Cluster, CLUSTER 71

Also referred to as simply CLUSTER; the Bureau B reissue uses this title, while the Water reissue and others use CLUSTER 71

Philips, 1971; reissued several times, most recently by Water and Bureau B; available

3 tracks, 44:29

The duo of Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius probably need no introduction. Having started out in Kluster with legendary sound sculptor Conrad Schnitzler* and equally legendary producer/audio manipulator Conny Plank, they continued on as Cluster with a C. While they would eventually explore all manner of electronic music (including albums with Brian Eno and Harmonia, a collaboration with Neu!'s Michael Rother), their debut finds them in a distinctly cosmic drone space. The tracks are titled "15:33", "7:38", and "21:17". Needless to say, this is also their respective lengths! The really neat thing is, much like Klaus Schulze's IRRLICHT, not a single synth was used on this album. Instead, Roedelius and Moebius create their fascinating bleeps and drones using organs, tone generators, Hawaiian slide guitars, cellos, found objects such as alarm clocks, and various effects pedals. Alternately forboding and relaxing, this is true space music that doesn't stay in one place for long while also not devolving into a noisy free-for-all (not that there's anything wrong with noisy free-for-alls!). These tracks were apparently improvised, but they have noticeable patterns and progressions that make for an engaing listen. Part of this is due to Conny Plank's production, which manipulates the sounds in real time. Plank was essentially the third member for this album. I personally consider this the essential Cluster purchase. Their later albums tend to be a bit different; CLUSTER II is the closest in spirit to 71, even though its use of synths makes for a notably different sound.  Other albums can be anything from electro-dub to Kraftwerky synthpop. Also recommended is the previously mentioned Harmonia.

*Check back soon for a review of the three-disc box set, containing Kluster's KLOPFZEICHEN, ZWEI-OSTEREI, and ERUPTION!

Pytolator, INLAND

Ata Tak, 1979; available with bonus tracks

CD: 18 tracks, 59:48

Kurt "Pyrolator" Dahlke began his career in Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft (specifically on PRODUKT DER...) and ended up dividing his time between his solo work and Der Plan. This, the second release on the Dahlke-founded Ata Tak (again, after PRODUKT DER...!), is his first solo venture. Unlike the later AUSLAND, this finds Pyrolator completely on his own. His arsenal of machines is quite impressive - an early Italian synth, an organ, a Korg MS20, two mics, and a tape setup. Interestingly, this completely instrumental album was intended as a protest piece against prevailing cultural views in Germany! The pieces themselves cover a lot of ground in a krautrock-influenced industrial way. The four "Inland" tracks, as well as "Minimal Tape 1/2.3", are surprisingly harsh masterpieces of early synth noise. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are the dreamy ambient "Minimal Tape 1/8" and a couple of catchy synthpop numbers (my favorite of these is "Danger Cruising", which sounds remarkably like its name). "Bärenstrasse" and "Nordatlantik" round out the stylistic diversity with pioneering bits of dark ambience. The six bonus tracks are very worthwhile as well, with the droning "Die Einsamkeit Des Langstreckenläufers", "Struktur 01" and "Struktur 22" being particularly delightful. Most of these were recorded prior to INLAND, but soundwise they are along similar lines. While this is much more minimal (and nowhere near as lighthearted) than anything else Pyrolator ever did, it's a wonderful and enjoyable slice of eccentricity. It's also my favorite Pyrolator solo release, but nervous fans might want to start with AUSLAND or Der Plan's GERI REIG before going INLAND.

MORE ARCTIC HYSTERIA/SON OF ARCTIC HYSTERIA - THE LATER YEARS OF EARLY FINNISH AVANT-GARDE

Love Records, 2005; available

2 discs; disc 1 (MORE ARCTIC HYSTERIA):15 tracks, 76:07; disc 2 (SON OF ARCTIC HYSTERIA): 19 tracks, 73:48

Picking up where ARKTINEN HYSTERIA left off, this double-disc feast of experimental sounds covers 1970 to 1990 (with two bonus '60s tracks for good measure!). As the liner notes point out, the first disc leans more towards jazz and modern compositon, while the second is more on the rock side. Let's plunge into the track-by-track description, shall we?

MORE ARCTIC HYSTERIA

1.Pekka Streng, "Olen Väsynyt" ("I'm Tired", 1970) - A weird bit of prog-folk from this psychonaut. The main almost synth-like drone is actually produced by a Jew's harp. Nice opening track!

2.Karelia, "Kahella Sarvella" ("With Two Horns", 1972) - This is a somewhat grating rendition of a folk song. It's fairly close to the Godz or the Fugs. Free jazz guy Edward Vesala is involved, though!

3. Samsa Trio, "Kiven Poiminta" ("Pickin' Up A Rock", 1972) - It's our old friend Pekka Airaksinen! Here, he teams up with fellow ex-Sperm members Antero Helander and Mattijuhani Koponen to play free jazz. It's very different from the Sperm and Airaksinen's solo work, but it's very nice indeed!

4. The Omar Williams Experience, "Democracy" (circa 1971-1972)- Airaksinen and Helander team up with American poet Williams for a more chaotic form of free jazz. This is also a really good track. It ends with a brief but amusing recital from Williams.

5. Osmo Lindeman, "Ritual" (1972) - Early electronic bliss! Lindeman's concrete gem is intended to gently parody religious services. It rightfully won an award (in Italy!) the year it was composed. I highly recommend this for fans of Xenakis et al.

6. Jarmo Sermilä, "Electrocomposition 1" (1976) - Another unjustly little-known piece of early electronic wizardry! Performed solely on the EML 101, this squelchy delight deserves to be heard. Thank goodness for compilations like this!

7. Åke Andersson, "Kaukonen Ennen Vanhaan" ("Kaukonen In The Old Days", 1977) - This guy was one half of the Finnish equivalent of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. The song is a shifting electronic landscape meant to evoke a Sami village. It accomplishes everything the Residents' ESKIMO meant to in just six minutes and fifty seconds. Amazing!

8. Gandhi-Freud, "A" (1975) - Airaksinen again, here performing solo under an alias. This short track is just over two minutes of weird and wonderful synth squiggles. It's not Airaksinen's most impressive work, but it's fun.

9. Jone Takamäki Trio, "Bhupala 1" (1982) - Normally a chaotic punk jazz outfit, Takamäki and company played a more ambient style of free jazz on their second album. This track, based on an Indian traditional theme, is taken from that album. It's a great example of Indian-themed jazz, with definite raga touches and a drifting dreamy atmosphere. Very nice indeed!

10. Lauri Nykopp, "Y - Part V" (1982) - Taken from a bizarre free improv ritual recording (!), this features Nykopp playing a didgeridoo near a haystack. There's quite a bit of silence incorporated into the piece as well. It's atmospheric, strange, and completely fascinating.

11. Edward Vesala, "Maailman Reuna" ("Edge Of The World", 1982) - A completely unexpected proggy excursion from Vesala and company. It's barely over two minutes, but it's a blast of fun that resembles early Soft Machine mixed with equally early Henry Cow. I really want to hear the rest of this album!

12. Matti and Pirjo Bergström, "Virkamiehet - excerpt from The Forgotten Horizon" ("Bureaucrats", 1980) - A husband and wife duo scoring an avant-garde dance production with catchy-yet-strange synthpop. It's great!

13. Ilkka Volanen, "Kahlaaja - excerpt" ("Wader", 1982) - Oh man, I wish they included this whole track! This is ten and a half minutes from a twenty-four minute piece. What IS here is an amazing and moody sound collage. This easily rivals anything Nurse With Wound was doing at the same time. Wonderful!

14. Kaj Chidenius, "W" (1964) - One of the two '60s bonus tracks, this is a Dadaist prankster reciting Schwitters' poem. In other words, it's the Finnish equivalent of "W" being said in various funny ways for just under a minute. Amusing but not essential.

15. M.A. Numminen, "Oigu-S" (1964) - This, on the other hand, is absolutely essential! It's a collage tape assembled by Numminen and Erkki Kurenniemi. Originally used to back up Numminen's performance on Kurenniemi's "voice machine", it stands on its own as yet another fascinating sound collage from Finland's early avant scene.

SON OF ARCTIC HYSTERIA

1. Kollaa Kestää, "Tähtien Rauha" ("Star Peace", 1978) - These guys were known as a punk band, but here they perform drum machine-led spacey new wave with moody vocals. It's a lot better than that sounds!

2. Aavikon Kone Ja Moottori, "Rakkaudella Sinulle" ("With Love To You", 1980) - Weird group chanting with electronic backing is cut off by the sound of a bird cage being beaten by a relay. Strange, but not bad.

3. Kari Peitsamo, "Puinen Koira" ("Wooden Dog", 1978) - The puckish Peitsamo was mostly known for quirky pop. This is the absolute opposite of quirky pop! For seven minutes, he produces some awful screeches from a violin. It's noisy, it's irritating, and it's amazing.

4. Yhtye, "Apatian Tanssi" ("Dance Of Apathy", 1979) - Yhtye's drummer pounds a bass drum in a rhythmic way for fifty-eight seconds. I love this minimalist joke more than I should.

5. The Silver, "Do You Wanna Dance" (1980) - Oh boy, HERE'S a monster! Three teens ("Harry Angel", "Calamity Jane", and an unknown third member; yes, that's ALL the info available!) destroy the classic rock tune and record the results to some kind of cheap tape recorder. This one has to be heard to be believed, but imagine the Shaggs as punks/noise-rockers and you'll have an idea. The shrieking breakdown is especially amusing. I genuinely love this song, even though it's truly untamed and unmusical.

6. Hefty Load, "Schrecklich" (1981) - Apparently put together to use up free studio time, Hefty Load plays a weird and loose style of space rock. The synth player was also the producer, and he had never played a synth before. Interesting track, really!

7. Vaaralliset Lelut, "Alkuasukkaiden Lääkkeet" (1984) - Would you believe this is catchy instrumental dub reggae performed by Finns? Would you believe it's also really good? Well, whether you believe it or not, both are true.

8. Jaakko Kangosjärvi, "Musiikki Ja Urheilu" ("Music And Sports", 1981) - Silly minimal synthpop with female vocals sung in German-accented Finnish. Utterly disposable (and those synths sound CHEAP!), but absolutely endearing. I find myself listening to this one a lot.

9. Tapa Paha Tapa, "I Love It" (1983) - This was some sort of collective band, but only two members play on this track. It's a nice and moody number, somewhat like Heldon. I'd love to hear more of this group.

10. Swissair, "Baggage Claim" (circa 1981) - Another collective, these guys seemed to be the heirs to the Sperm's throne. One of them plays a repetitive guitar line while two others play his pickups and pedals. There's also a primitive drum machine clunking along. It's utterly hypnotic and could easily be mistaken for solo Airaksinen (which is a VERY high compliment!).

11. Harri Tuominen, "Lippukunta" ("Brigade", 1984) - Interesting post-punk collage piece. It was inspired by Expressionist cinema, and it's fittingly moody and cinematic.

12. Suomen Poliisit, "Mihin Sie Meet Keijo" ("Where Yuh Goin', Keijo", 1984) - This is actually the cult act Sleepy Sleepers under a pseudonym. For this project, they played in a gloriously noisy and amateurish fashion to parody punk and noise-rock. "Hey Joe" gets this treatment here, and the results are wonderfully sloppy and nasty.

13. Kansanturvamusiikkikomissio, "Kalinka" (1985) - It's probably no surprise that this band is usually referred to as KTMK! This furious hardcore number features some truly frenzied vocals and delightfully angular guitar. It does seem somewhat out of place, but I personally love KTMK, so I don't mind!

14. Joan Bennett Museo, "Empty Faces" (1984) - This is strange minimal pop that degrades into weird vocalisations. The group was an offshoot of a performance art troupe called Homo $. Decent, but not a standout.

15. 500 Kg Lihaa, "Pallokentällä" (1982) - Finnish no wave is the best way to describe this stunner. Maritaa Kuula gets progressively crazier with her vocals, at one point uttering shrieks that would put Galas to shame. The band nobly keeps up with repetitive organ, dual guitars, and a steady rhythm. These guys had a long career, and I intend to acquire more of their stuff.

16. Super Ladex, "Olet Valloissasi" ("You're In Your Power", circa 1981-1984) - This is an acquired taste, that's for sure! Three siblings made this chaotic burst: two boys, nineteen and ten respectively, and a six-year-old girl. They went around their house grabbing random junk and objects. It sounds like most of the lyrics (which come from labels, comic books, and the like) are screamed or shouted by the girl, but some of it could very well be the boys. It also sounds like this is possibly a bunch of smaller songs assembled together noisecore-style, but there's no proof that this was the intent. While it's pretty funny and even creative, it didn't really need to run for eight minutes.

17. Gagarin-Kombinaatti, "Raskas" ("Heavy", 1984) - Early industrial from the Neubauten school. It's sadly short at only two minutes, but that doesn't change the fact that it's an amazing bit of grinding metallic synths and real sheet metal being pounded and drilled. Mika Vainio of Pan Sonic got his start here as well, and it's definitely interesting to hear what he was up to previously.

18. Jimi Tenor and his Shamans, "Le Petomane (380v)" (1990) - The most recent track on the collection is an interesting industrial piece by Tenor and his gang. There's some weird instrumentation, but the definite show stopper is the Sirkka II custom-built drum machine. I can't figure out how it works by looking at it, since it resembles a spinning wheel, but its thudding beats propel this nifty little tune. This one could honestly be mistaken for Test Dept.

19. Reinin Myrkky, "Snorkkelijenkka: ("Snorkel Jenka", 1989) - Closing out the collection is Tenor and some freinds parodying a jenka tune. It's an amusing blast of polka-esque silliness, and it's over in twenty-five seconds.

Overall, there's too many winning tracks on this album to grouse about any of the lesser numbers (and those are at worst merely interesting). It's a wonderful companion to ARKTINEN HYSTERIA or a perfect standalone primer. I strongly recommend finding a copy at all costs and blowing your mind.

Pyrolator, AUSLAND

Ata Tak, 1981; available with bonus tracks

CD: 20 tracks, 68:43

Pyrolator's name has shown up a lot here. A founding member of Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft AND a long-term part of Der Plan, the man otherwise known as Kurt Dahlke has had a big hand in the development of German new wave and post-punk. AUSLAND was his second album, following the minimal masterpiece INLAND*. For this gem, Dahlke recorded all the synth and drum machine programming into a proto-MIDI unit called the Brontologik. He then invited other musicians to add elements over the basic electronic tracks. What resulted was a varied blend of accessibility and quirkiness, with individual songs going from minimal synth to catchy electro-pop to almost no wave and everywhere in between. The majority of the tracks feature guest vocalists, ranging from the catchy to the almost grating. Other guests include Dahlke's co-conspirators in Der Plan and Frederik Nilsen from the LAFMS on "cross-string guitar"! Musically, it sounds much more high-tech than Der Plan; the synths dominate the proceedings, all sounding gloriously vintage nowadays. The instrumentals, such as the groovy "Elefantendisco" and the potent "180°", are the most effective pieces of music. Still, vocal tracks like the charming "Mein Hund", the trancey "Du Bist So... Ich Träume", and the wild "Die Haut Der Frau" are quite enjoyable! There's even time for sound collage with the odd "True Love". Eight bonus tracks round out the package. Some of these sound like outtakes from INLAND, and reflect that album's minimal electronic genius; I'm particularly fond of "Danger Cruising Part 2". Others are firmly connected to AUSLAND, and these are some of the best tracks on the disc! The closing "Programm No. 1" is particularly great, being a live performance with Fenstermacher on vocals. If you enjoy DAF and Der Plan, as well as no wave and the more out-there realms of synthpop, AUSLAND should be a part of your collection. If you have trouble finding it, try Ata Tak direct (they also sell the previously reviewed Der Plan compilation).

*INLAND is much harder to find, but as of 9/15/11 I FOUND IT ON CD! Expect a review soon! It's VERY differet from AUSLAND.

Franco Battiato, SULLE CORDE DI ARIES and CLIC

Bla Bla, 1973; reissued by BMG; available

4 tracks, 33:26



Bla Bla, 1974; reissued by BMG; available

7 tracks, 32:07

Battiato's amazing first two albums, FETUS and POLLUTION, were reviewed here a while ago. It's about time I got to the other two albums from his classic early quartet!

For SULLE CORDE DI ARIES, Battiato is joined on every track by percussionist Gianfranco D'Adda and guitarist/mandolinist Gianni Mocchetti*. He has several guest artists across the tracks as well, from violin to recited vocals. Battiato himself tackles the VCS3, guitar, prepared piano, and kalimba. A distinct retreat from the rock touches of POLLUTION, SULLE finds Franco somewhere between modern composition and cosmic pop-rock. The sidelong "Sequenze E Frequenze" is mostly an electronic pulse, anchored by drums and other touches. It easily rivals the best cosmic music from Germany, and might even surpass some of the better-known acts in that style. The B-side is made up of three shorter tracks. The instrumental "Aries" and moody near-classical "Aria Di Rivoluzione" show how much Battiato has progressed from the almost naive FETUS. "Da Oriente A Occidente" starts with a VCS3 whine and double-tracked, slightly out-of-phase vocals, leading to a wonderfully folky tune that ends the album quite unexpectedly. Definitely his most assured outing to this point, SULLE CORDE DI ARIES would be hard to beat.

Leave it to Franco to beat it! Dedicated to none other than Karlheinz Stockhausen, CLIC was Battiato's first real stab at modern composition. D'Adda and Mocchetti are back (with Mocchetti playing bass and guitar rather than mandolin); Juri Camisasca and Pietro Pizzamiglio are credited with vocal effects, and the Quartetto Ensemble del Conservatorio di Milano also helps out a bit. This time around, Battiato himself takes on piano, organ, mandolin, VCS3, "crystals" and "metals"(!). Only the stunning "No U Turn" features Franco's singing; the rest of the album is avant-instrumental music of a high caliber. "Rien Ne Va Plus - Andante" and "Ethika Fon Ethica" are brief but humorous sound collages; they may not be the best examples of this style, but they're still fun! Several tracks are absolutely gorgeous electronic pieces, including the minimal "Il Mercato Degli Dei" and the stunning "I Cancelli Della Memoria". "Propriedad Prohibida", while ostensibly a joking jab at the more-left-wing Italian prog acts, is a perfectly stunning piece of synth bliss. With CLIC, Battiato showed the world that he was indeed an artist to take seriously.

These albums are available as fairly priced Italian imports. Both are highly recommended, and with POLLUTION and FETUS they form an impressive early body of work. From here, Battiato would go further into experimentation; unfortunately, and as previously mentioned, for a while this meant whole sides of two piano notes being struck repeatedly. From there, he went into his pure pop phase and out of my realm of interest.

*D'Adda and Mocchetti were an essential part of the early Battiato sound; they also appeared on FETUS and POLLUTION. Sadly, CLIC was their final appearance on a Battiato album.

Earth, PHASE 3: THRONES AND DOMINIONS

Sub Pop, 1995; available

8 tracks, 55:04

Completing the trilogy of early Earth releases, PHASE 3: THRONES AND DOMINIONS was widely ignored or trashed upon its release. This is definitely the least heavy of their early works; there's no bass, and most tracks are Dylan Carlson solo with his guitar. Still, being Earth, there's a lot of guitar power and distortion here! Opener "Harvey" is under three minutes, a massive change from the equally massive EARTH 2. It's a nice little number, coming across like a drumless Melvins outtake. Actually, half of these tracks are under four minutes, and the longest is just under fifteen. Quite a change from the three-song seventy-plus-minute leviathan that was EARTH 2! Tommy Hansen contributes additional guitar to "Harvey" and "Song 4"; the latter is honestly pretty, with its acoustic guitar touches and repetitive electric riff. "Tibetan Quaaludes" and "Site Specific Carnivorous Occurrence" (featuring Rick Cambern on drums) definitely prove this is the same band, with their heavy guitar sludge and droning amplifier buzz. The real surprises are the two epics. "Phase 3: Agni Detonating Over The Thar Desert..." is the sounds of a desolate and wind-blasted landscape for twelve and a half minutes, while "Thrones And Dominions" is a truly beautiful piece of heavy ambient music (and the longest track on here). The other two tracks, "Lullaby (Take 2: How Dry I Am)" and "Song 6 (Chime)", are pleasant little songs; "Song 6 (Chime)" is particularly pretty in a music box-esque way. The best way to approach PHASE 3 is as a transitional album; the following PENTASTAR: IN THE STYLE OF DEMONS mostly deserves its bad reputation, since it took the blueprints of PHASE 3 and made Earth more accessible than they should have tried to be. I'd think of PHASE 3 as Earth's true ambient album.

Deuter, D and AUM

Kuckuck, 1971; available

5 tracks, 41:00



Kuckuck, 1972; available

12 tracks, 43:39

The enigmatic Georg Deuter has been previously mentioned here as a member of Maschine Nr. 9. Before joining that odd collective, he released two extraordinarily singular solo albums. Let's review them, shall we?

The first Deuter album, D, is also one of his most varied. Literally no two tracks sound much alike, and it's all the more impressive for that! The opening multi-part "Babylon" established Deuter as a true krautrock innovator. Over nearly fifteen minutes, he combines acid guitar, atmospheric organ, wordless vocals, and other sonic bits to create a true masterpiece. It's probably worth noting that every instrument was performed by Deuter; ah, the miracles of overdubbing! "Der Turm/Fluchtpunkt" is even better, being four and a half minutes of odd guitar sounds with steady drumming. This sounds almost like an Ash Ra Tempel outtake! Surprises abound, and "Krishna Eating Fish And Chips" is the first of these. Beginning with a droning organ, this becomes a ten-minute duet for said sound plus an honest-to-goodness sitar. What could be awfully cheesy in lesser hands is nothing less than a meditative piece of genius here. Next up is "Atlantis", which has Deuter's wordless "AHHHhhhhhhh"s accompanying hand percussion and a recording of the seashore. It's one of those pieces that truly transports you elsewhere, and it's another highlight on an album chock full of them. Finally, "Gammastrahlen-Lamm" ends things with a decidedly ambient and spaced-out synth. For sheer variety alone, D is incredible; luckily, the music itself bears this out.

Deuter's next album, AUM, took a decidedly different approach. Gone are the epic tracks, to be replaced by a series of mostly short pieces. AUM is also less varied, focusing mostly on sitar and hand percussion. The tracks were orignally arranged into three suites on vinyl; for the CD, they have been indexed seperately. The epic "Susani" (longest track here at eight minutes) is an exception to the rule, being a stunning piece of echo guitar soundscapes and wordless chants that would make Achim Reichel jealous. Other highlights include the trancey "Soham", the frenzied "Offener Himmel I/Gleichzeitig", and the atmospheric "The Key", but the whole album really should be heard in one go for the full effect. While this is much more in raga mode than rock, it's still an incredible listen. It also beats the hell out of a lot of later New Age, which it does resemble at times (though Deuter managed to avoid the schmaltziness that is usually associated with the genre).

Sadly, after this double knockout, Deuter would retreat into New Age music of a (in my opinion) cheesy nature. He did this for spiritual reasons, which I do respect and understand. Certain later albums, such as SILENCE IS THE ANSWER and SAN, definitely have their moments, but most krautrock fans won't find much to like with the rest of his catalog. That's really a shame, since he showed such promise.

Thomas Leer and Robert Rental, THE BRIDGE

Industrial Records, 1979; reissued by Mute/The Grey Area; available

9 tracks, 43:20

Scottish musicians Robert Rental (born Robert Donnachie) and Thomas Leer had each released an important indie single a year before this collaboration. Leer's offering was the poppy lo-fi "Private Plane"/"International", and Rental's was the weird industrial "Paralysis"/"A.C.C.". Having relocated to England, the two mavericks were lent 8-tracks by Throbbing Gristle so they could record this album. As the liner notes point out, this was recorded in a two week span (June 18th to July 2nd) in one of their homes; interestingly, the back cover notes "all blips & unseemly noises were generated by refrigerators & other domestic appliances & are intrinsic to the music"! Both musicians take turns on guitar, synths, "synth percussion" (more on that later), bass, and other noises. THE BRIDGE is divided into two distinct halves; the A-side features vocal work, while the B-side has four tracks of pure ambience. The vocal songs are definitely in a post-punk/synthpop mode. Leer sings lead on four tracks; the fuzzy "Connotations" and the bizarrely catchy "Monochrome Day's" are definite highlights. Rental takes the lead on "Day Breaks, Night Heals", and this creepy gem is the absolute standout. What's interesting about the percussion is that Leer and Rental didn't use a drum machine. Instead, they pounded out rhythms on synth and made tape loops of the results. While primitive, this technique lends a unique touch to these tracks. The flipside is a completely different story. Rental is credited with tapes, loops, and voice for this side, while Leer takes on synths, tapes, and voice (that's voice, not vocals). Long drones and loops, accompanied by TV sounds and those other "unseemly noises", flow effortlessly towards dark chillout bliss. The lengthy "Interferon" is the standout here, but the other three are amazing as well. Both sides add up to what is one of the best releases from Industrial Records; thank goodness Mute reissued it! Around this time, Rental released an extremely rare demo called MENTAL DETENTIONS; this completely instrumental gem of early industrial heaven also features Leer on a few tracks and DEFINITELY deserves a reissue. Leer still has a synthpop career, and for a while was in Act; some is worth investigating, some isn't. Rental would collaborate with the Normal (Daniel Miller, Mute head honcho) on a single-sided live album (rare but worth the hunt); his last output was the excellent "Double Heart"/On Location" single on Mute, featuring DAF's Robert Görl on drums and Leer on piano (also recommended). After this, he retired from music to raise a family, sadly passing away in 2000. The fact that so little of Rental's output exists is reason enough to buy THE BRIDGE, but the music more than justifies adding it to your collection.

Rune Lindblad, DEATH OF THE MOON: ELECTRONIC & CONCRETE MUSIC 1953-1960

Pogus, 1997; available

8 tracks, 73:54

The late Rune Lindblad (1923-1991) was a true pioneer, yet he's all but unknown to the majority of music fans and scholars. Actually, none of the pieces collected here were released in any form until 1988! This is a true shame, for this disc contains some incredible examples of mixed electronic music. By "mixed" I mean Lindblad used both pure electronic and concrete sources. True, contemporaries like Dockstader and (earlier) Stockhausen did the same thing; however, at the time most composers favored one technique or the other, and they tended to be outspoken against the other. Audiences and critics hated his music at the time, but now it stands as a truly astounding body of work. As the title makes clear, DEATH OF THE MOON covers 1953 to 1960. The sound quality can be murky at times, but better than expected given the age of the source material. The pieces are presented in chronological order, and they definitely do plot a progression in technique and resources. My absolute favorite of the bunch is the incredible "Evening (Op. 7)"* from 1956. It's truly difficult to describe, but suffice to say it has some startling no wave-esque guitar alongside Lindblad's unidentifiable concrete sounds. The lengthy "Optica 1 (Op. 16)", composed from 1959 to 1960, also deserves mention. Apparently using actual video tape (as sound source or recording medium, I'm not sure), this squelchy sequence of bursts and blips sounds oddly like much-later glitch! From a technical standpoint, "Party (Op. 1)" from 1953 is the most primitive track, sounding like little more than bits of conversation fading in and out of a bed of feedback; rest assured, it's still a great listen! Early industrial music is the best possible comparison, and considering the age and obscurity of these pieces, it's sadly not shocking that Lindblad wasn't hailed as a VERY early pioneer of that genre. Now that his catalog is more available, everyone with even a passing interest in early electronic music can experience true masterpieces of the genre. Pogus' companion volume OBJEKT 2 covers 1962 to 1988, while the Swedish lable Elektron put out a two-disc eponymous compilation collecting unreleased pieces from 1960 to 1980. Both of these are as highly recommended as DEATH OF THE MOON. While harder to find, the 1975 LP PREDESTINATION is also worth hearing, but be aware it favors electronics over concrete sounds.

*With rare exceptions, most Lindblad compositions end in "(Op. #)".

Steve Tibbetts, STEVE TIBBETTS

Frammis, 1977; reissued by Cuneiform; available

9 tracks, 34:44

Steve Tibbetts is an acquired taste. Some of his work is incredible, while some is decent but unremarkable. This, his debut effort, falls squarely into the former category. Made when he was still a teenager (and originally released on his own label), this is a seamless piece of space rock bliss. Tibbetts claims he graduated while making this and had to sneak back onto his former campus to finish it (they had a Moog and a studio, after all!). The majority of the tracks are Tibbetts alone, but Tim Weinhold adds percussion on a few. Tibbetts is credited with "instruments", tape effects, vocals (VERY sparingly used), and engineering. While there are distinct songs, they seamlessly blend into each other to make two loose suites. Some tracks, like the folky "Sunrise" and "Interlude", focus on Tibbett's acoustic guitar with slight electronic coloration. On the opposite end, tracks like the trippy "Alvin Goes To Tibet" and "Gong" are entirely electronic, and fine examples of the genre at that! "Desert" and "How Do You Like My Buddha?" combine synths, tape effects and guitars in nearly equal measures to stunning effect. This is the place to start with Tibbetts; all of his albums have something to offer, but he was never quite this consistently incredible again. Who says a debut has to be rough? Kudos as always to Cuneiform for their continued dedication to keeping amazing obscurities like this in print!

Richard Maxfield and Harold Budd, THE OAK OF THE GOLDEN DREAMS

Two albums on one disc (see review for individual release dates); this compilation issued by New World Records in 1999; available

6 tracks, 66:48

It's an odd pairing, but this compilation works! Consisting of the late Richard Maxfield's ELECTRONIC MUSIC (issued by Advance in 1967 or '69; sources differ) and Harold Budd's THE OAK OF THE GOLDEN DREAMS (also issued by Advance, but in 1972), this is an hour plus of important and little-known music. Maxfield has been previously discussed on this blog (see the review for NEW SOUNDS IN ELECTRONIC MUSIC). ELECTRONIC MUSIC compiled four of his pieces for a short but delightful trip through pre-synthesizer machine music. "Bacchanale" (created in 1963)is essentially musique concrete, with Edward Fields reading a poem over a strange tape collage. Meanwhile, fellow artists Nicholas Roussakis, Terry Jennings, Fahrad Machkat, and Robert Block provide instrumentation (respectively: underwater clarinet, saxophone, violin, and prepared violin). The liner notes claim no sounds are of electronic origin, but there definitely is some sort of mucking done to the tapes. It's a fascinating piece, but the material surrounding it is even better! "Piano Concert for David Tudor" dates from 1961 and finds Mr. Tudor playing a prepared (I think) piano to the accompaniment of tapes featuring Maxfield manipulating the strings of said piano. "Amazing Grace" and "Pastoral Symphony" (both from 1960) are full-on electronic explorations, sounding light years ahead of their time. "Amazing Grace" even uses a tape of a preacher before Steve Reich's "It's Gonna Rain"; the results are at least Reich's equal! Maxfield's works occupy just under half an hour of this disc, while Budd's massive "The Oak Of The Golden Dreams" and "Couer D'Orr" (from 1969 and 1970, respectively) fill up the rest of the space. These are much more drone-based than the work Budd is best known for, and that actually works in their favor. Budd appears to be heavily under the influence of Terry Riley on these pieces while still managing to establish a distinct identity of his own. "Oak" is performed solely on a Buchla synth played with both hands (one providing a rich drone, the other beautifully improvising), while "Couer" features two tape loops of different notes (D-flat major and B major) played endlessly while Charles Oreña provides a saxophone improvisation; towards the end, one of the loops stops to interesting effect. Both of these tracks are peaceful yet never boring, and they provide a welcome counterpoint to Maxfield's considerably more abrasive pieces. The Budd pieces are also an excellent example of minimalism's influence on later developments such as ambient. Every serious fan of electronic music, ambient, minimalism, and related genres needs to find this disc; you won't be disappointed.

Ilitch, PERIODIKMINDTROUBLE

Oxygene, 1978; reissued and expanded to two discs by Fractal; available

Fractal edition: 2 discs. Disc 1: 7 tracks, 71:06. Disc 2: 12 tracks, 75:38

More French insanity! Ilitch was essentially multi-instrumentalist Thierry Müller. On their next album, 10 SUICIDES, there was a full band, but for the majority of PERIODIKMINDTROUBLE it's just Thierry and his arsenal of instruments. On two tracks he's assisted by his brother Patrick, and there is a rerecorded track with Laurent Saïet on guitar, but those are the only exceptions. The material was recorded between 1974 and 1978. The original LP consisted of a few of the "Innerfilmsequences" on side A, while the B-side was entirely occupied by "Periodikmindtrouble". For the reissue, "Periodikmindtrouble" itself is track 1 of disc 1, with tracks 2 to 4 being "Ballades Urbaines", followed by the two-part "A.B.ss" and the short "Micik Für Brokenpedalboard". Disc 2 is the entirety of the "Innerfilmsequences", including the five released on the original LP and two which were released on the severely rare P.T.M. WORKS cassette. As for the music itself, Ilitch comes across as the evil offspring of Terry Riley, NO PUSSYFOOTING and early industrial. At times this veers close to Heldon, particularly on "Periodikmindtrouble" itself, which is performed on organ and "destructed" guitar. That being said, Ilitch is still a uniquely creative entity. Disembodied voices are scatterred throughout "Ballades Urbaines", which is equally covered in distortion and effects, making for a truly unsettling mix. This was originally intended to be the B-side of the LP, and it would have been a fine release on its own. The remaining compositions on disc 1 are early recordings, both from 1974, and these are every bit as interesting as the rest of the material. Disc 2 goes into progressively more abstract territory. Harmonium, guitar, organ, synths..... all find their way into Müller's hands. It's interesting to note that Müller used a Revox A77 recorder, the same model Eno used for NO PUSSYFOOTING. Ilitch's material is similarly displaced in time, being shrouded in echo, reverb, delay, and all manner of modifications that combine to form an entirely mesmerizing and disorienting collection. It comes across in the end as a truly amazing cross between cosmic music, early industrial, musique concrete, and proto-dark ambient. Needless to say, this is highly recommended. Ilitch continues to release albums; the latest offerrings are more synth-pop, but still very worth a listen. Also worth hearing is their second album, 1980's 10 SUICIDES, which is like a demented outsider take on synth-pop.

Tolerance, ANONYM

Vanity, 1980; out of print

9 tracks, 40:08

Tolerance were a mysterious Japanese duo consisting of Junko Tange on voice, synth, and piano and Masami Yoshikawa on guitar. There's a good chance both performed on other electronics too. For this, their first LP, Tolerance created an absolute masterpiece of minimal electronic atmospherics. The guitars alone cover a large variety of styles, ranging from gentle sliding to folky noodling to full-on skronk. The accompanying sounds also manage to cover quite a range, while all being decidedly experimental. Spoken female vocals (which seem to be in French!) mix in effortlessly with strange electronic rhythms and gentle Satie-esque piano, creating a unique sound. The electronics used truly aren't easy to identify, and may even be homemade. Each track is excellent, and they have some truly odd and interesting names. "I Wanna Be A Homicide", "Laughin In The Shadows", "Tecno-Room"..... really, the song titles alone should tell you this is great! This could even be considered Japan's krautrock album! Loose comparisons to such other visionaries as the Sperm and Moolah can be made, and this definitely holds a place as one of those truly unusual albums that every serious avant-gardist should hear. They went on to record another album, DIVIN, which is almost as good. Sadly, neither is available currently (there was a grey-area vinyl of DIVIN a few years back), and both are in sore need of a reissue.

Henri Roger, IMAGES...

Pôle, 1975; reissued by Tapioca; out of print

4 tracks, 47:53

Ah, Pôle Records! I can never get enough of them! This stunner by Henri Roger (his only album for the label) continues in the grand Pôle tradition; hell, the word "Pôle" is rght there on the cover, larger than artist or album title! IMAGES... has a very unique setup. Roger fills side one with the twenty-two minute title track. This is a piece for electric organ, and Roger manages to get some truly impressive sounds and patterns out of his Yamaha. Never staying in one pattern for too long, and never overstaying its welcome, this track alone qualifies this as a masterpiece. Side two opens with "Au Dela Du Langage", for Mini Korg and Elka Rhapsody synthesizers. This nifty composition has a much funkier sound, until it becomes a strange ambient piece midway. Up next is "Ataraxie" for acoustic guitar (there's also either a tambourine or maracas in there). Standing out from the surrounding electronic experimentation, this is a nice little folky piece, constantly developing and providing a nice calm mood. Finally, IMAGES... ends with "Asyle Cosmique", the other obvious highlight. Over ten minutes, Roger layers synths, organ, and guitar to provide a track that effortlessly goes from classic Pôle-style cosmic synthscapes to neo-classical moods to a driving rock finale. At several points, this predicts and betters many later bands and movements; you could say this was a bootleg Tortoise recording and nobody would question you, except Tortoise NEVER sounded this good. IMAGES... is yet another high point in the Pôle catalog, and a must for fans of early electronic music. Unfortunately, as with most Pôle releases, this has been long out of print and is in dire need of a reissue. Henri Roger went on to make more music, all of which is well worth investigating, but IMAGES... remains his masterpiece.

Fripp & Eno, NO PUSSYFOOTING

1973, Island; reissued by Discipline as a double disc; available

Original LP: 2 tracks, 39:38; double-disc Discipline reissue: 5 tracks indexed into different parts (see review), total of both discs 120:50

It's charming when you first hear something that still sounds as fresh as the day it was released. NO PUSSYFOOTING (fine, it's technically (NO PUSSYFOOTING), but the reissue varies on the spelling as well) is definitely one of those albums. When this came out, Eno was nearing the end of his time with Roxy Music and Fripp had gone on hiatus, temporarily disbanding King Crimson. Apparently Eno introduced Fripp to a unique dual Revox tape recorder setup. Similar in function to Terry Riley's time-lag accumulator, this setup allowed for layering of a bed of ever-evolving tape loops. These loops could have elements added or subtracted during the course of the composition. On top of this, Fripp solos to his heart's content, never veering into outright guitar god turf, but instead offering an emotional and very uniquely improvised tone. Hints of his Crimson work remain, but the result is distinct from that band's general sound. "The Heavenly Music Corporation", which occupied all of side one of the LP, is made up solely of this general setup. "Swastika Girls", spreading over side two and being named after a pornographic photo shoot (allegedly left behind in a studio and found by Eno!), also uses these elements. However, it adds a shrieking VCS3 synthesizer with a primitive digital sequencer as additional sound sources. The result is two wonderful extremes; "The Heavenly Music Corporation" is all soothing textures, while "Swastika Girls" has several abrasive (and almost proto-noise-rock, if there were such a thing) textures with hints of beauty. For the 2008 reissue (allegedly limited edition), Discipline has outdone themselves. Considering Fripp runs Discipline, this should be no surprise, but the deluxe reissue is amazing! NO PUSSYFOOTING has never sounded clearer, and the album will sound new even to old fans of it. However, this time, the bonus tracks are more than worth the fair price! Disc one contains the original album plus "The Heavenly Music Corporation"..... RECORDED BACKWARDS. The effect is truly otherworldly, and oddly enough it flows perfectly with the album proper. Disc two has another version of "The Heavenly...", but played at half the speed. This turns what was a beautifully soothing song into a deep droning mass of throbbing basslines and mysterious echoes. Oddly enough, it could pass for SunnO))) or Earth at this speed. This disc concludes with "Swastika Girls" given the reverse treatment. In this case, it's interesting to note how similar it sounds forward and backward, but a couple of listens will bring out the differences. As a strange bonus, all tracks are newly indexed so that you can skip ahead to your favorite segment. Thus, on disc one, tracks one through five are "The Heavenly Music Corporation", six through seven are "Swastika Girls", and eight through twelve are the reversed "Heavenly"; disc two has the slowed-down "Heavenly" occupying tracks one to five, and the reversed "Swastika Girls" on tracks six and seven. For those familiar with NO PUSSYFOOTING, the reissue is still highly recommended, as the alternate versions truly do make an interesting and vital addition. If you haven't heard it before, be ready; you'll never forget the first time you heard it, and even with the advancement of technology and Fripp and Eno's further collaborations, you'll never hear anything QUITE like it again. Needless to say, essential.

Philippe Besombes, LIBRA and CESI EST CELA

Pôle, 1974; reissued by MIO with bonus material; out of print, but the CD is fairly easy to find

MIO version: 21 tracks, 75:44



Divox, 1979; reissued by MIO with bonus material; out of print, but the CD is fairly easy to find

MIO version: 10 tracks (11 technically; see review), 79:09 (with hidden track)

Ahhhh, more Pôle-related goodies! As reviewed in a previous post, Philippe Besombes was featured on the astonishing PÔLE album by Besombes-Rizet. LIBRA was another Besombes release on Pôle Records, and while it too is electronic-rock oriented, it's quite a different beast! Originally a soundtrack for a highly experimental film without any other sound (!), LIBRA originally consisted of seventeen tracks, ranging from just under two minutes to barely over six in length. Four of the tracks were written by Besombes' other musicians, and these all stick out. As part of the whole, they're not bad, but the slightly goofy "Tis A Song" and "Boogimmick" really don't add much; "Hache 06" and "Ballade en Velo" are much better additions. Oh, but the Besombes material proper! Everything from primitive synths and organs to sitar and electric guitar shows up in these miniature masterpieces. "La Plage" opens the album and introduces a recurring synth theme (this IS a soundtrackk, remember), surrounded by odd female vocals. "Raggacountry" is a startling synth-and-sitar duet, while "Ceremonie" relies on heavy organ for an unearthly atmosphere. The album alone is a true work of art, but the bonus tracks are very tasty indeed. "Chocolate Cream" and "Tamota Pie Pie" would fit in perfectly with LIBRA proper, "Orgue Hache 06" is seventeen seconds of a single organ chord, and "Piano Prepare" is an absolutely stunning twenty-three minute piece (performed on, you guessed it, a prepared piano!). If Besombes had only recorded this, his legacy would be assured; this is even better than PÔLE!

After recording the Besombes-Rizet album, Besombes got involved with writing pieces for ballet companies (an album of library music was recorded in there as well). In 1979, he released a couple of these as CECI EST CELA ("this is that" in English) on the Divox label. Originally intended to be self-titled (the album art backs this up, and MIO previously advertised this reissue as ESOMBESOMBES!), four of its five tracks are VERY experimental pieces that foreshadow the early industrial scene while simultaneously updating and refining classic electronic techniques. Synths drone and squeal and provide all manner of sounds, accompanied by musique concrete and distorted conversations and monologues. None are as whimsical as LIBRA or PÔLE, but they do show Besombes' by-now signature sound at its peak. Track one, however, is a strange (and rather out of place) comedic disco tune entitled "Princesse Lolita", which was included at Divox's unrealistic request for a hit single. A dialogue between a helium-voiced princess and a distorted dragon, it's a fun song, but it's also very conspicuous in its dissimilarity from the surrounding material. No wonder Besombes allowed MIO to place this track in the negative space before track one! This means you have to search backwards from track one to find it; most listeners will probably never listen to it again after one go (I've only listened to it twice). The bonus material on CESI EST CELA (yes, the reissue is deliberately misspelled; why is beyond me) is divided by year. There are two tracks each from 1972, 1975, and 1976. The '72 material was recorded as a duo with Jean-Francois Dessoliers (the duo was appropriately called PJF), while the latter bonus material shows the evolution from LIBRA to PÔLE to CECI EST CELA. This is definitely Besombes at his most serious and academic, but it's still eons ahead of most contemporaries and a fascinating collection from start to finish.

Anything Besombes-oriented is a must-buy, but the recent closing of MIO can potentially hinder that. As of this writing, Wayside Music (see link on this page) is offerring all three MIO Besombes releases for six dollars each (update: CESI EST CELA is now $16, which probably means the stock is running low, so you should still get it while you can). The mastering is perfect, and the bonus material is worth the purchase alone! Get them now so you don't regret it later!

P.S. While much harder to find, his library music LP LA GUERRE DES ANIMAUX is equally amazing, as are his contributions to the CITY AND INDUSTRY LP.

Birgé-Gorgé-Shiroc, DÉFENSE DE/LA NUIT DU PHOQUE/JUNE SESSIONS

Grrr, 1975; reissued by MIO; out of print, but fairly easy to find

MIO edition: CD has 8 tracks, 73:54; DVD has 11 additional audio tracks plus a 42 minute movie, totalling roughly 6 hours (!)

This is the most formidable recording I have yet to review, but here goes anyway. Contained herein is every recording by Jean-Jacques Birgé, Francis Gorgé, and Shiroc. The former two went on to form the equally incredible Un Drame Musical Instantané with Bernard Vitet*, whereas Shiroc never recorded again after this. The first four tracks were the original LP, and when combined with the title they form a political message (I'll let you translate it yourself; wouldn't want to spoil it!). The music is..... well, it's unique, for one. Imagine a cross between the most out-there Sun Ra material, early AMM, a dash of Faust, and some of that French experimental flair. Then imagine a combination of those elements completely devoid of influences. That's fairly close to what you'll find on here! Shiroc's drumming varies from motorik pulses to free-jazz bashing, but is always tasteful and properly mixed with the other instruments. Birgé and Gorgé play an insanely wide variety of instruments; it's so varied, in fact, that a song-by-song instrument list is included! Electric guitar, synths, electric pianos, electric organs, tapes, alto and tenor sax (provided by Antoine Duvernet on two tracks), pipe organ, castanets, stylophones.... get the picture? That's also maybe a quarter of the entire list! Oddly enough, you can usually tell exactly what instrument is providing what sound, and the formlessness of the tracks works to their constantly evolving advantage. The bonus tracks are all leftovers from the album proper. Two of them were replaced with tracks featuring Shiroc, and the other two are alternate takes of "Pourrait Etre Brutal". Unlike most outtakes, these tracks are every bit as great as the album proper. The CD alone is an absolutely unique milestone of the avant-garde. The accompanying DVD, however, is the icing on the cake. Musically it features eleven more tracks, ranging from a fairly short ten minutes to a nearly forty-eight minute live track (also featuring second percussionist Gilles Rollet)! Shiroc, who was on half of the eight CD tracks, is present on every song on the DVD. Some of these "June Sessions" are even better than the album proper, and all of them would have made fine releases on their own. The experimental film "La Nuit Du Phoque" ("Night Of The Seal"), created in 1974 by Birgé and the late Bernard Mollerat, is also a very welcome addition. It's a comedic and surreal piece of art, featuring everything from a clown (I think) singing about "The Militant's Ballet" with a choreographed group of revolutionaries to Sir Isaac Newton scaring children in the park (and ending up stabbed for his troubles) all the way to a very bizarre cabaret performance with odd free jazz backing. It's a true period piece, and the fact that it exists and has been preserved is cause for celebration. Unfortunately, as stated in other reviews, MIO has ceased to exist. That makes this difficult to find, but if you search hard enough you will locate it (hint: Wayside has it for twenty dollars at the time this was written, and Birgé himself has copies for sale alongside classic UDMI material at http://www.drame.org/3GRRR/zDisco.html). An absolute must for all avant-garde fans!
*Vitet's LA GUÊPE is very much worth a listen as well!

Besombes-Rizet, PÔLE

Pôle, 1975; reissued by Tapioca and MIO; out of print

7 tracks, 75:44

Another stunner from Pôle Records! Actually, some claim that this is a Pôle album, and that its title is BESOMBES-RIZET. However, given that only Jean-Louis Rizet was in Pôle, and only on INSIDE THE DREAM, this probably isn't the case. Just to confuse things further, it has also claimed that Pôle was the backing band on this release! Rizet and Phillipe Besombes (who also had a healthy solo career) perform on keyboards, synths, trumpet, flute, accordion, guitar, and vocals. They are assisted by Françoise Legros on vocals, percussionist Jacky Vander Elstraete, and sax player Alain Petit. At least that's who's credited; even the reissue is scant on exact details. As for the list of keyboards used.... wow! VCS's, ARPs, Farfisas, Crumars, and more all make their appearence, lending their distinctive voices to the proceedings. Needless to say, this means the album is mostly synth-oriented, but the free-jazzy saxophone and drums definitely establish their presence. Originally a double LP, PÔLE is a surprisingly varied album. Comparisons can (and have) be made to that other giant of French experimental prog, Heldon, but Besombes-Rizet are much less ominous than Pinhas and company. The fairly straightforward synth rock of "Lundi Matin" sits comfortably next to the deep drones and oddball touches of the massive "Armature Double". The latter is the second longest track at just over eighteen minutes, with "Synth Soit-il" being just under twenty-two and "Haute Pression" clocking in at eleven minutes. These are very similar to contemporary work by Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co. and the like, but they have a distinct character. "Haute Pression" in particular sounds almost like a Klaus Schulze outtake, with an underlying pulse complimented by sharp keyboard runs and subtle variations throughout; what sets this into complete genius is the addition of motorik-influenced drums to the mix. "Synth Soit-il" follows the same path, but with the addition of drums and weird phasing effects (possibly backwards tapes). The remaining few tracks range from just under eight minutes to three and a half. "Rock a Montauban" ends up being the most out of place, sounding like a lo-fi garage rock song. The goofy vocals don't work in its favor, but it has its own oddball charms. What is most impressive is the sheer difference in mood from piece to piece, and the amazing flow of the album. This comes HIGHLY recommended, and is easily one of the best Pôle Records releases. Unlike most of their albums, this one actually got a CD reissue thanks to MIO Records; however, that label has gone under, leaving the CD out of print. Copies can still be obtained through some outlets, and I highly suggest snatching this one up on sight.

Pete Shelley's Groovy Records: Sally Smmit's HANGAHAR, Free Agents' £3.33, and Shelley's SKY YEN

Groovy, 1980; out of print

Technically 2 tracks, 34:33



Groovy, 1980; out of print

2 tracks, 41:07

No picture available for Free Agents; trust me, I looked!

Groovy, 1980; out of print

Details uncertain; see below

Pete Shelley's Groovy Records was one of the shorter-lived labels. These three records were its only output. All three feature Shelley, which isn't surprising. What IS surprising is how much none of these records sound like the Buzzcocks. Other musicians include Sally Smmit (later to use her given name of Sally Timms in the Mekons), Eric Random (also with the Tiller Boys), Francis Cookson (also with the Tiller Boys), and Barry Adamson.

SKY YEN is Shelley's solo outing. Recorded back in 1974 (pre-Buzzcocks!) using only a "purpose-built oscillator", it's two whole sides of arty electronic sounds. Not quite high-pitched enough to be annoying, but not sedate enough to be ambient, this is pure head music. It's remarkably similar to much later ambient noise,and even reminiscent at times of early academic synth artists like Subotnick. The oscillator sounds less primitive than it should, and is far removed from similar constructs such as the Simeon. Out of the three Groovy Records releases, SKY YEN is possibly the most accessible, which IS saying a lot!

Sally Smmit and her Musicians are Smmit, Cookson, Shelley, Gerard Cookson, and Lindsey Lee. HANGAHAR (also listed as SOUNDTRACK TO HANGAHAR) is two whole sides of pure krautrock/kosmische worship. Smmit channels Damo Suzuki via Yoko Ono, and while it's never clear what's being played, the sounds all blend together into the ultimate krautrock tribute. Minimalist drumming, buzzing synths, and twisted guitar are the order of the day here. It feels like one solid piece, since side two picks up basically where side one left off. A far cry from her days in the Mekons, this is Timms at her absolute most unhinged and glorious. This would be an absolute joy to fans of far-out improv rock, as well as krautrock.

As odd as HANGAHAR is, the Free Agents' £3.33 (also referenced as simply FREE AGENTS) trumps it. At least the parts I've heard. It turns out the copy I was given was probably missing at least two tracks. Therefore, the review has been removed. However, what I HAVE heard is amazing in a Faust-meets-Rev. Dwight Frizzell kind of way. The lineup consisted of Shelley, Random, Cookson, and Adamson.

Overall, these three records were incredibly radical releases, and every one of them deserves a reissue. In a more perfect world, there would be a 2-disc set with all three! The Groovy label was a bold move, and it's a shame that more people will probably never hear its output. Luckily, Eric Random had a fairly prolific solo career. SUBLIMINAL 1980-1982 collects his weird dubby rock experiments and makes for a satisfying listen (one of these days it will be reviewed here).

Third Eye Foundation, SEMTEX and GHOST

Linda's Strange Vacation, 1996; reissued by Domino; out of print

6 tracks, 48:26



Domino/Merge, 1997; out of print, but included in its entirety on disc one of COLLECTED WORKS

7 tracks, 47:39

Bristol has produced a lot of intriguing music, from the Pop Group to trip-hop to the space rock of AMP and Flying Saucer Attack. But Matt Elliott, who collaborated with those last two, probably produced the most interesting and idiosyncratic of all Bristol music. These two early releases are performed by Elliott as Third Eye Foundation. He is assisted on both by his then-girlfriend, Debbie Parsons. She later went on to perform as Foehn; indeed, one track on GHOST is credited to Foehn, though Elliott probably participated in its creation. Now, on to the records!

SEMTEX accomplishes on opening track "Sleep" what Kevin Shields had been promising for a while: drum 'n'bass/shoegazer fusion. It's an odd mix, but it works, with the blistering beats cushioning the piercing feedback-drenched guitar. The really amazing thing is how full this sounds despite being recorded on a four-track! A guitar, a Roland Workstation, some effects, Parsons' vocals, and the four-track are the only things used on these tracks, yet it sounds rich and fully produced. "Still-Life" finds Parsons' beautifully ethereal vocals accompanying another blissfully distorted guitar. The beats are slowed here, and are a cross between tribal pounding and fractured breaks. "Dreams On His Fingers" is even more ethereal, with Parsons' lovely vocals buried under layers of fuzz and crackle and gentle cymbal-heavy percussion. "Next Of Kin" is back to harsher territory, with Parsons evoking the sirens of myth while Elliott creates waves of tension. The beats here come across as tribal-influenced drum 'n' bass. The surprising "Once When I Was An Indian" is unlike any other track on SEMTEX. It is a slowly evolving slice of dark ambience that features extremely spare percussion, ringing tones that could be synth or guitar based (it's VERY hard to tell), and Parsons chanting wordless vocals. Think the Cocteau Twins gone dub and you're somewhere close to the mark. It is one of the finest examples of dark ambient/isolationism ever recorded. "Rain" ends the album with gentle cascading sounds evoking its title, fading in a fog of shimmery electronic raindrops and distortion. While it is very rare, SEMTEX is an essential album, transcending post-rock's promise to a whole new level of studio-based perfection. It also hasn't dated one bit, remaining an oddly timeless album.

An equally rare album followed SEMTEX. Entitled IN VERSION, it consisted of Elliott's remixes of AMP, Flying Saucer Attack, Hood, and Crescent. This will be reviewed once I acquire it (which, since I have yet to find it for under $50, may be a while).
(UPDATE AUGUST 2010:I finally got a great copy of IN VERSION for under $15! Review coming soon!)

Following IN VERSION, Elliott plunged further into electronics with GHOST. The guitar noise remains, but it doesn't play as central a role as it did on SEMTEX. It shares equal time (and is indeed overshadowed at times) with a sampler, and Elliott has upgraded to an eight-track. Surprisingly, GHOST has a much dirtier sound than SEMTEX, but it works in its favor. Featuring songs with titles like "Corpses As Bedmates", "Ghosts...", and "Donald Crowhurst" (whose tragic story makes for interesting reading), you can tell you're in for a much more somber listen than SEMTEX. Foehn's track, "The Star's Gone Out", is the only diversion into pure noise assault, but it's a stunning and evocative piece. It is also one of only two beatless tracks, "Donald Crowhurst" being the second. Elsewhere, "Corpses As Bedmates" features shrieking noises which sound like some Lovecraftian horror stalking its prey; these are supported by beats that remain relatively slow, then break down into fast jungle mayhem. "The Out Sound From Way In" has fractured breakbeats and a strange whistling sound, while "I've Seen The Light And It Is Dark" is centered around some kind of ceremonial trumpet (I'm guessing). Sounds reminiscent of METAL MACHINE MUSIC*, Asian vocals singing in mournful despair (both in "What To Do But Cry?"**), sonar-esque keyboard ambience ("Donald Crowhurst"), distorted glass-breaking sounds mixed with mournful strings ("Ghosts..."); these and other unusual sounds find their way into Elliott's mix, and all combine to make another stunning Third Eye Foundation album. While this is out of print, it's included on COLLECTED WORKS. That set also contains several rare singles (unfortunately with edits) and 3EF's next two albums, YOU GUYS KILL ME and LITTLE LOST SOUL. While this latter pair does move closer to normal drum 'n' bass territory, the twisted experimental innovations are still in full force. There was also a second 3EF remix compilation, with the slightly ridiculous title I POO POO ON YOUR JUJU. That features Elliott's takes on everything from experimental composer Yann Tiersen to bizarro comedian Chris Morris. Elliott's solo work is also highly recommneded, but the most recent material is VERY far removed from his 3EF days.

*While many sources say it's a direct sample from MMM, Matt himself informed me it isn't.

**Interestingly, in an e-mail from ages ago Matt told me he had no idea what the vocalist was saying, and he used the sample based solely on its mournful tone. Later he found out one of the phrases she sings is "what to do but cry?"!

EDIT: For more Third Eye Foundation and Matt Elliott, please visit the following links:
http://www.myspace.com/mattelliotandthethirdeye
http://www.myspace.com/thethirdeyefoundation
http://www.thirdeyefoundation.com (the guestbook has an early fan post by yours truly!)