On any post, if the link is no longer good, leave a comment if you want the music re-uploaded. As long as I still have the file, or the record, cd, or cassette to re-rip, I will gladly accommodate in a timely manner all such requests.

Slinging tuneage like some fried or otherwise soused short-order cook

20 July 2025

Request by A Different Dave

When I shared Sounds of the Unexpexted last month, A different Dave sez:
       "...my artist pick from the compilations to get more of would be The Tornados. I only ever hear single tracks of theirs, but I always find them exciting."  

I have quite a bit of The Tornados. The original "Telstar". Couldn't decide what to share, but because A different Dave (not Mr.Dave) asked so nicely, I think I'll hit' em hard with this double CD anthology (contains "Hot Pot" from Weird & Wacky...



The Tornados were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions. They were also the backing band for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK & US no. 1 "Telstar" (named after the satellite, composed & produced by Meek). "Telstar" was the first US no. 1 single by a British group. Their instrumental material often featured a futuristic sound, reflecting Meek's interest in electronics & sound manipulation. 

 

The Tornados - Ridin' the Wind-The Anthology 2xCD, Castle Music CMDDD428, 2002.
decryption codes in comments


CD 1 -
Love & Fury
Popeye Twist
Telstar
Jungle Fever
Globetrotter
Locomotion with Me
Ridin' the Wind (US version)
The Breeze & I
Robot
Life on Venus
The Ice Cream Man
Theme from 'The Scales of Justice'
Dragonfly
Hymn for Teenagers
Joystick
Hot Pot
Monte Carlo
Blue, Blue Beat
Exodus
Blackpool Rock
Granada
Ragunboneman
Early Bird
Stompin' Through the Rye
Stingray
Aqua Marina
Pop Art Goes Mozart
Too Much in Love to Hear
Is That a Ship I Hear?
Do You Come Here Often?

CD 2 -
Ridin' the Wind (UK version)
Dreaming on a Cloud
Red Roses & a Sky of Blue
Earthy
All the Stars in the Sky
Swinging Beefeater
Chasing Moonbeams
Theme from 'A Summer Place'
Ready Teddy
My Babe
Blue Moon of Kentucky
Long Tall Sally
Indian Brave
Flycatcher
Dreams Do Come True
Lullaby for Gulia
Costa Monger
Lonely Paradise
Chattanooga Choo Choo
Rip it Up
Alan's Tune
Cootenanny
Night Rider
Lullaby of the Stars
Shakedown
Party Spirit
Sidewalk Serenade
Alright
Fortune Teller
Telstar (live)
Exodus (live)
Czardas (live)
Lawrence of Arabia
No More You & Me

 

 

Look what the spice dragged in,

19 July 2025

Join the Army, Skate the World

J.F.A. or JFA is the common notation for the Phoenix, Arizona skatepunk band Jodie Foster's Army (a twisted reference to John Hinckley's attempt at murdering Reagan just days before the band formed). 

 



The band was made up of skater friends Brian Brannon - vocals, Don Redondo - guitar, Mike Cornelius - bass, & Mike ‘Bam Bam' Sversvold - drums. One of the footnotes to this great band is that Sun City Girls alum Alan Bishop played bass for the band at one time (1984-1986). 

JFA was hugely responsible for the rise & enjoyment of skatepunk.Their first gig was opening for Black Flag. JFA's first national tour was in the summer of 1983 following the release of their first full-length album Valley of the Yakes. 

 

JFA - Valley of the Yakes, Placebo Records PLA401, 1983.
decryption code in comments

Frontside -     
Kick You
Great Equalizer
Preppy
Little Big Man
Johnny D
Walk Don't Run
I Don't like You

Backside -     
Baja
Skateboard
We Know You Suck
Too Late
Sadistic Release
Axed at Howards
I-10
Guess What?
 
 
 

Look what the spice dragged in,

18 July 2025

From the Third Mind

 

Bill Pritchard was born in 1964 in Lichfield, Staffordshire, UK. Pritchard is a singer-songwriter, instrumentalist (guitars, keyboards), musical arranger, & producer.

His eponymous debut album was released in 1987 on the Third Mind label. Bill Pritchard's music at this early stage of his musical career was heavily reminiscent of the new wave/post-punk of the early 80s. Characteristic of his music are his fantastic baritone vocals & his elaborate introspective lyrics.

Bill Pritchard - Bill Pritchard, Third Mind Records TMLP19, 1987.
decryption code in comments


Side One -
Black Souls Under White Skies
Sheltered Life
Pas de Plaisanterie
White City

Side Two -
Arsenic & Old Lace
Dimanche Soir
Grey Parade
Greek Street
Impact of the Cities

 

 

 

Look what the spice dragged in,

17 July 2025

A Stitch in Time

 

Jah Stitch was born Melbourne James in Kingston, Jamaica. He honed his vocal skills in the same singing yard as Roy Shirley, Stranger Cole, & The Heptones. Together with a friend called Finger he started the Fingertone Sound System. That Sound would later evolve to Lord Tippertone Sound System. Around this time Jah Stitch met Bunny Lee. They started a musical &  personal friendship. Stitch's first release however was produced by Errol Holt as the single “Danger Zone Chapter 3“. Jah Stitch soon left Tippertone. He joined Black Harmony Sound which resulted in the shooting of Stitch outside of Bob Marleys shop in Kingston’s Beeston Street. This incident would lead to Jah Stitch reinventing his deejay style. He cut “No Dread Can't Dead” where he had an almost spoken delivery.

In the 80s he changed his name to Major Stitch. He also joined Sugar Minott's Youth Promotion focusing on Selecting for the Sound as well as supervising the cutting of dubplates. He was responsible for the first recording efforts of Yami Bolo, Nitty Gritty, Pinchers, & Tenor Saw.

Jah Stitch died April 28, 2019.

Dread inna Jamdown was recorded in the late 70s at Harry J's, Randy's Studio 17 & Channel 1 in Kingston, Jamaica. Musicians involved include: Earl 'Chinna' Smith & Tony Chin - guitars; Winston Wright - organ; Aston 'Family Man' Barrett & Robbie Shakespeare - bass; Carlton 'Santa' Davis, Carlton Barrett, & SlyDunbar - drums; Tommy McCook & Lennox Brown - saxophone; Vin Gordon - trombone; & Bobby Ellis - trumpet...all cream of the crop. The best by any test.

Jah Stitch - Dread inna Jamdown, Kingston Sounds KSCD012, 2007.
decryption code in comments

Dread inna Jamdown    
Dem Seek Natty Everywhere    
Make a Joyful Noise    
Serious Thing    
The Best by Any Test    
Natty Dread Skanking    
From Dusk to Dawn    
Hold on Tight    
Love for Everyone    
Rock to the Beat    
Natty Going on So    
Live Together in Harmony    
Tune into Jumpers    
Channel 1 Lesson
 
 
 

Look what the spice dragged in,

15 July 2025

From an Insight by Mr.Dave

 

The Plugz, formed in the barrios of East L.A. (or Hollywood) in 1978, were the first Latino punk band. They created a blend of punk & Hispanic sounds unknown at that time that honored punk without trashing their Latino heritage.They covered pop-songs like "La Bamba" at break neck speed as well as writing their own original material. 

At the height of their popularity, the Plugz came close to signing a major label deal, but singer / band leader Tito Larriva believed in the punk DIY aesthetic.

Tito sez:
       "I looked in the Yellow Pages ... and found the Alberti pressing plant. Manufacturing each single cost 29 cents, and sleeves cost a penny. It was a mom and pop organization, with two Latinos in the back room pressing records by hand in what looked like a tortilla press. We ordered 500 right off." 

That was the start of Fatima Records in 1979, a joint venture between Larriva, Yolanda Ferrer (who came through with the money), & Richard Duardo. Together, the three produced the Plugz's Electrify Me & Better Luck, as well as The Brat's first & only self-titled album.

The Plugz hold a seminal spot in the annals of punk, having shared the stage with groups such as X & the Circle Jerks at notorious punk clubs like Madame Wong's & the Masque. 

 

The Plugz - Electrify Me, Plug Records PR001, 1979.
decryption code in comments

Plugz Side -
A Gain - A Loss
The Cause
Electrify Me
Satisfied Die
La Bamba


Electrified Side -
Adolescent
Braintime
Wordless
Let Go
Infection
Berserktown

bonus tracks -
Revolution
Mindless Contentment
 
 
 

Look what the spice dragged in,

14 July 2025

I Get Maximum Joy Out of Sharing These

 

Formed in 1979 from the ashes of another favorite of mine, Glaxo Babies by Tony Wrafter (saxophonist / trumpeter), Charlie Llewellin (drums), & Dan Catsis (bass). Catsis had been in The Pop Group as well as Glaxo Babies & brought along fellow Pop Group alum John Waddington (guitar). With Janine Rainforth at the helm as vocalist & co-founder along with Wrafter, Maximum Joy released a number of cult groove classic singles.

Maximum Joy - I Can't Stand it Here on Quiet Nights: Singles 1981-82 2x12",
Silent Street SSR001, 2017.
decryption codes in comments

Side A -
Silent Street / Silent Dub    

Side B -
White & Green Place (Extraterrestrial mix)    
In the Air (12“ mix)

Side C -
Building Bridges / Building Dub    
Simmer ‘til Done    

Side D -
Stretch (7" mix)    
Do it Today
 
 
 

The band toured extensively. In 1982 they released Station MXJY, an album produced by Adrian Sherwood. 
Maximum Joy - Station MXJY, Y Records Y28, 1982;

Catch 1 -    
Dancing on My Boomerang
Do it Today
Let it Take You There
Searching for a Feeling

Throw 2 -    
Where's Deke?
Temple Bomb Twist
Mouse an' Me
All Wrapped Up!
 
 


Look what the spice dragged in,
NØ 

13 July 2025

On the Delta

 

Delta 5 were an English post-punk band from Leeds, West Yorkshire. Part of the Leeds art/music scene in the late 70s that launched The Gang of Four & The Mekons, Delta 5 was signed to Rough Trade after only a few months in existence. They released their first single recording, "Mind Your Own Business/Now That You've Gone" in 1979. BBC host / producer John Peel received an advance copy of the single & played it twice the same night he got it. He then requested that the band do a "Sessions" gig for him. With this, the band was officially on its way. Relentless gigging with The Gang of Four, Echo & the Bunnymen, B52s, Specials, Teardrop Explodes, U2 put the band on the map worldwide. They continued touring / recording until various members departed in late 1981, when they recorded one last single. They broke up for good in 1982.

Delta 5 - Singles & Sessions 1979-81, Kill Rock Stars KRS415CD, 2006.
decryption code in comments


Mind Your Own Business
Now That You've Gone
Anticipation
You
Try
Colour
Delta 5    
Make Up    
Triangle    
Innocenti    
Train Song    
Final Scene    
Singing the Praises    
Shadow
Circuit
Journey

 

 

 

Look what the spice dragged in,

12 July 2025

Coming to a Future Near You

                                                                   Teletubbies Darkwave

A War of Attrition

 

Attrition began after Martin Bowes issued, as part of a fanzine covering the Coventry music scene, a vinyl compilation. Subsequently he met Julia Niblock at a resulting music festival. After a handful of demos, fully-formed tracks by Attrition began to appear on several notable cassette compilations, such as the Rising from the Red Sand series from the fledging Third Mind label.

In 1983 their vinyl breakthrough came with the inclusion of "Dreamsleep" on the influential The Elephant Table Album here alongside notable experimental artists such as Nurse with Wound, Chris & Cosey, Portion Control. Coil even opened for them at their first London show.

I've shared their cassette release Death House that they released that same year here.

They toured several times with The Legendary Pink Dots in 1984 & 1985. Here's a cassette split recorded live during the Terminal Kaleidoscope Tour from March 29 - April 15, 1985 in Holland & Switzerland. 

 

The Legendary Pink Dots/Attrition - The Terminal Kaleidoscope cassette,
Ding Dong Records & Tapes DDC011, 1985.
decryption code in comments

Terminal Side -
Flowers for the Silverman
Lust for Powder
Kitto
Tower 4
Neon Gladiators - The Legendary Pink Dots

Kaleidoscope Side -
Reflections
Redoubt of Light
The Next Day
Across the Divide
Beast of Burden
Surge & Run - Attrition
 
 
 

Attrition were set slightly apart from their experimental & industrial contemporaries by the combination of punk aesthetics with EBM-styled beats but also the inclusion of ethereal / classical touches that permeate nearly all of their repertoire. After initial releases which moved from eerily constructed ambience into standard dancefloor electro sounds, the band soon developed their distinctive texture, based on haunting synthesizer washes, strong beats, fretless bass backing, & Martin Bowes's deep growls contrasted with Julia Niblock's operatic soprano flourishes.
 
 
Attrition - Take Five, Support Fonografici SF018, 1987.

Side 1 -
Take Five
This Final Push
Shotgun

Side 2 -
For Julie
The Wrecking Ground
 
 
 

Look what the spice dragged in,

10 July 2025

By Request from Frenz Richard - Iancu Dumitrescu

Composer, artist, & music critic Iancu Dumitrescu was born in 1944 in Sibiu, Romania. He studied composition with Alfred Mendelsohn, Aurel Stroe, Stefan Niculescu, & Sergiu Celibidache.

His compositions are intuitive & his magical musick making are inspired by the ancient sages that revolve around the idea of the Socratic term "acousmatique". In his compositions the most distant harmonies of the sound spectrum are used & explored. It is noteworthy that the resulting sound is created with simple complexity, "natural" means, without application of extensive technical resources. Dumitrescu was deeply inspired by the direction of spectral music of Giacinto Scelsi.

In 1976 Iancu Dumitrescu founded the "Hyperion Ensemble" in which a series of extraordinary interpreters display works of the Romanian avant-garde.

The 1980s young generation of Romanian composers headed by Iancu Dumitrescu had a unique position through their development of the "spectral sound" music, using almost only acoustical instruments. Dumitrescu & his colleague Horatio Radulescu have awakened new attention to this until now almost unknown Romanian music.

The music of Iancu Dumitrescu explores the ultimate sense of sound, guiding the listener through new spheres of sonic adventure, a kind of cryptic music. Based on the idea of "acousmatique", a Socratic term meaning exploration of sonic phenomenon, his music takes it's formal models from the very structure of sound with a perfect relationship between micro / macro structure, this phenomenological approach to the act of composing implies at the same time a very good confidence in the intuitive dimension of discovery.

"Medium II" is the mysterious reverse of "Cogito". The two sides of the record can be heard consecutively or simultaneously on two turntables. The ideal listening situation is to hear the two structures in sync. The simultaneous experience is free to anyone, anytime & can be repeated as it challenges the creativity of the listener.

Enjoy this unique experience & thank Richard...

"Medium II" composed 1978-1979 for double-bass solo (Hyperion Publishing House, Bucharest);
"Cogito (Trompe-L'œil)" composed 1981 for two double basses, prepared piano, Javanese gong, crystals & metal objects (Éditions Salabert, Paris). 

 

Iancu Dumitrescu - Medium II / Cogito, ED.RZ1001, 1987.
decryption code in comments

Side 1 - 
Medium II    
Side 2 -
Cogito (Trompe-L'œil)
 
 
 

Look what the spice dragged in,

09 July 2025

Here Come a Superpitcher Fastball

 

Aksel Schaufler, known as Superpitcher, is a German born producer, musician, & DJ, based in Paris. Since 1996, he has worked mainly with Cologne based record label Kompakt producing his own music & countless remixes. In 2011, Superpitcher & artist Rebolledo formed Pachanga Boys. Together they own the record label Hippie Dance.

Here is Superpitcher's first full-length... 

 

Superpitcher - Here Comes Love, Kompakt KOMPAKTCD32, 2004.
decryption code in comments

People    
The Long Way    
Sad Boys    
Träume
Love Me Forever
Fever
Lovers Rock
Happiness    
Even Angels
 
 
 

Look what the spice dragged in,

08 July 2025

Twins of a Different Element

Whereas the last Twins were golden, these Twin are more brassy.  Whereas Climax Golden Twins was a duo (& friends), this set of Twins is one person. Fantastic Twins is the ongoing project of French composer, producer, & live performer Julienne Dessagne.

This one is mixed & produced by Superpitcher (coming up next)... 

 

Fantastic Twins - Two is Not a Number, House of Slessor HOS002, 2023.
decryption code in comments


I was First    
Sisters at Odds    
Land of Pleasure Hi Fi    
Master & Disciple    
Silver Moon Dial
Twins Can't Love    
From Above    
All of This is Resolved

 

 

Look what the spice dragged in,

06 July 2025

As Requested by FlaccusMUC - More Climax Golden Twins

Way back in 2013 I shared 5 Cents a Piece by Climax Golden Twins here

 



Climax Golden Twins were an experimental music duo based in Seattle, often involving a wide range of artists & sound styles for any of their given projects. Their work also includes soundtracks, scores for choreography, gallery installations, & live performances. This one is the soundtrack for Session 9, a tale of terror where a group of asbestos removal workers start work in an abandoned insane asylum. The complex of buildings looms up out of the woods like a dormant beast. Grand, imposing ... abandoned, deteriorating. 

 

Climax Golden Twins -Session 9 OST, Milan, 2001.
decryption code in comments


A Few Simple Up & Down Jerks
Hobbes Theme
Noon, About Noon
I Live in the Gut
Mortified Pride
Exit Plan
I Want to Talk to Amy
I Saw You
Ward A
Seclusion
Dissapointed Expectations - Climax Golden Twins
Piece for Tape Recorder - Vladimir Ussachevsky 

 

 

Look what the spice dragged in,

05 July 2025

Tea in a Timebooth

One of my beloved labels, Bristol's Cup of Tea Records released some of the highest quality tracks of slo-mo beat excursions & weirdelic sound collages in the time from 1995 to 1999. The label, founded by Pip Diaz in Bristol, started with the release of "The Mudskipper EP" by a band called Junkwaffel, remixed by Bristol royalty Portishead. 

Leading up to this, Cup of Tea had made a name for itself by providing Bristol with the most upfront in club DJ's & bands, putting on everything from jungle to hip hop, from jazz-funk to Dub.

Their catalogue included releases from Crustation, Purple Penguin, Spaceways, The Federation, Slick Sixty, Tammy Payne, Statik Sound System, Grantby, The Disciples, Mr. Scruff, Monk & Canatella, & many more. 

 

Dan Grigson (Grantby) worked as producer at Cup of Tea Records. He only released this EP under his own nom de musique while at Cup of Tea. However, he had his hand in producing many of CoTRs great releases. 

 

Grantby - Timebooth EP, Cup of Tea Records COT013, 1995.
decryption code in comments


a -
Time Booth (This Mix)
Timber

b -
Time Booth (That Mix)
Grimble
Bullrushes

 

 

Look what the spice dragged in,

03 July 2025

The Book of Lies

Which is also Falsely Called BREAKS. The Wanderings or Falsifications of the One Thought of Frater Perdurabo, which Thought is itself Untrue. Liber CCCXXXIII [Book 333]

 
I had this one ready to fire up when a request came in from Brother Jonder for this very item. As I sez to him: "great minds think alike". However, this is entitled Book of Lies, so...

This band was on the Perdurabo compilation. I had totally forgotten their music after the late 80s & the Rough Trade years. In fact what would probably have been their breakthrough release, Tracksuit Vendetta got hung up in the debacle that ended RT. It ended coming out on a small label & I don't recall it from those days. Unbeknownst to me, the band came back in the Aughts & have been going strong ever since. There is something of the spirit of Mark Stewart or Jackie Leven in Johny Brown's delivery & the bands vitriol/vigor blend that really speaks to me.

Formed from the ashes of an unrecorded 77 punk band, Speed, Band of Holy Joy's initial musical forays were largely in the domain of industrial bricolage & occasional bursts of madness.
In the early 80s, Johny Brown was living in a squat in New Cross, South London, with members of the pioneering industrial group Test Dept. Inspired by the DIY freedoms of the post-punk era, Brown began to create his own experimental music.

Johny sez:
         "We all played everything; everyone was either a musician or painter, and we all mixed and matched, so it all comes from that period of just doing it. It was all done on a Tascam 4-track Portastudio and a Nagra tape recorder that Test Dept. had. We would record and loop with loads of overdubs."  

The result was the wonderfully entitled Favourite Fairytales For Juvenile Delinquents, self-released on C-45 tape in 1983.

By the time they began releasing records under their own name in the 1980s, the band's humanist tendencies came to the fore, with astounding portraits of people on the periphery, resulting in such classics as "Rosemary Smith", "Mad Dot", & "Don't Stick Knives In Babbies Heads". The sharp sensibilities of founder & leader Johny Brown eventually led to a star-making deal with Rough Trade. There were a few near hits, then career momentum shattered when the label collapsed mere days after what might have been the band's breakthrough album was recorded.
 


Band of Holy Joy's story is not stuck in the past of Margaret Thatcher's Britain, despite their songs of hope through hardships being a fitting soundtrack to that era. Following a tour to New York in 2008, Band of Holy Joy came back more prolific than ever with a series of albums for their Radio Joy label, on Exotic Pylon Records, & Tiny Global Productions.

Slowly, a new Band of Holy Joy has blossomed. Still inspired by the possibilities which burst forth after punk, the band's expression takes many forms. Visual artist Inga Tillere plays a large role in shaping the band's aesthetics & live events. Another element is Johny's musical foil co-writer/arranger James Stephen Finn who has remained the other constant in the group since 2011.

Johny's poetic vision transcends expectations without resorting to desperate reaches into esoterica. Now the band focuses on a literary examination of the malaise set forth by Brexit, Trump, the rise of the far-right, & a general disenfranchisement from most post-war liberal values. They rarely names any names & the music is far from strident, but it's undeniably political in the broadest sense.They have emerged fully reborn with renewed purpose of sound & vision.
 
 
The Band of Holy Joy - More Tales from the City,
Flim Flam Productions HARPLP1, 1987.
all decryption codes in comments

Side 1 -        
Who Snatched The Baby
Mad Dot
When Stars Come Out to Play
The Aspidistra House
The Tide of Life

Side 2 -
Don’t Stick Knives in Babbies’ Heads (trad.)
Leaves that Fall in Spring
Cities
Fishwives
Goodnight, God Bless, & Goodbye
 
 
 
 

This one was scheduled as BoHJ's third full length from Rough Trade, but before its release, Rough Trade went into recievership. After overstretching on the US market the label/distribution group ran into financial difficulty around 1990. The US branch was shut down & the German branch ended up in the Zomba Music Group where the name was eventually abandoned. In the UK One Little Indian provided financing. They took over the label with original owner Geoff Travis initially in charge, but he soon left to start the Trade 2 label with Island Records.

This would in all likelihood have been the groups break-out release, but because of the situation, it was released on a small label with little fanfare & ended with the dissolving of The Band of Holy Joy v 1.0.
 
 
Holy Joy - Tracksuit Vendetta, Ecuador EQCD4, 1992.

Ragman
Casual 983
Well You've Met this Boy
Tracksuit Vendetta
0898 Intermission
Claudia Dreams
By the Light of a Magical Moon (T-Rex cover)
Kitchen Emigre
Marvin in Ostende
Soulstress
Trafalgar Square
 
 
 

In the early 2000s Johny revived the band. Here's one they self-released & offered during their first ever US tour summer 2008 after regrouping. This was prior to the 2011 arrival of James Stephen Finn... 
 
 
The Band of Holy Joy - Punklore, Band of Holy Joy self-released, 2008.

Denmark Street
Punklore
Cold Blows the Wind
Ipswich
The Fortune of War
Hypersecurity
 
 
 

Here's the last part of a thematic trilogy which began with the 10'' Brutalism Begins at Home & continued with 2017s Funambulist We Love You. If you enjoy the likes of Jackie Leven, I recommend this one. One of my favorites, grim & honest but ending with the uplifting ''We are Sailing to the Island of Light''
 
 
The Band of Holy Joy - Neon Primitives, Tiny Global Productions PICI0021CD, 2019.

Lost in the Night    
The Devil had a Hold on the Land    
So Sad    
Ecstasy Snowbirds    
Take Heed Calumniators    
Some People Have Winged Fortune    
Urban Pagans    
Electric Pilgrims    
We are Sailing to the Island of Light
 
 
 

Lastly, taking up the mantle of the deceased Mark Stewart's "Jerusalem", from this year...
The Band of Holy Joy - Scorched Jerusalem, Tiny Global Productions PICI0066CD, 2025.

Born to Sin  
Stay Toxic    
Nihilistic Ends    
Existential Kills    
Scorched Jerusalem    
Dead Romantics    
Breivik Island    
French Riots    
Palace Commune    
When the Tulips Bloom the War Will End    
Playing at Being Sad
 
 
 

Look what the spice dragged in,

02 July 2025

From a Suggestion by Diego - The Bridge

Thomas Leer was born in Port Glasgow, Scotland. He played in several local experimental pop groups in the early to mid-1970s, then moved to London when the punk rock scene was at its height. He formed the punk band Pressure, but by 1978 had moved on from punk to music influenced by synthpop & Krautrock bands such as Can. That year, he self-financed his debut single, "Private Plane". Although it was recorded in his own flat & was only issued in 650 copies on his own label, it gained significant attention, with NME naming it "Single of the Week".  In 1979, he released the album The Bridge in collaboration with Robert Rental. 

 



Rental was also from Port Glasgow. He moved to the south of England & became flatmate with Thomas Leer in the late 1970s. He became involved with the local music scene, however he released very little of his own solo music, preferring to collaborate with Thomas Leer, as well as with Daniel Miller (as The Normal).

Recording information for The Bridge:
     "This album was recorded at home on 8 track equipment, provided for us by Industrial Records. It was produced in two weeks dating 18th June to 2nd July. All blips clicks & unseemly noises were generated by refrigerators & other domestic appliances & are intrinsic to the music. Special thanks to Throbbing Gristle for their help & encouragement throughout."

 

Thomas Leer & Robert Rental - The Bridge, Industrial Records IR0007, 1979.
decryption code in comments

Attack Decay
Monochrome Day's
Day Breaks, Night Heals
Connotations
Fade Away

Side B -
Interferon
Six A.M.
The Hard Way In & the Easy Way Out
Perpetual
 
 
 

Look what the spice dragged in,

01 July 2025

Would You like to Swing on a Mood, Carry Home a Jar Full of Food?

I was hoping to find an interesting track from each Various Artists release, but some of the comps. just didn't move me for one reason or another, or I already had shared what I found interesting, so I ended up with a less than complete set. A few Frenz of NSS offered up sugesstions or made request, so that help flush things out a bit. Anyhow, I figured I'd start with one that I pulled from the first Various Artists shares from June.

That honor fell on Moodswings from the Fell from the Sun compilation from the Saint Etienne boys. I liked their "Spritual High (The Moodfood megamix)" so I looked for some Moodfood. 

 



Moodswings is the duo composed of Grant Showbiz (best known for his work with The Fall) & JFT Hood (The Pretenders - Billy Bragg). Their biggest hit was the remade single of "Spiritual High (State of Independence) Pt. II," which featured vocals by Chrissie Hynde in their remix of a song originally written by Jon & Vangelis. 

 

Moodswings - Moodfood,  Arista 74321 111702, 1992.
decryption code in comments


Spiritual High (Part I)
Spiritual High (State of Independence) Part II featuring Chrissie Hynde
Spiritual High (Part III) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. vocal samples
Moodswings Overture
Problem Solved
Thailand
Wombstones
Skinthieves (Jeff Beck guitar)
Rainsong (Linda Muriel vocals)
100% Total Success
Microcosmic
Hairy Piano
Throw Off the Shackles
Spiritual High (State of Independenc) Reprise

 

 

Look what the spice dragged in,