Monday 30 April 2018

MuhMur Radio Broadcast 26 April 2018.


Sorry in the delay in posting this ... it was a very busy weekend in the MuhMur household.
A bit of a grab bag and dolly mixture of sounds featuring a lot of Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV.  This broadcast was the last one before MuhMur Radio engineer Dave heads off to Western Africa - to the Gabon and Libreville for the month of May. So I wanted to play some of Dave's favourites from a couple of his favourite groups. April 26 was also the day (in 1978) that Throbbing Gristle released their first single "United".


The live Throbbing Gristle tracks come from the gig at Manchester Factory on May 18 1979.
The AntiChildLeague track comes from the new split cassette with The Rita. This is ACL's second release on the German Obsessive Fundamental Realism label. Four really excellent pieces although I'm not too certain on The Rita, perhaps will take some growing in to? A genre called Harsh Noise Wall that isn't really grabbing me. Vomir is another exponent of HNW that I just can't seem to click with ... but the split ACL tape is excellent and available from : obsessivefundamentalrealism.blogspot.com
Earlier this year Frans De Waard and Sindre Bjerga toured Europe as Tech Riders. The 2 pieces featured here are from the album "On The Storm" which was especially made for the tour. Also, I read that Joachim Nordwall had disbanded the Skull Defects project ... Like Vomir and The Rita (although NOT Harsh Noise Wall) The Skull Defects were a sound I just could not 'get in to', although I do like the Nordwall solo tape "The Skull Transmitter". Side B of this tape is played here. I did meet Joachim once - he was doing a DJ set with Henrik Rylander in a basement of a disused apartment block on the outskirts of Stockholm. The room was set to honour the work of Brion Gysin with TV Monitors showing his work and that of Psychic TV and dream machines situated along the perimeters. I very strange night that sometimes when thinking about it makes me wonder f I dreamt it all up.
The Troum track comes from the compilation "Da-Pu-Ri-To-Jo" on the Russian Black Mara label. A compilation of Troum 7" singles.


Exquisitely packaged in a wooden box which includes a bottle of sacred earth.
On this day in 1978 (along with Throbbing Gristle) The Stranglers released the single "Nice n' Sleazy", it fits nice n' sleazily after the Alien Brains here! Dave used to build electronic devices for The Alien Brains when they were based in Aberdeen. It felt apt.
The Hula track comes from the May 1985 John Peel Session. I don't know if it has been 'officially' released in any format?
There was a slip up at the end, whilst Dave was working on a playlist for SoundArt Radio to be on the air through the night the computer started playing up and after Negativland there is a track from Renegade Soundwave that was not supposed to be broadcast. It's not a bad track, certainly not one of RSW's best...but ... I apologise.
Please take a listen here: https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-broadcast-26-april-2018/. (Copy & Paste).

Playlist:
01: Throbbing Gristle : "Weeping" (Industrial Records) 1978.
02: AntiChildLeague : "Elephant In The Room You Can Control" (Obsessive Fundamental Realism) 2018.
03: Tech Riders : "Storm Riders" (Gold Sounds) 2018.
04: Joachim Nordwall : "The Skull Transmitter (B)" (Håsten & Korset) 2010.
05: Troum : "Victoria" (Black Mara) 2017.
06: Grunt : "Prologue For Plague" (Free Animal Records) 2018.
07: Grunt : "Sacrosanct Imperium" (Freak Animal Records) 2018.
08: Telepherique : "Recycle-S+C #1" (Duebel) 1999.
09: Throbbing Gristle : "Weapon Training" (The Grey Area) 1993.
10: Throbbing Gristle : "See You Are" (The Grey Area) 1993.
11: Throbbing Gristle : "United" (Industrial Records) 1978.
12: Alien Brains : "There's Going To Be A Riot Soon" (Vinyl On Demand) 2014.
13: The Stranglers : "Nice n' Sleazy" (United Artists Records) 1978.
14: Aaron Dilloway : "Switch 15" (Cejero) 2017.
15: Contagious Orgasm & Government Alpha : "Possessed Machine" (SSSM) 2006.
16: Bourbonese Qualk : "Moscow #1" (Klanggalerie) 2001.
17: Psychic TV : "Hymn 23" (Some Bizarre) 1983.
18: Psychic TV : "The Orchids" (Some Bizarre) 1983.
19: Psychic TV : "Magick Defends Itself" (Temple Records) 1986.
20: Renaldo And The Loaf : "Dying Inside" (Cherry Red Records) 2016.
21: Hula : "Gun Culture" (Not On Label) 1985.
22: Tech Riders : "Sound Proof" (Gold Sounds) 2018.
23: Negativland : "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (Special Edit Radio Mix)" (SST) 1991.
24: Renegade Soundwave : "Howyoudoin'?" (Mute Records) 1994.

Next broadcast is on May 10 - flying solo and playing with myself! I have no idea what the sounds will be.
20:00 hours GMT on 102.5FM or streamed live at www.soundartradio.org
I am contactable via : muhmur.radio@gmail.com.

Friday 13 April 2018

MuhMur Radio Broadcast 12 April 2018.

                                                         Automating/Sasha Margolis.

Second Language Records is a label based in Melbourne, Australia. It is operated by musician / artist Sasha Margolis. Sasha created the project Automating in 2007, the first release on Second language came two years later with the album "Transfer". Constant Light is another project from Sasha Margolis, this time with James Dean.


Spitfire Parade are a 'Ballardian Drone Punk' quartet from Melbourne. Their sound (at times) is very close to that of Swell Maps from whose song they take their name from. ("Spitfire Parade' itself being a Biggles story). Sasha Margolis provides vocals and tapes on the tracks chosen.

                                                                  Spitfire Parade.

Dark Monolith is the project of ex-Night Soil and Wolf 359 member Peter James. This track appears on the compilation tape "SLR016" and as far as I can work out is their only release. On this piece Peter is joined by Melbourne sound artist Zac Keiller. Back in the 1990's Zac used to release sounds under the name Bokor. Bokor have featured on MuhMur Radio in the past. The piece from Breathing Shrine + Scattered Order also appears on the "SLR016" compilation. I know little of Breathing Shrine but I have been listening to Scattered Order for quite a while thanks to Steve Underwood (of Harbinger Sound). He has been mailing tapes of S.O. for quite a while and it came as a surprise that they were still active. Formed in 1979 in Sydney and releasing on the (excellent) M Squared Records label. They reformed in 2011. The track here reminds me of early S.P.K. and late 90's Skullflower. But ... distinctively Scattered Order. They have a great web site .. http://www.scatteredorder.com

                                                                    Scattered Order.

Second Language Records can be contacted here : https://secondlanguagerecords.bandcamp.com

The second half of the broadcast features "on this day". Firstly a track from Cabaret Voltaire that was on the compilation tape "C81" co-released by NME and Rough Trade Records. If I remember rightly coupons had to be collected and sent with P+P to get hold of the tape. At the time it featured the leading lights of independent music.... the aforementioned Cabaret Voltaire and the played at the end of the programme Furious Pig but also on the tape are Scritti Politti, Buzzcocks, D.A.F., The Raincoats, Essential Logic, Ian Dury, The Specials, The Beat, Gist, Pere Ubu, Blue Orchids, Subway Sect + lots more ... there are duff tracks by Lynx and James "Blood" Ulmer but the tape itself was like some kind of bible of independent music back in 1981. And now 37 years later the NME has disappeared after a very drawn out and slow death and Rough Trade Records has re-invented itself as 'Brand Rough Trade' selling shite to the white kids. A shame all round. A former Rough Trade band, The Monochrome Set released their first single on Dindisc Records on the 12th April, the title track  from the "Strange Boutique" album, I play the B-Side here ...


The Sons Of David Ginola is a project by Murray Royston-Ward and Kevin Sanders. Kevin also records and performs under the name of Petals. The track here comes from the CDR "Blood Too Thick Symptoms". The Hunting Lodge track is the B-Side to the 1983 single "Night From Night".


A couple of records that have hardly been of the turntable at MuhMur HQ are by Colin Potter. "Unstable Tennis" is from the album "The Abominable Slowman" and "Linda" is from the album "Shut Your Eyes On The Way Out" by Potter Natalizia Zen.


You can listen to the programme here: https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-soundart-radio-broadcast-12-april-2018/. (Copy & Paste).

Playlist:
01: Dark Monolith : "Fatal Sunrise" (Second Language Records) 2012.
02: Constant Light : "Heartbeat" (Second Language Records) 2017.
03: Scattered Order + Breathing Shrine : "The Artificial Sympathetic Eye" (Second Language Records) 2012.
04: Automating : "Vox Pop #1" (Second Language Records) 2012.
05: Automating : "Our Swimmer" (Second Language Records) 2012.
06: Automating : "Vox Pop #2" (Second Language Records) 2012.
07: Constant Light : "X" (Second Language Records) 2011.
08: Spitfire Parade : "Parallel Gram" (Not On Label) 2009.
09: Automating : "Delta Wave" (Second Language Records) 2012.
10: Spitfire Parade : "This Time" (Second Language Records) 2012.
11: Cabaret Voltaire : "Raising The Count" (NME/Rough Trade Records) 1981.
12: The Sons Of David Ginola : "Kabra Kebabra" (Creative Commons Organisation) 2017.
13: Mentira : Históra Sem Graça (Nada Nada Discos) 2017.
14: The Monochrome Set : "Surfing S.W.12" (Dindiscs) 1980.
15: Hunting Lodge : "Untitled" (S/M Operations) 1983.
16: Colin Potter : "Unstable Tennis" (Abstrakce Records) 2017.
17: Potter Natalizia Zen : "Linda" (Ecstatic Records) 2018.
18: Copley Medal : "Keystone Period" (Robert & Leopold) 2014.
19: Furious Pig : "Bare Pork" (NME/Rough Trade Records) 1981.

The SoundArt Radio studios  are situated 2 miles south of Totnes in Devon. Furious Pig were from Totnes. If any ex-member or friend of the group are still in or around...please get in touch!
Next programme is on April 26, same time same channel and will be 'producer' Dave's last programme for a month as he heads of to the Iboga highlands of The Gabon.

Thursday 12 April 2018

TG in Derby Exhibition : Kunst Gallery, Belper. 2018.


This weekend marks the final weekend of the 'Throbbing Gristle in Derby' photographic exhibition at the Kunst Gallery in Belper, Derbyshire. Over the past 4 weeks the gallery has been open showing the photographs taken by Anita Varney of when Throbbing Gristle performed live in Derby on April 12 1979.  Also on exhibition is ephemera from the gig, posters, press cuttings and other pieces of art by Anita Varney (including a jumper from 1976 that was sold in BOY).
The gallery itself is a small "Nail Shed', Belper used to be Britains main manufacturer of nails before the onset of the Industrial revolution of which Belper played a large part with its' Mills owned by the hosier Jedediah Strutt.

Gallery owner Jonny KGB was at work when Anita walked in with a pile of photographs she had just found in her home that included pictures of Throbbing Gristle live at the Ajanta Cinema in Derby. An idea of an exhibition grew ... Mute Records were not happy - this could not be advertised as anything to do with TG - but the gallery got the blessings of Gen who openly advertised it on his 'social media'.





I took these photographs from the gallery event, but did not want to take any of Anita's work ... her photographs are for sale, packaged in a limited edition of 79 in cassette boxes with a cover design similar to the TG Industrial Records tapes that were part of 'TG24'. These are still available from the Kunst Gallery.


The opening of the exhibition on March 24 was celebrated with performances by Glenn Wallis and Jordi Valls, both old Throbbing Gristle 'crew' from the 1970's. Jordi Valls brought his Vagina Dentata Organ and Glenn performed as Dark Union. The men who brought TG to Derby gave a little explanation to why and how this all happened. Teenage punks trying to bring live music to a dead city in the late 1970's struck a chord with me. The idea of TG in Derby seems to spring from the band Pre-De who rehearsed at a space behind a record shop owned by one of the promoters and wanted to support Throbbing Gristle. The Ajanta Cinema used to be an old 'adult' cinema and strip bar for Derby's Asian community. There's two things I learnt that evening.

With hassle from nearby residents and the local council over gallery content and noise the Kunst Gallery need support, so if you are in the area or need to go somewhere for 'a day out' make it Kunst Gallery Belper - Belper is quite a picturesque town with great walks and gardens.

                                                                        Jordi Valls.

                                                                     Glenn Wallis.

So as of April 15, the exhibition is terminated.


                                                               Jonny at The KGB.

MuhMur Radio Update (Part Deux) ...

  MuhMur Radio will be back on air on MARCH 31 at 18:00 GMT for the first monthly 4 HOUR LIVE Broadcast. Please make a date with the radio...