Stanlow Crickets – "Navigation Of Loplop" (Sound Of Pig – SOP #144) 1988

This bloke called Philip Seifert is responsible for this ,undoubtedly with the assistance of Al Margolis one would assume,it being on his Sound Of Pig cassette label.

Kerazzy musique concréte,with liberal use of a second hand emulator to blind the less informed with yesterdays science.

Yeah it gets on yer Tits,but somebody out there who was locked in a cupboard for their early adulthood will find this very novel indeed.

Its certainly fun to listen to the cutting edge of low budget sound technology in 1988,especially by persons who were thankfully clueless as to what those charming,....and this part is satirical,so don't cancel me,.... coloured gentlemen,... were doing with the same kit in Chicago and Detroit at the same time.....ie, stuff like this with a marching beat and a lot of electronic squelching noises stuffed in there....("Acid House is two minutes and 30 seconds of squelching noises" said an anonymous wag in 1988,rather like John Lydon's description of the sex act a decade earlier?...ok,rumbled....it was me wot said it,about five minutes ago!Ok?

As I notice that Jeremy Clarkson got cancelled by Jeff Bozos this morning for saying this very Die Or Diy observation on the subject of the lovely Megan Markle....i will repeat:

"At night, I'm unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, 'Shame!' and throw lumps of excrement at her." ....couldn't have possibly put it better myself.

The axe is being wielded for offense givers such as we and he,as one heads in a runaway bus towards the dull and sinister world of terminal fucking boredom during the horrors of the oncoming 'Nice' revolution....the exact opposite of Skullflowers superb "Exquisite Fucking Boredom" album (up next),but something more akin to "La Terreur" after the first bit of the French Revolution;except in that terror, you could still make a joke and survive.

Yes i did say 'Charming Coloured Gentlemen'...soon to be a capital offence punishable by forcing this smart arse to clean out the latrines of the Re-education centers that were once our homes.My father did the same thing during his incarceration by the Nazi's in World War 2, cleaning out the 'twenty holer',as he put it, latrine in the POW Camp.

The old newspeak word 'Degenerate' will be replaced with the Nadsat friendly term,'Offensive' in the realms of art and entertainment.

But at least the Nazi's oganized sn exhibition before they burnt it.Hide your hard-drives in a lead lined box before the "Great Erasure"....no,not the pop duo, the satellite Erasure beam that will cleanse the earth of anything Offensive.The Year Zero of Nice. 

Tracklist:

A1 Messy's Alarm Cock
A2 Furniture Cornices
A3 Ocelot Acrobat
A4 Passage To Dadaville
A5 Hebjirma
A6 A Pigeon Flies Against A Fish
A7 Mala Baka Haka
A8 Absorbing Roots Of Rest
A9 Radiophonics
A10 Scaffolds In The Collapsed Lung
A11 Preparation Of Glue From Bones
A12 Epoxy Faced Bison
A13 Dugong
A14 Distressed Goresa In A Plaid Tie
A15 Basket, Bottle, And Wallpaper
A16 Cacomixtle
B1 The Naivete Of Slirpin Serpents
B2 Intentions Of The Heel
B3 Slivery Moths Apply Their Makeup
B4 Birdman Gets A Bismuth Bath
B5 Slivery Moths Reach For Hands
B6 Thirsty Rain Doves
B7 Lustre
B8 Loplop Eats A Banana
B9 Wireless Sidesteps

B10 Outro

DOWNLOAD before offence is taken HERE!

Nails Øv Christ ‎– "Punishment Is Correction" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 58) 1987

Some more dark industrial ambient, with a healthy splash of power electronics, from Grey Wolves stalwarts Trevor Ward and David Padbury. 
Their second release on Al Margolis' prolific Sound Of Pig label.
Its standard Zoviet France/ Lustmord style Dark and fuzzy Ambient gloom, but naturally, not as good as either of those two originators of this brand of Industrial music.Its like being lost in the smog around the Industrial zone near where Mary's parents live in Eraserhead.

Tracklist:

1 Thou Art My God
2 Float Under Ice
3 Onward!
4 Slavery Once Again

DOWNLOAD or be corrected HERE!

Nails Øv Christ ‎– "Dark Night Of The Soul" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 20) 1985

From the dark satanic mills of Amesbury in Wiltshire, who's principle point of interest is that its slap bang next to Stonehenge.
This rural idyll is hardly the place you'd expect a dark Industrial ambient recording artist to produce his work. With its rolling countryside, picturesque cottages, and ancient monuments. Should be called something like Agricultural Noir or Dark Rural; but, I suppose, going by the name of this project, the main emphasis is on the unknown,and imagined, forces of nature and the supernatural. What better place to be to tune into these ley lines of dark energy, than that amplified by the edifices of that Victorian creation, Stonehenge or,......i'm trying desperately not to make any Spinal Tap references here......Stone 'enge......(whoops!).
Trevor, makes much more power electronic flavoured stuff with The Grey Wolves, where standard Industrial subject matter forces its way back to the fore (eg Nazi's,Racism, Nazi's and more Nazi's).
Where the fingernails of Christ are dragged down a blackboard and amplified.
This dark Ambient side of the great Trevor is a much more interesting experience.

Track Listing:

Side A (15:31)
Side B (15:07)

DOWNLOAD christs' holy toenail clippings HERE!

Bored Young Men ‎– "Is Crude OK?" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 122) 1988

Shifting along the vast Sound Of Pig roster from the certified intellectualism of Joseph Nechvatal, to the intellectual Synth Pop of the excellently branded 'Bored Young Men'. This is Synth Pop, American Style,devoid of the sex of European and UK synth pop,and tinged with that (non)'sophisticated' American Humour. Like the difference between US 'comedies' like "Friends" and "Frasier", with their painfully unfunny witty dialogue, and British cynically silly, surreal but crass comedies like "The Mighty Boosh" or "The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer". 
Basically sophistication isn't sophisticated, just like a teenager tries to draw like a child's concept of how an adult should draw. To draw like a child when you have the ability to do photo-realism is the height of sophistication. Its more than Ironic that this tape is called "Is Crude Ok?"...yes it is, but I hear none here!
Thats where this tape falls down as classic minimal synth-pop, its too annoyingly restrained and mannered,like its been made by your 'cool' mum and dad.

DOWNLOAD to be a slightly less bored young man or woman HERE!

Joseph Nechvatal ‎– "Babbling Tongues Of Metamorphoses" ( Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 75) 1987

So you thought that Negativland were a bunch of Smart-arses eh? Well here's a bona-fide smart arse, with qualifications-a-plenty in smart-arseism. This geezer can do Plunderphonia as well as being able to explain what he's doing,why he's doing it and probably write a thesis on said subject. 
If you had ever wondered who was responsible for those zany art theories of viractualism and Cybism, Dr Nechvatal ,yes he's a doctor(not the medical variety you philistine!),is yer man. And on his days off,not that Artists ever have a day off, he churns out the odd swirling sound collage constructed from found sounds and snot......quite like this fruity blast of mashed up ectoplasm ,baked and served as a rectangular plastic pie of intellectual offal.

Tracks:
Side A
Side B

DOWNLOAD someone cleverer than you HERE!

Deathranch ‎– "A Prisoner" ( Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 239) 1989

Former Big City Orchestra collaborators  on the "Massacre of the Innocents" album, also on Sound Of Pig; Deathranch (whoever they were?) had a life of their own.
Bordering on the Avant Garde at time, with hints of abstract composition, this release suggests that those hanging out at the deathranch were no ordinary noise cowboys.A constantly shifting melange of found sounds,porn movies, drones, strangled noise and some unexpected musicianship. A fascinatingly good addition to the vast SOP canon of weirdness.

DOWNLOAD and be a prisoner of the deathranch HERE!

Big City Orchestra ‎– "Mile After Mile" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 118) 1987

How to categorise this?......mmmmm?......okay okay, i'll used the vague epithet otherwise know as "Experimental". A broad bracket that could include anyone from John cage to Beyoncé, but Big City Orchestra are in there...... somewhere. I suppose on first listen one would drift towards the Little Johnny Cage end of the swimming pool, i.e. 'the deep end',rather than the Shallow end occupied by those bizarre 'R&B' pop acts of the day. But personally, I find this tape in particular, rather listenable, a kind of avant-easy;the lounge musik for the casual  abstract hobbyist. The peculiar sounds that come at you from all directions could even be called 'Novelty music'.Not unlike those weird tape cut-up records from the fifties, that one used to impress the ladies with your state of the art hi-fi equipment in your space-age bachelor pad. Are they the Esquivel or BBC Radiophonic Workshop of (US)cassette culture? Probably not.....they're not as WEIRD as Esquivel or as innovative as the BBC backroom staff,and I don't think this will impress any ladies,at least not the ones you want to get in the sack.
Better get that Beyoncé CD out?

DOWNLOAD file after file HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "A Very Large Array" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 152) 1987

Well, I have seen larger array's than this,but its a jolly good array of the usual abstract electronica and left field avant-industria that lurks in the shadowy world of pig (sound of...).
Again it features my favourite minimal composition student and word collage-ist ,Roberta Eklund,she good,she very good. The excellent,and prolific Big City Orchestra contribute the ironic 'making a Living as a Musician', and Europe is represented by the fine Dutch industrial act Zombies Under Stress.
Its hard to understand why a band called The Swimming Behaviour Of The Human Infant were never snapped up by CBS or any of these other awful, clueless ,culturally bankrupt record companies,who are the very definition of Zombies Under Stress. Thankfully there are a diminishing Array of these hideous capitalist leeches due to the power of the internet; its usually people like me who get the blame for 'Musicians' not making a living,when its the corporate nazi's  who have been stealing from musicians and music fans for decades.Internet sites are nothing more than digitized versions of the John Peel Show, magnified.Providing the biggest shop window that has ever existed for underground music of the past and future. DIY/underground/alternative musicians have never made a living as a musician,but there exists an opportunity by playing live......ie Work. 
Another way is repackaging the 'free' music of the past as limited editions and selling them to the middle classes at an exorbitant rate. As a certain  German based re-issue label does,and seems to feel free to slag me off,and others,  using my pseudonym in certain public communication forums,setting himself up as some kind of Tape collecting Jesus. We're doing the same thing except we don't do it for money,and put ourselves on a pedestal for doing it.
How talking about a band called 'the Swimming Behaviour Of the Human Infant' led to this rant I have no idea, so apologies to all.....except Herr Maier who seems to share the same traits as thee most famous German/ Austrian ever......altogether now, "FEGELEIN!" (if you've seen Downfall that is.)Or in this case......ZCHIVAGOOOOOO!

DOWNLOAD from a small array of download host choices HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "The World Does Not Fit On A 21" Screen" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 42) 1986

The modern version of this would be "The World does not fit on a 110inch screen",as Televisions start to take over at least one room in the home of today.
From the home's of the late 20th century,when the cathode ray still ruled, transmits this beyond fine compilation from the impeccable Sound Of Pig label,with a superb collection of the weird and wacky.Worth the entrance fee alone for one of Roberta Eklund's excellent word collages, among the abstract industrial,minimal synth and post hardcore avant rock tunes.
It's Sound Of Pig, you know what to expect by now, so I'll shut up.

DOWNLOAD from a decent sized TV screen to your ears HERE!

Adam Bohman & David Prescott ‎– "Whispering Wendy" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 180) 1987

Prolific collaborator, David Prescott,produced this abstract electronic noise collage,with prolific collaborator, Brit, Adam Bohman;whom you probably know from such groups as 'Apricot My lady', 'Diastollic Murmurs' and,my favourite, 'Secluded Bronte'?
Well, probably not,but he is obviously suitably 'out there' enough to get on Sound Of Pig,and work with 'If,Bwana' a couple of times.
Who,or what, Whispering Wendy is/was,is a side issue,as the tape that bears her/it's name is a mash-up of twisting, gurgling, sonic exploration that wriggles like an Eel in yer brain; finding an entrance where it can.

Track Listing:

Side A - Bohman Mix (26:35)
Side B - Prescott Mix (30:08)

DOWNLOAD a wriggling eel into your mind HERE!

Dave Prescott ‎– "Red Shift 5" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 246) 1987

No relation to John "Two Jags" Prescott, ex-deputy prime minister of the UK who punched a member of the public after throwing an egg at him,and his ratings went up?No, this is a Prescott from the other end of the intellectual ladder,as in the higher end.
If we are still referring to Tangerine Dream albums as an analogous comparison, this tape is definitely "Electronic Meditation",but without the drums and jazzy flute.Its been a while since the last cassette that has been featured one could apply a comparison with the soundtrack of "The Forbidden Planet",but, this reminds me of the "Soundtrack to "The Forbidden Planet",.....in parts.
Boston,USA, based Prescott,was a prolific collaborator on the cassette culture scene in America,producing tapes with such luminaries as Minoy(and here), Zan Hoffman,and Al Margolis's If Bwana(whose label this appears on).
His vast arsenal of first generation synths are urged through constantly changing electronic hoops,buzzing and bleeping amongst an array of sound effects and captured dialogue. Not an electronic journey for those who like a nice bit of melody.......there isn't any of that populist nonsense here.

Track Listing:

1-Side 1 (43:11)
2-Side 2 (41:48)

DOWNLOAD dave "two sides" prescott HERE!

Minóy ‎– "Plain Wrap Purgatory" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 96) 1986

Like a slow motion trip through an  impenetrable sea fog,scraping the passing hulls of lost ships,and time-stretched Doppler effected fog horns.The title track lures the listener onto the rocks like an outsider-garde siren in a haunted ocean of white noise.
Track two could be the black box recording of the missing Malaysian Airlines jet that allegedly sunk beneath the waves of the south china seas,lost in the dense fog of track one.
This sick pantomime that we call life,really is a Plain wrap Purgatory; and Minóy captures it perfectly within the constraints of one C60.Those outsiders sure have an objective view of things from their enviable vantage point.

Tracks:

1- Plain Wrap Purgatory (26:48)
2- Flying Overhead (31:24)

DOWNLOAD some purgatory unwrapped HERE!

Minóy ‎– "The Tyranny Of Distance" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 209) 1986

We've already had Luis Mesa's versions of the" Forbidden Planet" soundtrack,so its only fair that Minóy did his own attempt. Except that  Minóy's version is far more towards the "Clangers" end of the spectrum than Mesa's;for which I am most thankful.(NB,as i've said before The Clangers is a strange BBC kids programme from the 70's).
That's restricted to side A anyway.
Side B is two different parties(as in the forced jollity type of Party) recorded from inside a pocket.I've had many voice-mails that sound like this.basically I should have released them as avant garde noise scapes,then I would be as ignored as the late great  Minóy is today. But, he is becoming less ignored by the day,to hopefully become another in the long line of 'famous when dead' innovators of Art.

Tracklist:

A	-The Tyranny Of Distance (29:42)
B	-Tennessee Dance Song Mix (Homage To Prince) (30:59)

DOWNLOAD the distant tyranny of  Minóy HERE!

Minóy ‎– "The Conditions Of Post Modern Male Bonding" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 214) 1986

One of Zan Hoffman's frequent collaborators was the legendary Minóy,who I notice had sound sources contributed to a Zanmerz tape or two. There are many Minóy cassettes to be heard,quite a few on this site(check them out here).
His trademarks are saturated tape to tape collages of mostly non-musical sound sources,mixed up with a lot of his favourite Radio Shack reverb effects,This creates a dense fog of fuzzy noise that shifts and undulates to create something otherworldly and barely in control by its creator.
Side 1 shifts from recreating the ambiance of an underground V2 testing bunker network,during a test;to the sound of the heavy bombers coming to bomb it.
Side 2 is a clash of some hellish railway station tannoy battling with bustling commuters and a near-by marching band pageant. Melting together  like Auchwitz bound cattletrucks accompanied by the Treblinka jewish orchestra.
I just can't stop making world war two references!......but so what,I enjoy it.I find there's an analogy for all areas of life in both War and Football (soccer if you're american).And the former applies to this Minóy release;although as a Leicester City fan this could easily be the soundtrack to our season with its elements of foggy self-destruction,but definitely a tape of two halves.
(note- on side 1,i appear to have recorded an evil microsoft windows 'boing' sound while i was ripping the tape! For this i apologise profusely,although it does seem to fit in with the general concept. At least that's the excuse i'm giving for not ripping it again.Sitting around for 60 minutes while it rips in real time ain't too stimulating!)

Tracklist:

Side A-	The Conditions Of Post Modern Male Bonding (30:00)
Side B-	Dusty Antagonist Awake On The White Steps Of Late Afternoon (28:16)

 
DOWNLOAD some post modern male bonding conditions HERE!

Nails Øv Christ ‎– "Dark Night Of The Soul" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 20) 1986

Sinister,dark ambient scrapings recorded in a steel lined ventilation system ,'with something' lurking at the end of one of the shafts;either obscured by a bend or approaching from behind. Could have been a BBC Radiophonic Workshop soundtrack for a 1970's episode of Dr Who? But no! File under Industrial.
(A rare English artist on Sound Of Pig)

Tracklist:

A1	Untitled	2:25
A2	Untitled	2:38
A3	Untitled	4:03
A4	Untitled	2:11
A5	Untitled	2:43
B1	Untitled	4:29
B2	Untitled	2:06
B3	Untitled	4:11
B4	Untitled	3:27

DOWNLOAD the dirty finger nails of christ HERE!

Croiners ‎– "Learning To Live With Croiners" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 80) 1987

James Levine,aka Croiners,with contributions from Al Margolis ,aka  Deaf lions,deliver one hell of a fast paced trip through every TV channel on US cable in the 1980's. Chopped up into a confusing attack that should suit the minuscule attention spans of todays version of humanity. Frequently there's  a different channel playing in each ear;reminding me of my teenage years when I was regularly seen reading a book whilst listening to ear burstingly loud Punk Rock and watching TV at the same time!?Somehow, I'm sure I was taking all three mediums in on a multidimensional level of subconsciousness.
Mixed in with the manic looped channel hopping,are various record snippets,looped noise,and some squelchy synth noodling. One sublime moment is when a section of Dr Stanley Z. Daniels',toe curling cheese classic, "Sex Explained for Children", is played for a small audience.This was back in the days when nobody had heard these unbelievable, so bad they're good, bargain bin records.Pre-empting the Incredibly Strange Music fad of the 1990's, and Plunderphonics.

(I tried editing side one into its eleven tracks, but it was impossible to hear or see where one track started and the other ended! But I think it works fine as one sidelong track.....by all means have a go yourself!?)

Track Listing:

A1- Trks 1-11 (30.08)
B1- recorded at Jims Tapes (9.32)
B2- Another Excerpt from the Deaf lions/Croiners Mail Collaboration (20.53)

DOWNLOAD and learn to live with croiners HERE!

City Of Worms ‎– "Crumnants" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 129) 1987

Zoviet*France's American cousin's from the harsh industrial landscape of Colorado. Contrast the oppressive mountainous vista's,endless blue skies,wide open natural spaces,and fluffy clouds with the easy life of the Slag Heaps,Smog,claustrophobic terraced housing and slate grey clouds of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Zoviet*France's hometown).Those chaps in Z*F had it easy compared with the poor sods who made up City Of Worms. Somehow they made the same style of repetitive urbano-ethnic rhythmic noise; but with completely different,some would say, opposite, influences. Z*F had coal mining, unemployment,hopelessness,and damp bleak post industrial squalor. COW had skiing, wide open spaces, and awe-inspiring landscapes. It's all becoming clear to me now, like those apathy inducing clear blue skies of Colorado.Oh,those cruel dark satanic mills of the Rocky Mountains!Its all a bit like that classic Monty Python sketch about The London Playwright and his Coal Mining Son...."There's nowght(nothing) wrong with Gala luncheons Lad!"

Tracklist:

A1	Live At The Aztlan Theatre, Denver, CO, July 4th, 1987
B1	Drome
B2	Cherinders
B3	Mentax
B4	Hichotomy
B5	Jajection
B6	Concretion
B7	Badget
B8	Pacisyphus
B9	Fractuous

DOWNLOAD the crumnants from the table HERE!

Gen Ken Montgomery ‎– "Beatmusik" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 186) 1988

Another music format that didn't produce many protagonists in the US of A is yer minimal synth. What you generally got was an electronic version of Punk, like The Screamers,or a twisted version of the R'n'R myth,like the fantastic Suicide; but no cold basslines and minimal electronic noises,set to a simple drum box beat,with a emotionless singer atop. This was the preserve of northern European countries, such as Belgium.

I don't think it resonated with the American psyche. It didn't 'Rock',and was generally negative sounding and claustrophobic.One hope was the most european place in the US....ie New York.Which is where Ken Montgomery ran his record store in the east village called "Generator"......Hence the name Gen Ken! It all makes sense now.

Remarkably, he made some supremely minimal electronic music from as early as 1981,which this Sound of Pig retrospective cassette collects together for us to do android dances to when no-ones looking.......but they always are looking, so don't do it.Dignity is worth more than fun,don't you know that?

Tracklist:

	Songs 81-84
A1	Skip A Beat
A2	Rest
A3	A Little Okay
A4	Countdown Time
A5	Stars & Space
A6	Man From Mars
A7	The Axe Grinds Down
A8	Small Worlds
A9	Elecktro Messer
A10	Innocence
	Fashion Moda Radio Mix
B	Fashion Moda Radio Mix(originally mixed for Isaac Jackson WBAI NYC 1984)

DOWNLOAD some musik you can't beat HERE!

Big City Orchestra & Deathranch ‎– "Massacre Of The Innocents" (Sound Of Pig ‎– SOP 39) 1985

Is this BCO's first appearance? And one might have guessed it would be on the home of "Other" music, Al Margolis's Sound of Pig label. More noisier old skool industrial version of otherness on this tape,but just as 'out there' as 'normal',with lots of unexpected non linear invention from outside the shoebox.
These guys must have been rich, or in some well paid jobs or something, 'cus they seem to own at least one Emulator, which in 1984/5 cost a packet! This marks them down one point as i'm a from the 'Politics of Envy' side of the spectrum, as the 'Daily Mail' would label it; but they get a bonus point as money usually destroys creativity,and I see no lack of creativity here.Maybe they were honest and poor after all,and lived in squats to invest their begging money in Emu Systems latest tech? Who cares, its a great tape.

Tracklist:

A1	Blue Note, Blue Noise
A2	Tu Pa Pa Au
A3	Cannibals
A4	Iron Works
A5	Cerebral Edema
A6	Blind Bat
A7	Warsaw
B1	Burial
B2	Norwahl
B3	Whatever You Want
B4	Relax
B5	YAMC (Yet Another Madonna Clone)
B6	For We Love No One
B7	Womyns Muzik
B8	Education
B9	Biting Through

DOWNLOAD of the innocents HERE!

Minóy - "Pretty Young Negro Man" (Sound of Pig Music SOP62) 1986

Mmmmm, Pretty Young Negro Man, great bigot baiting title,and rather uncomfortable for those who are unsure about their questionable sexuality!
Solo Minoy from 1986; which equates to ,obscure loner makes daring DIY avant gardening cassette, just as the state of music slowly recovers from the all time low of 1985. Side A is the tape loops in a rusty bladed blender time,- you know you want this; while side B is the sound of a radio dial being turned randomly by an detuned violin.Though sadly, Minóy does none of his excellent poetry narration, which is greatly missed.
This sounds rather good when one plays both sides simultaneously.
I have done this,and I think it may even be better than as the artist intended!

DOWNLOAD your own pretty young negro man HERE!