MuhMur Radio Festive Holiday Special. (Update).

The Annual MuhMur Radio Festive Four Hour Feast of Fun will begin this Sunday (January 5) at 14:00 GMT live on SoundArt Radio. If you're in the Dartington / Totnes / Berry Pomeroy area of Devon then please tune in to 102.5 FM, or listen to the live stream on the SoundArt Radio website :
http://www.soundartradio.org.uk

Working on the playlist as I type ... be prepared for sounds from Karmanjakan Intonarumori, Killing Joke, Brume, Portion Control, Andrea Marutti, Hairs Abyss, The Art Attacks, BU.D.D.A. and UK Decay amongst others ...

Regular broadcasting resumes on Thursday January 16 ... all being well with the world.

MuhMur Radio Broadcasts December 19 2019

December 19 seemed like MuhMur Radio Broadcast day with two programmes being aired. One programme on the Russian New New World Radio station and also the 'regular' programme on SoundArt Radio in the UK.
Back in October I was invited by Angel Simitchiev, host of Bulgarian based radio programme "Beauty Sleep" to take part in an epic eight hour broadcast celebrating the second anniversary of his show. "Beauty Sleep' is broadcast by New New World Radio. Angel is no stranger to MuhMur Radio through his work as MyTrip, Dayin, Leaver and also being head of the Amek label in Sofia.

Information on 'Beauty Sleep' broadcasts - it's a monthly show - can be found via the New New World Facebook page and through their website. http://nnwradio.com/?fbclid=IwAR1t0Bgqmw2D-TwZWDeWlnCI6YkWY6BA2pdRt9F2-_pANyHlaIgZbschLH8
There is also links to the broadcasts via Soundcloud & MixCloud.

Playlist :
01: Neznamo : "Aery (Remix)" (Not On Label) 2018.
02: BU.D.D.A. : "Menopausen Massaker" (Attenuation Circuit) 2019.
03: Aaron Dilloway : "Ghost" (Dais Records) 2018.
04: Cabaret Voltaire : "Your Agent Man" (Les Disques Du Crépuscule) 1981.
05: Contrastate : "The People Who Control The Information" (Black Rose Recordings) 2017.
06: Soviet France : "Shout The Storm" (Vinyl On Demand) 2019.
07: Brume : "V s/M 3-44-65" (Drone Records) 2000.
08: Eyeless In Gaza : "The Feeling's Mutual" (Ambivalent Scale Recordings) 1980.
09: W. Bro. Frank Holmes : "Lullaby & Goodnight Set To Brahms" (Not On Label) 1975.

The Neznamo piece which opens the broadcast is from the self-released split cassette with Notum. I played the Notum side of the tape earlier in the year. BU.D.D.A. is the name of the new project formed by Chris Sigdell (BºTong/Leaden Fumes) and Sascha Stadlmeier (Emerge).

                                                                   Chris Sigdell.

The Soviet France track is from the album "Eostre", originally released by Red Rhino Records in 1984 this version is from the remastered re-issue on Vinyl On Demand.
Please take a listen to the 57 minute broadcast here :
https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-new-new-world-radio-broadcast-19-december-2019/

The programme was aired at 19:00 Moscow time. At 20:00 GMT the broadcast on SoundArt Radio began. There was/is a tiny 'glitch' between the Dead Mauriacs track and the Jim Haynes track where I forgot to flip a switch (switch glitch) to turn the audio on the turntables ... silence is about 15 seconds (not 15 MINUTES as the drunken fool on the microphone says), I hope it doesn't spoil the listening pleasure.

The programme starts with two pieces from the Dutch project Beequeen taken from their "Port Out, Starboard Home" album. Beequeen is the project of Frans de Waard and Frank Kinkelaar. The Dead Mauriacs piece is from a cassette especially made for my birthday. A two-track C10 cassette, the other track will be aired on the January 5 broadcast.
The Drekka and Rivulets tracks are from the shared EP "November 2002 Tour EP". (The 7" EP also features Jessica Bailiff). The 7" was pressed especially for their 'Glacial Dreaming' tour and sold on the live dates, a few copies made it to Europe and is available via Discogs.

                                                Drekka/Rivulets/Jessica Bailiff 7"EP.

"The Rusty Seeds" is the new album by French artist Brume. A 12" vinyl LP in an edition of 100 released by Belgian stalwarts EE Tapes. For availability please visit http://www.eetapes.be

I was recently in conversation about German noise maker Stefan Roigk. I was telling someone about my experiences being labelled/taggged as a Tesco Organisation artist back at the turn of the century, and I was hearing similar stories (albeit secondhand) from Stefan. I never knew Stefan was a member of Kenotaph or had released material under the moniker Skalp for Tesco Organisation. Kenotaph were a favourite of mine in the late 1990's. Stefan was a name I knew from releasing material via Tochnit-Aleph and Fragment Factory. I also have a poster on my gimproom wall for a concert featuring Stefan and Alice Kemp in Berlin from last year. Anyhoo ... this conversation made me want to hear Skalp so I bought the 10" EP and the track "Heartbeat" is from there. This also set me off on a 'Heartbeat' trip as you can tell. Apologies for the Wire version of "Heartbeat" being all crackling and jumpy .. the LP "Chairs Missin" is one of the oldest albums I own ... it has been with me and regularly played for the past (nigh on) forty years!

You can listen to the complete broadcast here :
https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-19-december-2019/

Playlist :
01: Beequeen : "Good Day, Good Bye" (Important Records) 2011.
02: Beequeen : "Patience" (Important Records) 2011.
03: The Dead Mauriacs : "The Writer" (N.P.H.) 2019.
04: Jim Haynes : "He Stopped At A Picture Of A Naked Woman" (Drone Records) 2014.
05: Troum : "Riurja" (Myotis Records) 1998.
06: Telepherique : "Wir Brauchen Die Natur, Aber Natur Braucht Und Nicht" (Darkness Productions) 1999.
07: Fossil Aerosol Mining Project : "A Resolute Nothing" (Afterdays Media) 2017.
08: Drekka : "Silent Duty (Tonal)" (Honeyspiderthree) 2002.
09: Rivulets : "Swans (Reverb)" (Honeyspiderthree) 2002.
10: Swans : "We'll Hang For That" (Young Gods Records) 1991.
11: Brume : "Family" (EE Tapes) 2019.
12: Brume : "Deep Habits" (EE Tapes) 2019.
13: Brume : "Dervishes On Fire" (EE Tapes) 2019.
14: Brume : "Oyster Sandwich" (EE Tapes) 2019.
15: Brume : "C'Est L'Appel D'Air (EE Tapes) 2019.
16: Skalp : "Heartbeat" (Tesco Organisation) 1996.
17: Wire : "Heartbeat" (Harvest) 1978.
18: Chris & Cosey : "Heartbeat" (Rough Trade Records) 1981.
19: The Psychedelic Furs : "Heartbeat" (CBS Records) 1984.
20: Tubeway Army : "Bombers" (Beggars Banquet Records) 1979.
21: Stuart Chalmers + Taming Power : "4.026 - The Electric Guitar And Bowed Swarmander" (Blue Tapes) 2019.

As mentioned these are the final broadcasts of MuhMur Radio in 2019. Thank YOU all that have listened and passed on comments, and thank YOU to all sound makers and artists that have contributed to MuhMur Radio, not only this year but throughout the past seven years. Big shout out to Dave Mutch, my silent companion and to Chris and Lucinda the SoundArt Radio mandarins for letting us loose in their studios twice a month!
2020 will kick off with a 4 Hour broadcast on January 5 to honour Horus and Ptar! All starts at 14:00 (ish) GMT .... bring nibbles ...

MuhMur Radio Broadcast 5 December 2019.

It was in the last two weeks that I saw a plethora of 'lists' mentioned across certain sites and pages whilst perusing the internet. The 'Best Of 2019' lists and 'Top Ten LP's Of 2019' lists ... and there's still another month to go! One great release and one of the best releases of all years, never mind 2019, is the 10xCassette compilation "On Corrosion" on the Helen Scarsdale Agency label. Unfortunately it won't hit any of this years all important 'top ten' or 'best of' lists because it came out in the latter half of November .. and we all know the lists are written at the start of October.

This broadcast features four artists who appear on the compilation.

The Fossil Aerosol Mining Project cassette is called "Hydration Desquilibrium", The Alice Kemp cassette is called "Nine Dreams In Erotic Mourning", the four tracks here make up side A. The Francisco Meirino cassette is called "A Collection Of Damaged Reel Tape Loops". Again I play side A  of this tape and the Neutral cassette is called Lågliv", the two pieces here make up side B. Other artists / projects on this release are : Kleistwahr, Pinkcourtesyphone, G*Park, Ready For Death, She Spread Sorrow and Himukalt. The whole concept and curation of this release is by Jim Haynes. Expect to hear more over the coming broadcasts ...

                                                                Francisco Meirino.

The Cromlech Shadow track is from their new album, an eponymous split with Hairs Abyss. The CDR is available from Coma Kultur. https://comakultur.bandcamp.com/music
Still playing the new double CD from Metgumbnerbone. I have been asked questions about this release, availability, label, distribution etc and I am afraid to say that I have no idea. I have a 'promo' copy with very little information - just the track listings.

I imagine it will be listed on 'Discogs' soon and available in the UK via the likes of Cargo Records or Cold Spring Records. Speaking of Cold Spring Records, they have just re-issued two classic albums from the past thirty years. SPK's "Zamia Lehmanni - Songs Of Byzantine Flowers" from 1986 and Coil's "Stolen And Contaminated Songs" originally released in 1992. I am not a great Coil 'fan'. I did like the tape on Nekrophile and the "How To Destroy Angels" 12" when they were first released but I just could not get my ears around "Scatology" or "Horse Rotorvator" and by the time their version of "Tainted Love" came out I had given up completely. Some times I'd be at a friends house and some groovy sounds would be coming from the speakers and I would ask who we were listening to and be pleasantly surprised when "Coil" was the answer ... but I have never consciously bought a Coil release for quite a while. I am now enjoying listening to Coil again - especially the less dramatic late 1980's early 1990's material.

Being somewhat bowled over with the "On Corrosion" box set of tapes I went out and bought a Jim Haynes album. I always thought Jim was a member (if not the whole) of Fossil Aerosol Mining Project and after hearing the LP "Flammable Materials From Foreign Lands" I still think he might be.

                                            "Flammable Materials From Foreign Lands"

The final piece is from an album Dave brought into the studio ...

Please take a listen here : https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-5-december-2019/

Playlist : 
01: Fossil Aerosol Mining Project : "Only The Green, Blue And Black" (Helen Scarsdale Agency) 2019.
02: Post Scriptvm : "Nausea Vortex" (Tesco Organisation) 2010.
03: Alice Kemp : "All Is Crushed All Is Perfect" (Helen Scarsdale Agency) 2019.
04: Alice Kemp : "The Headless Saint" (Helen Scarsdale Agency) 2019.
05: Alice Kemp : "A Gold Blade To The Back Of The Head" (Helen Scarsdale Agency) 2019.
06: Alice Kemp : "Song For Unnamed Things" (Helen Scarsdale Agency) 2019.
07: Cromlech Shadow : "To Be Anywhere The Pale Hand Glows" (Coma Kultur) 2019.
08: Francisco Meirino : "Untitled" (Helen Scarsdale Agency) 2019.
09: Earzumba : "Blowing In The Weed" (Absurd) 2010.
10: Metgumbnerbone : "Black Middens" (Not On Label) 2019.
11: Coil : "Who'll Tell" (Cold Spring Records) 2019.
12: Neutral : "Ganska Lågt" (Helen Scarsdale Agency) 2019.
13: Neutral : "Ooskå" (Helen Scarsdale Agency) 2019.
14: Jim Haynes : "Electric Speech : Nadiya" (Elevator Bath) 2016.
15: W Bro. Frank Holmes : "Lullaby + Goodnight Set To Brahms" (Not On Label) 1975.

The next broadcast is set to be on December 19 but at this moment in time I cannot commit to that .. (family commitments taking a priority) but there will be a four or five hour festive feast to be broadcast on January 5. times to follow ... but if there is no broadcast on December 19 I am certain the mandarins of SoundArt Radio will broadcast something from the archives.
Finally I am often asked about the programme that precedes MuhMur Radio. It is called "Sgt Barnaby Combover" and presented by a chap called Gino. He has taken to playing some choice slices of Krautrock (old and new) for a half hour or so before I take over the decks ... always worth tuning in a few minutes early ...

                                                              Gino aka Sgt Barnaby!

Starjets

I found this single floating around on the Internet. Mint copy for a tenner ... thought it was worth it. I was looking for the Starjets single "Ten Years (Lincoln Edition)" and in reality .. I still am, but couldn't turn down a MINT Copy.
I saw (The) Starjets live, just the once, back in 1979 they played the Drill Hall in Lincoln supporting Stiff Little Fingers on their "Gotta Getaway" tour. Stiff Little Fingers had played live in Lincoln a few months earlier promoting their 'Inflammable Material' album. It was one of those Rough Trade Package tours and alongside SLF were Essential Logic (when they still had William Bennett on guitar) and Robert Rental & The Normal. I am not a 'fan' of Stiff Little Fingers, a couple of good singles but the album was really terrible. The cover of "Johnny Was" is worse than The Clash's cover of "Police & Thieves" on their first album. But Lincoln being Lincoln and it being 1979 I went along ... and happy I did as I was entranced and blown away by Robert Rental & The Normal.
Lincoln Drill Hall hosted a couple of Rough Trade Package gigs back in 1979. The Raincoats, Kleenex and Spizz Energi was a good one but Cabaret Voltaire, Scritti Politti and Swell Maps got cancelled due to poor ticket sales.
The Drill Hall was a great venue for live bands back in the day. I saw my first ever live band there, (I am not counting the time that me and my big sister sneaked out of the Pontins Holiday Camp in Brean Sands whilst our parents were enjoying 'an evening with Ray Illingworth'* to go to the pub down the road to drink pints of cider and inadvertently see Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders in 1976.) Judas Priest & Magnum (1977). It was the 'bigger' bands that came to The Drill Hall, the likes of The Jam, The Psychedelic Furs, The Vibrators, The Damned, Magazine, Secret Affair, Adam & The Ants, The Stranglers to pluck just a few from my fading memory, with some bands bringing great supports like The Adverts, Prag VeC, Squire, The Depressions and The Jolt. I think the booking was done through the students union at the local Tech College ... but I could be wrong. At the same time Lincoln had its' own 'punk' club in AJ's as well as sporadic gigs at the Art College and Bishop Grossettes (the teacher training college in the North of the City .... Satans Rats played there in 1978!). 1979 and Lincoln was a hive for live bands.

It was only a couple of months after the SLF Rough Trade Package that they were on the road again, this time promoting the "Gotta Getaway" single ... and not a bad single either. It was their last for Rough Trade Records before signing up to Chrysalis Records. Admission would have probably been around 75 pence to maybe a pound. Support came from fellow Northern Irelanders Starjets.
Two memories from this gig ... one is getting beaten up, the shit was well and truly kicked out of me during the Starjets set and then getting a copy of the "Ten Years (Lincoln Edition)" 7" single after the gig. Starjets were promoting this track as a forthcoming single and had a hundred or so white label copies with 'Lincoln Edition' rubber stamped on the label. I remember the singer (Terry Sharpe) saying that 'they only cost the price of a packet of three and looking at the sight of you, you won't be needing one of them'. I had no idea what he was on about.

'Ten Years' is not a great stand out single from 1979. It is average New Wave Power Pop .. more Peter Powell than John Peel. File under Bram Tchaikovsky or Fabulous Poodles but I still want a copy of the Lincoln Edition. In the meantime the 'official' release will suffice.
Now we have the wonderful world of the Internet, research finds that Starjets went on to have a 'hit single' and appear on Top Of The Pops and that Terry Sharpe formed The Adventures after Starjets folded and the bass player Sean Martin later joined SLF frontman Jake Burns in Jake Burns & The Big Wheel. What comes around ... I suppose.
If anyone reading this has a spare copy of "Ten Years (Lincoln Edition)" or wants to sell their copy then please get in touch ...

God Bless The Starjets.

* An Evening with Ray Illingworth is not a euphemism. Ray Illingworth toured the holiday camps at the time and gave a talk reminiscing about his days as England and Leicestershire cricket captain. My parents were both keen cricket fans ... on the same holiday the Pontins camp was visited by such sporting greats as Ray Reardon, Chester Barnes and Kendo Nagasaki.