Webcore – Cinematography [Cass] (1984, A Real Kavoom)

'Cinematography' was the first cassette from Webcore, a Cornwall-based psychedelic/progressive rock group that emerged in the early 1980s around the free-festival, squat and alternative gig circuit. It appeared in 1984, at a time when cassette releases were a practical way for small underground groups to get their music out without the expense of vinyl.

Webcore had formed in Cornwall in 1984, although several of the musicians had already been active elsewhere. The group centred around Mick West on vocals, Phil Pickering on bass, Paul Chousmer on keyboards and Clive Goodwin on guitar, with Colin Woolway and later Nick Van Gelder on drums, while Dan Carpenter contributed saxophone and Jackie Hannah and Karen Kay provided backing vocals. The line-up changed around the band’s relatively short existence, which is usually given as lasting until 1987. 

There was a particularly strong connection between Webcore and the emerging psychedelic/free-festival network surrounding the Ozric Tentacles. Paul Chousmer later recalled that Webcore and the Ozrics were regularly playing the same squats, benefit gigs and free festivals, and that the groups became closely associated with the early Club Dog scene. Webcore also helped establish the Alice in Wonderland events with the Ozric Tentacles, providing a link between the older free-festival culture and the psychedelic dance and electronic underground that developed later in the decade. 

The sound of 'Cinematography' belongs firmly to that early-80s British underground, where psychedelic rock was being pulled in several different directions. Webcore had the extended, exploratory feel of progressive and space rock, but there was also a more mechanical edge, with keyboards, effects, processed sounds and prominent bass giving the music a less traditionally hippie character. Contemporary descriptions of the band stress that, although they were heavily psychedelic, their arrangements could be considerably more structured and electronic than those of many of their free-festival contemporaries.

 
The tape also gives an early glimpse of the ideas that would develop further in Webcore’s later recordings. “The Feather Mask”, for example, became part of their live repertoire and was subsequently recorded again, while “Captain’s Table” would later provide the title for one of their 1987 12-inch releases. The first cassette was followed by 'The Great Unfolding' on A Real Kavoom in 1986 and 'Consider The River' on M.E.L.T. Music in 1987, before Webcore moved into the vinyl world with their self-titled LP and further 12-inch releases through Jungle Records and A Real Kavoom. 

A Real Kavoom was a small independent imprint operating from the same DIY environment, and Phil Pickering, Webcore’s bassist, was one of the people behind it. Pickering had previously played with Vane alongside Webcore drummer and keyboard player Paul Chousmer. The label had already issued material by the electronic group Goat, a project involving Pickering and former Cuddly Toys member Sean Purcell, before becoming an important outlet for the Webcore circle and related projects. Music Week reported in 1982 that Purcell had formed A Real Kavoom with Pickering and that the label was working through Jungle for distribution. 

A Real Kavoom’s catalogue was small but fairly revealing of the musical environment around Webcore. Alongside the band’s cassettes, the label issued 'My Dreams In Your Hands' by Another Green World in 1984, a project formed by Webcore members Paul Chousmer and Dan Carpenter. It also put out recordings by Phil Pickering under his Eden alias and material connected with Artistic Control. The catalogue therefore moved between psychedelic rock, experimental electronics, ambient music and the more left-field end of the early-80s underground rather than following a conventional genre line.

 
The connection with Another Green World is particularly interesting in the context of 'Cinematography'. Chousmer and Carpenter began that project around the same period, initially creating music for the early-morning chillout sessions associated with the psychedelic/free-festival circuit. Their first A Real Kavoom cassette appeared in 1984, and the project later became involved with Club Dog, the Deptford Crypt, Whirly-Gig and Return to the Source. The overlap between the two projects shows how porous the boundaries were between psychedelic rock, experimental electronics and the emerging chillout culture during the 1980s. 

Webcore remained active through the second half of the decade, eventually issuing 'Webcore' on LP in 1987 and 'Webcore Webcore' in 1988. Members also continued into other projects: Chousmer and Carpenter developed Another Green World, while Mick West, Phil Pickering and Chousmer later formed Zuvuya, whose 1990s recordings moved into ambient and electronic territory and included collaborations with Terence McKenna. Clive Goodwin also became involved with the Ozric Tentacles as a sound engineer, while drummer Nick Van Gelder, who had previously played with the Ozrics, later became associated with Jamiroquai.

 

Label: A Real Kavoom – ARC 4 

Format: Cassette, Album 

Country: UK 

Released: 1984 

Style: Psychedelic Rock, Experimental, Prog Rock, Post-Punk 

 

Tracklist: 

A1 Exit The Fear 

A2 Jack Smack 

A3 Shades Of Light 

A4 Son Of Man 

A5 Webcore Atman 

B1 Poison Without Trace 

B2 Captains Table 

B3 Edentide 

B4 The Feather Mask And This Prophet Gear 

 

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