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"HiGH ▀ iNTELLiGeNCE tRoLLS"
_______________________________________________________________________
a r t i s t : Philip Sanderson
t i t l e : Reprint
d a t e : 2004
l a b e l : Anomalous Records (NOM023)
g e n r e : Electronic
r l s. d a t e : December/2004
t r a c k s : 05
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 55,9 MB
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1. Bright Waves
Philip Sanderson: tape delay
Nancy: voice
2. Reprint One
Philip Sanderson: VCS3, tape delay
3. Nein Nein Nein
Phili Sanderson: ring modulator, sythi-bug, voice
Steve Ball: guitar, xylophone, bric-a-brac
4. Reprint Two
Philip Sanderson: VCS3, tape delay
5. Under Press of Sail
Philip Sanderson: VCS3, tape delay
Reprint was originally released on cassette by Snatch Tapes in
1980 and was credited to an unknown duo called Claire Thomas &
Susan Vezey. A press release accompanying the cassette painted
a picture of two pre-Raphaelite synthesiser knob-twiddlers who
in between repatching their VCS3's went for long walks in
flowing robes on Blackheath.
Intrigued, the record label Cherry Red included the duo on
their compilation LP "Perspectives and Distortion" alongside
such luminaries as Matt Johnson, Virgin Prunes, Lol Coxhill,
Lemon Kittens, Eyeless in Gaza, Mark Perry, Ben Watt, Thomas
Leer, Morgan-Fisher, Robert Fripp, and David Jackman. Cherry
Red furthermore wanted to release an LP by Thomas & Vezey.
Until they realised that all was not as it seemed.
Claire and Susan were infact a figment of Snatch Tapes founder
Philip Sanderson's imagination. In addition to running the
label, Philip was one half of the DIY electronic group Storm
Bugs, and regularly collaborator with a then unknown musician
by the name of David Jackman (one of these tracks they did
together was recent issued on a 10" by Die Stadt). "Reprint"
was in effect one of his few solo recordings.
The first track Bright Waves (an earlier version of the track
on the Cherry red LP) with its fragile wispy vocals that blow
in and out on a tape delay breeze certainly adds credence to
the Claire and Susan subterfuge. However the rest of the music
on the CD suggest that this was more than a situationist prank.
The description on the sleeve of the music as "a study in
repetition and change using two different sources and two
different treatments..." was a nod towards the materialist
approaches being used during the 70's in most (fine) art forms.
"Reprint One" and "Reprint Two" use the loop formed by a tape
delay to build up busy percussive patterns. Recorded live, the
VCS3 triggered by a sequencer feeds in a set of constantly
chattering rhythms. As the loops pass repeatedly over the tape
heads the sound gradually degrades turning eventually into pure
white noise. What starts out as a polyrhythmic perversity,
somewhat akin to electronic tap dancing, builds into a wall of
sound.s
Also here is the piece "Under Press of Sail" (which was
featured on the compilation "Snatch 3" and the "0░ North" tape
by David Jackman and Philip Sanderson), and the secret bonus
track "Nein Nein Nein", which was only included a few copies of
the original tape release of "Reprint". Unlike the other
tracks, this was done in collaboration with fellow Storm Bug
Steven Ball. Using a low-tech five-minute answer-phone cassette
loop with the erase head disabled, the two built up a montage
of sounds which were fed through a home-made ring modulator.
The music of Reprint is a peculiar combination of academic
rigour married to an inverted pop art aesthetic. For whereas
pop art incorporated the cheap intoxication's of consumer
culture into the supposed lofty rooms of high art, here was an
attempt to incorporate the form or perhaps just the smell high
art into the low brutality of DIY electronics.
---------------------------------------------------------------
a review from The Wire by Jim Haynes:
"Part shrewd marketing manoeuvre, part homage to Marcel
Duchamp's alter ego Rose Selavy, DIY electronic pioneer Philip
Sanderson donned the personna of Claire Thomas & Susan Vezey as
two female electronic minimalists in the late 70's and early
80's. He kept up the charade long enough to land a Thomas &
Vezey track on the 1980 Cherry Red compilation Perspectives and
Distortion but was thwarted in his attempts to when the label
discovered that Claire & Susan were not who they claimed to be.
Sanderson subsequently released those recordings as the Reprint
Cassette through his Snatch Tapes [actually the cassette
release came first and was what lead Cherry Red to discover
Thomas and Vezey], which published his other project Storm Bugs
and a couple of recordings from the then unknown composer David
Jackman. 23 years later the electronic din of Claire & Susan
resurfaces, although the author is no longer hiding behind the
pseudonym. Fortunately the music of Reprint (Anomalous NOM23)
is much more than a giddy prank. Aptly described by Sanderson
as 'an inverted Pop Art aesthetic', Reprint graft a grimy
brutism culled from home made ring modulators and dismembered
answering machines onto the sterile arepeggiations and
polyrhythmic interplay of Cluster or Chris Carter's early
productions. what may have been consigned to the dustbin of
1980's cassette culture turns out to be a marvellous find, as
good as any of the recently recovered cassettes of recordings
of Cabaret Voltaire or Throbbing Gristle."
a review from WFMU by Program Director Brian Turner:
"An odd and interesting remnant of the 1980's DIY cassette
culture finding its way to CD: Sanderson (who was also half of
the Storm Bugs), creates a trippy tapestry of gurgling
primitive electronics and drifting voices in a raw, but
appealing-to-the-subconscious kind of way. The legend has it
that he initially submitted material to the UK label Cherry Red
under the guise of being two women (Claire Thomas and Susan
Vezey), hoping to 'market' himself in an unusual way to grab
the label's attention. It worked, and he (or rather 'they')
wound up on a compilation record, but the gig was quickly up
when Philip was discovered to be pulling the wool. Reprint was
originally a cassette under Claire & Susan's moniker, and
regardless of what name is on it today it stands as a great
marker on the home-brewed experimental/electronic timeline.
Glad to see Anomalous brought this back to the surface."
a review from Absurd by Nicolas:
"philip sanderson's 'reprint' cd on anomalous, would have been
a release that I would have underestimated if I hadn't listened
to it a third time. I have to tell you the truth that when I
first heard it was a few moments after having listened to the
storm bugs cd, sanderson had issued, which no matter it started
as a most promising one, later & thanks to the various styles
that were changing in that compilation can't say that turned to
be my cup of tea. so upon listening to 'reprint' after that
turned out not to be a good idea. but let's not beat about the
bush. reprint is the reissue of an old tape sanderson had
issued on his snatch tapes back in early 80's, back then was
credited to the unknown duo of Claire thomas & suzan vezey. The
release's back cover includes the original tape artwork and the
cd as well includes bonus tracks. starting w/ a haunting play
of decomposed eerie voices, that seemed to me that probably
back at that time mr. sanderson might have been obsessed with
records such as popol vuh's 'hossiana mantra' (or at least this
one comes in mind now) and the voice of djon yun (or another
artist) as the whole result, sounds a lot like trying to
achieve such an atmosphere w/ more electronics means. the rest
of the tracks & actually the ones that appeared on the original
cassette, are a unique 'game' w/ loops & electronics of that
time, that frankly if were issued today am sure that there are
lots of people who would have classified them as beautiful
lo-fi noise electronics, or is the least explanation I can find
for them, as they bring such beloved stuff in mind. the final
track 'under press of sail' which initially appeared in various
compilations of snatch tapes, is in a somehow different mood, a
bit more 'rhythmic' well, don't expect of course electronica
here, instead, a unique diy electronics industrialish
atmosphere, of course pure original as was made on the right
place & the right time, making the whole lot a purely enjoying
listening!"
_______________________________________________________________________
01-Bright Waves [05:01]
02-Reprint One [12:18]
03-Nein Nein Nein [05:40]
04-Reprint Two [11:50]
05-Under Press of Sail [05:01]
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39:50 min
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