The programme begins with a track by K Of Arc from their "Show Them Your Throat" cassette, released by Cruel Nature Records in 2022. And that is all I know. I have no more information on K Of Arc. The cassette is available from : https://cruelnaturerecordings.bandcamp.com. Tomorrow the excellent Brachliegen Tapes release the latest album by Left Hand Cuts Off The Right. The album is called "Free Time / Dead Time" and available at : https://brachliegentapes.bandcamp.com/album/free-time-dead-time. Left Hand Cuts Off The Right is the project of Robbie Judkins.
Another Recloose Organisation / Bourbonese Qualk released project is / was Muslimgauze. "Soviet Occupied Territories" is from the LP "Buddhist On Fire". Both Het Zweet and Muslimgauze feature on the Recloose Organisation compilation LP "Songs From The New International" (1986). The album also has a track from my old project <<I.B.F>>. Copies can be found floating around on the internet.
"In March of 2020, early pandemic, Tom asked me 'Wanna do a quick and dirty internet collaboration.?' He had recently posted an extended track called 'Strip Ice Water To Listerine', and added 'It's only six days old. A simple generative system. Why don't we rework it together? Tear it apart, add your bits, then I can sprinkle some magic dust atop the rubble'. I said I'd see what I can do, but was in the middle of a big project, The Prevalence, and was not in the frame of mind to take on anything else at the time. Fast forward to January 2022, after receiving the sad news that Tom had died, I decided to go ahead with the project. By then I had developed new processes and the motivation to record four new albums over the next few months, one of which was a reworking of 'Strip Ice water To Listerine'. By cutting up looping and sampling Tom's original track I created a series of rhythmic backdrops for Tom's improvisations, an album's worth of material that I could not stop listening to, and this is the result. Unfortunately the rubble never got the magic dust but I think Tom would have liked it." An extract of Robert Turman's sleeve notes to the CD "Strip Ice Water To Listerine" on the Nyahh Records label. "Shoulders Are Weeping" is from this album. Great artwork by Karen Constance and liner notes by Thurston Moore. Copies are available from : https://nyahhrecords.bandcamp.com/album/robert-turman-tom-smith-strip-ice-water-to-listerine. The Cosmonauts Hail Satan track is from the 7" "Mortuary Sorcery". The Passengers were a Belgian punk band between 1977 and 1978, members of The Passengers formed The Names in 1979. In 2018 Les Disques Du Crépuscule released two 7" singles by The Passengers (both recorded in 1978). The Names (of course) became Factory Records stalwarts until their demise in 1982. They have (as they all do) reformed for the 21st Century.
'On This Day' in 1979 Pink Military Stand Alone released the live EP "Buddha Waking, Disney Sleeping".
Pink Military Stand Alone were a band from Liverpool formed by Jayne Casey after the fallout of Big In Japan. They existed for a handful of gigs and this one EP before shortening their name to Pink Military and releasing the excellent album "Do Animals Believe In God?" Only Jayne and keyboardist Nicky Cool remained in the Military with drummer Paul Hornby joining The Dogs D'Amour and John Higham going to The Merseysippi Jazz band. In 1981 the Military became an Industry and Pink Industry became a trio with Jayne, Ambrose Reynolds and Tadzio Jodiowski. It was around this time I saw Pink Industry live, a memorable evening at The Gallery in Manchester where Pink Industry played a striking miners benefit, only to be usurped on stage by John The Postman. Also an empty Tuesday night at The Hacienda in 1983. 'On This Day' in 1981 The Fall released the 10"EP "Slates, Slags, Etc" on Rough Trade Records.
A few weeks ago I got a copy of the new Ubiquitous Meh! album "the Love Pseudomorph". It's a cracking album featuring the ever expanding talent of Luke Richards. The album has the track "I Identified The UFO" and that put on the UFO tip, so I dug out three other songs that feature 'U.F.O.' starting with the 1979 single "UFO" by Eddie Fiction.
The single is on Absurd Records, a very diverse and collectable label with artists such as Blah Blah Blah, Cairo, Naafi Sandwich and Gerry & The Holograms to name but a few ... Eddie Fiction was a pseudonym for Ed Garrity, a.k.a. Ed Banger vocalist with The Nosebleeds, Slaughter & The Dogs and The Baskerville City Raiders. A Mancunian legend. "Mystery Plane" by The Cramps is from their first album "Songs The Lord Taught Us. MC 900ft Jesus & DJ Zero track is from the 1989 album "Hell With The Lid Off". Back in 1989 I found myself listening to, and going to see live, bands like Consolidated, Meat Beat Manifesto, Tackhead (band and sound system) and MC 900ft Jesus & DJ Zero. Of all this mentioned I only have MC 900ft Jesus records here at MuhMur Radio HQ, I know he kind of drifted off into a jazz/funk style and I lost interest, but I think this LP is timeless. The Ubiquitous Meh! album can be found on CD, cassette, lathe cut LP and/or download at : https://ubiquitousmeh.bandcamp.com/music. Schwund follow up 2021's "Dieezer Tübe" cassette album with Dieezer Tübe 2". Released on the German Phantom Records label. Schwund can be contacted at : https://derschwund.bandcamp.com/music.
As I was compiling tonights programme I was reading the book "Listening To The Music The Machines Make" by Richard Evans. Subtitled 'Inventing Electronic Pop 1978 - 1983'. The tome begins OK with stories how the 'inventors' of electronic pop in the late 1970's were influenced by the likes of David Bowie, Brian Eno, Sparks et al, but it soon gets really boring because all it is (really) is a collection of newspaper reviews, papers like NME, Record Mirror, Sounds, Melody Maker and Smash Hits. A collection of reviews and snippets from interviews.
I used to get the music weeklies back in the late 1970's and one thing was obvious, the people who wrote in the rags had no idea what they were on about. Reviews on the whole were derogatory and acidic, interviews were snide. The writers would more than likely be writing under a pseudonym, so confident they were of their words. The reason to get the NME, Sounds etc was to find about tour dates, record releases, pictures and the classifieds. When we enter the invention of electronic pop the book concentrates on such great electronic bands as .. Ultravox!, Tubeway Army, Spandau Ballet, Simple Minds, Duran Duran. Not (in my opinion) electronic bands, I would use the words rock and pop, but there y'go. Richard hasn't really written this book, he has just put his name to a collection of other folks words. Alongside the newspaper clippings are extracts from autobiographies by the likes of Martin Kemp, Gary Numan and Martyn Ware. So, I was listening to Tubeway Army and Ultravox! whilst reading the book and play a couple of my favourites here ... adding a couple of my own 'electronic' bands of the era The Naughtiest Girl Was A Monitor and Doncaster's finest B. Troop. I did not finish the book. My next read .. Martyn Ware's autobiography ...
The programme finishes on another slice of great electronic music, "Red October Black September" by Konstruktivists. Recorded in 1983 but not released until 1984 on Third Mind Records, Konstruktivists is the project of former TG 'road crew' and Heute member Glenn Wallis. Glenn was also a member of Whitehouse and NKVD. I first met Glenn back in 1998 when we appeared together at an all day electronic festival in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium and have remained friends since. I don't think there was a bar in Sint-Niklaas that we didn't visit. A few years ago I met up with Glenn again, he was playing in Belper, Derbyshire as Dark Union alongside the mighty Vagina Dentata Organ. I look forward to our next meeting.
Kontruktivists / Glenn can be contacted at : https://konstruktivists.bandcamp.com.
The broadcast has been archived on MixCloud and can be heard here :
Playlist :
01: K Of Arc : "Contact" (Cruel Nature Records) 2022.
02: Left Hand Cuts Off The Right : "Dead Time" (Brachliegen Tapes) 2023.
03: Con-Dom : "Blue Sky" (Kubitsuri Tapes) 1997.
04: Het Zweet : "Proef Opname" (Modal Analysis) 2023.
05: The Pop Group : "We Are All Prostitutes" (Rough Trade Records) 1979.
06: Muslimgauze : "Soviet Occupied Territories" (Recluse Organisation) 1984.
07: Leda : "Heavier Loop, Shredding (For The Young Woman)" (Kashual Plastik) 2023.
08: Robert Turman & Tom Smith : "Shoulders Are Weeping" (Nyahh Records) 2023.
09: Cosmonauts Hail Satan : "Pittsburgh Voodoo Satellite" (Suggestion Records) 1996.
10: The Passengers : "Femme Fatale" (Le Disques Du Crépuscule/Factory Benelux) 2018.
11: Pink Military Stand Alone : "Degenerated Man (Live)" (Last Trumpet Records) 1979.
12: The Fall : "Slates, Slags, Etc" (Rough Trade Records) 1981.
13: Eddie Fiction : "U.F.O. Pt 2" (Absurd Records) 1979.
14: The Cramps : "Mystery Plane" (Illegal Records) 1980.
15: Ubiquitous Meh! : "I Identified The UFO" (Damnsonic) 2023.
16: MC 900ft Jesus & DJ Zero : "UFO's Are Real" (Nettwerk) 1989.
17: Schwund : "Sie Kommen" (Phantom Records) 2023.
18: Schwund : Abgedriftlet" (Phantom Records) 2023.
19: Tubeway Army : "Me, I Disconnect From You" (Beggars Banquet Records) 1979.
20: Ultravox! : "Just For A Moment" (Island Records) 1978.
21: The Naughtiest Girl Was A Monitor : "All The Naked Heroes" (Aardvark) 1980.
22: B. Troop : "Espionage A Go Go" (Hotshot Records) 1980.
23: Left Hand Cuts Off The Right : "Free Time" (Brachliegen Tapes) 2023.
24: Konstruktivists : "Red October Black December" (Third Mind Records) 1984.
Thanks for listening. The next broadcast is on April 27. Same kick off time, same channel. SoundArt Radio 102.5FM (in the Devon region of Totnes) or listen to the live stream on : https://www.soundartradio.org.uk.
"The tome begins OK with stories how the 'inventors' of electronic pop in the late 1970's were influenced by the likes of David Bowie, Brian Eno, Sparks et al, but it soon gets really boring because all it is (really) is a collection of newspaper reviews, papers like NME, Record Mirror, Sounds, Melody Maker and Smash Hits. A collection of reviews and snippets from interviews."
ReplyDeleteI could have written this myself, although interesting in parts the constant quoting of reviews and interviews got tedious. Ended up returning my copy to the local library unfinished.