Sunday 22 June 2014

Vágtázó Halottkémek (Galloping Coroners) - Live and Practice -1986- (Tape), Hungary


Vágtázó Halottkémek (VHK), in English Galloping Coroners, in German Rasende Leichenbeschauer is a Hungarian shamanistic noise-rock band. They are artistically rooted in Hungarian mythological stories, ancient Hungarian imagery and cosmic theories. They started out in the end of the seventies, but only released their first proper albums by the end of the eighties when those possibilities came to existence for these kind of bands from behind the iron curtain. During the early eighties they did manage to put a song on the legendary international sampler "Fix Planet" (1981) compiled by NDW legends Der Plan. They were featured alongside bands as Esplendor Geometrico from Spain and Fra Lippo Lippi from Norway. Der Plan describes the song on the back of Fix Planet as:

"The name of the band means "whizzing dead spys" and we don't dare telling who they are. Two of us met two of them once, we were all drunk and it was in Budapest, Hungary's strange capital."

As for the Music: It's the recording of two concerts in 1985 and 1986 in Budapest and two rehearsal songs. The songs are recognizable from their official albums which I suggest you should check out (not sure where) before you listen to these live versions drenched in white noise. I consider these albums to be at least among the top ten best albums from Eastern Europe from the eighties. The music can be defined as instinctive primeval music eliberating the elementary powers of nature creating ourselves and revolting to its high completion in a free spontaneity and overwhelming energy.

To me this is really one of Hungary's finest bands. I've seen them play live last summer in Budapest which was one of the best concerts I had seen in a while. They had reformed and had recorded their latest album called Veled Haraptat Csillagot! / Bite The Stars! It's still in print so get that while you can!

Get this historical tape HERE

Sunday 1 June 2014

Tokyo Kid Brothers - Songs Of The Story Of Eight Dogs -1971- (LP, Dutch Private Pressing), Japan



This vinyl is a private pressing of the recording of the play “The Story of Eight Dogs” by Japanese musical theatre group Tokyo Kid Brothers. In 1971 they played the "The Story of Eight Dogs" for five weeks at the Shaffy Theatre in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This record came out in very limited quantities in Holland during their period of performing in Amsterdam.

These NWW-listers stand in a similar tradition as other counter-cultural musical theatre outfits like the American Living Theatre or Théâtre Du Chêne Noir from France. Tokyo Kid Brothers was founded by Yutaka Higashi in 1968 and made some very weird recordings during the early seventies like the albums “Throw away the books let’s go into the streets” and "Golden Bat" from 1971. Those are being regarded as two of the most important cornerstones of Japanese freak-out psychedelia from the seventies. They should reissue that stuff on vinyl. Tokyo Kid Brothers' early sound was reminiscent of other Japanese acid fuelled underground groups like J.A. Seazer and Food Brain, but also brings to mind some of the more free-form krautrock bands like Amon Düül and Faust. During that era The Tokyo Kid Brothers performed quite often outside of Japan, like New York and Amsterdam.

This recording has some great seventies underground jams combined with intense Japanese vocals. Also the difference between audience and actors at times becomes blurry when they involve the audience and try to teach them about Japanese language characters and so on in a subversive and playful manner. All with a great Japanese English accent.

My copy is not in the best shape as you can see and is quite crackly. It might have had an insert, but I don’t have it. The record doesn’t list titles of the songs, which doesn’t really matter, because it was meant as a play. Anyway this is crazily rare if you’d ask me and absolutely essential to all Japanese psych-heads and NWW-list fans.

“The history of eight dogs is the story of the Japanese young generation in reality and illusion. We came to Holland: Exodus from Japan!”

Get it HERE! Or check it out here: