An excursion into Industrial and Drone music

Having been more or less housebound over the past few days because of the snow, and therefore working at home, I've been expanding my musical horizons by letting lastfm "do its thing" by finding music associated or similar to an artist I select. As usual I've found loads of new and exciting sounds.

I think I entered Cabaret Voltaire to start with, which not only brought up some great tracks from the band across their many years, but also re-introduced me to the likes of Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, Rapoon, Clock DVA and Chris and Cosey.

I have always had a liking for industrial type music, although I know many of these bands dislike the categorisation, but it's not an area I'd really explored much outside of the Nurse With Wound, Throbbing Gristle and Coil 'families'. I've been particularly impressed with the industrial-techno sounds produced by Chris Carter and Robin Storey, and whilst not something I would listen to on a daily basis has provided a pleasant, and sometimes challenging, listening experience.

My web site has a few pages dedicatd to my industrial and drone CDs and records for sale where you'll find Nurse With Wound, Current 93, Coil, Richard H Kirk, etc.

Heaven Up Here?

I once told someone a long, long time ago that Echo and the Bunnymen were my favourite group. I can't remember exactly why I said this as it's usually the sort of question that I avoid as my musical taste jumps all over the place on a daily basis. However, every time I hear one of their songs coming up on lastfm.com I can completely understand why I made that statement. Their fist four albums are all brillinat, with Porcupine probably being my favourite, but curiously though when I look through my top 10, and ever extending worthy contender, list of albums, they don't feature.

I only ever got to see them once, at Gloucester Leisure Centre back some time around 1985 or 1986. I don't remember them being drop-dead brilliant but I do recall a fantastic live cassette I had of their performance at Glastonbury. The whole set was brilliant but of particular note was the version of Do It Clean which jumped all over the place, slipping into Doors' songs amongst others. I'm not sure if I still have the tape but perhaps I'll have to have a look in the attic.

Krautrock and Kosmische

Once again I find myself in re-discovery mode. Today's musical re-discovery is Krautrock or Kosmische. I have a handful of albums by Can, Klaus Schulz, Neu!, Tangerine Dream, Faust, etc., but they generally get very little airtime. However since I discovered last.fm I have started to re-listen to these artists, and thanks to last.fm's ability to come up with similar artists I have now discovered a few bands of that genre who I'd never come across before. My current favourites are Harmonia who I have also discovered that Brian Eno proclaimed to be "the world’s most important rock group", and Cluster. Also getting regular plays have been Guru Guru, Neu!, Popol Vuh and Roedelius.

I must admit however, some of it is not completely to my likeing. Whilst I can normally appreciate a length piece of music that builds up into something spectatcular, I have heard a couple of tracks by the likes of Manuel Gottsching just go on for that bit too long and don't really go anywhere, but overall a pleasing genre and one which I'm hugely enjoying (re)discovering.

Public Image, I Got What I Wanted ... Eventually

I remember that having missed out on buying the Sex Pistols records as they were issued, I was determined to buy the first, and subsequent, records by Public Image Ltd. I rushed out to buy their first single, Public Image, complete with the limited edition newspaper. I then made the bold statement to my friends at school that I would buy everything they ever released. Well, needless to say this didn't happened and I was of course ridiculed. The reason I didn't buy any more was that their next two releases, Death Disco and Memories, were a massive departure from the jumpy punk sound that I was expecting.

So, I kind of wrote them off, perhaps briefly re-awakening for the Flowers of Romance single. So, it's with interest and curiosity that firstly I find them being played on lastfm.com as part of genres and similar to other artists that I like, and secondly that I really like all the tracks I have heard, including those I had an extreme dislike for at the time.

The tracks from their second album, Metal Box, are particularly good and I guess as my musical tastes have broadened over the years, and I'm no longer afraid to declare my love for something which isn't "cool", that I am more susceptible to them now.

I don't have any Public Image Ltd records for sale but I do have a wide range of similar records and CDs for sale.

Porcupine Tree - a real eye opener

I've just been listening to Porcupine Tree following a recommendation by a ex-work colleague. I'd been aware of Steve Wilson previously through his work with Bass Communion, but the Porcupine Tree music couldn't be more different. No sign of the drone, field-recording, type sounds which I'd expected to hear, but great songs and melodies. I'm embarassed to say that I thought it was Guided By Voices when I first heard it. So, not what I expected but I'm very pleased with my new find. I just need to add their recordings to my ever growing wants list - let's hope Santa's feeling generous this year, afterall I have been a very good boy.

All I want for Christmas is a bit more post-punk

December has continued with further exploration of the post-punk era. Tuxedomoon and their offshoots remain high up on my playlist. I've also rediscovered some bands on Factory Records, whose 7" singles I bought at the time, but had long forgotten. These include The Names, Stockholm Monsters, Section 25, and of course A Certain Ratio.

But probably the most enjoyable has been Cabaret Voltaire. I'm currently listening to Yashar and can't get enough of its hypnotic drum beat and chanting. I've kind of discovered Cabaret Voltaire in reverse, starting with Richard H.Kirk's solo material under his various pseudonyms, and then going back in time to his original band.

If anyone's interested I have a few Richard H Kirk and Cabaret Voltaire CDs for sale along with vinyl and CDs from all sorts of musical genre.

I've also "discovered" The Residents. Reading through their history I suspect I am the last person in the world to have come across them, but they are a curiously interesting outfit, worthy of further investigation ... I just need more hours in the day.