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    • CommentAuthorUmfw
    • CommentTimeNov 29th 2012
     permalink

    http://montgomerry.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/51r3lqgrrxl-_sl500_aa300_.jpg

    This was the the third in a brief series of mixes where we presented something a little different. Due to overwhelming demand, we decided to keep this mix online. This mix isn't really a mix in the conventional sense but rather 14 No Wave tracks blended together. I'm going to give a bit of detail about each track on the mix for a change, so for those who like to just download and run, here's the tracklist. For anyone who wants to know a bit more, scroll down. This mix is 60.6mb and lasts approx. 44 minutes. Apologies to those on a 56k connection.

    Optimo_no_wave_mix

    Mars - 3E
    DNA - You and You
    Teenage Jesus and The Jerks - Freud In Flop
    The Contortions - Contort Yourself
    The Fire Engines - Get Up And Use Me
    Blurt - Puppeteer
    Tools You Can Trust - Show Your Teeth
    Sonic Youth - Shaking Hell
    8 Eyed Spy - Lazy In Love
    Pulsallama - On The Rag
    Arto / Neto - Pini, Pini
    Y Pants - That's The Way Boys Are
    ImpLOG - Breakfast
    Jill Kroesen - Fay Shism Blues

    So, what is No Wave? Now there's a question! Ask any fan of No Wave what it is and I bet they'll give you a different answer. They'll also tell you who is and who isn't No Wave and no two lists of bands will be the same. Personally, I don't think there is a right or wrong answer or a definitive list of bands. My definition of it probably encompasses a broader spectrum of bands than most other people's. I'd argue that early Swans and Einsturzende Neubauten could be called No Wave but if you try and tell me ESG are No Wave I'd have to throw you in the Clyde. It's all very confusing!

    The name came about as reaction to the term New Wave. At the tail end of the 70's the record industry was trying to rebrand punk and labeled the poppier bands that came in the aftermath of Punk as New Wave. The No Wave bands wanted to reject this poppier side but they also felt no affinity to Punk. At the time, Lydia Lunch (the queen of No Wave?) bemoaned how Punk was just sped up Chuck Berry riffs and it is true that if you listen to most (but not all!) punk today, it is just badly played, sped up three chord rock n' roll. The Garage bands of the 60's had nailed the Punk sound way earlier and frankly mainly sound better to this day. Go listen to 'Never Mind The Bollocks'. Most of it sounds leaden and apart from Rotten's vocals doesn't really sound threatening or revolutionary in the slightest. Listen to No Wave today and it is still a shock to the system and often sounds like a music with no precedent. This last thing is another of the keys to what No Wave is. Many of the artists were determined that their music should not be influenced by anything that came before and should sound totally new. If influences did creep in they were more likely to be from free jazz than any rock based form of music. The 'No' in No Wave could thus be taken to imply the music didn't belong to any particular style or genre.

    The ability to play was completely unimportant too. But where Punk liberated thousands of non musicians who found they could make music by only learning a few chords, many of the No Wave artists didn't even bother learning one chord. Coaxing atonal and abrasive sounds from their instruments and conjuring up basic repetitive rhythms was a much more effective way for them to express themselves. Melody? Forget it! Although when one hears No Wave, it is instantly obvious that that is what is being listened to, none of the bands really have that much in common stylistically.

    In 1978, Brian Eno was living in New York and was blown away by the performances he was seeing by these artists. He wanted to capture this and document it so he took four of the bands - Mars, The Contortions, DNA and Teenage Jesus and The Jerks into the studio and produced (in the loosest possible sense) four tracks apiece by each of them. This came out as the legendary 'No New York' album. The one problem with this album is all the bands that got left off, which has resulted in many people thinking these four bands are thee definition of No Wave when there were numerous other acts ploughing similar (different) territory. The Theoretical Girls must have been particularly gutted as they were initially meant to be on it and were then dropped at the last minute.

    No Wave critics often argue that it was all a load of art wank and while many of the artists involved did come from an art / performance background, most didn't. But, as well as music, there were also No Wave film makers, the most famous of them being Nick Zedd, John Lurie and Richard Kern. In May of 2005 we were showing a Richard Kern film on the tv screens at Optimo. The film upset someone who was attending the club so much that they complained to the police. This resulted in the slightly surreal scenario of Jonnie and Mike, one of the Sub Club's owners, having to sit in a room in Maryhill police station while a WPC and a police Sergeant watched the film to decide if it was pornographic or not. They decided it wasn't but suggested we refrain from showing it again.

    No Wave was a huge inspiration when the ideas about what Optimo would be were being formed and the early soundtrack to the club featured a lot of this music. I guess this has diminished over the years, mainly because, well, it's not always the most danceable of musics, but you are still likely to hear many No Wave gems in the first hour of the club. Indeed, every song on this mix had been played at the club.

    For me this music was truly revolutionary and I get as much as a buzz out of listening to it today as I did when I first encountered it 20 odd years ago. I still regularly check eBay to see if any No Wave gems I have missed crop up (I'll snag that 'Not Bite' 7" by Red Transistor one day!) and can't imagine a day when I'll stop listening to it. There was a bit of a resurgence of interest in No Wave a few years ago and then last year I was talking with some hipster about my love of No Wave and he replied 'You still listen to that? It's so 2001'. That reply is a masterclass in why hipsters are idiots.

    I hope some of you enjoy this 'mix'. It is not an easy ride and definitely not for all. No Wave is a sound you'll either love or hate. I can't imagine anyone thinking it's ok. 'Ok' is never enough. Music that solicits extreme reactions is mainly lacking in our present day culture. Perhaps that's reason no. 347 why I love No Wave?

    Here's a bit more info on all the tracks. Not all the records came in picture sleeves but the ones that did have the cover accompanying their blurb.

    Mars - 3E (Ze Records)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/no-wave/mars.jpg

    Straight in with a track a piece from all four contributors to the legendary 'No New York' compilation, except each one here is represented by a track that didn't appear on that record. First up are Mars with perhaps their most conventional sounding song which let's face it isn't very conventional. Mars were perhaps the first No Wave band having formed before any one else got in on the act. Their two man / two woman line up would also prove to be a reflection of how equally the sexes were represented in No Wave, a fact often forgotten and seldom replicated in any other musical genre.

    DNA - You and You (Lust/Unlust)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/no-wave/dna.jpeg

    From a fabulous 7" on Charles Ball's Lust/Unlust label, Arto LIndsay's guitar on this is out freaking rageous. Perhaps more than any other No Wave act DNA took their complete inability to play and made it their greatest asset. Lindsay conjured sounds out of his guitar that had never been heard before while Iku Mori's non drumming is a revelation. Lindsay's strangulated vocal style is also a thing of wonder. What I would give to have been able to see them live! As it is, I'll have to make do with film of them in rehearsal that appears in the flawed but brilliant Downtown '81 film. When you see how they move to their music everything falls into place brilliantly.

    Teenage Jesus and The Jerks - Freud In Flop (Lust/Unlust)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/no-wave/teenage-jesus.jpeg

    42 seconds is all you need. Lydia Lunch's wonderfully named combo may have been short lived but everything they left behind is like an electric shock to the system. I was going to include 'Orphans' on the mix but 1) I have listened to it too many times over the years and 2) felt this actually sums up the Teenage Jesus spirit better. Lydia will get a chance to demonstrate her wonderful vocals later on in the mix.

    The Contortions - Contort Yourself (Ze Records)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/no-wave/contbuy.jpg

    Led by the legendary James Chance who also co formed but was only briefly in Teenage Jesus, I guess James Chance could be the Godfather of No Wave. Being a James Brown freak probably clinches him deserving that title. This song is The Contortion's 'hit' and he would go on to re record it in a disco style with his James White and The Blacks ensemble. In fact the album this is from ('Buy') and the Black's album both came out on the same day. Chance should have gone on to become a star but personal problems and his confrontational attitude on stage probably helped to conspire to prevent that happening. Still, in my world he IS a star. He still plays to this day and indeed was pencilled in to play Optimo in 2004 but that sadly fell through. One day!

    The Fire Engines - Get Up And Use Me (Codex Communications)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/no-wave/fire-engines.jpg

    This is where music nerds will start to debate about what is No Wave and whether it is limited to New York artists. I don't really care as to my ears this certainly sounds totally No Wave, or perhaps as they are Scottish, it should be Nae Wave? Whatever, The Fire Engines were obsessed with The Contortions and on this it certainly shows. Based around one of the greatest riffs of all time, this was recorded in one take (I've cut off the start but on the 7" the band fluff the first take and Davey Henderson shouts 'just keep going' and off they go again, getting it down perfectly in the next two minutes). The Fire Engines reformed briefly in 2005 and came and played at Optimo. When they played this I had a lump in my throat.

    Blurt - Puppeteer (Factory)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/no-wave/factory-quartet.jpg

    Blurt are probably the most No Wave but not No Wave band of all time (I told you this would be confusing). I think Blurt would have existed and sounded exactly how they do whether such a thing as No Wave had ever happened or not. Hailing from Stroud and based around the skronking sax genius and belching vocals of Ted Milton, Blurt are one of thee great unsung bands of our times. Myself and Jonnie are completely obsessed with Blurt and can listen to them endlessly. One day their music will be reappraised and they will be lauded as much as say Can or Neu! Their music has so much space and groove that it's easy to get lost inside it. I read a great description of their music recently - Blurt are a psycho-funk, afro-punk, no-wave, pogo-jazz-trio which pretty much hits the nail on the head. I could have picked any one of dozens of their songs but went for this one that appears on a Factory Records compilation from 1981 because it just oozes funk which apart from James Chance's experiments is not something No Wave is generally known for doing. Blurt still play live and we hope to bring them to Optimo in 2006.

    Tools You Can Trust - Show Your Teeth (Red Energy Dynamo)

    Hailing from Manchester, Tools You Can Trust were very aware of No Wave although they never thought of themselves as a No Wave act, but this has all the hallmarks of a No Wave gem. The slightly deranged vocalist and the gas cylinders used for percussion clinches it for me. It took me 20 years to find this 7". Around 1984, they appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test, a BBC 2 music show and blew me away. Then a few weeks later I heard this on John Peel but couldn't find it anywhere. Most of their songs related to the war which the Conservative government was at that time waging upon the ordinary working people of Great Britain. Incidentally, I love how he is singing about Clause 4 ('Clause 4 matters!'). As all good UK socialists will know, Clause 4 was an intrinsic part of what The Labour Party stood for. Sadly the anti-socialist Tony Blair disagreed and had it removed from Labour's constitution.

    A big thank you to Martin Herring from Tools You Can Trust for emailing me after seeing this and giving me additional info.

    Sonic Youth - Shaking Hell (Neutral)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/no-wave/confusion-is-sex.jpg

    Again, the purists would probably debate the inclusion of this. But even though No Wave had pretty much finished by 1983, Sonic Youth were certainly born out of it and were my introduction to it. I bought Sonic Youth and Lydia Lunch's 'Death Valley '69' in 1985 which started an on going fascination with all of Ms. Lunch's work. That in turn led me to No Wave. Whatever, this song is great and features one of my favourite Kim Gordon vocals.

    8 Eyed Spy - Lazy In Love (Fetish)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/no-wave/8-eyed-spy.jpg

    Here's Lydia Lunch finally getting to let rip. 8 Eyed Spy was her short lived 'mutilated blues' band and while a lot less shrill than much other No Wave (especially Teenage Jesus) it still has a certain 'on the edge' aspect to it.

    Pulsallama - On The Rag (Y Records)

    Described at the time as '12 girls fighting over a cowbell', Pulsallama were a short lived collective of feisty women who banged things together and wowed New York crowds as much with their on stage fighting as with their music. Featuring future star Ann Magnuson as a member, this is their ode to their periods! My friend Anna thinks Pulsallama are the definition of a band who AREN'T No Wave and she could be right but I think this song is. If you disagree, replace this track on the mix with this Pulsallama song.

    Arto / Neto - Pini, Pini (Ze Records)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/no-wave/pini-pini.jpg

    I adore this song! This was a one off project for Ze Records featuring Arto Lindsay from DNA and his cinematographer friend Seth Tillet. On top of primitive drum machine hi hats, Lindsay does some of his best and most out there guitar noise while Tillet (Neto) recites an hysterical pigeon English rap. There's a really interesting article here where the author argues (sort of) that this is in fact one of the first hip hop records.

    Y Pants - That's The Way Boys Are (Neutral)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/no-wave/y-pants.jpg

    Y Pants were three women artists - Barbara Ess, Virgina Piersol and Gail Vachon. They mainly played at art spaces and had their own unique sound derived from the their unusual instrumentation. They based their sound around an amplified toy piano and toy drum set and a ukelele played through a distortion unit. Later they would add an electric bass and a synth. They released one single for the legendary 99 Records and then one lp on Neutral Records. This is my favourite song from that album. It is sad, scary and lovely all at the same time.

    ImpLOG - Breakfast (Log)

    impLOG are most famous for the track 'Holland Tunnel Dive' which is in my opinion seven and a half minutes of complete genius . But, that appears on our 'Banging in Belgium' cd so I decided to put this on as it also shows that No Wave doesn't have to be all about abrasive dissonance. impLOG were Don Christensen with help from Jody Harris. They were both in The Contortions and released just two records as impLOG - the 'Holland Tunnel Dive' 12" and this 7". I really wish they had recorded more as every song sounds like a completely different band and every song is fabulous. Incidentally, Jody Harris is one of the unsung heroes of No Wave - a Contortion, an impLOGger, founder of the wonderful Raybeats and collaborator with New York legend Robert Quine on the super 'Escape' lp on the mighty Lust/Unlust label. Remarkably, Don Christensen reappeared under the impLOG moniker in late 2005 after a 25 year hiatus to do a remix for Philip Glass! This song is a rather silly but utterly charming ode to the great American breakfast.

    Jill Kroesen - Fay Shism Blues (Lovely Music)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/no-wave/kroesen.jpg

    Ending with the best song Patti Smith never wrote, this features contributions from Bill Laswell, the ubiquitous Jody Harris, Don Christensen and Arthur Russell amongst others (though I'm darned if I can make out Arthur's cello on this). This is an incredible and incredibly tense piece of music that is so New York it hurts. Several people I have played this to have become completely obsessed with it. A performance, video and visual artist, musician and composer, it astounds me that Kroesen's work is so unknown. To me this sums up all that that era gave us - truly challenging and supremely wonderful music that inspires and moves as much, if not more so today than it did a quarter of a century ago.

    •  
      CommentAuthorNils Gasp
    • CommentTimeNov 29th 2012
     permalink

    Umfw, mille mercis pour ce mix et pour coldwar également!

    • CommentAuthorUmfw
    • CommentTimeNov 30th 2012
     permalink

    :pin-shine.gif: