Category Archives: Electronic

RICHARD H. KIRK – SHADOWS OF CABARET VOLTAIRE

‘Vasto’ is taken from the forthcoming Cabaret Voltaire album, Shadow of Fear, to be released on Mute on 20 November 2020.
[CABS30] CD/Vinyl/DL/T-Shirt – Pre-order here.

“The album was finished just as all the weirdness was starting to kick in,” Kirk says. “Shadow Of Fear feels like a strangely appropriate title. The current situation didn’t have much of an influence on what I was doing – all the vocal content was already in place before the panic set in – but maybe due to my nature of being a bit paranoid there are hints in there about stuff going a bit weird and capturing the current state of affairs.”

Since RHK reclaimed the Cabaret Voltaire name for his works, at first for special remix albums like Kora!Kora!Kora! (2009) or National Service Rewind (2010) the discussion started if this is really CV as we know it. Mallinder is reportedly not lucky about this move but he left the band in the 90’s and won’t come back. So legally RHK owns the name and does what he does.

A series of live performances followed with all new material starting with the revitalised Atonal Festival in 2015 and the only released material so far came as two tracks on the triple 12″ document recording. This had been promising but Kirk got sidetracked once more into archival releases via Mute; a RHK and a Sandoz Box with extra material, the long lost ‘Chance Versus Causality‘ Soundtrack from 1979 being the most interesting of them besides the hardly promoted excellent ‘Drinking Gasoline’ CD/DVD package.

This will be the first new material since 2017’s ‘Dasein‘ and hopefully not the last to be heard by Richard H Kirk.
Stephen Mallinder in the meantime went into overdrive frenzy with different projects like Wrangler (Analogue Revival Formation), Creep Show (with added Prog-blues singer) and his 2019 solo album ‘Um Dada’ (Clubmusic).

Severed Heads Finally Escaped From Further Zombification

In Autumn last year Tom Ellard finally succeeded to get rid of the name “Severed Heads” which stuck to the group from 1979 onwards and even with him when the group started to evolve into a one man project beginning in the late 80’s.
He stated fair enough it was not his choice (Australian for Talking Heads?) but even with side projects and solo efforts he had just put to much energy into it to drop it like that. After all Severed Heads where rooted in the same Australian diy scene as S.P.K. and a well-known name (brand?) in early electronic experiments with tape, loops, found noises which continued with their constant use of available technology including video productions and screening containing defamiliarized images and a mixture of psychedelic mutations of electronics starting as early as 1982.

The audiovisual band featured Stephen Jones on Video Synthesizers and headed into their strongest phase starting with “City Slab Horror”. When they toured “The Big Bigot” in 1986 I had the luck to see them in Munich (together with Indie Rockers Inca Babies, Gaye Bikers On Acid and the then recently reformed Wire) and was heavily impressed of the futuristic sounds and graphics they produced. Distribution and licensing deals with Ink Records (UK), Nettwerk (USA) and Volition (AUS) where in place and all looked very promising until their gear was stolen. Slightly demoralised and back in Australia they started working on what became the ill fated breakthrough album “Bad Mood Guy” featuring the heavily promoted single ‘Hot With Fleas’.

This was the first of many attempts to create a hit single and please the labels.

“Rotound For Success” followed in 1989, aiming even more directly into the area of electronic dance music with pop appeal leading to a mediocre album where electro, ebm/industrial and experimental roots shone through only in the technical craftsmanship. The pointless Pumpkin on the cover nearly said all, I actually waited years until I got a cheap and perfect copy just for completion. No less than three 12″ singles had been issued surrounding this one to feed the happy dancing crowd – ‘Big Car’, ‘All Saints Day’ and ‘Greater Reward’ the best of the lot.
Further attempts to popularize the band – meanwhile Ellard and Jones – where made in 1988 with the “Bulkhead” Compilation which lead to a first revival of ‘Dead Eyes Opened’ and in 1991 with the newer Remix collection “Retread”. The last proper Album for Nettwerk followed with “Cuisine (with Piscatorial)”. While it started great with ‘Pilot In Hell’ everything that followed went downhill with only a few exceptions. The balance between commercial appeal, wierdo Pop and interesting electronica of the times was just too much too handle. Ellard later said in interviews we tried to make club music for drugged party people while we never went to clubs or took drugs – so it basically could’nt work. Nettwerk dropped them afterwards (I guess the extra experimental section Piscatorial at the end of the CD did not help) in favour of female singers and rappers while distancing from the whole ebm/electronica acts which made them big. The European distribution via PIAS got lost along the way.

1994 saw Severed Heads (now Tom Ellard solo) return with “Gigapus” on Volition in Australia, with ‘Heart Of The Party’ issued as single on the heels of the ‘Dead Eyes Opened’ Remixes by long term collaborator Robert Racic. 1995 a Carlos Perón remastered version in Europe and 1996 an USA version. Several versions include VHS, CDRom content etc. Again a hell for collectors but nothing helped to increase the fading popularity and the crash of Volution Records ended basically their career with the music industry for good.

Back to basics Tom Ellard as always interested in technical progress was one of the first musicians to embrace the DIY of home-burned CD-R’s and perhaps the first to offer downloadable music from his SevCom pages. The new found freedom had it’s price, loads of equipment was sold, full time jobs etc. The Music Server series was started (Muzak to create working atmospheres 1998 – 2002) followed by the idea of an ever evolving Magazine like release (OP 2002 – 2007) and more. The first of these was licensed as soundtrack for the Australian movie “The Illustrated Family Doctor” and Parts used as Soundtrack won the ARIA, the Australian Music Industry Award in 2005.

‘Haul Ass’ in 1998 and ‘Under Gail Succubus’ (2006) where the only regular Studio Albums issued and they showed a return to form.
The later, coupled with the first of the Barbara Series led to another series of (including this) 4 releases up to 2018, the other volumes credited to Tom Ellard. A highly welcome work crossing all borders.

Besides LTM issued a Heads Live CD, a double Best Of called “Commmerz” and the collectors label Vinyl On Demand a Box with old and oldest recordings, revised and supervised back in 2008. So the first Ending hat not really a chance to stand. Severed Heads stepped out of the grave once more….

These activities lead to a revival in reissues, performing and reworking releases and videos. Also some solo stuff. Also free stuff. Side Projects and remasters. Installing an ever-changing bandcamp site and facsimile reproductions on Vinyl. Besides the usual strange stuff, Tom Ellard Solo & a dive into new and unusual concepts and formats whenever possible.

As a final goodbye there was a limited CD available (now digitally available) to elaborate on what he felt like performing the ‘greatest Hits’ over and over again:

‘The Living Museum’ features the tracks in their final updated versions as performed on the last live Shows in Europe, US and Australia during 2019. This is the 2nd serious and most likely final attempt of Ellard severing ties with Severed Heads and progress actively forward.
The new banner which greated visitors of the SEVCOM home over a period of months announcing his new organisation :

[click it’s online now]

A Prison Of Measured Time (Isolation in Italy and beyond)

As my thoughts go to the catastrophe in progress which hardly leaves anyone unaffected now I like many others found more time than usual to takea look how some of the musicians I follow react to it and deal with the situation of quarantine and isolation.

Not sure if this ambient experimental work by DsorDNE with Onda Lunga was recorded in hindsight of the current overall mood but it’s quite impressive transmitting a special mood;

Due the unforeseen time he had on his hands Maurizio Pustianaz aka Gerstein remastered some of his elder recordings and reissued them via his bandcamp. Two fine examples are shown below.

Also the gorgeous “Colonna D’Aria” Compilation from Snowdonia (Reissued as SP 002 several years ago) is now professionally remastered online @ Klappstuhl Records – featuring exclusive Gerstein and DsorDNE tracks hidden in one long flow of early late 80’s Italian eclectic underground music.

Ex-Italian ‘Superstars’ PANKOW are giving away their latest re(re-)leases on the Canadian Artoffact label as “pay what you want” for the time being, as do most of this label’s artists currently, among them the incredible and unforgotten Nash The Slash (R.I.P.).

Directly responding to the current pandemic is Amplify 2020 -an online action initiated by Jon Abbey of Erstwhile Records – free downloads of musical pieces created especially during this time as direct reaction. Submissions are still open for those interested to participate.

Enjoy “Time” by and with the amazing Mr. Concept! (SP 026)

40 Year after ‘The Amazing World Of Mr. Concept‘ burst onto the tape scene here is the conclusion… “a continued rapid stream of delight”……………… true to the spirit of his early Cassette only albums this release is made and mixed for listening in one go.
Includes extensive liner notes by Mr C! as PDF booklet and of course printable artwork to make your own CD (Sorry, blank tapes are expensive nowadays).

But this is by far not the only project he was working on in the time since ‘XXXVII‘ was released, discover more Concept City productions at the new bandcamp site and enjoy the reissue as digital version or facsimile copy of the legendary ltd. Cordelia Records 1985 Album ‘November’ on LP. Currently available via Platform 23 from Nepal.

There is also a limited amount of original Klappstuhl CDr’s for those who prefer a physical product, including a free dl of the digital booklet. Rumours state it will be only 22 copies of this one which was already issued on February 20th. In any case – Mr. Concept wishes you a good time

concept city

Siegmar Fricke Funk Wellen

01 01 20 20 was the perfect futuristic date to publish this hardly recognized work of SF’s late electro / technohouse phase. All tracks where recorded during 1994 before he abounded the pop elements in search for new structures; less melodic but more abstract and rhythmic with a clinical approach to sound design which led to his current Pharmakustik output.

Klappstuhl Records is proud to publish this updated definitive version, carefully remastered in 24 Bit quality by Siegmar himself and now even including “Realtime” – a track never released before.

The graphic artwork is one of SF’s early 90’s works which seemed perfect to accompany this issue, colorful but technoid which sort of expresses the spirit of these days; optimistic onwards into a promised world of virtual reality, wealth and mental freedom for all.

Of course he also developed this side of his activity further, a recent exhibiton in Oldenburg, Germany showed his current approach of “froming complex organic structures” as does his online gallery.

Seasonal greetings from Andy Falconer

AFP 2019

A great x-mas gift arrived from (Andy) Falconer of Orb fame in my inbox – the complete unaltered recording of the Ozora Festival 2019 performance. Together with a new batch of beautiful pictures taken on the Costa de Luz, provence Cádiz in Spain to enlighten the short days of Winter.
Included is printable art as he lovingly provides for each of his digital available releases allowing one to build an AFP archive on discs easily. For your pleasure find this and more @ afp online.

Contaminated Area. MIK@ ‘s Vault.

A new find in the vaults from Mik@ of Contaminated Area fame, released in conjunction with the 10th Anniversary of the ‘Totally Wired’ festival performance.
Freshly mastered and dusted off ambience for the hard wired.

And when you’re there don’t miss the chance to check out other free EP’s like the ‘Beautiful Catastrophe’ Coil tribute (a version was once published on the limited 2CD edition of “The Loneliest Link In A Very Strange Chain” Compilation or the excellent HYBRIDS vs. WEYDAS album.