Voice Crack – "Earflash" (Uhlang Produktion – UP 07) 1990

Switzerland? Famous for Toblerone's,Nazi Gold, at least a dozen Mona-Lisa's locked away in some vaults in Geneva, all that plus a preponderance for driving below the speed limit!?
One has to question how this noisy duo ever managed to get out of a sensible career in corrupt neutral banking to make electroacoustic nightmares such as these seven overtly digital tracks which define themselves as "Earflash".
Like the Swiss, i'm neutral on most aspects of mass genocide,art theft,and questionable sources of Gold, as long as it makes a quick crypto-profit.
However,this stuff certainly makes for a good soundtrack to melting down extracted gold teeth to fit the numbers on forged documentation. This explains why these bland bankers are responsible for the highest Bunker and firearm ownership outside of Syria and Waco Texas.
You don't hear the word 'Free' very often in this mountainous region,but Voice Crack started off as Free Jazzers back in '72, until they changed to doing a bit of yer grinding electroacoutic Noise,often collaborating with crazy Free improv nutters
Borbetomagus, from the good 'ol US of Eh?
Voice Cracks' sound is not unlike the Alpine vistas strewn with glacial lakes and impending Avalanche thunder that make up 95% of this rather lovely country.It's enough to forgive them their genetic need to appear neutral until they take the side of the winners.....which unfortunately went titz-up when the Third Reich ended up being battered to fuck.
I hear that they may have learned a small lesson from WW2,as now they appear to be less than neutral on the subject of Ukraine; that is, unless Russia end up steamrollering Europe, and the Swiss traders are wrong AGAIN!?
At least they gave us Kleenex...the band....and ,er....Voice Crack?
Well,maybe just Kleenex / liliput.
Weren't The Young Gods swiss too?...yeah?....well, maybe them as well then?

Tracklist:

A1 Horned Aerial Bull 7:06
A2 Blow Up That Jetsam 7:58
A3 Earflash 2:39
A4 Fluffy Dog 2:41
B1 X-Ray Rally 10:06
B2 Turn Table Wax 4:12
B3 Decoy The Switch 6:32

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The Decay – "Tonight, (Back From The Death) E.P." ( Sick Records – Sick 001) 1985

 

Ah bless 'em......classic Swiss punk by numbers with a guitar sound that must have been fed through a transistor radio then miked up through a cheap but louder amp. I had a similar amplification device in the 80's, purchased from Tandy called the Archer mini-amp,which you could easily overdrive the fuck out of and it would sound not unlike Andy Riot of The Decay's fizzing and spitting Guitar sound,if fed through the PA.

The infamous Archer Mini amp by Radio Shack!

The staggering,hopefully intended, incompetence on offer on this EP is as accidentally abstract as The Accused of "Mell Square Musick EP" fame from 1980.(more Accused HERE).

This undoubted charm remains intact from Insane Johnny(the Singer) and the boys,despite the wonderfully meandering time signatures,which in classic Beefheartian style seems to involve at least two different timings playing at the same time,which is very difficult to do, unless you're doing it by the forgivable mistake of incompetence,or got no monitors?

I can't imagine anyone notating the parts on these wild tunes, Drumbo style;but this Drummer, Rotten Love (!?),has that rare talent of doing just what the fuck he feels like doing irrespective of what the other musicians are contributing.This is how Punk Rock should sound.Listen to rock'n'roll decaying in front of your ears and dream of what might have been. 

Tracklist:

Seite Eins

A1 Tonight1:57
A2 Police State USA 2:06

Seite Zwei

B1 Holidays In London 1:16
B2 Anarchy And Peace 1:30
B3 Self Destruct 1:09

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Hellhammer – "Triumph Of Death" (Prowling Death Records – PDR 002) 1983

 

Well....We've had a band called "Dead" whom shared a name with the second most mental member of Mayhem...the one wot shot himself. So now we find a very early Black Metal trio in the Venom/Motorhead mode whose name was commandeered by Mayhem's Drummer, Hell Hammer.....one of the more sensible members of Mayhem one must add;but that ain't saying much.

This Hellhammer came from the repressed and impoverished hell hole we know as Switzerland, where life is so unbearably awful that it makes young men so unhappy that they just wanna sing songs about death and violence all the time.

I'm not sure if it's an urban legend or not, but doesn't every Swiss home have a nuclear bunker,and own at least one handgun?

Indeed gun ownership is rife,yet the murder rate is one of the lowest on the planet. Maybe this is achieved because of the cathartic effects of Black Metal? We'll never know,but there seems to be very few Swiss bands that manage to escape the Alps and spread their secret. I can think of Brainticket, Kleenex, Yello and...er....Hellhammer!?....quite a mixed bag,so maybe they're brainwashed at school to be bland,neutral peaceniks with guns.....I dunno.Or maybe they just ain't stupid like American 2nd amendment waving rednex. Having visited this stunning country,they do seem to have the slowest law abiding car drivers i've ever tail-gated. It's all quite weird,especially when the shops close at four in the afternoon on Saturdays!? Its that Nazi-Gold (or dead jews teeth) they stole during the war I reckon?

It seems ,on the insert, that Hellhammer don't like Venom too much,which is obviously incorrect,as they'd be called Venom 2 if they were a horror movie franchise.

Its all suitably raw,and spacious,which is unusual for metal albums.The Bass clawing is particularly impressive,and the vocals very Lemmy-esque,which seems a prerequisite for the birth of Death Metal...the growling and grunting evolved later it seems.

Basically, whoever had the bright idea to take these groups into a good studio should be forced to listen to Metallica (can't believe that was in spellcheck!?) for an unspecified period.....i am aware that this may be against most conventions on Human Rights,but needs must.

Tracklist:

A1 Crucifiction
A2 Maniac
A3 When Hell's Near
A4 Decapitator
A5 Blood Insanity
A6 Power Of Satan
B1 Reaper
B2 Death Fiend
B3 Triumph Of Death
B4 Metallic Storm
B5 Ready For Slaughter
B6 Dark Warriors
B7 Hammerhead

DOWNLOAD to down there HERE!

Hugo Ball - " Six Sound Poems " - (1916)

The kraut responsible for all this sound poetry malarky,....it had to be a German didn't it!?...Was the father of the DaDa art movement,as well as inventing sound poetry,and starting the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich, was Hugo Ball......that's him in his work clothes on the artwork.
These are  his complete recorded works captured on wax cylinder in 1916,and as you may hear,nothing much has changed over the ensuing century in modern sound poetry today.
Most men aged less than forty were at the time being butchered on battlefields all over the planet during that notorious conspiracy to cull the working class, called 'the Great War'; but not Hugo,no.He was too busy saying stuff like "Blago Bung,Bosso fatake, ba-omf!" in a surrealist pub in neutral Switzerland.

"What did you do in the war daddy?"
"Well Son, I dodged the draught,ran off to a neutral country, dressed up like a prat and made up silly words"
"Thank god for that daddy,you're not as stupid as you look-ed"

Germany is responsible for some of the most shameful variety of interests,hobbies, and pastimes that have ever shaken the foundations of civilisation. We've had...i think you know whats coming here.....Jew-Hating, guillotining students, expressionism, playing at being Nietzsche, Nazi glee clubs, wearing kinky boots, inventing and imbibing morphine replacements,Markism, Wagner,Neue Deutsche Welle,sausage munching,and, last but not least...the Dada movement. Without which we'd still be cooing at Constable's "The Haywain",and listening to Elgar.....many people still do amazingly!?


Tracklist:
1.Seepferdchen Und Flugfische (Seahorses And Flying Fishes) (0:41)

2.Karawane (Caravane)(1:24)

3.Wolken (Clouds) (1:04)
4.Katzen Und Pfauen (Cats And Peacocks) (0:52)5.Totenklage (Dirge)(1:48)

6.Gadji Beri Bimba (1:48)

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Various Artists - "Frank Johnson's Favorites" (Ralph Records RR8110) 1981

As selected by the Ralph records computer, a certain mr Frank Johnson(Oh those Zany chaps!). Here are his/her/its favourite Ralph Records recordings. Mostly obscure B-sides, and unreleased compositions from Ralph's band of weirdo's from around 1977 to 81. No Chrome on this one, but this is compensated for by a hefty number of Englishmen. San Francisco must have ran out of weirdo's!?

Great tracks by UK pub Rocker, Phillip Lithman, aka Snakefinger; unreleased gibberish from the medical men of Renaldo and the Loaf; a couple of Henry Cow connected numbers from Fred Frith and Art Bears; Swiss art pop from Yello; more MX-80 Sound avant rock riffage; and two decent singles from Tuxedo Moon (when they were still good).

Of course we also get a couple of excellent Residents B-Sides,which, naturally are the best, and weirdest ,of the bunch.

A great compilation to alienate your conformist friends,and to prove that you are an intellectual who can appreciate things from outside of outside the box.

Sleeve Notes:

Compilation of single B-sides and non-LP tracks selected by Frank Johnson, the Ralph Records computer (at that time):

Track A1: released as a single in 1980, never before on any LP,
Track A2: released as the B side to "Dancing In The Street" single (1980),
Track A3: never before released. Thanks to Melvyn for sitting still,
Track A4: released as a single in 1980, never before on any LP,
Track A5: released as the B side of "Satisfaction" single (1976), never before on any LP,
Track A6: released as the B side of "The Spot" single in 1978, never before on any LP,
Track B1: released as the B side of "Bimbo" single (1980), never before on any LP,
Track B2: released as the B side of "Someday You'll Be King" (1980), never before on any LP,
Track B3: released as the B side of "Man In The Dark Sedan" single (1980), never before on any LP,
Track B4: released as the second side of "The Beatles Play The Residents - The Residents Play The Beatles" single (1977), never before on any LP,
Track B5: released as the B side of "Rats And Monkeys" single (1979), never before on any LP,
Track B6: released as the B side of "What Use?" single (1980), never before on any LP.

Tracklist :

A1	–Tuxedomoon	Dark Companion	4:10
A2	–Fred Frith	What A Dilemma	3:12
A3	–Renaldo And The Loaf	Melvyn's Repose	2:05
A4	–MX-80 Sound	O Type	3:36
A5	–Residents, The	Loser = Weed	2:09
A6	–Snakefinger	Smelly Tongues	2:24
B1	–Yello	I.T. Splash	2:37
B2	–MX-80 Sound	White Night	4:17
B3	–Snakefinger	Womb To Worm	3:13
B4	–Residents, The	Flying	3:22
B5	–Art Bears	Collapse (Edited Version)	3:00
B6	–Tuxedomoon	Crash	5:26

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