Sunday 18 February 2018

MuhMur Radio Broadcast 15 February 2015.


Another cold, clear, crispy and starry night with the barking of geese and the hooting of owls with the distant sound of trains, I love walking through the Dartington Estate Woods on the way to the radio station. The days are getting longer though ... it won't be long before I leave the reflective tabard at home.

A grab bag of sounds featuring the latest release from Psychic TV. Cold Spring Records have re-issued the 1989 LP "Kondole - Ov Dolphins And Whales". A single album has grown into a double CD and DVD package. A bonus track of "Thee Shadow Creatures" and a 48 minute version of "Dead Cat" are added along with the film "Dead Cat" which featured Genesis P-Orridge and Derek Jarman. The original LP is one of my PTV favourites and this release just extends the sonic excellence. Recommended. A couple of CD's that were released towards the end of last year and totally passed me by arrived at MuhMur HQ earlier this month. "Moraine" by Splintered is another re-issue. Originally released as a vinyl LP in 1996 by German label Suggestion Records, "Moraine " is now a three track CD with "Moraine One : Flagellum Dei" surviving from the original release. The track "Moraine Two : Humayun" has been remixed by Stuart Carter and Sion Organ and not for the better in my opinion. Steve Pittis and his Band Of Pain have remixed the whole LP into a five minute mesh of madness. The CD has been released by Fourth Dimension Records.
Sutcliffe Jugend first appeared in 1982 with the "Campaign" cassette on Come Organisation. The they kind of stopped as Kevin Tomkins joined Whitehouse. The classic Whitehouse line-up of Tomkins / Bennett / Best. The next time I came across Kevin Tomkins was with the project Bodychoke and the 1994 album "Mindshaft" on Freek Records. A sound that isn't too far from what Ramleh, Skullflower and Splintered were achieving at the time, although different because Bodychoke were using cello and autoharp to build the sonics and lyrics of utter despair. Bodychoke were like a progression of (the old 4AD Records band) Mass. Like Freek Records Bodychoke faded away in the late 1990's. Ten years ago there was a suggestion that Dieter Müh should play live with Sutcliffe Jugend in London, so I mailed some CD's to Sutcliffe Jugend member Paul Taylor and in return he mailed me their latest offerings: "Pig Daddy" and "Fall Of Nature". The sound didn't appeal and the live project fell by the wayside .. I kind of left SJ alone until Hagshadow Records mailed the CD "Shame". Rather like hearing "Mindshaft" for the first time, the sound just blew me away - keep cranking up the volume just another notch ... the vitriolic rantings of Tomkins set against the droning wall of angry noise is pure poetry. I will have to go back and give the 2008 output another listen.
Available at : http://hagshadow.net

                                                     Sutcliffe Jugend/Come Org badge.

Another Hagshadow release that came out on Valentines Day this year is the 6 Comm / Hexas 7" "The Torture Gardeners". The single features two 'Retro Club 6' remixes, "The Torture Gardeners" being a dark wave version of the Death In June classic "The Torture Garden". I played the B-Side.

42º 33'04.7ºN  23º 45'18.1ºE "A Forest" is a hidden track on the new MyTrip/Valerinne cassette Ahead Is A Barren Land". The cassette has one track from MyTrip and two from the Post-Rock outfit Valerinne (who sound like a Romanian U2 to my ears). As by the rules of the DJ Handbook I was honour bound to play The Cure's "A Forest" straight afterwards.
A couple of days before broadcast and the Hive Mind & Aaron Dilloway single sided 12" "Forgotten Thirst" arrived at MuhMur HQ. Rearranged the playlist to fit it in .. a great slice of tape manipulations, looping and droning which brought to mind the Hive Mind & John Wiese 10" which I finished the broadcast on. Astute ears will note that "...Trick Satanism" starts at 33rpm but gradually slows down to @8 rpm by the end ... I was playing with the speed dial.

                                                             "Forgotten Thirst" 12".

This broadcast saw the return of "on this day" with the great Crass 7" "Nagasaki Nightmare". Also not quite on this day but worth remembering, February 5th was William Burroughs' 104th birthday.
Please take a listen here: (Copy & Paste).
https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-soundart-radio-broadcast-15-february-2018/

Playlist:
01: Psychic TV : "Dead Cat (Short Version)" (Cold Spring Records) 2018.
02: Michael Barthel : "Whiteholes" (GerauschManufaktur) 2017.
03: Crass : "Nagasaki Nightmare" (Crass Records) 1980.
04: Splintered : "Moraine One:Flagellum Dei" (Fourth Dimension Records) 2017.
05: Sutcliffe Jugend : "Blood" (Hagshadow) 2017.
06: William S. Burroughs : "Interview With Mr. Martin" (Sub Rosa) 2009.
07: Hexas : "Beneath The Sin" (Hagshadow) 2018.
08: Death In June : "The Torture Garden" (New European Recordings) 1984.
09: 42º 33'04.7ºN. 23º 45'18.1ºE : "A Forest" (Not On Label) 2018.
10: The Cure : "A Forest" (Fiction Records/Polydor Records) 1980.
11: Splintered/Band Of Pain : "Moraine Chase (Receding Cap Mix)" (Fourth Dimension Records) 2017.
12: Die Sibirische Zelle : Knechte Des Tourismus" (90% Wasser) 2005.
13: Hive Mind & Aaron Dilloway : "Forgotten Thirst" (Hanson Records/Chondritic Sound) 2005.
14: Hive Mind + John Wiese : "...Trick Satanism" (Chondritic Sound) 2006.

It was a busy time in the studio with a visit from Tony and Nathan from 'Wildlife Disco'. They were in town to discuss tactics about their next live actions and go to a book launch and reading. "Owl Sense" by Miriam Darlington is now available from all good book shops.

                                                                   Nathan Carter.
                                                       Tony 'As Seen On TV' Whitehead.
                                                                      Dave Mutch.

Next programme is on March 1st. Same time, same channel just a different pair of socks.

Saturday 3 February 2018

MuhMur Radio Broadcast 1 February 2018.


The first time I heard "Rock n' Roll Station" was on the album of the same name by Nurse With Wound. It would have been early 1997, I was recording at the I.C. Studios in Tollerton North Yorkshire with Colin Potter at the controls and he was mentioning albums that had been recorded there, Nurse With Wound's "Rock n' Roll Station" being one of them. To be honest I had left NWW behind back in the 1980's with the "Sucked Orange" and M.T.T. split LP which I didn't care for much.  "Rock n' Roll Station" rejuiced me for getting back with the nurse. I didn't know it was a cover version until a couple of years later and Mick McDaid (of Outsider Records) gave me a tape with the Jac Berrocal track on it. And now there is the Kostis Kilymis version. Recorded live at cafe OTO, London, on January 6 this year. The track is available on Kostis's Soundcloud page but he kindly gave MuhMur Radio a CDR copy to play on the radio.
For more Kostis please go here : https://soundcloud.com/kostiskilymis
So for this programme I decided to play all 4 versions of the track that I have ... well that was the idea but (unfortunately) I failed with the Jac Berrocal / Façade version ... it comes from the 10" mini-LP picture disc on Alga Marghen and I slipped the needle on the wrong groove and what I play is the end of the piece ... the 'call to prayer' section. Nevermind - I also started to play the Helm track "Blue Scene" at the wrong speed ... but I don't think anyone noticed!
So, knowing I was going to play "Rock n' Roll Station" a few times as well as tracks from the new Helm 12" EP that arrived a few days earlier I built a playlist strong on rhythm, very unlike  a 'regular' broadcast. Comments came through later that they thought they'd tuned into the wrong station! Proof that my music collection is varied, methinks ...
Slow Hand Motēm track comes from the compilation LP "Tropical Heat Volume 2" on the Dutch MYOR label. Slow Hand Motēm is Canadian and a pioneer of Skweee. MYOR release a lot of Skweee.

                                                      'High Performance Issue #23' LP.

Bob & Bob are performance artists from Beverly Hills, USA. "Rotterbobs" comes from the compilation (double) album "High Performance - Issue #23 - The Record" on High Performance Records. "Rotterbobs" would be called 'skweee' these days, but 'skweee' wasn't around in 1983. I am interested in hearing more Bob & Bob if anyone has any old vinyl records or tapes. They released a 7" on Polygram in 1983. Please contact me via this blog if you know where I can get a copy.
Another artist (as prolific as Nurse With Wound) who I sort of lost interest in during the 1980's is Muslimgauze. The first hearings of "Buddhist On Fire" album and the two singles "Hammer & Sickle" and "Hunting Out With An Aerial Eye" had me as an instant 'fan'. By 1987 / 1988 albums were coming thick and fast and being on the dole in Manchester it was hard to spend cash on vinyl. Muslimgauze records were not cheap back then. The chaps at Eastern Bloc Records used to play them in their shop in Affleck's Palace and they were becoming similar so (like I mentioned) I began to lose interest. "Untitled" comes from the compilation CD "A Putrid Oasis" that is included in the book "Chasing The Shadow Of Bryn Jones" by Ibrahim Khider. Vinyl On Demand have done a great job with re-issuing the early sound of Muslimgauze and has relighted my interest in his sound.

                                                                 Muslimgauze Book.

Horizon 222 were a 90's project comprised of Ben Ponton and Andy Eardley of Soviet France and Andy Seymour of Ingleton Falls, whereas Delayer is Andy Eardley's solo project. "Can We Feel ...?" is from a 7" on the Austrian Klangalerie label.

Last week of January and I am chatting with my good friend Simon Kane and he mentions he is doing 'something' with Andrew W-K. I had no idea who Andrew W-K was so I googled him ... turns out Andrew W-K is rather a large rock "star" with his "Party Hard" anthem. He is touring the UK over easter and was in the UK in January to do some promotional work and 'motivational speaking'. The very next day after chatting with Simon Andrew W-K was on BBC Radio6 talking about is "Party Hard" manifesto - it's not necessary to live your dreams when your dreams live you .. or some such. Simon then mentioned Andrew had released stuff in the 1990's on Hanson Records and recorded with Aaron Dilloway and Wolf Eyes under the name of Andrew Wilkes-Krier, and then I discover he is on the "Labyrinths & Jokes" compilation album that came out on Hanson Records in 1998 .. and I have a copy. Not to be outdone by BBC Radio6 I decided to add Andrew W-K to the playlist. I still have no idea what Simon and Andrew were doing together.


Helm is the solo project of Luke Younger, one of the busiest people in experimental music with global touring, a radio show on NTS in London, operating the label Alter and playing a mean bass guitar with Hardcore Thrash outfit The Lowest Form. Last week saw the release of the 12"EP "World In Action Remixes" on Alter, a companion to the "World In Action" 12"EP released by the Trilogy Tapes in 2017.
I think everyone I know was upset by the passing of Mark E Smith on January 24th with myself included. I stopped buying Fall records sometime around the "Hex Enduction" / "Room To Live" period, dipping in once a twice when I took fancy to a single like "Bremen Nacht" and "Free Range".
I did meet Mark once. Just the once although he was a familiar face around Manchester pubs & clubs in the 1980's. After the release of "Live At The Witch Trials" album I started writing 'fan' mail to The Fall and there began a correspondence with Craig Scanlon. "Dragnet" was being recorded around this time. Back in them days letters started with name, address and telephone number in the top right hand corner. "Dragnet" was released and a tour began with D.A.F. as support. November 1979 and I am sat at home in the afternoon and the 'phone rings. It's Kay Carroll of The Fall! Craig had told her I was 'in a band' called Collide and would we like to support The Fall in Retford as D.A.F. had dropped off the tour due to angry reception from the audiences. Within hours we were at The Porterhouse in Retford sound checking and hanging with The Fall. Collide didn't fair better than D.A.F. that night. The DJ introduced as "From Lincoln" and from then on we were doomed. Mark thought we were a mod band because John (guitar / vocals) played a blood red Rickenbacker. We got paid £25 and given a big lump of Red Leb for our troubles.
There's no "On This Day" in this broadcast - I could have slipped in The Leyton Buzzards single "Saturday Night Beneath The Plastic Palm Trees", but it didn't seem to fit anywhere. Instead I pay passing tribute to Skullflower who released the great "Birthdeath" 12" on Broken Flag in January 1988. 30 years ago.

Please take a listen here : (Copy & Paste) :
https://www.mixcloud.com/muhsteve/muhmur-radio-soundart-radio-broadcast-february-1-2018/

Playlist:
01: Kostis Kilymis : "Rock n' Roll Station (Live)" (Not On Label) 2018.
02: Jac Berrocal & The Bad Boys : "Ain't She Sweet" (Alga Marghen) 1999.
03: Slow Hand Motēm : "Boom Respekt Boom" (MYOR) 2010.
04: Bob & Bob : "Rotterbobs" (High Performance Records) 1983.
05: Jac Berrocal : "Rock n' Roll Station" (Megaphone Records) 1993.
06: Muslimgauze : "Untitled" (Vinyl On Demand) 2014.
07: Horizon 222 : "Prisoner Of Faith (Con Spiritos)" (ZZO Recordings) 1993.
08: Delayer : "Can You Feel ...?" (Klangalerie) 2004.
09: M Ax Noi Mach : "American Child" (Alter) 2016.
10: Nurse With Wound : "Rock n' Roll Station" (United Dairies) 1994.
11: Astral Social Club : "Stig 'Fucking' Anderson" (Neon Blossom Records) 2010.
12: Psychic TV : "Just Like Arcadia" (Sacred Bones/Dais Records) 2017.
13: Current 93 : "The Blue Gates Of Death (Before And Beyond Them)" (Shock) 1991.
14: Andrew Wilkes-Krier : "Untitled" (Hanson Records) 2003.
15: Jac Berrocal/Façade : "Rock n' Roll Station (Edit)" (Alga Marghen) 1999.
16: Chris & Cosey : "Put Yourself In Los Angeles" (Wax Trax! Records) 1990.
17: Shriekback : "Here Comes My Hand-Clap" (Y Records) 1982.
18: Helm : "Blue Scene (Parris Remix)" (Alter) 2018.
19: Helm : "Candy (Low Jack Remix)" (Alter) 2018.
20: The Fall : "I'm Into C.B." (Kamera Records) 1982.
21: Skullflower : "Birthdeath (Remix)" (Shock) 1990.

The last voice you hear is that of Dave Mutch!

Next programme is on February 15. Same time, same channel + probably same T-Shirt....

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...