Coalmine 5 ‘Døden Drømmer Livet’

01 Døden Drømmer Livet (4:53)
02 Ismaela (2:08)
03 Eurasisk Slått (4:01)
04 Bushido (3:13)
05 Tynn Luft (5:19)
06 Scratching Train To Hell (2:33)
07 Ave Maria (2:09)
08 Sampo Suru (3:59)
09 Cold Mind (2:21)
10 Hermetisk Pingvin (1:35)
11 Gjeter Med Spaltet Tunge (2:00)
12 Blyantspisserens Sorg (3:19)
13 Der Og Da (4:30)
14 The Determinal Sky (2:30)
15 Jeg Vet Hvor… Landet La (1:17)

Total time 45:30
Cassette reissue on Tragic Figure, Portugal, TF 004, 1988?-90?

Personnel:
Zetlitz: voc, voice, perc, pipes, kbds, tapes
Anacleto: bs, bouzouki, kbds, voc, pipes, perc, tapes, gtr, clarinet
Felix Filius: voice, voc, kbds, gtr, pipes, perc, bs, bouzouki etc
Ato: voice, voc, gtr, perc, pipes
Sten Thure: drums, perc, gtr, bs, voc, pipes etc
Mentalnerve The Young: bs, gtr, voc, voice, pipes, perc, kbds, balalaika etc
Mentalnerve The Very Young: gtr, mandolin, perc, voc, balalaika, bouzouki, kbds, vacuum cleaner

Norwegian band Coalmine 5 was formed in the mid-1980s, first as a duo, then as a loose collective of 5 or more participants. This cassette was their first release, with tracks recorded from 1986-88 and first published in May 1988 by The Crawling Chaos label (ref. SHiT 016), in Aust-Agder fylke, Norway – my copy is the Portuguese reissue. Crawling Chaos was founded by Dave Jørgensen and Robert Ommundsen and was the label of legendary folk-psychedelic band Famlende Forsøk (info here, here and LP here). Coalmine 5 play surrealist, psychedelic-inspired folk music with Norwegian lyrics and a wide array of diverse instruments including flutes, bouzouki and jew’s harp. A few tracks are regular songs, the rest is grotesque chorales, obscure chanting and collective madness. Track#14 ‘The Determinal Sky’ is a cabaret number and, generally speaking, the music is rather theatrical thanks to many vocalists contributing in all kinds of styles (declamatory, grotesque, hushed or obscure). Typically, Coalmine 5 composed music to a theater performance of Alfred Jarry’s King Ubu. Whether the lyrics are folk traditionals or surrealist poetry, I can’t tell, but the music itself is a mix of both. The cassette title apparently means ‘Death Dreams Life’: a trip from death to life through dreams in the surrealist tradition.

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Ashtray Navigations ‘Tapwater Locomotive’

1. Tapwater Locomotive side A:
   Rough Mixes and Preworkings (20:39)
2. Tapwater Locomotive side B:
   Deluxe (18:35)

Total time 39:14
Cassette released by Smokers Gifts, SG #6, UK, 2008

Phil Todd: guitar
Phil Legard (#02): drums?
Melanie Delaney (#02): reeds and tapes?

Side A of this Ashtray Navigations cassette was first released as a CD-R in 2005 in an edition of 30. Reissued here as ‘Tapwater Locomotive Deluxe’ edition with additional material on side B recorded with Phil Legard from Xenis Emputae Travelling Band as well as Melanie Delaney. In the 1990s, Phil Todd ran the Betley Welcomes Careful Drivers label, and now runs Memoirs Of An Aesthete. Smokers Gifts is apparently Melanie Delaney’s own label with releases by Ashtray Navigations and her own Ocelocelot. Side A of the ‘Tapwater Locomotive’ cassette is a guitar+drums duo on heavy psych rock mode with tons of effect pedals on the guitar like in the good old days of Pelt ‘Ayahusco’ or, in the quieter moments, Keiji Haino’s ‘Affection’. The guitar parts are so dense you can almost smell the Marshall amps. Side B is an impenetrable, krautrock tour de force for ambient fuzz guitar and various additional sounds, the latter possibly including a reed instrument sounding like whales singing, while other indecipherable sound effects add density and mystery to the musical bliss. The result is a totally hypnotic, floating music that transports you to other planes of existence. Heavy, man! Thanks to Phil Todd for allowing this to appear here. Copies of this release are still available from Phil himself:
ashtraynavigations[at]hotmail[dot]com

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Rimarimba ‘Below the horizon’

01 Steady State (4:27)
02 Metal (1:05)
03 Gone To Hell In A Bucket (6:00)
04 The Melting (6:32)
05 The One That Got Away (3:44)
06 Ships (1:47)
07 Bebag (21:20)

Robert Cox: marimba, guitars, keyboards

Total time 44:50
LP released by Cordelia Records, UK, 1985

Elaborating on 1960s’ Systems Music, Rimarimba aka Robert Cox adapted it to the 1980s’ New Aesthetic, ie bass+synth formula, programmed coldness and computer-repetition. In so doing he was part of an important trend in UK including: Andrew Poppy, The Dead Goldfish Ensemble, Peeved Records, and elsewhere Enrico Piva. ‘Below The Horizon’ was originally released as a cassette on Unlikely Records in 1983 (URT81), then reissued on Peeved Records the same year (PV007) and finally reissued on LP by Cordelia in 1985 (ERICAT 008). Now what’s so special about this album? The obvious answer is that Cox is a skilled composer able to coin ear-catching melodies, an apt guitar player and sensible effect pedal user at ease with complex yet square rhythms. The fact all this takes place inside the simple time-frame of repetitive synth loops is all the more remarkable. Track #05 The One That Got Away and #07 Bebag have more than one hint to Steve Reich’s Nagoya Marimba (c. 1994) played by a New Wave band. The acoustic-electronic balance is fine throughout on this remarkable album. [See 'In The Woods' here.]

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Zobel & Thomasius ‘Freizeit’

01 Gebremster Fallschschirm (22:26)
02 Sammelpunkt (7:40)
03 Ping Pong (4:13)
04 Spiel Zigeuner (4:35)
05 Metallom (3:42)
06 Schlaflied (3:31)
07 Mönchhausen (2:30)
08 Aus Zweiter Hand (6:14)
09 Stimmen Der Dust (1:45)

Total time 56:40
Self-released cassette, East Berlin, DDR, 1987

Jorg Thomasius and Dieter Zobel were part of the East German cassette underground of the late 1980s. They released solo tapes, duos or collaborations on various labels like Audiophile Tapes, Prion or Epitapes. Both were members of the infamous Das Frei Orchester. Thomasius released his first solo LP ‘Tomato’ in 1988 on Generations Unlimited (USA), and later collaborated with Conrad Schnitzler, Guido Huebner, Doc Wör Mirran, Lars Stroschen and André Ruschkowski, etc. Dieter Zobel is a member of Perestroika Performance Combo and a programmer who creates many music softwares. The A side of ‘Freizeit’ is guitar+synth feedback with various sound effects with influences ranging from science-fiction movies to Richard Pinhas and german space-rock. The guitar solos can be described as ambient-Lord Litter. The B side is a collection of short electronic studies based on individual sounds, effects and loops. Tracks are varied and entertaining thanks also to the addition of some vocals.

Thanks to Don Campau [+] for the music+pictures.

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Head Cheese ‘Terrorism’

01 Howth Castle (2:23)
02 Ballad Of Persay O’Earwig (2:29)
03 Irish Ballad (Funeral March) (5:03)

Total time 9:55
7” single released by Headcheese Inc., ca 1985-90

This very curious little yellow single by Head Cheese contains 3 avant-punk songs elaborating on Irish references and influences. The first track is named after James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, which takes place in ‘Howth Castle and Environs’ (in Dublin) and involves a main character named Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker (both HCE). The song actually starts with James Joyce reading from the last chapter, the famous Anna Livia Plurabelle monologue. Here’s how it goes:

Well you know or kennet or haven’t I told you every telling has a taling and that’s the he and the she of it. Look. Look! The dust is growing. My branch is lofty taken root and my poor chair’s gone ashley. Felour. Feloo. It saon is late. Tis endless now since eye or eyewon last waterhouse’s clogh. I took it asunder I heard them say, when will they reassemble it? Oh, my back, my back! I want to go to Aix-lee Pains.

After the introduction, the song itself starts, a regular punk-rock anthem, though the use of high energy saxophone makes it a killer. The second song on the A side is a straight punk-rock number comparable to Trespassers W’s ‘Macht Kaputt’ e.p. or, for that matter, some The Ex. It ends with an excerpt from a William Burrough’s reading. The flip side is a different beast altogether. Actually an Irish traditional, the song is mostly instrumental after the intitial rendition of the lugubrious song. Instrumentation includes marimba, fifes, horns, mandolin, violin and maracas, for what finally sounds like a plausible Tom Waits number out of Rain Dogs. The song resurfaces at some point, amid a cornucopia of free saxophone blasts and various noises from all players. Totally intoxicating.

There was a Head Cheese band active in Philadelphia at the beginning of the 1980s, but I’m not even sure they are related to the present one. They released a single called ‘Jungle Jam’ in 1981 on their own, short-lived label: Burn Potential Records. The band included Susan Ottaviano, Ted Ottaviano and Jade Lee, among others, mostly students from Philadelphia College of Art. They apparently played the Mudd Club, New York during the 1980s. The band changed name to Book Of Love in 1985.

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Various ‘Annual Jissom’

01 Jody And The Creams ‘The Revolving Countess’ (2:46)
02 Webcore ‘Fly Wheel Fly’ (5:09)
03 Hugh Thomas ‘Anal Fistula’ (3:21)
04 Swing Jugend ‘Slowly Dipped and Wriggling’ (3:47)
05 Blind Boy Grunt ‘Dead Girls Don’t Cry’ (3:41)
06 John Boardman ‘The Orgasmic Circle Of 330,216,446′ (4:44)
07 Pseudonymous Bosch ‘Sandwich And Outside’ (14:25)
08 Hinchcliffe And Dick ‘Leave Now’ (2:47)
09 Abstract Skulls ‘Skarp Hedin’s Axe’ (3:25)
10 Abstract Skulls ‘Kicking The Can Blues’ (1:18)
11 Milovan Srdenovic And Jar ‘Virgins Anus Mantra Ray’ (0:34)
12 Smell And Quim ‘Albert Cometh’ (1:00)

Total time 46:09
Cassette+magazine released by GTOG, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, 1988

From the dark vaults of Smell & Quim’s headquarters in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, came ‘Annual Jissom’, a 1988 magazine+cassette release. This monstrosity is a compendium of insane acts from UK labels like Cordelia Records, Stinky Horse Fuck, Unlikely Records, Hajra and Swing Music (all but the first from Yorkshire, of all places). The zine itself offers short stories, comic strips, drawings, collages in a rather ambitious mix of artwork and literature by various local luminaries including Milovan Srdenovic or cartoonist Les Coleman, as well as unclassifiable mavericks like John Trubee (with a sexually explicit written manifesto, not included in the scans) or Diz Willis (an excerpt from his ‘Diaries Of Richard Burton’). While not as horrendous as regular Smell & Quim releases artwork, the zine still includes the typical blasphemies and sexually provocative content here and there. The cassette is a robust mix of depraved lyrics, Yorkshire post-industrial rock, sound poetry and spoken word. It starts with 2 bass-heavy, new-wave acts from the Cordelia stable (Jody And The Creams and Webcore) ; Srdenovic himself appears in various guises (Abstract Skulls, S&Q and very likely Blind Boy Grunt with its blunt pedophiliac/necrophiliac, inept lyrics) ; Hugh Thomas delivers a short, partially speaking-in-tongues, sound poetry track, obviously recorded at home on portable cassette ; Swing Jugend is P. Walsh, aka Smell & Quim member Paul Nonnen, for yet another West Yorkshire sinister offering with low rumbles a-plenty (see attached ‘Severe Lactations’ ad) ; also included is the longest phone prank I’ve ever heard: Sandwich And Outside, credited to Pseudonymous Bosch. Here’s what Diz Willis specialist Phil Smith wrote about the track:

I think THAT one is Diz, doing his cheesy French accent (he lived there for a bit). I thought that was pretty amusing, spinning the guy out without just being downright rude as in many prank calls . . . The slightly misspelt HinchCliffe and Dick must be George Hinchcliffe, now of the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain… they were all pals. (email, May 3rd, ‘09)

There’s enough insanity in this collection of tracks to offend any innocent listener, but the musical side (so to speak) is quite varied and surprising, hopping from the lugubrious to the hilarious while actually getting close to the ‘lowest form of art’ at times. The magazine and tape obviously contain immature material, but multifarious bad jokes are delivered with tongue firmly in cheek and a joyous, messy artistry throughout. Thanks to Phil for invaluable help writing this post. Diz Willis is fortunate indeed to have such a dedicated archivist. Contact him if you have any Willis-related material (philreadsbooks [at] hotmail [dot] com) or if, like me, you have any question regarding Diz Willis!

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More Yorkshire hysteria on Continuo:
Diz Willis >
Milovan Srdenovic > & >
Davy Walklett >

Brodé Tango s/t cassette

01 Petit r’d'roll de siamois au Tonkin (3:20)
02 Les Tristes Aventures d’un Gros Bonnet (3:40)
03 Première Cordée (3:29)
04 L’Automne A Béguin (3:37)
05 De La Guerre Froide (2:40)
06 Le Sens Du Poêle (3:52)
07 Päte A Modeler (2:38)
08 Il Se Sent Sonné ? (2:04)

Total time 25:18
Self released cassette, France, 1986

This was Bruno Chapoutot’s first release as Brodé Tango, after his duo Germain Hubert Ales (mini-LP on AAA, 1982), the Rock Feller trio (mini-LP on AAA, 1983) and the Look De Bouk band (‘Lacrimae Rerum’ LP, AYAA, 1985). Note: AAA stands for ‘A l’Autome Allité’ – as for AYAA, I don’t know. A gifted guitar player, Chapoutot is also a poetic composer who put Satie back into rock’n'roll, in a way comparable to what like-minded maverick Pascal Comelade was doing at the time. Brodé Tango is part of a parallel universe where asteroids are nammed ‘An Der Schönen Blauen Donau’ [>] or ‘Trois Lapins’ [>]. This cassette has been a favorite since I got it in the late 1980s and time did not erode Brodé Tango’s music singularities, merely amplifying the uniqueness of its ingredients: naive, tender and handsome.

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Philippe Grancher ‘3000 Miles away’

01 3000 Miles Away (9:07)
02 Naïvetés (2:40)
03 Réflexions à propos d’un miroir (2:59)
04 Flip-Flop (10:00)
05 Birds, Birds (6:14)

Philippe Grancher: piano and electric keyboards
Jean-Louis Rizet: synthesizers
Gerard Bouquin: bass
Arnaud Chevalier: electric guitar
Marc Abela: acoustic guitar
Pascal X: drums

Total time 31:00
LP released on Pôle Records, ref#0014, France, 1976

Thanks to Julian Cope’s articles on prog rock, the world is familiar with Parisian anarchists Pôle Records, created by Paul and Evelyne Putti. The label was active for 3 years only (1975-1977) but managed to release essential albums of radical synth music and free rock by French musicians. Their catalogue was taken-up and reissued by Tapioca label from 1977 on (see discog here and photo gallery here). This album by Philippe Grancher (b1956) includes Jean-Louis Rizet, a member of the legendary radical synth duo Pôle and is produced by Philippe Besombes, a Pôle Records stalwart. The music on ‘3000 Miles Away’ is based on piano compositions with Moog, Mellotron or other vintage keyboards accompanyment. The composing method is close to that of Roedelius or Heldon. The B side includes guest musicians, adding an almost prog-rock touch to well-crafted, naive melodies. The title track’s piano sonata displays Grancher’s piano skills and classical influences. Obviously, the album sounds less freak than other Pôle Records releases, which is all the more welcome.

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