1980 -1990 Diaries update

After I got up here to New York City, i began keeping diaries. I was going out a lot and the clubs were hot . Come home from work, take a nap for awhile, get up and eat, go out to the clubs until late

Soon after Mudd Club opened I was there as usual and soon met one Martin Fischer just in from W Berlin. We formed the Futants soon therafter ...

We have gone through them and selected some choice chapters from 1980 -1990 for the first volume :
Punk,post punk, no wave, new wave, electronic & electro pop, funk, hiphop, riphop, freestyle, electro, techno ... End of Max's Kansas City -to the Mudd Club downtown on White St.- and over to Tier 5 and maybe back again to Mudd. Pyramid club . Negril . Save The Robots Ike Yard Crepescule 1981 , Factory Records America 1982 ,shows with New Order & Section 25 Danceteria nights, rooftop parties W Berlin 1893 , Tokyo, Osaka & Hong Kong 1987 The Fun Gallery. Area . World's End . Big Art Cyberpunk ops Mind Children and Voodooists The malling of subculture

Post - stasis

It was fun attending Simon Reynolds talk about "Retromania" down at Unsound Lounge the other week.
While I haven't read all of it, the book's implications are worth considering.
We have been engaged enjoying the accelerated 'unearthing' and retrying of old genres, esp. from late 1990's into 2000.
We can remember before then there was never much prospect or any dream that say, Ike Yard would be rereleased.
Ike had made it's music, had dozens, maybe hundreds of listeners in it's time.
Once IY got onto the Gomma "Anti NY" compilation- along with Death Comet Crew , things did pick up.
Dominatrix melodies had been recreated by Puff Daddy and compiled on Tommy Boy's "Perfect Beats" and Weatherall's Nuphonic "Nine O'Clock Drop", sampled but unlicensed by Carl Cox ( "Tonight" F.A.C.T comp.).
It has been reused many times and forms so I was not too surprised when I heard "Dominatrix" by DJ Hell while shopping in the record shop that used to be on North side of 14th St.
The guy working at the store told me i should be grateful Hell sampled my record.
More people looking through the web finding trace of more underknown , certain unknown music = the next waves of rereleases across recombinating spectrums of music
As everyone today deals with information and data, data deals with them.
And as every specific style or sound from a past music decades on instant access, some are bound to be obvious about how they use it.
What i picked up on from Simon's talk were some larger issues about 'What good is the past ?" and "If putting everything into the blender and spitting out unchanged bits of the past is what we have now, where does this lead ?".

Currently in the US we have not only a country of 'Haves' and 'Have not's',
but increasingly a society of "Know something's" and "Know nothing's".
Civil Wars, separation of Church & State, attempts at redefining evolution, distrust of trended into active fighting of science -
all part of the low level war and burn among citizens, idea groups, Ngo's and politicorps.
Some people don't want to know or face reality.
The country is a street lab deep in some future shock and also partially third wave.
Every country, nation state, person is in the situation to some degree.
Who and what is 'Constructive' or 'Destructive' in our world as we survive tectonic shifts and financial crash and crunch to come ?
The waves of change come and they pass on to the next, next thing.
We enjoy a sound, a group or music secret that only you and maybe some friends know about, see music delivery formats go out of production and brought back decades after.
That information you decide to hold onto, project yourself onto or against and carry with holds value one can continue sifting, sleeping on it and synthesizing.

Building on unfolding events including ' Revolution' protests in Iran, across the 'Arab Spring' and within the past 2 months - Occupy Wall Street here synthesized free running discontent, societal threads, trend to update protest as can be done by a global horizontal free flowing org. They may not really need to sleep in the cold in Zucotti Park anymore. Too easy a target for the Right. NYPD w Sonic cannons.

Especially during and after economic collapse, cultures change. Music changes.
There is always a new underground, seething enough and bursting out sparks that just sometimes flame.

SA

Memories August - Oct.

Very interesting and invigorating times between August's post and now ...
These days Ike Yard, o13, Dominatrix, DCC and now, Black rain and i seem to be on FaceBook more then here.

A trip to NH w Michael Diekmann (Ike Yard, DCC, Lt.70 and others) built on the great day hikes we had taken in late August 2006.
That time,we got together at the cabin in Randolph where we set up on the living room table to make music that led us to believe we could probably reconstitute Ike Yard.
This time out we got up the Jewell trail up Mt. Clay the first day out and exhausted ourselves, 25F up on top - which we didn't reach.
Missed the NYC earthquake but heard about it up past tree line from a group of young Jewish kids bent on scaling Clay w radio in hand. That left the second day for driving around the Northern edges of White Mountains into Gilead Maine for some minutes and on the Kancamangus down around the other side past Jigger Johnson campground, the Androscoggin River and Saco Valley to Greely Lakes.
Day three w rain forecast from noon on, we took a chance to drive over to Sawyer Pond to see how far we would get before it came down.
In fact, we had arrived at the Pond and sat down to enjoy the view when the first drops began to fall.
Just then a loon cried out from the other side of the water as we settled into lunch under the pines.
We brought back 2 new pieces i had programmed on the drum machine, now called "Dead Diamond River" for another location passed, plus Ikemono Gatari ( all 'living creatures' ) for Ike Yard's 4th.

By the time we got back that Friday, it was time for Hurricane Irene.
AM Sunday CNN and Weather Channel were downtown at the Battery measuring how far the rivers came up over the lip.
Not very far, as we found after walking out across Ave. C to the East River where high tide has just pulled back leaving a line of little flotsam and stuff traced along the walkway.

By that Tue's i was heading down to S Carolina to see my Father (84) who was not doing well in hospital there.
We could see it was a good hospital tho' and he was bring taken care of and by end of our trip he was enroute to a 'living facility' because he couldn't walk well after weeks lying down after his fall.
Storm damage was evident on the way down and overall, it was a trip seeing things as they are down South.
On the 9 hour drive back I read "Red Cell" by Dick M which was in the car with a stack of other books.

That weekend we stood behind stylist Nicolas F to see Nomi in action @ Mercury Lounge.
And although it's easier now, shed more tears 10 years after 9/11.
The next week i literally ran down to EVRadio to meet up w Peter Hook from Joy Division and that night went to hear The Light play the JD album "Closer" among many other great JD songs. And it was GOOD, even 'great'.
The closest we would ever get to Joy Division.
I had tickets to see JD when they were supposed to come over and play TR 3 down on W Broadway.
100 words for John Foxx & Artrocker.
Met old friend author & producer Michael Benson i had met through the IRWIN guys back in that day.

Occupy NY had begun and I went down after a few days to feel the energy there @ Zucotti Park- and they are still going strong today.
Outstanding show by The Soft Moon @ Weird downtown had me in the back stumbling around in deep artificial fog , looking for the 'dressing room'. There wasn't one but I did meet up w Luis briefly.
The news about Steve Jobs passing came over that night. Powerfully.
The 2 part Marty's George Harrison docu "Living In The Material World" was airing.
Stories of the Beatles in - fighting, Patti & Eric, John & Yoko, meditation, gardening and the all too horrific intrusion into George's home by this crazed blood thirsty case. Me, I would have had a bit more 'protection' around the house after Lennon got gunned down.
Taken all together it was emotional and tied recent viewing and research together in a hopefully synchronistically positive way.

Unsound Festival in Krakow screened the 1987's "Hip Tech High Lit" 'cyber project' my old partner Wm Barg and i made w texts by Wm Gibson and Bruce Sterling for three days.
Meanwhile Kuedo's album came out, the new Xeno & Oaklander and a 7" i heard about on FB, Goitia- Dietz on Discerror.
Mid month Goitia -Deitz and i jammed out a 4-5 track Ep 'live', improvisationally at their Bk studio.

Said "Hello" to Fareed Zakaria @ Cooper Union speaking @ colloquium on "Educating Students To Lead In a Global Context".
And began watching R Sakamoto's "Schola" on Japanese TV NHK wherein he presented 'Classical music' with a panel including Akira Asada and music students in a workshop. I am learning piano in this way !
Debussy is up next.

Releases & work 2011

Currently ...

o13 aka Outpost 13 is mixing the first album @ Mark's place.No label.
"Lost Pavillion" 12" coming on Opilec Records.
"Atrocity Exhibition" video excerpt up on Ballardian.com ...

Ike Yard is writing, recording a 4th release, album #3.No label.
Virtual 7" on EVERYTHINGISCHEMICAL in process for Jan.
Also a reissue of the Factory America 1982 Album w remixes TBA ...

Dominarix reissue is in process; Dave Tompkins doing some liner notes, i am doing the "story of ...", audio work is about done.
We have photos by Richard Kern from when Uproar label boss Joel Webber hired him to shoot us live and behind the scenes at the music video shoot. On the new Streetwise through Phase One NY. TBreleased mid 2012.
Also new Dom music going on a couple different ways at the moment TBA...

Death Comet Crew Streetwise reissue also into process, to follow mid 2012.
More from the Pyramid live 1984, Danceteria live w Phase Two & DJ High Priest and some v cool remixes from Japan.
New DCC EP should be out first half of 2012 TBA.

Black rain ( 1989 - 98 ) will see it's 1994 -'95 Wm Gibson sdtks rereleased on London indie TBA 2012 ...

SA aka Polystyle working on first EP from planned album TBA...

Out now :
SA aka Dominatrix remake of THE UNIT'S "I,Night" from THE UNIT'S CONNECTIONS massive reissue on Italy's Opilec Records.

SA collab pairing w Mirror Mirror on FRKWY'S 5 from RVNG.INT.

Rudements (1977-78 Wash DC) "Imagination" inculded on Kris Need's series "Dirty Waters 2" on Future Noise London

Coming up:
SA collab EP w German artist J Julian & Mea Kusma

SA collab EP w Goitia & Deitz

Shades drawn

August
Summertime and thankfully NYC is on the cool side of the jet stream again.
Extreme heat waves across the country.
Sunsets by the East River.
Cicadas out there in the trees ...

Earthquakes , tremors continue Coast S America.
Before the Mercury retrograde ...

Out of their storage folders and plastic came dozens of pen drawings,
various gouche painting experiments i begin to list and sequence for inclusion in my book.
Lost some hours looking at all the drawings, started to arrange them chronologically, dozens of complete pieces, titled.
Fun to look back and see all of them so many from 1978 -'79
also drawing class product from 1975 and '76 , from High School !

Rudements lyrics on a torn page, Futants lyrics on another fragment.
Pulling ideas, content and tech together to produce an E Book of my Nightclubbing Diaries 1978 -1988



Dominatrix reissue on Streetwise underway, new tracks for Album in works.
o13 has a mix of Mark's "Lost pavillion" together for Opilec Record's 12" B/w Italo remixes , recorded w James Lo.
Ike Yard continues very productive sessions enroute to another album , and can probably reissue the first 2 releases w remixes.
DCC reissue in works, new 12" EP from Citinite London coming , w second new Ep & album coming
Black rain reissue coming on Rec ...



Some other projects are taking form, return to Europe this fall ? France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Turin ?
or next year
Another round of work on my album.
Trip up to NH mountains w Diekmann 8/22 -26 ; day hikes, swimming mountain tops, forest week.
Family reunion in Delaware Labour day weekend

Pacific plate, Black rain

10 weeks on
Summer in full swing
By the end of May the green space inside Stuyvesant Town called the Oval was reopened
so we can go out and just lie out on the grass at 7 AM or PM and meditate, breath and relax, at least a few times each week.
The fireflies have been coming out in the evenings for 3 -4 weeks now,
20 at a time lighting on and off across the flat expanse of green lawn.
Leave the city out on 14th Street ...

By now the situation in Japan has both moderated and grown more complex ; school yards filled with debris and main avenues cleared but citizens still not being let back to their homes at the same time others drift from shelters around Japan.
Then last week another good shock or quake closer to Tokyo and was it a 5.5 just yesterday ?
these instances rate a place on US newscrawls but i didn't see any mention of it on NHK, for example.
It's a little nervous time in Tokyo when they can't tell if the next tremor is another aftershock or the feared 'Big one'.

Last year there had been some plans to go back to Japan this fall to play but it may take another year for o13 to get over there.
This year i'd like to return to Europe again in late fall, but we'll have to see.

Music is bubbling at a high pitch
Ike Yard began another album by taking up pieces we were working on when we our last sessions ended -
we have about 5-7 pieces from the "Nord" period.
Also having fun recording our sessions new works that we're all excited about .
On June 6, 13 and again yesterday we have gotten together at MD's to jam, now there's 11 pieces for Ike Yard '4'.
Who would have thought ...

outpost 13 will soon be aka o13 -
and is in the thick of completing our new version of the sequencer based piece "Lost pavillion" for a 12" on Italo label Opilec Records - who are also releasing the UNIT'S CONNECTIONS reissue w a Dominatrix remake of the UNIT's early synth punk
"i,Night" .
James Lo - who used to be in Live Skull w Mark - did play drums on the track we are finishing tracking and mixing now.
o13 also completing another projected Ep and album. outpost 13 aka o13 on Face book. Music under 'info' on Sonic Bids
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Outpost-13/141251352586052?ref=ts

New attention to Dominatrix not only with the upcoming Streetwise reissue deal but also a projected remix album on vinyl , CD ,digital with unreleased and rare Dom tracks, t shirts as well and best of all - new Dom tracks .
6 underway now, new connections, collabs TBA
I have also begun meeting with DJ Ivan , original Dominatrix co producer about doing some new tracks.
With "The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight" 30th Anniversary coming in 2014,
we will need new Dom vocalists and will be casting for new singers , dancers !


Art by Jeanne Mammen





and finally, some attention to Rec's next release.
Current thinking is to do an Ep spanning the group's music ,
from sessions w Roy M @ Water's Studio on the West Side to a "Neuromancer" sdtk piece circa 1994.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0xxqmOTmtE&feature=share
Followed by 2 albums of songs and pieces from between 1989 - '93 and '94 -'98

More records then ever going on .
Keeping track on what's on with each takes some doing.
In addition to new music releases, currently these are all going forward TBA
* Dominatrix "The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight" reissue on the new Streetwise label through Phase One . Projected 2011 release
* Death Comet Crew "At The Marble Bar" reissue also on Streetwise / Phase One . worldwide release, 2011 or early '12
* DCC "Galacticoast Mosi" 12" EP on Citinite, London.

also out now- Ike Yard Nord vinyl ltd. edition (300), a nice collab w Mirror Mirror FRKWYS 5 on RVNG.INT.
and from our first group - The Rudements- a rerelease on London's Future Noise label w Kris Need's "Dirty Water's" # 2 collection ...



Also working on other projects, some involving more time in Europe, next Fin De Siecle.
Also in the last 10 weeks, attending the Neue Gallerie' 'Vienna 1900" show twice, MOMA's "Expressionists" show and last week ,the Met's excellent Alexander McQueen show have been food for thought and work.

Meanwhile , high solar activity, volcano's, earth quakes still going on , Chile again yesterday ?, Pacific plate is not quiet . Yet

After the tour

Mark C and SA from 4/23 Belgium. photo by ives from Mea Kusma
The European tour April 12 - 27 w outpost 13 went well !
beautiful weather in London, Paris and Belgium, good standing room only crowd in London's Dalston for Jonny Mugwup's Vortex Club night and by the last show in Belgium got a "Black neurons" encore..
Sitting down on Seine's edge with Parisians at the north tip of lse de Citie,
exploring corners in Shakespeare Books out of the blasting sunlight "The Millenium People" by JG Ballard.
Catching up with The Young Gods in Bastille the last night.
Our last morning in Paris we walked around the backhill and across the bridge to find Heinrich Heine's striking white marble statue and gravesite in Monmarte cemetary. Still quiet under the bridge traffic. Layers of gravesites unfold as you walk through silent lanes.
From Brussels the local train glides us through green countryside, towns with buildings boarded, rivers,
creeks forests intact on hillsides glimpsed until the next turn.

A small river flows over an old mill line across from the studio had been set up in Eupen meditation center
and so JJulian ( Frankfurt artist ) and i recorded 4 tracks in 3 days that should be released coming up !
this was exciting, great hookup w mixer, speakers and nice synths like the PPG Wave 2, Korg Ms 20 to play with.
In three days we came up with 4 pieces based on sounds he made for his own EP including New Path and other tracks by J Julian

In Eupen I had time to draw and it was relaxing to sit on that green hill outside Eupen and draw the distance with cows grazing not far away as i sat with Julian, Christoph and Christian & Mea Kusma crew.
By now i have been more then a week back home have written my notes about the trip continuing to process what all we did over those 16 days.
In addition taking the trip as a mind vacation and further thoughts and dreams and next trip to Europe are coming up.

world keeps turning
Sitting out tonight under bright green spring trees, quiet expanse of green grass growing ...
Game Of Thrones, Camelot, True Blood,
Thus Spake Zarathustra,

April , flowers

It's been weeks since the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in Japan.
NHK broadcast the tsunami live, smooth arc of deadly waves heading to the beach ...
Too big a series 2-3 stories high with an overwelming push that crushed neighborhoods into swirling piles of pulverized stuff.
If you didn't run fast enough to higher ground you didn't make it.
And so by today we hear about how much water will be flushed out of the reactors into the Pacific ocean- to make room for the more highly radioactive water to be trucked away.
To where ?

3/19 Supermoon came for a few nights and moved on.
3/20 Skies well lit for a 'mini acension' but we worried about it's effect post quake.

Very nice Michael Benson's show @ Hasted Kraeutler
Also Takeshi Shikama @ Alan Klotz
And Jose Parla

Neue Gallery . Birth Of The Modern : Style and Identity in Vienna 1900 . Was an excellent way to spend early Friday evening,
diving into floors full of large Klimt , Schiele paintings, period dresses and rooms w Prinzessin cabinets, wallpaper and furnishings

outpost 13 paid respect to Heinrich Heine , 18th century German poet , writer and relative of bassist Kent H
as the group finished 6 demo mixes for labels before we go to France April 12.
4/14 Electro Choc Festival in IIse de' Abeau outside Lyon
4/15 Exotic Pylon @ Vortex Club w Jonny Mugwup special lineup , London
4/22 Maastricht TBC
4/23 w Mea Kusma @ Eupen Belgium

also preparing a video clip of the Atrocity Exhibition video film for Ballardian.com to use later this month,
setting first Boston show July 1 @ Church, more US shows

Engineer & co producer Paul Geluso and i have been working on layering the tracks I have been preparing for Nomi- and the first 1 came back very nice with the new sounds we added recently, should come out pretty great.

The FRKWYS 5 Mirror Mirror album came out on RVNG, well worth checking out. Happy with the new track i programmed for them and the song they made with it ! Thanks Matt, David and Ryan "Nau Sau Ser Bil Uma Rah Rab"

The Dominatrix reversioning of The UNIT'S "i,Night" will appear on the upcoming UNITS CONNECTIONS album on Opilec, Italy.
Street electro based on the original from 1979- '80

"Dirty Waters #2 " coming out in UK w the Rudements "Imagination" in an amazing "Birth of punk" super collection by Mr. Kris Needs