just ordered this from the ghostly store. hope it works…
(via fuckyeahhawaii)
Disco Inferno were arguably the first rock band to use digital sampling in a way that deviated completely from the stereotypes of 1980s “found sound” sampling*. Their samples were just as “found” as those of other bands, but the incorporation of these sounds became a full fledged instrument of its own, and not this stuttering cultural reference circus clown on the side.
“Summer’s Last Sound”, from the s/t single from 1992, was that inaugural single. And it’s the perfect late winter anthem. Everything around is dark and pretty, but the verbal tension is really high. While the band’s preceding records were good, they were much more derivative of Joy Divison and later Wire (apparently by the band’s own admission.) “Summer’s Last Sound” and its B-side “Love Stepping Out” was their last release for Che Records, but was such a stunning departure, it surely got them their eventual Rough Trade signing.
While there are shades of New Order and Durutti Column throughout Disco Inferno’s subsequent output, Disco Inferno’s guitarist & singer Ian Crause has nothing lyrically in common with either (although his timbre is somewhat similar to that of Vini Reilly’s, maybe.) Crause emits a bile only challenged by Mark E. Smith and Donald Fagen. It’s a very different shade of bile that doesn’t rattle its tail at you from several feet away like Smith’s nor is it a streamlined disgust a la Fagen. Crause sings like he’s speaking to you about memories and events as he recalls them on the fly. Most importantly, every song has a different snapshot of Crause. (Come to think of it, Crause is maybe a pre-cursor to Mike Skinner of The Streets? Nah.)
The last audio entry was quite long, and it’s easy to write a book on the three fertile years of Disco Inferno’s output between 1992 and 1994 alone. So, end it here? Alright then.
*PS: There are many ways to define the word “sampling”, “digital” and what not. I won’t state that sampling only started as a texture in 1992. Karlheinz Stockhausen certainly beat most to that game decades prior. More recently, the late 70s saw much experimentation from bands like Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire (though both were considered pioneers of “industrial”, much of which had used sampling in the stuttering cultural reference way mentioned above.), Wire, Swell Maps, Severed Heads and many others. HOWEVER, Disco Inferno was one of the first bands to remain a conventional rock band of its time while virtually transforming its studio and live performances to use sampling frameworks, and not sound like what people thought sampling was “meant” to be. Nowhere near it. The only other band that could have preceded them in that sense was Los Angeles’ Supercollider.
Wire - Eardrum Buzz (1989)
After reforming In 1985, the group increased their use of electronic musical instruments, eventually leading to the self-firing of drummer Robert Gotobed in 1990 (and thus prompting the band to drop one letter from their name to become Wir). The band released their fifth album A Bell Is a Cup…Until It Is Struck on Mute in 1988, based on live recordings, heavily re-arranged, edited and remixed in the studio. “Eardrum Buzz” was one of the few new songs on the album and became the band’s biggest charting single.
Joan Armatrading - Love and Affection
Now if I can feel the sun in my eyes / And the rain on my face
Why can’t I feel love?Joan Armatrading’s 1976 classic about love (and affection) is one that starts with a simple declaration: “I am not in love… but I’m open to persuasion.” This is Armatrading’s no-frills approach to love: maybe it’s not romantic, but shouldn’t it be freeing and uninhibited? With anyone else, she’s merely going through the motions of life. With a lover, she’s living it. And by the end of the song— one that starts with a simple acoustic guitar and swells into something much more rich— Joan demands, “Sing me another love song, but this time with a little dedication.”
My sister introduced me to this song during the holidays, and I’ve now played it so many times at work that people are probably starting to think I’m weirdly obsessed with it.
I am.
Anyway, I related this to her via text message, and her response was, “I love that song! Love-a woo hoo.”
Hah.
