One of the great pleasures in life is receiving a package of cassette tapes through the post. The other week I bought some cassettes and the sender had put it some extras ... tapes and the like .. amongst these was a cassette on the French Bi-Gout label. The cassette contains four words, one one side it's 'Faux Passé' and on the other it says 'Vrai Futur'. The label is listed on Discogs but the cassette is not.
I do not know which is the artist(s) name and which is the cassette title ... (confused .. you will be .. as they used to say at the end of every episode of "Soap"). The first thirty or so minutes are the side that says "Vrai Futur". If anyone can help .. knows more than I do (and that's not difficult) then please drop me a line. Both sides are excellent.
"On This Day" features releases from Wire, Clock DVA and Crisis. "Our Swimmer" was the final Wire 7" before they went their solo ways in 1981. Colin Newman released his first solo album in 1980, the same year the Bruce Gilbert & Graham Lewis projects Cupol and Dome. "Midnight Bahnhoff Cafe" is the B-Side. "Happiness To Go" appears on the latest Sudden Infant album "Lunatic Asylum". I play this track after Wire as it reminds me of a Wire song. Not a particular song .. just in construct and delivery .. it reminds me of Wire. The version here is from the 7" (promo) single "Heads To Go" on the Raubbau label. The single comes wrapped in a SI Newspaper. https://www.raubbau.org. The album is released by Fourth Dimension Records. https://fourthdimensionrecords.bigcartel.com. Like the "Vrai Futur" cassette the Exitcode tape came as a sneaky little extra in a package from the USA a few weeks back. The cassette is called "Too many TV's" and was released by Orphanology & Bluesanct. Two labels operated by Michael Anderson of Drekka.
I first came across the name Club Moral at the beginning of 1986 when I was doing some recordings at the Recloose Organisation studios in New Cross, London. I was there as part of IBF and staying for a few days at the studio with Simon Crab. In what was the Recloose Org 'office' was a huge A0 poster for Club Moral with the words "Nazis Of The Night" encircling the Club Moral logo. A few weeks later I was buying the Club Moral eponymous cassette on Staal Tape that included this track. I think I bought the tape from Mark Durgan at Birthbiter .. which then began our correspondence and friendship. Club Moral formed in 1981 with performance artist Danny DeVos and Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven. Club Moral was also the name of the club they operated in Antwerp until 1987. In 1983 they published the influential magazine "ForceMental". I was fortunate to see Club Moral live at the Broken Flag Festival in London 2012. A memorable evening ... "Nazis In The Night" also appeared on the album "To All Who Are Interested .. " released in 1989 by Cthulu Records. A German label run by Will-I Stasch. Cthulu Records ceased to be in the mid 1990's and Will-I has been releasing as Aussaat since 2016. Earlier this year they re-issued the album. Contact Will-I here : ernten@aol.com.
Vanligt Folk (Common People) are the Gothenburg based trio of Jonas Abrahamsson, David Sundquist and Carl I Carlsson. The two tracks here are from the recent cassette release "Black Friday Here Uka" on Ideal Recordings. More information at : http://www.vanligtfolk.org.
"Expedition is a collaboration between sound artist The Dead Mauriacs (aka Olivier Prieur) and collage artist Evan Crankshaw, based on their mutual interest in treating exotica as both a subject and a material. Evan Crankshaw's 2015 collage book, also entitled Experdition, is assembled and collaged by hand from a vast archive of popular exoticist printed materials, and explores recurring motifs in expedition narratives, simultaneously evoking and alienating the exoticist fantasy."
"In 2018, the book was interpreted for a live performance at Festival BBMix (Boulognes-Billancourt, France) in collaboration with The Dead Mauriacs, who created a complete exotica-concrète score accompanying projected images of the book & live narration. That collaboration can be heard on this album, an armchair-travel virtual-voyage to the heart of an imagined actual elsewhere, stitched from pieces of narcotizing fabulisms, disturbing actualities, and incomprehensibilities - an interior excursion into the exotic immensity."
"Narration read by Evan Crankshaw, with text excerpted from his collage book, Expedition. All text was created by a collage method using Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki as the source." All text above from the Akuphone website. https://akuphone.bandcamp.com/album/expedition.
At the turn of the 1980's the 'Sound Of Sheffield' became a focus for the major labels. I guess it was the success of The Human League and then Heaven 17 / British Electronic Foundation on Virgin Records that made the majors scramble. Where there's muck there's brass I guess. Vice Versa transformed into ABC and signed to Phonogram and Cabaret Voltaire slimmed down to a two-piece and signed up with Virgin Records and later Parlophone and Polydor Records swept up with The Com-Sat Angels and Clock DVA.
On This Day in 1982 Clock DVA released their first single on Polydor Records with a new line up of Ads Newton (Trumpet + Vocals), Nick Sanderson (Drums), Paul Browse (Saxophones), John Valentine Carruthers (Guitars) and Shaun Ward (Bass). Clock DVA did not stay with Polydor Records for very long but in that time they produced what is my favourite DVA album "Advantage" and some classic singles. Shaun Ward left after this single to join Floy Joy, and later Simply Red and was replaced by Dean Dennis. Paul Browse later created System 01, Valentine Carruthers left to join Siouxsie & The Banshees and Nick Sanderson joined The Gun Club and later Earl Brutus. After the break up of this DVA era Adi Newton concentrated on his Anti Group project.
The Drekka piece is from the "Grieve" cassette. Originally released in 1996 the cassette was reissued last year. Contact Drekka : https://drekka.bandcamp.com.
The final On This Day comes from Crisis and their 12"EP (Mini-LP) "Hymns Of Faith" from 1980.
"Hymns Of Faith" was the final Crisis release after a couple of 7" singles in 1978 / 79. Originally formed in 1978 by Douglas Pearce and Tony Wakeford as a far-left Trostkyite / Marxist group. At the time they stood out as one of the more interesting 'punk' bands around. Since their demise in 1980 they have had their back catalogue pillaged for many releases, and in 2015 they 'reformed' with Tony Wakeford being the only original member. The drummer on "Hymns Of Faith" is Luke Rendall who went on to join Theatre Of Hate. The 12"EP was released on Crisis's own imprint Ardkor Records. There's a great and informative interview with Tony Wakeford about his days in Crisis, with some excellent photos on the 'Fear And Loathing' website. Take a look : http://www.fearandloathingfanzine.com/crisis.html.
1990 and I went shopping at Red Rhino Record shop in York. In those days Red Rhino was on two floors and the more interesting stuff was on the first floor. Walking up the stairs I heard this great sound of heavy electro-dub, deep bass with a fluid guitar sound .. On-Uesque, Tackhead Maffia kind of sound but in another way totally different. I asked what was playing and it was the first album by Minister Of Noise, the project of a guy called Sir Freddie Viadukt. I bought it there and then. Only a few months later I was at The International Club in Manchester to see Revolting Cocks and the support was from Minister Of Noise. There was a break in the 'disco' and the (now) familiar to me sound of Minister Of Noise came through the PA. Folk gathered around the stage but there was no performer, no band to see just the sound of Minister Of Noise. In the next thirty minutes or so a chap wandered across the stage a couple of times, sometimes to applause but he didn't acknowledge the audience. A woman crossed the stage too a couple of times. Was this Sir Freddie? .......... Ten years or so later and the rise of the internet I was looking for information on Minister Of Noise. I still have the "Heaven In Hell" LP and wanted to see what else was out there. That is when I discovered that Sir Freddie Viadukt was / is Gerry Kenny of Naafi Sandwich fame. Naafi Sandwich existed for one 7" in 1979 on the Mancunian Absurd Records label. Instant classic. I have a feeling that Naafi Sandwich were from Merseyside. I saw them play live once at the Futurama 4 Festival in Deeside (Wales), although I think they had dropped the sandwich by then and were just Naafi. The other week a friend asked me if I had ever heard a band called Minister Of Noise? He had heard some on the radio somewhere and wanted to find out more .. so I pointed him to the "Heaven In Hell" LP. He told me that Gerry Kenny had passed away and (another thing I didn't know) his wife Brenda was the same Brenda as in Brenda & The Beachballs who I saw support Psychic TV in the late 1980's at Manchester International. Memories ... so I dug the 7" out and gave it a spin.
Sad to hear of the passing of Chris Bailey. The saints were a favourite back in the 1970's. The track here is from the 1978 compilation "Hope And Anchor Front Row Festival". RIP Chris.
You can here the broadcast here :
https://www.mixcloud.com/tamsin-jane-cammack/muhmur-radio-broadcast-may-26-2022/
Playlist:
01: Faux Passé : "Vrai Futur" (Bi-Gout) 2019.
02: Wire : "Our Swimmer" (Rough Trade Records) 1981.
03: Sudden Infant : "Happiness To Go" (Raubbau) 2022.
04: Exitcode : "Ch.4" (Orhanology/Bluesanct) 2019.
05: Club Moral : "Nazis Of The Night" (Aussaat) 2022.
06: Vanligt Folk : "B F H U" (Ideal Recordings) 2021.
07: Vanligt Folk : "För En Bärj Eller Typ Ingenting" (Ideal Recordings) 2021.
08: Evan Crankshaw & The Dead Mauriacs : "Expedition" (Akuphone) 2022.
09: Clock DVA : "Son Of Sons" (Polydor Records) 1982.
10: Drekka : "Grieve (Vocal 1)" (Bluesanct) 2021.
11: Crisis : "Back In The U.S.S.R." (Ardkor) 1980.
12: Crisis : "Afraid" (Ardkor) 1980.
13: Naafi Sandwich : "Slice One" (Absurd Records) 1979.
14: Wire : "Midnight Bahnhof Cafe" (Rough Trade Records) 1981.
15: The Saints : "Demolition Girl" (Warner Brothers Records) 1978.
Thank you for listening. Comments are always welcomed. The next broadcast will be on June 9 and feature a 'session' from Manchester based artist SEVAN_OH. This will be the last broadcast until September as SoundArt Radio is stopping live broadcasting and concentrating on summer workshops, summer schools, organising live performances and setting up workshops at local festivals throughout the summer. All exciting stuff.
