Pete Namlook & Dr Atmo – Escape

2CD, Fax, 1994

Been a while since we posted any Fax, so try this monster. Released in 1994 in a single edition of 1000 and very much sought after (why no reissue?), Recorded in collaboration with Amir Abadi, aka Dr Atmo, the Escape collection combines Namlook’s twin loves of ambience and trance. The singles such as “Escape to Neptune” are sleek pounders, driven more often than not by samples from the movie Aliens. Disc two and the lengthy “Atmosphere Processor” both take the chillout path, the former close on a whole hour of electronic drifting. (Disc two has index points for nine tracks but should run without breaks.)

DISC ONE
01. Escape to Earth (8:24)
02. Escape to Mars (5:42)
03. Escape to Neptune (6:41)
04. Escape to Polaris (6:41)
05. Trip to Mars (5:39)
06. Trip from Mars (5:28)
07. Atmosphere Processor (17:52)
08. Trip to Polaris (7:59)

DISC TWO
01. The Futurescape parts 1-9 (57:46)

Link part 1 part 2 | Discogs

H.ark!

Let us take you back to a time in 1991 when dream-pop was, for about seven minutes, the trendy Brit music press’ movement du jour. A fluffy bundle of indie swooning wrapped up in a seared shell of pre-Valentines sizzle, the bastard children of AR Kane produced some sensational indie pop, but got subsumed into the effect pedal explorations of shoegazing. Their record label was H.ark!, run by those self-same AR Kane chaps, and here are all of its four physical releases – two each from Butterfly Child and Papa Sprain.

There was also an EP by Celestial Tribes that never happened; one track from that ended up on a Volume magazine disc, which also ran tracks from BC and PS. They’re all here too. Recently, there’s been the delightful promise of a boxed set of all these discs and more, but no sign as yet. Here’s hoping.

We have to agree with the Discogs summary of Butterfly Child, who “created some of the most luxuriant, romantic and intoxicating music to be released in the 90s… based around tumbling jazz rhythms, glacial guitars and the bewildered voice of Joe Cassidy”. He later recorded three acclaimed but mostly ignored albums which are all well worth tracking down. (Might just be us, but every time we hear that Fyfe Dangerfield’s voice it reminds us of Joe Cassidy, only not as interesting.) [Additionally: BC's 1st Peel Session]

Belfast trio Papa Sprain, centred around Gary McKendry, were like their labelmates’ evil twin, producing rougher, grainier explorations of haze and shimmer. Their album, recorded for Rough Trade, was never released. [Additionally: PS demos, PS Peel Session]

Both bands sometimes shared musicians while playing live and on their first Peel sessions, which gave rise to some confusion as to whether they were really just the same band. (Short answer, no they weren’t – see this comments thread.) They both also released music for the Rough Trade Singles Club – we’ll perhaps catch up with those at some point as well.

Papa Sprain - Flying to Vegas EP, 12″, H.Ark, 1991

A1. Vegas (3:34)
A2. Fizz (3:33)
B1. Spout (4:17)
B2. Rich (5:22)

Link | Discogs

Butterfly Child – Tooth Fairy EP, 12″, H.Ark, 1991

A1. Softest Thing Since Skin
A2. Words That End in ‘G’
B1. Jaqueline Frost
B2. Hollycopter

Link | Discogs

Butterfly Child – Eucalyptus EP, 12″/CD, H.Ark, 1992

01. A Breath of Fresh Air (6:25)
02. Viola (4:41)
03. Rocket Singer (3:27)
04. Minimal (3:15)
05. Sub-Marine (4:53)
06. A Breath of Fresh Air (Radio Edit) (3:57) – bonus on the CD single only

Link | Discogs

Papa Sprain – May EP, 12″/CD, H.Ark, 1992

01. U Swell (3:58)
02. Mayflower (3:09)
03. I Got Stop (4:11)
04. Bathtime (5:24)

Link | Discogs

Extra tracks
Celestial Tribes – “Gold” (from Volume Two, CD, 1991)
Butterfly Child – “We, the Inspired” (from Volume Four, CD, 1992)
Papa Sprain – “Flying to Vegas (remix)” (from Volume One, CD, 1991)

Link

Fetus Productions – Fetalmania

EP, Flying Nun, 1983

It is traditional, when talking about these noisy New Zealanders, to start with the words “Nothing to do with JG Thirlwell…”. That over and done with, well, how to describe them… Discogs describes them as a “conceptual band”, which makes them sound like Sudden Sway or something. To our ears they’re in the same zone as an Antipodean Savage Republic, mixing shards of post-punk guitar music with occasional barrages of heavy industrial percussion and noise fuckery (two of the band were in an early incarnation of SPK, so that makes sense). They recorded through the 1980s, but only a reissue of this one on Normal made it far beyond their own shores.

a1. I Am a Criminal (5:05)
a2. Utter Frustration (1:49)
a3. Desert Lands (4:58)
b1. What’s Going On (4:53)
b2. State to be in (2:40)
b3. Fetus Productions (4:57)

More from elsewhere: Intensive Care Unit box set.

Link | Discogs

Carl Weingarten & Walter Whitney – Primitive Earth

CD, Multiphase, 1989

Whether under their own names or as part of the group Delay Tactics, St Louis-based ambient/electronics wonks Weingarten & Whitney, along with friends such as Gale Ormiston and Phil Neon, built up an admirable body of work through the 1980s and early 90s, too much of which is forgotten today. (Though there are a few exceptions out there if you only knew where to look.) With Weingarten’s treated guitar always close at hand, the music has echoes of both Robert Fripp and Andy Summers’ rock-fusion-new agey solo stuff.

Multiphase is another one of those labels – like Seattle’s Palace of Lights – which cover a local scene and eventually turn into highly collectible little niches to track down. Gratifiyingly, Carl and Walter still play, and indeed released a new album this year. Check out Carl’s blog for more. Buy some of his new releases too.

01. This Moment (2:15)
02. Coming Up for Air (7:01)
03. Medellin (3:44)
04. Last Call (4:06)
05. Goodbye Callaloo (4:24)
06. Angel Stick (2:33)
07. Rodeck’s Playground (6:26)
08. Before the Wave (8:58)
09. Terminus Est (5:46)
10. Winds Answer (9:47)
11. Fin (1:57)

Link | Discogs