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March 28, 2024, 09:39:31 AM

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The KLF Are Back (Maybe)

Started by matjam13, January 01, 2021, 01:31:48 AM

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daf

Quote from: edon on March 23, 2021, 01:48:29 AM
March 23rd, the magic number

Solid State Logik 2 - 12" mixes and odds and ends

Remastered Rites of Mu

Kylie Said To Jason HD

All this stuff is great, but a bit intangible/ephemeral for my tastes -

Stick it all in a nice box with CDs and a couple of blu rays, please lads!

buzby

Quote from: edon on March 23, 2021, 01:48:29 AM
March 23rd, the magic number

Solid State Logik 2 - 12" mixes and odds and ends
I notice that K Cera Cera is mislabelled - there never was a 12" release of it, it was only released as a single-strack CD single and cassingle (in Israel).

Rich Uncle Skeleton

#62
Is Kylie Said To Jason a new edit thats put the extra version from 12" version in? bugs me that the original 7" version isn't on SSL1 as its one of my favourite tracks.
Don't know why the extra verse annoys me so much,  but was hoping it would be kept to the full 12" version and safely on SSL2 where I could ignore it.

buzby

Quote from: Rich Uncle Skeleton on March 23, 2021, 10:56:46 AM
Is Kylie Said To Jason a new edit thats put the extra version from 12" version in? bugs me that the original 7" version isn't on SSL1 as its one of my favourite tracks.
Don't know why the extra verse annoys me so much,  but was hoping it would be kept to the full 12" version and safely on SSL2 where I could ignore it.
It's a completely different mix from the horn intro to the third verse (3:07). The third verse and  "Don't ask me..." from the 12" version have been added, but the final chorus after "Will just be proved wrong" is different from the original 12" mix, as it drops to just the bass drum, synth and PP Arnold/Maxine Harvey vocals. Even after that, the vocals in the fadeout are 'new' - they don't match the takes used on either the 7" or 12" endings.

I suspect that this was going to be the original 7" mix from 1989, but it was then edited to get it to the 4 minute mark for radio by chopping out the third verse and making a new fadeout. I wonder if the original stereo master for the 7" mix was lost or damaged, so they had to use this, or maybe they just forgot and used the wrong version? Still, it's nice to see another variation come to light, even if by accident.

Rich Uncle Skeleton

#64
Buzby (or anyone else) if I may draw on your fountain of knowledge once again please?

master or stamper discs(??) for what look like "Deep Shit Part 3" are on eBay I don't know how these discs work, but they appear to have 2 sets of both A and B sides.

my question is if any of these were in good enough condition could you theoretically take it to a pressing place that wasn't fussed about the copyrighted music and have a new batch made?

buzby

Quote from: Rich Uncle Skeleton on April 21, 2021, 02:26:54 PM
Buzby (or anyone else) if I may draw on your fountain of knowledge once again please?

master or stamper discs(??) for what look like "Deep Shit Part 3" are on eBay I don't know how these discs work, but they appear to have 2 sets of both A and B sides.

my question is if any of these were in good enough condition could you theoretically take it to a pressing place that wasn't fussed about the copyrighted music and have a new batch made?

He has the original A & B master positives and a pair of stampers that were taken from them (the stampers are the shinier ones that have the matrix info reversed on them)

Allegedly there were only 8 promo copies pressed of Deep Shit Pt. 3 (according to Cressida's info on the promo insert sheet they wanted 1000 pressed, but the pressing plant refused because it was based on The Queen & I from the 1987 album) so provided thay have been stored correctly the stampers should be OK (stampers normally last for 1000 pressings before new ones need to be taken from the master positives). However, the A-side stamper has some nasty scratches on it so would probably not produce very good pressings. A new stamper would have to be taken from the A-side master positive to replace it (if it is in decent enough condition to be used).

Of the 8 promo copies made, only 4 made it inito the wild, and one of those went on ebay for over £4k last February. I suspect these might be snapped up by an enterprising bootlegger, but listing the 4 items separately is going to make it very difficult for one person to get at least a pair of master positives or stampers (unless a large sum is waved at the seller to delist the items).


A '1989 Director's Cut' of The White Room is now available on Spotify, etc.




phantom_power

I have started reading Chaos, Magic, Music, Money by John Higgs. It is a fascinating read, even though I know most of the details described. There are large diversions into discussing Discordianism, Doctor Who, Alan Moore and Jung amongst others, discussing religion, philosophy and spirituality. It strays into "complete bollocks" territory a bit but is fun regardless

M-CORP

And I just fucking ordered a CD of The White Room! Oh well...

In all seriousness this appears to be a different take like Come Down Dawn, no time to listen to it in full now, but the club mix of Madrugada Eterna is interesting, not something I expected to hear. And nice to have Build A Fire available, though it sounds a bit different.

And this wasn't one of the five chapters originally teased, was it?

MrMrs

oh I'm reading that higgs book too! pretty good, easy read, but aye it goes a bit wild with the chaos shite

phantom_power

It is a bit "coincidences are normal and you shouldn't read anything into them...but check out THESE coincidences"

MrMrs

yep exactly, not as interesting a literary technique as the author thinks it is

Quote from: Beep Cleep Chimney on April 23, 2021, 08:11:46 AM
A '1989 Director's Cut' of The White Room is now available on Spotify, etc.

That Director's Cut doesn't really resemble the White Room OST album which was leaked back in the day.

Here's the original tracklisting:

  1   Kylie Said To Jason   (3:54)
  2   3AM Eternal   (4:19)
  3   Go To Sleep   (3:39)
  4   Make It Rain   (3:38)
  5   Church Of The KLF   (3:52)
  6   No More Tears   (3:19)
  7   Build A Fire   (4:55)
  8   The Lover's Side   (4:16)
  9   The White Room   (4:25)
10   Born Free   (2:57)

Quite a few omissions, like the original 3am Eternal, Born Free and of course Kylie.  And Last Train was developed from Go To Sleep, rather than being a track in its own right.

Actually, just listening to it, that Director's Cut seems like a real mixture. Church of the KLF sounds like the 1991 album version, and Last Train sounds like the UK 1991 LP version.  It's nice to see them releasing stuff, but I can't help but think it has a bit of a half-arsed feeling about it.  No nice segues between the tracks either.

Rich Uncle Skeleton

#74
edit those 4 master/stamper discs went for £671, £652, £771 and £911 in the end, fucking hell

buzby

Quote from: Darles Chickens on April 24, 2021, 10:54:43 AM
That Director's Cut doesn't really resemble the White Room OST album which was leaked back in the day.

Here's the original tracklisting:

  1   Kylie Said To Jason   (3:54)
  2   3AM Eternal   (4:19)
  3   Go To Sleep   (3:39)
  4   Make It Rain   (3:38)
  5   Church Of The KLF   (3:52)
  6   No More Tears   (3:19)
  7   Build A Fire   (4:55)
  8   The Lover's Side   (4:16)
  9   The White Room   (4:25)
10   Born Free   (2:57)

Quite a few omissions, like the original 3am Eternal, Born Free and of course Kylie.  And Last Train was developed from Go To Sleep, rather than being a track in its own right.

Actually, just listening to it, that Director's Cut seems like a real mixture. Church of the KLF sounds like the 1991 album version, and Last Train sounds like the UK 1991 LP version.  It's nice to see them releasing stuff, but I can't help but think it has a bit of a half-arsed feeling about it.  No nice segues between the tracks either.
Yes, it's a mix of tracks from the scrapped 1989 OST and the 1991 Stadium House version of the album.

phantom_power

I think I read somewhere that it is a version that was created in 1990 and so is a midway point in its genesis from the 1989 version to the 1991 released version

buzby

Quote from: phantom_power on April 26, 2021, 10:15:07 AM
I think I read somewhere that it is a version that was created in 1990 and so is a midway point in its genesis from the 1989 version to the 1991 released version
The timeline doesn't fit. LTTT was not on the original OST album (it was still Go To Sleep at that point), but the Pure Trance 3AM Eternal and KSTJ were. When they reworked the OST into the album in early 1991 (after 3AM Eternal had got to No.1), the Stadium House versions of WTIL? and 3AM Eternal already existed and edited versions of these were included on the album.

LTTT was the last of the Pure Trance tracks to be reworked, first into the album version and then again into the Stadium House version, which was released a month after the album. The promo 12" featuring the new versions of No More Tears and Make it Rain was released in February 1991, and there was an interview that appeared in the April 1991 issue of Sound On Sound where they were still mixing the album at The Lillie Yard. I think the Stadium House version of LTTT was probably put together during those album sessions too. The presence of the album version of LTTT but not the two previous singles would not tie up with this Director's Cut version originating from 1990.

To me, it looks like they have compiled tracks from the OST version with tracks from the album version that have not previously been released in this SSL series. I suspect the reason for that is because, like how Chill Out had to be edited into Come Down Dawn, there are clearance issues with the tracks from the 1991 album (which was the reason the album had to be re-edited for it's US release, with LTTT being reworked again).

Yes, pretty much agree, but...

Quote from: buzby on April 26, 2021, 11:39:12 AM
there are clearance issues with the tracks from the 1991 album (which was the reason the album had to be re-edited for it's US release, with LTTT being reworked again).

I think the US album version of LTTT is the 7" Stadium House version isn't it?  I always assumed the single release was the culmination in the evolution of LTTT, essentially they arrived at an arrangement that they felt would be a huge hit (which it was, more or less).  I'm not exactly clear why the US version of the album got the single version of LTTT, but I'd have assumed it's just because they thought it was 'better' and more commercial, rather than for any clearance reasons.

Rich Uncle Skeleton

Wasn't the clearance issue because they'd used crowd noise from the live bits from Rattle And Hum by U2?

buzby

Quote from: Darles Chickens on April 26, 2021, 07:40:13 PM
Yes, pretty much agree, but...

I think the US album version of LTTT is the 7" Stadium House version isn't it?  I always assumed the single release was the culmination in the evolution of LTTT, essentially they arrived at an arrangement that they felt would be a huge hit (which it was, more or less).  I'm not exactly clear why the US version of the album got the single version of LTTT, but I'd have assumed it's just because they thought it was 'better' and more commercial, rather than for any clearance reasons.
Yes sorry, getting the US and UK releases mixed up again. The US album version uses the 7" radio edit of the single. I suspect that the Stadium House version already existed when the album was released in the UK, but possibly wasn't used  because the legal issues with Wanda Dee (which started with the Stadium House version of WTIL?) hadn't yet been resolved. She appeared in the Stadium House Trilogy video as part of the legal settlement and  also got co-writing credit and points on the  US version of the album, which may have been another reason why the single version of LTTT was used as she was on it.

phantom_power

Never has a band spread so little material so wide and yet not have it seem like laziness or cynicism. Hearing those little riffs and motifs throughout their career just seems playful and fun

Quote from: phantom_power on April 26, 2021, 09:45:02 PM
Never has a band spread so little material so wide and yet not have it seem like laziness or cynicism. Hearing those little riffs and motifs throughout their career just seems playful and fun

Yeah, it's amazing really.  For me, the pinnacle is the 12" of It's Grim Up North - I would've loved to hear them produce a bit more stuff in that style (apparently The Black Room LP was going to take that direction, until they scrapped it in favour of that grindcore collaboration with Extreme Noise Terror, which, judging from the bits which were leaked, wouldn't have appealed much to me).

I think they got away with it because it was somehow all so tongue in cheek - brazenly cynical and yet well-crafted.  And they kind of invented a new genre with each new release.

M-CORP

This is a long post, as I have a lot of thoughts that have been bubbling away for a while on this whole KLF thang.

Firstly, in response to Buzby: I think it's less clearance issues and more the KLF being very selective with what tracks they put out - I think to them the 1989 versions of, say, Church of the KLF, were just first-draft demos and they'd rather put out the final versions. Or maybe they're saving the originals for another compilation. Or maybe they're being weird and irritating for the sake of it.

The main reason I write this post, though, is simply to put on the record that the more I think about this whole campaign, the more I like it. I can see why you might be irritated by everything being jumbled around, or tracks not segueing as they used to - I was disappointed by Church Of The KLF's new fadeout - but that's streaming. It's made for a modern generation who listen to tracks out of sequence, and where perfectly executed segues are so often interrupted by ads.

This doesn't seem half-arsed - it seems like the KLF know what they're doing, and I think they're doing it brilliantly. I love how they've made their back catalogue available for fans to enjoy and newcomers to discover, but they have done so on their own terms - I love the little detail of how these tracks are available to stream, but unusually not to download - i.e. you can hear them on Apple Music, but you can't buy them in the iTunes Store as far as I can tell. We don't know what's going to happen next - we have some clues on what to expect (Pure Trance etc) but no word on order and exact release dates and tracklists. Normally we'd know, or find out via rumours or leaks, months beforehand. Not this time.

The backstory of the KLF Re-enactment Society, with all its political factions is also really rich in detail and does a good job of retaining the enigma:
https://klfrs.com/history
http://www.djfood.org/lateral-or-literal-the-klf-re-enactment-society/

One can't help but feel it's part of a wider commentary on fandoms and how we listen to music and become attached to its unnecessary trappings, as DJ Food alludes to.

But most of all for me, a 19-year-old who previously knew the KLF not for their music, but for their stunts ('Oh did you know, right, they burnt a million pounds, right, and it was like, well cool!'), this has actually made me curious about the music, and I've only just fallen in love with it. (Heard Chill Out last year, but probably wouldn't have looked at The White Room were it not for Solid State Logik).
I wonder if perhaps Drummond and Cauty were getting frustrated that they may ultimately be remembered by most people for being weird and firing machine guns and that superficial context, when what matters most, and why they first became popular in the first place, was the actual music they created. That's what matters, and with Spotify, they've been able to dial back the context and presentation, and just present the music on its own. It feels like the KLF, now at retirement age, are having the last word, and trying to say what the KLF was really about (callback intended). Preserving their legacy for the next generation. Presenting things in a new context to see how well it stands up (Come Down Dawn in particular is what Chill Out might sound like if it was being made today with current copyright laws).

For someone who wasn't born when the KLF was first around, it's been great to get a sense of what they were like and get caught up in a long game they seem to be playing. And who knows how it will end? Maybe we'll get some really big surprises. As the KLFRS themselves say:

QuoteThere have been rumours of a lost chapter[nb]As https://klfrs.com/samplecity-thru-trancentral confirms, the lost chapter is The White Room Director's Cut, which was released despite not being one of the initially teased chapters.[/nb]. And maybe even a hidden chapter.

purlieu

Yeah, the whole thing should be taken on its own terms: these are more like playlists than albums, an opportunity for Bill and Jimmy to present a particular perspective on their past, based entirely around on how they feel about the material right now. They're just about keeping to their promise to keep their catalogue out of print by not making the tracks available for purchase, with the threat that they could disappear at any time - and, knowing them, that's a real likelihood, once they feel the project is over. It's less a reissue campaign and more a commentary on their work - with the commentary coming from listeners rather than the band themselves, which is exactly how they like it.

It's all very interesting, and none of it will replace my CD copies when it comes to listening, but then it's not intended to.

Quote from: Darles Chickens on April 26, 2021, 09:53:26 PM
Yeah, it's amazing really.  For me, the pinnacle is the 12" of It's Grim Up North

Part 2 is very good techno - got a lot of underground club play when it was released.

buzby

#86
Quote from: M-CORP on April 26, 2021, 10:05:50 PM
Firstly, in response to Buzby: I think it's less clearance issues and more the KLF being very selective with what tracks they put out - I think to them the 1989 versions of, say, Church of the KLF, were just first-draft demos and they'd rather put out the final versions. Or maybe they're saving the originals for another compilation. Or maybe they're being weird and irritating for the sake of it.
The version of The Church Of The KLF used in the Director's Cut (or at least the version they have uploaded to YouTube,) is neither the 1989 or 1991 version. It's the 1991 version with a fadeout instead of a dead stop, and more importantly, PP Arnold's gospel acappella excised from the start. Why do that? It's the iconic part of the track, as it's where the famous 'KLF, Aha Aha!' sample originated from. On the 1991 UK version it was backed by the crowd noise from Rattle & Hum, so on the US version they removed the crowd noise and it's played in the clear. Now it doesn't exist at all, so it must have been removed for a reason.

PP Arnold has complained publicly over the past few years that they promised to pay her a royalty percentage for her work with them, but she only ever received the session fee. I can't help but think that purposely cutting that section of the track off was done as a way of cutting off any potential claims at the pass.

The original 1989 version of the track is an actual complete song rather than a demo (the OST album was complete when it was scrapped). The 1991 version is not really a song - it's basically just a short section of the OST version with the snare and backing vocals removed and a bit of the acid burbling from  the album version of LTTT added on the end that was used as a linking device between 3AM Eternal (which used the aforementioned sample from it's intro) and LTTT. I think it works a lot better thematically with the UK album version of LTTT in that respect, as it's tempo and feel (and the acid burbling) match with that better than the Stadium House version used on the US album.

phantom_power

A lot is made of them burning the million quid (as well they should, it was fucking mental) but they have probably lost far more money by deleting their back catalogue and that is seen as a much more artistically justifiable decision.

There is a bit in the book about how they gave an alternative Turner prize of double the money for the official version and were going to burn it (40 grand I think) if the winner didn't claim it. They were just about to douse it in petrol when the winner turned up and claimed it. It is posited that if they have been allowed to burn it they might not have gone the whole hog with the million

I wonder how their career would have progressed if they had gone ahead with Drummond cutting his hand off and throwing it into the crowd at the Brit Awards as well

buzby

#88
Quote from: phantom_power on April 27, 2021, 09:28:28 AM
A lot is made of them burning the million quid (as well they should, it was fucking mental) but they have probably lost far more money by deleting their back catalogue and that is seen as a much more artistically justifiable decision.
However they were still getting royalties from sales of the the US TVT and Arista album releases (which were heavily imported back to the UK by the likes of HMV and Virgin) for years after they left the business (and the very nice Toshiba/EMI Japanese 'This Is What THe KLF Is About' limited edition singles box sets), and also from radio play. It's not like all their back catalogue became totally unobtainable after the BRIT awards appearance.
Quote
There is a bit in the book about how they gave an alternative Turner prize of double the money for the official version and were going to burn it (40 grand I think) if the winner didn't claim it. They were just about to douse it in petrol when the winner turned up and claimed it. It is posited that if they have been allowed to burn it they might not have gone the whole hog with the million
Rachel Whiteread. It was shown live on C4 at the time during the ad breaks for the Turner Prize itself.. As part of that, they drove 25 journalists, artists and art critics to South Mimms services in limos and gave each of them a £1850 in new £50 notes. they were supposed to keep £50 as evidence and nail the £1800 to an empty picture frame, which then made up the £40k prize for Whiteread. It was that which they threatened to set fire to (though it ended up around £8k short, as some of the attendees pocketed the cash). They were then asked to view the K Foundation's next art piece, Nailed To A Wall, - £1million in £50 notes nailed to a framed board, The reserve price of this work was set at £500k. This was meant to be the first in a series of works involving large amounts of money.

None of the galleries they approached were interested in exhibiting their money-based art, however, either out of security concerns or most likely because the art in istelf was taking the piss ouf of the business side of the art world, so they were forced to dismantle it. The money was returned to the Bank Of England, and they had to pay an £8000 fine for damaging the notes, and they would now need to be incinerated and new ones reprinted (for which they were charged a further £500). That is what gave them the initial idea of burning the money and exhibiting the ash as a piece of art.
Quote
I wonder how their career would have progressed if they had gone ahead with Drummond cutting his hand off and throwing it into the crowd at the Brit Awards as well
Or the vegans in ENT hadn't intervened and they carried out the other plan to throw the dead sheep into the audience and douse them with buckets of pig's blood.

phantom_power

Yeah all the stuff licenced in other territories were out of their control but they still gave up a shit load in royalties and licencing to compilations, adverts etc. I doubt the US album has been a huge seller over the years