Various ‎Artists – "Cabbage Part 2" (Cauchy Productions) 1985

Not Cabbage from Brussels,but somewhere called Melsele in fact(?);and not strictly a compilation of Belgian artists either;but it IS on a long defunct  Belgian cassette label that compiled musicians from anywhere,from any musical pigeon-hole, that would be willing donators.
For example we have Mans Hate from Peterborough UK, If Bwana from the Sound Of Pig stable,USA. Het Zweet from the Nether regions, Zan Hoffman from Kentucky......oh....and,naturally, a load of Belgians and other flemish types.
The Cabbage compilations came in four parts, this being numjber two obviously; and you can get Part 1 HERE and 4 HERE and if you are curious........Part three is notoriously hard to find.....so if anybody out there has it?...etc!

Tracklisting:

A1 –De B.B.O.- Radio Ventraal
A2 –The Voodoo Sex Atom - You Speak Well My Dear
A3 –Man's Hate - Old Men In Drag
A4 –M.A.L - The Wanderer
A5 –If,Bwana - Desert March
A6 –Collectionism - We Are All Children Of God
A7 –Asmodaeus - Second Time Is Different
A8 –Cauchy 138 - Obligation
A9 –Zanstones - Green Waiter
A10 –Narzisse - But That's For Later (Excert)
B1 –Unovidual - Silent Shadows
B2 –Magthea - Neptunes Wakes Up
B3 –Het Zweet - Wall
B4 –Ratbau - Show Me How
B5 –JD3 - Fear On Trial
B6 –Moz-Art - Trash Around The Clock
B7 –Man's Hate - The Action Men Are Rotting
B8 –OB Minimax - Eegah!
B9 –Collectionism - Side Effect (Excert)

DOWNLOAD some nutritious cabbage soup HERE!

Courtiszan - "Meretrix" (ZH27 - 606) 1999

Two more prolific collaborators a-collaborating.
That's right, its Reynols guitar nutter, Anla Courtis,and Zan Hoffman, that grinning loony and one man cassette and Cd-r production line.
This single track is not unlike the noise emitted by a concrete mixer full of fire alarms,ringing telephones,various bells and steel bars,mixed in with some hardcore and coarse gravel.All accompanied by the random crunching of crisp bags (potato chips for our north american friends).
But then that's what one would expect from this unhinged duo,is it not?

DOWNLOAD some abstract hardcore collage HERE!

Bodycocktail - "Didn’t The World Ask For This By Name?" (ZH27/Bodycocktail#45) 1997

No, the world didn't ask for this by name, in fact no-one did,but maybe they will in the future,or on another world.Although the search for intelligent life in other parts of the universe isn't going too well at the moment,and it really could be a possibility that all the factors needed at one time for Life to evolve into an intelligent species are far rarer than we first imagined.Then they have to survive themselves,which is undoubtedly even rarer,given that Nature rewards the most violently ruthless with genetic domination. The search for Intelligent life on Earth is also continuing unabated ,and is looking even more fruitless.One of the biggest hopes lies in the works of Bodycocktail.
This one has a promising ghostly organist in some ruined church,playing a looping mantra against a droning GM synth module on  Tambura setting.Then come the terrible GM Tablas,which disappear for Zan's eighties style, gothic crooning, swimming clumsily among the swirling ambient waters;only for the Tabla's to return for the outro about 15 minutes later.File under 'Other'.

Track:

1 - "Didn't the world ask for this by name?"

DOWNLOAD this cassette by name HERE!

Bodycocktail - "Toss Me In The Air,I'll Pay!" (ZH27 - Bodycocktail #44) 1997

Bodycocktail's pop odyssey continues with tape number 44 of 177, and counting,albums. Like most of Zan Hoffman's projects, an album consists of one long track on a single side of a C60,and this is no exception.
A horrible 90's synth hammers out a disjointed riff for the first seven minutes, while Zan gives an accurate impression of Stan Ridgeway (that bloke from Wall of Voodoo) in a padded cell at the funny farm. The track devolves from there, into a chaotic mash up of Pop melody and heavily effected noise(provided by Minoy).
One can imagine a Throng (or whatever the collective noun is?) of Pop consumers, hearing this and getting angry,unreasonably fuming! Maybe then they'll understand how it feels for lovers of non-product art to have the rapist manifesto's of Robin Thicke ,or the paedo propaganda of Miley Cyrus inflicted upon them!?
 

Track:

1 "Toss Me in The Air, I'll Pay!" (30:38)

DOWNLOAD then toss yourself in the air HERE!

Bodycocktail - "Many See Lies" (ZH27 - Bodycocktail #23) 1996

Hoffman's dysfunctional journey into the realm of 'Pop' takes the form of his Bodycocktail project.Described by the man himself as "bent-out-of-shape proto new wave",since 1993 he has released close to 200 Bodycocktail releases;and continues to play many live shows all over the civilised world,in several languages.
The music on "Many See Lies",the 23rd Bodycocktail release, has wonderful drifting time signatures that make it impossible to dance to in a conventionally funky way. Full of human inconsistencies with no attempt to 'tidy' them up to the modern standards of machine music....this is how it was entered on the computer.
Zan's voice reminds one of the kind of singer you'd hear in a Futurist/New Romantic group around 1981,like Classix Nouveaux,but obviously devoid of any pretentiousness
I was playing this the other day and my girlfriend asked me,"Doesn't this get on your fucking nerves?".
I didn't answer,but it probably outstayed its welcome after about twenty minutes.....but then again nearly everything does.That's why Teenage Jesus and The Jerks never played longer than 20 minutes; a natural timespan for the art of 'Pop'.

Tracklist :

1	Woman Looking At A Vase Of Flowers
2	Picking Up Poochies
3	Neversink
4	(Time To Say) Bye Bye
5	Loopy Zinnerhyme
6	Music Uplifted (Muted)
7	Collect All 23

DOWNLOAD this unfunky cocktail HERE!

Zan Hoffman/Agog - "Fragment 2" (N D Magazine C-45) 1990

Less a collaboration than a two artist collaboration for now defunct experimental arts magazine N D.
Although, Zan Hoffman and Agog definitely did collaborate on a few recordings under various nom des plumes, this is more of a showcase for each artist,or entity. Both very reliant on the sound collage method of creating their trademark abstract sound vistas, the differences between them both are subtle. Hoffman's approach seems a little more lo-fi and chaotic than Agog's; who does allow more space to appear among the glitchy sound theft flotsam and jetsom than the former.

Tracklist:

A	–	Raw Felt	(23:38)
B	–	Untitled (23:25)

DOWNLOAD these fragments HERE!

Minóy\Zannóy - "Caught In The Throat Of The Beast" (ZH27 ‎– 425) 1989

Music from the Rail terminal at the edge of the universe,with indecipherable announcements gasping for air in between the waves of teeth grinding metal fatigue. The speaker system in the infinite waiting room struggles to convey the directions to which we are all heading,be it Oblivion, Hell, Heaven  ,or to repeat it all over again as a Slug. The musical interludes are reminiscent  of  Holgar Czukay's experiments with found radio voices, and the way they disappear beneath the audible range remind one of Gavin Bryars' "The Sinking of the Titanic".
This is my favourite Minóy\Zannóy collaboration, less jet engine in a tunnel with more subtlety and space;allowing the weirdness to breathe.

Track:

1- Caught in the Throat Of The Beast (30:46)

DOWNLOAD a Heimlich manoeuvre on the beast HERE!

Minóy\Zannóy - "Zemzimmazu-kerzanminoy!" (Elavation of Anxiety EOA 11) 1987

Is it me or are all these Minóy\Zannóy tapes starting to sound the same? Is this another jet engine powered vacuum cleaner set to warp 9, sucking all life from a subterranean tunnel system?...well...yes!...But it sounds so fucking good.Its a classic sound,that ranks up there with the Mini-Moog bass, Overdriven Guitar power chords,TR808 handclaps,and Jean Jacques Burnel's fucked up speaker cab. Don't mess with the classics and they'll always serve you well, be it Godzilla's paint stripping scream, Doc Martin's, the Tardis's appearing/disappearing noise (Courtesy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop), or a cheeky Trilby hat,worn at a jaunty angle.Get the picture?
Track 1, "Zemzimmazu" certainly displays that classic V2 underground test bunker vibe,that is Minóy and Zan Hoffman's default setting. VU meter's well into the red,saturating the cassette tape into a murky soup of rampaging debris,not unlike an audio version of those amateur video's of the Japanese Tsunami.
Track 2,Kerzanminoise,is slightly different;with quite a few minutes of a more ambient approach.Like an ethereal electric milk float in a smaller Hurricane,a few miles from landfall. Then around 9 minutes in, the main storm hits,picking the milk float up and smashing it against the wall of good taste,which collapses letting every enlightened idea ever repressed by accepted 'norms' to come flooding out to infect our children.
Consider yourself infected.

Tracks:

1 - Zemzimmazu (29:39)
2 - Kerzanminoise (29:32)

DOWNLOAD the liberating noise of engine failure HERE!

Minóy/Zannóy - "XYZ Blurs Glad Meat Rags" (ZH27 ‎– 422) 1988

Hoffman remixes Stanley Keith Bowsza,aka Minóy,into a seamless blend of subway station white noise,and dawn chorus of mating electronic frogs.Through the buzzsaw ambience, an Ice Cream van's merry jingle rises and falls below the surface,mourned by a solitary fog horn. A plague of Locusts swarm through the subway tunnels, devouring everything in it's path,candy wrappers,hip-hop rappers(Hooray!), uncleaned crappers and dirty ol' slappers. Take note how the plague of Locusts was referred to as an 'IT'. This is how Humanity will be referred to by the inheritors of this mess in a not too distant future. Unless we realise that we can't eat money,

Track:

1 - XYZ Blurs Glad Meat Rags (30.14)

DOWNLOAD some blurred lines that were actually not stolen from Marvin Gaye HERE!

Minóy\Zannóy - "Fractured Lingere Break You Ears" (Zidsic 995) 1988

How many times have you cried out in pain, "HELP I'VE GOT FRACTURED LINGERIE IN MY EARS", which ultimately lead to your ears becoming broken?
Don't be afraid,because the word in the title is 'Lingere',not 'Lingerie', so you don't have to be too afraid of some torn and dirty underpants,crotchless panties, or 'peek-a-boo' bras coming to break your aural receptors. Instead, we have more reverberated scraping in a tunnel,accompanied by failing  jet engines ,and braking railway engines to break(brake) your ears instead.
Another classic sonic abstraction by the dream team of Outsider-Garde DIY, Hoffman and Bowsza.

Track:

1- "Fractured Lingere Break Your Ears" (31.09)

DOWNLOAD and rip your underpants with excitement HERE!

Minóy\Zannóy ‎– "The Decline Of The American Orgasm" (ZH27 ‎– 180) 1989

Based largely on a field recording of someone hammering on some wood,or nailing some wood,or whatever hammer/nail/wood scenario you can imagine, that alludes to uninspiring sexual activity. All this set inside some rush hour underpass.......I said Underpass not under-pants you filthy little monkey. The very act of a car or bus entering a tunnel conjures the most unpleasant pornographic imagery,that it could lead to the decline of most sane peoples libido.
The constant wooosh of traffic through the underpants/underpass could be symbolic of promiscuity among our over-liberated generation.That and the odd submerged animal noise makes this single sided C-60 the avant garde version of Spinal Tap's "Sex farm".
The Hammering could also represent the sound of a black-mailed civil servant building the coffin of a murdered and sodomised orphan. A victim of a British parliamentarian,colluded and encouraged by high ranking police officers and members of the royal family(or Royal family's members?).
Be careful what you say and do,for you too may find Kiddie porn appearing mysteriously on your hard drive,and these very same 'Policemen',knocking on your door,saying; "we have reason to believe that you may have downloaded some illegal material of a sexual nature sir".You'll either end up in prison or working for MI6,or even worse Mossad. 

Track(s):

1 - The Decline Of The American Orgasm (30.45)

If you want a good time? DOWNLOAD HERE!

Minóy\Zannóy ‎– "Mmmazammm" (ZH27 ‎– 181) 1985

We are taken on a journey through a cavernous railway terminus waiting area,into a raging forest fire,fanned by a Antarctic gale. Collapsing brutalist architecture on all sides mask the stifled cries of women and children beneath the rubble of  a nuclear winter; but the speaker system is still issuing instructions that no-one will hear.
This is as accurate an aural reconstruction of thee last days of man on earth as you're likely to hear.If you listen very carefully, one could almost hear the immortal last words of Captain Oates,"I'm just going outside, I may be some time!" Minóy and Zannóy left the safety of the tent sometime ago,and never returned;in Minóy's case he has now left for eternity.

Track(s):

1- Mmmazamm (30.53)

DOWNLOAD the DddddddownnnnnnLoaddddddd HERE!

Minóy\Zannóy ‎– "Zanminoise" (ZH27 ‎– 405) 1985

Whereas previous tapes recently,by Luis Mesa and Minoy have reminded your narrator of the eerie soundtracks from childrens TV of his youth (Namely the Clangers). This single sided C60 collaboration between Zan Hoffman and Minóy sounds more like the end of the Clangers planet.We are taken on a trip past the incinerated music tree,a deserted soup mine,with the irradiated remains of the Soup dragon.The iron Chicken is nothing more than a pool of molten metal,now re-solidified as a formless blackened blob.The Clangers homes themselves show signs of being hastily evacuated,with their belongings scattered in the ensuing panic.
This tape offers little clue as to what caused this mass extinction,just the post apocalyptic wind blowing across empty kids TV scenery. All that's missing is the wonderful voice of the late great Oliver Postage(the voice of my childhood) to describe the emptiness.

Tracks:

1- Zaminoise (31.05)

DOWNLOAD a soundtrack for the kids programme at the end of the world HERE!

Merzan / Zanmerz ‎– "Frightened And Ecrasez L'Infâme" (ZH27 ‎– 010) 1992

This works more as a collaboration than the previous two cassettes by Merzan/Zanmerz.Whereas the earlier tapes sounded like two separate sides by two different artists,this one merges far more as an album.
The side mixed by Luis Mesa is more of a conventional scraping drone,like claws down a blackboard;but,again the Zan Hoffman mix side is far more inventive.It takes you in several unexpected directions,twisting and squirming like a trapped eel out of water.Always maintaining the listeners interest,rather than being bored by another Drone.

Arranged By, Mixed By – Luis Mesa (tracks: A), Zan Hoffman (tracks: B)Featuring [Audio Sources] – Merz , Zanstones

 

Tracklist:

A	Merzan Frightened	29:01
B	Zanmerz Ecrasez L'Infâme	31:16

DOWNLOAD L'Infame,L'Infame,they've alllll got it In fer me! HERE!

Merzan / Zanmerz ‎– "First Affaire" (ZH27 ‎– 074) 1991

This, predictably, is Zan Hoffman and Luis Mesa's first mail collaboration. The usual noisy droney vortex of tarnsformed sound sources,that fit snuggly into the "Other" category. Zan's the man,mixing humour and a great sense of image with the avant garde.....and because of this remains roundly ignored,despite releasing around 1200 albums.Founder of the adage,"if you throw enough mud at the wall none of it will stick".....I made that one up,but very applicable to Zan,and probably Luis Mesa too.The difference is Zan Hoffman isn't giving up,and Mesa has disappeared.

Tracklist:

A1	A Letter To L.M.
A2	Climax
A3	Black Dream
B1	Rumor De Registro Secreto
B2	Religiones Blanco

DOWNLOAD more mud to throw at the teflon coated wall of opinion HERE!

Merzan / Zanmerz ‎– "Hell City And GoGoCrash" (Tonspur Tapes ‎– TT 43 /ZH27 016) 1991

There aren't many artists in the cassette culture universe that Zan Hoffman hasn't collaborated with in his 27 years of sonic exploration; and Merz,or luis Mesa isn't one of them. Under the merged oneness  of Merzan/Zanmerz they combined by sending each other tapes in the post,an extension of the Mail Art umbrella. Essentially,this is basically a Merz track on side A, and Zan Hoffman remixing soundsources from Minoy,Agog,1348,Merz,and himself,to create something unique and extraordinary on side B.
The humour of Zan Hoffman is always to the fore on any of his thousands of releases,and he always has a talent for a funny title or two. Its a whirlpool of unexpected and unconnected sound bytes,swirling in an unstructured soup of effects and mixer manipulation.This has more in common with free jazz than any other experimental musics. Anything goes in the search for the 13th note when Hoffman's in town.

Tracklist:

A	Hell City
B1	She Plays A Mean Car Crash
B2	Gogominoymadreadmetal

"Hell City", composed by Merz in Madrid, 1991.
"She plays a mean car crash", recorded by Zan in Louky. Featuring "no title" (Merz), How loops, Agog viola, John Wiggins (fresh wig), Runzlestirn & Gurglestock.
"Gogominoymadreadmetal" (remixed 11/17/1991), featuring 1348, Merz, Minóy & Anika.

DOWNLOAD this car crash of a cassette HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "Cabbage Part 1" (Cauchy Productions) 1985

Rather marvellous Belgian mid-eighties compilation of mostly minimal electronica,with splashes of industrial,and the odd punk rock number. I have nothing to add on the subject of Cabbages,except maybe that they are a good source of roughage to keep one regular.(when did we start referring to roughage as 'Fibre'? And why?......another cynical marketing ploy to get the population to buy nutrition free cereals I wager!).

Tracklist

A1	–Mark Hanley	Rain Song
A2	–Vita Noctis	On A Day Like This
A3	–X-Ray Pop	Mama
A4	–Palais Des Bauzards	Going Under
A5	–Unovidual	Wardance Dub
A6	–Matthew Sommerville	3000 Welds
A7	–S.O.D.	Tank Realistiskt
A8	–Absolute Body Control	Me And My Desire
A9	–Zanoisect	Exploded Cabbage Brain
B1	–No Unauthorized	Brain Cabbage Surgery
B2	–Pascal Massun	Silent Thoughts
B3	–The Misz	Het Is Geen Werk
B4	–Vita Noctis	Execution
B5	–Magthea & Unovidual	Cold Shadows
B6	–Inflammable Liquid	Teenage Wildlife
B7	–De Fabriek	Chibomptrompia
B8	–Narzisse	But That's For Later

DOWNLOAD this healthy vegetable HERE!

Seiei Jack ‎– "The Joke Project 1984" (TJP Distribution – TJP008) 1984

Something that cassette culture introduced to the world was the concept of music being made by complete strangers from all over the planet, who would never meet; except on cassette tape.
In 1984, Japanese artist, Seiei Jack Nakahara, started "The Joke Project/Re-Apocalypse Project", which invited any artist/musician, who so desired, to participate in a home taping/mail art collaboration program.This project was to join all kinds of experimental musics:Noize,Industrial,Breakcore,Ambient,Lo-fi, to create something, hopefully ,unique. Every person who wished to participate has only to add samples & loops to their own musical/audio treatment to create their own vision of the Apocalypse in a track. This was, of course done by 'snail mail' in 1984, whereas this is now commonly done via the information super highway that is 'the internet', leading to the artform that, enlightenedly  became known as 'mail art'.
Such home taping luminaries as Zan Hoffman, and Magthea, do their bit, amongst an array of unknown lesser lights to create a near chaotic sound collage that sounds like a very attractive version of the Apocalypse. Although Zan Hoffman, repeating the phrase "This is Mr Zan" over and over again, does seem to have a pretty tenuous apocalyptic message; but then again the concept of the Apocalypse itself is pretty tenuous, so what do I know?
Come friendly Apocalypse and entertain us as thoroughly as this thirty year old cassette!

DOWNLOAD this joke project HERE!

Masters Of The Ungentlemanly Art ‎– "MA»" (ZH27 - 071) 1986

The masters of the ungentlemanly art of tape collage are represented here with a full spectrum of distorted lo-fi muddy noise, buried beneath the surface of an ocean of cheap radio shack effects, momentarily rising to breath revealing its ugly head. Minoy makes a large contribution to the submerged racket, along with several other contributors , mixed together by the notorious Zan Hoffman; which makes an irresistible cocktail of third hand sound. Six tracks seamlessly edited together , that vary from ethereal relaxation, to fuzzy uncomfortable noise-scapes. Definitely something to relax to in the bath , with a couple of scented candles, to help exorcise the demons of the shit that happened today. A process I ,personally, have difficulty doing as I don’t have a bath, and I fucking detest scented candles. So why I’m recommending this action is anyone’s guess?

Tracklist:

A1		Cantonese Polka
A2		I Bet You Have
A3		Has A Severe Lack
A4		That's What I Say
A5		Cancerama
A6		Any Air

DOWNLOAD some ungentlemanly art HERE!

Minóy\Zannóy - "Mr. Chanes Deaf Mix For Jake Hobo" (ZH27 - 411) 1986

This is what those guys hear in their heads, y’know , the ones that cover the walls of their house in aluminium foil to stop their minds being probed? Certain persons have to take serious anti-psychotic medication to stop music like this occurring naturally, this is basically the world music for the 21^stcentury,or even Nu-Folk with telepathy in place of song. It conveys what it feels like to be alive in an increasingly impersonal environment,where ones relationships are formed in isolation via a plasma screen. This is the inescapable cancerous throb of microwaves chopping up your genetic code,and rearranging it as the next mutation in this planets evolution. Or is it the sound of mankind’s last scream before the planet saves itself by bringing forth another mass extinction, like a human immune system would remove a bacterial infection. Either way, the future looks black, and I’m gonna cover my walls with Aluminium foil. “Why won't the voices Sttttttoooooopppppp!!??”

 Maybe because I didn’t press the stop button!?

DOWNLOAD this music for the deaf HERE!