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Undersung or obscure KLF tracks

Started by 23 Daves, June 23, 2013, 12:56:44 PM

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23 Daves

I think there are enough KLF fans on CaB to give this a go, and there's certainly enough material out there to discuss... Drummond and Cauty would happily release records in limited editions of five copies when the mood took them.

The one that's nagging away at me at the moment is "Space", which isn't really an official KLF release at all, being solely the work of Cauty but issued nonetheless on the KLF Communications label.  Originally it had been proposed that it would be a joint piece of work between Cauty and Alex Paterson, which got a lot of ambient fans very wet at the time.  The KLF's "Chill Out" had been revelatory for many, and The Orb were considered God-like figures in this sphere, so such an album would be the nineties electronic equivalent of Jagger and Lennon sitting down to pen a record, surely?

In the event, it didn't happen that way.  Some kind of falling-out occurred, Paterson left the project and ditched his contributions, and it was up to Cauty to see it through. "Space" was issued without much in the way of promotion at all, was met with vaguely favourable reviews, then largely forgotten about.  I excitedly bought the LP at the time believing that if it was even half as good as "Chill Out" it was still be a must-have, but found myself disappointed.

Until, that is, I put it on again a few weeks back.  It's actually not that bad at all, and has possibly aged a bit better than "Chill Out", even if that does stand up as still being a spellbinding album.  It's perhaps filled with too many ambient effects in place of actual music and is overly short, but the huge, symphonic sweeps are dramatic and Hollywoodian, making it uniquely epic for an ambient work, and most importantly it works fantastically well as a whole - as with "Chill Out", the track titles are an afterthought and the LP acts superbly as one coherent journey.  Its main problem seemed to be not living up to high expectations.

The entire LP is on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/jHwr1myZMZU

And the B-side to "Kylie Said To Jason" ("Kylie Said Trance") was pretty ahead of its time for 1988, but ended up getting seriously overlooked due to the poppy nature of the A-side.  http://youtu.be/4NSQSSEt00Y

Any more?  As I mentioned above, we're talking about a duo who in their prime let records slide out with virtually no announcements at all, and while I'm sure I've probably heard most of their worthy stuff, there's a strong chance I've missed something along the way. 

unky herb

Disco 2000 - I Gotta CD

If you like initialisms of technology in lyric form, it's your man.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

I really like Space. There's something about the basic production, the opera samples and long pauses between elements that does, inadvertantly lend it an astronomical majesty. Little twinkles and rushes and then the quiet infinity of Space. It's something to think about when you consider how much ambient music these days is obsessed with always having something happening, or filling up as much headspace as possible. Be brave, not everything needs to be drenched in reverb or delay to be ambient.

It's a shame the full thing never got made, but I like to think The Orb's Adventures and UF Orb compensate for that handsomely.

Just relistening to get an idea of the timings:
12mins- 18 mins is amazing
then you have Twinkle Twinkle
25mins-  36 mins is probably the best bit of the album, with some actual ambient house and hooks. I love that bass synth hook.
Obviously lots of good interludes and moments in and around that. It's a nice length I think, given how spartan the record is with just Cauty's input.

The KLF were amazing for their creativity, showmanship, diversity of material and general attitude.

Oh and the album artwork is pleasingly 1990.

23 Daves

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on June 23, 2013, 01:50:23 PM

25mins-  36 mins is probably the best bit of the album, with some actual ambient house and hooks. I love that bass synth hook.
Obviously lots of good interludes and moments in and around that. It's a nice length I think, given how spartan the record is with just Cauty's input.


That's the best moment, I'll agree.  I must admit I'm getting a lot out of my recent relistens to it, it feels as if it became a neglected bit of my record collection for no good reason, really.  Oddly, the only reason I returned to it was because I was listening back over some Boards of Canada stuff and wanted to gauge whether there were any similarities between that particular stretch and "Music Has The Right To Children".  The answer is - no, not really, the comparisons don't stack up in any meaningful way, but there are some minor elements which hint at why I might have got that idea in the first place. 

But you may have a point about the long stretches of nothingness on the record.  When I bought it I found those elements quite difficult to get my head around, so I don't think it seemed any less odd at the time than it does now. 

Another interesting "Space" fact - it's only the second album I've bought that the store assistant has laughed at me for getting.  The other is Kevin Rowland's "My Beauty".  They even asked me if I was sure I wanted to buy it...

phantom_power

The Echo and the Bunnymen remix of What Time Is Love is one of my favourite songs of that time

monkfromhavana

Their track as One World Orchestra on the Help! album was refreshingly naff :) The theme from The Magnificient Seven set to ropey jungle beat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8M6JQsGAws

daf

Not even sure if these are genuine, anyone know?

Love Trance (pure trance #3)[nb](Was actually searching for  'Turn up the Strobe' (pure trance #4) - but no luck.)[/nb] :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34seHBkUOmY



Deep Shit :
https://soundcloud.com/m-ward/the-klf-deep-s-t-the-cult-of-mu-minimal-mix8




My favourite from Shag Times  -

Burn The Bastards :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPCpAKjvXuM


23 Daves

I think I remember the "Deep Shit" discussion cropping up on some KLF forum once, and there was overwhelming evidence to suggest that version is a fake.  To my ears, it also has production flourishes which are way too 'late period KLF' in their stylings for the time "Deep Shit" was supposed to emerge. 

The KLF definitely said they pressed up 500 copies of it, and none of those seem to have emerged at any point - so either they were destroyed or they're still being sat on.  One of those mysteries.  Then again, they also said in one newsletter that they would possibly turn up in 'odd places' which so far as I know hasn't happened. 

Apparently the six copies of the Deep Shit 12" white label exist as somebody on the KLF xmission mailing list has one.  But I have no idea what happened to the flexis.  That would have been one of my four questions to Bill Drummond for his 100 book.

I would actually stab a gran to hear them KLF/Extreme Noise Terror sessions.


23 Daves

Quote from: daz on June 24, 2013, 12:47:49 AM
Apparently the six copies of the Deep Shit 12" white label exist as somebody on the KLF xmission mailing list has one.  But I have no idea what happened to the flexis.  That would have been one of my four questions to Bill Drummond for his 100 book.

I would actually stab a gran to hear them KLF/Extreme Noise Terror sessions.

The rough demos? They did the rounds online a while back, and I think should still be easy enough to trace. I'm sure I still have a copy somewhere, but I remember them as having low sound quality and not being that developed or impressive.

Were those rough demos legit? I assumed that they weren't and so didn't bother my arse.

23 Daves

Quote from: daz on June 24, 2013, 12:41:11 PM
Were those rough demos legit? I assumed that they weren't and so didn't bother my arse.

I thought they were, and that the KLF had even admitted they'd leaked (I seem to remember either through somebody who was  in Extreme Noise Terror or involved with them).  You're really not missing a great deal, but if you can't find them online, I'll happily try to dig them out and upload them for you.

Porridge

As far as I understand it, Cauty was one of the co-founders of The Orb but split from the group before the first album was put out (whether or not that was going to include material that eventually found its way onto 'Ultraworld' I'm not sure), and took with him his contributions, and released them as 'Space'. I'm a big fan of that album and rate it as highly as 'Chill Out'.

Re 23 Daves' link to the entire album: I've always found that choral sample at about 19 minutes to be quite moving.

Porridge

Oh, by the way, I really like this, thought it's more underplayed than obscure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPHuCeQcgKg

Was it ever finally established whether they were behind the 1300 Drums novelty Cantona tribute single?