Tändstickorshocks were a part of the "Red Rock" collective, formed in the Netherlands by four bands: Rondos, Rode Wig, Sovjets and Tändstickorshocks. They did gigs together and shared their equipment and the place where they practice.
Rode Wig and Sovjets never released material.
All the tracks of Tändstickorshocks are short, depending on the lyrics and information given sometimes a few seconds. Their style was supposed to be punk, but being fed up with punks who only wanted to jump, destroy and being entertained, their style became more influenced by artists such as Punishment Of Luxury, Lydia Lunch, Teenage Jesus And The Jerks and The Pop Group. Also to irritate the punks who were called Discopunks. But it was mainly because of their inability to play the instruments. [SOURCE: BACTERIA]
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
Part no wave, part post-punk, Mofungo was an off-kilter noise band that worked in atonalities, squalling sax, and unsettling vocals. Mofungo "evolved" (rather than just formed) from a group called Blinding Headache, which was essentially a running jam session that took place in a New York University dormitory. Blinding Headache morphed into Mofungo when Rick Brown left to join Information. Their first release, the 'Elementary Particles' EP, saw release in 1980 after the band had paid some dues by backing Nico. In 1981, the band released their first full-length album, 'End of the World'. Partially mixed by The dB's' Chris Stamey, the album caught the attention of critic Robert Christgau, who managed to talk them up enough to get them a single release in the U.K. on Rough Trade. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Label: Mofungo Music – none
Format:
Cassette, Album
Country: US
Released: 1981
Style: Avantgarde, Jazz-Rock, Art Rock, No Wave, Art Punk, Minimal Wave
Tracklist:
A1 End Of The World
A2 Scratch House
A3 El Salvador
A4 Just The Way
A5 War Song
A6 Little Giant
A7 Mo He Ganga
B1 Why Do You Spy?
B2 Boss Alligator
B3 Lately Human
B4 Jelloback Jack
B5 River Of Blood
B6 10-4, 10-4
B7 Monster Mascot
Notes:
A1-A4 First recording session - 4 track recording by Carol Parkinson in our practice space, March 1981.
A5-A7 Third recording session - 4 track recording by Carol Parkinson in our practice space, July 1981.
B1-B3 Second recording session at Dick Connette's studio by Carol Parkinson and Chris Nelson, June 1981.
B4-B5 Cassette recording, August 11, 1981.
B6 Noise Festival - 4 track recording by Ann DeMarinas at White Columns Gallery, June 1981.
The No Wave era of NYC was a short, dark flash of energy that was extinguished almost as soon as it was noticed. It happened so goddamn fast that if you missed the imaginal cut-off for inclusion by a few weeks, you were forever written out of the picture. The Hi Sheriffs were just outside our temporal markers, despite the fact they'd played Tier 3, the Mudd Club and everywhere you'd think would matter. But look, they were as second gen No Wave as The Raybeats, Bush Tetras and 8 Eyed Spy. Shit moved fast. The fact that the Hi Sheriffs were devolved from The Girls did not mean shit. They were perhaps only weeks too late to make the No Wave cut (something they'd immediately wanted to hit after The Girls played Tier 3 with Basquiat's band, Gray). They were like a crazed version of DNA playing the blues. Even Lydia Lunch liked 'em. She did not record with them until later but even she knew she was beyond No Wave at the point of 8 Eyed Spy. It was a weirdly specific scene in many ways. But sonically, it bore lots of fruit. And one of the first, best and most blues-wailingest of its proponents was the Hi Sheriffs Of Blue. [SOURCE: BOOMKAT]
The esteemed Michael Gira kicks off his wheeling musical career with this self-titled Circus Mort EP, their sole release. Merely 4 songs in length, it is a far cry from what his numerous future projects would venture forth and endure, in length, variety, and content. Scattered here is the defining factor of Swans's eponymous EP & ensuing debut full-length: Rhythm. A galloping display of one, "Yellow Light" is more fitting of a dark cabaret label than "post-punk". Though also signalling what is to come in gloomy depictions of terrible circumstances, Gira's far more juvenile voice separates this release from the mulch of 'Filth', and the sludge of 'Cop'. Rather, it gives the atmosphere some gusto, a constantly kinetic and energetic sound. Very prominent is the bass, as with most post punk, though it may come as a surprise for one to find the eminent and frankly comfortable usage of synths, something that Swans would not see being present within their output for the rest of the decade. A fair warning, this is certainly not an album to be misrepresented as a "Swans completionist" record. It must be regarded in its own right, and it certainly earns its respect in its due diligence to stand apart yet not alienate. The hooks and choruses here feel very buoyant; too buoyant for whom we have come to known as Michael Gira. Regardless, its 14 minutes is of phenomenal value, and proper entertainment is promised. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Viscera was Debbie Jaffe and Hal McGee (Dog As Master), from Indianapolis. They also ran the cassette label Cause And Effect. Deborah Jaffe is the mastermind of the industrial musical entity Master/Slave Relationship. For twenty years she has self-produced a unique brand of industrial music. In that time she's released more than ten cassettes, one vinyl LP, five compact discs and one CD-ROM with no government grants or federal funds of any sort, thus maintaining true independence of content and spirit. Hal McGee is an American experimental artist and producer, active since 1981. He is widely considered as one of the most important and seminal members of an early homemade cassettes musical movement in USA.
Label: Cause And Effect – none
Format:
Cassette, Album, C30
Country: US
Released: 1985
Style: Industrial, Experimental, Minimal Synth, No Wave
Tracklist:
A1 Stupid Bright Day
A2 Wasted And Wanted
A3 Nation
A4 Vertigo
A5 No Meaning
B1 Silent Friend
B2 IDBM
B3 Plague Buckets
B4 Unjustly Accused
B5 Hot And Cold
Notes:
Recorded between April 1984 and May 1985 by Jaffe and/or McGee.
Reissued later on cassette as Dog As Master / Viscera - 'Cöffėė Splėėn & Thė Bȧrking Dög / Hot And Cold'.
Some bands take a while to get to where they're going, while others find it and then spend time perfecting it, not giving a care if the world notices. Circle X falls into the latter category, originally consisting of singer Tony Pinotti, singer/guitarist Bruce Witsiepe, guitarist Rik Letendre, and his brother Dave on drums. Forming in the late '70s in Louisville, KY, the quartet then relocated to New York and fell in with the no-wave crowd (Mars, DNA, and the like). The result was a constant expansion of their sound and style, incorporating everything from performance art to synths and keyboards (with Pinotti in particular anchoring the latter) in the service of their edgy, often quite listener-unfriendly material. An album, 'Prehistory', crept out in 1983 on Enigma, but aside from random performance recordings, singles, and other projects (even a book), Circle X remained strictly out of sight, out of mind even for most extreme music fans until the early '90s. At that time, following a variety of side projects and some lineup shuffling, drummer Martin Kob replaced Dave Letendre, while Rik was firmly settled on bass. This lineup released a series of singles, collected and boxed as 'The Ivory Tower' in 1993, leading to only the second full album in the group's history, 'Celestial', appearing on Matador in 1994. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Label: Editions Anti-Utopia – none
Format:
4 x Vinyl, 7", Limited Edition, Box Set, Compilation
Country: US
Released: 1993
Style: Experimental, Experimental Rock, Noise Rock, No Wave, Post-Hardcore, Post-Punk
Tracklist:
1A 33/Puerto Rican Ghost (after MARS)
1B The Pleasure Gallows
2A Compression of the Species
2B Fail Better
3A Shiny Blue Orb
3B Crooky Crain
4A Some Things Don't Grow Back
4B Champ Pourri
Notes:
4 white 7 inch 45 rpm records in a white box with one screenprinted mirror, one original photo and booklet.
Edition of 100 plus 5 artists proofs.
Boston's Bound & Gagged were surely a hit with the polka dot and pointy shoe set. Formed
in 1978 by Barbara Britto (vocals), Trude Koby (bass, saxophone), Marcia Maglione (keyboards, percussion), Deni Ozan (drums), Wendy Stone (guitar, bass) and Martha Swetzoff (guitar, bass, vocals), their ennui-tinged female vocals, Beefheart-influenced art rock instrumentation and herky jerky rhythm's ala Flying Lizards will surely satisfy those with a soft spot for this period. This 12" is a very quirky catchy discombobulated punky no wave girl extravaganza. They have really interesting rhythms and often their songs have many different unusual parts, and layers but it works. The vocals are rather coy and sarcastic and strange. It's pretty depressing to think that this is the band's entire catalog and that they never really did achieve success because this is some intriguing stuff. At the very least check out "Chains and Polymers", and "Clutter". [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Skeptics were a New Zealand post-punk band from 1979 to 1990. They became notorious in 1987 for an unusually graphic music video entitled "AFFCO". Skeptics' first recording appeared in 1982 on 'The Furtive Four Three Piece Pack', a 12" compilation EP which also featured The Bongos, The Dabs and The Prime Movers. They toured New Zealand on the Furtive Records "Three Piece Pack" tour. The tour was to be followed by a five track EP, 'Pyronnists Selections' which was to be released on Propeller Records, Furtive's parent label, but the master tape was stolen from the Propeller office and the EP was never released.
In 1983, Skeptics released the EP 'Chowder Over Wisconsin', recorded live in a school library. From 1983-1984 they ran their own club, thanks to support from the City Council arts centre, in a former electrical warehouse in Palmerston North. They named the club Snailclamps after a chalk inscription they found in the warehouse, "C164 Snail Clamps". Initially the venue ran as an underage hangout but became a fully licensed venue not long after, until the band decided to pack up and relocate to Wellington. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Largely unknown New York new wave group that spun off some important bands when they split into The Dance and Polyrock, and a side project of The Dance backing 12 year old Chandra. John Cale produced the 'Shift The Blame' EP after he lost out on the chance to produce Television to Brian Eno. Model Citizens and its offshoots reflect an awareness of NY's minimalists -Cale played with La Monte Young's early Dream Syndicate, and Philip Glass went on to produce Polyrock. One of the highlights of the band is Eugenie Diserio's voice. There's a repetitive keyboard groove to these bands that hints at Glass and a slight dissonance but danceable groove that makes them sound fresh over 40 years later.
Label: Spy Records Ltd. – SPY 004
Format:
Vinyl, 7", 33 ⅓ RPM, EP, Styrene
Country: US
Released: 1979
Style: New Wave, No Wave, Post-Punk, Art Punk, Zolo
Love of Life Orchestra was created by Peter Gordon (sax, keyboards, composition) and David Van Tieghem, a talented, smart-aleck avant-garde percussionist with ties to new music composer Steve Reich. Both have gone on to greater fame as elder statesmen of the downtown music scene in New York, but these early works stand as an important developmental chapter.
Collaborators on their recordings have included Arto Lindsay and David Byrne. Early members of the band included Laurie Anderson (electric violin), Blue Gene Tyranny (keyboards), Ken Deifik (harmonica), Scott Johnson (guitar), Rhys Chatham (flute), Peter Zummo (trombone), Arthur Russell (cello), Kathy Acker (vocals), and Jill Kroesen (vocals). [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Label: Expanded Music – EX 8 Y, Expanded Music – EX 8
Trottel
is a Hungarian punk band that later turned into psychedelic sound exploration (psychedelia–folk–groove–electronica) from Budapest, formed in 1985. The band is on the road since 1989, the year when the first album untitled ‘Borderline Sydroma’ came out on the legendary french record label Gougnaf Movement.
Long time passed since then, more than 1000’s concerts, one and a half million kilometers done, 12 albums, many different people with many different instruments and influences. The matter of fact is that Trottel is in a permanent change and transformation. Each tour, each recording is a new challenge and each new member brings new musical inspiration into this amoba-like project. [SOURCE: TROTTEL.HU]
Label: Not On Label (Trottel Self-released) – none
This forgotten album from 1983 started with "Master/Slave", a vibrant and delightful art-punk-funk-jazz exercise that had one foot in the work of the Art Bears, and the other in the work of Captain Beefheart, and without forgetting no-wavers such as Blurt. Ditto for the minimal spastic discordance of "Feet First", which also maintained a degree of elegance. Then, the rhythmic chaos of "New Condition" veered even more into no-wave, into the kind of perverse groove that Teenage Jesus & The Jerks or DNA manage to get across. In the meantime, tracks such as "Pollyanna" and "Mysteries Of The Organism" returned to a kind of disjointed but measured elegance, whereas the amateurish sabotage of "Placebo #1" and "Fast-Acting Placebo" revisited the spirit of early Half Japanese. Side two followed along these lines, with highlights such as "Boyce Life" and "They Can't Get It" approaching an ever more severe sound. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label: Rift – RIFT 6
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1983
Style: Free Jazz, No Wave, Avantgarde, Avant-Prog, Zolo
Tracklist:
A1 Master / Slave
A2 Battle Of Algiers
A3 Feet First
A4 New Condition
A5 Placebo #1
A6 Alley Oops
A7 Pollyanna
A8 Mysteries Of The Organism
A9 Fast-Acting Placebo
B1 Lavaplatos
B2 A Tree Grows In Managua
B3 Boyce Life
B4 Wheat
B5 New Song (Old Story)
B6 Must Go
B7 They Can't Get It
B8 Placebo #3
Notes:
Tracks A1, A2, A6, A7, B3 & B4 recorded at OAO Studio, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Tracks A3, A8, B1, B2, B5 & B7 recorded at Sunrise Studio, Kirchberg, Switzerland.
Tracks A4, A5, A8, B6 & B8 recorded live in New York, West Germany, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia.
Born of a French father and Spanish mother in pre-independence Algeria, Hector Zazou first recorded in the mid-'70s under the name ZNR, as one half of a duo with Joseph Racaille. This early work is light but engaging French chamber jazz, lyrical and quirky, with Zazou playing keyboards and violin. The music has long since lost any radical edge, and the sparse instrumentation gives most of the pieces more the sound of musical sketches than fully realized compositions, but in ZNR, Zazou begins to demonstrate his interest in unusual instrumental timbres and colors, as well as his eclectic musical imagination. Throughout the rest of the 1970s and into the early '80s, Zazou's musical efforts (whatever they might have been), are not represented by any readily available recordings, but some experiments in musical erotica were conducted under the name 'La Perversita', a rare great LP with artwork made by Kiki Picasso, and a production of the famous Bazooka group,
a French, Paris based (punk) artists collective formed by Kiki Picasso, Loulou Picasso, Lulu Larsen, Olivia Clavel, Jean Rouzaud, Bernard Vidal and also Philippe Bailly, active during late 70s and early 80s. They collaborated with French newspaper Libération and other
magazines like Actuel. They also edited their own magazine "Le Regard
Moderne" and several others.
In this release Hector Zazou collaborates with journalist and writers Jeanne Folly, J.L. Henning, and VXZ 375 (Bruno Taravant). This album is post-punk that's very, very sparse when it's not all atonal and chaotic, treading into legit minimalism territory on tracks like the eleven and a half minute "I Love You S..." (which at times sounds so similar to what would become post-rock that it's eerie) while still managing to have a slight-but-noticeable funk/groove angle. Both cover tracks, "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Satisfaction", are completely deranged nonsense, Henry Kaiser shows up outta nowhere to do two minutes of No Wave guitar splutterings for "On Dine", and "La Soupeuse" is an eleven minute "this is clearly French" rewrite of Iggy Pop's "Mass Production", but with even less interest in melody and a steady backbone of guitar feedback and hypnotic drumming.
It's a mess, but it's one of them wildly intriguing messes that definitely worth a listen. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Released: 1979 Style: Experimental, New Wave, Leftfield, Minimal Techno, Minimal Wave, No Wave
Tracklist:
Face Pile
A1 Strawberry Fields For Ever 3:49
A2 5'... Et Quelque De Bonheur... 5:43
A3 I Love You S... 11:54
Face Face
B1 Satisfaction 2:29
B2 Para Bokassa 4:16
B3 On Dine 1:55
B4 La Soupeuse 10:33
B5 Untitled 0:26
Notes:
Including the revue called PERVERS n°1 by Bazooka (two black and white posters: 58 x 27,5 cm, with artworks, texts, and a select from the lyrics printed on both sides, generally each poster is folded into four 29 x 29cm squares)
Track B5 is not listed on the cover or label; it contains a brief reprise snippet from "Satisfaction".
Confronted by an unjustly neglected work of vinyl involving young New York musicians in the '80s, working in a highly collaborative manner and relegated to releasing their music on an obscure German label that operates out of a man's dresser closet, expectations will be high. Details at Eleven composed pieces either as a group, or accepted works from members Lin Culbertson and David Humphrey, written either singly or in pair, and the range of styles and sounds is impressive. During the beginning sections of "Attention," comments could be made about the lameness of the major labels and how what seems like perfectly acceptable commercial rock became indie fodder, part of an underground scene that in past times had been reserved for the truly weird. Other sections of the record are indeed much too far out for the majors, despite the fact that Frank Zappa did have some success placing similar instrumental passages into the teenage market. Since this is a New York band of the late '80s, it is no surprise either that there are passages of sheer, stark, and aggressive noise, as well as cleverly built-in escape valves from the very same. At times, ponderously dull rhythmic patterns settle over the proceedings as if an effort were being made to attract the clientele of the frat bar down the street. Liberated from actual commercial considerations and spurred on by the jumpy creativity of the scene around them, this band comes up with some intriguing scenarios: it's rock music, but hardly limited or handicapped by the genres' limitations -indeed, the previously mentioned rhythmic handicaps beg the question of whether this band is actually more uptight about such things then a so-called normal rock band would be. It might be the amount of concentration that is required by the sometimes-complex arrangements, allowing tunes such as the clever "Marketplace" to flirt with pop before bringing in what sounds like orchestrated air raid sirens. The dominant singing voice is Culbertson's, bringing up wanted or unwanted references to groups such as Jefferson Starship when in tune and well-recorded, and the punk swagger of Frightwig when out of tune and/or distorted. One of the best things that can be said about the group is that the vocal and instrumental numbers, though quite different in context, are equally interesting, in each case making one look forward to the other. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Label:
Dossier – ST 7522
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:
UK, Europe & US
Released:
1986
Style:
Avantgarde, Experimental, Experimental Rock, Avant-Prog, No Wave
V; were a post-punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, comprising guitarists Gary Gogel and George Petcoff, drummer Matt Burns, bassist Joe Cuneo and vocalist Susan Anway. Active on the East Coast music scene from 1979-1982. Also known as Vee. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
Gotta love the cute lyrics in The Work's "I Hate America". Tim Hodgkinson was and is a very serious man with strong convictions and an activist personality. The only problem with English people complaining (or whining as it is in most cases) about America is that the two countries are equally despicable in most of the same ways. The music is raw and almost awesome on this three song platter, one of the first statements by this important avant-rock group led by the freshly de-bovinated Hodgkinson. The harsh, distorted, urgent sound aligns it with the No Wave scene of the same time. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label:
Woof Records – WOOF 002
Format:
Vinyl, 7", Single, 45 RPM, Clear Vinyl
Country:
UK
Released:
1981
Style:
Art Rock, Lo-Fi, Avantgarde, Post-Punk, Experimental Rock, No Wave, Zolo
Toto Lotto were a weird avantgardistic, noisy post-punk band from Frankfurt that released this 7'' in 1980. The slow, brooding, edgy "White Walls" strongly reminds of Pere Ubu. "Cut a Slice" is some weird ska-punk, and "Toto Lotto" is a great proto-hardcore smash in your face. Definitively an interesting and varied single. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label:
Not On Label – TL-01
Format:
Vinyl, 7"
Country:
Germany
Released:
May 1980
Style:
New Wave, Punk, Post-Punk, Art Punk, No Wave
'Virtual Stance' presented some of Elliott Sharp's earliest works involving the sampler which had just begun to find its way into the downtown New York City avant scene in the mid-'80s. It's used here most often as a generator of percussive sounds derived from his homemade instruments, sometimes in tandem with a drum machine. To his credit, Sharp rarely allows the latter to fall into the static patterns so common at the time, rhythms that doubtlessly sounded cool then but, in retrospect, seem completely sterile. All of the music, composed originally as a dance score, is performed by the duo of Sharp and the then-young-and-unknown drummer Bobby Previte. The self-designed instruments sampled tend to be of the type whose strings are usually struck instead of bowed (pantar, slab, rack), so, combined with Sharp's typically atonal guitar work, the general feel of the album is percussive in nature, although the closing "Wrap It Up," full of odd, bowed-sounding tones, is ravishing. By "limiting" his palette thusly, he's able to concentratedly investigate this realm and displays evident glee in doing so. Less song-based than much of his work both prior to and after this release, 'Virtual Stance' has something of the air of science experiment but still largely succeeds on a visceral level, wedding the harsh propulsiveness of his first albums (like 'I/S/M' and 'Carbon') with the mathematically tinged explorations of works like 'Marco Polo's Argali'. It's a strong release and one that Sharp fans will certainly enjoy. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Label:
Dossier – ST 7526
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:
Germany
Released:
1986
Style:
Modern Classical, Abstract, Experimental, Art Rock, Experimental Rock, No Wave, Free Improvisation
In the eighties there were a lot of innovative bands who brought into rock music new sounds and Tools You Can Trust were of such. Some of these bands were too radical or too bizarre and were ignored. Tools You Can Trust were modernly radical and pleasantly eccentric but they were ignored all the same. But now their album 'Again Again Again' sounds as spic and span as if it was recorded just yesterday. And the percussion all the way through is quite exotic -it goes as if a crew of cobblers is toiling away overtime. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label:
Red Energy Dynamo – T801
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:
UK
Released:
1986
Style:
Industrial, Experimental, Post-Punk, No Wave, Art Punk
