
A return to the (ir)regular feature On This Day brought out my old Scritti Politti vinyl. "4 A Sides" 12" was released in 1979. Perhaps the last decent release, and in the same year the Stranglers released their Christmas single "Don't Bring Harry". I wasn't too fond of Fad Gadget's second album when it was released in 1981, but older ears have made "Incontinent" a great listen. "Saturday Night Special" was the single from the album. Dave (Mutch) who was sat next to me at the time (in his Big City Orchestra T-Shirt) remarked that it sounded like The Cardiacs.

                                                          Dave in his BCO T-Shirt.

Theme are the duo Stuart Carter and Richo Johnson. Created at the end of the last century as Splintered ....... splintered, Richo joined ex Heroin member Stuart to make Theme a project that explored drones, textures and loops. Breaking away from the alt.rock styles of their previous projects.  "Sacral Blood Warning" is the title piece from their forthcoming album.
The two pieces from Anemone Tube are from the new triple CD package "The Three Worlds: Allegory Of Vanity / Forget Heaven / Vanity Of Allegory" on The Epicurean / La Esencia label. It's a kind of 'career span' release featuring pieces from 1996 - 2013.

More Zos-Kia. Last programme I played "Be Like Me", probably my favourite of all Zos-Kia tracks, this programme features the main reason why I bought "23" the new compilation of Zos-Kia songs on the Russian Infinite Fog Productions label. "Muggy The Staff" originally appeared on the compilation LP "Stator" released by the French label In9. The double CD also features recent recordings made by Zos-Kia of which "Sleazy Said" is one ...
The programme finishes on Navel. Last week a parcel with two vinyl 12"records by Navel arrived at Hartop Towers. "Ambient 1:Music For Spaceports" and "Alexeij". I have no idea who mailed these records to me. No note was attached or return address on the mailer. Who ever you are ... thank you. "Music For Spaceports" is a great 12" "Alexeij" is a little too guitar orientated for my ears, but has been an interesting listen.
Please take a listen here : (Copy & Paste).
https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-soundart-radio-09112017/

Playlist:
01: Sophie Cooper : "Oceans" (Crow Versus Crow) 2017.
02: This Heat : "A New Kind Of Water" (This Is) 2006.
03: This Heat : "Suffer Bomb Disease" (This Is) 2006.
04: Scritti Politti : "P.A.s" (Rough Trade Records / St Pancras Records) 1979.
05: The Stranglers : "Don't Bring Harry" (United Artists) 1979.
06: Theme : "Sacral Blood Warning" (Fourth Dimension Records) 2017.
07: Copley Medal : "Teskind" (Prime Ruin) 2015.
08: Anemone Tube : "From Anthropocentrism To Demoncentrism II" (The Epicurean / La Esencia) 2017.
09: Anemone Tube : "Ausweg" (The Epicurean / La Esencia) 2017.
10: Laurent Fairon : "Letterklankbeelden" (NPH) 2017.
11: Fad Gadget : "Saturday Night Special" (Mute Records) 1981.
12: Zos-Kia : "Muggy The Staff" (Infinite Fog Productions) 2017.
13: Zos-Kia : "Sleazy Said" (Infinite Fog Productions) 2017.
14: Modelbau : "20170115-1" (Aubjects) 2017.
15: Stea Andreasson : "Miniatur X" (90% Wasser) 2005.
16: Navel : "Music For Spaceports" (Taping Desk O-Phon Mania) 2009.

A couple of mistakes were mentioned, most importantly that the next broadcast is on November 23 not the 21st. ... well, at least I didn't play anything at the wrong speed.

Sfär

Sfär are comprised of the duo Mattias Gustafsson and Viktor Ottosson. Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, Matthias also records and performs under the moniker of Altar Of Flies. Viktor is also known under the name of Blodvite and has also been part of Swedish projects Enklav (with Neutral's Dan Johansson) and the wonderful Åttestupa.
Viktor is also known for his mastering. He is the masterings master, along with Phil Julian (UK) and Rashad Becker (Germany). Viktor's mastering work can be heard on works by Merzbow, AmPh, Altar Of Flies, Lust For Youth, Trepaneringsritualen, Sewer Election, Arv & Miljö and Àspa (to name just a few from my record and tape collection).

"Sprickor" is an LP on Järtecknet. Sprickor roughly translates as 'Cracks'. The sound on the opening piece "Ur Sprickorna / Etc Halvt Liv" is very close to that of Altar Of Flies with minimalistic tape manipulations, looping and layering and leaving alone. Side one finishes on a couple of tracks that are more like diary entries than finished pieces, murmuring voices through a dictaphone whilst a guitar strums and bees drone. The last few minutes brought to mind Enhet För Fri Musik.
Side two has two pieces. "Omsluten Av Materia" ('Enclosed By Matter') uses the shortwave radio dial to claustrophobic effect whilst "En Horisont Sum Sluter Sig" ('A Horizon That Closes') is all contact microphone manipulation, pulling and scraping until a clear space is found where the wind blows and animals chatter.

I was very excited when I first heard about this project and the sound has not let me down. The sound of the modern Swedish underground.

                                                                   Mattias Gustafsson.

                                                                         Viktor Ottosson.

"Sprickor" is available from the Järtecknet website : http://www.järtecknet.se (Copy + Paste). I bought my copy from the excellent http://www.millstonevinyl.se mail order outfit.
Hopefully not a one-off collaboration.

BºTong

BºTong is Chris Sigdell. 2017 has been a busy year for Chris with the release of four BºTong albums. Two on the Spanish 'Hots' label and two for the Swedish 'Reverse Alignment' label.
I was fortunate  to spend a few days with Chris back in October 2013 when Dieter Müh played a couple of dates with BºTong in Hamburg and Bremen. Travelling from gig to gig, from City to City I learnt that Chris is a big "Sci-Fi" fan, he always had his head in a tome of science fiction.

                                            BºTong soundcheck in Hamburg October 2013.

"The Long Journey" is a CD on Reverse Alignment and is Chris's science-fiction novel, conceived and recorded between 2012 and 2016. "The Long Journey" is a sound from deep space in a similar way that Inade, The Anti Group, Arecibo and Lustmord (on the album "The Place Where The Black Stars Hang") capture the sound of deep space.
"The Long Journey" begins with the boarding of an abandoned spacecraft, wide metallic grey spaces with machinery / technology purring and breathing, travelling through the corridors becomes uncertain, chaotic and claustrophobic. Lost transmissions are floating through time. The pulses and drones of deep space appear and the journey begins with the ominous purring and rasping of reawakening machines all around. A storm breaks into the emergent sound. There's a descension into static, the journey speeds up. Panic transmissions like tribal rhythmic pulsars attempt to communicate. Attempted responses are made as the journey continues.
Around 30 minutes into the album and the sound changes, slows down and becomes very menacing. Sounds are beginning to reverse as the static signals become more distressed and the purring of machinery returns. The storm continues and a bell tolls. A melancholic piano brings the end to the long journey, there is stillness as the stars burst all around. There's a sense of all things coming full circle and we are at the point where the long journey will start again.
Like I mentioned, the album plays like a novel. I have played the album a few times now over the weekend and it always seems to have the same storyline.
It is of extremely high quality, as have all the BºTong releases been over the past couple of years.
Released on the same day as this CD was "Monastic", a full length CD also on the Reverse Alignment label, as far as I can make out the two aren't connected. The Spanish label 'Hots' released a vinyl LP "Fractured" and the end of summer ... I have yet to play that, but, again. I don't believe there's any connection it is just that Chris has been a very busy man of late.

"The Long Journey" is available direct from Reverse Alignment at :
https://reversealignment.bandcamp.com/album/the-long-journey.  (Copy + Paste).

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