Marking
its 15th anniversary today is the reunion album from Throbbing Gristle,
Part Two - The Endless Not, which was released by Mute Records on this
day, April 1st, 2007. More of a “re-birthing” than a reunion, it was
the first fully realized studio album produced by the group since 20
Jazz Funk Greats in 1979.
The road to Part Two began back in 2002
with the reactivation of Industrial Records under Mute’s umbrella and
the release of the sprawling TG24 box set of live recordings. This was
concurrent with a museum exhibit of TG memorabilia and ephemera, which
was held at the Cabinet Gallery in London in December. The occasion of
this event was the catalyst for the four members of TG to come together
again for the first time since disbanding in 1981. With the old wounds
mostly mitigated by the passing of time, Mute began a process of
encouraging the group to explore the potential of working together
again, even if for only very specific and limited purposes.
The
initial results of these efforts manifested in a planned one-off reunion
performance to be called RE:TG. It was to have been part of a music
festival put on by All Tomorrow’s Parties featuring an impressive lineup
of groups who had been, in some way, inspired or influenced by TG. The
event was well into being realized when it was abruptly cancelled due
to logistical reasons beyond the groups control. However, the momentum
of putting this together left the group in a position where they felt
compelled to offer a performance, regardless of the situation with the
festival. This resulted in the now legendary Astoria gig on May 15th,
2005, almost 23 years exactly since TG’s last appearance on stage.
The
preparation for this performance involved the group going to the
studio, not only to rehearse, but to come up with new material for the
show. In typical TG fashion, they didn’t want this to be merely a “best
of” set of fan favorites. They wanted to showcase how the individual
members had progressed as artists and demonstrate what that development
meant in terms of a 21st century incarnation of TG. Some of the
material created during these sessions became the four track TG NOW EP,
which was a souvenir release made available in a limited edition for the
RE:TG event. The success of those recordings and the live performance
then became the impetus to push beyond what they had foreseen as a
one-time event.
After the Astoria show, other performances
followed and more time was spent in the studio to work on additional
materials with the objective of creating a full album of new TG
compositions. Those efforts eventually culminated in the realization of
Part Two - The Endless Not. The finished album featured all new
material, save a reworking of Almost a Kiss from the NOW EP. Like the
DOA album from 1978, Part Two features four individual solo tracks from
each member, though Gen’s track was a collaboration with his Thee
Majesty partner, Bryin Dall. Overall, the album offers a fully updated
manifestation of Throbbing Gristle’s sound, with their collective
knowledge and experience gained over the preceding decades readily
apparent in the sophistication of the production. It was unmistakably
“TG”, but that beast had evolved and grown into something new and
vibrant. There was no rehashing of obvious old tropes and no nostalgia
for their bygone glory days. This was 21st century TG for the present
day and beyond.
The album was minimally packaged for the CD
release with only a card insert in the front featuring a photo of Mount
Kailash taken by Martin Gray. The initial run of the CD included a
“totemic gift”, the production of which was overseen by Peter
Christopherson at his compound in Thailand. The primary run included
one of four items encased in the spine of the CD tray. Each was made
from one of the following materials: bone, wood, rubber or copper. A
fifth stainless steel totem was made available in a Japanese edition of
the CD. A sixth totemic gift was made of 23 carat gold.
Critical
reception for the album was generally very positive, as was the response
from fans, though there were those who were not so enthusiastic about
it all. Personally, I felt it was something of a minor miracle to be
able to get a brand new album of TG music, something I never expected to
happen prior to the reunion rumblings that began in 2002. I loved
hearing how this creature could come back to life after so long and, not
only exist, but be more than it had been in the past. Perhaps the
overt confrontational nature of “classic” era TG was gone, but this was
light years away from the kinds of rehash “oldies” reunion efforts that
you see from most other aging bands.
TG would continue in this
reconstituted form until December of 2010, when it would all come apart,
first with the abrupt, mysterious departure of Genesis P-Orridge at the
beginning of a short European tour, and then with the sudden death of
Peter Christopherson. During their reunion era, they would release a
number of recordings along with NOW and Part Two, but nothing which
constituted a full, proper studio album. Third Mind Movements was
essentially a collection of improves captured during the Desertshore
Installation and 32nd Annual report is a live recreation of their first
LP. Their Desertshore project would eventually materialize in 2012
under the X-TG banner, without Genesis being involved, so Part Two
stands, like the mountain on its cover, as the sole complete
manifestation of 21st century TG. Whether or not we’ll see anything
else materialize from this era remains a mystery as Chris Carter and
Cosey Fanni Tutti now remain as the sole gatekeepers of the TG archive.
I suspect there are many recordings, both studio and live, which could
be released at some point in the future, but no word has come in terms
of any specifics. For now, this is what we’ve got to mark this creative
period. It’s an album that sits along side a host of other releases
from that year by the members of the group. It was a remarkable period
with new albums from TG, Psychic TV, Sleazy’s post-Coil project,
Threshold HouseBoys Choir, Carter Tutti & Thee Majesty. All in all,
2007 was a banner year to be a fan of the music created by these four
remarkable individuals.
