Korai Öröm - Live -199X- (Cassette, Self-Released), Hungary

Korai Öröm are a psychedelic and tribal band from Hungary that started out in the early 90's in the wake of the fall of the iron curtain and the end of the socialist system. At that time the gates of Eastern Europe were flooded with new sounds that came into the newly liberated countries and the neo-psychedelic 90's hit harder than anyone would have imagined. Tribal gatherings, free festivals and dance music styles changed the musical landscape and pirate radio stations (in the case of Hungary Tilos Radio meaning Forbidden Radio) started to transmit the music of the new underground and the neo-psychedelic revolution.

Korai Öröm was a band with many members that played free-flow jams that were a mix of psychedelic rock, tribal rhythms, electronics, downtempo and experimental sounds. The tradition of Hungarian jam music and the channeling of a free form stream of music can be traced back to the Shamanic rock group Vágtázó Halottkémek that can be seen as the originator of the genre within the Hungarian underground.

During the 90's Korai Öröm became increasingly more known playing many festivals as well as concerts outside of Hungary. They created some iconic albums during their first decade capturing the 90's underground mentality in a re-opened democratic Hungary that was searching to realize its new potential. It was the moment in which music was here. Music was now. Music was liberating. This rare tape is a collection of obscure unknown live recordings by the band from the mid 90's capturing the communal aspect of the Hungarian underground at the time through some lo-fi psychedelic jams. It reminds me somewhat of the Serbian psychedelic band Igra Staklenih Perli from Belgrade.

Get it HERE

Various Artists - Canada - Italy / Italia - Canada -1987- (LP, 3ViTrePAIR)

This is an interesting sound-poetry record I found in Italy not too long ago. It came out on the wonderful 3ViTrePAIR label that was founded by Enzo Minarelli, an Italian artist and sound-poet that played a protagonist role in gathering sound-poetry artists on different compilations and hosting poetry festivals during the 80's. He created compilation series around his concept of Polipoesia, that was based upon a manifest on poetry he created. The series were each dedicated to the poetry exchange between different countries. Here we have the compilation that focused on sound poetry from Canada and Italy.

The Canadian poets on the compilation are all from Quebec so the main language used here is French, hence the references to Antonin Artaud the French dramatist and subversive theatre director who also did strange recordings on radio that could be seen as sound poetry to a certain extent. In the liner notes written by Minarelli references are also made to French poets like Henri Chopin and Bernard Heidsieck. The Canadian representatives on this compilation are Pierre-André Arcand, Jean-Claude Gagnon, Alain-Martin Richard, Richard Martel and Gilles Arteau. The poets from Italy are aside from Minarelli himself Gian Paolo Roffi, Corrado Cicciarelli, Massimo Mori and Luigi Pasotelli. Sound poetry has always been important in Italy and this series is another strong example.

The music ranges from sound experiments to casiotone rhythm minimalism to the use of mouth harps, voice manipulation and more. It gives a mail-art music feeling from back in those days that can be experienced on compilation series like the VEC Audio Exchange for example. Here are some contextual words from the liner notes:

It seems, today, after a great deal of sound poetry is touching the limits of the extremest noise, denying value to the word, almost atomized, if not disapeared because it has been reduced to non-significant sound, the thread of the word is taken up again, proposing it in its natural shape. [sic.] Such a return to and into the word can also be explained as a return to a more immediate communication, to a listening pleasure, keeping in the right side the needs of the audience in a theatre or in front of a TV. The authors herewith included prove and point out how the sound experimentation is no longer synonym of ambiguity of communication, but is still possible practising sound experimentation with intelligent grace and refined, oral taste. In a word, more harmony, less disharmony. So, sound poetry is, or can be for those who want to understand, the next step of certain written poetry, at least the right entry door to continue into the oral a process of invention that in the written field it's no longer original and it is still into the most stagnant impasse. - Enzo Minarelli

Get it HERE / Mirror Link

Yanti Bersaudara - Anggrek Merah -1971- (Cassette, Bali BL 5070), Indonesia

*Archaic Inventions 7 Year Anniversary Post!*

Some time ago I stumbled on some Indonesian cassettes at the city flea market here in Amsterdam. In Holland there still is an extensive legacy of Indonesian music because of the colonial period of the Dutch East Indies of which practically nothing good can be said. Nevertheless Indonesian culture has luckily been integrated in the Dutch society and played a hugely important role for the development of popular music. Bands like The Blue Diamonds or the Tielman Brothers were some of the first combo's to bring Rock 'n Roll music to The Netherlands in the early 60's which then resulted in the entire culture of pop and rock music that goes on until today. 

Also many Indonesian musicians were important for the development of Dutch jazz. A book about that came out recently but can only be red in Dutch I'm afraid. A jazz singer like Henny Vonk is good example of this Indonesian influence in Jazz. She was also involved with the mythical experimental jazz-rock album Banten. Through the connection with Indonesia sometimes some old records or in this case cassettes pop up here and there in Holland.

Yanti Bersadaura or in English The Yanti Sisters were a popular group of singers from the city of Bandung on the island Java that is also known for its rich Gamelan music tradition. Yanti Bersadaura consisted of the three sisters Yani, Tina and Lin and existed only during the early 70's. After their first album they performed at many places around Indonesia and got more popular across the country. They also had occasional television appearances. But shortly after two of the sisters got married they fell apart leaving behind just a couple of records.

Anggrek Merah (Red Orchid) is one of their first albums from 1971 and displays a wonderful interplay of soft-psych arrangements, rock 'n roll influences and early 70's organ exotica. You can even hear the built-in rhythm box of the 60's organ leading some of the songs. This album has been shared before and can be found elsewhere online. From what I know it has been released on vinyl in Indonesia and Singapore and is fetching some insane prices today. The thing with those old records from that part of the world is that their quality is rarely pristine. The digitized copies online have lots of cracks and pop which is ofcourse completely understandable. Still that's why I figured it would be nice to share this never played cassette since there is almost no loss of sound quality (it's a cassette!). 

The label putting out this cassette somehow decided to extend the original Anggrek Merah album with tracks by singer Annie Rae which doesn't show on the front cover, but is a nice extra on this great cassette of Indonesian female singers. The music of the Yanti Sisters reminds me of the all female rock and roll band Dara Puspita from Indonesia but also resembles the Japanese trio Moko, Beaver & Olive or maybe even the Girls From Bahia from Brazil.

Fly away to 70's Indonesia, see and smell some red orchids in the sun, it's time to experience some psychedelic exotica sounds. 

Get your ticket HERE

Message:
So much incredible home-taping cassettes are coming to the blog soon, the material is overwhelming. I just try to do what I can. Thank you all for the support throughout the years! - Bence AI

Lister - Innlysende Samtaler Og Forutbestemte Avtaler -1984- (Tape, Self-Released), Norway

Originally from Oslo, Stein Inge Larsen, better known as André Lister, moved to Trondheim in the mid-70's with the intention of becoming a primary school teacher. However, once in contact with the city's music-driven scene he became a central part of it.

The lack of music press in Norway at that time instigated the creation of the first fanzines, that actually originated in Trondheim due to its vibrant punk and hard rock community. The first one to appear was Asfaltfilla, an anarchist fanzine which shared a lot of the common elements that could be found in similar counter-cultural publications at the time. André Lister was one of the heads behind it and an avid rejector of punk's intellectualization. Asfaltfilla would eventually result in the creation of the punk music fanzine Rockefilla.

André Lister had been part of many bands such as Sjolord, but ultimately distanced himself from punk and started to lean towards sonic experimentation and the use of synthesizers and drum machines, as it became apparent in some of his solo projects as Lister, while also forming Norwegian experimental cult rock band Det Elektriske Kjøkken. As a result, and as way to publish their albums, the band decided to start the label Oh Yeah! and its sub-label Oh No!

Innlysende Samtaler Og Forutbestemte Avtaler (Obvious Calls And Predefined Agreements) is one of Lister's first solo projects in which he pursues further the electronic domain combining long swirling synthesizer sounds with prog-like bass and guitar riffs as well as the occasional use of rhythm machines without losing its home-made DIY feel. You can expect a soothing psychedelic trip with some recording imperfections all along the tape (the first track suffers from a technical default that turns mono at some point), enjoy! 

André Lister died in 2016 in Tanger at the age of 63 where he decided to live the rest of his days. 

- Juan Vacas

* The information made available above is an adaptation from the information retrieved from his obituary in a Norwegian newspaper and the book "Sid's Norwegian romance: Sex Pistols exiled in Trondheim 1977" (2012).

Get it HERE

Roy G. Biv - Yellow -1980- (Tape, Self-Released), Netherlands

Roy G. Biv (Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet) was the home-taping project and sound & color improvisation band of Dutch musician and visual artist Robin Deirkauf who sadly passed away last year. I think the first tapes were solo-projects and later the project was joined by Edward Vunderink (guitars, voice) and Frans Evers (keyboards). Yellow is one of the first three tapes by Roy G. Biv from 1980 and just like some of Conrad Schnitzler's work it was dedicated to a specific color. The band also did a red and a blue cassette (I have never seen or heard the blue one). Here's a brief and interesting biography I found on Deirkauf's personal website:

"In his early childhood Deirkauf grew up in the Caribbean, where his father was an antiques dealer, mainly specialized in African and Asiatic art. The exotic colorful underwater world at that time and the antiques has had a profound influence on his later drawings and paintings.

Sign, symbol and script are recurring elements in his sometimes eclectic work, it is characterized by ancient, primordial pictoral power, mixed with modern constructivist elements and bright colors. After this period he turned to a more formal and conceptual way of analizing the image, resulting in the development of a matrix used to create a pictographic alphabet consisting of primary colors and forms.

During the late 70's and early 80's Deirkauf founded the experimental sound and color improvisation group  Roy G. Biv for the realization of the multimedia art project phase III with Edward Vunderink and Frans Evers, what resulted in 10 music albums."

Roy G. Biv's Yellow tape is a great improvised jam-session like endeavour of cosmic electronic soundscapes reminding me of Krautrock groups from the 70's like Agitation Free, Ash Ra Tempel and other Manuel Göttsching works. It's also highly influenced by minimal music and because of the color themes, the Conrad Schnitzler analogy remains a given ofcourse. Not too often do the early home-taping cassettes from The Netherlands lean more towards the psychedelic and cosmic electronic side of the musical spectrum instead of the more commonly found industrial or minimal synth tapes from those times.

It's nice to find out about the existence of different and more cosmic music from Amsterdam from a time when half of the city was filled with squats with punks and new wave had already arrived both in fashion and music. I suppose Roy G. Biv shows the musical transition from the 70's with its psychedelic sounds to the DIY sound approach of the 80's and carries both decades in its spirit. Maybe that approach is also interwoven into the story of the Dutch wave and ultra band Mekanik Kommando that later turned into the psychedelic group The Use of Ashes.

Most of the Roy G. Biv albums were uploaded on No Longer Forgotten Music some time ago. Wonderful stuff. And ofcourse rest in peace Robin Deirkauf. Maybe some reissues have to be done in his memory.

The red tape will also be uploaded to the blog one day.

Get it HERE

Detachment / McMarian - Cienie (Shadows) -1988- (Tape, A.R.S.), US/Poland

Here's another obscurity from the Polish home-taping circuit from behind the Iron Curtain. This time it's a split-cassette between the American act Detachment created by Craig Coe from Dayton, Ohio recorded between '86 and '88 and McMarian one of Poland's great industrial home-taping acts created by Marcin Bednarski and Piotr Kalinowski from the city Kraków.

It's an interesting fact that this isn't just a Polish cassette and that the members of McMarian were somehow able to share and receive music material over the borders of the socialist state, even if the political system was in its very last stage before the collapse. The Polish home-taping scene had been created by necessity since these type of bands were unable to release their music officially, nevertheless one can see that they did have ties with the international cassette culture. Cienie, meaning shadows, is a vivid example of this mechanism, that through its "secret" distribution had much more meaning than just having a taste for particular music. It's part of an unclassifiable almost non-existing area where art opened up a place for individuals who could gain some autonomy through their marginalized practices to counter the political and cultural programming of the totalitarian regime.

I can't find much info on the Detachment project from the US, but it somehow reminds me of the minimal synth sounds of Patrick Gibson from Australia. A very nice combination of experimental sounds and rhythmic industrial minimal synth. The tracks by McMarian have an even stronger foundation in rhythmic industrial music creating loops of manipulated rhythms in combination with samples. Specially the last tracks on the tape remind me of the primitive era of Esplendor Geométrico from Spain or the early Australian industrial act Mesh.

Actually the music is quite nice, unfortunately it's buried under a thick layer of white noise. I tried to digitize this several times to get a better sound (dolby, no dolby, equalizing etc.), until I found out it will just turn out to be like this. With renaming files and cutting I've spent four hours on this tape. The opening track by Detachment also starts low in volume and then starts to peak later on. Anyway, that's one of the things with those obscure tapes from Eastern Europe from the 80's, the quality is not that high. But because of its background and totally different cultural and technical circumstances the music should be appreciated in its lo-fi nature as a testament of the underground. It actually sounds better directly from cassette, as if the music has become one with its medium.

This tape was limited to 50 copies.

Kindly donated by the Y Create archive

Get it HERE

Angst - De Witte Villa -1980's- (Cassette, Geef Appel Neem Chocolade/Kubus Kassettes), Belgium

Angst was a project by Flemish writer, poet and musician Erik Vloeberghs (in this case in collaboration with Herbert Alkali). He also did projects such as The Firing-Squad, Kwajongens In Bloei and The Parts. Vloeberghs was closely related to the Antwerp based industrial and interdisciplinary art group Club Moral. Frequently he contributed to their art-zine/fanzine called Force Mental. His musical subjects mostly dealt with excess in all kind of forms adapted into musical concepts. The whole Club Moral sphere is known to have explored the extremes of human nature and deviant human behaviour within society, both in cathartic experience and conceptualization, a bit in a similar way to what industrial and power electronics groups like Whitehouse, Ramleh or Consumer Electronics did in England. Just somewhat less uniformic in sound (noise) with more influences from literary poetry and visual arts including performative aspects and multimedia elements.

De Witte Villa (The White Villa) is a cassette that came out both in Belgium and Holland,  respectively on the Belgian Geef Appel Neem Chocolade and Dutch Kubus Kassettes cassette labels. It takes a villa as its core reference, perhaps because the music was played at a villa during an intensive stayover (since the last field recorded track is called 'In The Kitchen of The White Villa'), perhaps because Vloeberghs used it as an aristocratic concept as another point of reference in the light of deviance and excess of society in let's say a Marquis De Sade type of setting. In any case, the music starts with Italian, maybe Napolitan song, mixed through distorted radio noise. Next up is a sort of minimal home-taping Marxist 'introduction to capitalism' explaining how human production powers lead to different classes in society and that capitalist fatalism causes tragedy in the face of nature as well as alienation of the self. The tape continuously thrives upon primitive field recordings with an industrial sound approach of eeriness and noise.

Some of the music is reminiscent of Italian industrial projects like the hyper-obscure work by Stefano Tamburini or the industrial group Tasaday. The field recording aspect of home-taping taking place as an integrated part of daily life also reminds me of music primitivists like the Gefährliche Klons I posted before on the blog. De Witte Villa is another rarity of the Belgian home-taping scene that didn't fear to sonically self-investigate and integrate darker subject matters into the recordings.

This tape was kindly donated by the Y Create archive

Get it HERE