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Impressive material
from 1984, re-mastered and re-issued in fine form. Yes, it’s an unholy
collaboration. This segment of English underground is not quite in my
line, but I do like the pedigree of this odd artefact, a very distinct,
if disquieting, listening experience… negative, almost anonymous,
automated noise-art. It both baffles and repels. I certainly found it
getting under my skin in about 10-15 minutes, and that’s more than you
can say for a dose of Nurofen. Genuinely primitive looped tapes
(this use of loops is inspired) and something approximating sex magick
in its grungy, repetitious abstractions. Very redolent of ‘that’
period and a rare vintage from that genuine UK underground cru.
Insistent, obsessive repetition; it made England what it is today! The
Sound Projector
Historically
potent reissue of some early, brutally primitive collaborative void from
TNB, Coil and Vortex Campaign. Coil are in their early Zos Kia/Coil
crossover mode generating some wild spectral energy via looped vocal
trance and spooked auroral tones while TNB generate huge boulders of
cracked fuzz. Great examples of Equinox era Punk-primitive electronic
ritual, a trip back to a period of wildly accelerated underground
activity. Volcanic Tongue
The sound generated
by the three acts together is not the overloaded blitz of each act
trying to make itself heard. In fact, it is fairly muted. The results
are rather like being dragged through miles of subterranean pipes:
linear, dark and claustrophobic. And that’s not a criticism. The
muffled shriek and shudder of tape loop hiss accumulate like silt,
obscuring the distant, filtered source sounds. Occasionally some
sonorous sheet-metal percussion reveals itself, or something that might
once have been identifiable as a voice, but the textures are
predominantly gritty and indeterminate. The Wire
On
one hand surprising, on the other hand not (when you consider who TNB
have collaborated with recently.) The fact that Coil are involved is
surprising as they were never that close to the Noise scene. This was
originally released in 1984 when the world was uncomplicated and all
music could be categorised without pangs of conscience into Punk,
Industrial, etc. The degraded noise loops sound like they were
constructed in a large hall only for some to burst close, shaking into a
rhythmic sound wall, revealing the inherent evil in the machines. De:Bug
In
1984, the (for me) obscure Belgian group Vortex Campaign invited two now
legendary groups TNB and Coil to collaborate. This resulted in two long
tracks on which the three acts join forces. As you would expect from
these early Industrial pioneers, the music is not very accessible. The
two untitled collaborations are quite noisy, with repetitive loops,
scraping industrial sounds and droning backgrounds with a quiet ritual
end result. It’s not typical Coil stuff, it sounds more like their
previous incarnation, Zos Kia. I find especially the more powerful and
rhythmic second piece very hypnotic and fascinating, great
unconventional music fuelled by raw energy. Funprox
Both
TNB and Coil began in the early ‘80s and have since become major
players in their specific musical territories. This re-release of a
cassette from 1984 features two collaborative tracks between both bands
together with the obscure Vortex Campaign. The two tracks are familiar
terrain for TNB but certainly shine new light on the formative years of
Coil, as this is pretty far away from their debut Scatalogy LP
which was released the same year, and probably comes closer in spirit to
Zos Kia. It’s a nice curiosity to hear Coil from a different and
slightly unexpected angle. Vital
Originally
released as a cassette in an edition of 50, this gathers the sonic
experiments of early TNB, Coil and Vortex Campaign. If you know the
early Coil material such as ‘S Is For Sleep’ or the Zos Kia / Coil
tape, well, this sounds completely different and makes you realise what
sound experimentation was like back in the ‘80s. The sound collage,
son of the cut-up experiments of Burroughs, finds the three bands in a
magmatic performance made of clanging, metallic feedback, echoed
percussives and what sounds like hell on earth. This is your chance to
discover the roots of Industrial music. Chain DLK
I
was very curious what to expect from these ancient recordings. The music
is not as inaccessible as I expected and the re-mastering is done very
well. The tracks are not typical Coil music, only occasionally when
voice or percussion is used a bit of Coil seeps through. It would
probably have been more logical for Zos Kia or Annie Anxiety to have
contributed than Coil. A sonic treasure. Vanleeuwen
Continually
unsteady but never off-balance in its blend of sketchy loops, brittle
high-end twitchings and overcast ambient touches. For such distinct
collaborative identities (fleshed out by over twenty years of subsequent
work) the end result is remarkably coherent, particularly on the second
track as the sound contributions start to pile up and could easily have
led to a blathering, scrambled mess. The sampling touches, hammered
metals, persistent rhythms and tape/vinyl manipulations could easily
have strayed the second track awry but instead the sound combination,
segues and editing all make sense – not an easy task. The end
concoction is rarely urgent, dynamic or forceful, rather the tracks
explore the strange pastiche of sounds which occurs, gentle tides of
timbral movement ensuring stagnancy is avoided. This will perhaps leave
many – particularly Coil devotees – confused, but it should be
remembered that this documents what was really intended as a minor part
of each party’s early development. Keep that in mind and this is a
fascinating insight into now more well-founded noise/experimental
identities. Night Scence
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