The Snipers – Three Peace Suite [7''] (1981, Crass Records)

The Snipers formed in late 1979 in Oxfordshire. The band compromised of Russel Bowers on vocals, Dave 'Bungi' Hounslow on guitar, Steve 'Wacker' Harris on bass and Mark Taplin on drums. They were inspired by Crass to start a band, even though none of them could play and none of them had any equipment (what they did find was crap, such as a Colombus bass, homemade guitar, half a drum set and a 15 watt practice amp). They were going to originaly be called The Sinyx, but changed it to The Snipers upon finding out that it had already been taked. Early practices were done at Russel's parents garage.

 
It took at least ten months of writing songs and practicing before they played their first gig at a Christmas party in the Victory Hut, a community centre from Brize Norton (a leftover hut from World War II). The Snipers then recorded their first demo in Bourten, Gloucestershire possible around 1980. They shared it with their friends and sent one to Crass. Crass pulled their track "War Song" for 'Bullshit Detector 1'. A second demo was recorded, three of those tracks ended up on their 1981 7" 'Three Peace Suite' for Crass Records, and the other three on a compilation they were to release later on during 1982. 

 
On 'Three Peace Suite' one can tell The Snipers weren't going for The Exploited / GBH crowd with this single; more avant-garde than punk, the opening track is a slow-building industrial-esque experiment with spoken lyrics while the other two are a little more conventional though still highly abstract, with "3 Piece" playing a jangly indie-ish guitar. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC] 

 

 

Label: Crass Records – 321984/4 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, EP 

Country: UK 

Released: Dec 1981 

Style: Punk, Anarcho-Punk, Post-Punk

 

Tracklist:

A The Parents Of God 

B1 3. Piece 

B2 Nothing New 

 

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Red Transistor – Not Bite / We're Not Crazy [7''] (1990, Ecstatic Peace!)

 

The assaultive New York trio Red Transistor were comprised of guitarist Rudolph Grey, drummer Mark Edmands and VON LMO (in his pre-Strazar days) on guitar, vocals, shortwave and organ. In existence from September 1977 until the following August, they performed at CBGB’s and then spent a period performing Sunday nights at Max’s Kansas City. They were an original blast of shattering, repetitive guitar with unswerving drumming that drove down the centre as the whole shebang was forced over the wall by LMO’s second guitar and/or various electronic accompaniments. 

"We're Not Crazy" is a loud and noisy torrent of punk dishevelment with a hurricane of guitar and over-tracked "organ", which is a series of  louded-out computer-type noises chirping in and out and on top of everything, and the title of the song shouted/screamed until the end as if trying to convince someone otherwise. 

 

"Not Bite" is more thrashing-around punk-noise -but beware of the non-stop repetition of the one-note downstroke guitar and asylum-screamed 'NOT BITE!' by at least two members howling straight through. This will either open up a big grin on your face and have you break down the walls of your own psyche in order to scream along, or you'll get really, really... REALLY angry and dismiss it from knowledge. 

 

This beautiful and extravagant piece of noise-history was recorded in December 1977 at Sorceror Sound, NYC. Originally due to be released in 1978, but shelved due to break-up of the band only a year after its inception. VON LMO went on to record under his own name. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]

 

 

Label: Ecstatic Peace! – E# 7 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 33 ⅓ RPM 

Country: US 

Released: 1990 

Style: Noise, Punk, No Wave, Noise Rock, Post-Punk, Art Punk

 

Tracklist:

A Not Bite 

B We're Not Crazy 

 

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Pink Military – Blood & Lipstick [12''] (1979, Eric's)

 

When Big in Japan disbanded Pink Military Stand Alone were formed around the nuclei of Jayne Casey and Nicky Hillon (Nicky Cool). They recorded the EP 'Buddha Waking Disney Sleeping' under that name, then settled on Pink Military. In the early 1980s the moniker was changed to Pink Industry when Jayne stopped working with Nicky Hillon. The first two tracks of this EP, "Spellbound" and "Blood & Lipstick" work the more dance-oriented side of the Post-Punk aisle. Both sport Krautrock-style grooves topped with gritty angular guitars a la Gang Of Four and are great underground/post-punk club fodder. The last two tracks "Clown Town" and "I Cry" remove the grooves and lean more to the darker experimental sounds of This Heat or Tuxedomoon. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]

 

 

Label: Eric's – ERICS 002, Eric's – Eric's 002 

Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM 

Country: UK 

Released: 1979 

Style: New Wave, Experimental, Post-Punk, Dance-Punk, Synth-pop, Art Punk

 

Tracklist:

A1 Spellbound 

A2 Blood & Lipstick 

B1 Clown Town 

B2 I Cry 

 

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One Plus Two – Once In A Blue Moon [LP] (1986, Homestead Records)

In the early 80's Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was a hotbed of indie pop DIY. One Plus Two was a direct outgrowth of that spirit. They appeared on MTVs Cutting Edge and opened for most of the memorable bands of the era. Most recently included on the Captured Tracks compilation 'Strum and Thrum'. 'Once In A Blue Moon' is more than a decent college radio jangle pop along the lines of early R.E.M. and its progeny. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]

 

 

Label: Homestead Records – HMS050 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: US 

Released: 1986 

Style: Country Rock, Folk, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Indie Pop

 

Tracklist:

A1 Late Last Night 

A2 Everything's Alright 

A3 Darkness 

A4 Hey Little Girl 

A5 You Can't Run 

B1 Can't Go Back 

B2 Heaven Up There 

B3 Letters 

B4 Midnight Train 

B5 You'll Be Thinking 

 

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Null – Sonic Erosion [Cass] (1989, Nux Organization)

KK.Null (born Kazuyuki Kishino) is one of the top names in Japanese noise music and in a larger context, one of the great cult artists in experimental rock. Starting his career in the early 80's by performing guitar improvisations in the clubs and streets of Tokyo, he continued by collaborating with Merzbow for two years, and joining the bands YBO² and Absolut Null Punkt. In 1987, he gained wider notoriety as the leader, guitarist and singer of the trio Zeni Geva, which he described as "progressive hardcore". Zeni Geva reached world-wide fame with their heavy and hypnotic sound, eventually releasing three Steve Albini-produced albums on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label. After playing the guitar as his main instrument for some twenty years, Null has gradually moved towards a more electronic approach. These days he mostly states the "nullsonic" as his primary instrument. Nullsonic is something of a variation of Robert Fripp's 1970's instrument "frippertronics" -a combination of electric guitar and effects units, which elevated the effects to equal importance alongside the guitar. Null has gone even further by discarding the guitar altogether and making all the sounds with effects only. In recent years, he has concentrated his efforts increasingly on his solo material.

 

 

Label: Nux Organization – NUX-19 

Format: Cassette, Limited Edition 

Country: Japan 

Released: 1989 

Style: Drone, Noise, Experimental 

 

Tracklist:

A Sonic Erosion 37:09 

B1 The Dawn Of Harsh 14:01 

B2 Heavenly Assault 10:21 

 

Notes:

Side A recorded live at 20000v, Tokyo Sept. 29 1989 

Side B recorded at Prima Natura, 1988 

 

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Monty Cantsin – Ahora Neoismus [LP] (1988, Maldoror Records)

Monty Cantsin is a multiple-use name that anyone can adopt, but has close ties to Neoism. Monty Cantsin was originally conceived as an "open pop star." In a philosophy anticipating that of free software and open source, anyone should perform in his name and thus contribute to and participate in his fame and achievements. In reality the name is most commonly linked nowadays to the activities of artist and musician Istvan Kantor. 

“I Am Monty Cantsin” is the unwritten anthem of the Neoists, it's a song even made to go to the barricades with it on your lips. Also in musical terms, much more accessible than what Monte Cazazza presented. After all, Monty Cantsin is intended to be an “open POP star” -so despite being colored by industrial terroir, the melody is catchy. But for a pop song, there are far too many threads here, lacking an expressive chorus, which is hardly a complaint, after all “I Am Monty Cantsin” captivates with its tangled structure, wealth of ideas and arrangements. The song even lived to see a duly artistic music video.

It's a pity that the whole album doesn't hold up to this level, because we would have a true, forgotten gem of the eighties avant-garde, capable of attracting new generations to neoism today. And so we only have an uncut diamond -which is not to say that there is nothing interesting on 'Ahora Neoismus' anymore. Immediately catching the ear are the pop culture-targeted “Every 6 Minutes” or the sample-enhanced “Love and Joy,” and even the dramatic “Headquarters,” which is perhaps the most critical of the set about the life of postmodern man. The lyrics can even be associated with the anti-consumerist ideas of “Fight Club” like “fuck off with your sofa units and strine green stripe patterns, I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect.” [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]

 

 

Label: Maldoror Records – MC-2 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: US & Canada 

Released: 1988 

Style: EBM, Synth-pop, Minimal Synth

 

Tracklist:

A1 I Am Monty Cantsin 

A2 I Believe In Neoism 

A3 Every 6 Minutes 

A4 My Blood Keeps Flowing 

A5 In The Swamp Of Neoism 

B1 Mass Media 

B2 Love And Joy 

B3 Headquarters 

B4 Long Live Neoism 

B5 Gloria Victoribus 

 

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Last Man In Europe – ... A Certain Bridge [7''] (1981, Cocteau Records)

Last Man In Europe were a UK Post-Punk band from the early 1980's. They released one 7" single, 'A Certain Bridge' (1981) and then changed their name to The Last Man in Europe Corporation and released an album in 1982 ('Songs From The Ark').

 

 The raw rhythm box chug and the swooping synth fading up recalled nothing so much as the sound of 1981 on an indie budget. The rhythm loop was a close cousin to the one in The Nails “88 Lines About 44 Women.” Eventually guitar, synths, and drums came to an agreement and the groove percolated along for a few minutes without much change. The vocals on the “A Certain Bridge” had a whiff of Positive Noise in his declamatory insolence. Only two bars of a portentous descending guitar figure that marked the [brief] bridge provided any variance here. The inconclusive song lasted almost six minutes to little change in tension, though to its credit, it seemed only 4:30 long. 

 

“T.V Addict” had a similar reliance on a programmed rhythm but the guitar and bass were much more prominent here; resulting in a sound that felt a little closer to early Bauhaus without putting their boot in. The song was presumably the sequel to The Normal’s “T.V. OD.” The final track, “Complications” featured a lurching beat that was front and center; dominating the guitar and synths. But it was the perkiest song here. The berserk and tasteless synth solo at the song’s surprising coda felt like a conscious attempt at some Enoesque thrills ca. Roxy Music. But that outburst showed, finally, some signs of life with Last Man In Europe. Their reliance on canned rhythms lent their songs a sort of plodding dullness that this one finally rose above to put the boot in. 

 

On the whole, the band’s debut single was typical of its time, but with not much in the way of dynamics in their arrangement; synth freakout solo at the end of the record aside. [SOURCE: POST-PUNK MONK]

 

 

Label: Cocteau Records – COQ 2 

Format: Vinyl, 7"

Country: UK 

Released: 1981 

Style: Alternative Rock, Synth-pop, New Wave, Post-Punk, Minimal Wave

 

Tracklist:

A A Certain Bridge 

B1 T.V. Addict 

B2 Complications 

 

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Karma – The Joke's On You [Cass] (1983, Not On Label)

Obscure Neo Prog band, formed in 1982 and playing around the Hertfordshire area, Karma would propably remained in obscurity if it wasn't the presence of later Porcupine Tree mastermind Steven Wilson on the line-up (guitars/voice),which also included keyboardist Tom Dussek, drummer Mark Gordon and bassist Pete Rowe. These 16-year old teenagers released a cassette entitled 'The Joke's On You' in 1983.

 
Surprisingly for a bunch of kids, the album contains interesting compositions, typical example of the early-80's underground Neo Progressive movement. It is even a greater surprise that Steven Wilson's guitar remains on the background with keyboardist Tom Dussek being the driving force on each track. The overall style is close to early Galahad and Quasar, synth-dominated powerful progressive rock with symphonic traces, flashy synth soloing and some good guitar solos.Wilson's voice is rather amateur, what more reasonable for a kid about 16 years old trying to sing like a grown man. The production is very raw with a mediocre mix, but the keyboard work really shines through. 

A couple of tracks (''Nine Cats'' and ''Small Fish'') appeared later on the first Porcupine Tree works in totally different sounding and shorter versions. 'The Joke's On You' on the other hand contains all the good elements of the British New Progressive Rock wave, especially if you like the raw underground recordings of the age. Recommended but very hard to find. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]

 

 

Label: Not On Label (Karma Self-released) – KM01 

Format: Cassette, Stereo 

Country: UK 

Released: Oct 1983 

Style: Prog Rock, Neo-Prog

 

Tracklist:

A1 Intruder D'Or 3:50 

A2 Tigers In The Rain 7:50 

A3 Small Fish 4:55 

B Nine Cats 15:20 

 

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Junji Hirose + Yoshihide Otomo – Silanganan Ingay [LP] (1989, Tanga-Tanga)

 

It is a strange sensation reviewing the debut album of an already familiar artist. You recognize methods and sounds that are commonplace in the discography but not in the context of album. How do you react to that? The debut record of Otomo Yoshihide sets a clear standard for his off-kilter vinyl sample-based noise productions. Many of the bits and bobs used throughout this collaboration have been expanded on, cut up or reconfigured later in his career.

 
With 広瀬淳二 [Junji Hirose] manning the more analog noise producers,' Silanganan Ingay', meaning 'far east noise' in Tagalog, becomes a childlike exploration of sound experimentation. Nothing has a clear concept, everything is very immediate, evidenced by the fact that there were no edits, no overdubs and that everything was recorded live. This also gives the record a very peaks-and-valleys quality; the high points are very distinguishable from the low points. 

 
With toy music boxes over screeching guitars, turntables over saxophone, a James Brown record having a crazy BDSM-based love affair with pins, needles, a saw and an autoharp, there is no shortage of entertainment, though. Again, if anything, this debut says something about the raw talent of both men in their chose auditory field. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]

 

 

Label: Tanga-Tanga – R-001 

Format: Vinyl, LP 

Country: Japan 

Released: 1989 

Style: Noise, Experimental, Free Improvisation, Turntable Music

 

Tracklist:

A1 Noise From Far East 3:11 

A2 The Time To Live And The Time To Die 2:40 

A3 1.2.3.4. 1:22 

A4 6 And 14 Wave 5:25 

A5 Black And Blue 4:01 

A6 Green Bicycle 2:33 

A7 Intolerable Fellow 1:30 

B1 Short Tune 0:24 

B2 Mob? 3:55 

B3 For T.T. 1:53 

B4 Crying Sky 1:51 

B5 #7 1:15 

B6 Jalan 5:54 

B7 Don't Be Late! 1:41 

B8 Rip 3:25 

 

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Inzekt – Elektrische Heilwärme [LP] (1991, Schimpfluch)

Inzekt is the noise project of Peter Schmucki, member also of the techno project Tek Jam & Inzekt with Teddy Huber. As Inzekt he released the cassette 'Inkretion' in 1990, and the LP 'Elektrische Heilwärme' (1991), both on the Schimpfluch imprint, a label from Switzerland run by Rudolf Eber (Rudolf Eb.er). 

Label: Schimpfluch – SH 22 

Format: Vinyl, LP 

Country: Switzerland 

Released: 1991 

Style: Musique Concrète, Noise, Experimental 

 

Tracklist:

A Inzektrecording 91 01 04 

B Inzektrecording 91 01 04 

 

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