09 February 2014

The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse



Doctor Mabuse was made famous in three movies director Fritz Lang made about the character. Dr. Mabuse is a master of disguise & telepathic hypnosis. Mabuse rarely commits his crimes in person, instead operating primarily through a network of agents implementing schemes he has planned for them. Mabuse's agents range from: career criminals working for him; innocents blackmailed or hypnotized into cooperation; & dupes manipulated so successfully they do not realize that they are doing exactly what Mabuse planned for them to do.




 

Mabuse's identity often changes. One Dr. Mabuse may be defeated & sent to an asylum, jail, or grave, only for a new Dr. Mabuse to later appear, as depicted in The Testament of Dr. Mabuse. The replacement invariably has the same methods, the same powers of hypnosis, & the same criminal genius. There are even suggestions in some installments of the series that the real Mabuse is some sort of spirit that possesses a series of hosts psychically.  





 
The Mabuses is a band formed in London in 1991 to carry out the musical schemes of the evil Doctor. They released three albums to mirror the three films of Fritz Lang that memorialized the criminal master-mind. The band was fronted by the enigmatic Kim Fahy. The Mabuses present music that mixes pop sensibilities with the more esoteric concerns of film & literature. Lyrically & musically, their recordings can be described as modern psychedelia. Fahy's rhythmic/melodic style is rooted in folk-derived Brit-pop typified by the likes of Syd Barrett.According to the Doctor’s devious plan, the music’s nursery rhyme loopiness with whimsy & surrealism combined…all strangeness, quirk, & sinister charm where nothing is quite as it seems. 
 
 

The Mabuses ‎– The Mabuses, Rough Trade ‎– R2771, 1991.
decryption code in comments

Side A –
Cubicles
In the Long Run
Kicking a Pigeon
Brightmares
Mad Went the Barber
Diego N°1
Side B –
The Gibbon Walk
That’s How Men Drop
Life as a Lifeboat
The Novice
Diego N°2
We Rested our Feet
Nightcap

Enjoy,

4 comments:

  1. MfsV7xHlil8vVYfaLN4ZIEfW0bxF3GuJTsyKDBLqev4

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  2. I'm currently astonished at this album, having never heard of it at all. The breadth of the pop song writing, and the high bar. Thank you! I've looked at the usual outlets, and not found anything. Do you have the other two albums, he said desperately? Cheers.

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    Replies
    1. This is a band I really enjoy. They somehow combine heady experimentalism with perfectly crafted pop sensibility. I don't have The Melbourne Method but I do have Mabused somewhere. I'll dig it out & post it up ASAP. I'll leave word here or check my latest. Thanks for the interest.

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  3. Thank you! Anticipation.

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