AMM ‎– "The Crypt - 12th June 1968" (Matchless Recordings ‎– MR5) 1968/1981

As ones first exposure to pure unadulterated Noise outside of the 'Rock' idiom,except mabe a couple of early come organisation platters, among which this mysterious box was hiding,This was the deep end.
AMM were likely the first precursors of the Harsh Noise fad that has swept the bedrooms and tabletops of the planet,and caused the sales of effects pedals to go through the roof.The difference is that when AMM began emptying rooms in 1966,there was nobody doing this kind of abrasive ear-bleeding cacophony. They even supported The Pink Floyd in the Floyds Free rock days at the famed UFO club one evening in '67.It would certainly have been interesting to see the faces of those tripping flower children when AMM started their set.Although I am assured that they built up from a quiet beginning before anything truly noisey entered those hippy shell-likes,so they probably didn't even notice. The prospect of a naked body-painted Hippy princess dancing to AMM on LSD is quite a tantilising thought?
 As these two discs cost me the best part of a tenner I had to persevere through the full 80 minutes of dense close miked scraping harsh electronics, shortwave radio interference,clattering percussion,and distorted free jazz elements. This made Throbbing Gristle sound like just a creepier version of Abba.
By the end of side three I was immersed, I now understood. It is for these moments that one searches for among the vast annals of unpopular music.Easy listening it ain't,which is,nearly always a sign of something rewarding waiting after enduring the transition period involved.One is never quite the same again afterwards.
Being a member of AMM is basically what Cornelius Cardew should be best remembered for,no mention of politics,no terrible poetry,and most importantly,no written directions.
Also involved was one of the worlds greatest guitarists Keith Rowe,who famously, has never tuned his guitar.
Nuff said.

Tracklist:

A 'The Crypt - 12th June 1968' 1:4 19:45
B 'The Crypt - 12th June 1968' 2:4 21:58
C 'The Crypt - 12th June 1968' 3:4 23:57
D 'The Crypt - 12th June 1968' 4:4 21:37

DOWNLOAD from the crypt HERE!

Cornelius Cardew and the Peoples Liberation Music Band ‎– "Consciously" (Musicnow ‎– MNCD009) 2006

Nothing frightens me more than the prospect of being ruled by.... "The People"!!!
The horrors that can be unleashed when you let the animals take over the farm are well documented in George Orwell novels and in history.
Its almost as fightening a prospect as being patronised by the righteous leftist propaganda as clearly enunciated by Cornelius Cardew and his irritating pinko chums in the Peoples Liberation Music Band.
Of course they're right?....aren't they? It's just that 99% of the world don't want what they're preaching;but does that stop them ?....Nah!...'they (as in 'we')will come round to our way of thinking ,one way or another!?'
"The People" may be stupid,but not so stupid as to want to be ruled by themselves.....it would be a sadistic, bitter, bloodbath of revenge and prejudice,and likely lead to the end of civilisation as we know it.
Its interesting to know if Cardew and comrades,who seem obsessed about the 'workers',whether they actually worked in these terrible jobs themselves,or at all? I know that Cardew at least had the hardest of cruel enslavements, that of.....gulp!....'neo-classical composer'. Its hard to believe that he had the time and energy left to volunteer to help rescue us simple folk from beneath the yoke of capitalism.We most certainly are NOT worthy and thank you from the very bottom of this scumbags working class heart,you shouldn't have....no,you REALLY, shouldn't have!
What a waste of a fine musician.
He was already changing the world through his groundbreaking music with Scratch Orchestra and AMM,before all this awful soapbox rock nonsense.Did he really think that anyone who didn't already think this way was gonna be converted by, never mind listen to, this cringingly preachy insipid muzak?...The Pop Group this was not.
This is also definitive proof that MI5 or the CIA never bumped him off, because he was doing them a fine service in turning the Communist message into a joke.Maybe he was a double agent,like most public schoolboys were in the Cold War era.It was more likely the Soviets killed him than our own despicable bunch of posh hitmen. The bookies have now stopped taking bets on  the 'Hit and Run' option.
Having said that,this second album of Liberation Music is of a rather higher quality than the "We Only Want The Earth" disc before this. Its still jaw droppingly funny,and awwwww,it has something adorable about it that i can't quite put my finger on.....the eject button maybe?

Tracklist:

1 Consciously
2 The Spirit Of Cable Street
3 We People
4 Solidarity Song
5 Bold Fenian Men
6 Join In The Fight
7 Take Up The Fight
8 Himno De Riego
9 We're Not Afraid
10 Golden Mountain In Beijing
11 The Blackleg Miner
12 Mr. Media Man
13 Fight The Cuts
14 The Lords Of Labour
15 Crippin' Blows
16 The Worker's Song
17 Hammer Of The Working Class
18 People Of St. Pauls, Bristol
19 In Imperialist Wars
20 Song For The British Working Class
21 The Workers Of Ontario
22 Montreal Textile Worker
23 The Dream Of The Generation
24 There You Will Find My Bones
25 Song Of The Cyub
26 Founding Of The Party
27 We Sing For The Future

DOWNLOAD consciously unconscious HERE!

Keith Rowe ‎– "A Dimension Of Perfectly Ordinary Reality" (Matchless Recordings ‎– MR19) 1990

Prepared "Table top Guitar" specialist,Keith Rowe from AMM fame, freaks out with said guitar, torturing it with various tools and effects units. All this racket and plenty of random Radio dialling, add to a heady cocktail of something from 'out-there'. He also manages to fit in a Cornelius Cardew composition too (Ode Machine No. 2), which ain't no bad 'ting.
This was his first 'solo' album I think, sticking it up the proverbial arse of conventional musicality; and has been pretty prolific ever since. Still doing it well into his mid seventies........whoever said cutting edge music is a young man's game obviously hadn't noticed that, actually, shite music is the young man's game in these sad old post-music, post everything, days. Just connect their brains to a sony x-station and they'll be happy to slowly fade away, oblivious to the creeping Orwellian existence that is being stealthily inflicted on everyone. That's the ordinary reality that the late Cardew was talking about when he provided the title of this splendid LP; envisaging a kind of  'people's liberation music'.

Tracklist:

1	Untitled	24:03
2	Ode Machine No. 2	7:28
3	City Music	11:08
4	'73	17:37

DOWNLOAD some ordinary reality in perfect dimensions HERE!

AMM ‎– "Ammmusic" (Elektra ‎– EUK-256) 1967

The granddaddies of free improvisation bring us a scraping droning noise from 1967. What this bunch of uber intellectual free jazzers and composers were doing on the same label as The Doors I dunno? It may have had something to do with the fact that they supported The Pink Floyd (when they[the floyd] were basically a Free improvising unit as well) at the UFO club, and Jac Holzman thought they were the next psychedelic big thing? 
However, they were soon dropped when this sold approximately ten copies.
Undaunted, this radical free/spontaneous music ensemble carried on regardless in this unpopular direction, and are still going to this day.Releasing records on drummer Eddie Prévost's Matchless Recordings label.
Keith Rowe being a particularly influential member, refusing ever to tune his guitar, and performing 'Radio' , as well as table top guitar! Probably the ultimate in de-constructed guitar technique, just beating Derek Bailey, who allegedly 'tuned' his guitar quite regularly.

Tracklist:

A - Later During A Flaming Riviera Sunset  21:03 B - After Rapidly Circling The Plaza  20:31

DOWNLOAD "that music's lost its favour so try another flavour"(adam ant 1980)- ammmusic HERE!