COIL - MUSICK TO PLAY IN THE DARK VOL. 1 @ 25

 

Marking a quarter century on the shelves, at 25 years old this month, is Coil's Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 1, which was released in September of 1999. The album represented a striking thematic shift for the group and, despite its genesis within the womb of excessive drug use, manifested as some of the most cohesive and intentional music from that era of their existence.

Given the group was primarily the purview of two gay men, their initial conceptual focus was decidedly "solar", or masculine. Solar symbolism was frequently in play, whether it was the Black Sun logo, or the references to gold, an element distinctly connected to solar imagery, though both are also decidedly scatological in nature as well. Their 1984 debut EP release, How To Destroy Angels, was specifically dedicated to Mars and the "accumulation of males sexual energy", deliberately excluding and avoiding female influence as a matter of process. Yet with Musick to Play in the Dark, a realignment had occurred. Jhon Balance specifically announces on the album that this is "Moon Musick", aligning the group's focus with intentionally feminine energies, like tides and cycles of nature. The result in the music is something entirely more atmospheric and ephemeral than much of their prior work.

The album was recorded at a sprawling Victorian manor that Peter Christopherson had purchased in the coastal community of Weston-super-Mare in the UK. He and Balance had set up a recording studio in their new home, and the group, at this time, were augmented by Thighpaulsandra and Drew McDowall.

Their social scene was heavily involved with the consumption of large quantities of MDMA (Ecstasy), the semi-psychedelic party pill popularized by the rave scene of the preceding decade, so the process of recording was done in something of a barely remembered blur of intoxication. It's something rather perfectly captured in the album's opener, Are You Shivering, a reference to the distinct teeth chattering & grinding that occurs with sufficient indulgence in the aforementioned substance. If you've ever taken enough, you will recognize the sensations intimately.

Technically, they were working with some of the latest digital tools that were changing the shape of music making for electronic producers at the time, with Christopherson always keen to work on the cutting edge of the available tech, though there was some balance as well with the use of older gear. Advanced recording software like ProTools and more versatile and sophisticated samplers and synthesizers were combined with vintage gear, like their collection of old rhythm boxes and an Optigan, a keyboard from the 1970s which replaced their unwieldy and unreliable Mellotron and it's tape loops with a much more stable optical flexidisc sound library interface.

Given the nature of the substance abuse involve in the production of the album, one might expect them to have done the obvious thing and delved into the electronic dance music genre, inspired by their late nights at raucous rave-ups, but nothing could be further from the results that came about for this album. The style of the music was predominantly in the ambient vein, though with bizarre intersections through Krautrock influences, similar to early Tangerine Dream, or elements of cocktail jazz, spaced out and slowed down to capture the sense of deep, chill-out late-night altered state listening.

The Lunar conception for the album was intended to be pursued in a series of recordings, with a "Vol. 2" of Musick to Play in the Dark issued the following year, though these were both preceded by the Moon's Milk series of EPs, released in 1998. Collectively, these recordings represent Coil reaching a new peak of creative inspiration, and they have gone on to be valued as some of the group's most accomplished and effective works. They would also provide the momentum for them to take their unique sound on stage in the early 2000s, where they performed many of these pieces in concerts that have since become legendary. Most were documented on video and issued on the limited edition DVD box set, Colour Sound Oblivion.

Unfortunately, this era would be sadly abbreviated by the tragic accidental death of Jhon Balance in 2004, when he tumbled off a balcony in their aforementioned Victorian home. His struggles with substance abuse had taken their toll on both his physical and mental well-being, as well as his relationship with Christopherson, who had recently relocated to Thailand where he would remain based until his own tragic passing in December of 2010.

With both of the group's principal creatives now gone, there has been some confusion in terms of the plethora of reissues that have appeared and who, exactly, has the authority to manage their catalogue. Regardless, the group has left an astonishing canon of work in their wake, with this album sitting among the top of the heap in terms of its significance.

ZERO KAMA - THE SECRET EYE OF L.A.Y.L.A.H. @ 40

Released on cassette in September of 1984, the debut and only full studio album from Zero Kama, The Secret Eye of L.A.Y.L.A.H., turns 40 years old this month. Subsequently reissued on vinyl in 1988, and CD in 1991, with a special edition remastered 30th anniversary edition in 2014, this might be the most sinister sounding album ever created. If any recording is capable of summoning "Evil Dead" style undead demons by playing it, this could be IT!

Austrian native, Michael Sperlhofer, later Michael Dewitt, now Zoe Dewitt, was an avid admirer of Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV in the late '70s and early '80s, respectively. Dewitt engaged in frequent correspondence with members of both projects, especially Geoff Rushton (John Balance), before deciding to found the cassette label, Nekrophile Rekords, with the 1983 release of the compilation, The Beast 666. After initially working under the name, Korpses Katatonik, utilizing fairly standard tools such as tape loops and electronics, Dewitt began conceiving of something far more transgressive, leveraging an interest in occult practices, specifically those of Aleister Crowley and his Thelemic esoteric system. Rechristening their project as Zero Kama, Dewitt began making excursions to the mausoleums of the local graveyard, which were often poorly maintained, with minimal or no security, to procure raw materials for this new endeavour. Various skulls, leg and arm bones were collected, dried, cleaned and carved into a collection of ornately decorated percussion and wind instruments. It was a long process requiring painstaking and often grim preparation.

The resulting recordings created with these hand-crafted instruments, were nothing if not evocative of the most clandestine ritual music one could expect to find in the deepest darkest caverns of some obscure Satanic cult. Initially the identity of the creator of this music was kept a bit secret, which helped develop a mythology around the production of the music. Record collectors could only imagine the sorts of depraved ghouls who would put something like this together. Eventually, it would become common knowledge that Dewitt had been the sole creator of these recordings, likely keeping it quiet initially to avoid potential legal issues.

Since its initial release, the album has gone on to become somewhat legendary in avant-garde music circles as one of the more controversial products of the underground music scene. It inspired other artists like Metgubnerbone to go grave robbing for raw materials as well, though not as discretely since they did face legal blow-back from their actions. Dewitt would subsequently put on a couple of live performances as Zero Kama before withdrawing from pursuing the project any further, though in recent years, a revival has taken place. A lecture by Dewitt at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna on April 30, 2015, offered a detailed exploration of the creation of the album and its relationship to the broader spectrum of experimental music at that time. It is linked below and is well worth the time as a unique perspective on the scene.

 

LAND OF THE LOST @ 50

 

Debuting Saturday morning, September 7th, 1974, the classic children's adventure series, Land of the Lost, is marking its 50th anniversary today. Produced by Sid & Marty Kroft, creators of a string of live action Saturday morning puppet fantasies such as H.R. Pufnstuf (1969), The Bugaloos (1970), Lidsville (1971) and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973), Land of the Lost saw the pair shifting gears into a decidedly more mature and dramatic tone for this particular production. Though still leaning into the "stranger in a strange land" trope that had been the common thread through their previous work, this particular series left the surreal psychedelic fantasy creatures behind for something somewhat more realistic, albeit still otherworldly, with a more legitimate science fiction style structure, utilizing less puppetry and more stop motion animation.

Originally conceived by the uncredited David Gerrold, the premise of the show involved the journey of the Marshall family: father Rick, son Will and daughter Holly, who were mysteriously transported to some kind of alternate reality/time/planet, where dinosaurs still roamed alongside a primitive primate species, the Pakuni, and an enigmatic and antagonistic reptilian race, the Sleestak, who had devolved from highly technologically advanced ancestors. Particularly in its first of three seasons, the series focused on relatively sophisticated science fiction concepts, as the stranded Marshalls attempted to find a way home while learning about the strange domain where they found themselves trapped. Though the series was restricted to a minuscule budget by being Saturday morning kid's fair, the Kroft production team were able to recruit some serious genre writers to help with the scripts, including Star Trek luminaries like D.C. Fontana and Walter Koenig and other respected talent such as Larry Niven, Theodore Sturgeon, Ben Bova and Norman Spinrad. With this set of minds creating the stories, the first and second seasons were often surprisingly sophisticated in terms of the concepts being explored, particularly when they introduced the advanced remnant of the Sleestak race, Enik, who helped the Marshall family uncover the mysteries of the pylons and the ancient Altrusian technology for creating dimensional doorways, the means by which the family arrived in this "lost land".

The series lasted for three seasons, though the already limited production values suffered by cutbacks in the third, with the story sophistication giving way to more comical and childish themes. The cast also lost the father as Spencer Milligan quit the series over disputes regarding compensation, especially in relation to the merchandising of the characters for toys and other memorabilia. He was abruptly replaced by an uncle, who conveniently managed to stumble into the same dimensional doorway just ad poor dad gets sucked out. After its cancellation, it went on to be revived in syndication over the years, developing a strong cult following while becoming an iconic source of childhood nostalgia for the generation that grew up watching the series. It even had a successful big budget feature film remake in 2009, though with a decidedly comedic bent with Will Farrell staring as the father.

It was certainly a staple of my Saturday morning viewing when I was a kid, though I was just old enough to recognized its flaws in terms of its budgetary limitation. However, I always found the basic concepts of the fallen advanced civilization fascinating and worthy of more serious development. I could very definitely see this show succeeding with a reboot aimed at a more mature and sophisticated implementation.

THE SLITS - CUT @ 45

Celebrating its 45th anniversary today is the debut LP by The Slits, Cut, which was released on September 7th, 1979. It's an album that would highlight the core of the "girl power" substrata inherent in the punk and post-punk scenes of the era, with a collection of distinctive and innovative songs, influenced and infused by dub reggae and underlined by the DIY idiosyncrasies of the culture.

The band originally came together in late 1976 after founding members Viv Albertine and Palmolive had a stint earlier that year in the mythical Flowers of Romance, a band that never performed live or recorded, but which had a revolving door of notable members who included the likes of Keith Levene (The Clash, Public Image Ltd), Sid Vicious, Marco Pirroni (Adam & the Ants, Siouxsie and the Banshees) and Kenny Morris (also a Banshees member). The impetus for The Slits formation was an October 1976 Patti Smith gig attended by Ari Up, Palmolive and early member, Kate Korus. Ari had got into an argument with her mum, future wife of John Lydon, Nora Foster, before being approached by Palmolive and Kora with the idea to form a band. After an initial lineup shuffle, the principal early lineup stabilized with Ari, Viv, Palmolive and Tessa Pollit.

This configuration of the group spent the next couple of years performing and touring, mostly as a support act, often with bands like The Clash, Buzzcocks or The Jam as headliners. Their early sound was characterized by the dominance of Palmolive's primal, tribal aggressive drumming style. However, after she left the group late in 1978, joining The Raincoats by January of 1979, the addition of future Banshees drummer, Budgie, had a profound effect on the band's sound. His style helped to push them into the more refined, bass heavy dub reggae influenced sound that would be their calling card by the time they got to recording their debut LP.

Recorded at Ridge Farm Studios in Rusper and produced by Dennis Bovell, the album was a proper fusion of punk and reggae, two musical styles which had intertwined throughout the previous few years, without being a case of cultural appropriation. What the group took as influence was a sincere hybridization, rather than a case of white people ripping off black music. It had its own originality and distinction that was completely idiosyncratic to The Slits. Provocatively packaged in a cover showing the band's female members topless, covered in mud and sporting loincloths, it was a thumb in the eye to the concept of sexual exploitation and, rather, was a proclamation of female empowerment, with the album's title, as it was, being but one letter shy of obscenity. These girls weren't anyone's playthings or victims, and were in complete control of their creative process and what it manifested.

Cut's mark has been noted on several musical movements. The Guardian's Lindesay Irvine saw the album explore "adventurous" sonics while maintaining a "defiant" attitude. This included a full embrace of Jamaican music influences, with which he credited the Slits as one of the first bands to do so. Indeed, PopMatters felt that Cut spoke to post-punk's appropriation of dub and reggae clearer than any other of the genre's records. While only modestly successful at its release, it has become enshrined as one of the essential albums to have come from the UK punk scene of the late 1970s. It may have taken some time for the band to get a record on the shelves, but it sure was worth waiting for.
 

PHASE IV @ 50

 

Celebrating its 50th anniversary today is the classic science fiction macro-photography masterpiece, Phase IV, which had its theatrical release on September 6th, 1974. Inspired by an H.G. Wells short story from 1905, Empire of the Ants, the film featured groundbreaking cinematography of its insect stars, and may have provided the instigation for the crop circle phenomenon to boot!

The idea for Phase IV was apparently hatched over cocktails in 1971, when Peter Bart at Paramount had dinner with Raul Radin and asked him, "What's cooking?" Radin responded, "an ant story", though he actually had nothing. Radin subsequently called graphic designer, Saul Bass, who had a friend who worked with ants and they quickly agreed to work together. Bass was hired as the film's director, though he was mostly known as a graphic artist, creating title and credit sequences and posters for feature films, with a list of credits that included such major releases as Psycho, Spartacus, Ocean's 11, West Side Story, and dozens of others. Ken Middleham, the wildlife photographer who shot the insect sequences for Phase IV, also shot the insect sequences for the documentary The Hellstrom Chronicle. Both feature extensive use of macro-photography of insects.

The film tells the story of an isolated research station in Arizona that comes under siege by a colony of mysteriously evolved intelligent ants. This hive mind organism begins creating megalithic architectural structures in the desert and engaging in tactical assaults on the research station in response to its various provocations and experiments. The activities of the ants are depicted in striking macro-photography scenes, where real ants are shown performing a variety of seemingly intelligent behaviours, many of which beg the question of how they were coaxed to perform so perfectly on cue. There's even a scene where the ants create a crop circle, the first known appearance of such a construct on screen. The film predates by two years the first modern reports of crop circles in the United Kingdom and it has been cited as a possible inspiration or influence on the pranksters who started this phenomenon. Though the setting is in the US, actual principal photography was done at Pinewood Studios in England and exterior locations were shot in Kenya. In addition to the spectacular insect photography, the film is also notable for featuring real computer systems, like the GEC 2050, rather than faked props.

While the film was a solid flop in its theatrical release, it began accumulating a cult audience as it made its way onto TV movie night broadcasts, and further solidified its cult standing by being featured in an early episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Contemporary critical reviews were mixed, with Jay Cocks of Time saying the film was "good, eerie entertainment, with interludes of such haunted visual intensity that it becomes, at its best, a nightmare incarnate", while A. H. Weiler of The New York Times wrote, "For all of its good, scientific and human intentions, 'Phase IV' cries for a Phase V of fuller explanations." Perhaps it didn't help that an extended ending montage showing the post-revolution impacts of the new "ant empire" was chopped out of the final edit for the theatrical release and lost for decades before being rediscovered and included as bonus material on later HD remastered discs and streaming releases. As a result of its box office failure, it was the only feature Saul Bass ever directed.

I saw the film as a kid on TV in the mid 1970s and immediately fell in love with it. The idea of an evolved, intelligent hive-mind ant colony was a totally unique conception for me, long before the Borg would appear on Star Trek, and it remains a theme that has stood the test of time quite well. I've recently watched it again in a lovely HD version and it retains a maturity and sophistication that make it an essential title in the realm of '70s science fiction classics. The astounding insect photography alone is worth the price of admission, and a cracking good story to boot makes it all a worthy viewing experience.

HAWKWIND - HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL @ 50

 

Celebrating its golden jubilee today, hitting the half century mark on its journey through deep space, the forth studio album by space-rock pioneers, Hawkwind, Hall of the Mountain Grill, was released on September 6th, 1974. The album saw the group going through one of its many lineup changes, with with lyricist/vocalist Robert Calvert and electronic effects wizard, Dik Mik departed and replaced with Simon House on synthesizer, Mellotron and electric violin. Future Motörhead founder, Lemmy Kilmister, was still with the band, though this would be his last time working with them before he got dumped while on tour in the US.

Despite the turbulence of the personnel changes, particularly significant without the conceptual guidance of Calvert, the album is still considered by many as a career highlight. In the wake of Robert Calvert's departure, lead vocals for the album were performed by Dave Brock, along with Lemmy on "Lost Johnny" and Nik Turner on "D-Rider". The band's line-up would continue to shift during the year. Del Dettmar left prior to the release of Hall of the Mountain Grill to live in Canada, and Alan Powell joined as an additional drummer. Science fiction author and friend of the group, Michael Moorcock, stepped in to read poetry at their concerts.[

The album's title was a nod to Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King", and to a Portobello Road cafe called The Mountain Grill (now closed), which was frequented by the band and their contemporaries from the Ladbroke Grove scene in the early 1970s. Hawkwind's frequent solo support act and occasional live guest musician Steve Peregrin Took had a song "The Ballad of the Mountain Grill," released in 1995 on a Cleopatra Records CD under alternative title "Flophouse Blues (in the Mountain Grill)". At one point, underground newspaper International Times had its print-works in the upstairs of the Grill.

Hall of the Mountain Grill reached number 16 on the UK album charts and number 110 in the US. Retrospective reviews have been generally positive. Though they were critical of the title track, AllMusic called Hall of the Mountain Grill "The band's best studio album" and "the quintessential guitar-oriented space rock record". Head Heritage were far less impressed, contending that the departures of Robert Calvert and Dik Mik were losses that Hawkwind could not remotely compensate for, and that the entire album "has the undeniable feel of a stop-gap album released half-desperately to keep the machinery of Hawkwind's constant touring well-greased". Regardless of the lack of critical consensus, it's one of the band's albums that I can return to repeatedly for a proper dose of their patented intergalactic musical excursions.

FRONT 242 - NO COMMENT @ 40

Marking 40 years on the shelf this month is the sophomore LP from Belgian EBM pioneers, Front 242, with No Comment being released in September of 1984. The album contains the actual first documented use of the term "electronic body music" in the album's credits, which included the phrase "Electronic Body Music Composed and Produced On Eight Tracks by Front 242", a reference to their use of an 8-track recording device. Although Cabaret Voltaire had arguably cut the first stylistic swath into the EBM genre with their Crackdown LP from the previous year, Front 242 codified the style on this release.

The key elements for this music came from the new generation of synths, drum machines and sequencers that were taking over the gear racks at the time. The introduction of digital sample based drum machines allowed for a much tighter and tougher drum sound than what was typical with earlier analogue machines, while the more sophisticated digital "composer" style sequencers allowed for much more complex arrangements than the primitive step sequencers that preceded them. There was also the introduction of a new generation of synthesizers, incorporating "FM" digital synthesis, which also broadened the musical palettes available to electronic artists. This trifecta of innovations directly fed into the evolution of EBM as the dominating alternative variant on the dance floor in the mid 1980s. No Comment became a blueprint for a genre that has continued to thrive in various branches over the past forty years.