Allegory (1992) C40

Allegory was a compilation put together by Mark of Impulse, the only one which wasn't associated with an issue of the mag, and, so far as I recall, dating to the time he was making a go of running his thing as a label - see also Konstruktivists AGM tape and the Muslimgauze 7" he released. I'm sure you're both all familiar with most of the contributors here - Pure Motorised Instinct was Stephen Jarvis from Nagamatzu, Tautologize represents Mark's brief tenure as part of the factor X pyramid scheme, and so on and so forth.

To briefly adopt my Negative Neddy persona, I have to say, thirty years later and I'm still fucking mystified by the brief descent into industrial rock karaoke with underwhelming cover versions of chart smashers by Front 242 and the Throbbing Gristles, not least because I seem to recall Another Headache being somewhat better than this one might suggest; but never mind. Maybe it's just me. Once over those particular humps, the tape settles into a very pleasing rhythm of not-quite-ambient sound concluding with Dark Star's stunning P2C2E.

There was also a tiny wee booklet of artwork with this one, some related, some not at all related and therefore maybe pertaining to persons who failed to stump up their tracks in time (guessing here), so I've scanned that and it's included in the download.

Download the nine tracks, cover and booklet by clicking on this link.

Tracks:
1 - Pure Motorised Instinct - Shaking Death's Hand
2 - Voltoid - Tragedy for You
3 - Another Headache - Hamburger Lady
4 - Antonym - Cinnamon Air
5 - The Impulse fX - Tautologize
6 - Attrition - The Third House
7 - Brume - Suck Your Bones
8 - Konstruktivists - Untitled II
9 - Dark Star - P2C2E
 
Return to Index

Headmen - 1986 Demo Tape (1986) C30

Here's some more material excavated from the tapes to which they were copied, and reconstructed much like one of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. The Headmen sent me the first six tracks inviting me to pick something for the third Do Easy compilation tape - which never happened, in case you were wondering. I think I was going to use Resolution, so the bloke did a new mix and sent it to me along with something else he'd been working on, so those are the last two tracks here. He also sent the above page for the proposed booklet which would accompany the tape, but obviously didn't in the end.

...and that's about as much as I know. I didn't keep the bloke's letters (hard to believe but I don't actually hang onto everything) although I have a vague impression of his name being Richard Smith, or Richard something, or maybe John Smith, or somebody or other Smith, and possibly from Reading... maybe. There were tracks by the Headmen on a couple of volumes of Mindscan Tapes' UK Electronics series which I assume would have been the same operation, so maybe Rob Maycock would have an idea, assuming he's out there somewhere.

Shame I don't know more because I was quite impressed with how expensive this material sounded - far from the usual tapes of people's lawnmowers I was getting sent at the time. It's something in the general vicinity of Nagamatzu or early Attrition if you need further inducement.

Download the octet of tracks plus cover by clicking your rodent on this link.

Tracks:
1 - Resolution
2 - Snake Eyed
3 - The Magus
4 - Waiting
5 - City 7
6 - Glass
7 - Resolution (version)
8 - Untitled
 
Return to Index

Impulse 2 (1992) C40

Impulse was an A5 mag produced by Mark of Konstruktivists, Binary, Codex Empire, and others I probably never heard of. Each issue came with a compilation cassette of (what I'm pretty sure was) all new material by many of your weirdy faves, which is why it's here. I missed the first issue, in case anyone was wondering, but here's the second with forty minutes of very listenable stuff.

 

You should have heard of Nagamatzu, I would think, so I doubt they require introduction, although for what it's worth this is one of my favourite tracks by them*. Antonym have already turned up on this blog. Nova State Conspiracy were something to do with Alex Novak of Venus Fly Trap, Attrition, and others. I don't know much about any of the others, and I wish I knew more about Whiteslug as their track is fucking great. The collection has a bit of a whiff of combat boots about it, but mostly it's done well, and certainly better than a lot of those village hall scout hut versions of Front 242 which were around at the time.

 

I've scanned the mag (plus a copy of the first issue which someone kindly sent me), so those are also included in the download as a series of jpegs in separate folders. Where tapes came with booklets, I usually include them as scans, and this is sort of the same deal, I guess. You can see who features in the mag by looking at the picture above. I haven't had time to re-read the thing so take no responsibility for any claims of simply exploring controversial ideas and imagery made therein, but it is, if nothing else, a labour of love and really well put together.

More of these to come when I get around to it.

*: Postscript 2022 - I can't fucking listen to them any more. One of them kicked off when I first shared this, demanding to know 'what have you done to our track?' in more or less those words, apparently having mistaken me for his employee and being unable to believe that the digitisation of a track from a fucking thirty year old cassette tape wouldn't sound like you were right there with the band in Abbey Road during recording. Oh - I'm so sorry, did I just spend all fucking day cleaning up a sound file as best as I could manage thereby drumming up free publicity for your back catalogue meaning you might actually flog an extra CD next time you're out on the industrial music chicken in a basket circuit with A Tribute to Controlled Bleeding and Sounds Like Muslimgauze? Well, excuuuuuuuse me.

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

Tracks:
1 - Nagamatzu - Firewalker [remix]
2 - IAV - You Make the Groove
3 - Nova State Conspiracy - Definitive Item
4 - Antonym - Prime Mover
5 - Red Sekta - Torture
6 - German Shepherds - I Adore You
7 - Whiteslug - Motherfucker
8 - Trance - By the Pound
9 - Shinkansen - Ishikari
10 - Momento Mori - Excerpt

Return to Index