24 February 2013

The Island of Doctor Death




 C'est la Mort was a small but influential independent record label that operated from the home of Woodrow "Woody" Dumas in Baker, Louisiana. C'est la Mort specialized in ethereal, ambient, dream pop & darkwave bands. It operated from 1985 to about 1994.

postcard  sent to mailing list members announcing the next CLM release

The label featured a series of Doctor Death compilations, which grew out of Dumas's Doctor Death radio show. Dumas began his Dr. Death radio show on KLSU in December of 1983. The radio show led to a mail order business known as Deadly Records, then eventually to the CLM label itself. In all there were six Dr. Death compilation albums released. They presented highlights from many of the labels stable of bands: album; non-album; & previously unreleased tracks. C'est La Mort did much of its business via mail order & indie record stores, but did eventually establish distribution through Cargo in the '90s.
Associated bands included: Area, Beautiful Pea Green Boat, East Ash, Heavenly Bodies, Handful of Snowdrops, Controlled Bleeding, The Arms of Someone New, Johanna's House of Glamour, Room Nine & Psyche along with many others.

A few C'est La Mort releases, including all four Area albums, were eventually reissued by Projekt's Archive sub-label. Any releases not reissued by Projekt remain long out-of-print & most difficult to locate.

C'est La Mort CLM 029-2, 1990.
decryption code in comments

Tracklist:

M-1 Alternative - The Marvels of Insect Life Theme
Johanna's House of Glamour - Dark Hour
Mumbles - Two Clouds
Double Happiness - Cut
Critical Mass - Vacation
Flower Sermon - If God Is
M-1 Alternative - Slumming
Talisker Tale - Alone
Psychic Surgery - Greeks & Romans
Area - Green Light
Blackgirls - Translator
Leigh Gregory - Athea
Halcyon Daze - Ragman
Millions, The - Delicate Balance
Magnetic Fields, The - Crowd of Drifters
Future Neighbors - Salty Sea
& Siamese Urbain - Whale's Belly
Handful of Snowdrops - Now, Then & Forever

Enjoy,
  

14 comments:

  1. AF6iHG7CfLL7A0XJiTq7jVJT2kFrndSZxr56eaGie-c

    ReplyDelete
  2. where is Woody now? Someone said he is in Cottage Grove OR. Is that so?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hate to be a doomsayer, but:

      A native of Baker, Louisiana, Woodrow Huntley Dumas was born August 27, 1950 and passed from this life on September 18, 2012 in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Little Woody, as he was known to friends and family, graduated from Baker High School in 1968 and attended Atlanta College of Art. A gifted stained glass artist with works currently displayed in the OLOL Chapel and in several EBRP governmental buildings, he also had his private pilot's license and was an avid stargazer. In his later years, he resided in Cottage Grove, Oregon and ran a successful internet radio station, iPop Café.

      Delete
  3. I know this comes almost eight years too late, but Woody was a friend whom I used to work with back when I was living in Baton Rouge in the 80s. I did manage to connect with him just before he passed, and seemed a happier soul in Oregon. May he rest in perpetual music in the great beyond...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just found an old M1 Alternative CD - unopened, still in the wrapper. I had bought one in 1991 and loved it so much that I bought another a month later just to have as a spare. I never saw the group anywhere since. So today, I decided to see if I could find anything on the band or CLM Records. Went down a bit of a rabbit hole. And here I am. Did he ever imagine having an impact on someone in Detroit when you live in Baker, LA?

      Delete
  4. It's never too late for such kind words for a great musical presence. His offerings from C'est la Mort will always be honored here. Thank you for your wonderful comment.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This has been one of my favorite and most obscure ambitions, to collect all of the CLM releases. I have all of the Doctor Death compilations except for volume 2 which I cannot find even cursory info on. I also own some area and M1 alternative and Johannas house of Glamour. Dr Death's Volume 3 is by far my favorite with Marvels of insect life a close second with a great collobaration between the the Church's Steven Kilbey and Donnette Thayer from game theory on a song called antelope.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you ever find Dr. Death Vol. 2, you have found the Holy Grail. Its existence is legend but no one has heard it (except perhaps Woody himself). Thanks for the comment. If there are any CLM releases that you are searching for, let me know. I have a few more.

      Delete
    2. I just found an unopened copy of M1 Alternative's Aviary CD that came out of CLM Records. I had bought a back-up copy of it after I fell in love with the first copy. I still have the first copy, so I could be talked into parting with the unopened one. misterherzog@yahoo.com

      Delete
    3. Thanks for this comment. I have Aviary but someone visiting mightbsee this & contact you.

      Delete
  6. Hey there
    what a post, what a blog
    thanks a lot for all the great music to discover here
    chao
    Pablo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Pablo. C'est La Mort & all things touched by the hand of Woody are near & dear to my heart. Glad to find someone else you enjoys it.

      Delete
  7. I worked w Woody at KLSU for a few years. And I have to admit I was a bit slow to come around and that I often felt he was being a prima dona, but soon enuf I came to believe he was one of, if not the best, things about KLSU.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the kind words for a fine human.

      Delete