It was some time in 1985 when I first had a chance to flip through a copy of RE/Search's groundbreaking book, The Industrial Culture Handbook. I was very much a TG fan, so the lead chapter on them drew me immediately to the book, but it also introduced me to some other names I had yet to encounter. One of the most intriguing and enigmatic personalities showcased in this publication was an American by the name of Boyd Rice. His approach and techniques seemed to be entirely outside the realm of any sort of standard music making I'd ever encountered. Whereas TG had still engaged with recognizable "instruments" (guitar, bass, cornet, keyboards), Rice, within the context of his NON project, was generating sounds in ways which seemed completely alien. He was using machines or broken records or, if he did use a guitar, he'd have an electric fan mounted to it to thrash the strings mechanically. His whole aesthetic seemed to be coming from someplace entirely different than any traditional musician I'd encountered, no matter how "avant-garde" they may have appeared.
The first album by Boyd that I came across was his 1977 debut, simply titled, Boyd Rice, but often referred to as "The Black Album". Encased in a plain black sleeve with only the name, Boyd Rice, embossed on the front, it had no song titles or credits save for the record label which advised the LP was "playable at any speed" and that it was recorded between 1975-1976. Years before Spinal Tap, this record really seemed like there was "none more black". Based on the article/interview in RE/Search, I was braced for something entirely unlistenable. In fact, I must confess my motivation for buying the album was rather as a novelty, something to put on to shock people or piss them off. What I wasn't expecting was how enjoyable the record would turn out to be! It wasn't all blaring, jarring noise at all. Sure, there were some sections which were more intense than others, but there were movements which were quite soft and dreamy sounding. The extreme use of repetition and looping was the biggest takeaway for me in that it demonstrated the effects of such techniques as a viable compositional tactic. It also opened me up to the idea that sound sources could come from virtually anyplace and be used for making music.
In the years since I first listened to his records, Boyd has released a wide variety of music, even a cover album of pop standards from the 1960s (Spell) and he's become a controversial figure for his views and associations. I tend to take it all with a grain of salt, and find myself occasionally having to qualify my opinion, but the influence and impact of his work over the years cannot be discounted or dismissed.
The first album by Boyd that I came across was his 1977 debut, simply titled, Boyd Rice, but often referred to as "The Black Album". Encased in a plain black sleeve with only the name, Boyd Rice, embossed on the front, it had no song titles or credits save for the record label which advised the LP was "playable at any speed" and that it was recorded between 1975-1976. Years before Spinal Tap, this record really seemed like there was "none more black". Based on the article/interview in RE/Search, I was braced for something entirely unlistenable. In fact, I must confess my motivation for buying the album was rather as a novelty, something to put on to shock people or piss them off. What I wasn't expecting was how enjoyable the record would turn out to be! It wasn't all blaring, jarring noise at all. Sure, there were some sections which were more intense than others, but there were movements which were quite soft and dreamy sounding. The extreme use of repetition and looping was the biggest takeaway for me in that it demonstrated the effects of such techniques as a viable compositional tactic. It also opened me up to the idea that sound sources could come from virtually anyplace and be used for making music.
In the years since I first listened to his records, Boyd has released a wide variety of music, even a cover album of pop standards from the 1960s (Spell) and he's become a controversial figure for his views and associations. I tend to take it all with a grain of salt, and find myself occasionally having to qualify my opinion, but the influence and impact of his work over the years cannot be discounted or dismissed.
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