Alien Brains ‎– "It's All History Now 1979-1985" (VOD 2014)

It's always handy to whip out an extra brain or two when needed,so,here's that Alien Brains box set on VOD.
Alien Brains were a sort of Avant-DIY supergroup based around Nigel Jacklin, for those who don't know or care, in which case what are you reading this for?
Its got the usual unattainable stuff thats been chopped up and edited and shuffled about with; all in a lovely presentation pack with a hefty price tag. DIY music is no longer the cheap option it seems? "Menial disorders" cost me a blank C-90 and two way postage from Deleted Records in 1980, and now you have to pay £100 quid plus for Alien Brains product.Thats Market forces I suppose?
Its got a cleaned up version of the Menial Disorders tape, but edited, and some stuff chopped out altogether.
Of course the unedited versions of "Menial Disorders" and "Alien Brains IV" are available on this blog in 320k Mp3.Quality.

Tracklist:

Menial Disorders
There Is Going To Be A Riot Soon 0:30
Menial Disorder A1 3:51
Menial Disorder A4 10:48
Menial Disorder A8 1:17
Menial Disorder A10 4:10
Menial Disorder B3 6:24
Menial Disorder B4 1:57
Menial Disorder B5 4:58
Menial Disorder B6 1:54
Menial Disorder B7 5:34
Menial Disorder B9 2:10
Menial Disorder B11 5:23
Menial Disorder B12 1:07
Menial Disorder B13 1:09
Menial Disorder B2 3:32

Der Blaunk Teps / Aberdeen Arts Centre
Der Blaunk Teps A1 3:41
Der Blaunk Teps A3 2:54
Der Blaunk Teps A4 4:27
Der Blaunk Teps A5 10:24
Der Blaunk Teps B2 3:09
Der Blaunk Teps B4 3:05
Der Blaunk Teps A6 3:05
Der Blaunk Teps B1 4:25
Der Blaunk Teps B3 5:01
Aberdeen Arts Centre 14:00
Live Last Chance Centre / WI Hut
Live Last Chance Centre 18.11.1983 London 11:55
WI HUT- Recording (Broomhill) 13:22
USE (Unusual Social Embraces) - So Quiet 4:00

Blatantly Nihilist / British Interiors / Alien Brains IV / Ultras
Blatantly Nihilist A1 3:32
Blatantly Nihilist B1 5:07
British Interiors A1 2:00
British Interiors A2 0:51
British Interiors B4 1:10
Alien Brains IV B2 7:14
Alien Brains IV B4 2:01
Nigel Jacklin - Solo Recording Live At Ultras 4:41

School Art Room / Water Tower
School Art Room A2 7:00
School Art Room B1 4:06
School Art Room A2 9:04
School Art Room A3 3:36
Tower (Morwick) B1 4:07

Verdenskang
Verdenskang A1 8:03
Verdenskang A2 4:17
Verdenskang A3 9:09
Verdenskang B1 2:17
Verdenskang B2 4:34
Verdenskang B3 1:37

Compilation Contributions
Extracts 3:21
Boule 3:47 (This is missing from part 6, so click here for the mp3)
Untitled 1:55
Untitled Live 4:40

DOWNLOAD Brain 1 HERE!

DOWNLOAD Brain 2 HERE!

DOWNLOAD Brain 3 HERE!

DOWNLOAD Brain 4 HERE!

DOWNLOAD Brain 5 HERE!

DOWNLOAD Brain 6 HERE!

Alien Brains ‎– "Live At The Basement 14/02/82" (Aeon ‎ Tapes) 1982

Nigel Jacklin is joined by Richard and Phillip Rupenus, of New Blockaders (anti-)fame, in the basement, Newcastle on Valentines day in 1982, to make a very New Blockaders version of Alien Brains.
The 'make do and mend' amateurishness of Alien Brains earlier tapes, has been replaced with competant avant-industrial professionalism.
Its a quite impressive dark ambient rumble, but the Brains have lost their charm in the process.....it happens to us all eventually....even me!?

Tracklist:

A Untitled 47:15
B Untitled 38:20

DOWNLOAD this valentines gift HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "Slaughter Of The Innocent" (New Blockaders Org) 1983

This compilation, compiled by Richard Rupenus of New Blockaders fame, tries nobly to dispel much of the criticism leveled against the industrial/power electronics genre as an all sound-alike group of TG/Whitehouse imitators(Which it largely IS). The great variety of styles, techniques and sounds displayed on this 20 track tape suggest that perhaps this genre is more of a philosophical collective rather than a purely aesthetic one.The truth being more like a mixture of both leaning strongly towards the Aesthetic shoebox that all these acts find themselves cornered in. All the performers included here are extreme and intense chaps, yet the gamut of sounds runs from new musique concrete via 23 Skidoo Funk (Bourbonese Qualk, Mixed Band Philanthropist) to dark ritualistic collages (Metgumnerbone), to skin peeling power electronics (New Sadism, Vortex Campaign). Then we have Observation Clinique, Konstruktivits,and David Jackman to provide the dark understated, avant garde end of the genre to make us all feel thick.And finally always the very odd one out, Paul Kelday is here to provide some Kosmishe inspired spacey electronics.

DOWNLOAD it innocently HERE!

Various Artists ‎– "Trial By Ordeal" (Broken Flag ‎– BF 31) 1983

Trial by Ordeal was the preferred method of finding out if that old hag from the shitty end of the village really was a witch. If she survived being held underwater for an inordinate length of time she was obviously a Witch and would therefore have to be burnt at the Stake...which apparently witches could not survive.
This tape is something similar, and if you survive sixty minutes of MORE Industrial sameness then you should probably self-immolate yourself before the Witchfinder general,or the Police, ring your novelty doorbell.
That said, probably the best way to listen to Industrial Noise is in the form of a compilation.Even in the Industrial corner that many acts have painted themselves into, there are subtly different shades of conformity available.Luckily we have Giancarlos Toniutti to provide some pretentious avant garde noise in between the balls to the wall stuff from fellow I-tie  Mauthausen Orchestra and Whitehouse copyists Ramleh. The other Italian act on the list LXSS (or Laxative Souls), also provide some welcome respite with some gentle echo laden Industrial Percussion. 
So, all-in-all, as Industrial comps go,this is a less dull one. 

Tracklist:

A1 –Giancarlo Toniutti - Some Fibres 5:55
A2 –Ramleh - Emaciator [1982] 3:58
A3 –This Body I Mutilate - Carnal Direction 1:10
A4 –Depilate - Corps Assault 3:06
A5 –Mauthausen Orchestra - Bloodyminded 5:58
A6 –Thee Un-Kommuniti - Live 30-11-83 8:13
B1 –Assailer - Annihilation 8:57
B2 –Giancarlo Toniutti - Neocortex 3:39
B3 –LXSS - U.I.K. [Pt.1] 5:31
B4 –The New Blockaders - Live 12-10-1983 2:16
B5 –Thee Un-Kommuniti - Spurt White/Cut Black 4:58

DOWNLOAD this ordeal HERE!

New Blockaders With Ferial Confine ‎– "The Final Recordings" (Dom Bartwuchs ‎– DOM BW 02) 1990

These are indeed the 'Final Recordings' of Andrew Chalk's 'Ferial Confine' project, but The New Blockaders would carry on to this very day.
Andrew Chalk would go on to make increasingly disappearing and quieter music as himself in the Dark Ambient arena; whereas The New Blockaders would carry on making the same old noise for the next quarter of a century.
As much as I love a nice paint stripping noise track or two, they do tend to chafe somewhat at the boredom threshold. Like Van Morrison has made the same LP every year for fifty years, the leading lights of the Noise/Drone scene are doing the very same, pointless exercise. Having said that, Pointlessness is the entire point of The New Blockaders raison d'etre, so I can't criticize them for sticking to their dogma like limpets,as I usually criticize artists for not doing this.......they just can't win can they?
I heartily advise making just one record then stopping.Then one cannot be criticized for anything of the sort,except for being a quitter.

Tracklist:

A Untitled 17:06
B Untitled 18:21

DOWNLOAD the final downloads HERE!

The New Blockaders / Coil / Vortex Campaign - "Dolbied" (Self Released) 1984

The New Blockaders with their Flemish cousins in Vortex Campaign, bring you more unadulterated Racket with chums, Coil adding something strange to the proceedings. I doubt Coil saw themselves as Nihilists, so that opens up the role of the noise and lack of conventional instruments to something other than the rigid dogma of the other Blockaders releases. As for Vortex Campaign, I know nothing about them, except that they are a couple of Belgian brothers,and,as far as I know, were never heard of again.....now that's proper 'Nihilism' in action. 

Tracklist:

1 –"Untitled"
2 –"Untitled"
3 –"Untitled"
4 –"The Melancholy Mad Tenant Part 1"
5 –"The Melancholy Mad Tenant Part 2"

DOWNLOAD from the digital vortex HERE!

The New Blockaders & Vortex Campaign ‎– "The New Vortex Blockaders Campaign" (Self-Released) 1984

Vortex Campaign, were some kind of Belgian New Blockaders doppelgangers.Two brothers who make nihilistic noise compositions.But,unlike The Rupenus Brothers, they seemed to actually become 'nothing'.
The anti-music is the, by now, trademark grinding noise, but a tad less relentless than on previous releases.Those crazy kids!

Tracklist:

A1 –The New Blockaders & Vortex Campaign "Kamtar & Rio"
A2 –The New Blockaders & Vortex Campaign "Mandrake Manfits"
B1 –Vortex Campaign "Godhead"
B2 –The New Blockaders "TNB"

DOWNLOAD and bypass the blockade HERE!

The New Blockaders ‎– "Live At Morden Tower Newcastle-Upon-Tyne" (Self-released C-46) ‎1983

This cassette should have carried the following disclaimer: 'No Instruments were hurt during the making of this album'.Which is easily adhered to, as NO instruments were even used to make this complete racket.To quote a contributor to "The Wire" magazine who really should get out more:
’The Crackle of broken amplifiers precipitates a whole new order of independently morphing soundforms, all giving shape via flashes of metallic lightening, smashed glass, trashed microphone feedback and acoustic low-end pellets that scale the walls like slugs. Gradually accruing hypnotic significance, they birth spontaneous form in the shape of textures and recur with such accumulative force, they threaten to collapse the performance under its own weight.’ This unrelenting brutal noise attack could be the Rosetta stone of modern Noise as we know it,and are now bored of.Back in 1983 this was about as sonicly shocking and offensive as you could get without swearing or nudity.Those laughable councils who banned the Sex Pistols for playing standard Rock would have had kittens had the Pistols sounded like this as well as wearing designer clothing;but then again if they really did sound like this the kids wouldn't have bought the records.This is what 'Punk Rock' should have been.Shunning commerciality,shunning performance,shunning celebrity,shunning 'shunning'.
But of course, the word I should be using is TNB's favourite prefix, "Anti". They are "Anti" Art, "Anti" Music, "Anti" Performance etc.They are even uncomfortable with their own nihilistic terms, correctly identifying "Anti-Art" as something that could suggest the very opposite of what it says......and they'd be right.
In fact the only way of being "Anti" anything is to NOT do it.So merely by making a noise,recording the event,and creating an object with some obvious thought behind it, they contradict themselves.
Of course this is "Art" you silly boys.
As Don Van Vliet said, "You've had too much to think".

Tracklist:

A –Live At Morden Tower 13th July 1983
B –With Sir Ashleigh Grove Live At Morden Tower 12th Oct. 1983

DOWNLOAD the art and music of the new blockaders HERE!

The New Blockaders ‎– "Changez Les Blockeurs" (Self-Released) 1982

aNTI-aRT, aNTI- mUSIC nIHIISTS, is a common phrase used to describe The Rupenus brothers, aka The New Blockaders.
Basically they use Noise, as put forward in the "Art Of Noises" manifesto by Luigi Russolo in 1913,as a way of creating Musical and Artist Nihilism whilst at the same time distancing themselves from both genres. By 1982 Noise had already been realised by many artists from AMM to Einsturzende Neubauten.
The New Blockaders took this on as a lifestyle, building an ideology and myth around their attempts to explain away their 'Art'as 'Anti-Art' and their 'Music as 'Anti-Music', when it is all quite obviously 'Art' and 'Music'.They bang on about not performing as a spectacle for an audience, even electricity is not needed,as well as the audience.Its all purely coincidental.An attempt to put the 'Nihil' into both genres they claim to have nothing in common with.
But purely by existing they contradict themselves, even more so when a recorded document is created to prove that they exist and the sounds they created are there to be replayed again and again, if so desired(which is doubtful), then they have created something solid and real; which is basically "Art"!
They eloquently explain their philosophy regularly in detailed rants, which if they were pure Nihilists, as they claim, they would never need, or have anything at all , to explain? Which ultimately makes it all meaningless.....so maybe they have achieved their goal after all?.....Christ I feel stupid!

Tracklist:

Side 1 (22:34)
Side 2 (22:36)

DOWNLOAD without blockages HERE!

Organum ‎– "In Extremis" (L.A.Y.L.A.H. Antirecords ‎– LAY 19) 1985

Another plethora of scraping and squealing sounds, augmented by what sounds like an electric fan with something inserted between the rotating blades.
Top quality Non-Music from one of the originators of the genre, helped on side B by the Rupenus brothers, aka 'The New Blockaders', who add their own special brand of Nihilism as anti art to the already nihilistic mixture(they also frown on 'Anti-Art too by the way!).....and end up making....er......Art?!? In fact even making non-music and releasing a record with a designed sleeve seems to go against their impossible standards somewhat, but there you go, nobody's perfect?

Tracklist:

A1 In Extremis Pt. 1
A2 In Extremis Pt. 2
B Valley Of Worms

DOWNLOAD all extremities HERE!

The New Blockaders and Organum ‎– "Pulp" (Aeroplane ‎– AR 7) 1984

This is the single version of Organum's "Pulp/Icon" cassette, augmented by anti-anti-art noise merchants the 'New Blockaders';who add a spadeful of searing noise to the recipe.
One has to say, the 7" vinyl format seems suited to this brand of scraping heavy machinery.As intense and exciting this grinding racket is, three and a half minutes is just about enough to avoid boredom.......modern day attention spans huh?   

Tracklist:
A Pulp Pt.1
B Pulp Pt.2

DOWNLOAD pulp friction 2 HERE!

The New Blockaders - " Epater Les Bourgeois " - (Frux Records FC03) 1985

The original review of this tape was going to be:
" (_______________) "
....which adequately encapsulates this non-musical concept nicely;but....I will expand.
If you listen to this collection of tape hiss for longer than ten seconds, then you are beyond pretentious,and beyond help......and probably Middle Class/bourgeois; hence the title of this exploration of 'nothingness', 'Epater les Bourgeois'. When translated into English it means "To impress the Middle Classes', which is the semi-serious 'joke' behind this release.
Recorded silence,or recorded ambience to be more accurate, has been done before,John Cage being foremost in my mind; but to me this represents a more meaningful portrayal of nothing,whilst at the same time asks questions about ourselves, ie...are we pretentious dick'eads?.
I am hoping this is what the New Blockaders were trying to put across?...... If not, then they too are pretentious dick'eads of the n'th degree,and deserve to be locked in a room with Dave Stewart,late of the Eurythmics, for ALLLLLL eternity!
As they said on their release with Organum:

"Nothing is now the conceptual opposite of what truly and authentically IS."

Amuse your friends ,if you have any, and download this piece of Nihilist Hiss-tory (geddit?) below.

DOWNLOAD AND IMPRESS YOUR MIDDLE CLASS FRIENDS HERE!

Funeral Danceparty - "Quirtyiop" (C-60 No Label FD 03) 1980

Another Alien Brains Related tape.One of the many projects of Alien Brains, New Blockader and Organum member Philip Rupenus, with brother Richard. One hour of live improvised tape fuckery from the deep end of the experimental swimming pool.Highly inventive mash up of percussion, scraped and plucked strings, creaking doors, falling objects, abused tapes, and i'm sure there's a kitchen sink in there somewhere! It never stays still for one minute of the 60 on this superb cassette recording.Come on,dive in and drown!

Track listing: 

Side A
Side B

DOWNLOAD a funeral danceparty HERE!

Organum & The New Blockaders – "Salute" (Frux Records) 1984

This is the sound of sinking oil tankers breaking their backs as they founder in a deep ocean.The screeching of metal as it rips and scrapes against massive machinery struggling to operate as an onslaught of sea water compromises its functionality (sorry for this americanism).
A thousand refuse lorries emptying their rotten cargo into a bottomless landfill site, to a cacophony of malfunctioning electricity pylons.
Beaten to the punch ,maybe by Whitehouse and Non, this is a pityless march into the forbidden realms of extreme noise, only matched by the 90′s work of Merzbow.
David Jackman‘s Organum, joining forces with arch-nihilists, The New Blockaders, set a new benchmark for ear bleeding noise, gauranteed to send any normal citizen running to the nearest suicide leap point……..which is a highly recommended objective in art; and this is art,not pop.

TRACK LISTING:

A1 Part One
A2 Part Two
A3 Part Three
B1 Part Four
B2 Part Five
B3 Part Six
B4 Part Seven
B5 Part Eight

DOWNLOAD THIS RACKET HERE!

David Jackman and Phillip Sanderson – " 0° North " (Aeroplane Records AR04) 1982

Scraping ambient noises, with abundant repetitious tin can percussion, adequately describes what you are hearing on this cassette release on David jackmans Aeroplane label. Following his contributions for Sanderson’s Snatch Tapes compilations; it seemed only right that he should collaborate with Sanderson and release it on his own imprint.
For some reason, ‘Under Press of Sail’ makes its third appearance,albiet a more ambient version, (see Snatch 1 and Snatch 3), and ‘Ashes and Diamonds’ makes another too. I suppose its easier than making a new track, and you may not have heard its other manifestations,so why not?
The title track,’Zero degrees north, sounds rather unimaginatively like the north pole,lots of windy synth effects.Pretty uninspiring, but there’s plenty else to be inspired by on this C30.

Track Listing:

A1	David Jackman & Philip Sanderson –	Ashes & Diamonds
A2	David Jackman & Philip Sanderson –	Terrain
B1	David Jackman & Philip Sanderson –	Zero Degrees North
B2	Philip Sanderson –	Under Press Of Sail
B3	David Jackman –	Fade Of Light

DOWNLOAD 0° North HERE!