ARKTINEN HYSTERIA: SUOMI-AVANTGARDEN ESIPUUTARHUREITA

Love Records, 2001; available

13 tracks, 78:09

This absolutely priceless compilation of Finnish experimental music (the title translates roughly to "Arctic Hysteria: The Early Finnish Avant-Gardeners"!) is a tough one to review. Each track covers different styles, which makes for a delightfully diverse listen. Thus, for a change, I'm going to do a track-by-track analysis. I will provide tranlsations of the titles (when needed) in each mini-review.

1. M.A. Numminen, Tommi Parko, Pekka Kujanpää - "Eleitä kolmelle röyhtäilijälle" (1961)
This "symphony for three belchers" is probably the weakest track here, but it's mercifully brief at 1:56 and historically important. The three madmen responsible (two of whom show up with later works on the next two tracks) burp over a folky strum. That's it. Still, it's pretty funny once in a while.

2. Sähkökvartetti - "Kaukana väijyy ystäviä" (1968)
Here's where things start to get interesting! The Sähkökvartetti was a four-piece electronic instrument created by Erkki Kurenniemi (more on him later). Translating to "Electric Quartet", it consisted of an "electric violin", a primitive drum machine, a photoelectric melody machine, and the "voice machine". The latter is some kind of microphone/photoelectric aluminum stick hybrid. Numminen and Parko are on voice machine and electric violin respectively, while Arto Koskinen and Peter Widén handle melody and drum machines. This is raw live electronics,  made even eerier when Numminen's distorted voice joins the mix. The recording quality is rough, but that's perfectly suited to the material. Another version of this is on the PSYCHEDELIC PHINLAND 2-disc comp; both are recommended, since no two performances of  "Far Away Lurk Friends" were alike.

3. Tommi Parko - "Hysteriablues" (1968)
Here's Parko for a third time! This is another mildly annoying track. It consists of jazzy/bluesy piano playing while Parko yelps in a falsetto. It's too brief to REALLY grate, though, and it is very amusing. It's actually VERY similar to the experimental vocal works of Henry Flynt.

4. Erkki Salmenhaara - "Information Explosion, prologue" (1967)
I enjoy this one a lot. It's an early bit of Finnish musique concrete bordering on plunderphonics. Several different sound sources pop in and out of the mix, but rarely at the same time. The overall feeling is receiving data in bursts. Salmenhaara (with some assistance from Erkki Kurenniemi) also gets points for a fairly unique take on musique concrete.

5. Blues Section - "Shivers Of Pleasure" (1967)
While it's somewhat out of place, this psychedelic gem is really cool. Backwards tapes, free sax playing, and an "atonal choir" combine with more traditional rock to great effect. Be warned that some other Blues Section material is nowhere near as innovative.

6. Erkki Kurenniemi - "Antropoiden Tansi" (1968)
Finally getting his own track, Kurenniemi was a true electronic wizard. This track uses one of his self-built early sequencers to create an odd masterpiece. The jumpy electronic tones sound remarkably similar to later glitch and IDM experiments, earning the title "Dance Of The Anthropoids" quite well. There's not a whole lot of Kurenniemi out there, so having a taste here is quite a boon. If you're hooked like I was, try to find the collection ÄÄNITYKSIÄ/RECORDINGS 1963-1973 (and look for a review of that here soon!).

7. Jukka Ruohomäki - "Mikä aika on" (1970)
This guy was Kurenniemi's assistant. Here, he uses the DIMI (Digital Musical Instrument), a synthesizer built by you-know-who. It sounds remarkably similar to Patrick Vian's solo work and is every bit as enjoyable.

8. Jouni Kesti and Seppo I. Laine - "Vallankumouksen analyysi" (1970)
This eleven-minute onslaught of free jazz is amazing! Recorded on a cheap deck in a living room, Laine absolutely roars on alto sax while Kesti attacks his drums in a nearly grindcore fashion. At one point Laine puts his microphone inside the sax, resulting in some truly filthy distortion. I wish I could find the B-side of the mini-LP this was taken from. If it's anything like "Analysis Of Revolution" (what an absolutely fitting name!), it would be a masterpiece. As it is, this is a lost treasure of truly brutal jazz.

9. The Sperm - "3rd Erection" (1968)
Ah, the infamous Sperm! This track is taken from their debut EP. P.Y Hiltunen makes some weird vocalizations (words? sounds? speaking in tongues?) while Pekka Airaksinen does his thing with a guitar. It sounds nothing like SHH!, but it's a great track. It's somewhat comparable to a noisier take on the Holy Modal Rounders or the Fugs.

10. J.O. Mallander - "1962" (1968)
This one's important due to Mallander's involvement with the Sperm, but it's truly mind-numbing and boring. A voice repeats "Kekkonen, Kekkonen, Kekkonen, Kekkonen, Kekkonen" over and over and over. That's it. There's also a part two elsewhere that's essentially the same thing. It's a joke that works for its audience, but it loses a lot in translation.

11. The Sperm - "Kuoleman puutarha live (otteita)" (1970)
Oh man, what a find! This is basically a collage of excerpts from the Sperm's opera "Garden Of Death". It opens with a lecture, goes into an Airaksinen guitarscape via a rough cut, and then ends on a crazed jam accompanied briefly by another lecture. While it will obviously never replace seeing them live, it gives you a great idea of what the audience experienced. The cover photo of this comp is apparently from this performance, if that's any indication!

12. Pekka Airaksinen - "Pieni sienikonsertto - A Little Soup For Piano And Orchestra op 46,8" (1970)
This has already been reviewed, since it was on Airaksinen's ONE POINT MUSIC, but its presence here is definitely welcome!

13. S. Albert Kivinen - "Spirea" (1970)
Another jokey track. Kivinen sings about Spiro Agnew in an off-key voice over a folk song. It's not a standout by any stretch, but it's definitely not bad. It's probably also worth noting that Numminen shows up here yet again, this time on accordion!

Thankfully, the less-interesting tracks are all brief, while the lengthy highlights are over far too soon. This is an  excellent primer on the Finnish experimental scene(s) and should be acquired by anyone with an interest in the avant-garde. You might also want to check out SON OF ARCTIC HYSTERIA/MORE ARCTIC HYSTERIA and PSYCHEDELIC PHINLAND. The former is a 2-disc set that continues where this one leaves off, covering works from 1970 to 1990. The latter is also a 2-disc set; disc 1 is more accessible hippie/folk/psychedelic material, while disc 2 features tracks by the Sperm, Airaksinen, Sähkökvartetti, and Mallander amongst others.

A.R. Kane, 69 and "i"

Rough Trade, 1988; reissued by One Little Indian; available

10 tracks, 40:30



Rough Trade, 1989; reissued by One Little Indian; available

26 tracks, 67:51

It never ceases to amaze me that A.R. Kane aren't well known in the US. This duo (of Alex Ayuli and Rudy Tambala) were capable of some of THE most innovative music of the late '80s. The British press saddled them with the obnoxious moniker "the black Jesus and Mary Chain", which isn't even very accurate. Their early singles were slightly JAMC-ish*, but by the time of their debut LP 69, they were mining far stranger territory. Claiming to be interpreting the style of electric Miles Davis on rock instruments, they actually hit closer to a shoegazer/dub combination that was uniquely theirs. Perhaps Cocteau Twins would be a close comparison, but A.R. Kane are far more trippy and improvisational in nature. In fact, A.R. Kane coined the term "dream pop" just to describe their music! Five of the tracks feature extra instrumentation by other musicians, but this is limited to one or two extras per track. Everything else was programmed and performed by Rudy and Alex. The opening "Crazy Blue" and "Suicide Kiss" show A.R. Kane's versatility nicely. "Crazy Blue" is shoegazer gone pop, with a catchy beat anchoring the soaring vocals of Rudy (who starts off with some interesting glossolalia) and Maggie (his sister). At the other end of the spectrum, "Suicide Kiss" has a heavy industrial-esque beat and lots of feedback; Rudy's vocals here are another perfect match with the music. Other highlights include "Sulliday", with its controlled feedback and pounding drum programming, and the particularly psychedelic "Spermwhale Trip Over" (whose main lyric is the repeated "Here, in my LSDream"!) and "Baby Milk Snatcher" (the dub influence is especially apparent here). None of these ten songs has a wasted note, and if they had released nothing but the singles and this, they still would have had an impressive catalogue.

As it happens, 1989's "i" was a bit confusing. First off, the tracklist was divided into four suites of four songs, each represented by a card suit. There were also ten "jokers" ranging from five seconds to one and a half minutes. These interludes are mostly weird bits of noise and/or atmosphere (and they mostly fall in the thirty seconds or less range), but they are fairly entertaining. The songs themselves showed Alex and Rudy tackling a wide variety of styles. To be fair, they mostly succeeded. The unusually poppy first suite has some catchy winners in "A Love From Outer Space" and "Crack Up". However, "Snow Joke" and "What's All This Then?" are obviously weaker; the former sounds too much like generic late '80s dance music, while the latter sounds like a watered-down 69 outtake. The rest of the album gets better as it goes along, with plenty of unique pop ("Miles Apart", "Sugarwings"), moody psychedelia ("Conundrum", "Honeysuckleswallow), and high-octane thrash-gaze ("Supervixens", "Insect Love"). The main duo still performs most of the music themselves, but there are more guests here than on 69. The last three tracks are very nicely sequenced. "Sorry" is five seconds of record trickery and sampled dialogue, leading into the wonderfully dubby "Catch My Drift", ending with the sarcastic six-second "Challenge". True, they somewhat overstepped their limits here, but it's still a good album.

Definitely get 69 first, but once that hooks you, "i" should find a spot in your collection as well. The follow up REM"i"XES was a little too poppy for my tastes, and 1994's NEW CLEAR CHILD is a massively disappointing comeback. There has been talk of a singles collection, which is recommended should it ever be released.

*Alex and Rudy had their big break as part of M/A/R/R/S. This collaboration with Colourbox yielded the insanely popular "Pump Up The Volume".

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.

Damenbart, IMPRESSIONEN '71

DOM Elchklang, 1989; reissued by Psychedelic Pig; apparently available

Psychedelic Pig CD: 8 tracks, 59:31

When it was released, this was claimed to be a long-lost krautrock artifact. In reality, it was recorded around the time it was released by neo-krautrock/industrial tricksters Hirscht Nicht Aus Sofa (better known as H.N.A.S.). One major clue is the supposed band photos; the fake beards are fairly obvious! While the hoax aspect does raise questions, this is still really good in a kraut-revival kind of way. With such lengthy tripfests as "Innovative Schwingungen" and "Marihuanabrothers", Damenbart manage to sound convincingly like a genuine relic rather than a then-current pastiche. Their sound draws primarily from the spacier realms of krautrock, but there's plenty of odd sounds and tape manipulation along the way. Only the advanced synths used truly give its real age away. For the CD reissue, four previously unreleased tracks have been tacked on. One claims to be "live in Sief, 1972" while the others are session outtakes, but I'm willing to bet they're all studio recordings. These blend perfectly well with the rest of the album; in fact, the supposedly live "Ich Bin Der Wind" is one of the best tracks! While not truly essential, this would definitely be of interest to krautrock fans and H.N.A.S. addicts. I truly am not sure about its availability, but several online stores list it as being still in print.

Et Cetera, KNIRSCH

Note: The reissue is credited to Wolfgang Dauner on the spine

MPS, 1972; reissued by HGBS; available

5 tracks, 44:55

Ah, Wolfgang Dauner. He's definitely been mentioned here before! The man has covered so much ground in his career, but his experimental work is what I like best (shocking, I know). This was the second album by his band Et Cetera. While they never had a truly set lineup, Dauner and usual percussionist Fred Braceful appear on all three of their releases. On KNIRSCH, Braceful and Dauner are joined by guitarist Larry Coryell, drummer Jon Hiseman, and bassist Günter Lenz. Coryell gets writing credit on opening number "The Really Great Escape", which is honestly quite out of place, being a scorching hard rock tune! The remaining four pieces are all written by Dauner, and they're far more abstract. "Sun" is a pretty jazz number, filled with inventive guitar lines and delicious interplay between the percussionists. The epic "Yan" takes things way out there, sounding something like a cross between Herbie Hancock circa SEXTANT and musique concrete. Richard Ketterer provides "sounds + voices" for "Yan"; good luck figuring out which is which. The equally epic "Tuning Spread" is excellent electro-jazz-rock fusion, while closer "Yin" slinks along in a distinctly Eastern way. Taken as a whole, this almost sounds like different tracks from different bands. Such is the Dauner way! Not a moment is wasted (even "The Really Great Escape" holds your attention the whole way through), and this would be a gem in ANY band's discography. Luckily, unlike most Dauner releases, this is relatively easy to find, and I highly suggest doing so. Now if someone would just reissue OUTPUT! (Oh, and if you can find it, I strongly recommend Et Cetera's self-titled debut as well!)

Royal Trux, TWIN INFINITIVES

Drag City, 1990; available

15 tracks (but see the review for details), 68:41

Emerging out of the notorious Pussy Galore, Royal Trux was essentially Jennifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty. At this point, their addictions (mostly to heroin, but I'm fairly sure pot and psychedelics were involved as well) had gotten the best of them. Not that I'm complaining; the sort of music contained on TWIN INFINITIVES probably couldn't have been made otherwise. Where their first album sounded like zoned-out junkies trying to rock, TWIN INFINITIVES is an absolute monster of noise rock. Tape loops, shards of primitive synth, overdriven drum machines, and scratchy guitars form the basis of most of these tracks. The results are far closer to a mix of early industrial and dub than any sort of indie rock. Opening number "Solid Gold Tooth" is two minutes of Flash Gordon-esque ray gun sounds accompanying what could be another synth or a severely distorted guitar and the atonal howls of Hagerty and Herrema. "Jet Pet" is all squelchy machine beats, echoed noise guitar, and Herrema's anguished indecipherable drawl. The absolutely disturbing "Osiris" has an almost incongruously pretty flute buried behind more of Herrema's glossolalia* and more bizarrely processed sounds. The epic quarter-hour "(Edge Of The) Ape Oven"** starts almost normal, and never gets quite as druggy as the rest of the album, but it's still VERY far from radio fare. Closer "New York Avenue Bridge" features pretty atonal piano and a relatively restrained Herrema vocal, resulting in what might be the album's calmest moment (despite some fairly nasty lyrics). Other tracks have titles like "Yin Jim Versus The Vomit Creature", "Lick My Boots", and "Ratcreeps". If you can imagine what the songs DESCRIBED sound like, you have a good idea what you're in for with the rest of the album. Curiously, since this was originally a double LP, the CD is divided into four tracks. Thus, songs one through five are track one, six through eight are track two, "(Edge Of The) Ape Oven" occupies track three, and ten to fifteen take up track four. This is actually for the best; once you start this album, you can't skip tracks if you want the full effect. I consider this an unintentional masterpiece, but you definitely want to sample it before investing. Nothing else (bar HAND OF GLORY) truly compares to it. After TWIN INFINITIVES, Royal Trux would become steadily more accessible, ending their career as a fairly straightforward hard rock band. Out of the three experimental albums, TWIN INFINITIVES should be the starting point; the debut is much more structured, and HAND OF GLORY is another kind of monster altogether.

*As a side-note, I'm 100% convinced Courtney Love copped her vocal style from Jennifer Herrema. At times they're nearly indistinguishable.

**The now-out-of-print HAND OF GLORY was a delayed reissue of what was supposed to be Royal Trux's second album. The first track, "Domo Des Burros (Two Sticks)" has the same beat as the first half of "(Edge Of The) Ape Oven"; the multi-part "The Boxing Story" is somewhat close to Merzbow meets musique concrete. Believe it or not, TWIN INFINITIVES truly IS more accessible, but HAND OF GLORY is recommended to braver listeners.

Third Eye Foundation, IN VERSION

Linda's Strange Vacation, 1996; out of print

5 tracks, 48:38

After literally searching for it for twelve years, I FINALLY got this at a good price! This is both the second 3EF release and the hardest to find (I've actually seen/heard the rare singles, but I'd never seen a physical copy of this until I purchased it). It finds Matt Elliott and Deb Parsons severely deconstructing tracks by Amp, Crescent, Hood, and Flying Saucer Attack (all of whom had connections to 3EF). Each of these remixes was made especially for this album. While the idea might seem strange, Elliott and Parsons have completely made these tracks their own, justifying its release as a 3EF album. Amp's two tracks are remixes from SIRÈNES; namely, "Eternity" and "Matilda's Shorts Wave" are recreated as "Eternity (I and I and Eye and Eye and Eye Version)" and "Short Wave Dub". I have yet to hear the source tracks, but based on what I know of Amp I'm pretty sure the original "Eternity" didn't feature drastically sliced-up vocals laid over absolutely savage drum'n'bass beats. Not that I'm complaining; this is a jarring and wondrous track that is over far too soon. On the opposite end, "Short Wave Dub" truly sounds dubby, with its wordless vocal trills layered over odd drones and blips. It's a very nice relief after the opening onslaught. Crescent's "Superconstellation" is up next. For this mix, Matt isolated a vocal sample from the end of the original song and plays with it over a looped drum kit-and-bass segment. That simplistic tweaking ends up working wonders. While the original "Superconstellation" is a fine track, Third Eye Foundation's version is even MORE powerful and gloomy, and fully deserving of its thirteen-plus minutes. According to Matt, Deb did the honors on Hood's "Eyes". This is the most intimidating remix, with samples from Hood* obscured by terrifying bursts of noise and ominous clanking. When a vocal refrain that sounds like "Where my eyes guide/Insiiiiiide" breaks to the surface towards the end, the effect is quite stunning. This track wouldn't be out of place at all on a Foehn album proper! Finally, at nearly eighteen minutes, Flying Saucer Attack's "Way Out Like David Bowman" closes the album. Truth be told, calling this an FSA remix is a little misleading. "Way Out...." consists solely of sounds that Matt recorded for FSA when he was still working with them. Dave Pearce rejected a lot of the material, so for this album Matt drastically processed his sources into a maelstrom of sound. Singing bowls, eerie trumpets/horns, unidentifiable drones and whorls of sound..... David Bowman was the main character of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and if you can imagine 2001 ending with him dying in a black hole, this would be the soundtrack. Why Pearce didn't want to use this material is beyond me, but thank goodness Matt ended up recycling it into a true masterpiece! Pearce wasn't amused and briefly threatened legal action, which probably explains why FSA is missing from the thanks list (Amp, Hood, and Crescent are all present; curiously, so is Deb!). The diverse styles of the mixes shouldn't work as a whole, but they do. I can't recommend this enough, but be aware it's going to take some looking to find an affordable copy. Elliott would release a similar album called I POO POO ON YOUR JUJU, remixing acts such as Tarwater and Yann Tiersen. While this IS enjoyable, it's much more representative of the later 3EF sound, whereas IN VERSION fits perfectly in between SEMTEX and GHOST. That being said, anything and everything with Matt Elliott's name on it is worth checking out. Happy hunting!

*I absolutely cannot figure out what song/songs were used here. When I asked him, Matt himself wasn't sure either!

Jacques Berrocal, PARALLÈLES

d'Avantage, 1977; reissued by Alga Marghen; available

Alga Marghen edition: 10 tracks, 61:14

Jacques (he wasn't Jac just yet!) Berrocal has been reviewed here before. This, his second album, is probably the single best-known thing he ever did. The reason for that is the avant classic "Rock'n'Roll Station", which Nurse With Wound later covered*. Here, it is scored for the powerful voice of Vince Taylor, Roger Ferlet's repetitive double bass, and Berrocal's bicycle improvisation(!). It's admittedly a great track, but it almost pales in comparison to the others. "Parallèles" itself is an improvisation by Berrocal and Ferlet, who trade off runs on valve trombone and regular trombone respectively for eight and a half minutes. Similarly, "Galimatias" is three minutes of Berrocal on solo cornet. It says a lot about Berrocal that these two tracks are endlessly fascinating despite their limited instrumentation. By contrast, "Post-card" has trombonist Berrocal and pocket trumpeter Ferlet accompanied by Michel Potage on guitar and voice. What's unusual is that this was recorded in a pigsty (yes, you can hear the pigs), and Potage recites the back of a random postcard. These four tracks made up the original A-side. "Bric-à-Brac" takes the honors of occupying the B-side, and it's a doozy for sure! In addition to Berrocal, Ferlet, and Potage (who play about fourteen instruments between the three of them), five other players are involved: cellist Philippe Pochan, double bassist Pierre Bastien, pianist Richard Marachin, and multi-instrumentalists Claude Bernard and Bernard Vitet**. True to its name, "Bric-à-Brac" is an epic noisy improvisation, never sitting in one place yet never really overdoing it either. It's subtitled "To Russolo", and that should tell you everything you need to know about how it sounds. Towards the end of the track, a version of "Rock'n'Roll Station" shows up. The album proper finishes on this delightfully unexpected note, but Alga Marghen has generously added five bonus tracks spanning '72 to '79. These range from the sound collage of "Villa Povera Naturale" to the electronic experimentations of "Cryptea IV" and "Lisylis Pavillion". The best, however, is "Occupé", a six minute gem from an unreleased Michel Potage LP featuring most of the players from "Bric-à-Brac". While this is a varied and unusual album, it's definitely a great representation of several sides of Berrocal. It's also my absolute favorite Berrocal album.

*Berrocal and Stapleton have worked together many times, going back to the second NWW album.

**Vitet, you may recall, was in the excellent Un Drame Musical Instantané.

***You may recall her from Jean Guérin's TACET; she also appears on Vitet's LA GUÊPE.

Richard Pinhas, CHRONOLYSE

Cobra, 1978; reissued by Spalax, Cuneiform, and Captain Trip; Cuneiform edition available

9 tracks, 52:56

First and foremost: Happy 100th entry to my humble lil' blog! Hooray and all that! Okay, on to the review.

Pinhas' group Heldon has already been reviewed here (and most of you probably knew about'em already!). This was Pinhas' second solo album to be released*. However, it was actually recorded in 1976 somewhere between Heldon's IV and V**; it just wasn't released until two years later. Truth be told, it's not really even a solo album per se. Side one had "Variations I-VII Sur Le Theme De Bene Gesserit" and "Duncan Idaho". These feature Pinhas and his Moog, truly solo. The "Variations" are exactly that, most being quite short (with the exception of "Variation VII") and all featuring the same basic set of sequences. Don't let that deter you, as they all form into a mesmerizing and literally trance-inducing mini-suite of minimalist analog bliss. "Duncan Idaho" is similar, but features its own unique set of sequenced eletronic sounds. It's also much longer than any of the individual "Variations" at just over six minutes. So far this sounds like a true solo effort, but then the massive side-long "Paul Atreides" comes along. This thirty-plus minute behemoth is essentially a Heldon track, with longtime Heldon drummer François Auger and sometime bassist Didier Batard joining Pinhas. Richard himself tackles guitar, Mellotron, and ARP synths. "Paul Atreides" opens with eerie drones and what could be classic sci-fi sound effects, slowly progressing for several minutes before Pinhas unleashes his soaring Frippian guitar and Auger starts to provide a suitably motorik-style beat, with Batard completing a solid rhythm section. After a stretch of true space rock, the song comes full circle back to the space drone of the beginning. It's a truly intimidating listen, and it just may be the single greatest track in Pinhas' entire catalog. The rest of the album is great, too, making this one of the most important and enjoyable Pinhas-related releases. Oh, and if the track names seem familiar, Pinhas got them all from Frank Herbert's DUNE; he also "dedicated (this album) to all S(ci).F(i). freaks", for what that's worth!

*His first, RHIZOSPHERE, has its moments but is mostly inferior to CHRONOLYSE in my opinion.

**Yes, the titles are much longer, but for the sake of space and time I'm referring to them by number only.

Fluence, FLUENCE

Pôle, 1975; out of print

3 tracks, 37:16

It's been a while since I reviewed something from Pôle Records! Fluence is essentially Pascal Comelade, assisted by different folks on different tracks. Side one consists mostly of the wonderfully titled "A Few Reasons To Stay - A Few Reasons To Split". Featuring a guest appearence from none other than Heldon's Richard Pinhas, this starts with a melodic and soft synth pattern that is soon accompanied by Fripp-esque guitar and what may be a treated guitar loop or a droning organ. It's a classic example of French-style '70s electronic rock, easily ranking with the best of Heldon, Ilitch, and Pôle's other artists. Finishing side one is "Barcelona Tango", featuring Ben Soussan and Ph. Besseme (unfortunately, only Pinhas is credited with any specific instrument; even Comelade's contributions are left unspecified). This is a short jazzy number, certainly enjoyable enough but very much out of place. "Schizo" occupies all of the second side, and it's every bit as cosmic as "A Few Reasons...". Comelade is assisted here by G. Ibanez and J.P. Barreda. Starting off with an electronic drone and several inventive synth vamps, it drifts along blissfully, soon accompanied by some truly soaring guitar. About midway, it gets a bit more chaotic, with the synth and guitar sounds battling it out over the drone to the very end. This too is a great song, and the obscurity of this release is a true shame. As with most things Pôle, a reissue is long overdue. Comelade continued to make interesting music and is still quite active today. His other work is very much worth checking out, but most of it is fairly hard to find. There IS a compilation called BACK TO SCHIZO (1975-1983) which has a five-minute excerpt from FLUENCE, but it's hard to recommend due to its haphazard edits and poor sound.

This Heat, THIS HEAT

Piano, 1979; reissued most recently by This Is; available

11 tracks, 48:30

This Heat are one of those groups who only got the recognition they deserved after they split up. Consisting of Gareth Williams, Charles Bullen, and Charles Heyward, This Heat were something of an enigma. Bullen and Heyward used to perform improvisations as Dolphin Logic, and that particular art form certainly carried over to This Heat. Their debut album is a mix of live and studio recordings; it's almost impossible to tell which are which (not a bad thing at all!). Bookended by the short droning "Testcard" pieces, the music covers a LOT of ground. Elements of dub, prog rock, krautrock, post-punk, and free improv all combine to form one of the more varied early industrial albums. Standout tracks like "Twilight Furniture", with its insistent drumming and minimal guitar coloration, and th brutal prog-punk stormer "Horizontal Hold" almost sound like different bands. Most tracks ebb and flow right into each other, providing a fascinating listen when played the whole way through. My personal favorites are the eerily atmospheric "The Fall Of Saigon" and the absolutely incredible "24 Track Loop", which takes a short drum loop and turns it into something that for all the world sounds like twisted IDM/drum'n'bass, YEARS before IDM or drum'n'bass even existed! The whole album is impressive, and it is the best This Heat album. This Heat would release one more album during their lifetime, the equally impressive DECEIT, which does lean more towards songs than atmospheres,as well as the more abstract HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY EP. The archival releases MADE AVILABLE (John Peel sessions, including alternate versions of tracks from THIS HEAT and DECEIT), REPEAT (basically an extended take on "24 Track Loop" and two more abstract pieces), and LIVE 80/81 are also worth checking out, as are the post-This Heat projects Camberwell Now (Heyward and later member Trefor Goronwy) and Flaming Tunes (Williams).

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.

Jean Guérin, TACET

Futura, 1971; reissued by Elica; availability uncertain

8 tracks, 39:11

The French never cease to amaze and confound! Jean Guérin was mostly known as a drummer, appearing on quite a few free jazz sessions. For this, his only solo outing, he set out to make a soundtrack to a film called BOF. Having never seen the film, I'm not certain how much of the album was actually used. The soundtrack was released as TACET on the legendary Futura label (also known for putting out records by Jacques Thollot, Red Noise, and Mahogany Brain). His choice of musicians is absolutely impeccable; notable figures of the French scene like Bernard Vitet and Philippe Maté contribute their talents. Vitet even plays "underwater trumpet"! Guérin himself takes up a lot of instruments, from electric bass to darbouka to VCS3 and sound generators. Overall, TACET is full of strange sounds and even stranger arrangements. Françoise Achard contributes wordless vocals to several tracks, and most of the time her voice sounds like another instrument rather than a human being. The use of both contrabass and electric bass on some tracks provides an interesting sound, considering the electric bass is treated to sound nothing like it should (this isn't a bad thing!). It's hard to pick out standout tracks, since this all flows together perfectly and is best experienced all the way through. The first and last tracks, "Triptik 2" and "Gaub 71" respectively, both feature the same fast rhythm (which sounds like a mix of darbouka and primitive drum machine), but otherwise are different entities. "Gaub 71" is the more experimental of the two, with a constantly evolving structure over its eight minutes. "Triptik 2" is punctuated with the trumpets of Jean Paul Rondepierre and Vitet, and Maté contrubutes his saxophone. This is the closest that TACET comes to jazz, as the remaining tracks are pure explorations of sound, somewhere between free jazz and the cosmic explorations of Kluster et al. Truly an obscure masterpiece, TACET deserves a much bigger audience; other reviewers have pointed out that this points forward to Herbie Hancock's space classics MWANDISHI and CROSSINGS, which isn't very far off. It definitely points forward to post-rock as well, with its use of studio effects and loose structures. HIGHLY recommended!

Friendsound, JOYRIDE

RCA Victor, 1969; reissued on grey-area vinyl a few times; availability uncertain

6 tracks, 34:43

It's hard to believe this was a Paul Revere & the Raiders side project. There's no real credits on the album, but yes indeed, this is Raiders members using the studio as an instrument. It sounds about as far removed from their main project as possible. What more can you expect, when "Brotherhood" is listed as producer?!?!?!? What few liner notes describe the recording of this album as "a musical free-for-all", which is as good a description as any! Beginning with the slow and druggy rock jam "Joyride", Friendsound soon leave any semblance of pop or rock behind. "Childhood's End" combines a mechanical rhythm (as in actual industrial machinery, not drum machine) and the chant "send me a dream" in a way that sounds a lot like what Cromagnon was doing; in fact, JOYRIDE as a whole has a lot of similarities to Cromagnon's only album (pop stars freaking out, chants and other non-traditional vocals, use of primitive sampling in doses). "Love Sketch" is an almost new agey instrumental, not too remarkable but not truly bad, and it goes right into "Childsong". This is a bizarre track made up of the sounds of a playground, chimes, flute or mellotron (it's hard to tell), and a LOT of tape manipulation. The kids' voices are subtly twisted, and the music grows louder while still exuding a calm beauty. This is a highlight of the album, and it ends side one on a great note. Side two consists of two tracks, and boy, are these weird! Both are about nine and a half minutes, and they're two different sides of the coin. "Lost Angel Proper St." has a bluesy organ, spoken effected vocals that get frequently eaten by the music, crazy electric guitar freakouts, and long stretches where the music changes completely, while still coming back to the original theme in a way. Last and definitely not least is "The Empire Of Light", which ends the album on its highest note; given the quality of the other tracks, this is saying a lot! Piano is the main instrument here, surrounded by all manner of sound effects. Everything from spooky organ to weird synthy squelches to unidentifiable tape manipulations comes into play, all with the meandering yet quite beautiful piano underneath. It's a truly amazing track, sounding remarkably like Moolah or Kluster. Far overdue for a reissue, JOYRIDE was a bold album that still sounds remarkably innovative. It's a shame they never recorded another album as Friendsound; they sure did continue on as the Raiders, but that's a little outside the scope of this blog. Perhaps that is for the best; this sort of thing is hard to capture twice. Consider this album a part of the 60s freakout holy trinity along with Cromagnon's CAVE ROCK/ORGASM and the Red Krayola's PARABLE OF ARABLE LAND, and until there's a proper CD reissue, try to hear it any way you can.

Third Eye Foundation, SOUND OF VIOLENCE

Domino/Merge, 1997; out of print, but two tracks are available on COLLECTED WORKS

4 tracks, 23:52

Following the extremely disturbing GHOST (reviewed previously here), Matt Elliott went further into the recesses of twisted electronics. SOUND OF VIOLENCE is perhaps the best non-LP 3EF release. Three of the tracks are over seven minutes long; the under-three-minute "Pain (Violence Version)" is the only track that feels like filler, but it's interesting filler nonetheless. The first two tracks, "Sound Of Violence" and "A Name For My Pain", are excellent progressions from GHOST. Frantic drum'n'bass beats are cloaked in whirlwinds of noise, from what sounds like the shrieks of the damned to jazzy bass and guitar accents. The sound is much cleaner than on GHOST; however, it takes a few listens to notice, so dense are the compositions. Little of Matt's SEMTEX-era sound remains (save for the amazing beats), and at times this sounds like what Stockhausen or Xenakis may have come up wuth had they dabbled in drum'n'bass. The final track is "Corpses (Version)". This is a skeletal remix of "Corpses As Bedmates", retaining the original's structure while massively reducing the noise and shaving off two minutes. It's much more effective than it should be, and its inclusion alone justifies this EP. Luckily, "Sound Of Violence" and "A Name For My Pain" are both well worth the price as well. This is an excellent transitional release, bidding farewell to 3EF's horrific and noisy early years while pointing forward to the less-frantic-but-still-jarring atmosphere of YOU GUYS KILL ME and LITTLE LOST SOUL. Unfortunately, this has gone out of print. "Sound Of Violence" and "A Name For My Pain" are included on disc one of COLLECTED WORKS along with GHOST and two tracks off the "Semtex" single, but you really should find the standalone release so you can hear "Corpses (Version)". A good used copy should be fairly inexpensive and easy to find.

Patrick Vian, BRUITS ET TEMPS ANALOGUES

Egg, 1976; out of print

9 tracks, 39:49

Six years after Red Noise's lone LP (reviewed previously on this very blog!), main weirdo Patrick Vian unleashed this electronic rock masterpiece. The son of musician/author/playwright/etc. Boris Vian*, Patrick decided to experiment heavily with Moogs and Arps, aided by a sequencer and some very talented sidemen. Georges Granier provides marimbas, scissors(!), "occult noises"(!!), and Fender Rhodes, while Bernard Lavialle contributes guitar and Mino Cinelu provides percussion. None of the other players shows up very often, with Cinelu contributing to a mere two tracks and Lavialle being easily discernible on just as many. While opening track "Sphère" implies this will be straightforward rock, with its introduction of a powerful riff and some frantic tinkling percussives, Vian soon enters on his synths to add some interesting coloration. This comes very close to sounding like a less Fripp-enthralled Heldon. "Grosse Nacht Musik", on the other hand, is all synth textures, comparing favorably to other electronic music of the time while remaining distinct. No two tracks really sound alike, going from the electro-exotica of "Oreknock" to the sleazy and bluesy "R&B Degenerit!" (this one REALLY sounds like its name!) and ending with the musique concrete of "Tricentennial Drag". Curiously, one of the all-synth numbers (and one of the highlights) is called "Tunnel 4 Red Noise"; it certainly doesn't sound like his former band, but the same sense of whimsy and wonder is present throughout. Every last note has aged gracefully, and there are some bands even now who would give anything to sound this amazing. It almost seems incredible that nobody has seen the need to reissue this; it certainly would give Stereolab, Pram, et al serious competition if it was a new release! This is truly unique electronic music from the period that defined the genre. For the record, the album's title means "similar places and times" in English.

*Do yourself a favor and listen to some Boris Vian. Tracks like the EXTREMELY dirty "Fais Moi Mal Johnny" certainly provide some insight to Patrick's bizarre sense of humor. They're also just plain fun, and catchy as hell!

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.

Franco Battiato, FETUS and POLLUTION

Bla Bla, 1972; reissued several times; available

8 tracks, 30:43



Bla Bla, 1972; reissued several times; available

7 tracks, 33:09

I always found the term "krautrock" to be severely limiting. Given all the weirdness going on in Europe during the '60s and '70s, you'd think a term like "Eurorock" or "continent rock" would have been more accurate (think about how often France and Finland turn up on this blog). Italy's Franco Battiato probably had some idea of what was going on elsewhere. However, he brought a distinct bit of pop to his cosmic sound experimentation. After a short career as a traditional pop singer, Battiato went off into far stranger territory in 1972. FETUS, with its slightly controversial artwork, finds Battiato achieving a blissful middle ground between the accessible and the avant-garde. "Fetus" itself begins with minimal synth and a heartbeat, soon accompanied briefly by Battiato's vocals. He sings entirely in Italian; though an English version exists, this isn't recommeneded, as the lyrics becomes less mysterious and more goofy when translated. Soon, the song becomes a synth workout worthy of prime ELP or Yes, but somehow both more minimal and more effective than either. After this, it only gets better! Given its short length, most of the songs are in and out with absolutely no wasted notes. Examples include the synth-led "Una Cellula" and the delightful piano-rhythm machine-and-violin romp "Cariocinesi". The one exception is the six-minute "Meccanica", which is essentially a mini-suite; it begins with a manic piano-led rush, goes right into a pretty acoustic guitar run, has a moment of piano-and-guitar interplay, and then suddenly slows down. A violin accompanies Battiato's account of having mechanical parts, punctuated with bursts of electric guitar. This gives way to a direct sample of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin talking to Houston and President Nixon. The whole track is one of the hidden treasures of prog, and it alone justifies the purchase; luckily, the other tracks are every bit as good.

Following FETUS, Battiato had intended to release the English version (which was delayed until fairly recently) and tour England with John Cage (!). Unfortunately, a car crash in England put a halt to these plans, leaving one of avant-garde's classic "what if"'s. Going back to Italy, Franco spent his time apparently pondering man's place in the cosmos, which was admittedly a big theme back then. However, his next album, POLLUTION, was far removed from the usual cosmic noodlings of the time. This time around, the pop touches are mostly absent. Instead, the sound is close to Faust-style krautrock, but with a distinct character all its own. The first four tracks (side one on the original LP) are essentially a suite, going from the musique concrete of "Il Silenzio Del Rumore" and "21 Dicembre 1999 - Ore 9" (which is just the sound of two explosions, and is about 20 seconds!) directly into the synth-and-backwards-pronounciations of "Areknames". This in turn leads directly into "Beta", which is the best early Pink Floyd song that they never wrote. The last three tracks are equally as good, despite lacking the unity of the first four; "Plancton" is a delightful cosmic ditty, the title track is an eight-minute epic/mini-suite, and it all ends on another musique concrete note. The same lack of traditional song structure is in full effect throughout. Both albums are recommended, and the Water reissues have amazing sound and great liner notes befitting such classic works.

Battiato would go on to release some more experimental works; SULLE CORDE DI ARIES and CLIC are also worthwhile, but the overly experimental albums that followed would find Battiato playing single piano notes for an entire side at a time. After this, he somehow went right back to pop music, to the point that the majority of his catalog would not interest fans of his early work.

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!)

His Name Is Alive, LIVONIA and HOME IS IN YOUR HEAD

4AD, 1990; reissued by Rykodisc with bonus track "Livonia"; Rykodisc version out of print, 4AD version available as an import minus the bonus track "Livonia"

12 tracks, 35:28 (Rykodisc version 13 tracks, 39:59)



4AD, 1991; reissued by Rykodisc with additional tracks from THE DIRT EATERS EP; Rykodisc version out of print, 4AD version available as an import that includes the bonus tracks

23 tracks, 48:19 (Rykodisc and reissue versions 28 tracks, 66:28)

His Name Is Alive were always an odd prospect. Originally based in HNIA mainman (and sole constant) Warn Defever's parents' basement, the band created an incredibly atmospheric and dense sound using lo-fi methods. The music they produced has varied over the years, but on these two early releases they are in full experimental mode. LIVONIA mostly consists of demo recordings (similar to the Pixies' COME ON PILGRIM and Red House Painters' DOWN COLORFUL HILL, among other 4AD releases) remixed slightly by 4AD head Ivo Watts-Russell. The tracks veer from the chilling yet gorgeous "As We Could Ever" to the avant-rock of "Fossil" to "Reincarnation"'s bizarre sound collage and "Darkest Dreams"' dark yet comforting atmosphere. Vocalists Angie Carozzo and Karin Oliver never fail to impress, being sultry one minute, wispy the next. Defever provides appropriately varied instrumentation, mostly layering shimmering guitars and deep bass throbs. Damian Lang provides percussion on a scant three songs, Jymn Auge contributes guitar to "Fossil", and the enigmatic Tracy provides bassoon on one track. Otherwise, it's all Defever's show, which makes the results that much more impressive. Try to find the Rykodisc version; the gorgeous bonus track "Livonia" is essentially a sound collage, but it's the perfect coda to an amazing debut, and is worth the hunt.

HOME IS IN YOUR HEAD is a slightly different prospect. Carozzo is gone, but Karin Oliver remains (she also is credited with songs and guitar), along with guest vocalists Denise James and Karen Neal (on the EP tracks). The lineup is also more traditional, featuring Defever, Melissa Elliott, Damian Lang, and Jymn Auge. Oddly enough, despite the expanded lineup, the sound is starker, usually revolving around an ambient acoustic guitar. Several of the tracks are short, and a multitude are instrumental. The breathtaking "Sitting Still Moving Still Staring Outlooking" is probably the best known track, thanks to its use in JERRY MAGUIRE of all things. There is also the sing-songy "Are We Still Married?", the droning "Home Is In Your Head", short-but-sweet sound collage "Put Your Finger In Your Eye", and the eerie "Chances Are We Are Mad". All the songs run into each other, providing a seamless and fascinating listen. The overall mood is still strange, but this album definitely has a lighter tone than LIVONIA. The Rykodisc issue and the 4AD reissue both contain the excellent DIRT EATERS EP, named after Melissa Elliott's main band. The EP features five tracks: a strange but amazing cover of Rainbow's "Man On The Silver Mountain", Ivo Watts-Russell's stark and gothic remix of "Are We Still Married?" (the Brothers Quay made an amazing video for this), the distorted "Is This The Way The Tigers Do?", the folky "We Hold The Land In Great Esteem", and the gentle "The Dirt Eaters". This is the edition of HOME to get, as not a single one of these five tracks is filler.

As great as later HNIA recordings are (particularly the slightly more accessible MOUTH BY MOUTH and STARS ON ESP), LIVONIA and HOME IS IN YOUR HEAD are the essentials to understanding Defever's strange world. From there, you should progress through the catalog; there's not a bad album to be found, but the urban soul efforts SOMEDAY MY BLUES WILL COVER THE EARTH and LAST NIGHT do take some getting used to. Even the latest albums (DETROLA, XMMER, SWEET EARTH FLOWER, and FIREFLY DRAGONFLY) are worthwhile, showcasing the amazing and alluring vocals of new singer Andy FM.