PSYCHIC TV - UNCLEAN (12") @ 40

 

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.

PSYCHIC TV - TEMPORARY TEMPLE @ 40

 

Recorded at a guerrilla performance on July 28th, 1984, Psychic TV's Temporary Temple turns 40 years old today. Released in January of 1988 as volume 9 in thee 23 live album series, it included the final voucher necessary to send in to Temple Records in order to receive the free 10th album, which turned out to be a studio album picture disc, colloquially referred to as "Album 10", or "Psychedelic Violence".

The Temporary Temple recording itself was captured as part of a Temple ov Psychick Youth tribal ceremony conducted at a squatted derelict circular building in Drayton Park, London. The event nearly didn't take place as police were spotted in the area prior to the attendees setting up for the performance, but the coast was eventually considered clear and gear and facilities were set up for the show. Musically, the material captured for the record encompasses purely improvised extended instrumental jams, with the LP only identifying each side with a symbol rather than a title. The music is essentially tribal ambience, with percussion and guitar tonalities interwoven across the side long pieces. Nothing approaching recognizable songs is included in the release. Its intent and purpose were entirely ritualistic in nature, functioning as a rallying call to TOPY members in the area to gather and celebrate their community.

PSYCHIC TV - THEMES 3 @ 40

Recorded at a pair of performances staged on April 22 & 23rd of 1984, Psychic TV's Themes 3 turns 40 years old today. The album was originally released on Temple Records in April of 1987 as part of the label's History series, but it is not part of the "23 Live" LP series that was being issued at the time. As the third volume in the "Themes" series, it continues the group's exploration of sound as a functional element, rather than mere entertainment. The first volume in the series, was originally included with the debut PTV album, Force the Hand of Chance, as a bonus disc. The second volume was issued by Temple Records as a stand-alone limited edition. Both were created in the studio using various experimental recording processes in order to create a kind of interactive listening experience. This third volume, however, was recorded at a live presentation, though this particular configuration was not a "band" performance. Rather, it was conceived and executed as a multimedia presentation, with various pre-recorded audio and video elements being live-mixed during the performance, incorporating visual projections and multi-monitor installations. Those involved in the presentation were behind the scenes, operating equipment and real-time editing source materials together.

I got a chance to see one of these presentations in Seattle at the Showbox Theater in 1988. This particular manifestation of this configuration was called "Stations Ov Thee Cross", and involved a setup featuring a giant Psychic Cross in the middle of the stage that was built from large CRT monitors, and was flanked by two large projection screens. At the time we were unaware that the performance would not involve a live band, so most of our party were rather disappointed to have made the trip down from Vancouver to see this. Personally, I thought it was an interesting concept, though the venue didn't really make it particularly comfortable for viewing something that was more contemplative, as opposed to seeing a bunch of people bounding about a stage with instruments. Still, in retrospect, it's something I'm extremely happy I got a chance to see, and I did eventually get a chance to see PTV as a full band in 1990 when they brought their 3 hour Acid House rave-up show to Vancouver's Town Pump.

 

INFLUENTIAL ALBUM - COIL, HOW TO DESROY ANGELS

Among the many groundbreaking releases put out by Belgian lable, L.A.Y.L.A.H. Antirecords, one of the most unusual and controversial was the debut release by the Psychic TV offshoot project, Coil.  Originally conceived as the inaugural release for the newly established Temple Ov Psychick Youth label, Temple Records, plans for its release via that outlet were scuttled when relationships between Genesis P-Orridge​ & Coil founders, John Balance (Geoff Rushton) and Peter Christopherson soured when the pair became increasingly concerned that TOPY was becoming too much of a "cult of personality" around P-Orridge.  Amid a somewhat acrimonious parting of ways, John & "Sleazy" decided to pursue Coil as their main creative outlet and took the recording of How to Destroy Angels with them. 

Intended to further the work begun with the PTV release, Themes, which was intended as practical accompaniment for ritual practices, How to Destroy Angels was recorded under a very strict set of guidelines to abet very specific intents.   Conceived around the symbolism relative to the Martian element, it was designed to facilitate the accumulation of masculine sexual energies.  To this end, all care during the recording process was taken to ensure these energies were intensified, even so far as to ensure the entire building was cleared of any conflicting elements or energies.  Those who do not understand basic principals of ritual may not comprehend the value of such acts and may interpret them as potentially sexist, but this is not in any way meant to disparage or denigrate other types of energies.  It is merely and experiment in focusing on a particular type of force. 

The result of this effort was a 17 minute abstract tonal piece consisting of various gongs, bells, cymbals and certain other acoustic sources.  The B-side of the album was left, ostensibly, blank, though there are several pressing variants, one with a constant tone throughout, another with the side appearing to have been sanded down to destroy whatever sound was pressed there (which I had), another had some layered tones and another had a series of locked grooves.  One pressing had completely blank grooves, which was the original intent.  All variations on this were called Absolute Elsewhere. 

I picked this up shortly after the first Coil full LP, Scatology, in 1985.  Personally, it has always been and remains one of my all time favorite releases by this project.  It's a clear example of how music can be created for practical application, beyond mere "entertainment", with abilities to aid certain processes.  I've had several practical experiences of using it which were extremely efficacious.  On the other hand, I've played this for people who were completely unable to comprehend it as anything but a bunch of rattling noises with no intent or purpose.  It certainly doesn't exist for "easy listening".