„Liquid Air“ erschien 1992, also zwei Jahre vor Eröffnung des Ultraschalls. War der Track wichtig bei den vorhergehenden Underworld-Parties, und dann auch noch im Ultraschall?
Monika Kruse: Air Liquide waren sehr oft als Live Act im ersten Ultraschall gebucht, irgendwie gehörten sie fast mit zur Familie. Der Track „Air Liquide“ war jetzt sicherlich nicht im weitläufigen Sinne ein großer Hit, aber er spiegelte den Sound vom Ultraschall und Air Liquide sehr gut wider.
Robert Armani – Circus Bells (Hardfloor Remix) (Djax-Up-Beats, 1993)
Dieser Track ist eine kongeniale Verbindung von Techno aus Chicago und Deutschland. Spielten solche kulturellen Transfers eine Rolle in der Münchner Szene? Und wie wichtig waren 303-Sounds?
Acid spielte natürlich ein große Rolle, aber eine größere Rolle spielte immer noch der Sound von Chicago und Detroit. Der Hardfloor-Remix von „Circus Bells“ hat beide Richtungen perfekt repräsentiert.
Wiener Techno Artists brachten Platten auf Upstarts in München ansässigem Label Disko B heraus. Gab es da eine Achse zwischen den beiden Städten, inklusive wechselseitiger Beeinflussung und Zusammenarbeit?
Es fand ein großer Austausch zwischen den Wiener Künstlern der sogenannten Cheap-Posse und dem Label Disko B statt. Upstart, einer der Ultraschall-Besitzer, dem auch das Label Disko B gehört, buchte gerne die ganze Posse um Patrick Pulsinger herum, wir wiederum fuhren auch für Disko B-Nächte nach Österreich. Wenn die Österreicher bei uns spielten, war das Überraschungsmoment immer gegeben, entweder total morbide Tracks, dann wieder seriöser Techno, oder auch mal House. Diese Alles-ist-möglich-Haltung im Sound der Österreicher war dem Ultraschall-Spirit sehr nahe.
K. Hand – Global Warning (Warp, 1994)
Ein klassischer Techno-Banger aus Detroit. War das ein Track, der für dich spezifisch für das erste Ultraschall ist?
Definitiv war das der Sound der Zeit des ersten Ultraschalls. Viele Künstler aus Detroit wurden damals gebucht, beispielsweise spielte am Eröffnungsabend Jeff Mills. Aber auch DJs wie K. Hand, Underground Resistance, Robert Hood, Juan Atkins und andere waren regelmäßige Gäste.
DBX – Losing Control (Accelerate, 1994)
Daniel Bells „Losing Control“ war ja ein international übergreifender Club-Hit. Welche Rolle spielte der Track im Ultraschall?
Für mich steht der Track eher für das gesamte Feeling, das wir im Ultraschall hatten . „I am losing control“. Da spielten DJs in der Gästetoilette, Robert Görl ( DAF) machte einen zehnstündigen Liveact genau an der Eingangstür, Matthew Herbert sampelte Chipstüten für sein Live-Set und einmal stand auf dem Dancefloor am Ambient-Wochenende ein Riesenbett. Jedes Wochenende passierte irgendetwas in diesem Club, was dir als Gast und als DJ das Gefühl gab, komplett weg aus der Realität zu sein, und die Kontrolle des Alltags abzugeben. Dazu passte der Track natürlich extrem gut!
Im Sommer 1996 schloss das erste Ultraschall, und das zweite eröffnete wenige Monate später. Markiert dieser Detroit Electro-Klassiker diesen Übergang?
Das würde ich so nicht sagen. Der Grund, dass das erste Ultraschall geschlossen wurde, war ja weil der Vertrag auslief, soviel ich weiß. „Pornoactress“ war einfach ein toller Track , der von uns oft gespielt wurde, hat jetzt aber nicht irgendein Ende oder einen Neuanfang eingeleitet. Damals spielte man einfach viel mehr Electro, Electro Boogie und sogar auch mal Drum & Bass.
I-F – Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass (Viewlexx, 1997)
Nochmal Electro, diesmal aus Holland. In jenen Jahren formulierte sich diese Mischung aus Electro, New Wave, Disco und Techno, die Hell dann auf seinem Label International Deejay Gigolos bündelte. Wurden die Weichen dafür im Ultraschall gestellt?
Das Ultraschall war immer sehr offen für alle Arten von Stilen. Wir Resident DJs wie Cpt. Reality, Lester Jones, DJ Hell, DJ Barbara Preisinger und ich hatten alle unseren eigenen Stil. Dazu kam dann noch das Booking der Gast-Djs, die den Sound noch spezieller machten. Ich glaube das Ultraschall hat viele Weichen für Labels und spätere Clubs gestellt , aber auch die einzelnen DJs haben durch ihren Stil das Ultraschall geprägt.
Grungerman – Fackeln Im Sturm (Profan, 1997)
Spielte die Kölner Auslegung von Minimal Techno eine besondere Rolle im Club, oder bezieht sich die Wahl dieses Tracks eher auf das Wirken von Wolfgang Voigt in dieser Zeit? Und mochte man in München diesen Humor?
Oh ja , im Ultraschall liebte man den Kölner Humor und überhaupt generell die ganzen Kölner DJ- und Produzenten-Szene. Ich betone das Ultraschall, ich würde das nicht auf die gesamte Münchner Techno-Szene übertragen. Das erste Ultraschall war immer eine Insel. Zwar lag der Club bei München, am ehemaligen Flughafen Riem, aber die Lage war wie der Club selbst, nämlich abseits. Der Club und sein Sound, die Gäste waren irgendwie so unmünchnerisch. Eher links, alternativ, punkig, verrückt. Somit passte der Kölner Sound, der auch sehr eigen war, da wunderbar rein. Mike Ink, Michael Meyer, Burger, Reinhardt Voigt etc. waren gern gesehene Gäste, und ihre Tracks liefen oft im Ultraschall.
Richard Bartz – Ghettoblaster (Kurbel, 1997)
Richard Bartz war sicherlich ein integraler Bestandteil der Geschichte des Ultraschalls. Wurde seine Musik durch den Club geformt, oder war es auch umgekehrt?
Ich glaube, dass er sich damals mit 17 Jahren schon in den Club geschlichen hatte und definitiv von dem Sound, der Wildheit, und dem ganzen Spielraum inspiriert war. Dadurch dass er später auf Disko B selber veröffentlichte und auch Produzent von DJ Hell wurde, hat er sicherlich auch wiederum etwas zur Soundgestaltung des Clubs beigetragen.
Johannes Heil – Paranoid Dancer (DJ Hell Remix) (Kanzleramt, 2002)
Das Ultraschall schloss im Januar 2003. War dieser Track ein definitiver Hit, der für die Endphase des Club steht?
Ich habe den Track eher aus dem Aspekt gewählt, dass er genau dem früheren DJ Hell- und Johannes Heil-Sound entspricht, bzw. einfach das Techno-Feeling der letzten Ultraschall-Jahre gut wiedergibt. Etwas düster, und wir waren natürlich alle etwas paranoid in München, als das zweite Ultraschall dann plötzlich mitten in der Stadt aufgemacht hatte, und die Polizei uns Raver nicht mit Samthandschuhen angefasst hat.
In discussion with truly-madly on “Hats” by The Blue Nile (1989).
How did you come across this album for the first time?
In my early teens I was quite nerdily into hi-fi – it didn’t stop there to be honest – so there would always be a copy of „What Hi-Fi“ knocking about, covered in drooled saliva at the valve amp page. The magazine had a small music review section – I don’t recall usually paying much attention to this but for some reason I read the entry for „Hats“. I don’t remember what it said but something in it must have appealed to my inner angst – nor did that stop there either – at that time. Surely the word ‘melancholy’ was used. So I bought it blindly (the cassette). At that time I was listening to bits of everything, early House, Synth Pop, Indie, and I was buying vinyl but had this odd mental divide that meant I would buy albums on cassette and singles on 12”. And actually I only finally bought „Hats“ on vinyl fairly recently – random find at Rough Trade Portobello in London.
Why did you choose „Hats“ for this interview? What are its special credentials for you?
It would probably be too difficult to choose a House or Techno album, which might be the natural thing to do, and this was the first that came to mind otherwise. I still think it’s quite obscure in a way, despite being part of the mainstream, and seemingly more popular than I realised.
My first encounter with The Blue Nile was probably hearing „Tinseltown In The Rain“ on the radio, from their first album „A Walk Across The Rooftops“, released in 1983. Do you like that as well?
I like all their stuff but don’t remember anything pre-“Hats“. I now know Tinseltown was some kind of hit but don’t directly recall it from the radio, etc. But occasionally I’ll hear it, in a cab or something, and think there is more to it than simply having listened to it from the album, that maybe I did hear it around the time it came out. That first album, and „Hats“, they are the best ones for me.
For me it is a topic worthy of thorough academic research how the electronic music of the Synthpop era and beyond is so often pared with very charismatic lead voices. Is this only for contrast, or is there more to it?
Of all the options in that field, why did you choose „Mr. Game“ for this interview? Was it the record that had the most impact on you? And is it maybe genre-defining as well?
It was very hard for me to choose one single record for this interview. I have approximately 100 personal Italo top favourites which all did it for me back then, and now over 30 years later they still mean so much to me. I guess I chose „Mr. Game“ because it‘s really so Italo all the way. To me it contains all the classic Italo elements and I really thinks it captures the essence and pure vibe of Italo. At the same time I also think this record defines the genre very well. Personally I love the early sound of Italo the most, particularly the sound around 1983. Another record could have been Koto’s „Chinese Revenge“, which also blew me away back then. Pure synths all the way.
Did your instant love for Italo Disco connect with a taste in music you had before, like electronic Post Punk, Disco and later Synthpop?
Yes. I actually discovered synth music from UK around 1980. Artists like Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Human League, Soft Cell etc. I was simply very fascinated by the new sound universe of synths becoming a bigger part of dance music. I even bought some synths and played in a band for some years. Digging deeper into this synth music led me to discovering Italo, which had an even bolder and more spacey attitude. I was instantly totally blown away. It seems to me that they somehow tweaked the synths a bit more, maybe due to shorter production time and maybe less producer experience, I don’t know. But I think they came up with a very unique result. A sound and style never heard before, or even since. Later the Italo became more well produced, MIDI controlled and so on. Italo actually ended up too well produced and became more commercial. By then the magic was gone for me, around 1986.
There were Disco productions in Italy from the late 70’s on, but usually Italo Disco is associated with a sound that surfaced in the early 80’s. Why do you think it could be so unique and popular at the same time? Was it a novelty effect, or just good Pop merits?
I think the Italians where outstanding in capturing the vibe of the music trends in electronic dance music in the early 80s. They where clearly inspired by the UK scene and of course other musical subcultures around. But they added that charming unique Italian twist to it, which made it so very special. Actually I can hear if a track is Italian or not in a split second. Over 30 years of listening experience has had a huge impact on me. I’m sure other lifelong Italo freaks are also able to instantly tell if a track is from Italy or not.
In my youth in Northern Germany, Italo Disco was mostly cherished by people who would else rather listen to Hard Rock and charts music. The clubs it was being played at usually had a program that tried to cater to low and common denominators. It was certainly not hip. Was it the same in Denmark at that time?
Only few Italo records were played in the Danish clubs in the early 80s. US and UK music was clearly dominating, no doubt. But some clubs played the most commercial and popular Italo records like Gazebo’s „I Like Chopin“, Ryan Paris‘ „Dolce Vita“, Fun Fun’s „Happy Station“, and Raff’s „Self Control“.
Instead of browsing local record shops for Italo Disco, you went straight to the source on trips to Italy, visiting distributors and labels. Which is quite similar to the efforts European Rare Soul collectors in the 70s made on US soil. Did you purchase the core of your collection that way, at that time?
Yes, it was impossible to get all the Italo records here in Denmark with no internet back then, so Ihadto get them by travelling all the way to Italy. So mainly I got them from the famous distributors and labels like Il Discotto, Disco Magic, Non-Stop, and famous shops like Merak and Disco Service. I took eleven trips in the years from 1983 and 1986, and inbetween the trips I was in close contact with Il Discotto and Disco Magic and also a great record shop in Firenze, called Disco Mastelloni. Basically I managed to find all the records I wanted and got a 100 % complete collection back then. Read the rest of this entry »
The first time I met Hunee was many years ago, in a Berlin record store where he worked at that time. Of course. He noticed the Disco stuff I chose from the crates and soon we were talking. And also soon we were playing gigs together. I was actually looking back on many years of playing out then, and I was not that determined to keep on keeping on. But you cannot act reserved around Hunee, particularly as far as music is concerned. Hunee’s enthusiasm for music is astounding. For every special record he learns about, he will find several other special records in return. It would be a waste of time for him to feed on the beauty of sounds and not share.
And then Hunee the producer emerged, to add to all the other music around him. At first, his very own music showed the restlessness he so often displayed in everyday life, plus nocturnal endeavours. There were wonderful ideas, almost too many of them. It seemed that Hunee took in so much music that his own artistic persona had to fight its way out. But it did. Yet after a few acclaimed releases, Hunee the producer disappeared again. I do not know why exactly, he never told me, and I never really asked. Apparently a debut album was ready to go, but it never saw the light. I felt that was quite a respectable and brave move, and I was very confident that he would not give up so easily. He never does. But for an avid vinyl collector like himself, it is quite difficult to achieve that all the inspirations do not divert from your own signature, yet still shine through, and the album is still a format much superior to others. And so while he continued to drop platters that matter week in way out, he went supposedly Kubrick on his own. I am most probably not exaggerating. Why? Because I’m listening to this album while I am writing these lines.
And this album is rather special. Even the opening title is special. It does not show off some unjustified pretension, it sets a perfect mood, a misty Eastern mood, full of drips, whirls and sweet ambience. Ending in one of the catchiest melodies I heard since I first fell in love with Japanese Synthpop. Not the easiest task to transcend this blissful mystery to something you can dance to, but Crossroads does exactly that, adding a cinematic aura that feels like elements unknown are tearing the roof off the to display a panoramic view of something you have never seen before. Influx, let me touch it. It feels acidic, and it has the glory. You will consider devouring it. Desire takes up the trip, and throws it around. A mean little groover, if I may say so. Burning Flowers in all its fury may be Fitzcarraldo’s ship sliding all the way back down, with the fat lady still singing. And if they pull that ship back up, this track will send it down again, instantly. Error Of The Average follows suit adequately, like a Sci-Fi orchestra whipping a round dance of lost souls into oblivion, all swirling drama and voodoo frenzy. I’m still trying to unlock myself from it. Movement takes its time, with string melancholia unfolding into a precious downbeat stroll. And is the exotic setting in Gabun Mind really crashing into that several minute psychedelia breakdown that then finally explodes into those revolving basslines and HEAVY beats? They may plant flowers and gardens through the deep and chaotic furrows this has left behind, but the idyll will never be the same again. And it keeps going more places. The jazz-fuelled interlude that is Amo reprises the Eastern atmosphere from earlier on, but in a puzzling way. We are talking suspense. Bruisesis just baffling. Do not even try to tell me you have ever heard one of the most famous vocal samples of the Paradise Garage legacy accompanied by a heart-wrenching string quartet. No, you did not. And you will probably not hear anything like this again. And then… the End of The World, which I indeed did not know yet. If this is the afterworld, I am not afraid. It feels a bit feverish to me, even a bit uncertain. But I can hear a light at the end of the tunnel. Exaggerating? Me? No. I was just listening to this album while I was writing these lines.
Foremost Poets – Pressin On‘ I-f – Playstation #2 Black Odyssey – Sweat Telex – Moskow Diskow Recloose – MYM230 (R.I.P.) Nick Holder – Free Again Mr. Eddie Fowlkes – Untitled Brother Of Soul – Eyes Of Love Glenn Underground – Jaz Love #2 Freestyle Orchestra – Twi-Lite Eric D. Clark – Chasing Fur, Walking Armand Van Helden Feat. Duane Harden – You Don’t Know Me Studio 2 – Travelling Man Kerri Chandler – Atmosphere Kerri Chandler – Love Will Find A Way Aquanauts – Stepping Upon Mars N.Y. Connection – Messages Foremost Poets – The Spy-Chiatrist Isolée – Bleu Random Factor – Broken Mirror Rick Wade – 2AM Detroit Gemini – At That Café Jeremy – Soul Kicks Model 500 – Be Brave Presence Featuring Shara Nelson – Sense Of Danger Isolée – Initiate 2 Soylent Green – After All Orkestra Galactica – She Brings The Rain Abstract Truth – We Had A Thing Blue6 – Sweeter Love
Nobody would probably expect anything else than deep emotional music on a label run by Robert Owens, but what Mark Rogers of Hollywood Beyond fame comes up with on the sublime “Twilight For Some”, is even more. Despite the gentle tone of the music and the understated vocal delivery, not too many vocal house tracks are as touching this. The lyrics are very melancholic, offering little relief to the troubled people they address, and the music is a companion that stresses rather than distracts. Everytime I listen to this, and the track fades out to a loop of the words “identity, identity, identity…”, I can’t help wishing this experience would last much longer, and more often than not, I put the needle right back to beginning.
Cabaret Voltaire “Searchin” [Parlophone]
A track lifted from the album “Groovy, Laidback and Nasty” from 1990, that most of the fans and critics of the UK electronic pioneers dismissed as mere attempt to cash in on the increasingly fertile house sound. Worse than that, nobody was really willing to accept Cabaret Voltaire venturing into musical terrain that was nothing else than pure pop, with one of post punk’s most recognizable voices crooning blissful melodies with uplifting messages, and one of post punk’s most adventurous experimentalists gladly supplying the according tunes and harmonies. But Cabaret Voltaire enlisted Marshall Jefferson at the time of full creative swing for the production, and he made this song his very own, even bringing in Paris Brightledge, on of Chicago‘s most wonderful voices, for the background vocals. So this might be not the most original Cabaret Voltaire record, but they had proven their merits enough before and after, and I am really thankful that they took the chance of doing this album. Maybe imagine this track not being sung by Stephen Mallinder, but Brightledge all alone for instance, and not being by Cabaret Voltaire, but by Marshall Jefferson, and house’s history books would treat it like a bona fide classic. I at least do, no matter what constellation.
Shades Of Rhythm “Exorcist” [ZTT]
Shades Of Rhythm were better known for their rave anthems, filled to the brim with crowd noises, joyful diva vocals and plenty of pianos. And while there is nothing really wrong with that (but admitted, on many occasions it IS really wrong), they were also capable of doing something completely different. “Exorcist” is a pitch dark beast that establishes a really intense mood on nothing more than the basis of a break beat in moderate tempo and a plethora of sinister sequences that seem to spiral into the ether. This still makes any room go boom.
I-F “Energy Vampire” [Disko B]
Now that the UK bass elite is embracing an electro tinge to their latest dubplate, it is maybe a good time to drop a reminder for the Dutchman who already seemingly could look well into the future when he released a series of relentless and uncompromising classics in the past. The moody stop-and-go groove of “Energy Vampire” would not look out of place on a post-dubstep production of 2010, yet it already appeared on I-F’s album “Fucking Consumer” in 1998. Things go in circles, as they say, and the robots shall have the last laugh. And if sometime the italo disco groundwork will seep through the bassbins of the younger bass generation as well (there are already hints that this is not as improbable as it sounds), there is a good chance that I-F will be involved in something else entirely, and equally influential.
At a time when they had no interest in minimalism, conceptualism or fine wines, Daniel Bell, John Acquaviva and Richie Hawtin released “Technarchy” in 1990, the year their imprint Plus 8 came into being, and properly illustrated that techno could embrace the sound heritage of the pioneering industrial artists, acid house, and the emerging Detroit sound at the same time. The devastating result hinted at the hoovers, cornfields, and love parades to come but back then nobody would have predicted all that. What this record confirmed, however, was that there was a potential for all that. From the introducing metal beats, building a harsh yet funky groove, to the 303 squelches, and then, of course, to one of the most bone-crushing bass breakdowns in the history of club music. Most DJs playing the record at the time when it came out even emphasized the experience by turning up the bass even louder when the kick drum came to a halt and just the bassline was rummaging around in the intestines of the floor, but then again it was already doing its work untouched by any mixing antics. In any case whoever heard the track unprepared and for the first time in a club, would possibly never ever forget it. I certainly did not.
In discussion with Max Duley on “The Peel Sessions” by Napalm Death (1989).
Although I suspect it was a moment with long lasting consequences, can you tell where and when you first heard Napalm Death? Was it these very sessions when John Peel played them on his show?
I didn’t hear them on Peel’s show. I can’t remember the exact details of where I was when I first heard ND, but it was the compiled cassette release of the first two Peel Sessions (originally broadcast in 1987 & 1988) that I heard, and I can relate the background story: I grew up listening to music from my parents’ collection which included stuff like Frank Zappa, Springsteen, 10cc, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Pretenders, Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, Peter Gabriel and stuff like that. When I started high school at about 12 years old I made new friends and started to listen to a bit of pop and briefly got into some of the early acid house hits that made it into the UK pop charts around 1987-88. But all the while I was continuing to hear the music my dad was into. Being a guitarist himself, he would listen to virtuoso artists such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Alan Holdsworth. I found myself attracted to much of that, but in particular the heavier sounding tracks.
I clearly remember one day in a maths class in 1989, my old friend Alex with whom I’d also been at middle school called my name from behind me, and when I turned around he handed me a cassette tape: Iron Maiden’s “The Number Of The Beast”. I spent a weekend listening to it over and over, loving the attitude and pace. I think I then borrowed a Guns’n’Roses tape which I also enjoyed for a couple of days but which didn’t leave any lasting impression. Then a week or so later he lent me another tape: Metallica’s “Ride The Lightening”. I was sold. This was intense, angry stuff. I was 14, and probably a bit angry myself, I don’t know. About another week later again, Alex had introduced me to a couple of messy looking guys from the year above us who had longish hair and wore denim jackets. One of them lent me a new tape: Napalm Death’s first two Peel Sessions recordings.
Like I said, I don’t remember exactly the first time I listened to it. Doubtless I listened to it many, many times over just that first day. What I do know is that from that point on, everything I had heard previously seemed thin, weak, and vapid. Iron Maiden? No thanks! Metallica? A bit lightweight!
Within two weeks I had gone through a kind of musical rebirth and “other music” seemed to be from a previous existence. That was temporary (although long lasting) and I’ve long since gone back to most of the music I was into before that experience, but for several years I was unable to listen to and appreciate anything which did not attempt a similar intensity.
What made you opt for the Peel Sessions out of their back catalogue? Is it because you think it is the epitome of their work, or is it because you were introduced to the band by these recordings?
Primarily I chose it because of its significance in my musical evolution. It was the life-changing release, the springboard release that turned me from a music enthusiast into a music obsessive, despite having a couple of logical steps up to that springboard which whetted my appetite. But yes, I also consider these to be their finest recordings.
Some time in the late 1990s I remember reading an article by a musician who had been in a band which had recorded a John Peel session. He described arriving at the BBC studios to be greeted by a grumpy producer and engineer who treated them a bit roughly and hurried them into the recording booth telling them they only had an hour or so to do the whole thing. He also described how this treatment got the band a bit angry and how this resulted in the most intense and powerful studio performance his band ever achieved, and how he later came to understand and appreciate the way in which the producer and engineer had deliberately “produced” and “engineered” this intensity in them with their behaviour as well as their technical prowess. Relating this to the Napalm Death recordings, it’s interesting to imagine a band whose music was already so intense going through a similar sort of experience. At that time the label releasing their work, Earache Records, was a fledgling project, not the hugely successful international monster it later became. This meant that they could never have otherwise afforded access to the level of technology and studio expertise/experience available at the BBC. Of course, their other major studio recordings from that time (”Scum”, and “From Enslavement To Obliteration”) are partly defined by the rough quality, but the Peel sessions are on another level in terms of production and the band are incredibly tight, too. In particular the levels of the ridiculously distorted bass guitar and the use of reverb add a quality which is unheard on any of their other releases from around that time.
I should probably point out at this stage that I am only into the first few ND releases, up to “Mentally Murdered”.
In discussion with Jeffrey Sfire on “Mind Warp” by Patrick Cowley (1982).
What was your first encounter with “Mind Warp”?
I was living in Chicago going to university and I found “Menergy” in a store and thought “obviously this is for me”. After that I found “Mind Warp”. Instantly there was a connection. I started reading about Patrick and fantasizing about gay disco life in San Francisco. I think every gay kid from my generation is obsessed with a 70’s gay fantasy. I had been hanging out in leather bars and got a tour of a closed bathhouse/disco still preserved from the 80’s. It was all perfect timing.
Why did you choose this particular album from the works of Patrick Cowley? Are there personal favourites among the songs or do you like it in its entirety?
I love it all. It’s great start to finish. It’s pretty serious and much darker which I always seem to gravitate towards. It was the first album of his I listened to which is kind of backwards because it’s his last but it always stuck out even after hearing everything else. The more I listened to it the more I saw and heard. Singing about technology (“Tech-no-logical world”) in 1981 was so interesting to me, and we’re still singing about it now 30 years later! If he only knew. Of course “Mind Warp” the song is a favorite, and the delay on that one synth in “They Came at Night” is amazing! “Goin’ Home” always intrigued me for some reason. I’d later learnt what it was really about. Read the rest of this entry »
In discussion with Alan D. Oldham on “Presents The Adventures Of The Astral Pirates” by Lenny White (1978).
When and how was your first encounter with “Astral Pirates”?
My late grandmother used to work at Wayne County Community College in the ’70s in Detroit and was friends with the music reviewer for the school newspaper. When she finished reviewing a record or didn’t want it anymore, she gave it to my grandmother and she gave it to me. I was in my early teens. I got a few albums that way. This was 1978.
Why did you choose this album of all his works? What makes it so important for you?
I didn’t choose it, it chose me! It was one of the records that my grandmother gave me. There was a stack of them. Queen “Jazz,” A Jan Hammer album. Stuff that was on Elektra in those days. But this one stood out for me because of the Mike Kaluta painted cover, the comic-book element and sci-fi concept. Read the rest of this entry »
Greg Wilson war erwiesenermaßen der DJ, sich schon zeitig um die Einführung von Electro in die britische Clublandschaft kümmerte. Diese Platte war ein Exponat auf der Compilation „UK Electro“ und einer seiner ersten Gehversuche im Studio. Das Ergebnis hat zwar noch die Klangästhetik der amerikanischen Originale, bewegt sich aber schon eher in einem Groove, zu dem man wenig später in Chicago House sagte, garniert mit Sci-Fi-Flächen, zerhackten Ansagen, seltsamen Stammesgesängen und einer ausgefuchsten Dramaturgie. Das Stück passte hervorragend in den langen Abschied von Disco auf dem Weg zu neuen Gefilden, wurde dann aber schmählich fallen gelassen als ungekannte Helden aus Übersee ihre Rumpelmaschinen auf vollen Schub schalteten. Man kann nur mutmaßen was Wilson so alles angestellt hätte, wenn er damals am Ball geblieben wäre, aber die Aktivitäten nach seiner späten Rückkehr haben dann ja so manches Versprechen eingelöst.
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