TTW#35 - Dr. Fleischbrittel - The 7th Synphonie of the Seven Swevens
Cassette only - limited edition of 200 copies
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Track listing:
A: 777 (Mix 2)
B: 777 (Mix 3)
Illustration - SavX.
Andrew Lagowski writes: “The 7th Synphonie of the Seven Swevens a.k.a. 777 by Dr. Fleischbrittel was recorded direct to cassette on 29th and 30th May 1983 at IP1 3PG, Ipswich. The project was realised as a means of escape from the band mentality that I was part of at that time. It offered me the chance to free-form in more ways than one and express my more demonic leanings - those of a frustrated teenager recording in whichever bedroom had the space for the equipment. Unbeknownst to them, my parents were sonic partners in this exploit. Power drill and spade by Ryszard Lagowski. Vocals by Dr. Fleischbrittel and family. Reworked & edited on 6th March 2011 by Andrew Lagowski.” Andrew Lagowski, London, 17 April 2011.
Biography:
Andrew Lagowski has been making and recording electronic music since 1982 and before that was a drummer in a new wave band. Since 1987 he has released over 25 albums and ten 12" singles and continues to release on various labels Worldwide. Projects include Nagamatzu (co-founder, guitarist, programmer, engineer), Lustmord as engineer / programmer (e/p), Terror Against Terror (e/p), Isolrubin B.K. (e/p), Legion, S.E.T.I. (the one with the d.o.t.s.) and Lagowski. He has also been a synthesizer programmer for Yamaha R&D in London and continues to have work featured in film and television through licensing deals.
Reviews
Aquarius Records (US):
Another bafflingly brilliant batch of tapes from UK tape label The Tapeworm, and while we often find ourselves at a bit of a loss to describe whatever sonic oddity they've unearthed or discovered or dug up or conjured from the ether, not sure we've ever encountered one like this before. With very little info to go on, what we can surmise from the description we read, is that this might be some sort of home-recorded ritual, perpetrated by a teenager (Andrew Lagowski?), with his parents in the other room, taking leave from whatever rock band he was playing in at the time, to create, well, THIS, a strange bit of sinister collaged ambience, wild squiggles of feedback, what sounds like running water, manipulated tapes, stumbling percussion, what almost sounds like field recordings, owl calls or something like owl calls, detuned guitar melodies, shards and fragments of sound, all blurred and smeared and tangled into a sci-fi lo-fi soundscape, jumbled, textural and weirdly rhythmic, a definite kitchen sink approach, or maybe toolshed approach would be more accurate, a strange selection of noise making devices including various effects and fuzzboxes, a reel to reel tape player not to mention a drill and a space (perhaps wielded by the artist's brother), and while there is a sense of randomness and chaos, much of this is quite listenable, and for sure is beholden to (whether intentional or not) Nurse With Wound, Hafler Trio, and other unconventional sonic experimentalists. Two distinctly different mixes/versions, edited and reworked earlier this year. Pretty excellent stuff.
Vital Weekly (NL):
As a teenager Andrew Lagowski sat down in his room with his Korg MS20, a guitar and some other assorted equipment and recorded in two days two pieces, back in 1983. This year he un-earthed these pieces and reworked them a bit, so its not entirely clear what is old and what is new. On the a-side I had the impression this is forecasting his later ambient work as SETI, but maybe I am looking it at the wrong way. The b-side is much more a child of those days, in which Lagowski is fooling around with a guitar, and sounds a bit like Cosey in her Throbbing Gristle days. His parents in the next room are also present in this recordings! An embryonic tape, but nice to hear where Lagowski comes from.
