Kleistwahr

 

Kleistwahr was the solo project of Gary Mundy which he ran alongside his main band Ramleh. One of the earliest releases on Broken Flag, its first album 'Myth' more than fulfils the promise of the UK’s power electronics scene to fully deliver on punk’s failure to fully liberate rock/roll from the service of generic form. It is massively psychedelic –Ramleh always were the most ‘psych’ focussed of the Broken Flag groups, as their later ‘rock’ albums underline– with a churning miasmic appeal that sounds like it’s devouring several decades of outlaw sound. Later tracks are a little more pugilistic, with electronics that double all over themselves again and again, generating hypnotic matrices of pulse-based melodies and whooshing outer space F/X. Indeed, the degree of obsessive repeat here makes this a minimalist Industrial classic, doing more with a simple set up of electronics and vocals than your favourite goddamn avant orchestra. Parts of this inexplicably reminds of Alan Silva’s electronics on the Celestrial Communication Orchestra’s classic 'The Seasons'. [SOURCE: SOUNDOHM] 

 

Male Rape Group

Male Rape Group was a Power Electronics ‘supergroup’, containing early Whitehouse member, and Consumer Electronics / Ramleh geezer Philip Best, with the founder of Ramleh and Mr Broken Flag records himself, Gary Mundy. Its the standard Come Organisation style racket of skin peeling overloaded electronics and distorted screamed vocals; no doubt screeching about forced non consensual anal sex, murder or Nazis. The perpetrators would no doubt be wearing leather trousers, the odd jackbooted synth abuser standing in the background, and appear to be thoroughly unpleasant chaps. The object of the music, would not be to confront the listener with uncomfortable truths, as they would have us believe; but rather to shock, in an increasingly unshockable world; because they can! There are probably millions of people who would be shocked by this, their plebeian sensibilities offended, leading to angry reactions, and gross acts of violence. This stuff could actually cause a drunken mob of outraged proletarians to start burning books, and opening exhibitions of degenerate art. Then there are the fans who misunderstand this music so much that they begin to believe in what these fellows shout and scream about. Although ideologically dodgy, this 23 minute opus is a very enjoyable, even cathartic, experience; if you like that kind of thing. [SOURCE: DIE OR D.I.Y.?]

Uncommunity

Uncommunity formed as a three piece in spring of 1983. They initially played spontaneous music, but later made power electronics and noise music. The only member who could play a little was Tim Gane, who went on to rock stardom. Other members of the group included Joe Manning, Vince Adams, Dave Brown and someone called Smut. The group were interested in musical alchemy, as they put it, and ran the Black Dwarf label. [SOURCE: TAPE MAG]

Le Syndicat

Le Syndicat, which began operations in 1982, is one of the leading bands of the "industrial" music movement in France and one of the most radically noisy. Formed by Ruelgo and Zyklon B, and later collaborating with visual artists Zorin and Mirka, Le Syndicat issues cassettes published both on their own label, also called Le Syndicat, and foreign labels. Their meeting with Pacific 231 allows him to become familiar with an international network of artists working in the same field of music. However, the group regretted being related to the current "industrial music" which they disapproves, specially due to some political excesses, but rather claims a relationship with Japanese artists such as Merzbow. After the departure of Zorin, the music of Le Syndicat experienced significant change, leaving the field of improvisation to give prominence to electronic beats. During the second half of the 1990's the band enters into hiatus, while Ruelgo develops solo works. Le Syndicat reappeared in 2010 with a brand new album in the label Rotorelief, reconnecting with bruitism, collage and extreme dynamic forms. [SOURCE: LAST.FM] 

Giancarlo Toniutti

 

Starting from free electroacoustic improvisations with Tiziano Dominighini in 1978 (later naming the duo "Airthrob In"), enlarging his palette with a Crumar analog synthesizer in late 1980. Giancarlo Toniutti studied electronic music at the Conservatory in Venice (1982-1985) under Alvise Vidolin. Since 1985 he's worked only with acoustic sound-sources with analog treatments (magnetic tape etc.). His interest in visuals, installations and other art forms has been reflected in many of his works and other phenomena simply defined by Toniutti as "sound sites" as well as projects based on heterogeneous approaches to sonic acoustic materials. He has worked with many artists, including Siegmar Fricke, Andrew Chalk, Conrad Schnitzler and more recently James Wyness. [SOURCE: DISCOGS] 

Jonathan Richman

 

A singer and songwriter who has stubbornly (and joyfully) followed his muse in a career that began in the early '70s, Jonathan Richman started out as a primitive proto-punk bandleader under the influence of The Velvet Underground who would eventually mature into an acoustic balladeer, and who sang his spare, passionate tunes in Spanish as often as in English. In the middle, Richman was known for his purposefully naive music that reveled in a childlike love of the world around him, emphasized by a voice that was by turns craggy and adenoidal. While the initial lineup of Richman's band The Modern Lovers (as documented on the album 'The Modern Lovers') would often be cited as a precursor to the first wave of punk, Richman would abandon their aggressive sound and, with his second run with a new Modern Lovers, would emphasize acoustic instruments and playful tunes like "Ice Cream Man" and "I'm a Little Aeroplane" on 1977's 'Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers' and 1979's 'Back in Your Life'. As he stepped out as a solo artist in the '80s, Richman's music retained its simplicity, but he adopted the electric guitar and matured as a writer, producing idiosyncratic but smartly crafted sets of songs like 1983's 'Jonathan Sings' and 1989's 'Jonathan Richman'. 1994's 'Jonathan, Te Vas a Emocionar!' was the first of several albums where he would indulge his fascination with the Spanish language, and he experimented with polished pop production (courtesy of Ric Ocasek) on 1998's 'I'm So Confused'. In the 2000s, Richman's songwriting became more explicitly poetic as he relied more on acoustic instrumentation, as on 2004's 'Not So Much to Be Loved as to Love' and 2008's 'Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild'. Richman continued exploring new musical avenues in the 2010s, experimenting with Latin sounds on 2016's 'Ishkode! Ishkode!' and ragas on 2018's 'Sa', though his songs remained as sincere and open hearted as the day he first picked up a guitar. 

 

 

Jonathan Richman was born in Natick, Massachusetts on May 16, 1951. He took up the guitar when he was 15, and was soon playing in public for his friends. Richman discovered the music of The Velvet Underground, who were a popular live act in nearby Boston, and became a passionate fan, moving to New York City in 1969 to be closer to his favorite band, even crashing in the office of their manager for a while. Richman worked odd jobs while he tried to break into the New York music scene, but he couldn't find an audience for his straightforward songs and quirky vocal style, and by 1970 he was back in Massachusetts. He quickly formed a band that fused his love of the Velvets with his own take on rock & roll, and soon recruited guitarist John Felice, bassist Rolfe Anderson, and drummer David Robinson, calling his group The Modern Lovers. Playing their first gig in September 1970, The Modern Lovers played purposefully simple rock & roll songs that dealt with life and relationships with plainspoken passion. Richman also ran counter to the traditional image of a rock star: He cut his hair short and dressed simply, sometimes wearing a suit and tie when he really wanted to go against the grain. Felice and Anderson left the band in early 1971 (Felice would go on to form the Boston punk outfit The Real Kids), and they were replaced by Ernie Brooks on bass and Jerry Harrison (later to join The Talking Heads) on keyboards. The Modern Lovers attracted a loyal following in Boston, and record labels were soon scouting the band. In 1972, they cut a handful of demos for Warner Bros. and A&M Records (the former with John Cale as producer), and while neither label would commit to the band, the recordings would later be collected for the group's first album, 'The Modern Lovers', released by Beserkley in 1976. (Another set of demos, produced by Kim Fowley in 1973, would be released in 1981 as 'The Original Modern Lovers'.)

By the time the demos collection came out, The Modern Lovers had broken up, and Richman had formed a new group he dubbed Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers. The new band eased back on the blunt, electric sound of The Modern Lovers' demos in favor of a lighter, more acoustic-oriented approach that suited the playful, childlike tone his songs had adopted. Featuring Leroy Radcliffe on guitar, Greg "Curly" Keranen on bass, and David Robinson on drums, this edition of The Modern Lovers would cut a self-titled album for Beserkley that also appeared in 1976, while a second LP, 'Rock 'n' Roll with the Modern Lovers', followed in 1977, with D. Sharpe replacing David Robinson, who would go on to play in The Cars. 1977 also saw the release of 'Modern Lovers Live', which documented another lineup change, as Asa Brebner took over on bass from Keranen. The lineup from 'Live' cut a studio album, 'Back in Your Life', that appeared in 1979, but by the time Richman returned with 1983's 'Jonathan Sings' (his first major-label release, for Sire), he had an entirely new band, including Ken Forfia (keyboards), Michael Guardabascio (drums), Beth Harrington (vocals), Greg "Curly" Keranen (bass), and Ellie Marshall (vocals). Most of the same crew returned for 1985's 'Rockin' and Romance', which was initially going to be his second album for Sire, but was instead issued by the independent Twin/Tone label. Andy Paley produced the LP, and he returned for 1986's 'It's Time For'; this time around, Richman handled sax as well as guitar and vocals, and Paley and Asa Brebner took on the rest of the instrumental duties. 'Modern Lovers'88' was a short (less than 30 minutes) and sweet acoustic effort, with Richman's guitar and sax joined by Brennen Totten on guitar and Johnny Avila on drums. 

 

 

As Richman's Modern Lovers had become less of a coherent unit and more a blanket name for his various backing musicians, Jonathan retired the handle, and 1989's 'Jonathan Richman' was a true solo effort; except for two tracks, it reflected Richman's new live performance style, in which his Fender Stratocaster was his only accompaniment. Richman took a creative detour on 1990's 'Jonathan Goes Country'; featuring Richman originals along with some C&W covers, the album was cut in Missouri with the celebrated roots rockers The Skeletons. 1992's 'I, Jonathan' was cut with a handful of friends in a makeshift home studio, while 1994's 'Jonathan, Te Vas a Emocionar!' found Richman recording an entire album in Spanish for the first time, with the track list divided between original tunes translated into Spanish, and Mexican and Spanish folk numbers. Around this time, Richman adopted a new strategy for his live shows, in which he moved over to acoustic guitars and performed alongside drummer Tommy Larkins, who had previously worked with Giant Sand. 1995's 'You Must Ask the Heart' proved to be the last album in Richman's long association with Rounder Records, and 1996's 'Surrender to Jonathan', in which he re-recorded several of his favorite tunes with producer Andy Paley, was his first release for Vapor Records, an imprint founded by Neil Young. 

 

Fellow Bostonian Ric Ocasek stepped in to produce Richman's second album for Vapor, 1998's 'I'm So Confused', which gave him a glossier pop sound than he had ever enjoyed in the past. That same year, Richman enjoyed a serious career boost when he and Larkins appeared in the hit film "There's Something About Mary", popping up occasionally to sing songs that commented on the story and the characters. Between the film and Richman's occasional appearances on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", a new audience was discovering Richman as his music was taking on a new level of lyrical maturity. 2001's 'Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eye Shadow' and 2004's 'Not So Much to Be Loved as to Love' both featured Richman and Larkins joined by multi-instrumentalist Ralph Carney, and along with the subtle and dynamic arrangements, Richman's voice and lyrics sounded thoughtful and adult in a new way. (Both were also multi-lingual efforts; the second side of the vinyl edition of 'Her Mystery' was entirely in Spanish, while 'Not So Much to Be Loved' featured tracks in both Spanish and French.) Filmmaker Miles Matthew Montalbano invited Richman to compose the score for his film "Revolution Summer", and the soundtrack album, released in 2007, would be Richman's first all-instrumental release. The Spanish Munster label issued 2009's '¿A Qué Venimos Sino a Caer?', which included four new selections and eight previously released tracks that found Richman singing in Spanish, French, Italian, and English. The same year, Richman dabbled in production, as he and Larkins oversaw the sessions for 'Skitter on Take-Off' by Vic Chesnutt, who had toured with Richman several times. 2010's 'O Moon, Queen of Night on Earth' was another low-key, multi-lingual effort that would prove to be Richman's last release for Vapor Records. Live work would occupy Richman for the next several years, but in 2016, the independent Blue Arrow label ended his recording drought with the album 'Ishkode! Ishkode!', which found him working with various styles of Latin music. Two years later, Richman took inspiration from Indian ragas for the LP 'Sa'; the material was produced by his former Modern Lovers bandmate Jerry Harrison. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

 

ZNR

 

ZNR was a Avant-Prog French duo that consisted of composer Hector Zazou and Joseph Racaille both on keys, vocals and on some guitars, reeds and violins by special guest musicians. The band played short, odd songs with bizarre titles similar to that of their main inspiration, Erik Satie. Their main style was that of a chamber rock band with quirky flourishes spread throughout their music. The duo released two albums, one in 1976 titled 'Barricade 3' and one in 1978 called 'Traite De Mecanique Populaire', before disbanding. Their first album was dominated by synth with their second was nearly entirely acoustic. They are highly recommended to fans of Samla Mammas Manna and the more unusual side of Chamber Rock. [SOURCE: PROG ARCHIVES]

 

Kaka De Luxe

Kaka de Luxe was a punk band founded in Madrid at the end of 1977 and composed by Fernando Márquez "El Zurdo", Manolo Campoamor, Carlos Berlanga, Enrique Sierra, Alaska and Nacho Canut. They started as a group of cartoonists and fanzine people in 1977 and later on they thought about the idea of forming a group to get money, a punk rock band. 

In 1978 the band recorded an EP with four songs, entitled 'Kaka de Luxe'. In 1982, after the dissolution of the band founded by Fernando Márquez, Paraíso, the label released an EP entitled 'Kaka de Luxe/Paraíso' collecting six songs from the two bands. In 1983 the Chapa Discos and Zafiro labels decided to release an album with all the songs and demos of Kaka de Luxe named 'Las Canciones Malditas'.

The band rejoined at the request of Paloma Chamorro for the TVE show "La Edad de Oro". Kaka de Luxe was a breeding ground for some of the most representative characters of the Madrid scene, such as the plastic artist Manolo Campoamor who together with Alaska, Carlos Berlanga and Nacho Canut formed Alaska y Los Pegamoides and later Alaska y Dinarama. Nacho Canut formed with Eduardo Benavente Paralisis Permanente. Fernando Márquez led Paraíso and La Mode. Enrique Sierra, Manolo Campoamor and Carlos Berlanga with Javier Furia and Herminio Molero created the germ of what would become Radio Futura, although only Enrique would join the first official formation. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA] 

The Heartbreakers

Shortly after the disintegration of The New York Dolls in 1975, guitarist Johnny Thunders and drummer Jerry Nolan formed The Heartbreakers (not to be confused with Tom Petty's Heartbreakers). The original lineup consisted of the duo plus former Television bassist Richard Hell. The group played regularly in New York City, becoming part of the early CBGB punk scene. Thunders assumed the vocal duties, while the music was quite comparable to the trashy rock that the Dolls patented, except that just about every song was about either the pursuit of the opposite sex or drugs (all the bandmembers were addicted to hard drugs, so much so that at one point, Thunders considered changing the band's name to "the Junkies"). 

Hell's tenure in the band didn't last long, especially when it became clear that Thunders was the leader of the group, and there would be little room for Hell's original compositions (he would soon resurface as the leader of Richard Hell & the Voidoids). Taking Hell's place in the group was Billy Rath, and a second guitarist, Walter Lure, was welcomed aboard as well. Although The Heartbreakers didn't have a recording contract, they were offered a slot as part of the Anarchy Tour (alongside such Dolls disciples as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Damned) in the U.K. during the fall of 1976. The tour was banned at most dates due to the public's preconceived notion of punk, but it succeeded in creating a buzz overseas for The Heartbreakers, resulting in a recording contract with the Track label. 

The group's debut album, 1977's 'L.A.M.F.' (short for the phrase "Like a Mother F*cker"), failed to catapult Thunders and his cohorts to the same commercial heights that the other bands on the Anarchy Tour were enjoying, but has subsequently gone on to become one of punk's all-time classics, spawning the drug abuse anthem 'Chinese Rocks' (a song co-penned by the Ramones' bassist, Dee Dee Ramone). The quartet's hard-living lifestyle quickly began to take its toll on the group, as they split shortly thereafter, but they would reunite from time to time over the years, right up until Thunders' drug-related death in 1991 (with Nolan following his longtime partner in crime to the grave in 1992). Numerous live Heartbreakers CDs have been issued over the years (such as 'Live at Max's Kansas City '79', 'Live at the Lyceum Ballroom 1984', and 'What Goes Around', plus a remixed version of their debut, retitled 'L.A.M.F. Revisited', among countless others), as well as a video/DVD that documented a 1984 reunion show in England, 'Dead or Alive'. Guitarist Walter Lure died on August 22, 2020, after a brief struggle with cancer; he was 71 years old. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

XXOO

XXOO, also known as We Are They Who Ache With Amorous Love was a Half Japanese short-lived related band formed by David Fair (Drums, Bass), brother of Jad Fair, John Dreyfuss (Percussion [Chimes, Wood Block]), Mark Jickling (Guitar, Bass), and Jad Fair (Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Bass). Jad Fair is a pioneering musician and a world-famous outsider artist. He is best known as the co-founder and front man for the band Half Japanese. His recording credits include collaborations with Moe Tucker, Daniel Johnston, Kramer, Yo La Tengo and Teenage Fanclub. Jad's artwork is featured on a few of these collaborative efforts and on most of the Half Japanese recordings. His paintings and paper cuttings have been exhibited in Glasgow, New York, Melbourne, Toronto, Berlin, Brighton, Austin, and San Francisco.