ESP Kinetic - Dance as Hallucination (1985) C60

If you're not sure who Neil Campbell is, there's always Wikipedia. His name came up a lot when I was churning out gushing reviews of stuff no-one listened to for Sound Projector, and it was a truly weird moment when the penny dropped and I realised it was actually Neil C (as he signed his letters) from ESP Kinetic to whom I used to write back in the sixteenth century; so even though no-one knows much about his early work, lost as it is in the hallowed mists of time, as I keep trying to explain to any passing clowns who've taken it upon themselves to write the history of (cough cough) industrial music - that vital early chapter in the story of Ministry - some of us were actually there, fuckface.

 

ESP Kinetic were the first band I heard who inspired the thought, this is what Psychic TV should have sounded like - at least based on their apparent interests, penchant for weird noise, and not being scared of the occasional tune; and those of you who have been paying attention will recall they also turned up on Fear Eats the Soul, they being Neil and Andrew Watson, although ESP Kinetic seemed to occasionally bring in others depending on the demands of the music. When I emailed Neil to ask if it would be okay to give away his ancient history for free, his response was:

Digitise those old tapes? Ha! You are insane for keeping them, but by all means do it. There was a CDR I did and the LP on Harbinger that dredges the "good" bits of those tapes, plus other bits, so not sure who'd bother to wade through the rest.

So, there's a Harbinger album I'll be tracking down, but in the mean time here's the first ESP Kinetic tape, so far as I'm aware. It probably won't change your life, but it still sounds good to me. The Message is No Message and Mission will follow when I get around to digitising those. 

Download the ten tracks and cover by clicking on this link.

Tracks:
1 - ESPK
2 - Wall of Words
3 - Waltzing on Air
4 - Passive Partner
5 - Dance as Hallucination
6 - Slumber-Shake
7 - Jump Deeper
8 - Cannibal Chant
9 - Kissing
10 - Ambition
 

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