John Balance, Various
The Art, Music & Writings of Geoffrey Rushton Alias John Balance / New Wilderness Audiographics (2 x Boxset + 2 x Book)
Over the last few years we’ve witnessed a slow trickle of vinyl reissues focused Balance’s work within Coil, but VOD’s latest, “The Art, Music & Writings of Geoffrey Rushton Alias John Balance - The Years 1979-1986”, takes a rare dive into a sprawling body of never before heard and unreleased material made by the artist during some his most important and prolific years. Issued as a 9LP wooden box set, accompanied by 282-page book, Shirt / Slipmat / certificate, in a black vinyl edition, limited to 666 copies, it’s easily one of the most exciting releases of the year for any fan of Coil, Balance, or British underground music at large.
“The Art, Music & Writings of Geoffrey Rushton Alias John Balance - The Years 1979-1986”, diving into a largely unheard sound world of John Balance, begins, logically, with nearly two LPs worth of material recorded between 1979 and 1980 of his earliest solo outings under the guise of Murderwerkers, fleshed out further with material by Stabmental, his collaboration with Tom Craig between 1980 and 1981. From here we move onto two LPs gathering some incredible solo recordings made between between 1982 and 1983, in addition to material made with the project Cultural Amnesia, as well as some early Coil recordings that illuminate the nascent stage of the seminal project. This momentum is carried forth with a further full LP of contributions that the project made to various compilations in 1984, then a full LP of Coil sessions, demos and outtakes recorded from 1983-1985, before concluding with an LP of Coil sound sources for the New Blockaders / Coil / Vortex Campaign Tape from 1984.
While this material presents an extensive and previously untapped overview of Balance’s sonic activity between 1979 and 1986, “The Art, Music & Writings of Geoffrey Rushton Alias John Balance” is equally immersive and valuable via its incredible, 282-page book offering rare insights and overview to his early life and work, his thinking, goals and work-in-progress, comprising 30 pages of essays and memories by Nick Soulsby, Nicolas Ballet, Phil Barrington, Cultural Amnesia, Euan Craik, Alex Fergusson, Tom Craig, Adi Newton and Vittore Baroni, all dealing with all kinds of aspects of John Balance, from friendship to mail-art to music-collaborations. In addition to this, it also also includes the complete re-publishing of his magazine Stabmental Issue 1-7 with 106 pages which he published with Tom and Euan between 1979 and 1981, an overview of rare Tapes from back those days with John's audio and design contribution and participation, 12 pages of artwork-examples, 44 pages of extracts from early magazine-publications with interviews, etc., and 51 pages of letters written by John between 1979 and 1986 that give a wonderful insight into his way of thinking. To Round it all out, the collection also includes an extra 28-page booklet with the letters to Adi Newton written by Balance between 1979-1981.
Needless to say, all of this collected together - the 9LPs and books - accompanied by a shirt, slipmat, and certificate - makes “The Art, Music & Writings of Geoffrey Rushton Alias John Balance - The Years 1979-1986” one of the most remarkable efforts ever dedicated to Balance and Coil ever released. Issued by VOD in a stunning wooden box-set edition of 666 copies, what else can we say? This one is mind-blowing in every way. - Bradford Bailey
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Various Artists – New Wilderness Audiographics - Recordings 1977-1984 – 11LP Box + Book
* Ltd. 333 copies, 11 LP housed in a wooden box, including a hardcover book and numbered certificate * The imprint New Wilderness Audiographics, which released roughy 30 cassettes between 1977 and 1984, was the first artists audio work label in the USA. Grown from the The New Wilderness Foundation, Inc., founded in 1974 by poet Jerome Rothenberg and sound artist, sound poet Charlie Morrow as a means to explore and disseminate New/Old Explorations of Sound and Oral Poetry, extending from the disciplines of ethnopoetics and performance arts: a blend of experimental and traditional arts espousing a "new wilderness", a source of perpetual renewal and new ideas, that produced events, publications, broadcasts and productions. The imprint, founded in 1977 by Morrow and quickly taking on a number of collaborators, including Rothenberg and Rip Hayman, became a radical vehicle for the ideas that rested at the heart of the foundation. For decades, in no small part due to the growing reverence for the artists it released, the output of New Wilderness Audiographics has been hotly pursued by fans and collectors of experimental music and sound practice. VOD’s towering 11LP box set represents the first compressive effort to reissue this material and bring an exhaustive overview to a new generation of fans.
The 11 LPs of “New Wilderness Audiographics - Recordings 1977-1984” comprise a considerable cross section of the material issued by the imprint over the course of its seven year run, including astounding pieces like Annea Lockwood’s “Tiger Balm”, “World Rhythms”, “Malaman”, and “Cloud Music”; Philip Corner’s “Uhhm (After a Deep and Tibetan Image)” and “Metal Meditations”; Jackson Mac Low and Pauline Oliveros’ “Homage To Leona Bleiweiss”; Jerome Rothenberg's “Horse Song”; Alison Knowles’ “Natural Assemblage and the True Crow”, “Sounds from The Book of Bean” and “Essential Divisions”; Dick Higgins’ “Poems and MetapoemΩ”, Bernard Heidsieck’s “Le Carrefour de la Chaussée d'Antin”; works for Gamelan Son of Lion and Bread and Puppet Theater, and so much more. Covering a remarkable range of practices, from sound poetry to groundbreaking gestures of music that remain as fresh and challenging as the day they where made, VOD’s collection illuminates one of the most important catalog’s of recordings ever released within the sonic avant-garde that’s remained nearly unobtainable for decades.
An engrossing, transportive revalation through every one of its minutes, VOD’s “New Wilderness Audiographics - Recordings 1977-1984” is issued as an 11LP black vinyl, wooden box set, in a numbered edition of 333 copies, including a hardcover book and numbered certificate. Each record is housed in its own cover (the Lockwood cover houses two LPs), and the book includes original cassette credits and notes plus reprints from New Wilderness Newsletter and Tom Johnson's Village Voice reviews, and previously unpublished photos and documents, as well as a new introductory text by Charlie Morrow. Nothing short of monumental and as essential as they come.
- A originally released 1977 on Philip Corner - Uhhm (After A Deep And Tibetan Image) / Om-'Pot'-Breath-Rhythm-Constant
- B originally released 1977 on Philip Corner - Metal Meditations
- C originally released 1977 on Charlie Morrow - Hour Of Changes...
- D1, D2 originally released 1977 on Charlie Morrow - Personal Chants
- D3 originally released 1977 on Leonard Crow Dog, Mary Crow Dog - Leonard & Mary Crow Dog
- E, F originally released 1977 on Annea Lockwood - Annea Lockwood
- G, H originally released 1977 on Annea Lockwood - Malaman / Cloud Music
- I originally released 1977 on Jackson Mac Low - Homage To Leona Bleiweiss
- J1, J2 originally released 1977 on Jackson Mac Low - Jackson Mac Low
- K1, K2 originally released 1977 on Jerome Rothenberg - Horse Songs
- L1, L2 originally released 1980 on "Dreamsound, India Transformed" (New Wilderness Audiographics 7914A)
- M originally released 1980 on "Roll 'Em on Honey" (New Wilderness Audiographics 8120A)
- N originally released 1982 on Ocarina Orchestra - Ocarina Orchestra
- O originally released 1977 on Alison Knowles - Alison Knowles
- P1, P2 originally released 1981 on “Alison Knowles” (New Wilderness Audiographics 8112A)
- Q1, Q2 originally released 1983 on “How She Sees it By Her” (New Wilderness Audiographics 8128A)
- R1 to R3 originally released 1982 on Anne Tardos - Gatherings
- S originally released 1981 on Dick Higgins - Poems And Metapoems
- T originally released 1982 on Bernard Heidsieck - Le Carrefour De La Chaussée D'Antin (Passe Partout No. 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19)
- U1, U2 originally released 1984 on Bread And Puppet Theater - Insurrection Oratorio
- V originally released 1984 on "Pieces for Gamelan Son of Lion" (New Wilderness Audiographics 8442B)
Black vinyl edition, limited to 666 copies. Comes with a 282-page book, T-shirt, slipmat, numbered certificate and an extra 28-page booklet with the ADI-Letters by Geoff. On the 'IX' LP, side B is screen-printed with the 'Scatology Sun' design.
