A few weeks ago I bought a brace of tapes from Dutch artist Pool Pervert. The tapes were "Masking Tape" and "Narco State" and released through the Non-Interrupt label. I found the sounds interesting, a lot of free-form and improvisational electronics (synth noodles & doodles) but I do think that both tapes need some severe editing and quality control. Late last year Pool Pervert (aka Egbert Van Der Vliet) collaborated with fellow Dutchman Frans de Waard and produced the triple CDR "Umbau". 12 pieces over three albums where Frans brings in the editing / production to perfection. The broadcast starts off with two pieces from the "Umbau" collection. The album(s) is self-released by Frans and available via the Modelbau bandcamp. https://modelbau.bandcamp.com/album/umbau-1-5. It's listed as a download format but if you write to Frans I am certain he'll give you the price of the CDR set. Strangely on the Discogs website Pool Pervert is listed as Pool Perverts and neither of the cassettes I acquired are listed and his website and E Mail are now obsolete ...
Staying on a Frans de Waard tip ... in a strange kind of way. "'Kapotte Muziek by ... ' is a series of records with reworked recordings of Kapotte Muziek by specific composers. These composers have a specific relation to the given material". The 7" by Illusion Of Safety is number two in the series and was recorded at one of the 1997 Kapotte Muziek / Illusion Of Safety collaboration concerts in Paris. The 7" series ran for about five years and also featured Troum, Leif Elggren, Radboud Mens and DMDN amongst others. They're great little 7" singles and easily found by trawling the internet.
I mentioned in the last blog entry about how much Dan Johansson and his Sewer Election project have been busy over the past six or seven months ... I managed to grab a copy of his "Skärvor Av" album released last autumn on the Italian Second Sleep label a few days ago. I never know what I am getting with Sewer Election, some releases are pure noise - or Harsh Noise Wall as I think the youth of today call it and sometimes it is experimental construct, lo-fi tape splicing mystique concret. I prefer the latter and knowing that Skärvor Av translates as 'Shards Of' I guessed it was one of Dan's more experimental albums. The title track takes up the whole of side B. Copies are available from Second Sleep direct: http://www.secondsleep.org/releases/se.html. Second Sleep is operated by Matteo of Lettera 22.
A label that became essential during 2021 was Brachliegen Tapes. Through their releases by Mark Dicker and Schwerpunkt I found George Rayner-Law. "Cantonese Tapework" came out in the summer and is more 'noisier' than the later "The Tryal Of Old Christmas" and his sounds with Schwerpunkt. The piece here ends side two of cassette. Brachliegen Tapes have just put out two tapes from Iker Ormazabal Martinez and the ex-Facialmess project Like Weeds. Grab the tapes and discover more, go to : https://brachliegentapes.bandcamp.com
1980 was a great year, it was the year that I turned 18. It was the year of some great classic records (and tapes). I am not going to list them all here but it was great to check the diaries and discover "Colossal Youth" by Young Marble Giants was released on this day. I was 17 when it came out and has been close to hand ever since. I think Rough Trade Records were at their zenith in 1980 with the likes of Young Marble Giants, The Raincoats, Cabaret Voltaire, Swell Maps, Scritti Politti, Dr Mix & The Remix, The Pop Group, Pere Ubu etc .. etc ... their package tours around this time were always a treat too. I must've first heard Young Marble Giants on John Peel and fell in love straight away. The danceable beats and bass lines with the melodic electric organ and Alison Stratton's beautiful everygirl voice. They were formed in Cardiff in 1978 from the ashes of post-punk band True Wheel. The LP title "Colossal Youth" is a reference to the Greek Kouroi marble statues where the Young Marble Giants name was inspired from. Young Marble Giants only lasted one album and a couple of singles before splintering in to The Gist and Weekend. Also in 1980 Idol Death released their one and only 7" single.
At the start of this year I read Bob Mortimer's autobiography "
And Away .. ". It's a very funny book. There's a point in the 1980's where Bob meets Vic (Reeves) and Vic's 'musical director' is John Irvine. He describes himself (at this time) as a 'cassette jockey'. The name John Irvine struck a note of remembrance and I found that back in 1980 he was Idol Death. In 1980 Idol Death released their one and only 7" "New Lesson". I have played it on the radio before. File under classic (from the new wave era). Further research, and I discover that before Idol Death John was known as The Four Plugs. The Four Plugs released one 7" called "Wrong Treatment" on their own Disposable Records label. (Distributed by Dead Good Records of Lincoln). Last year the Thirsk based label Industrial Coast put out a limited cassette of unreleased Four Plugs material from 1979 & 1980 and filled side 2 with new Four Plugs material from 2018 - 2020. "Dirty Water" is from side 2. John is still performing and recording, now using the Repetitive John. His work can be found here :
https://www.repetitivejohn.com
In December last year The Dead Mauriacs released a limited CDR called "Greetings From The Cliffs". Three pieces of exotic DaDaesque electronica. "L'Aquarium Du Mocambo" is from this release. For more information :
http://www.thedeadmauriacs.com. German soundartist Thorsten Soltau has worked with The Dead Mauriacs in the past. The Belgian label Forced Nostalgia have just released a four cassette box of Thorsten's work. Entitled "Diligence And Tendency (The Corvux Files)" the cassettes are compiled of unreleased archival sounds as well as collaborative work and reworking from Marina Stewart, Siegmar Fricke, Machinefabriek and Quinten Dierick (E.M.I.R.S.). I think the four cassette box is limited but cassettes can be bought individually directly from Forced Nostalgia :
https://forcednostalgia.bandcamp.com.
I have been off work of late - Covid brought it's plague to the house. Time was spent going through old records, tapes and CDs, give an ear to those who were gathering dust so to speak and I dug out an old CDR called "The Swingers Club". Released 25 years ago by the Self Abuse Records sub label Solipsism it features classic noise artists of the time reworking material by each other, a little like the "WNF:Tag Team Noise Rumble Spectacular" album that Stinky Horse Fuck released (1996). "The Swingers Club" has Aube playing Blazen Y Sharp - Blazen Y Sharp playing Smell & Quim - Smell & Quim playing HMO - HMO playing Crawl Unit ... and Crawl Unit playing Aube which is the track here. Rotten Piece, Macronympha, Cock ESP and others are also involved. It was a pleasant rediscovery. I guess copies are floating around Discogs etc ...
Hauras is the project of American artist Howard Ryan. After a couple of releases on the excellent Helen Scarsdale Agency label he now has a tape on the UK label Industrial Coast. "Adrift" is a C20 cassette. "Journeyed Season" is from this release.
https://industrialcoast.bandcamp.com/music.
Metadevice is the solo project of Portuguese multi-media artist André Coelho. André is an illustrator and author of graphic novels and comics as well as creating great sounds in projects such as Sektor 304, Iurta, Tendagruta, Sensor .. and Metadevice. I will be playing tracks from Iurta and Tendagruta in the next broadcast. "Post-Future" is from the
special edition of the new CD "Turba" on New Approach Records. The first 70 copies of the album came with a bonus CDR called "Atomization". "Turba" in Portuguese translates as 'mob'. For more information go to :
https://metadevice.bandcamp.com, or contact André at :
metadeviceinterface@gmail.com.
One thing I like to do every programme is include a record by a band / artist that I have seen live over the past 45 years .. I started going to see live bands in 1977 .. it's a little section that unlike 'On This Day' or the old 'Classic From The New Wave Era' (remember that one!) goes unmentioned and to anyone else but me unnoticed. I saw Lull play live in the early 1990's (I can't remember the year) with Soviet France at The Old Vic in Nottingham. The Old Vic is a pub in the Lacemarket area not a grand old theatre. "Outerbounds" is a great little 7" with a sleeve by ex-Tactile member Teresa Mills. It was herself and John Everall that organised the gig. I miss John.
Playlist :
01: Modelbau & Pool Pervert : "Umbau 3 & 4" (Not On Label) 2021.
02: Illusion Of Safety : "Live Paris Reprocess Schaumberg" (Korm Plastics) 1997.
03: Sewer Election : "Skärvor Av" (Second Sleep) 2021.
04: George Rayner-Law : "Chek Lap Kok Airport 11/08/18" (Brachliegen Tapes) 2021.
05: Young Marble Giants : "N.I.T.A." (Rough Trade Records) 1980.
06: Young Marble Giants : "Colossal Youth" (Rough Trade Records) 1980.
07: The Four Plugs : "Dirty Water" (Industrial Coast) 2021.
08: The Dead Mauriacs : "L'Aquarium Du Mocambo" (L'Art Pénultième) 2021.
09: Thorsten Soltau : "Dossier Cleary" (Forced Nostalgia) 2022.
10: Crawl Unit : "Untitled" (Solipsism) 1997.
11: Hauras : "Journeyed Season" (Industrial Coast) 2022.
12: Metadevice : "Post-Future" (New Approach Records) 2021.
13: Lull : "Outerbounds" (Aquese Recordings) 1994.
Next broadcast will be on SoundArt Radio (102.5FM) on March 30. 20:00 GMT kick-off time as usual. If you don't live in the Dartington umbrella you can always stream the programme live via the SoundArt website :
https://www.soundartradio.org.uk and listen to old broadcasts on the MixCloud Archive page.
This programme was broadcast on my daughter's thirteenth birthday - I should have said "Happy Birthday" on air .... she was there at the recording ...
ISABEL.
No comments:
Post a Comment