Digitally remastered, with five added tracks, this is a glitteringly accomplished set of anti-music, electronica, sound collages and almost-songs. Among several astonishing features, one is the totally unexpected date-stamp on the original recordings. Putting the CD in the player at home without checking any documents, I was shoved roughly into 2004-flavoured darkness, sonic excitement, inventiveness and horor (no u, obviously). Even when recognisable instruments are being used, the distortion and tape chopping turn them into scary alien forms. "Now I Want It All" could easily be this week's outsider chart song, with its rattly loose guitar, slurred vocal and random drumming. But by the time MINIMAL MAN have had their way, it's even too messed up for cult radio. Maybe Radio 3 after 10 o clock in the evening would play it?
But it was recorded in 1981. This is hard to cope with. In 1981 I was listening to Spandau Ballet, Soft Cell and Adam and the Ants. Roxy Music were pushing things a bit. But who would have thought things this bitter-sweet and deliberately chaotic were being cooked up?
California-based MINIMAL MAN (not the later British outfit of the same name) was a three-man project, with Patrick Miller a doomy art visionary at the controls. His music started as film score, but soon took on its own life. MINMAL MAN went on to record more material after this first explosion of ideas, and Miller himself continued into the 90s with a number of European adventures. He died last year of Hepatitis-C. But hear him now nightmaring his way through the line "Ronald Regan and I agree!" (what could be worse?) The ghostliness lives on.
Since we now know that we are listening to top of the range creativity from the early eighties, then it has to be that James Nice and his LTM label are involved again. Well, nearly. This one's on LTM offshoot Boutique. Style DJs, hungry for sensation should be sneaking out for copies of this. "High Why" would have the punters squirming about. And there are plenty of arresting sounds you won’t find in any sample banks or presets.
|
One of the five bonus tracks "Third Death" could be a danse macabre version of Ry Cooder doing Vigilante Man, with its freaky slide guitar and death-rattle percussion. It’s followed by what sounds like a tuned dentist drill duetting with a Dyson. But Dysons weren't invented then. So maybe a Hoover. The sink plunger comes in too – but it still sounds very cool and very pharmaceutically enriched. It’s nice to be able to do your drugs vicariously.
Final track "She Was A Visitor" has deranged saxophone, a bass note from hell and scratching, struggling noises in the further recesses of the mix. The sampled vocal is menacing and tuneful. But it's fractured into pieces, sped up, layered and scattered like ashes, before a reprise of near normality and that four note sax riff that could be PIGBAG in a sulk. It's a gem. As is every other track. So, pleasant surprise of the week. File under: play again, lots. And compare and contrast Miller's delivery on "Jungle Song" with MARK E. SMITH and/or DAVID BYRNE.
|
