Founded in 1979, The Haters are one of the earliest and most well-known acts in the modern noise scene. The group is primarily the work of the Hollywood, California-based media artist, writer, and filmmaker GX Jupitter-Larsen, accompanied by a constantly changing lineup of other "members", usually local experimental musicians and artists in whatever town in which a Haters performance happens to take place. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
Those familiar with Justin Broadrick's material through his Godflesh connections will find this album something of a surprise, but those who know his dark ambient leanings via Kevin Martin and such projects as Ice won't be as startled. That said, 'One' is more of a stripped-down, quietly creepy effort -one that's all the more intriguing given the circles in which he moves. Recorded on and off around 1992 and 1993, 'One' bears the hallmarks of the bandied about "isolationist/post-rock" scene (as claimed by writers at the time), but generally moves in its own particular path. The closest general comparison might be Mick Harris' work as Lull, but instead of solely the steady unfolding of tones and rhythmic cycles, there's also a stronger sense of free float away from time structures, at least on certain tracks. The introductory "Fall" consists of a central soft loop and nothing more, but the nearly half-hour "Light Underground/Dark Overground" brings out more randomness, from what sound like distorted jungle animal calls to chilly, crackling static coming down like rain. There's even an honestly lovely, soft synth-sounding melody amidst it all, while distorted feedback echoes deep in the background. From there the collection explores disparate approaches within Broadrick's general experimental instrumental sound world, sometimes embracing serene reflection and elsewhere gently raising the hackles. When rhythm and regular looping are applied, often the effect is of a less threatening Main -songs like "Round Our Bodies," with its almost winsome lead synth or processed guitar, sound sweetly pretty more than anything else. The conclusion of the album brings in some guests- one Elizabeth B adds violin to "Death/Love Dealer," while a variety of folks assist on "1983-1987 (Edits)," presumably a collection of snippets from that time. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Label:
Sentrax – STC 33CD
Format:
CD, Album
Country:
UK
Released:
1993
Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Abstract, Experimental, Dark Ambient, Industrial
Tracklist:
1 Fall 3:22
2 Light Underground/Dark Overground 23:40
3 Awake But Numb 3:48
4 Despotic 8:04
5 Round Our Bodies 7:53
6 Hold Me 3:17
7 Death/Love Dealer 8:14
8 1983-1987 (Edits) 21:34
Credits:
Music By [All Music And Titles By] – Justin K. Broadrick
Photography By – G.C. Green
Notes:
Tracks 1-7 recorded and mixed at Avalanche 92-93. Track 8 recorded in Birmingham, mastered at Avalanche.
This UK release is in a jewel case. It was released in a Digipak in the US by Subharmonic.
Other Versions:
'One' (CD, Album, Dig) Subharmonic SD 7014-2 US 1994
1977, these were the heydays of punk, glam rock and the maximum comfort of Western living. The Sex Pistols, Kraftwerk, Can, Faust, Fripp & Eno, Pere Ubu and a wide variety of mainstream artists pounded the world with their personal pinnacles of artistic brilliance. These were the sale-days of endless series of poly and monophonic synthesizers, arpeggiators, sequencers, drum boxes, digi modifiers, metal distortions, big muffs, Nikkei exchange rates and inscrutable trade-in values. In the heart of The Hague, at a squatted anarchistic stronghold called “Bamboulee” Paulus Wieland and Richard Neumöller hooked up with whiz technician Ton Willekes. After they had moved to the dunes of Wassenaar, these "music crazed, angry young men", on the 12th of august 1978, founded a company called Ensemble Pittoresque. [SOURCE: ENSEMBLE PITTORESQUE.NET]
Label:
Vip Records – 200.006
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:
Netherlands
Released:
Apr 1984
Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Electro, Experimental
Tracklist:
A1 Urban Catastrophy 4:25
A2 Sound It Is 2:44
A3 Frequenz 2:29
A4 My Baby Is A Waitress 2:51
A5 Sleepwalking 4:17
A6 Train Grande Vitesse 3:30
B1 The Mouthshut 4:44
B2 Program 3:19
B3 Presidennekie 3:33
B4 Several Sunsets 3:50
B5 Shift 17 2:44
Credits:
Bass, Cymbal [Crashcymbal] – Ed Van Hoven
Composed By – Ensemble Pittoresque (tracks: A1 to A5, B1 to B5)
Cover, Design – Peter Van Wijland Tieman
Drum Programming, Guitar, Voice, Other [Soundtracks] – Richard Neumöller
Engineer, Producer – Ton Willekes
Guitar, Synthesizer – Paulus Wieland
Liner Notes – Boyd Noorda
Synthesizer, Trumpet – Le Biquo
Synthesizer, Voice – Marion Prinz
Notes:
A6 composed, performed and recorded at The Institute Of Sonologie, Utrecht. Recorded direct on mastertape at Sociamedia, The Hague, during febr./march '84. Mastertape manipulations at the Willekes homestudio
The Welsh synth hermit returns after his noteworthy debut, giving us more of his Celtic take on the Berlin School. Opener "Black Mikado" wastes no time in getting into high gear as a motoring lower line powers forward and two higher parts compete for the listener's remaining attention. One quivers with vibrato, the other glides and shimmers. Which will prevail? At the halfway marker this well-matched pair are neck and neck, swooping and looping, soaring and diving -it's simply too close to call. But wait, what's this coming up on the outside?? The bass line is back in the race -it's previously sustained timbre is now clipped and suddenly much more assertive. The two upper lines exchange glances and renew their efforts to grab our ears. It's all good sport.
In response to this excitement track two, "The Jade Temple", curls into a fetal ball and hopes everything will calm down a little. It's sketchy, improvised structure does its best to lull and comfort us. But it in its heart of hearts it can tell we're not particularly impressed. So it does the decent thing and shuts up. We hope for something more like the "Black Mikado" next -and we get it. This time with a beat-box. I have to say I do much prefer Dave's stuff when he uses drum machines. It makes for a far more involving listen, I reckon. Here we get what is essentially a two note bass synth line, embroidered with some nifty passing notes to create a cool groove. This rather negatively titled track is positive in tone -so don't be mislead. Again it trades on two competing top lines -they duel but never clash. Which is to say, the parts seldom harmonise in any sustained sense but keep to their scales to ensure there's no sourness, occasionally meeting in unison for a brief moment before diverging again.
At this point I feel slightly obliged to say that although I'm keen on DJ's ability to pluck these improvised phrases out of the air (as he does on so much of his work), I would've liked a little more structure here and there. A few more rock solid parts and maybe some simple chord progressions. It seems to be against his sensibilities though. Ah well. Not to worry.
I mentioned just that I like it when Dave plugs the drum machines in. I lied. "Necropolis"'s Duracell bunny's synth snare beat is kind of annoying after a bit. Nor do the quickly inked lead flourishes do much to ameliorate the situation. Amends are swiftly made, however. "Oh Prodigy" is a total classic. Replete with echoing kraut PA announcements and an up-tempo two note bass line, the scene is set for some more of those dueling-but-never-clashing lead lines. And we're not disappointed. A couple of sine waves are launched into the mix, one climbs high over the beat-box horizon then descends to ground level before repeating the maneuver whilst the second is keener to free-style its way through the track. Four minutes of this is too way too short! He could definitely have made more of this piece, taking it down to nothing before working it all back up again. A structure this strong is too good not to exploit to the full.
Next we're treated to a short interlude that seems to consist of a field-recording of Clangers mating. As this implies, "G.F.I." is probably the least musical offering on 'Second Attempt' -but that doesn't mean it's in any sense dissonant. Just that it doesn't have the comparatively tight compositional format of the previous tracks. It's more a kind of, uh, fugue -Dave dallying with a some underused settings on one of his keyboards just because.
I occasionally find that what I need from my listening stack is a piece of sonic noodling that will prove suitable as a slow wedding march at the matrimonial gathering of two betrothed bio-mechanoids. "Voyager" meets this requirement in full. It even throws in the celebratory salutes of several plasma rifles squeezing off brightly coloured lazer bolts into the azure heavens of an off-planet moon-rise. Which is cool.
Track eight, "Excerpt", sees a duet between satellites that haven't been communicating too well recently. But they seem to be making it up to each other here. Encrypted messages are exchanged across vast tracts of deep space. Topics covered here include -inevitably- the weather, the possibility of meeting up sometime during the next millennium (inter-galactic orbital programmes permitting, of course), and the potential merits of vacationing on Betelgeuse. Four minutes in and things are getting a little passionate -thankfully the fade draws a veil over further developments and the two satellites are left to bleep each others bleeping bleepers off.
"End Play"- because it's the, uhm, end. See what Dave did there. Hey, cut the guy some slack. This is his second attempt. And? And he gave us "Oh Prodigy". That's a great one. Plus there's other interesting stuff here, even if it never quite manages to recapture that highpoint. So if you like your early '80s underground synth shenanigans check this tape out. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label:
ICR – ICR007
Format:
Cassette, Album
Country:
UK
Released:
1982
Genre:
Electronic
Style:
Synth-pop, Minimal, Ambient
Tracklist:
A1 Black Mikado
A2 The Jade Temple
A3 Ro
A4 Necropolis
B1 Oh Prodigy
B2 G.F.I.
B3 Voyager
B4 Excerpt
B5 End Play
Credits:
Cover – Jonathan Coleclough
Notes:
Recorded Dec. '81 → Jan. '82 using Moog Prodigy, Boss D.R.55 Rhythm Unit, Boss KM2 mixer/pre-amp, Vox 1900 Phaser, Melos Echo Chamber, TEAC 2108 Simul-Sync cassette deck, Sharp RT 2000 H cassette deck.
Thanks for help to Colin Potter + Robert Lawrence.
With assistance again from an assortment of musical friends on French horn, sax, and violin, The Cannanes' core of Gibson / O'Neil / Nichols creates yet another lovely set of rushed indie guitar pop songs that define the form perfectly without sounding like lazy stereotypes of the same. Kicking off with the fun instrumental "White Rabbit," led with a sample recording of a nightingale that plays throughout the song, 'Caveat Emptor' is anything but a "let the buyer beware" offering. With 16 songs running over 37 minutes, things go by quickly, but not so much that distinct, heartfelt impressions can't be left. O'Neil and Gibson both take their vocal turns with their quietly committed ways around things, and if their lyrics can't always be easily captured, the emotional flow continues, both in lighter and darker ways. Performance-wise, there's a lot of interesting stuff going on; if the core performances are straightforward enough, tweaks surface more than once here and there. "Beautiful Name" starts with a crazy scraping sound that could be just about anything. Standouts include "1991," a slightly updated remake of their "1990" single, and the rumbling murkiness and angst of "I Met You as a Baby." The snarky sense of humor which leavens the band's work crops up as always. Sometimes it's in the music, like the backing "bum-bum-bum" bits on "Candlesticks," other times in the liner notes. "Here Is the Blade" is described as "like a chase sequence at the end of Benny Hill," while "Go and Tell Your Father" is mentioned thus: "Dear Wilson Phillips, you can only make another LP if you put this on it!" Then there are the lyrics, thus this from "Beautiful Name": "And look at me/I'm so fuckin' ace," or from "Last 3 Weeks": "There's no good reason why I came here/Except to spread disease." [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Label:
Feel Good All Over – FGAO #13
Format:
CD, Album
Country:
US
Released:
1991
Genre:
Rock
Style:
Indie Rock
Tracklist:
1 White Rabbit 2:24
2 Kitten On The Keys 0:49
3 Candlesticks 2:36
4 Here Is The Blade 2:47
5 Beautiful Name 2:06
6 1991 2:38
7 Last 3 Weeks 1:41
8 Go & Tell Your Father 1:47
9 Christmas Tree 2:40
10 No Visitors On Wednesdays 2:08
11 Say It Again 3:07
12 Newcastle 2:39
13 Bottles 3:13
14 I Met You As A Baby 1:51
15 Green Iguana 1:30
16 Somethings Happen 1:57
17 Untitled 1:43
Credits:
Bass, Vocals – Frances Gibson
Drums, Harmonica – David Nichols
Engineer – John Basselt, Perri, Bo
French Horn [Assist], Bass [Some, Assist] – Nicholas Kidd
Guitar, Vocals – Stephen O'Neil
Keyboards [Casio, Assist] – Wayne Davidson
Producer – John Basselt, The Cannanes
Saxophone [Assist] – Gordon Renouf
Violin [Assist] – Susan Grigg
Written-By – The Cannanes (tracks: 1, 3 to 17)
Notes:
Recorded October 1990-February 1991 at Phantom Tollbooth, Carlton, Victoria and Earth Media, Artarmon, NSW, Australia.
Track 17 is an untitled hidden track.
Other Versions:
'Caveat Emptor' (LP, TP) Feel Good All Over FGAO #13 US 1991
The Bambi Slam were a Canadian-British quartet with an unusual instrumental lineup of guitar, cello, bass, drums, led by singer / guitarist Roy Feldon and featuring cellist Linda Miller and drummer Nick Maynard. By the time of the release of the first full-length album, 'The Bambi Slam', in 1988, the group had splintered, leaving The Bambi Slam as a Feldon solo project. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Label:
Product Inc. – 12 PROD 13
Format:
Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM
Country:
UK
Released:
Feb 1988
Genre:
Rock
Style:
Indie Rock
Tracklist:
One Side
A Happy Birthday (Yet Another) Thick, Hard And Long Mix
Hailing from the Stockport suburb of Hazel Grove, A Witness, with their Northern Surrealist lyrics and angular, spiky sound, were one of the most individual bands in the 1980's Manchester indie scene.
Formed in 1982, their initial line-up comprised Aitken, Hunt, Curtis and Kilbride, along with a brutally primitive drum machine. When Kilbride left (eventually to end up in A.C. Temple), they continued as a trio for their initial recordings, which showcased their atonal aggression but also their more otherworldly soundscapes and unexpected melodic interludes.
Following the break-up of Big Flame, Brown joined as a human replacement for the drum machine, this line-up recording the final two of their four John Peel sessions and an EP, before he moved on, being replaced by Tristan King (formerly of Bogshed). [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
Label:
Strange Fruit – SFPMA206
Format:
Vinyl, LP
Country:
UK
Released:
1989
Style:
Art Rock, Indie Rock, C86, Post-Punk
Tracklist:
A1 I Love You Mr Disposable Razors 3:35
A2 Life - The Final Frontier 3:50
A3 Helicopter Tealeaf 2:55
A4 Prince Microwave Bollard 3:35
B1 Take Me To The Earth 3:20
B2 McManus Octaphone 3:25
B3 Sunbed Sentimental 2:40
B4 Zip Up 4:05
Notes:
Side A recorded 20th November 1988.
First Tx: 30th November 1988.
Side B recorded 10th January 1988.
First Tx: 19th January 1988.
(P) 1989 BBC Enterprises Ltd.
(C) 1989 Strange Fruit Records.
Other Versions:
'The Peel Sessions' (CD) Strange Fruit SFPMACD206 UK 1989
Taking a break from her full time gig singing for Mecca Normal, Jen Smith got together with Dead C guitarist Michael Morley and drummer / pianist Peter Jefferies to form 2 Foot Flame in 1995. Jokingly dubbed as an "experimental super group", the band took a hold of as many noises they could grasp and beat out of their instruments to record their self-titled album not too long after getting together. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
Label:
Matador – OLE 165-2
Format:
CD, Album
Country:
US
Released:
24 Oct 1995
Genre:
Rock
Style:
Alternative Rock, Indie Rock
Tracklist:
1 Lindauer 4:53
2 To The Sea 5:29
3 Already Waiting 4:44
4 Mr. H 3:39
5 Reinvention 3:43
6 Compass 3:37
7 The Arbitrator 3:55
8 Cordoned Off 9:54
9 Chisel 3:35
Credits:
Cover – Jean Smith
Guitar, Synth – Michael Morley
Piano, Drums – Peter Jefferies
Recorded By – Jean, Peter
Remix – Stephen Kilroy
Voice, Guitar – Jean Smith
Notes:
Recorded in New Zealand on a real to real 4 track. Mixed at Volt.
Other Versions:
'2 Foot Flame' (LP, Album) Matador OLE 165-1 US 1995
Wahrnehmungen was a German label, Frankfurt-based, founded in mid 1980 by Joachim Stender and Ralf Wehowsky. In early 1981, Roger Schönauer also helped run the label. Between then and its end in 1981, it released 19 cassettes, 2 LPs, two 7" EPs and one 7" flexi. In January 1982, the label changed its name to Selektion. The change came for two reasons: Joachim Stender left to start his own label Tödliches Schweigen and the direction of the label was changing. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
Constructed from an array of samples and environmental recordings plus plenty of feedback, 'Collusion' exudes a rare beauty for an album of such varied sounds (each track was originally released on a different compilation). Though the first includes a long passage from a religious-revival preacher (complete with the sample used for the title of the early-'90s rave hit "Injected with a Poison"), the dark ambience and white noise of later songs like "Sprey," "First Vigil" and "White Dusk" make for a surprisingly exciting album. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Compilation of compilation tracks. Comes in gatefold digipak.
Liner Notes:
'A tent is a soft house'
Lamargi
For many years we avoided participation in compilation projects, although opportunities were frequently presented to us. We have developed our music in such a way that it is most appropriately experienced in isolation. Therefore, allowing it to be presented in a form where it could be preceded and succeeded by other recordings, over which we would have no control, was alien to our intention. It also seemed (and in many cases still does) that compilation projects serve little purpose other than to fulfil the collector or editorial aspirations of the originator. In such circumstances the listener becomes little more than the end-user.
In 1984, following an approach from Jon Wozencroft of Touch seeking a contribution to Lands End, we revised our policy: we inverted the criticisms outlined above and sought to exaggerate them so that they became a positive technique in their own right. We encouraged the active and overt participation of the compiler so that the project would become more than the sum of its parts. In practice this required us to produce music akin to the incidental music produced for film and television soundtracks, music that could be cut up, manipulated and re-worked into new contexts, yet still retain its inherent characteristics. Now, with the general availability of sampling technology, the appropriation and translocation of music in this way is widespread, elevating the end user to a position of experiental collusion.
More recently, we have adopted a more closely defined stance, working only with those projects behind which we can perceive a unifying concept, either of form or purpose. Most of the recordings on this CD were created in this context and therefore represent a degree of creative input on the part of the labels concerned – Prometheans all!
Soviet France
Newcastle, June 1992
Track 1: Ram
Recorded 9-10 September 1984. First released 1985 on the Cassette 'Lands End' produced by Touch (Touch T33.4). Now deleted.
Track 2: Sprey
Recorded July 1983. First released in 1986 on the magazine/cassette compilation 'Bad Alchemy Nr 4' produced by Bad Alchemy. Now deleted.
Track 3: Le Mur Mûr Nu
Recorded 19 September 1986. First released in 1986 on the LP 'Fight!' produced by Cathexis Recordings (CRL 14), now deleted. Subsequently released in 1989 on the CD 'Absolute' produced by Soleilmoon Recordings and Parade Amoureuse.
Track 4: First Vigil
Recorded 17-18 August 1987. First released in 1988 on the CD 'A Classic Guide to No Man's Land' produced by No Man's Land (nml8813cd).
Track 5: White Dusk
Recorded 1987. First released in 1989 on the LP 'A Bead To A Small Mouth' produced by Barooni (BAR 001). Subsequently released in 1991 in CD format by Barooni and Soleilmoon Recordings (BAR 001 CD).
Track 6: Something This Beautiful
Recorded March 1990. First released in 1990 on the CD 'Mouvements' produced by La Légende Des Voix (LDV 003). Now deleted.
Track 7: Fugitive
Recorded 1990. First released in 1991 (shortened version) on the CD 'Death Of Vinyl' produced by DOVentertainment (DOVECD22)
Incident information: Track 3, 5 and 6 have different durations as their original compilation appearances. "Le Mur Mûr Nu" is 35" longer, "White Dusk" is 36" longer and "Something This Beautiful" is 2' 23" shorter on this release!
