Return of the Equi Phallic Alliance!

“Anti-social behavior – the new lycanthropy

The concept of Society had been getting into trouble for some time, then late one evening – as the shadows lengthened across the playing fields – Society vanished on her way home. The police couldn’t find her, neither alive nor dead (but Society had always got on their nerves).

Cheeky though she was, and Society was always answering back, she was never really bad. […] Society’s body was never found. […] In her place, goody-goody Community was creeping around the parents and teachers, repeating all of her lessons as if they were true…”

I’m a bad bad correspondent, this came out in July but I’ve only just found it in a pile of mail. The EPA were one of the strangest and strangely compelling of the “groups” haunting the 1990s small press underground. Along with the Neoist Alliance, the London Psychogeographical Association (East London Section) and countless others, they’d disseminate excellent newsletters which would rip a hole in your preconceived notions of space and time – all over breakfast.

Their earliest newsletters concerned themselves with the disappearance of a certain Dr Mintern who was last seen investigating the concept of landscape in the construction known by some as “Wessex”. Mintern had found that the landscape was actually on stilts and had then vanished into the underchalk. His discoveries were used as a way of attacking various poets in “Wessex” who were attempting to shield people from the fact that the landscape was entirely artificial by romanticising it.

The latest issue concerns itself with childhood vs adulthood (which is to my mind the key factor in the current furore about “anti-social behaviour”). Adulthood is seen here as loss. The subject is examined through the prism of the psychogeography of Camberwick Green and its residents’ commitment to “the old ways” of witch burning.

There are some great sideswipes at Gerald Gardner and the “serious” wiccans of The Pagan Federation – although these could actually be read as celebrations by people who don’t take themselves too seriously.

This is the best thing I’ve read in ages and if this review has even slightly interested you, then I would urge you to get hold of your own copy.

Copies of the Listening Voice are available for an SAE from The EPA, 33 Hartington Road, Southampton SO14 0EW. You are strongly recommended to subscribe by sending 6 2nd class stamps to the same address.

education is the key

dianex

Whilst I have a number of differences with Class War, they can always be relied upon to bang out some great posters. This one has a pop at my local MP, Diane “I’m sure the black parents of Hackney will understand why I am sending my child to a private school” Abbott.

Also good to see them writing some incisive letters to the Hackney Gazettte on subjects like the corruption scandal at a local evangelical church.

EINSTÜRZENDE NEUEKÜCHEN

chef_3

The best idea I’ve heard about all day, by quite a long stretch:

Born in July, 2004, the cookbook began as a simple plea on the neubauten.org supporter forum for a few suggestions on what to make for dinner.

It soon became evident that Neubauten fans are also pretty good cooks, because the recipes grew quickly in number, and food discussions seemed to take priority over most other topics in the chatroom.

(and yes, doesn’t the EN logo look a bit like the c*l****l s***d?)

Papa Levi chapter 3

Previously: Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

After his stint with Island, Papa Levi recorded for a number of independent labels. This is some way from being a complete discography…

Militancy/Baby Mother (Jah Records JRW02 1986)

Militancy maybe shows more optimism with the record company being prepared to stump up for a picture sleeve. The back cover credits the Trouble Some Band as:

Drums – Patrick (Treco) Augustus
Bass – Polean
Guitar – Jerry Lions
Congas – ZEBUL Zebulan
Keyboard – Sargent Pepper
Percussion – Treco/Jerry Lions/Zebulan
Prod/Arr by Patrick (Treco) Augustus and Papa Levi

Patrick Augustus aka Treco seems like the label head and is probably better known now as the author of the X-Press book Babyfather and its subsequent BBC TV Series.

Sgt Pepper seems like a real cornerstone of 80s UK reggae, having recorded extensively for Mad Professor and Jah Shaka. (Indeed the first release on Ariwa records was Sgt Pepper’s Come Back Again 12″). He is also the brother of singer Sandra Cross and the late Victor Cross.

“Take of your jeans and take off your suit
And buy a pair of black army boots
Militancy this a miltancy
Imagine Papa Levi in a full khaki”

The tune itself has the same sort of mad kinetic energy as a good jungle track – except with proper horns and drums and bass. It’s all done at breakneck speed (for reggae) and Levi is at his absolute best chatting fast style over the top. The lyrics (in as much as I have been able to decipher them) seem to focus on an end-times battle between 100 rastas and 200 babylonians. The rastas may not have numbers on their side, but they do play Sugar Minott and Nitty Gritty out of a huge ghetto blaster. After their victory the dreads “cark up de foot in de diamond socks” and “drink ribena out of the box”.

The release proves that Levi could make it on his own, without major label support – indeed this is one of his best tracks.

Hill Top/In The Hills (Jah Records JRW003)

“Hill Top” is based on Joseph Cotton’s “No Touch The Style” which was one of the first songs to use the Punaany riddim back in 1987. Cotton has been recording as Jah Walton since the 70s (and was also a traffic cop!), but this release on Fashion is a definite highlight of his catalogue.

“No Touch the Style” is a duet with (an uncredited) Janet Lee Davis in which Joseph despairs of his woman and Janet can’t quite believe him and asks him to repeat himself:

“What I am doing with a woman like Sue?”“A woman like who?”

“A woman like Sue. She give me carrot juice mixed with special brew”

“Seh she give you carrot juice mixed with special brew?”

“She give me carrot juice mixed with special brew
Then she get up from morning and give me no tea
Then she lock up me house – throw away me key
Mash up me settee and me one TV”

“You mean the colour TV weh you go truss pon HP?”

“Hill Top” is a similarly structured duet between to blokes (both of which may be played by Levi) which catalogues the misdeeds of various women and is hugely gossipy in flavour. Someone called Michelle comes in for particular stick because of her affections for the various Saxon MCs, for example:

“Me know a little girl by the name of Michelle
Have four men and every one she give hell
In a nuff different man flat that girl dwell
She go from one to one like a damn jezebel
Love Daddy Sandy but she prefer Colonel
Love Tippa Irie and Rusty as well.
De face look criss and her body look swell
When she walk her batty sing like a damn church bell
How much man draw water in your well?”

Ram Jam Capitalism/Me Love Sess (Treco TRE004)

This seems to have come out as both a 7″ and 12″. The a-side is allegedly a dig at David “Ram Jam” Rodigan:

“The boy a put himself in a de position
For capitalise upon the black nation”

Levi counterposes white people profiting from reggae with black independence:

“What we need now is organisaton
and conscious man like Louis Farrakhan
to take control of the situation”

No doubt this won him few friends, but I doubt that was the intention. The Farrakhan reference is interesting and suggests a more catholic (small ‘c’) attitude to black consciousness – beyond the “pure” rastafari of the 70s and early 80s. Perhaps by the time this record was released the Nation of Islam was more prominent in terms of radicalising black youth – it certainly had a huge role in hip hop.

Indeed, Levi expands on his views in this interview with the UK section of the NOI:

“I am pro Black in my thinking, in my actions and I try my best to support my own people, you know. It is not that I am opposing any other nation, but I feel that I must stand for my own first and then if I am able to, I will stretch out my hand to help others, but self first. So first and foremost Papa Levi sees himself as an African descendant, not a European, even though I was born here in this part of the world. I see myself as an African stolen from abroad, you know.” […]

“I love the Nation of Islam. I love the message of Elijah Muhammad and Minister Farrakhan is a present day mentor. Even if you do not agree with everything he says, we must give Min. Farrakhan credit because he does not have to put himself in the position that he is in. We need more strong Black men to stand up like this. I have to say to Min. Farrakhan, ‘Respect due.’”

It’s not known what the notoriously puritan NOI made of the b-side with its “You love sess – bawl out YES!” chorus.

Both sides of this single show a move towards a more ragga feel.

Levi’s first LP, Trouble in Africa was released on Jah Records and he has subsequently made a number of albums for Mad Professor’s Ariwa label. I’ll try to write about those some other time, along with any other singles I happen to pick up between now and then.

It’s always worth remembering that Levi’s records, as brilliant as they are, were always a pale shadow of his performances as an MC on Saxon Studio International. Live chatting is by its very nature much more ephemeral, of the moment and harder to catalogue, so I shall leave you with an mp3 of the man to speak for itself. This is edited down from a clash with Unity Sound circa 1982, I think in North London. It features snatches of Daddy Colonel and Tippa also, but is primarily Papa Levi, Saxon’s “squadron leader” ruling the roost over some great riddims.

JUNK JUNKIES: Competition Winners

Despite Dubversion’s protestations to the contrary – myself and Aphasic (MD, the Junk Yard) were unanimous in our verdict. We had a response rate which was impressive in terms of quality AND quantity so narrowing it all down to three was hard.

So in reverse order:

Third Prize: Robbe VL

1. aphasic = not in phase. It’s like when you have two identical sinusfunctions, you lay the one on top of the other, so that they cover each other completely. Now they are in phase. Whaen you shift one a little; they are aphasic, which is not quite yet the same as anti-phasic, mind you.

2. junk funk: Take bits and pieces of old, thrown away (hence, the ‘junk’ part), and forgotten funk, forge and shape them together, using whatever tools necessairy (hammers, anvils and some electronica), to create the ultime groovy funky rythm.

Second Prize: Owen C

1)What does aphasic mean

Capiche???? (wham) urggh capichee!!!! scaasca;ape CAPP
EESEESESEEEEEESH)*&^*)&^

CFAP cpapidsch e caphchicsiepcjo sdjcsopi c apop piche. pipo;lk
CAPIOSD;LKs ap;;lj FUCKRGIN p;sad;csap capppicshes

2) What does “Junk Funk” mean to you

I am reminded of a sinister person in the doorway of a central London establishment which was advertising a celebrated Australian bin hitting event.

There are also various other points that can be arrived at, such as

ABC’s Lexicon of Love
Hull
Standing firm against terrorism at the free festival (but unfortunately Horace Andy didn’t turn up so there was just some junk funk instead. Will this do.

First Prize: Loki

(Loki is the Loki who does An Idiot’s Guide to Dreaming, not the former caner who ranted on uncarved.org circa 2000, just to pre-empt any further ill-conceived challenges to my autho-ra-tye)

1) Aphasic means someone who can’t speak and/or can’t understand speech – (why isn’t speech spelt speech?)

2) “Junk Funk” means Einsturzende Neubauten doing Kid Creole Cover Versions under a railway bridge in Dusseldorf or small ferret boys with Braveheart tattoos drumming on water bottles and blowing down lengths of day-glo paint strewn plastic drain-pipes in The Green Fields at Glastonbury or the bloated feeling that the guy from Supersize Me feels just before his stomach explodes.