On The Surface, Two Unrelated Releases.

I was lucky to enter my teens during the heyday of post punk and new wave, an time when just about anything seemed possible, and new musical genre's and styles seemed to come thick and fast, year on year.
These two records seem to exemplify the 'anything goes' ethic adopted at the time and taken right through much of the 80's underground and the various scenes.

Anyhow, here are two albums which on the surface seem unrelated, but if you give them a spin, you'll see, sonically speaking, they both plough a similar furrow and are enhanced with a little studio trickery to boot.

Gary Clail's Tackhead Tape Time.

First up is a firm fav' pulled from the vinyl racks.
Gary Clail's Tackhead Tape Time was first released in the UK in 1987 and is an album that came to fruition during the birth of sampling. The record is a soundclash of harsh, almost industrial flavoured hip hop and beats onto which are projected an assortment of political samples and and Clail's sung/spoken lyrics. The Wimbush, LeBlanc, McDonald funk machine are perhaps at their sparsest here, but the On-U-Sound vibes of Adrian Sherwood gel it all together with spectacular results.

Tackhead's website has a press release from the time which gives a hint of what this records about...
"Tackhead is both a group and a sound system. Tackhead are Keith LeBlanc, Doug Wimbish, Skip McDonald and Adrian Sherwood, while the 'Sound System' is operated by deranged MC Gary Clail. Keith, Doug and Skip are responsible for some of the best funk rhythms to have come out of the U.S.A. in the last decade having played as the Sugarhill Gang rhythm section and for Tommy Boy (notably Keith's Malcolm X, Beatmaster, etc.) and for countless other producers and labels in New York and New Jersey.
Adrian Sherwood has run his own On-U Sound label for seven years, having issued records with Mark Stewart & Maffia, Prince Far I, African Head Charge, Dub Syndicate, Singers & Players, Lee Perry and many others. He has worked for Depeche Mode, Einst?rzende Neubauten, Simply Red, etc. doing select and original mixes.
Tackhead have collectively recorded and co-produced several exceptional 12" singles and one LP - a masterpiece Major Malfunction, credited to drummer Keith LeBlanc. New album by Tackhead, Friendly as a Hand Grenade is due for release in early 1988.

So, who and what you may ask is Gary Clail's Tackhead Sound System?

The Tackhead Sound System has been operating for just over two years, first appearing with its namesake Tackhead and Mark Stewart & Maffia during their awesome live shows. More than simply adding 'support', the sound system and M.C./operator Gary Clail provide a non-stop assault of unreleased tracks, re-mixes and out-takes of studio recordings made by the Tackhead crew. These tracks are twisted and dubbed live through the P.A. mixing desk while maybe three rhythms, sound effects and chants play simultaneously. During all of this Gary endevours to 'express' himself, usually on a megaphone through the microphone and all done from the P.A. desk in the middle of a club, hall or wherever the show may be.

Some people have called Gary a rapper. Gary is in fact an ex-scaffolder and second-hand Cortina salesman from Bristol, England, and sees his new role as chanter extraordinaire as his true vocation. "

If you think this may be your thang, listen Here.

Clail went on to some critical/popular acclaim and a minor chart success in 1991 with his second solo album 'The Emotional Hooligan'and single 'Beef'. It's dub inflected beats and strong social message, are as apt in today consumer driven society as it was 20 years ago, when we survived in a similar economic climate.

XTC - Explode Together - The Dub Experiments (78-80)

 
On the surface, you'd expect an XTC record to have nothing to do with the above Tackhead release.
Better known laterly for their  Beatle-eque songwriting vibes and originally for their 'new wave' singalongs 'Making Plans For Nigel' and 'Sgt Rock' and their English 'folk' of 'Senses Working Overtime',  Explode Together...' is an extraordinary release for the band. Comprising elements of Three Ep's, The first part being a freebie 12" 'GO+' given away with initial copies of the 1978 album 'Go2'. All tracks are dub-versions of tracks from Go 2, respectively: "Meccanik Dancing", "Jumping in Gomorrah", "Battery Brides", "I Am the Audience", and "The Rhythm.

The second and third parts, 'Takeaway' and 'The Lure Of The Savage' are the result of singer Andy Partridge' (Mr Partridge) 1980 solo album 'The Lure Of The Savage'. Again using studio trickery and dub elements, he crafts an interesting, if not always comfortable listen. Both sessions were apparently recorded during studio downtime during the first few XTC releases.

Have a listen Here.

Hula - Threshold

Ploughing through my old vinyl, I found quite a stash of industrial funk, sparking my fixation of the minute, so I thought I'd follow up with another Hula post, as they are my favourite of that particular genre.
'Threshold' is a career spanning compilation/collection put out by Red Rhino back in 1988, a few years before the 90's market crash when the Red Rhino/Cartel interdependent distribution network finally folded due to financial pressures, taking many a cherished bands output with it.
I'm not sure if the track 'Walk On Stalks Of Shattered Glass' is some kind of 'industrial' homage or just an adjunct to Dr. John's voodoo funk of 'Walk On Gilded Splinters', but I like to think so.
By today's standards, 'Threshold' is a brief career overview, but it contains some of their choicest cuts if your looking for a short slice though their recorded output. This is a vinyl rip, as the album is currently unavailable in CD format so please excuse the odd crackle, pop, jump or rumble of surface noise. Cherry Red do have a 'Best Of' on CD, but even this seems to be currently unavailable.
Get the Habit

There were a slew of bands in the early to mid 80's following a similar sonic template, Chakk, 23 Skidoo, 400 Blows and the later output of Clock DVA to name but a few. Gang of Four exiles Shriekback followed a similar vein, albeit with a more obvious pop sensibility. Shriekback had a few minor hits too with 'Hand On My Heart' charting nationally just outside the top 40 at number 52 and 'Fish Below The Ice' at around 88.
All bands dabbled in elements of found sound and rhythm, with claustrophobic and paranoid lyrics/subject matter, though Shriekback, having more of a pop sensibility toned this down somewhat.

Hula - Murmur (1984)

A discussion thread on Head Heritage the other day about lost 80's bands brought this great record to mind.
Hula formed in November 1980 and hailed from Sheffield, home of such electronic luminaries as The Human League, Cabaret Voltaire and Chakk to name but a few. Hula members Ron Wright, Alan Fish, and Mark Albrow allegedly lived with Cabaret Voltaire in an apartment aptly names the 'Hula Kula', though if this is true or not I couldn't say.
Hula's debut album 'Murmur' was released in 1984, and what a tour de force it is. Taking in elements of found sounds, cut up, primitive sampling and industrial paranoia they sculpted an unsettling but rhythmic 'melange' of sound. In part, industrial funk, elsewhere, an atmospheric stew of dissonance and rhythm. It's sad that the annals of underground music have seen fit to all but forget Hula. 
You can hear this proto industrial electronic masterpiece Here