“Sometimes it seems Human progression is a myth. We move forward only to be dragged back by the stupidity of individuals who infect with misinformation & false promise. Their numbers seem to grow & So…..
Dark Days are Here Again.”
Leer.
Released September 6, 2019 / Synthesizers, Sampler & percussion / Thomas Leer.
F-SPACE performing live after the Desolation Center documentary screening at Cinéma Nova in Brussels on 24 September, 2022.
In case you did’nt know, it’s core duo is Scot Jenerik and Ethan Port (of Savage Republic).
Eric Ramsden from Manchester was one of a handful of early electronic post punk pioneers, unique and uncompromising not completely unlike Robert Rental, Fad Gadget, . He was involved with early Factory acts, the New Hormones label, Buzzcocks’ Pete Shelley as The Tiller Boys and maybe best documented with Cabaret Voltaire (as guest musician on record, as opening act on tour and fully absorbed on the Pressure Company live LP). From solo output up to putting a band together (The Bedlamites) and getting recruited for the then Manchester based femme fatale junkie legend Nico as tourband member – with additional stints in the Suns Of Arqua, Psychic TV and the Durutti Column.
This short bio shows a lot unknown facts, thankfully supported by the man himself about his whereabouts and his surprising return to electronic music starting with ‘Man Dog’ in 2014 on Klanggalerie after a 18 years hiatus and continuing until the present day. Find his latest Album ‘No-Go‘ here as CD and DL and a live recording from 2019 promoting the ‘Wire Me Up‘ 2*12″ on soundcloud.
An incredible find, many, many thanks to Hugo Ball.
“Drink The New Wine” was recorded last year during lockdown with the four members sharing audio files. The track employs the Surrealists’ ‘Exquisite Corpse’ device whereby each artist adds to the piece without seeing what the others have done. Bauhaus have used this technique in the past to great effect. The title refers to the very first Cadavre exquis’ drawing rendered by André Breton, Marcel Duchamp, Jacques Prévert and Yves Tanguy which included words which when strung together made up the sentence, ‘Le cadavre exquis boiara le vin nouveau’ (‘The exquisite corpse will drink the new wine.”) For the recording, the four musicians each had one minute and eight tracks at their disposal plus a shared sixty seconds plus four tracks for a composite at the end. All done without hearing what the others had laid down. The only common link being a prerecorded beat courtesy of Kevin. The final playback came as synchronistic revelation.
[Release Statement]
Written and Produced by Bauhaus
Art Direction and Video Design by
-Regan Catam
-Adrian Burke (Awen Studios Ojai)
© 2022 Bauhaus Music
I’ve read about this documentary when it came out (or at least was shown in some selected places a few times) but could’nt go to watch it. It never appeared on DVD as far as I know but today I stumbled upon it – so yeah – here are just 24 years later some interesting tidbits from the New York scene in glorious youtube quality. Thanks to the uploader.
–
DONT BRING A DOG, 1997
Hi8/75 min
“It´s not like writing a popsong and have it played on the fucking radio!”
Aurelio Valle / Factory Press
“A lot of these alternative rockbands seem to be more into Kiss than into Duchamp!”
Kid Congo Powers / Ex-Cramps, Ex-Gun Club, Ex-Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
“Suddenly we became part of the mainstream and that´s still disconcerting!”
Thurston Moore / Sonic Youth
CREDITS:
Regie/Buch/Kamera: Oliver Schwabe
Kamera(Interviews): Dirk Lindner
Schnittregie: Rita Schwarze
Schnitt: Oliver Schwabe
Ton Remix: Thomas Arntz
Produktion: Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln
–
And a little Kid Congo bonus from 2016… He just turned 62 and lives happily with his man & cat!
2020 was also the return of a mighty shade from the Past; Richard H. Kirk’s Cabaret Voltaire Album on Mute did stir up the desired wave of attention, raised eyebrows and startled collectors inclusive.
“Shadow Of Fear” was simultaneously released as purple double Vinyl album, CD in cardboard wallet, digital files and (gasp) Cassette via long time reissue / archive alley mute. Also a free ltd. 7″ with an Electronic Sound magazine (thankfully not with exclusive tracks only edits) appeared.
This is the first fully worked out CV release after several live appearences from Richard H. Kirk as Cabaret Voltaire starting in 2015 at Berlin Atonal (and two tracks on the accompanying compilation triple 12″). His first reclaim of the groups name for current works where the remix albums “Kora Kora Kora” and “National Service Rewind” for Amrik Rai’s Shiva Records already back in 2009/10, reportedly not being well received by Stephen Mallinder.
So, after an stream of archive, live and studio, remastered and redesigned releases with some excellent results (Johnny YesNo Redux, Drinking Gasoline, Live From London, Chance Vs. Causality) there was finally a new album.
Well, almost. The 8 tracks published where recorded between July 2014 to April 2020, an endless process for someone like RHK who used to drop up to 3 or 4 albums a year in different monikers for several years. Two of these had already been on the Atonal Compilation in diffent versions. So I guess the main effort was to get the balance right between RHK’s own style, expectations coupled to the CV name / brand and proper marketing. As a whole this is good, but not extraordinary and if it had been sold to me as a new RHK album under whatever moniker I had had no problems with it. Seeing it as a continuation of the last Cabaret Voltaire albums – Plasticity, International Language and The Conversation does not really work for me as he plays it safer than needed.
When he published his excellent solo album “Dasein” on his own Intone label after a long silence back in 2017 this felt to me more like his mind had wandered through the different approaches and phases of the past and making a stand for the future.
Of course besides a little press and his die hard followers the waves stirred up for this one where foreseeable smaller and the bleak b/w image did not attract occasional listeners in the first place too.
While excitment was still allover the place 3 (!) more new releases had been announced in January; a limited 12″ EP (in funky curacaou Vinyl) for February
…and two one track Drone derivates for March and April. The later again as Double Vinyl Album (in white), CD and digitally available for pre-order.
All design / photography / layout by Richard’s long time allies Phil Barnes and Phil Wolstenholme, mastered to perfection by Denis Blackham.
Rewind : Here as a recent mix of the last years of CV active as the duo Kirk / Mallinder:
Low Cool
The Message (An Original Hollywood Theme)
Searchin’
Colours (Thunder Mix)
Easy Life (Jive Turkey Mix)
Brutal But Clean
Ride Baby Ride (Acid)
Hypnotised
Smooth
Don’t Walk Away
Keep On (Clubbing)
Keep On Pushin’
No Resistance
Afterglow
What Is Real
Alright
Rescue Me (City Lights)
Resonator
And I was dreaming in my sleep
Saw through you all
And I was dreaming still on my feet
Saw through you all
And I saw what you could be
And you just don’t feel free
And I saw what you could be
But you just won’t be real to me
So let’s blame this excess
On an American dream
So let’s blame the success
Of an American dream
Are you confused by the chaos
In everyones wandering eyes
Do you dream of running naked
In warm rain
Are you confused by the chaos
It’s no, it’s no surprise
We all stand next to Jesus
Close to Satan we’re both the same
These birds can’t fly away away
These birds can’t fly away
So let’s blame this excess
On an American dream
So let’s blame the success
Of an American dream (x4)
Feeling so high and low
It’s the American dream (x4)
Daniel Ash / David J. Haskins / Kevin Haskins 1986
Mick Did It Again !
After the 25 Years celebration compilation monster “The United World Underground” issued in 2017, he digged even deeper in his glorious tape label / DIY past to present you (as promised) digitized and mastered works of the dark past where nearly nothing was instantly available nor free nor digital.
This is meant to be the final collection celebrating the past before Mick Magic might make his words true and explore further territories in outer and inner space with a new album by his own Magic Moments At Twilight Time…
See The Magic Net for more downloads and take the chance to get hold of the lovingly remastered reissue of M & E’s top selling CD Album ‘Creavolution’ (read all and more about it here) and get a decent hardcopy at TMR Records.
Click to go to the official info site. Official Release : 06/09/2019. Expect a Bang.
As expected this promises to be another wild sonic ride – from psychedelic, experimental, goth, electro to somewhere else with loads of shades in between. As a first glimpse a bonus virtual C90 is already out with some introducing words by Lord Litter (another survivor) over at the Electronic Cottage.
ACC / A Colder Consciousness started as Radio Show via. Resonance FM by Fiona Pitrolo, all shows are archived on mixcloud. Basic themes are cold wave, extraordinary underground and eastern European alternative scenes as far as I can tell – all with a melancholy hint.
Last year they expanded their activities and started publishing music too. The first (re-)release was Jugoslavian’s Bastion debut LP / DL from 1984.
In due course of their label specials they interviewed Marco Pustianaz about HAX Materiali Per La Communicazanione and the Italian underground and experimental post-punk scene (still online here), got in touch with Marco Milanesio, one of the other driving forces behind the label collective and wow (now) here is actually an old / new release by DsorDNE and it’s preceeding incarnation Novostj:
(Limited Vinyl) LP & DL, remastered by Marco Milanesio himself from his old masters. Gracie !!!
A new video for DsorDNE’s signature song in it’s live version featuring New Noveta is here too.
Listen / buy / enjoy & find more details and lyrics at ACC’s bandcamp.
Additionally, released in February via Triple Void Records, Turin was a great electronic EP with two remixes by DsorDNE from the Italian postpunk darkwave electronic project Ginevra‘s latest album.
So with a deep look back in time (36 years now) here is an exciting Reissue I’ve been looking forward to since I read about it. Not just another Collection of b-sides and new mixes but a whole Compilation of unreleased outtakes is included now with the Maffia debut album before the classic Wimbish / McDonald / LeBlanc trio aided Mark Stewart.
See a newly made Video for “Liberty City” here.
The regularly over-used term ‘groundbreaking’ is finally used for once justified on this album which was/is a mutant melting of dub, industrial, anarcho free-style attitude with a singer who could sing but choose not to and lyrics which where not pretentious but worthy to chew upon years after years.
The original version of “The Paranoia Of Power”:
(from “The Lost Tapes” Compilation)
>> Mark Stewart himself perceives The Lost Tapes as a document that now possesses a storied significance: “It was a real adventure discovering this forbidden history, a twisted tale of Muswell hillbillies, French pirates and a Dutch schizophrenic doctor doing psychic archaeology.” Whilst Adrian Sherwood describes these works as characteristic of a distinct primitivism: “[The Lost Tapes represent] the early childhood of the songs before Mark and me conducted frenzied, scorched earth, slash-and-burn, twenty-hour mental, manic editing sessions at Crass’ studios that led to birthing the finished album.” <<
Info from Mute.com
There is also an Vinyl 2LP Edition, in black or clear with DL Code available directly via mutebank . Digitally the lost tapes are also available on it’s own via iTunes or Amazon.