Illusion Of Safety – More Altitude Than Attitude: IOS At 14,000 Feet [Cass] (1988, We Never Sleep)

Released in 1988, 'More Altitude Than Attitude: IOS At 14,000 Feet' captures Illusion Of Safety at a point where the project was already moving beyond the boundaries of the underground industrial scene. Issued on cassette by We Never Sleep Records, the release reflects the late-eighties DIY cassette culture, when experimental artists relied on small independent labels and tape trading networks to circulate music that was often too adventurous for conventional record companies. The format suited the project's raw, exploratory nature perfectly, allowing unusual sound experiments to reach a dedicated international audience. 

Illusion Of Safety began in 1983 as the brainchild of Daniel Burke, who has remained the project's central creative force while occasionally working with a rotating cast of collaborators. Rather than settling into a single genre, Burke has always embraced a broad palette of sounds, blending ambient textures, industrial noise, electro-acoustic composition, improvisation, sound collage and power electronics. His recordings frequently shift direction without warning, moving from delicate atmospheres to abrasive sonic assaults, creating music that challenges expectations while rewarding careful listening. 

By the time 'More Altitude Than Attitude: IOS At 14,000 Feet' appeared, Illusion Of Safety had already developed a distinctive approach built around manipulated recordings, electronics, found sounds and unconventional sound sources. Burke's interest in balancing beauty with chaos gives the cassette an unpredictable character, where fractured ambience, harsh noise and subtle melodic fragments coexist in constantly evolving soundscapes. Even in its earliest recordings, the project displayed the fascination with perception, memory and psychological space that would become a defining feature of later releases. 

We Never Sleep Records was one of many independent labels that helped sustain the experimental cassette underground during the 1980s. Operating outside the mainstream, the label specialized in adventurous and often difficult music, providing a home for artists working in industrial, experimental electronics and avant-garde sound. Releases like this one illustrate how important these small labels were in fostering a global network of listeners and musicians long before the internet made underground music so easily accessible.

 
Over the following decades, Illusion Of Safety continued to evolve while remaining remarkably prolific, releasing dozens of recordings through respected experimental labels and performing extensively across North America and Europe. Looking back, 'More Altitude Than Attitude: IOS At 14,000 Feet' stands as an early document of Daniel Burke's restless creative vision, preserving the fearless spirit that has kept Illusion Of Safety one of the most consistently inventive names in experimental electronic music.

 

 

Label: We Never Sleep – WNS 007 

Format: Cassette, C60 

Country: US 

Released: 1988 

Style: Industrial, Ambient, Dark Ambient 

 

Tracklist: 

A1 Power-Accident 

A2 Dark Current 

A3 Fleshbinge 

A4 Live Temple Set 

A5 The Architects Office 

B1 Untitled 

B2 Devices 

B3 Fade N Cry 

B4 Deadgirl And The Man (Version) 

B5 Toneline 5 

B6 Discipline 

 

Notes: 

Live Sound Colorado: 

+ 7-7-88, All Seasons Painting, Colorado Springs 

+ 7-8-88, The Grove, Denver 

+ 7-9-88, Penney Lane, Boulder 

+ 7-10-88, KGNU, Boulder 

 

"Discipline" is a Throbbing Gristle cover. 

 

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The Oroonies – Exalt The Horn [Cass] (1986, Better Days Distribution)

 

'Exalt The Horn' by The Oroonies is one of those obscure mid-80s cassette releases that feels more like a rumor than a widely documented record. Put out in 1986 through the small, DIY-focused Better Days Distribution label, it exists in that hazy space where post-punk experimentation and home recording culture overlap. Better Days Distribution operated more like a conduit than a traditional label, helping circulate music within a network of like-minded artists and tape traders. Releases were often produced in very small quantities, dubbed by hand, and shared through mail or personal connections. It’s likely that 'Exalt The Horn' only ever reached a relatively small audience in its original run 

There’s very little concrete information circulating about the project, which only adds to its intrigue -but there is a bit more to grasp when it comes to The Oroonies themselves. They were a British, largely instrumental outfit operating somewhere between psychedelic space-rock and folk fusion, forming in the early 1980s and remaining active for roughly a decade. Their sound leans heavily into disorientating psychedelia, often blurring the line between structured composition and freeform exploration. They also have some interesting connections: a couple of members were involved with Ozric Tentacles, which helps place them within that broader UK underground psychedelic scene. There was even a sideline acoustic project under the name Cheapsuit Oroonies, suggesting a more stripped-down counterpart to their more cosmic excursions. After years of relative silence, the band resurfaced in 2012 with three original members -Joie Hinton, Tanya Horn, and Boris Orooni- going on to release several CDs and eventually returning to live performances around 2017. That later activity adds an unexpected second chapter to what initially felt like a fleeting cassette-era project. 

 

What is evident from 'Exalt The Horn' itself is its raw, unpolished nature. This wasn’t built in a professional studio environment- it carries the imprint of limited equipment, a lot of creative freedom, and no real concern for mainstream appeal. The sound leans into that distinctly lo-fi cassette aesthetic: minimal drum machine rhythms, warped or drifting synth textures, and occasional guitar elements that feel more atmospheric than structured. Vocals come across as distant and abstract, sometimes closer to spoken word or ritualistic phrasing than conventional singing. Tape hiss and uneven levels aren’t distractions -they’re part of the character.
 

A listener once summed it up pretty bluntly: “Usable tribal space music.” That description isn’t far off. 'Exalt The Horn' opens with what feels like a collage of didgeridoo-like drones, whale-like calls, and drifting cosmic textures -hard to pin down exactly what the sources are, but undeniably evocative. It’s immersive and unusual, though largely rooted in soundscaping rather than structured composition. Things shift slightly with “Oinkoi,” where a more defined pulse emerges through tribal-style drumming and hypnotic bell tones that hint at Eastern influences. It builds a mysterious atmosphere, though it can come across as a bit familiar in its approach. The title track stretches into a longer tribal space-rock jam -engaging at first, but its length can make it harder to stay fully absorbed, especially as it leans more on repetition than development. From there, the tape continues in a similar vein: a series of loosely structured jams exploring psychedelic, otherworldly textures. There’s a clear avoidance of traditional rock forms -no bluesy solos or relaxed grooves- leaning instead toward something closer to industrial-tinged ritual ambient. The pieces are relatively short, but taken together they can feel somewhat continuous, like variations on the same sonic idea. 

That said, the appeal lies precisely in that persistence. It’s less about individual standout moments and more about sustaining a mood -strange, echoing, and slightly hypnotic. 'Exalt The Horn' stands as a quiet, peculiar artifact from a time when making something this odd didn’t need justification -and when a band like The Oroonies could drift between obscurity and rediscovery without ever fully settling into either. 

 

Label: Better Days Distribution – none 

Format: Cassette, Album 

Country: UK 

Released: 1986 

Style: Folk Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Ambient, Space Rock, Ritual Ambient 

 

Tracklist: 

A1 Exalt The Horn 5:54 

A2 Oinkoi 7:34 

A3 The Raising And The Subsequent Plunging Of The Lance Of The Fisher King (From The Film "The Royal Martyr") 7:04 

A4 October 23rd 6:59 

A5 Nursery Thyme 9:28 

B1 Emporer Norton's Revenge 11:56 

B2 Eclipse Celipse 5:06 

B3 Guinea Fowl (Queen Eats Rat) 2:50 

B4 I Fondled The U Bend With A Rubber Glove 3:19 

B5 Inbetweenit 0:35 

B6 Shadwok 3:19 

B7 Dance Of The Deekshitars 5:06 

B8 Derraneanig 3:45 

 

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Another Green World – Adjusting The Mirror [Cass] (1992, Not On Label)

'Adjusting The Mirror' is a fairly obscure cassette release from 1992, issued in the UK under the name Another Green World. It was self-released, which usually means it was produced independently and likely in a small batch. In the early ’90s, that kind of DIY cassette culture was still very much alive, especially within experimental, ambient, and underground electronic circles. Artists would often duplicate tapes themselves or in very limited runs, distribute them by mail, or sell them at small gigs and through niche record shops. Because it wasn’t put out through a major or even well-known independent label, there isn’t a huge amount of documentation available. That scarcity is part of what gives releases like this a certain mystique. They tend to live on through collector databases and word of mouth rather than mainstream music archives. 

Stylistically, the project is generally associated with electronic and ambient sounds, with touches that have been described as downtempo and possibly influenced by folk or world textures. That suggests something atmospheric and layered rather than song-based in a traditional pop sense. Early ’90s ambient and experimental electronic music often leaned toward mood and texture -synth washes, field recordings, minimal rhythms, and introspective tones- so it likely sits somewhere in that sonic territory. 

The name "Another Green World" can definitely cause confusion, since most people immediately think of Brian Eno’s 1975 album of the same title. However, this cassette is completely unrelated. The shared name appears to be more of an artistic nod or coincidence rather than a direct connection to Eno’s work.

 

Label: Not On Label (Another Green World Self-released) – AGW 003 GWM 

Format: Cassette, Album 

Country: UK 

Released: 1992 

Style: Downtempo, Ambient, New Age, Progressive Electronic

 

Tracklist: 

A1 The Pilot's Mirror 

A2 Polestalk 

A3 Elephant Eye 

B1 Shaman 

B2 Swipesy 

B3 Sakanaaji I 

B4 Sakanaaji II 

B5 Eau D'Erik 

 

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Holeist / Illusion Of Safety – Holeist / Illusion Of Safety [LP] (1989, Complacency)

Since 1983, Illusion Of Safety has been the ongoing project of Daniel Burke working alone and with various collaborators. They have released over 20 CDs on labels such as Complacency, Die Stadt, Experimedia, Odd Size, Silent, Soleilmoon, Staalplaat, Tesco, and Waystyx, and played over three hundred concerts in Europe and North America. IOS' work has been called ambient, post-industrial, electro-acoustic, noise, sound collage, improvisation, and power electronics, but they are unwilling to limit their work to any given style or method. The sonic character and affective substance of the music will often shift abruptly within each recording and live performance. Daniel Burke is currently working with conventional instruments, electronic synthesis, computer composition, samples, and highly amplified handled objects. He uses improvised and composed structures containing material that confounds memory and stimulates perception. The resulting music encompasses broken sound, disturbed ambience and unfiltered beauty that collectively evokes an awareness of the ineffable. The work activates modes of perception to facilitate direct access to the psyche, emotions, and the infinite in order to address the necessity of balance and the nature of dichotomy. 

 

Holeist is another Dan Burke's side project, with Eric Lunde and Jeph Jerman. Eric Lunde is an american musician and artist and also a member of Boy Dirt Car. Besides his musical releases and his artwork, he also published a book of poetry and wood-block prints entitled "LLND" (Alamut Records, 1991). 

 

Jeph Jerman began in 1986 recording and performing under the name Hands To. Most of the early soundwork was sampler and tape loop based, though over the course of ten years it evolved into using environmental recordings with very little to no manipulation or electronic processing. In 1996 in Seattle he embarked upon a weekly series of concerts at Anomalous Records which brought him into contact with the city's improvised music community. For the next three years he played with anyone who would have hime. During this time he began giving solo performances using only natural found objects (stones, shells, bones, driftwood, pine cones, etc), as soundmakers, a practice which continues to today. Eventually he stopped using the name Hands To. In 1999, the Animist Orchestra was founded. The AO focuses on making music that hopefully bypasses our individual egos. Most of his previous work could be interpreted as being 'idea-based'. He finds that most of his work nowadays is sound-based. He believes this is due to his growing interest in listening, in what happens when one listens, and his concomitant disinterest in contextualizing sound.

 

Label: Complacency – CPD03002 

Format: Vinyl, LP 

Country: US 

Released: 1989 

Style: Industrial, Experimental, Ambient 

 

Tracklist:

A1 Holeist – Soileth 

A2 Holeist – 'Unsheltered' 

A3 Holeist – Hazur 

A4 Holeist – Stahlmesser 

B1 Illusion Of Safety – 7•9•89 Chicago Laminating 

B2 Illusion Of Safety – 7•17•89 Club Lower Links Chicago 

B3 Illusion Of Safety – 7•22•89 Francis Ford Studio Milwaukee 

 

Notes:

Holeist: Recorded during the Hands To..., Eric Lunde split LP sessions in the comfort of Lunde's living room on equipment provided by Dan Burke. 7-24-89. 4 track with mirage sampler, alesis drum machine.

Illusion Of Safety: Live July 1989. 

 

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Various – 4 In 1 [Cass] (1982, Grafika Airlines)

'4 In 1' is the first of a series of compilations initiated by Alain Neffe (Belgian multi-instrumentalist, responsible for the Insane Music label and member of Bene Gesserit, Cortex, Human Dance, Human Flesh, Japanese Genius, Kosmose, La Maison Du Jardinier, Ornament & Crime Arkhestra, Pol Silentblock, Pseudo Code, Sic, Subject and The Chopstick Sisters). 4 groups share one format. 

 

Released on a variety of Belgian labels, the first compilation was this cassette '4 In 1' (1982), followed by an LP 'Four In One Vol. 2' (1982). The series was continued in 2012 with the release of a CD '4 In 1 Volume 3', a cassette '4 In 1 Vol.4' and lately a LP and CD '4 In 1 Volume 5'. 

 

This first release was issued on Grafika Airlines, a Belgian experimental cassette label from the eighties. GRAFIKA is the production department of Direct Impact Association (DIA), a Belgian non-profit organization and it's divided in four parts: Grafika Airlines (cassettes & graphic products; stopped end of 1982), Grafika Discs (records; created in June 82), Grafikaset (cassettes; starting January 83) and INSANE/GRAFIKA (cassettes compilation).

 

This tape features four bands: Mecanique Vegetale, a group that is an enigma -unclear if it is one man or one band; Pseudo Code, that are self-defined as playing "potlatch music", motivated more towards emotional expression than anything else and formed by Alain Neffe, Guy-Marc Hinan (one of the two men who formed the label Sub Rosa) and Xavier S.; Etat Brut, a pioneer industrial / noise band from Brussels that operated from 1979 until 1983 releasing a dozen of cassettes, various flyers and xeroxed booklets; and Human Flesh, founded in 1981 and one of the many disguises of Alain Neffe.

 

Label: Grafika Airlines – GRA11 

Series: 4 In 1

Format: Cassette, Compilation, C60 

Country: Belgium 

Released: 1982 

Style: Minimal, Industrial, Noise, Experimental, Ambient, Minimal Synth

 

Tracklist:

A1 Mecanique Vegetale – Incantations Cycliques 6:24 

A2 Mecanique Vegetale – Lamentations 1:32 

A3 Mecanique Vegetale – Zona Periodica 3:21 

A4 Mecanique Vegetale – Sick Soldier 3:00 

A5 Pseudo Code – Le Gange 14:25 

B1 Etat Brut – Sollicitation Extérieure 8:32 

B2 Etat Brut – Psychosomatique 5:08 

B3 Human Flesh – Total Recall 5:07 

B4 Human Flesh – T.I.N.A. 74 3:22 

B5 Human Flesh – Matin Promenade 4:20 

B6 Human Flesh – Airport (Your Selfish Mind) 2:23 

 

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Yeast Culture – Yeast Culture [Cass] (1988, Petri Supply)

Yeast Culture are an 80s band who used field recordings, ambience and noise to create a special blend of soundscapes. The source of recordings mainly consisted of things they found around the islands in Puget Sound. They have a very conceptual way of composing including the recording of things such as trees and water, to live electric plasma, empty industrial sites and historical military forts. Very DIY, resourceful and aesthetically sound. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]

 

 

Label: Petri Supply – none 

Format: Cassette, C64 

Country: US 

Released: 1988 

Style: Abstract, Experimental, Electroacoustic, Field Recording, Ambient, Industrial

 

Tracklist:

A1 Transplant 5:26 

A2 Dream Virus 5:09 

A3 Flagellation Of The Naked Arteries 3:15 

A4 Yegova Into Rimror 11:28 

A5 Millning 6:18 

B1 The Lotus Eaters 17:51 

B2 Self-Suspended In Gel 7:26 

B3 Revendrig 5:26 

 

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Phinney / McGee – Pig [Cass] (1996, HalTapes)

Chris Phinney is the founder of the Harsh Reality Music cassette label and a long-time home taper from the 1980s onwards. Chris revived the label in 2011 and it has been active ever since. It produced about 350 releases during its original incarnation, including numerous compilations as well as material by the likes of Big City Orchestra, Violence And The Sacred, Viktimized Karcass and Nomuzic. 

Hal McGee is an American experimental artist and producer, active since 1981. With Debbie Jaffe, McGee operated the Cause And Effect cassette label and distributor in Indianapolis, Indiana. In the mid-1980's, McGee recorded works as a member of Viscera, solo as Dog As Master, and in collaboration with If, Bwana and JABON.  

 

McGee moved to Florida in 1988, where he operated the Electronic Cottage label out of Gainesville, simultaneously with an Electronic Cottage Magazine into the 1990's. This was restarted as an online zine and community in April 2018. In the mid to late 1990's, McGee released dozens of cassettes of homemade experimental music, solo and in collaboration with Jeph Jerman, Brian Noring (EHI), Big City Orchestra, Emil Hagstrom (Cock E.S.P.), Charles Rice Goff III and others. He also produced a series of "Tape Heads" cassette compilations on his own HalTapes label. 

 

Label: HalTapes – HT 069 

Format: Cassette, Album 

Country: US 

Released: 1996 

Style: Experimental, Ambient 

 

Tracklist:

A1 The Ouzing Of Wormy Sounds Through A Close-Meshed Wire 

A2 Searching For The Elusive Grasshole!! 

B1 Fucking Pig Fucking 

B2 Walking That Emotional Tightrope 

 

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Philip Sanderson, Michael Denton – Telephone Music [Cass] (1986, Telephone Music)

Born in 1960, Philip Sanderson first began experimenting with reel to reel tape recorders and rewired ‘circuit bent’ electronic equipment in his teens. He compiled his first cassette 'Dark Cuttings' in 1977 and in 1978 formed the Snatch Tapes label releasing 'Snach Tapes 1' the first outing for Claire Thomas & Susan Vezey and Storm Bugs (a collaborative project with Steven Ball). 1980 saw the release of 'Snatch Tapes 2' and the first Storm Bugs EP entitled 'Table Matters' as well as the cassette release, 'Reprint' by Claire Thomas & Susan Vezey, and 'A Safe Substitute' by Storm Bugs. Both tapes featured the quirky British synthesizer the VCS3 as the main instrument. The following year 1981, "Bright Waves" by Thomas & Vezey was the opening track on the Cherry Red 'Perspectives And Distortion' LP and a second Storm Bugs single was released on the French L’invitation au Suicide label. 

 
In the early 1980s Sanderson collaborated with David Jackman (of Organum fame), Clip from Orior, Michael Denton, as well as recording with the chanteuse Naomi. From this came two more tape releases in the shape of '0º North' and 'Telephone Music'. 

 

'Telephone Music' was compiled by Philip Sanderson, with sleeve layout & design by Michael Denton. Between 5-10 copies were made and the tape came in three sleeves. Versions of the tracks: "Maps, Drinks & Aeroplanes", and "Spy Garden (Tale Chase)" were re-issued on the 2018 LP 'On One Of These Bends' by Philip Sanderson (Séance Centre, 11SC). "Merry Christmas Adolf" is also known as "Teal Blue & Silver". [SOURCE: SÉANCE CENTRE]

 

 

Label: Telephone Music – tel 001 

Format: Cassette, Stereo 

Country: UK 

Released: 1986 

Style: Ambient, Abstract, Electroacoustic, Minimal 

 

Tracklist: 

A1 Maps 3:21 

A2 Thief 4:20 

A3 Merry Christmas Adolf / Teal Blue & Silver 2:31 

A4 Drinks and Aeroplanes 2:34 

B1 Ups and Downs 2:36 

B2 Apostrophe S 4:21 

B3 Spy Garden 1:38 

B4 Mr Sound 3:34 

 

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Orquesta De Las Nubes – Manual Del Usuario [LP] (1987, Grabaciones Accidentales)

 

Orquesta De Las Nubes formed in 1980 by Suso Saiz and percussionist Pedro Estevan when the two met whilst studying a course on Techniques of Contemporary Composition in Madrid. Sharing a curiosity for American minimalist and Non-Western music, the pair began to share music through many listening sessions, during which the idea slowly evolved to try and make music together. Pedro’s partner at the time, soprano singer María Villa, would later join the two on vocals. With Suso’s sparse use of guitar loops, synthesizers, and drum computers in combination with the hypnotic percussion of Pedro Estevan and the wordless drifting vocals of María Villa, Orquesta De La Nubes would evolve as a group with a truly unique musical language; an ethereal and almost otherworldly musical realm. 

In their third album 'Manual Del Usuario', released in 1987 by GASA, one can perceive a much more elaborate and better production work than on the first two. They have truly magical moments that make you believe you are listening to the Mexican musician Jorge Reyes, in his excellent album 'Comala'. Jorge Reyes, when he was in Spain in the mid-eighties, became friends with the members of Orquesta De Las Nubes, and the album 'Manual Del Usuario' was also released in Mexico under Jorge's label, Producciones Exilio. [SOURCE: GRUPOS NACIONALES NUEVA OLA 80]

 

 

Label: Grabaciones Accidentales – GA-169 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: Spain 

Released: 1987 

Style: Experimental, Ambient, Post-Minimalism, New Age, Progressive Electronic, Art Pop

 

Tracklist: 

A1 El Corredor 9:10 

A2 Vendrán Lluvias Suaves 4:00 

A3 Ella No Lleva Gafas 3:58 

A4 Conversaciones Entre Una China Y Un Ogro 5:00 

B1 Tiempo De Espera 7:00 

B2 Dum? Reprise 2:54 

B3 Como Un Guante 6:40 

B4 Un Diente En El Bolsillo 6:49 

 

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Illusion Of Safety – In 70 Countries [Cass] (1989, Complacency)

Since 1983, Illusion Of Safety has been the ongoing project of Daniel Burke working alone and with various collaborators. They have released over 20 CDs on labels such as Complacency, Die Stadt, Experimedia, Odd Size, Silent, Soleilmoon, Staalplaat, Tesco, and Waystyx, and played over three hundred concerts in Europe and North America. IOS' work has been called ambient, post-industrial, electro-acoustic, noise, sound collage, improvisation, and power electronics, but they are unwilling to limit their work to any given style or method. The sonic character and affective substance of the music will often shift abruptly within each recording and live performance. Daniel Burke is currently working with conventional instruments, electronic synthesis, computer composition, samples, and highly amplified handled objects. He uses improvised and composed structures containing material that confounds memory and stimulates perception. The resulting music encompasses broken sound, disturbed ambience and unfiltered beauty that collectively evokes an awareness of the ineffable. The work activates modes of perception to facilitate direct access to the psyche, emotions, and the infinite in order to address the necessity of balance and the nature of dichotomy. 

 

 

Label: Complacency – CPC-14 

Format: Cassette, C40 

Country: US 

Released: 1989 

Style: Industrial, Experimental, Ambient, Dark Ambient, Field Recordings

 

Tracklist: 

A1 Theme From Belfast Street Riot 

A2 In 70 Countries 

A3 7-26-88 

A4 Devices To Be Used 

B1 Speed Brutality Honesty 

B2 Prisoner 819 Did A Bad Thing 

B3 Trumpet Field 

B4 You Stop It 

 

Notes: 

All sounds and recordings IOS main core: Mitch Enderle, Spark Lunch, Dan Burke, D. Klein. 

With: Jef Bek ("Theme"), Thymme Jones ("7-26-88"), Sarah Closser ("Stop It") 

 

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Greater Than One – Duty And Trust [Cass] (1991, ROIR)

Appropriately enough, the London industrial band Greater Than One was made up of two vocalists / keyboardists / programmers, Lee Newman and Michael Wells. Not as heavy as many industrial groups, and with perhaps more of a sense of humor, the duo debuted in the mid-'80s with a series of limited-edition and/or cassette-only releases, including 1987's 'All the Masters Licked Me'; their first widely distributed album was 1988's 'Dance of the Cowards'. This was in turn reissued by Wax Trax! in the U.S. in 1989 as 'London', a two-disc set featuring six extra tracks. 'G-Force' (1989) and the 'Index' EP (1991) followed before Greater Than One and Wax Trax! parted ways; the duo returned in 1992 with the cassette only release 'Duty and Trust' for ROIR, a fantastic album because it culls together some of the weirdest and most obscure tracks that Greater Than One ever produced. Very dark, moody, Gothic and industrial sounding stuff. Not at all beat oriented like most of their other material is. Perfect for late night listening. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

 

Label: ROIR – A-200 

Format: Cassette, Compilation

Country: US 

Released: Oct 10, 1991 

Style: Ambient, Experimental, Industrial, Dark Ambient, Sound Collage

 

Tracklist:

A1 Deep Shake 7:05 

A2 Liberation 6:39 

A3 Brick Lane 2:28 

A4 The Dark Streets Of London 5:37 

A5 The Rose, The Cross & The Flag 5:45 

A6 Crisis 3:14 

B7 Trust 32:23 

 

Notes:

Tracks A1 and A2 are previously unreleased. 

Track A3 and A6 were previously released on CD album 'Dance Of The Cowards' (1988). 

Track A4 was originally released on the LP compilation 'Dry Lungs III' (1987). 

Tracks A5 and A6 were originally released on the cassette compilation 'Insomnia Vol. 2' (1988). 

Track B7 was originally released on the 12" 'Trust' (1990). 

 

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Virginia Astley – Promise Nothing [LP] (1983, Les Disques Du Crépuscule)

 

Astley is more widely known for the people she's played with than her own records. A classically trained British pianist and flutist who also happens to be Pete Townshend's sister-in-law, she contributed piano to Townshend's "Slit Skirts," and has played sessions for Siouxsie & the Banshees. Her late-'70s band, The Ravishing Beauties, also included future Dream Academy singer Kate St. John and Nicky Holland, who would work with Tears for Fears and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Astley's sparse body of work combines ambient, even experimental textures and song structures with her pretty soprano vocals. Producing three albums, her records are recommended to listeners looking for intriguing ambient British pop who find the Cocteau Twins and the 4AD stable too wimpy and pretentious. 'Promise Nothing' collects two EPs: 'A Bao A Qu' (1982) on the side 1 and 'Love's A Lonely Place To Be' (1983) on the side 2, plus the track "Futility" originally released on the New Musical Express' 'Mighty Reel' cassette tape compilation from 1982. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

 

Label: Les Disques Du Crépuscule – TWI 194 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation, Stereo 

Country: Belgium 

Released: Sep 1983 

Style: Minimal, Ambient, Experimental, Ethereal, Dream Pop, Ethereal Wave, Art Pop, Chamber Pop

 

Tracklist: 

A1 We Will Meet Them Again 4:00 

A2 Arctic Death 3:02 

A3 Angel Crying 3:46 

A4 Sanctus 2:08 

B1 Love's A Lonely Place To Be 3:27 

B2 Soaring 3:25 

B3 Futility 3:25 

B4 A Summer Long Since Passed 4:40 

B5 It's Too Hot To Sleep 5:40 

 

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PGR – Cyclone Par L'Immobile Habité [LP] (1988, Permis De Construire)

PGR started life as an industrial group in mid '80s under the Poison Gas Research moniker. Their studio was in a rough area in Oakland. To deter dubious people they affixed a sign with "Poison Gas Research" written on it at the front door. After self publishing several cassettes under this name, the group name was shortened to PGR. Kim Cascone was also ahead of the game on the whole ambient drone vibe, sometimes even with slight World music overtones. Don't let that scare you away though, as this is certainly far from room filler. With friends like Das (Big City Orchestra) and AMK (Anthony Michael King, American experimental musician who was active since the early 80s and created his own label Banned Production) on board, this early LP runs with all the above and more. Highlight would have to be the three part "Time" trilogy. In the haunting "Only Hell Burns Brighter' samples of Stravinsky's "Sacre du Printemps" are used. Very enjoyable. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC] 

 

Label: Permis De Construire – PER 011 

Format: Vinyl, LP 

Country: France 

Released: 1988 

Style: Experimental, Ambient, Drone

 

Tracklist: 

A1 An Elbow Of Crosslight 

A2 Only Hell Burns Brighter 

B1 Time 

B2 Bee Wings Beat 

B3 Alice In Wondertime 

B4 Time Reprise 

B5 For Kat Dancing 

 

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Luis Mesa – Aibre [Cass] (1986, IEP)

Luis Mesa is a Spanish electronic pioneer now disappeared from the scene, he was a true precursor of noise. He published his first cassette in 1983 at the same time that he founded his record label IEP (Investigaciones Estudios y Proyectos). He began in the eighties with groups like Esplendor Geométrico, Macromassa, La Otra Cara de un Jardín... He recorded with other pseudonyms such as Merz, Recursos Ajenos and Bercomice. [SOURCE: SOMN ARCHIVE] 

 

Label: IEP – IEP 104 

Format: Cassette, Numbered, C60 

Country: Spain 

Released: 1986 

Style: Industrial, Ambient, Sound Collage

 

Tracklist: 

A Un Momento Vacio 

B Historia Del Ocultismo 

 

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Orior – Elevation [7''] (1979, Crystal Groove Records)

Orior was an obscure British duo formed by Jeff Sharp a.k.a. Clip on synthesizer, harmonies, mixing, treatments and guitar, and Tom Barwood, active between 1979 and 1983. They only released the 'Elevation' 7" in 1979 on the London-based Crystal Groove label, before sinking into oblivion. They opted for a hazy and thick Ambient / Space Music synth sound. [SOURCE: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC]

 

 

Label: Crystal Groove Records – 7e:2 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM 

Country: UK 

Released: Dec 1979 

Style: Avantgarde, Ambient, Progressive Electronic

 

Tracklist: 

A Elevation 

B1 Tutankhamen 

B2 Quiet Sky 

 

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International Mail-Music Group – International Mail-Music Group [Cass] (1986, El Consumo Del Miedo, Sound Of Pig, Afflict Records, Bog-Art)

International Mail-Music Group was a single-album project formed by Yutaka Tanaka, that originally began his musical activity as a member of Schematic Diagram in 1982 and formed S.Core in 1985 along with Afflict Records; Rafael Flores, spanish composer, sound and video artist active since the early 1980s; Hubert Haverkamp, drummer and Percussionist in rock and wave bands and electronic musician in experimental projects, such Bogart, and founder of label Bog-Art; and Al Margolis, the man behind If, Bwana and founder of Sound Of Pig.

 

 

Label: El Consumo Del Miedo – none, Sound Of Pig – none, Afflict Records – none, Bog-Art – none

Format: Cassette, C46, Chrome 

Released: 1986 

Style: Industrial, Experimental, Ambient, Sound Collage

 

Tracklist: 

A Untitled 21:44
B Untitled 21:14 

 

Notes: 

Durations not listed on release. 

Despite this being marked "C-46" some copies were duplicated on C60 cassettes. 

 

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Joanna Brouk – The Healing Touch [Cass] (1986, Hummingbird Productions)

Joanna Brouk (1949 – 2017) was an American electronic composer, author, and playwright who was active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Brouk grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. She received a B.A. in Creative Writing and Electronic Music from the University of California, Berkeley. Inspired by the cadences of poetry and the human voice, as well as the rhythms and soundings of nature, she began creating music. She went on to receive an M.A. in Electronic Music from Mills College. While at Mills, Brouk studied under Robert Ashley and Terry Riley. After graduating, she went into radio production, and composed music for documentaries and other programs.

 

Brouk self-released a number of recordings on cassette via her own label, Hummingbird Productions. Brouk's first release, 'Healing Music', featured the flute of American composer Maggi Payne. Her 1981 recording, 'Sounds of the Sea', included field recordings of nature sounds, vocals, and manipulated electronic and acoustic instruments. Brouk's music was known in New Age Music circles but did not receive a great deal of mainstream recognition. In 2016, a collection of archival recordings and selections from cassette releases, 'Hearing Music', was released by The Numero Group.

 

In 1985, Brouk stopped composing and recording music after moving to San Diego, California, where she married and gave birth to a son, and took up the practice of transcendental meditation. Under the name Joanne (with an "e") Brouk, she became a prolific writer of historical fiction and plays, as well as a notable producer of Internet content. She died on April 28, 2017, at the age of 68. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA] 

 

Label: Hummingbird Productions – CH105 

Format: Cassette, Album, C48 

Country: US 

Released: 1986 

Style: New Age, Ambient

 

Tracklist:

A The Healing Touch 21:10 

B Alpine Bells 19:25 

 

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Adolf Wölfli - Graeme Revell, Nurse With Wound And Déficit Des Années Antérieures – Necropolis, Amphibians & Reptiles (The Music Of Adolf Wölfli) [LP] (1986, Musique Brut)

 

Adolf Wölfli (February 29, 1864 – November 6, 1930) was a Swiss artist who was one of the first artists to be associated with the Art Brut or outsider art label. Wölfli's work has inspired many composers. Danish composer Per Nørgård, after viewing a Wölfli exhibition in 1979, embarked on a schizoid style lasting for several years; among the works of this time are an opera on the life of Wölfli called "The Divine Circus". The chamber opera "Wölfli Szenen" ("Wölfli Scenes"), which premiered in Graz, Austria, in 1981, featured music by Georg Friedrich Haas, the Austrian composer of spectral music, Gösta Neuwirth, Anton Prestele and Wolfgang Rihm. In 1978, "Adolf Wölfli: Gelesen Und Vertont", the first recording of Wölfli's work ever to be published, was released by the Adolf Wölfli Foundation, Museum of Fine Arts, Bern. Since that time, a number of German musicians have released adaptations of Wölfli's work.

 

In 1987, musician and composer Graeme Revell released an LP entitled 'Necropolis, Amphibians & Reptiles: The Music of Adolf Wolfli'. This was on his own Musique Brut label in London, UK in 1987. This audio compilation was based on the works of Wölfli and incorporated digital renditions of Wölfli's compositions, with additional sound effects and ambient soundscapes added to the songs, by Revell, based on the artwork surrounding Wölfli's musical notations. The LP was a collection of musical interpretations by Revell as well as DDAA and Nurse With Wound. This LP came with a booklet with a biography and images of Wolfli's works. Tracks 8 and 9 are combined into one track. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA] 

 

Label: Musique Brut – BRU 002 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation 

Country: UK 

Released: 1986 

Style: Modern Classical, Experimental, Ambient, Industrial, Dark Ambient, Sound Collage

 

Tracklist:

Alpha1 Graeme Revell – Necropolis, Amphibians And Reptiles 4:08 

Alpha2 Graeme Revell – Countess Saladine 2:28 

Alpha3 Graeme Revell – Chimpnags-Apes Of The Union Canada: America 4:33 

Alpha4 Graeme Revell – Allgebrah 2:40 

Alpha5 Graeme Revell – Ebony Tower In The Orient. Water Fanfare No.1 3:45 

Alpha6 Graeme Revell – The Balli 2:16 

Beta1 Déficit Des Années Antérieures – St. Adolf's Comet 4:23 

Beta2 Déficit Des Années Antérieures – Natural Fhorm Of The Holy-Light-Island In The Pacific Ocean 4:25 

Beta3 Déficit Des Années Antérieures – Rahma Margarine 8:57 

Beta4 Nurse With Wound – Lea Tantaaria 6:36 

Beta5 Nurse With Wound – Great-God-Father-Nieces 2:09 

 

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