Tonights broadcast featured some exclusive noises from Government Alpha. Government Alpha is the solo 'noise' project of Japanese sound artist Yasutoshi Yoshida. Government Alpha began in the early 1990's after Yasutoshi tried to form a 'progressive industrial' band along the lines of Einsturzende Neubauten and Pankow. The band failed to materialise but Yasutoshi met a musician who introduced him to the sound of Whitehouse, Nurse With Wound and Throbbing Gristle and after witnessing a live performance by Incapacitants decided to create a solo noise project. To release his noise Yasutoshi created the Xerxes label and in 1994 put out the cassette "Doze". This was the same time as the Susan Lawley label released the outstanding compilation album "Extreme Music From Japan" which featured two tracks by Government Alpha.
Over the last quarter of a century the sound of Government Alpha has fluctuated between harsh noise, industrial noise, dark ambient and mystique concret and Yasutoshi has collaborated with a host of other projects including Bastard Noise, M:S:B:R, Bruital Orgasme, Expose Your Eyes, Praying For Oblivion and ThirdOrgan to name just a few. One of the most interesting collaborations is with Setsuko "Isabelle" Martin and the project 'S. Isabella'. The broadcast starts with two pieces from their "Pleroma" album and their plundering of material by Bernhard Gunter and M:S:B:R.
On a rainy night in the summer of 1998 Steve Underwood brought Government Alpha (along with M:S:B:R, SSHE Retina Stimulants & Ashtray Navigations) to Nottingham to play at the first Harbinger Soundclash. Dieter Müh were also on the bill. Yasutoshi played a blistering 10 minute or so set where the glasses behind the bar smashed and a chap called Stream Angel tried to dance along ... the set was recorded and Mick McDaid (of Outsider Records) and myself decided to create a CDR label to release Government Alpha. The result being "Breaked Live Wires" on The Mouth Label. (Mouth being a amalgam of MUH & OUT). From that night a four or five year correspondence began with Yasutoshi, he even released a Dieter Müh cassette on his Xerxes label.
In 1999 Harbinger Sound released the lathe cut LP "Drowsey Eclipse". Limited to 25 copies the track "Perfumed Erinyes" is from this album.
Although not released until 2005, the track "The Vulture Gathers The Fear Of..." was also recorded around this time. This track is from the Harbinger Sound 3xLP compilation "...And The Vultures Miss Nothing". This release features the creme de la creme of the industrial / experimental noise scene of the 1990's with the likes of M:S:B:R, Con-Dom, Macronympha, Putrefier, Pain Jerk, Onomatopoeia, Dogliveroil, AMK and Contagious Orgasm to name just a few. Well worth hunting down. The track "Moral Plants" is also from a compilation, the double tape "Krimkall" released by Swedish label Krimljud.
In 2006 Government Alpha appeared on the 8xLP+7" compilation "Viva Negativa! - A Tribute To The New Blockaders". The track "TaNgiBilty" is from this release as are the tracks by Aaron Dilloway and Smell & Quim. Earlier this year I (as Dieter Müh) was asked to play the Bhuton Festival in Pula, Croatia along with Nocturnal Emissions, Ramleh and Government Alpha. Unfortunately the festival has been cancelled due to financial fallouts but it did prompt me to get back in touch with Yasutoshi. No more streams of conscious thought on graph paper from Yasutoshi this time though .. straight forward electronic mail! I invited Government Alpha to provide sounds for the radio and "20141228" is the result. It is a 10 minute unreleased live performance.
More exclusive sounds on tonights programme! Two tracks from the Dutch/UK project Hairs Abyss. Hairs Abyss are comprised of Chandor Gloomy (Cromlech Shadow / Coma Kultur) and Paul Harrison formerly of Expose Your Eyes and Smell & Quim. Paul also used to operate the cassette label Fiend Recordings in the 1990's/early 00's. Hairs Abyss can be found on the net label Coma Kultur. https://comakultur.bandcamp.com alongside recordings by Cromlech Shadow.
I played the Con-Dom track "Rome Song" because it uses sound samples from Expose Your Eyes.
Also in the broadcast : A track from the new album by French industrialists Muckrackers. The album "HFx : Uck" was released last month to celebrate the start of their world tour. Their website is a fantastic place to visit with video clips and sound samples:http://www.muckrackers.org
On this day in 1978 Pork Dukes released their "Telephone Masturbator" single. Back in the day ... I bought Pork Dukes records, their first single was called "Throbbing Gristle" and their sleeves always made me smile. I think they are still playing live! I managed to pick up this single from Chris Sigdell.
Last year Brighton based label Cheap Food Records released the eponymous cassette from Active Denial, a power electronics duo featuring Thomas LaRoche. This year after a few live performances in Brighton and London Active Denial return with the 4 track cassette EP "What Dreams Are Made Of". First edition was on Outsider Art, the second edition (the copy I have) is on Cheap Food Records. It's sound is set in 1980's power electronics evoking the ambiance of Anenzaphalia, Ramleh + Consumer Electronics. Thomas LaRoche also operates the Research Laboratories label, a label that puts out very limited cassette releases and has virtually no internet presence. They have released tapes by Mark Vernon, Duncan Harrison, The New Blockaders, Evil Moisture and Creep Of Paris to name a few .. the latest RL tape from Teignmouth Electron is superb, and hopefully I can put it in to the next broadcast. To get hold of Research laboratories / Cheap Food Records try writing to :
ResearchLaboratories@hotmail.co.uk
Please take a listen : https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-soundart-radio-broadcast-25-april-2019/
Playlist:
01: S. Isabella : "Trace Of Saint (The Sky Is Falling)" (Xerxes) 1998.
02: S. Isabella : "Dire Insomnia (Ideal Siesta)" (Xerxes) 1998.
03: Government Alpha : "The Vulture Gathers The Fear Of ..." (Harbinger Sound) 2005.
04: Contagious Orgasm & Government Alpha : "Background Sound" (SSSM) 2006.
05: Government Alpha & Bruital Orgasme : "Ligne De Pression Sélective" (Rhods Prod) 2013.
06: Muckrackers : "HFx : Uck #1" (LFA) 2019.
07: Hairs Abyss : "Untitled #1" (Not On Label) 2019.
08: Cromlech Shadow : "A Single Hidden Ditch" (Coma Kultur) 2019.
09: Con-Dom : "Rome Song" (Old Europa Cafe) 1998.
10: Bastard Noise/Government Alpha : "A Diabolical Journey" (Small Doses) 2014.
11: Macronympha : "High Velocity Resistance Components" (The Releasing Eskimo) 1998.
12: Government Alpha : "TaNgiBility" (Vinyl On Demand) 2006.
13: Aaron Dilloway : "Machine Rape (Blitzkreig)" (Vinyl On Demand) 2006.
14: Hairs Abyss : "Untitled #2" (Not On Label) 2019.
15: Government Alpha : "Perfumed Erinyes" (Harbinger Sound) 1999.
16: Bastard Noise : "GN-Z11" (Anthems Of The Undesirable) 2018.
17: Government Alpha : "20141228" (Not On Label) 2019.
18: Pork Dukes : "Telephone Masturbator" (Woods Records) 1978.
19: Government Alpha : "Moral Plants" (Krimljud) 2008.
20: Smell & Quim : "Tasting Nun's Blood" (At War With False Noise) 2010.
21: Active Denial : "Wish Harm" (Cheap Food Records) 2019.
The next broadcast will be on May 9 at 20:00 hours. Not too sure of what will be in/on the playlist but May 9 did see (in the past) releases from Bill Nelson, Jah Wobble & The Fall so perhaps the noises won't be as extreme as this programme! One of the joys of the springtime is that I get the bus to Totnes and walk along the River Dart to the studio (instead of trains and taxis). Here's a couple of pictures I took whilst waiting for the bus last Thursday.
