Released
in August of 1984, Psychic TV's 12" EP, Unclean, turns 40 years old
this month. It was the first title issued by Thee Temple ov Psychick
Youth's own label imprint, Temple Records, which was inaugurated
following the acrimonious demise of their relationship with Stevo's Some
Bizzare label, who released PTV's first two LPs, and the single, Just
Drifting. Unclean is also the group's first release following the
equally conflicted departure of co-founder and former Throbbing Gristle
partner, Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, and his then romantic partner,
Geoff Rushton (aka John/Jhon Balance). They departed principally due to
their concerns regarding Genesis P-Orridge turning TOPY into a "cult of
personality" and would go on to form the widely influential project,
Coil.
Without the backing of a
major label, leaving the group owed significant sums from their previous
releases, budgets for production and studio time were limited, but the
founding of an independent label meant that all the proceeds from record
sales would belong to TOPY/PTV, and creative control of the product
would be entirely under their purview. Given P-Orridge's experience
with Industrial Records during the TG days, this was not unfamiliar
territory. It would ultimately provide the group with a great latitude
when it came to the diversity of their output, from the most bizarre
experimentation, to a charting pop single that would help finance a
planned film production, though these plans would be eventually derailed
by their manager absconding with the single's profits. Still, their
own label would help them bounce back from this by virtue of the live
series of LPs.
Getting back to
the Unclean EP, side A's title track kicks it off with an extended, near
ten minute long sluggish dirge that is not too far off from Metal Box
era PiL in terms of its repetitive drum loop, throbbing minimal bass and
piercing, atonal guitar(?) feedback. Genesis wails atop the
cacophonous musical backing with a diatribe against Christianity,
declaring its "Saviour" to be a perversion of morality and "obscene".
The run-out groove etching on the vinyl exacerbates the blasphemy of the
song by declares the record to be "CURSED BY GOD". In comparison to
the relatively accessible and tuneful music contained in their first two
albums for Some Bizzare, Unclean is nearly a full return to the
aggressive bite of TG at its prime, landing comfortably in proximity to
something akin to Discipline as far as rhythmic assaults go.
But
the mood changes abruptly for the flip side of the record, which
includes two ambient compositions that seem to feature P-Orridge as the
principal performer. The first is a soundtrack from a Derek Jarman
short film, Mirrors, which may be one of the most sublimely beautiful
pieces of music PTV ever put to record. It is built from a meandering
kaleidoscopic collage of gentle piano improvisations that seem to
reflect and refract off each other, perfectly representing the abstract
mylar dancing lights of the 8mm film for which it was created. The
piece bares a striking resemblance to the fifth and closing movement of
the final TG studio album, Journey Through a Body. The section titled,
Oltre La Morte / Birth And Death, is also an improvised piano
meditation, and likely an early rendition of this conception that now
finds its full flower in the PTV recording. I also seem to recall
coming across an old COUM era recording of Genesis on the piano
performing what sounded like an even more primitive rendition of this
theme, so it's likely it was lurking around in various incarnations for
years before this most complete realization of its intent.
The
third piece, Unclean Monks, is a vocal choral piece created by Genesis
repeatedly singing the word "Jesus", layered on multiple tracks to
create a sombre, sacred sounding choir reminiscent of medieval monks
performing Gregorian chants. As sacrilegious as the A-side is, it's as
if Genesis is seeking salvation and repentance with this closing
composition, or else and more likely, codifying his curse upon the
iconography.
The cover for the
single featured the striking graphic template that Temple Records would
utilize for many of their "Library" series releases, with it's black and
grey primary layout accented by an eye catching red banner. Seeing
these releases pop up in the shops was a great way to inspire collectors
as aficionados like myself were eager to ensure a complete set of these
matching releases. As the label built up its catalogue, seeing all
these coordinated artifacts together engendered a kind of satisfying
sense of accomplishment in their acquisition. Rather good marketing, I
must say. Unclean has remained one of my all time favourite PTV
releases, showcasing the group at both their most extreme and
confrontational and seductively alluring states.
