What we listened to - October 2024, December 2024, March 2025 editions
Plus: the next meet-up is Thursday 1st May, save the date!
Hello everyone,
Firstly, a huge thank you to everyone who came down to Dreamhouse last night for the first Really Strange Record Club of 2025 - it was great to catch up with regulars and newcomers alike! And of course, some amazing selections - of which, more below…
Secondly, the next event is Thursday 1st May - 7:30pm-10:30pm, at Dreamhouse as always. Put the date in your calendar, and ping me a message if you want a turntable slot. (CDs and tapes also welcome, btw!).
Finally, see below for a BUMPER write up of the last three events - last night’s, plus October and December’s events from last year. There’s so many great records lurking in the wall of text below - and maybe some inspiration of what to bring if you’re thinking of joining us next time. As you’ll see - anything goes!
Hope everyone has a brilliant weekend, and see you in May.
Matt
3rd October 2024
Tom kicked us off with Bruce Haack’s Electronic Record For Children from 1969, taking us back to a time when at least part of the intended audience for wiggy electronic weirdness was kids, via the somewhat harrowing Spiders. Then we enjoyed the strangely affecting MIDI-folk of Thomas Bush’s Old And Red (2018) before finishing with an outsider classic from Ireland, Michael O’Shea’s self-titled album from 1982 in which he conjures up some dark and deeply percussive soundscapes from a homemade zither-like instrument constructed from an old door.
Tom M treated us to a selection of covers - Silverfish’s hardcore version of White Lines from 1990, Revolting Cocks’ take on Da Ya Think I’m Sexy (1993) which boasted both a great groove and a mildly upsetting KY Jelly-filled sleeve, and finally Saint Etienne’s delirious acid reworking of I’m Too Sexy (1992).
Josh drew up some more treasures from his inexhaustible well of 7-inches, starting with You’ve Got What It Takes - a 1964 release from Mandy Rice-Davies in a charming bid to parlay her Profumo notoriety into a pop career. Next, we heard two covers of the Misfits’ Angel Fuck - one by Pajo from Scream With Me (2009) and one from Orange Hell’s self-titled comp from 2023. Finally we heard 1966’s Makin’ Deals by The Satans - a song that bears a remarkable resemblance to the later Sympathy for the Devil.
Jeremy introduced us to Deutsche Grammophon’s Avant Garde imprint with two selections from a 1968 recording by Chor Des Norddeutschen Rundfunks Hamburg - David Beford’s Two Poems for Chorus and Ligeti’s Lux Aeterna, which boasts some truly stunning dense vocal textures.
Paul kept us in the avant-garde space with an except from Conlon Nancarrow’s relentless Complete Studies For Player Piano Volume Four (1984), before switching into disco mode for Lata Ramasar’s India-via-Trinidad 12” The Greatest Name That Lives (1980) and finishing with George Coleman’s Bongo Joe (1969) - performed, according to the credits, on a 55-gallon oil drum.
Harry introduced us to the wonderful, late James Chance via a live LP of his band Contortions, Live Aux Bains Douches from 1980, including electrifying free-funk covers of Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough and I Got You (I Feel Good) - killer stuff.
Nick brought us the dub-disco of Tappa Zukie’s 12” Freak - a record he didn’t know he owned until choosing something to bring - before bringing us a really intriguing mispressing - a record that alleged to be Captain Beefheart’s Bluejeans & Moonbeams (1974) but actually contained a side of psychedelic jazz-prog from Hatfield And The North - released on Virgin in the same year.
Erin took us back to 2005 with Death From Above 1979’s Blood on our Hands 7”, before switching up into hardcore mode with Alexisonfire’s Accidents from the same year.
And finally Ben rounded out the night with an amazing grab-bag of stray singles and one-offs from the mighty KLF - Disco 2000’s Uptight, America What Time Is Love, Kylie Said To Jason, The Jamms’ It’s Grim Up North, The Timelords’ Doctorin’ The Tardis and of course the anthemic Justified And Ancient with Tammy Wynette.
12th December 2024
December had a non-compulsory Christmas theme that was reflected in some but by no means all of the records we played. We opened with a track I brought along - an excerpt from Tuluum Shimmering’s hour-long psyche jam based on Linus and Lucy from the classic Peanuts Christmas soundtrack.
Tom kicked off with the gothy Swedish synthpop of Troth’s Blood In My Hair (2022), before moving onto the exquisite Lift You from Moin’s You Never End (2024) - a glorious slice of math-rock-meets-spoken-word. He finished with the deep, heavy and seasonally appropriate techno of Coil’s The Snow from 1991.
Phil brought us another dispatch from the NZ industrial scene via Don’t Take Those, from This Kind of Punishment’s self-titled 1984 record. We then heard Beeside from Moonshake’s Beautiful Pigeon 7” from 1992 (another entry in our Leyton local history series) before finishing with William Shatner and Henry Rollins’ idiosyncratic take on Jingle Bells.
Geoff brought us a stunning 78 from 1954 featuring two unaccompanied vocal performances by folk singer A L Lloyd - Down in Yon Forest and The Bitter Withy. Then we enjoyed a seasonal release from The Qualities released on Sun Ra’s Saturn label in 1961 - It’s Christmas Time and Happy New Year, before finishing with another gem from Ra’s doo-wop era - The Cosmic Rays’ Daddy’s Gonna Tell You No Lie from 1955.
I played a couple of tracks from the Yen Records all-star We Wish You A Merry Christmas album from 1983 - Haruomi Hosono’s frosty ambient 25 Dec 1983 and Yukihiro Takahashi’s stately Door O Akereba.
Ben opened his selection with Dogbowl’s lo-fi The 1972 Christmas Bombing Of North Vietnam from Fantastic Carburetor Man from 2001, before unleashing the thrashy Kill Techno by Man Nebound And The Barbed Wire Hippopotamuses from Ugly Records’ Weird Sex compilation. We then moved into the industrial hip-hop zone with Pig’s Sick City 7” from 1989 then onto Way of the South by Headhunters (1989) before finishing with some classic hard techno via 1999’s Terminator by Digital Masters.
Harry played a couple of lovely psychey tracks from the only album by Pennsylvania commune group Farm (1971) - we heard Sunshine in my Window and Let That Boy Boogie. Then we heard a couple of great finds from Harry’s recent deep dive on the Fluid Ounce label - Nery Bauer’s Maharaja, a great funk/jungle hybrid from 2005, and BDI’s Ultra Living from The Science of Charity, a broken beat track from the same year.
A record was actually left for us behind the counter at Dreamhouse - we think it was from Tom M though do write in and correct me if I’m wrong! - but in any case we all enjoyed The Butthole Surfers’ rousing take on Good King Wenceslas.
We closed with a barnstorming set from Paul of festive treats from all over the map - starting with Joseph Spence’s Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town from 1980’s Living on the Hallelujah Side. We returned to James Chance’s oeuvre with his Christmas With Satan under his James White alias from Ze Records’ A Christmas Record (1982 edition), swiftly followed by Ray I’s Bruck Pocket Ismas from his 1978 Natty Christmas reggae record with Jacob Miller. From Stones Throw’s legendary 2007 Badd Santa comp we heard 69 Boyz & Quad City DJs with What I Want For Christmas before closing the whole night with Simply, a hellish Stock Hausen & Walkman deconstruction of Macca from V/Vm’s Turkey compilation (1998).
6th March 2025
I kicked things off with a side from Awa Poulo’s Poulo Warali, a gorgeous 2017 album from the Malian singer on the always-reliable Awesome Tapes From Africa label.
Afterwards, Ben stepped up with Sleepy For Life, a melancholic slide of retro-acid by AAAA from 2018’s Acid Avengers 010 release. Then we looked back to, in Ben’s words, “a time before John Carpenter was a genre” and Gatekeeper’s magnificent, crushing Optimus Maximus from 2009 before closing out this set with Pussy Galore’s 1988 cover of Einsturzende Neubauten’s Yu Gung from 1988’s Sugarshit Sharp.
Erin kept us in the acid zone with an extraordinary rarity - a test pressing of one of his own records where glitter had been tossed in with the clear vinyl in an experimental process; five records were made but four broke making this the only surviving copy. Miraculously, it played extremely well but then unfortunately snapped when it was removed from the turntable, meaning this might be the one of the rarest records we’ve heard. He followed this with another rare test pressing of Autocratz’ reaKtor on Kitsune from 2007, before closing out with Deaf Club’s cover of Nirvana’s Tourettes from 2024’s split 7” with Fuck Money.
Rahil brought along two impulse purchases - the first an absolutely delightful beat record by M Shariff & The Zurah from 1973. We listened to the first side of Sudah Nasib, including the title track and Kembalilah Padaku, before switching up to enjoy Muévelo Negro, a 2013 cumbia 12” on Tru Thoughts by Quantic & Nidia Góngora.
Paul saluted International Women’s Day with a rapidfire set of cuts made by women from around the globe, starting with Asha Puthli’s incredible We're Gonna Bury The Rock With The Roll Tonight from Mr Bongo’s 2022 compilation of her work. Then we heard Gina Martin’s Omo Belli from Soul Jazz’s Caribbean comp 90° Degrees Of Shade (2014); The Dezurik Sisters’ The Arizona Yodeller from Mississippi Records’ 2009 comp Mata La Pena; Mortuary Bound from Elyse Weinberg’s 1969 album Elyse; the magisterial Bulgarian choral singing from 4AD classic Le Mystère Des Voix Bulgares; some really psychedelic cut and paste from Cobra Killer’s 1998 self-titled album; before finishing with Japanese duo Pop-Off Tuesday’s self-titled album from 2000.
Geoff brought some truly remarkable gems from the USSR in the 1970s, including three selections from Georgia (two on flexi-disc!) and one each from Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia, running the gamut of expansive orchestration, traditional instrumentation and, fascinatingly, some soul influences. I snapped photos of all of these treasures but have been struggling to cross-reference them on Discogs; I’ll update this section of the post as and when I have more information.
Rob brought a selection of intriguing-looking records but hit a home run with the two he played. Pony Ride was the 2017 debut of Chinese/Greek drone duo Elephant House and was my favourite discovery of the night; he followed with a track from Butter (1996), the sole album of experimental rock supergroup group Butter 08 featuring members of Cibo Matto, the Jon Spencer Blue Explosion and Sean Lennon.
Nick brought along a collaborative 12” between English Krautrockers Standard Planets and author Iain Sinclair, in which the latter reads from his book Overground, putting the boot into London gentrification to a musical backing.
Paul returned to the turntable with a few more selections: the Finnish IDM of Kuupuu from their Sisar album (2013); the Malian desert folk of Idassane Wallet Mohammed’s Inarègh from her Issawat album (also 2013); Lottie Kimbrough’s Rolling Log from Mississippi’s Last Kind Words 1926-1953 blues/folk comp from 2006; and finishing with a track from Mu’s Afro Finger & Gel album, a 2003 Maurice Fulton production.
Ben closed out the night with two final records from his bag - Foetus Über Frisco’s Finely Honed Machine 12” from 1985, and Laibach’s lullaby-like cover of Across The Universe from 1988.
