Michael Muennich

Have just spent a pleasant while listening to the latest release from German label Fragment Factory. "Zum Geleit" by Michael Muennich. That's "Escorting" to us English readers.
Fragment Factory seems to be getting itself an identity. After early releases by "noise" projects the label seems now to be releasing material by sound explorers, conceptual artists, recordists...it is developing into a fine ear. My first exposure to this label was through the cassette release by Berlin based artist Alex Schneider (AKA Krube), and then there has been collaboration recordings featuring EVP pioneer Michael Esposito and Kevin Drumm and "industrial" stalwarts Z'ev and John Duncan. Last year saw the release of the Michael Muennich cassette "Rugged" as well as a collaboration with GX Jupitter-Larsen on 7" vinyl.
Both myself and Michael contributed a cassette for the Lucas Abela "Mix Tape" exhibition that took place in June last year in Australia.(common ground).
And now there is "Zum Geleit" a white 3"CDr packaged in a small plastic wallet. The sound is elemental. To these ears the sound is of rain. The layered sound of rain upon a variety of surfaces. The sound of rain upon various surfaces slightly tweaked and treated and expertly looped. Perhaps the rain is recorded on the glass and metal roof of the building that adorns cover and insert of this release? Perhaps it is not rain at all but insects or dead air space...but to me it sounds like rain. Immediatley the 400 Blows track "399 To Go" is brought to mind...really, dig out the 1989 compilation LP "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Forever" on Concrete Productions and give it a listen. There is also the sound of metal and wooden wind chimes in the mix.
The piece is seventeen minutes long and totally engrossing. It also notes that the CDr was mastered by (the master) Phil Julian. I think it won't belong before there is a Phil Julian / Cheapmachines release on Fragment Factory. 

One of the "things" I like about Fragment Factory is their release formats. They put stuff out on CDr, cassettes aswell as quality vinyl - that is excellent to see. I do know people (I won't name names, let's just call them ... idiots) who won't put their stuff out on cassette or CDr because they believe it is an inferior format. They'll never learn (great song)!
I can only take my hat off to Fragment Factory, a label to keep an eye/ear on....soon they shall be as essential as fellow German labels Pan and Tochnit_Aleph.

contact ~ www.fragmentfactory.com 

Pictures.
1: Fragment Factory Flyer.
2: "Zum Geleit" Sleeve.

A Treasured Tape #7

This cassette is probably the oldest tape I own. It was mailed to me shortly after the Hulme massacre (AKA "the burglary that cannot speak its' name") in 1983.
It certainly is of its time, as it is a "tape letter" mailed by Tim Bayes and Dan Plunkett (of ND Magazine) in the early months of 1984. Tim was over in Texas at the time and tape letters were a great way of communicating. My tape letters were usually me talking in between tracks like a bedroom John Peel, whereas Tim's tapes (as a rule) have him speaking at the beginning and end of Side A, then that is all....social networking in the early 80's.
With the amount of (house) moves I have made since 1984 it is a bloody miracle that I still have this cassette, but it has stuck with me through thick and thin. I remember the day it arrived, the cassette was packaged with a series of Dan's "Mail Art" and Texan newspaper cuttings ... and the jiffy was packed with small paper circles, like Dan and Tim had emptied a two-month supply of "used" hole punched paper into the jiffy. They went everywhere upon opening. Buggers.

The cassette kicks off with Tim and Dan talking about how stiflingly hot it was in Austin, Texas and how the air conditioning unit had busted. Interesting stuff, eh? Before the 1980 Peel Session recording of Gilbert & Lewis comes in and the track "Anchors", this track later became "Ends With The Sea" and one of 4AD's better singles.The tape then has a little bit of Tim trying to get his (then) partner Anne to say something into the microphone before Dan comes on and introduces Soviet France and the "Norsche" 12"EP.
This tape got me interested in Soviet France. I had originally bought both the "Garista" tape (covered in creosote) and the "Untitled" 12" (otherwise known as the "Hessian Bag" record) but not been overly enthused by them. Packaging over content type of attitude. The tracks on this EP totally blew me out of the water - a great surprise, with a more "tighter" and ritual / rhythmic sound. At that time (as of now) Soviet France were producing the sound I wanted to listen to. Inspirational. I (still) have no idea where the sample voice that begins..."Where is he, that is born king of the Jews"....comes from, for some reason I thought it might be the Reverend Ian Paisley, but somehow and now I think not.
The following Giro day I rushed down to Virgin Records in Manchester to buy a copy, but they had sold out...but luckily "Mohonomische" was in there. This is my all time favourite Soviet France release, and I didn't stop buying Soviet France records for the next four years.

Side B has five tracks by NKVD/Heute. The tracks may (or may not) come from a cassette called "Prior To Intercourse". I have looked over the internet to find the source of these tracks, some that have very DVA style titles, but have had no joy. The tracks last 30 minutes and are built of primitive synth sounds. No vocals or tape splicing or any other instrument, just pure free form synthesizer meanderings. Obviousluy influenced by Krautrock - Tone Float, Tangerine Dream etc and maybe Richard Pinhas and Ron Geesin....I don't know. It sounds a little like The Future and Clock DVA material that appears as "Lomticks Of Time" on the recent Vinyl-On-Demand compilation. It's fascinating stuff. The tape hiss plays a part.
After NKVD there is fifteen or so minutes from The Residents 1977 Xmas Radio Show. For some reason I didn't write it on the sleeve.
I have no releases by The Residents, never have...it's not that I don't like The Residents it has always been a case of not knowing where to start and then just "making do" with tapes that friends have made...never any urge to go out and buy their catalogue. Sound quality on the tape has deteriorated somewhat, and this part of the tape was always "hissy". There is a version of "Santa Dog" and a loop that goes "Kick The Cat Today", but other than that I have no idea....

The cassette came without track listing or sleeve, just what Dan says he is going to fill the tape up with before the Soviet France EP, and he does mention putting on some live Pere Ubu but there is none on here. The tape finishes with a small interview with Paul McCarthy, and the time he worked with John Duncan. Fascinating stuff - Tim also mailed a cassette with Paul reciting a poem called "Boston Bay" that is one of the best things I have heard...ever.

Like I mentioned before, I don't know how throughout the last twenty eight years this cassette has stuck with me, I guess I'll have to be buried with it. It remains a treasured tape.

Lunn Poly

Beartown Records is slowly building itself up into a collectible label, they have released some fine albums in the past couple of years (since they came into my orbit) from the likes of BBBlood, Aqua Dentata, Baraclough, Cheapmachines, Astral Social Club, Petals and Red Electric Rainbow to name a few. This month they have released a new cassette album by Manchester based noisenik Smear Campaign and a CDr by Cheshire based duo Lunn Poly.
As far as I am aware Lunn Poly are a one off project by Beartown Records operators; Chris Bostock and David Mellor...but I could be wrong. (I usually am). "Thee Cosmic Donald" is a 40+ minute CDr encased in child like artwork...it kind of fits the sound. 40+ minutes is a tad too many, Lunn Poly should have appeared on a compilation or split C20 cassette and then disappeared into the mythical ether. There are parts of this album that have ingenuity and are highly listenable conjuring up the early tape collaging of Smegma and the releases of labels such as Audiofile Tapes and Sound Of Pig, but it all becomes familiar in a very quick time.
Tape Collaging / Vocal Manipulation / Bodily Functions and Tweaked Electronics are fed through looping devices and a Roland Space Echo (or maybe a WEM CopyCat) to the nth degree. There's a hint of Dilloway, but not enough to make this a bit novelty and tiring.
Perhaps I am taking this too seriously? After all many of the loops and rhythms are built from belching and farting.

The CDr is available for £4 from Beartown direct - www.beartownrecords.com, although (to me) they remain a label worth listening to I don't think the Lunn Poly release will win them new "fans".

Mass - Mass

A step forwards /a step back / it doesn't matter
it's a change/ it's a challenge.

I mentioned the 1980 album "Mass" by Mass in my list of my ten most influential records in the latest edition of "Special Interests" magazine, and since then I've had a few folk saying the same thing...and a few asking who Mass were!
Anyway, found this 10 minute excerpt floating on YouTube - please take 10 minutes out of your day and give it an ear or two. (play as loud as possible)!

Never Say When

Looking forward to this event.
Hotel booked - train tickets bought ... see you there I hope!

Ebola Disco/Screwtape

Intrigue made me buy the latest single from Australian label Now...This! A split 7" by two Australian projects; Ebola Disco and Screwtape. That is the Andrew McIntosh project called Screwtape, not the Drew McDowall project from the 1990's. I have got to know Andrew through his various writings, critiques and comments on a few internet forums and have always liked what he has expressed...I was keen to hear Screwtape. Ebola Disco contributed their version of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love".
Years ago, 25, 26 years ago I was living in Manchester. Word came that Gary Clail and the On-U Sound System were doing a gig at The Garage in Nottingham. I knew The Garage, I knew it well...from the days it was the "Cool Cat" in the 1970's, the Garage was a great club and a great place to see Gary Clail and the On-U Sound System. Sean, Andy and myself travelled down (on the train) from Manchester and by the time we arrived at the Garage we were stoned to the point of tripping. We were in this cellar room with a few friends from the surrounding area, stoned off our collective bollocks when Gary Clail began his set, mixing and mashing up heavy dub bass lines with crashing reggae rhythms. Great stuff and only a dozen or so folk in "the audience". At some point in the set in came the opening synth sequencer rhythm..the heavy pulsing beat of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love"..I had to dance, I got up onto that dancefloor and danced, and then all of a sudden Mark Stewart was on the same dancefloor with a mic' screaming lyrics. Talk about nirvana and from that moment on I have always loved "I Feel Love".
Ebola Disco do not do a version of "I Feel Love". They provide a pulsing noise with masked grunting vocals that may or may not be the lyrics to the Summer classic. It comes across like an Australian Slogun, which is not a good thing. A very weak Australian Con-Dom.
Screwtape provide "Sacrifice". This track is built from an Australian (right wing) Christian "self help" tape extolling the virtues of resistance to masturbation and pornography juxtaposed against a recording of 'phone sex. It's very cleverly constructed, enough to grab the attention and want to listen. Background noise. synth generated noise a la SPK from their "Information Overload Unit" accompanies the voices. Excellent.
"You can tell what a man likes from his diary and his credit card statement"

Screwtape need discovering, therefore this single is necessary. Limited to only 100 copies and in a foldout picture sleeve. Contact www.nowthis.com.au

Bodmin Jail

"ever had the feeling you've been cheated ?"

It is half term here in County Devon, Easter school holidays which means trips out and about across Devon & Cornwall. I know I should be head down and rehearsing for the upcoming gig in Stockholm, but also I've got to keep the kids entertained....somehow!
This holiday we have decided to do castles and beaches, and momentarily veered off the plan and went to see Bodmin Jail in Bodmin, Cornwall.
Their website on the Internet bigged it up somewhat and I really enjoyed the Dartmoor Prison Museum in Princetown...so I thought...why not?

Why not, indeed. Why not...because the museum is very cheap and "tacky" and not real value for money. The museum is an add on to a hotel & inn, the entrance to the museum is second door on the left at the end of the bar.
Admission is £6.50 per adult, £4.50 for a child between 5 and 15, under 5's are free. (a £25 family ticket is available). Exhibitions inside the museum are poor, very poor - badly lit cells with ancient featureless "dummies" enact out scenes of murder, arson, bestiality (yes...really), suicide, illegal cow milking and reasons why folk were incarcerated in Bodmin jail. I cannot say in words how stunningly cheap and useless these "dummies" are. Stories of the imprisoned are littered about the jail, again badly lit and some were unreadable - obscured by darkness.
The emphasis is on the horror, and with dummies being hanged, or with their throats cut, or dismembered on the jail's hospital table it is highly unsuitable for children. The "lunatics cell" is an insult to my intelligence.
There are slight glimpses of interest, like the "treadmill", and Execution Room, but I did not get a real feel of the horror/hardship of prison life...just one of being cheated out of my hard earned cash.
There was a strange room with tales of hangings and executions in Devon & Cornwall posted on the walls, stories of the judges who passed the death sentence and of executioners (not whilst this jail was in use)...and then there was notices telling us of how Peter Sutcliffe and Roy Whiting and Ian Huntley live lives of luxury at the expense of me - the UK tax payer...and really they should be executed shouldn't they? I began to feel a little queasy...have I passed over my money to some pro-capital punishment organisation?
A shopping complex called Trago Mills is close by and that is run by a homophobic xenophobe and is a money making tool for UKIP (NEVER shop at Trago Mills folks)! Is Bodmin jail the same?

Bodmin jail has 4 floors of tack to explore...the pamphlet tells us to "visit the 6th floor tower room and discover its purpose". So I did, to discover an empty room that was used to house a central heating unit back in the 19th Century! Mystery & intrigue, eh?
The jail does ghost tours and has its own psychic (or mind monger if you prefer) - that is how tacky it all is - a shame because the building is great...imposing on the Bodmin skyline (built in 1779), just a shame it is owned by some shyster entrepreneurs and not English Heritage or National Trust.
If you are on a family holiday in the South West, please avoid this place - go to Boscastle Witchcraft Museum or Princetown Jail Museum....

Pictures.
1: Bodmin Jail Pamphlet.
2: The Hanging Cell.
3: Skull in a jar - there was no explanation for this exhibit.
4: View from a cell.
5: "Life like" dummies!
6: Oscar, Isabel F. and myself outside the jail.

Praying For Oblivion #3

Have just spent a pleasant while listening to "The Fear Experiments", a 7" single by Praying For Oblivion. I have had this single on and off my turntable throughout March, and it has slowly grown into a classic.
A few months ago I bought the Praying For Oblivion cassette "Aktion T4" on the US Phage Tapes label, an excellent release of PFO material from 1999, and material reworked by N.Strahl.N in 2009. So now I am intrigued to hear "early" Praying For Oblivion releases, when they were a two piece based in America, when they were Andrew Seal and John Sharp. That is the John Sharp of Blazen Y Sharp fame.
"The Fear Experiments" features two instrumentals (PFO are much better at instrumentals) - one studio and one from a live performance on the 23rd of October 1999 in Tennessee. It could well be the same track twice - one studio, one live. The sound of "The Fear Experiments" is one of taught wires, stretched springs, bass tone rumblings and scraped strings. Very close to the sound being put out by Nekrophile Records in the late 1980's. It came as a great surprise....I did not know what to expect, but I didn't expect it to be this good.
The single was put out on the PFO label Final Judgement.
If you see this single on lists or on distro merch' stalls at a live gig somewhere then buy, you won't be disappointed. I know I go on about the great sterling/dollar exchange rate at the moment, but I bought this 7" from Carbon (US distro' outfit) for around 50p.....P+P was more than the vinyl!

Pictures.
1: "The Fear Experiments" cover sleeve.
2: Andrew Seal in Berlin, March 2012.

Berry Pomeroy Castle

Acting as Devon tourist information (unpaid division) I can wholly recommend a visit to Berry Pomeroy Castle. Situated in between my house and Paignton, just off the A3022...follow the signs to Marldon then to the Castle itself. Berry Pomeroy is a great ruined building.
Built firstly in the 15th Century during the time of the War Of The Roses by the Pomeroy family the castle was sold to Edward Lord Seymour, "Protector Somerset". He and his family lived in the castle until the 17th when they abandoned the building and left it to ruin.
The castle itself (albeit a shell) can still be imagined as a working building, great stairwells to climb, dungeons and battlement walls to walk along with great views across the Gatcombe valley and surrounding woods. It was great for the kids, lots of spaces to run around and discover whilst Tamsin and I picnicked on the lawn.

There is a gift shop and (unlicensed) cafe (of course), but bringing one's own food is allowed. The grounds around the castle are open too, woods and lakelands and dog friendly. We spent two and a half hours there and didn't get bored....worth the £4.80 admission.
So, if you're heading for Torbay or in the area give Berry Pomeroy a visit.

Pictures.
1: Oscar and Isabel at the Gatehouse.
2: Inside The North Wing.
3: Oscar and his picnic!
4: The Great Hall.
5: Berry Pomeroy Castle (and a great ruin).

Six Heads

Proving that dadaism is alive and well and living in the 'burbs of Toronto, Six Heads bring us "Cardboard Oracle" a 12" 33rpm LP released by Wintage Records&Tapes.
Side one is entitled "Smaller, Larger, Lighter (Incantation Of The Naugahyde Witch)". A fifteen minute track featuring (and this is guess work) Chinese thumb piano, radio interference, singing bowls,cheap battery powered keyboards,contact microphones, turntables, tape decks and a general bastardization of cognitive sound as we know it.
Side two is entitled "Carnival Dust" and lasts one minute longer. The sound here begins with a bass rumble and what sounds like the grinding of teeth before Dr. Phibes enters on his wurlitzer organ. The sound is then experimented on - various pitches, equalizations, tones, spaces etc. A cacophony of nightmare undulations. Excellent (fascinating) stuff. "Carnival Dust" presents a sense of unease.
Both pieces sound as if they could be from live performances, but the recording credits list three locations used over a two year period. Masterful editing.
I am already in love with this LP, and I've only had it a couple of days. (I have also taken advantage of the sterling/dollar exchange rate and got copies of a couple of Six Heads cassettes: "The Popeye Scat" and "The Official Bootleg"). The LP is packaged in between to old pieces of cardboard - my cover being a recycled Tony Banks LP! The Toronto record shop "She Said Boom" is given a thanks in the credits so I can guess where the old LP sleeves come from.
If you like (Early) Nurse With Wound or irr. app. (ext) the Six Heads are yours.

Six Heads are; J. Bailey, W.A. Davison, L. Feesey, S. Higgins, C. Hinz and P. Mosher.

Six Heads stuff can be found at William's website: www.recordism.com and contact Kevin Crump of Wintage at wintagerecords@gmail.com and get some Six Heads!

Pictures.
1: "Cardboard Oracle" cover by William A. Davison.
2: "Cardboard Oracle" back cover painting.
3: "The Popeye Scat" & "Official Bootleg" cassettes.
4: William & Sherri of Six Heads outside "She Said Boom" store. Toronto. 2008.

These Feathers Have Plumes

It has taken me a bloody long time and a lot of missed releases to get round to appreciating the sound of These Feathers Have Plumes (TFHP), mainly due to my dislike of the non-de-plume. Hey! I'm only being honest here....
Last month I saw TFHP live at the Rammel Weekender in Nottingham and I was entranced with the sound, the all consuming sound, the live sound of TFHP.
These Feathers Have Plumes is the solo project of former Cindytalk bass player Andie Brown, and at a chance meeting on Nottingham train station after the Rammel event she gave me a copy of "Hegira" a 3"CDr on the US based label Robert & Leopold.
"Hegira" is a journey from an undesirable situation, and the sound on this 20 odd minute masterpiece is very personal. Solitary, slow, warm and soft and very very personal. The sound is created by bowed strings (either cello or double bass) and glass. Live, Andie played wine glasses (filled with various volumes of water) with a violin bow. An incredibly magickal sound. And here the sound is reproduced, at first with an angelic voice hidden in the ether and then in dramatic waves. Very occult based pieces similar to the field Inade + Fjernlys are working in.

When I hear bowed instruments, metal, cymbals, strings etc I immediately think of David Jackman and Andrew Chalk, but "Hegira" is closer to the drone work of Coil or "Soliloquy For Lilith" by Nurse With Wound. It is not as harsh as Organum....but close.

It was an honour to witness TFHP live, a shame to have missed out on past releases but at least I'm clued up now and every future release has my name on it!
"Hegira" is necessary and available from Robert & Leopold - a label run by Ryan Martin of York Factory Complaint - contact Ryan at www.robertandleoplod.com

Pictures:
1: "Hegira" sleeve designed by Ryan Martin.
2: Andie Brown (TFHP) on the far right sound checking at the Rammel, Nottingham 2012. (Phil Julian on the far left and John Wiese centre back).

Mytrip/EUS

I saw this release being advertised on the "Special Interests" forum board and it intrigued me. A split release by a Bulgarian project and an artist from Costa Rica. I have never heard of any experimental / dark ambient / drone music (that is how it was advertising itself) from either countries, so I had to find out.....
Sure, like everybody who bought 4AD Records back in the 1980's I have once owned a Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares album, but that was 25 years ago.
This split cassette is a C60 released by Bulgarian Abandonment Label and limited to only 44 copies. Mytrip present three pieces of cold, bleak, windswept, monochrome industrial landscapes. I have a sense that the material was produced on a computer. It is dark ambient to a tee, highly listenable but nothing gripping. The sound sometimes gets lost in the low EQ murkiness. Track three; "Watching Myself" has a more urgent feel to it, a certain irritable madness but after a few minutes it calms down to the dark drone.
Mytrip present enough for me to want to hear more, especially on CD (better quality sound), a couple of these tracks would have sounded great as a 7" on Stefan Knappe's Drone Records label, alas that label has finished.
EUS are from Costa Rica and here present a 27 minute piece called "Menester". The sound is of drifting guitar through a myriad of laptop effects. Shoegazing on the mezzanine level and didn't really "do anything". At first I am reminded of the work of ex Slowdive guitarist Simon Scott, but ... even these thoughts tail off after a few minutes. I have tried three times to listen to the whole 27 minutes of "Menester", but each time (about 15 minutes in) I am having to press the eject.

A worthy release for me because I have discovered the sound of Mytrip and want to hear more, and I have heard the sound of the Bulgarian underground! I'll give future Costa Ricans a miss.
The cassette is professionally duplicated with a great sleeve. Try and seek out via; www.abandonmentlabel.blogspot.com

Vagina Dentata Organ Live @ NK Gallery, Berlin. March 2012.

The Vaginal Blockade

There are sometimes when a record or cassette is just not good enough, there are sometimes when viewing a posting on YouTube is just not good enough, sometimes you see a line up for an event and think ... "I have to be there.....that's got I have to be there written all over it". Vagina Dentata Organ & The New Blockaders live at the NK Gallery in Berlin was such an event. I was there.
On the Saturday we battled through snow showers, gale force winds, hail storms and lightening strikes to get to the NK Gallery and believe me the venue is not an easy place to find. Elsenstr.52 is a kebab house, it is down the passage at the side of the building into a courtyard of broken down vehicles and detritus that the venue is found.

The gallery is small and because the evening was so special the place was heaving.
In the main performance area there hung seven mirrors, a backdrop film of four Vagina Dentata Organ picture discs was greeted with applause. Taped applause, looped and mixed with whistling and cheering. Anticipation of what was about to happen was high, I looked around and everybody was smiling. A couple of dozen toilet rolls were systematically placed in front of the mirrors by two hooded figures. Down a lengthy corridor at the gallery entrance 10 drummers started drumming, lead by Jordi Valls - as they got nearer the drums got more intense and mixed with the looped tapes (which were also getting louder) the room became one of aural hypnotic chaos. As the drummers moved onto the small stage in front of the revolving turntables Jordi began to smash the mirrors with a small hammer. For the next 10 minutes or so glass was smashed, shards flew around the venue, kicked and crushed, Jordi flung the hammer about, cutting himself in the process. The performance ended with Jordi leading the drummers back down the venue corridor as the looped applause faded to leave the film of spinning discs. Silence...and everyone was still smiling.
A performance that left me stunned...it may sound simple, but like I said..this was a time when playing a record or watching a clip on YouTube just isn't good enough - experience was all.

The New Blockaders are (at the moment) like London buses, they don't perform for ages then two live appearances in a month!
At first two Blockaders took to the stage to present their irritable noise, insectual, scratching, irritable noise. Mechanical screeching. A third Blockader began a journey down the gallery's corridor creating the most amazing sound with a metallic dustbin lid. Aural senses in overload - this was an attack! The suited balaclava'd figure danced with the lid up and down the corridor scraping it against the walls, floors and gallery benches before fighting his way through the audience onto the stage to saw the lid and assorted metals. Jordi Valls joined in by smashing a metal bar stool at the back of the venue. There was a moment when one Blockader was left sawing the metal whilst the other two read a newspaper. This was a nice touch in an intense atmosphere. A louder, longer performance to the one at the beginning of the month in Nottingham - more precise, hence more intense but certainly the most offensive TNB performance I have seen to date. Again, silence as the members walked off stage down the corridor to their dressing room. And everyone was still smiling.

Joke Lanz ended the evening - by now the early hours of the morning - by playing some classic (post) punk records. It was just what the evening required.
"Words Cannot Express" as the great man said. The experience was everything.

It was also a great night for meeting some old friends. Paul Watson (The Baron), Andrew Seal, Stefan Schwanke, Stefan Hanser, Bill Kouligas, Phillipe, John Murphy...a regular who's who of the Berlin underground (apart from Paul....I know). A disappointment was the special release for the event being delayed, the vinyl/art release by TNB and Vagina Dentata Organ, but it did mean more cash for beer!

I was hoping to hunt out some (secondhand) vinyl stores to report back from Berlin with...but unfortunately there just wasn't time. The weekend was also Tamsin's birthday and her first visit to the City, so we stuck to the tourist trail...and it did snow!

Pictures.
1: Event Poster.
2: I met Jordi at Schonfeld Airport the following day, he signed my flyer.
3: Vagina Dentata Organ in performance.
4: The VDO drummers (John Murphy with cap on).
5: Post performance detritus.
6: Blood on the wall.
7: Jordi leaves his mark.
8 & 9: TNB in performance.
10: Joke Lanz.
11: Daniel Lowenbruck (on the right) and friend.
12: Rudolf & that Harbinger Sound guy.
13: Tamsin on the Berlin tourist trail - a very important Clothing Bank ... so I'm told.

The New Blockaders. Berlin. March 2012.

Recorded at the NK Gallery on the 31.March 2012.
Filmed by Tamsin Cammack.