A recent posting of the SPK Brickwerks performance video got me to thinking a bit about what was an important and exciting band for me in the early 1980's, and about the aesthetics and techniques of "Industrial / Noise" outfits at that time. Seeing SPK live in 1982 was to be a defining moment for me artistically and socially, and I'll go into that in the part two post about "System Planning Korporation" aka "Surgical Penis Klinik" in two weeks (May 12th, 6pm EST). Unfortunately I missed the performance featured today, from a year earlier, but it was caught on cassette by my friend Mr. Rob Wortman, from whose archive I've presented several rare live tapes here on BOTB. More about this gig after the jump.
The personnel at this time were identified as: Operator ( synths, rhythms, treatments, vocals ) { this would be Graeme Revell, today a successful soundtrack composer, something he expressed a desire to move towards already in 1982. He shortly changed his moniker to Oblivion, and by the next tour the others adjusted their names as well }, Ne/H/il ( synth, rhythms, treatments, vocals ) { Neil Hill }, Wilkins ( guitar, bass, tapes, vocals ) { Mike Wilkins }, Tone Generator ( synths, treatments ) { Dominik Guerin }, and Mr. Clean ( technician ) { Ashley Revell }. One known feature of their instrumentation is the use of more than one EMS Synthi series so-called "briefcase" synthesizers, which certainly would be my choice if I were travelling all the way over from London, their home. I believe the group Whitehouse used the same devices in those days, and I imagine it would've been popular with other noise purveyors.
The tape of this show is a board mix, and the mixing duties on this night were performed by Patrick Miller of the group Minimal Man. As you will discover upon listening, a great deal of the recording is severely over-modulated, which was one reason I was undecided about posting this material for years. I suspect that the tape deck, like most 'club decks' attached to the main mixing board, had its levels pre-set for an ordinary 'band' and Miller probably had his hands full with the live mix and didn't really look over at the totally red levels on the cassette recorder. I know I probably would have left it alone in many circumstances ( and actually, upon close listening, it appears that Patrick did touch the levels a couple of times during the gig ). The upside of this situation, sonically, is that the quieter parts of the set ( and there are some lovely bits where one can hear the various types of line hum and fizz coming down the line from the band ) are recorded better than they would have been with the deck set to a 'proper' and safer level.
One thing that I've always meant to do, but still haven't gotten around to, is to properly label the names of the pieces played in this set, most of which come from "Information Overload Unit", their first full-length album, and one I still enjoy and respect, although their next lp, "Leichenschrei" is my favorite of all. I know the names of a couple of the pieces, but I think for this post I will leave them as numbered files ( but please feel free, any of you SPK-ophiles who know the tracks by name, to leave some clues ), which by the way, since this is a continuous performance, flow into each other. When I transferred it from the K7 years ago I put the track breaks in places that I felt were the most logical, rather than leave it as one long 45-minute track. Let's look at an extract from their 'Dokument I", a single-page handout from this 1981 tour period ( a reproduction of which is attached ) for a taste of their philosophy at that time:
"CONTROL SYSTEMS Control is no longer a sinister plot by 'them' vs. 'us' -- a paranoid delusion. It is internalised and operates via consent to remain a balanced/integrated/cooperating citizen. The relevant control system to attack is therefore that which acts in the body to maintain homeostasis.
Any control system reacts to an initial disequilibrating input with either a negative or postive servomechanism. If negative feeback damping is critical, nothing alters in the steady-state of the system ( the result of managed climax and consequent resolution in mainstream music/film ). However, if damping is negative the oscillation builds up, and if overdamping occurs compensation is insufficient and the signal can reverberate. These unstable possibilities are more interesting, and positive feedback even more so. Here the error signal is fed back without inversion and amplified causing a spiral and forcing explosive change ( e.g. circulatory shock ). The important areas of experimentation are therefore those which produce errors in compensation and provoke an emergency in response."
After a few kind words from Revell near the end of the show, they close with a percussion-and-bass 'blowing' section, audibly using the large truck suspension springs that I saw them flail on the next year, and which prompted me, as a fledgling percussion specialist, to seek out some big ol' springs like those to bang on for meself. As I said, I'll be back in two weeks with more SPK history and another complete live show ( which even has an accompanying photo of Graeme in action ). Here are the eleven tracks that make up this tape:
track 01 track 02 track 03 track 04 track 05 track 06 track 07 track 08 track 09 track 10 track 11
I really liked their disco single, "Metal Dance," which was kind of what "Synaesthesia" was to Chris and Cosey. I always seemed to come in on the disco part of everyone's career.
Posted by: Brian Damage | April 29, 2012 at 03:12 PM
As maligned as their later-period 'dance' music is, I really enjoyed the two, what I call 'crossover' tracks that they were playing out live in the midst of their 'hard' industrial set in 1982. I don't know the names of the pieces, but the catchy sequences stood out during those scary gigs, and it would've been nice if their later flavors had perhaps been leavened with a bit stronger sounds from their earlier work. Of course I can understand wanting to broaden your listener base...lord knows I've been there. I also felt in the early 1980's that I was "catching up" in some ways after a move across the country and re-settling, I missed seeing TG and some other acts that I later studied furiously.
Posted by: Mindwrecker | April 30, 2012 at 09:51 AM