30 May 2022

Microdisney Mansions

 

I was deeply saddened when I heard of the passing of Cathal Coughlan.

I have long been a fan of Microdisney, Fatima Mansions (here & here), & Cathal's solo works.

This is music Cathal was working on recently.

Telefís (tele-feesh) is the Irish Gaelic word for television. It is Coughlan working with acclaimed fellow Irish iconoclast composer/mixer/producer Garret "Jacknife" Lee.

I have added the original Telefis version of "Falun Gong Dancer" from a hAon to the three song Falun Gong Dancer EP released this January with Jah Wobble.

R.I.P. CC. 

 

Telefis with Jah Wobble - Falun Gong Dancer EP, Dimple Discs, 2022.
decryption code in comments

Falun Gong Dancer (a hAon version)
Falun Gong Dancer (with Jah Wobble)
Falun Gong Dancer (Dub with Jah Wobble)
Falun Gong Dancer (Donkey’s Gudge Dub with Jah Wobble)

Enjoy,

28 May 2022

Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου

 

I was visiting the Albums I Wish Existed blog & d'led a tribute to Vangelis (Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíon) who died from complications due to treatment of COVID-19 on May 17, 2022 in a Paris, France hospital. The album is the Blade Runner score. This work caps a forty years journey Michael Solof has taken to finally create the perfect soundtrack. Go check it out & tell'em NØ sent ya.

I spent last evening listening to the two discs & re-envisioned the entire movie via the music. It was a far better mind-movie than even the near perfect original film was. Dics One's full length version of "Blade Runner Blues" is a stunning masterpiece & Disc Two's "Zhora's Retirement" is the epitome of what Vangelis was all about in a concise nugget of musicianship mastery.

While I was listening to this fine find, I thought about another soundtrack that mines a similar vein that I also think is top-notch go-to musick. Tangerine Dream's soundtrack to William Friedkin's Sorcerer released in 1977. Sorcerer is the third adaptation of Georges Arnaud's 1950 French novel Le Salaire de la peur. The first adaptation was the 1953 French thriller film The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la peur) directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot & starring Yves Montand. The film won both the Golden Bear & the Palme d'Or at the 1953 Berlin Film Festival & Cannes Film Festival. 

 



I had first viewed that film at an underground art house in San Francisco in 1968. I thought it was fantastic. It is an existential thriller, one of the most original & shocking French melodramas of the 50s. It is a parable about man's true power or lack thereof over his own fate in the modern world. The film's extended suspense sequences portray violence as a vision of human existence. The combination of nonstop suspense with biting satire is first rate. The film was ranked #9 in Empire's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema". 

 



After viewing The Wages of Fear, I sought out the second adaptation, Violent Road, also known as Hell's Highway, a 1958 American film version directed by Howard W. Koch starring Brian Keith. With a less talented cast, weaker story line, & poorer production, I was less than thrilled.

The French Connection - 1971.

The Exorcist - 1973.

...when I heard that in 1977 William Friedkin was releasing a remake of The Wages of Fear, I was there.

 Actually I was in Cleveland, OhighO in June 77 when the film hit the theaters. I dug Roy Scheider from Friedkin's earlier The French Connection & of course, Spielberg's Jaws so I figured everything would be fine. I was not disappointed. The thing I remember the most was the great effect the score by Tangerine Dream had on the overall experience.

I guess I should explain that in Clouzot's version, an oil well owned by an American company Southern Oil Company catches fire & the company hires four European men, down on their luck, to drive two trucks 300 miles over mountain dirt roads around Las Piedras in some unnamed outback, loaded with the nitroglycerine needed to extinguish the flames. 

In the much inferior Koch version, an out-of-control test rocket causes massive death & destruction. This forces the company to the relocate the rocket development plant. Trucker Mitch Barton (Brian Keith) assembles a team of several other men for a nearly suicidal mission to drive three trucks to move the rocket fuel made from hydrazine, nitric acid, & concentrated hydrogen peroxide safely over a rough mountain road within three days. 

In Friedkin's take on the material, four outcasts from varied backgrounds meet in an off-the-beaten-path South American (Colombia actually recreated in Ecuador) village of Porvenir, where an oil well explodes. The only way to extinguish the fire is to use dynamite. The men are hired to transport the cargo of aged, poorly kept dynamite that is so unstable that it is 'sweating' its dangerous basic ingredient, nitroglycerin over 200 miles to the oil field. 

 


"One of my themes is that there is good and evil in everyone. I was not out to make these guys heroes. I really don't believe in heroes. The best of people have a dark side and it's a constant struggle for the better side to survive and to thrive."
— William Friedkin

Spine-tingling, nail-baiting, edge-of-your-seat fun. Go watch any or all.

Here I present directly from Tangerine Dream Sorcerer 2014. It is the first live 2CD recording from the Eastgate Music & Arts Theatre in Vienna. CD1 is a quality studio sound remake of the original analog version of 77s Sorcerer. CD2 is additional sensational new material Edgar Froese composed but that was not used for the movie that will hopefully blow yer mind. Come along for this adventurous travel with two trucks through the Latin American jungle. The film title Sorcerer comes from the name Socier (Fr. - sorcerer) painted across the hood of one of the trucks. The other truck is Lazaro (i.e. - Lazarus)

As to the music, Friedkin had attended a Tangerine Dream concert in a derelict church in the Black Forest. He was an immediate & avid admirer of the band. He stated in the liner notes for the soundtrack that had he heard them sooner he would have asked them to score The Exorcist, & that he considers the film Sorcerer & Tangerine Dream's score to be "inseparable".

Enjoy this one from my memory via prompt from Vangelis from the stars above Porvenir, that remote village in... 

 

 

Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer 2014 (Cinematographic Score) 2xCD, Eastgate 068 CD, 2014.
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CD One -

Search    
The Call    
Creation    
Vengeance    
The Journey    
Grind    
Abyss    
Mountain Road    
Impressions of Sorcerer    
Sorcerer Theme (Betrayal)    

CD Two -
 
Approaching the Danger    
Servant of Misery    
Rain & Thunder    
In the Mist of the Night    
Nebulous Jungle Path    
Distance & Hope    
Jungle on Fire    
Crash at Dawn    
Fast Ride to Disaster

From Jackie Scanlon / Juan Dominguez to the world,

20 May 2022

Ring for the Night Nurse

 

"Night Nurse" is a classic Jamaican reggae tune from Gregory Isaacs. Shortly after signing to Island Records in 1982, Isaacs released the single in advance of his 1982 album of the same name. The album was a top 40 hit on the UK Albums Chart, hugely popular in the clubs & received heavy radio play.

I featured a Dub version of Night Nurse on the Flabba Holt / Bingy Bunny post (an outing with Flabba & Style Scott called Nurse in Dub).

A cover version of "Night Nurse" was released in 1997 by Sly & Robbie featuring Mick Hucknall which also became a hit single in the UK. Dedicated Isaacs fans should appreciate the authenticity Sly & Robbie kept on the track.

Here are most all the versions of said take on said tune by Sly & Robbie with a great group of cohorts (the Adrian Sherwood Dub the Patient track, Jah’s 12" mix, both Groove Corp tracks...excellent additions).

Sly & Robbie feat Mick Hucknall - Night Nurse CD1, EastWest EW129CD1, 1997.
decryption codes in comments


Night Nurse (Radio mix)
Night Nurse Dub with Vocal mix)
Night Nurse (Jah Wobble Radio mix)
Night Nurse (Jah Wobble 12" mix) 

 

 

 

 

Sly & Robbie feat. Mick Hucknall - Nightnurse CD2, EastWest EW129CD2, 1997.

Nightnurse (Sly & Robbie Radio mix)
Nightnurse (Sly & Robbie Dub mix)
Nightnurse (On-U Sound 12" mix)
Nightnurse (On-U Sound Dub the Patient)
Nightnurse (Groove Corporation Intellectual Beauty mix)
Nightnurse (Groove Corporation Zionic Man mix)
Nightnurse (Delano Dancehall mix)

Enjoy,

06 May 2022

Ask Mr.Science

Moved from the left to the right coast last summer. This year will be my first indoor grow. Don't have any knowledge as Cali was all open-air. Been playing the girls a heavy heavy rotations of Dubwise. They feel the bass throb & JA vibe to their roots. They seem to be really responding to these two. Flabba's bass is divine.

Hope you mere mortals enjoy it as well as the alien breed does... 

 



Both of these were recorded at Channel One Recording Studio & mixed at King Tubby's Studio with Roots.Radics.

Roots Radics here are: Noel 'Sorvell' Bailey - lead guitat; Eric 'Bingy Bunny' Lamont - rhythm guitar; Gladstone 'Gladdie' Anderson - piano; Wycliff 'Steely' Johnson & Winston Wright - organ; Errol 'Flabba' Holt - bass; Carlton 'Santa' Davis - drums & Noel 'Skully' Simms & Christopher 'Sky Juice' Blake - percussion.

Dub Landing mixed by Scientist, Dub Landing 2 mixed by Prince Jammy & Scientist.

Produced by Linval Thompson. 

 

Scientist - Dub Landing, Starlight Records SLD 901, 1981.
all decryption codes in comments

Side A -
Invaders
Landing
Dark Side
Attack
Beaming

Side B -
Vulcan
Black Out
Time Passage
Meteorite
Galaxy 
Scientist & Prince Jammy - Dub Landing Vol: 2, Starlight Records SLDLP 903, 1982.

Side A -
Earth
Reconnaissance
Base
Life
Contact

Side B -
Denial
City of Gold
Betrayal
Conquest
Victory

Enjoy,

03 May 2022

Let's Go Fishin'

Have I ever mentioned that I listen to music nearly twenty-four hours a day now. I wear earbuds at night. My dreams are orchestrated by the whims of shuffle. My few sojourns out into public these hermit / CoVid days are about the only time I'm music-less. I really want to step to the soundtrack of my life. I also have to be the DJ for the event. Just rambling...it's the anniversary of my birth & I'm contented & very high.

Never really been a huge fan of ska, although I in no way dislike it. I am a fan of Subhumans, however & so have always liked the punk ska of Subhumans off-shoot, Citizen Fish. Being vegetarian more than fifty years, vegan more than fifteen years, I love their vegan vehemence. Never got around to them for some reason except for a split with Leftover Crack on this fantastic singles & more megapost. Remedying that lack now. 

 

 



Citizen Fish formed in 1989 in the Bath area in jolly old England. The original members were: Dick Lucas - vocals (Culture Shock & Subhumans); Jasper Pattison - bass (Culture Shock); Trotsky - drums (Subhumans); & some guy named Larry - guitar. Following the release of their first album, Free Souls in a Trapped Environment, Larry left the band. He was replaced by Phil (Subhumans). In 2006 Silas Berney replaced Trotsky (still plays with Subhumans). 

 

 



My first live encounter with Citizen Fish came about like this: EAT POOP! 'zine put on a all-ages show at Clover Hall, San Jose. It headlined Rancid. The POOPsters all knew Lars & his brother Rob Dapello (Campbell Cali crew, yeah!!!) from the San Jose alternative music scene. It was the first time Rancid played in San Jose. April 92 Lars contacted me & asked if anyone wanted on the guestlist for a show at Klub Kommotion in San Francisco. Rancid was playing with the Gr'ups (a band we also knew well from the West Oakland scene) & Citizen Fish. Black Dahlia, Krusty D' Klown, Food King, & myself made the jaunt up S.F. way. It was simply a fantastic show. Nuff sed. 

 



 

One of my favorite releases is 2011s Goods on Jello Biafra's Alternative Testicle label. The latest that I have is 2015, but I'm aware that they  played at the Ska Punk Fish Party on February 19 this year. It was an all day event at Rockaway Park, UK (Cloud Hill, Temple Cloud just south of Bristol) with Citizen Fish, Culture Shock, & Last Tree Squad.

Here's a smattering of their output... 

 

Citizen Fish - Free Souls in a Trapped Environment, Bluurg Records fish 24CD, 1990.
all decryption codes in comments

Supermarket Song
Break into a Run / Rainbows
Possession
Small Scale Wars
Home Economics
Paint
Talk is Cheap
Face Off / Youth
Flesh & Blood
Get Off the Phone
Experiment Earth
How to Write Ultimate Protest Songs
Charity 
 
 
 
 
 
Citizen Fish - Disposable Dream / Flesh & Blood II 7", Bluurg Records Fish 27, 1992.

this side -
Disposable Dream
that side -
Flesh & Blood II
 
 
 
 
 
Citizen Fish -  Millennia Madness, Lookout! Records LOOKOUT!123CD, 1995.

P.C. Musical Chairs
Next Big Thing
Can't Be Bothered
2000 & One
Panic in the Supermarket
Can't Complain
Faster
Phone in Sick
Refugees Go West
Backlash
Friends
Skin
 
 
 
 
 
Citizen Fish -  Life Size, Honest Don's DON 036-2, 2001.

Over the Fence    
Revolution    
Out of Control
Picture This    
Internal Release    
Autographs
Back to Zero    
Choice of Viewing    
Lose the Instructions    
Somewhere to Go    
Shrink the Distance    
Will Swap (featuring the Wessex Unorthodox Choral Sextet) 
Citizen Fish - Goods, Alternative Tentacles Virus 424, 2011.

Shelf Life
Free Speech
Human Conditioner
Overseas
Better
Click
How Far Does it Go?
Insane
Marker Pen
Fearless
Discomfort Zone
Spotless
Wake Up
 
 
 
 
 
Citizen Fish - Dancing on Spikes EP, Bluurg Records fish52,  2012.

Unemplode
HD Riot
Beyond Belief
Over
Write it All Down
It Can't Go on Forever
 
 
 
 
 
Citizen Fish - Manmade 10" vinyl EP, Bluurg Records Fish53, 2015.
 
Side A -
Manmade
Face to Face
World's Gone Mad

Side B -
Paralysed
Manmade Dub

Go Vegan,

01 May 2022

Are You in the Mood(y) for More Dubz, Boyz

 

The Moody Boyz is Tony Thorpe's UK-based record production & remix outfit. 

Thorpe was closely linked with The KLF, in particular with KLF member Jimmy Cauty. Thorpe developed a creative partnership with KLF which stretched back to their incarnation as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu when a 400 Blows remix of ''Don't Take Five'' was recorded. Thorpe went on to become KLF's  breaks, beats, & samples controller. He remixed both the debut cut of ''3am Eternal'' as well as the follow up chart topping version for which Thorpe was given full publishing credit. Thorpe's KLF work included What Time is Love?, Last Train to Transcentral, & their best selling album The White Room. Journey into Dubland EP was made with Jimmy Cauty as co-producer. If you want any of his KLF output then you'll have to ask nicely. 

 

Moody Boys - Journey into Dubland 12'' EP, XL Recordings XLEP 107, 1990.
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Side A -
Dub Me Right featuring Daddy Chester
Free (sampled vocals from King Tubby - Blackheart Man Dub)

Side B -
Lion Dance (sampled vocals from Barrington Levy - Look Yout' Man, Mikey Dread - Comic Strip, & X-Clan - Funkin' Lesson)
Pumpin' Dumpin'
A.U.N. 

 



In 1994 Thorpe recorded the stunning debut Moody Boyz album Product of the Environment for Guerilla Records. The following year Thorpe teamed up with Belgium imprint Crammed Discs to release a full set of uncompromising remixes called Recycled for the Environment. The tracks on CD 1 without remix titles are the original versions from Product Of The Environment CD. 

 

The Moody Boyz - Recycled for the Environment 2xCD, Crammed Discs SSR 140, 1995.

CD1 -

Destination Africa (Bush version)
Pygmy Song
Shango (re-edit version)
Daydream
Fight Back
Melting Pot (Acidic version)
July
Elite Doodz present Snooz: the Sequel
Shango (Pray to the Thunder God)

CD2 -

Destination Africa (Spirit of Freedom version)
Pygmy Song (Mysteron VelcroCity version)
90 Days (Technicolour version)
Black Russian (edit)
Fight Back (DigiDub RootsMan version)
Pygmy Song (The Arc Nocturnal Edit version)
Destination Africa (The Lords of Afford Electric Forest version)
A Funny Thing Happened to Me on Wednesday (Overdub version)
Destination Africa (Mellow Spirit version)
 
 
 
 

Thorpe's productions remain at the cutting edge, including remixes for artists including Amy Winehouse, Erykah Badu, Lee Scratch Perry, Roots Manuva, & Bloc Party. He has curated the Dub Step Chronicles for Massive Attack's Meltdown Festival. Tony is one of British musics true mavericks who has been surfing the contours of echo drop dub since he first started fusing tape looped noise with earthbound funk with 400 Blows.

While we're here with Tony T'n'T Thorpe, how about a few other sounds. Running the gamit of genres, dig in.

Here's a 12'' 45rpm from Rhythm of Life with two remixes by ''Little'' Louie Vega.
 
Rhythm of Life - A Tropical Shower, SBK Records 12SBK 7006, 1990.

Side A -
A Tropical Shower (original)
A Tropical Shower (expansions)
Side B -
A Tropical Shower (club)
 
 
 
 

Next we find T'n'T as Urban Jungle laying down the Bad Man.
 
Urban Jungle - Bad Man 12'', Union City Recordings UCRDJ10, 1992.

This Side -
Bad Man (Dub mix)
Bad Man (Black Dog Bite mix)

Other Side -
Bad Man (original)
Bad Man (DigiDub)
 
 
 
 

Now, Voyager... 
 
Voyager - Transmission, Union City Recordings UCRCD22, 1993.

Underworld Theme
In Unity
Suck Acid
Suck Acid (Ubik version)
Underworld Theme (Jetslags version)
In Unity (Irdial 17.55 version)
Arrival 


Jumping forward to 2000, here's Wayward Soul. The CD I have has some CD rot (its [PIAS] Recordings after all so track 7 is totally unlistenable). I added a few bonus tracks. Sorry, blame PIAS. 
 
Wayward Soul - Brothers from Another Planet, [PIAS] Recordings PIASX011CD, 2000.

DJ Friendly
Real Wild Child
PMT
Different Strokes for Different Folks
Serum (The Remedy)
Electric Man
-----------------(Solutions)
Showroom Dummies
Voice of Breaks
Crater Face

bonus tracks:
Real Wild Child (Juttla mix)
PMT (Buckfunk 3000 mix)
DJ Friendly (X-Press 2 The Hard Way)

 
 
 
 
& back to the beginning. It all started in the early 80s. Late 83 T'n'T joined 400 Blows (Andrew Beer & Robert Tayler at the time). Tony appears on 400 Blows' first full length ...if I kissed her I'd have to kill her first... which I've posted before, as well as on two 1984 12'' 45s.
 
 
400 Blows - Declaration of Intent 12'' 45, Illuminated Records ILL 3012, 1984.
Side A -
Declaration of Intent
Side B -
Declaration of Intent (Black & White mix up)
Perspective 1
 
 
 
 
 
400 Blows - Groove Jumping 12'' 45, Illuminated Records ILL4812, 1984.

This Side -
Strangeways (revisited)
Other Side -
Groove Jumping

Enjoy,