"John Duncan is an artist who has lived and worked in Los Angeles, Tokyo and Amsterdam, currently lives and works in Bologna. His body of work includes performance art, installations, contemporary music, video art and experimental film, often involving the extensive use of recorded sound. His music is composed mainly of recordings from shortwave radio, field recordings and voice. His events and installations are a form of existential research, often confrontational in nature."
http://www.johnduncan.org/
It'd be good to read recommendations about his albums as I'd like to get to know his music but don't know where to start. I only have his LP with Michael Esposito and Z'ev; I've heard it once so far and liked it.
Are the 2 Vinyl-on-Demand boxes (with his early works) worth getting?
Riot is a classic album, great material.. I also like Dark market Broadcast & John See Soundtracks. Some of the other material i have or heard is a bit hit and miss.
John Duncan is not someone I've listened to much recently. (Will agree with most of those beforementioned.) But I do recall quite liking Incoming (assisted by Christophe Heemann, with additional contributions from Max Springer) and The Crackling (with Max Springer). The former actually gets to quite the severe levels of drone-frieze at times; could probably sit in the drone thread if the shit weren't so goddamned loud. The latter finds atmospheric elements flipping back-and-forth with the familiar drone, a very finely textured piece of work not at all the crackle-study one might anticipate in the title.
VOD boxes are great! Maybe that first box is something that out of 3 LP's you just need 2... but no complaints really.
I think Riot certainly is essential and John See Soundtracks CD is good for anyone into female sex sounds in noise muzak...!
Been listening JOHN DUNCAN "First Recordings 1978-1985 V1.2" 5x LP +7" on Vinyl On Demand. It slightly overlaps with previous Duncan box what one could confuse with this. That was 3xLP+dvd set titled "First Recordings 1978-1985". Basically both sets are different. Only that 3rd LP of previous one has short edits of several tracks what appear longer here. Even in full almost 30 minutes length!
And while 2nd LP of first box was pretty useless radio-show piece, on this 5xLP box you find some of the very best Duncan works! No matter how old the idea of composing with short wave radio, I just like that very much. Rusty and grim industrial feel present in many recordings is amazing.
Not only that, but more acoustic/organic works dating back to late 70's... Damn! Percussive stuff kind of Z'ev type, and droning stuff previously on LAFMS just great.
5 LP's is a lot to go through, but I'm still having this feeling, would it be better to have more affordable CD's releases documenting these old tapes in their full uncut form?
I recently asked Duncan if he was interested in a reissue of the 'Pleasure Escape' tape as i love his 'Blind Date' piece but i guess it's not going to happen.
Listened to Duncan's The Nazca Transmissions LP and the Duncan/Michael Esposito/Z'ev There Must Be A Way Across This River/The Abject LP. I liked both very much, although perhaps Duncan's solo LP is better. It's very well done abstract electronic music, sometimes mysterious, at other times a massive block of sound, all carefully constructed. The collaborative LP is also good, and even the spoken word (which I normally don't really like) on side A fits the music well (too bad it's hard to understand what's being said as the music is louder). Again, the record is in the realm of "sound art", with some harsher moments here and there. Nothing revolutionary, but well done.
I really like his live side on the Journey Into Pain compilation.
If anyone is looking for the recent boot tape, let me know. We have a few at the store.
I saw a JD performance once. He ran 8mm films with a DAT of short-wave static. It was pretty good; a couple of punk gals sitting in front of me giggled at a scene of a man having a birthday cake candle shoved into his cock but they walked out on the female bondage footage.
Quote
From IDEALism site
Edition:
300 black vinyl 23 €
100 splatter (transparent/blood red, 60 iDEAL mail order copies, 40 artist copies) 33 €
This release of RIOT is the one that I have always wanted to hear. This is so much more than a re-release: the original 8-track master has been re-recorded and re-mixed, with other tracks recorded at the time and excluded from the first LP that are now added here, thanks to Daniel Araya at EMS in Stockholm who managed to get a working model of the long-obsolete machine that the master was recorded on, turning the impossible to a done deal. All of them have now been mastered as I originally intended, in this LP sounding exactly as they always should have.
The cover art is also vastly superior: a photo from the first version of RAGE ROOM, far more effective than the hand silkscreened cover that I was forced to accept in a version that was already seriously compromised. This time it's perfect.
AND it gets even better. Mastered and cut expertly by Rashad Becker and pressed in black vinyl, iDEAL could easily have stopped there but no -- a splatter vinyl limited edition version is available as well!
If there is any one must-have release that defines my work in sound, this is it.
- John Duncan, March 2018.
Price includes shipping worldwide
Saw this and thought I'd share in case someone else hadn't, exciting news!
Thanks a lot for the information! Exciting news indeed.
Can anyone comment on the Bitter Earth LP and the Mantra/Ursonate CD from 2016 and 2017?
Quote from: cr on March 10, 2018, 05:53:04 PM
Thanks a lot for the information! Exciting news indeed.
Can anyone comment on the Bitter Earth LP and the Mantra/Ursonate CD from 2016 and 2017?
I own Bitter Earth but wouldn't feel comfortable commenting on it at the moment, i'd Have to give it another spin to unjar my memory. It is song based, and contains only covers.
Mantra/Ursonate: vocal drone, breaths are edited out (or at least kind of), the edits are rough giving the piece a different feel than your straight forward drone. Mantra is simple yet effective, the use of panning across the two channels creates quite an organic feel...buzzing, clicking, and deeply unsettling. Duncan does not create a mantra of peace and oneness, rather an otherworldly experience that surrounds the listener (I am listening on headphones) and would likely fill the room. As the piece evolves the tone begins morphing towards a tonal quality (similar to a horn, this is in a way the second movement of the piece) while the rest of the "voices" swirl underneath. There seems to be some electronic processing occurring besides edits, especially as you move into the third movement of Mantra, the voice disappears or breaks down completely engulfed in a short wave esque static, dense low end and the sounds of a room (?). In the 4th movement, the electronics give way to a powerful swell of voice (-breath) It almost has the quality of a didgeridoo, various voiced parts are layered to create the presence or feeling of a choir, it feels religious in a sense, like passing between spaces...fans of Rudolf E.ber, and more psychologically jarring work like recent G*Park should remain on the lookout. Ursonate is a Kurt Schwitters piece performed with the assistantance of others. Trills explode into choral drones, the power of the piece again mirrors the spiritual. A very compelling early piece of sound poetry beautifully and respectfully reinterpreted. Duncan remains true to the original, yet brings his own unique vision. A must for those that love sound poetry and a great start for those still unsure.
For those interested I have noticed that it is available in full for streaming on John Duncan's Bandcamp page along with other works by him, including collaborative efforts (for free).
Great to hear Riot is being reissued. His first LP, Organic, is also due to be reissued in April: https://www.superiorviaduct.com/collections/upcoming/products/john-duncan-organic-lp
I'll pick up both as I don't know Duncan's early works at all. Looking forward to hearing them.
I am not that familiar, but I am familiar enough to know this man is a true artist. That said, "Send" hasn't been mentioned yet, and I think it should be.
Only just discovered this -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4ORgczNdjc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4ORgczNdjc)
Pretty good.
Longtime love for [almost] all the LAFMS cats. I say almost because I know nothing about John Duncan. I don't think I've even paid any attention to the folklore. A total blank. No reason or argument as to why. Anyone recall when Ace Farren Ford was selling tons of cool LAFMS paraphernalia, original tapes, LPs, and "artist editions" on ebay in the late 90s? I still kick myself for not buying more than the few things I ended up winning.
I don't know why, but I don't think of Duncan when I think of LAFMS. The bright side of that is I have an entire artist and world to explore that is part of a bigger set that I already think is fascinating and fantastic. The latest episode of Noisextra is to blame, and I thank them for it. Listened to "Purge" and am now ready. Is there a key point to start, or is that a bad question considering his talents, expansive interests, and long history of experiments? I look at Discogs and get a bit overwhelmed. I wouldn't want to pick the wrong things and get turned around again.
https://youtu.be/YWCKw8Pwt1Y
"River in flames" and/or "Klaar" is a good place to start
(https://i.ibb.co/xfLZg0r/john-duncan-cap2.jpg)
I agree that Duncan doesn't "feel" like an LAFMS artist -- his work is decidedly bleaker and darker than most of the project associated with that label. But he's in there and adds yet another facet to the always-enigmatic LAFMS jewel. (if you want to hear Duncan in the company of fellow LAFMS-ites, check out the CV Massage group, which appears as part of the "Riot" CD reissue on Dark Vinyl.)
I can't quite say "start anywhere," but close -- I feel like Duncan has a pretty solid hit-to-miss ratio, enough so that even when things don't move me at first, I usually end up assuming that I just wasn't in the mood and I'll "get it" at some other date in the future.
While his conceptual work has a lot of different approaches and styles, sonically a lot of the albums have similar components, mostly shortwave and other "coded" sounding frequencies. His Allquestions label released a bunch of his records in the '00s, often with surprising collaborators like Mika and Ilpo of Pan Sonic or Graham Lewis from Wire. Used copies range from extremely reasonable ($5 to $10 for the disc with Zeitkratzer) to collectors-only prices ($40 to $60 for desired treats like The Keening Towers).
Here are some of my personal favorites:
- The Crackling (with Max Springer): Made partly with sounds from the Stanford Linear Accelerator. It's in that Duncan zone I enjoy most, in which it sounds like you're spying on the inner machinations of huge super-computers or military weaponry. (The three-way split with Aube and Schloss Tegal, titled "The Mind of a Missile," makes this feeling more explicit with its military-dossier-style oversized folio sleeve and Aube's use of "digital signal data" as source sound. It's also sufficiently high-pitched that the packaging explicitly warns you against listening on headphones.)
- Riot: Apparently, the recent reissue on iDEAL is more than a remaster or brightening up, but a true "definitive version" -- the original LP (one of Duncan's most legendary and beloved) was mixed down on a machine that didn't capture all eight audio tracks originally recorded, so only four of the eight tracks appeared on the original copies. I've A->B'd the Dark Vinyl reissue CD from the '90s with the new LP, and it's indeed a more active, ferocious beast, more layers but also still hewing to the original feeling. Instrumentation: "Voice, Shortwave, Steel Door."
- a previous poster recommend Klaar and River in Flames, and they're both terrific and highly recommended. One of them (I think River in Flames) concludes with one of Duncan's most unhinged, aktionistic extended vocal howls on any of his records. He works himself up into a hoarse, shuddering mess by the end. A 2CD version combining both releases exists, but inexplicably, it's usually cheaper to buy the original two releases, in my experience.
- John See Soundtracks was one of the most available Duncan CDs out there (RRR had it in print forever, and may still), and it's still an excellent intoduction to the various things he does, from soundtracks to his XXX movies (lots of women moaning) to incendiary (literally...one involved the burning of a giant fabric curtain separating Duncan from audience) performance pieces.
- Our Telluric Conversation (with C. M. Von Hauswolff): A great package from 23five with a thick booklet, slipcase, very tactile. Of the two collabs with C. M. Von Hauswolff, I prefer this over "Stun Shelter," but I'm not convinced I won't change my mind later.
- Palace of Mind: Most of his solo Allquestions CDs are great, but I remember liking this one the best.
Like I say, I'm not going to dismiss too many of his discs out of hand -- always worth a re-visit, some of them are quite minimal and require patience that I don't always give them -- but some discs that didn't really move me on first or second listen include Stun Shelter (with C. M. Von Hauswolff), Tongue (with Elliott Sharp) and Presence (with Graham Lewis). The last one seems like a match made in heaven, and maybe I was in a bad listening mood that day, but I just didn't connect.
Collaborations that *really* worked for me include There Must Be A Way Across This River (with Z'EV and Michael Esposito), Contact (with Andrew McKenzie), and Home, Unspeakable (with Bernard Gunter).
I remember liking The Scattering, Incoming, Mort Aux Vaches: Seek and Tap Internal without remembering exactly why.
I need more time with The Nazca Transmissions, Organic (recent reissue on Etats-Unis), Nav (2CD collab with Francisco Lopez), and Crucible before forming an opinion.
Errant Bodies Press (the publisher that was tied somehow to Groundfault) did a John Duncan book/CD set that used to be readily available but now appears to be a bit rare. It's worth seeking out, and it not only contains a lot of background into his early actions, but also contains some rare audio, including the hard to find "Creed" EP.
Good luck, and enjoy the journey!
Quote from: Zeno Marx on August 11, 2019, 09:57:52 PM
Longtime love for [almost] all the LAFMS cats. I say almost because I know nothing about John Duncan. I don't think I've even paid any attention to the folklore. A total blank. No reason or argument as to why. Anyone recall when Ace Farren Ford was selling tons of cool LAFMS paraphernalia, original tapes, LPs, and "artist editions" on ebay in the late 90s? I still kick myself for not buying more than the few things I ended up winning.
I don't know why, but I don't think of Duncan when I think of LAFMS. The bright side of that is I have an entire artist and world to explore that is part of a bigger set that I already think is fascinating and fantastic. The latest episode of Noisextra is to blame, and I thank them for it. Listened to "Purge" and am now ready. Is there a key point to start, or is that a bad question considering his talents, expansive interests, and long history of experiments? I look at Discogs and get a bit overwhelmed. I wouldn't want to pick the wrong things and get turned around again.
https://youtu.be/YWCKw8Pwt1Y
I ran across J.D. covering a song by The Gun Club while trying to find a U.S. distro with the "Riot" LP (use to own the RRR version):
https://idealrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/bitter-earth
It's the first 12 minute song, "The House on HIghland Ave". I like the lyrics & Duncan's voice. I know nothing about The Gun Club.
Thanks A LOT for taking the time and details, CMSFoundation. Such a great and helpful post.
Quote from: SILVUM on August 13, 2019, 01:27:55 AM
Exactly the vibe he hits that I'm thinking of too. Perfect description.
Also feels like being able to see inside someone else's head (unbeknownst to them) who is alone, a narrators perspective (his work doesn't seem to "show off" it just exposes itself), the detachment even on the really explicit stuff is what makes it work for me. Fresh crime scene with the TV still on.
I need that Riot LP re now, didn't know the og had essentially a mixing error...
Here's the writeup from the label. It's a little hard to parse, but it seems to suggest that the original machine Duncan mixed the audio on was an outdated format, so not all of the tracks appeared on the original LP.
"This release of RIOT is the one that I have always wanted to hear. This is so much more than a re-release: the original 8-track master has been re-recorded and re-mixed, with other tracks recorded at the time and excluded from the first LP that are now added here, thanks to Daniel Araya at EMS in Stockholm who managed to get a working model of the long-obsolete machine that the master was recorded on, turning the impossible to a done deal. All of them have now been mastered as I originally intended, in this LP sounding exactly as they always should have...If there is any one must-have release that defines my work in sound, this is it."
Quote from: SILVUM on August 13, 2019, 01:27:55 AM
Wish there was a DVD of all the AQM VHS stuff
Same. I wish I had pulled the trigger on those Duncan VHS tapes RRR distributed back in the day!
Quote from: SILVUM on August 13, 2019, 01:27:55 AM
I also file that O'Nancy In French CD reissue Impulsy Stetoskopu did along w Duncan as they are Japanese artists that seem to only be documented through work w Duncan and AQM, so to hear the direct allies when he was there is cool. I love the CD, exactly what I'm crazy about, Minimal archaic heavy slow tone and texture manipulation. Just feedback and distortion of voids - I think it's microphones in metal barrels.
Totally forgot this project was Duncan! I'll have to track down a copy, thanks for the reminder, Nick.
New noisextra episode was about John Duncan. It is without visitors, but it does have good amount of Duncan information that is beyond just talking about that particular recording.
Quote from: CMSFoundation on August 12, 2019, 08:38:57 PM
I feel like Duncan has a pretty solid hit-to-miss ratio, enough so that even when things don't move me at first, I usually end up assuming that I just wasn't in the mood and I'll "get it" at some other date in the future.
I know it is annoying for the artist to see listener who won't evolve together with their progression. Nevertheless, I tend to appreciate pretty much every old Duncan recording, and even after decades, won't be bored to hear yet another story about his early performance pieces re-told again and again. New works? I am very clueless. I have seen him live, and it was good. I have listened several CD's, and like what I hear but do not remember pretty much any details about them. Then I put RIOT or some other shortwave recordings on stereos, and conclude that seemingly the simples and easiest genre of "radio noise" - Duncan did it better than pretty much anyone else and it still rules after many decades.
Quote from: CMSFoundation on August 12, 2019, 08:38:57 PM
- Riot: Apparently, the recent reissue on iDEAL is more than a remaster or brightening up, but a true "definitive version" -- the original LP (one of Duncan's most legendary and beloved) was mixed down on a machine that didn't capture all eight audio tracks originally recorded, so only four of the eight tracks appeared on the original copies. I've A->B'd the Dark Vinyl reissue CD from the '90s with the new LP, and it's indeed a more active, ferocious beast, more layers but also still hewing to the original feeling. Instrumentation: "Voice, Shortwave, Steel Door."
Thanks, I have the cd-version so might have to buy the IDEAL version as well..
Another vote for The Crackling. Which I think sounds exactly as advertised and exactly like you'd expect, only better.
Quote from: SILVUM on August 13, 2019, 01:27:55 AM
Wish there was a DVD of all the AQM VHS stuff, and would love to hear lots of those Japanese CS collabs etc, glad the Mikawa got CD re.
Say heyyyyy?
Quote from: Bloated Slutbag on August 14, 2019, 09:44:31 AM
Another vote for The Crackling. Which I think sounds exactly as advertised and exactly like you'd expect, only better.
Quote from: SILVUM on August 13, 2019, 01:27:55 AM
Wish there was a DVD of all the AQM VHS stuff, and would love to hear lots of those Japanese CS collabs etc, glad the Mikawa got CD re.
Say heyyyyy?
Radio Code was reissued on CD by Urashima!
Quote from: P A N I C on August 14, 2019, 11:04:37 AM
Quote from: Bloated Slutbag on August 14, 2019, 09:44:31 AM
Another vote for The Crackling. Which I think sounds exactly as advertised and exactly like you'd expect, only better.
Quote from: SILVUM on August 13, 2019, 01:27:55 AM
Wish there was a DVD of all the AQM VHS stuff, and would love to hear lots of those Japanese CS collabs etc, glad the Mikawa got CD re.
Radio Code was reissued on CD by Urashima!
Say heyyyyy?
Noted, snagged, awaiting imminent earhole infection!
This is the Mikawa release that recently got reissued: https://www.discogs.com/Toshiji-Mikawa-Radio-Code/release/13942071. It was originally a tape on AQM and has an introduction by Duncan.
GAIN the Duncan/Paul Hurst tape has always been my got to tape with Duncan. Love the vibe on that tape. Should listen to that tonight after seeing Brighter Death Now play at an amusement park.
Quote from: acsenger on August 14, 2019, 12:27:38 PM
This is the Mikawa release that recently got reissued: https://www.discogs.com/Toshiji-Mikawa-Radio-Code/release/13942071. It was originally a tape on AQM and has an introduction by Duncan.
aka my personal most sought after Mikawa in, um, forever.
Quote from: Strömkarlen on August 14, 2019, 02:47:35 PM
GAIN the Duncan/Paul Hurst tape has always been my got to tape with Duncan. Love the vibe on that tape. Should listen to that tonight after seeing Brighter Death Now play at an amusement park.
Based on this Duncan/Hurst track, I'll have to check out "Gain": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rVJKbg4Gf4
Damn, I thought "Gain" had a reissue...
Love how heavy this track gets right around the 5:05 mark.
Quote from: bitewerksMTB on August 14, 2019, 07:40:10 PM
Quote from: Strömkarlen on August 14, 2019, 02:47:35 PM
GAIN the Duncan/Paul Hurst tape has always been my got to tape with Duncan. Love the vibe on that tape. Should listen to that tonight after seeing Brighter Death Now play at an amusement park.
Based on this Duncan/Hurst track, I'll have to check out "Gain": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rVJKbg4Gf4
Damn, I thought "Gain" had a reissue...
Love how heavy this track gets right around the 5:05 mark.
I never understood why it hasn't been re-released. I think it's great.
Finished reading new issue of Troubled Sleep. I recall there was no instant plans for 5th issue, which is too bad! Even now when you got multiple noise zines going, I think covering the small and currently active, yet not "legendary" names is quite small?
Even if I tend to buy all books and zines that I can, that are "noise related", getting yet another new book featuring GPO, Lustmord, John Duncan,.. etc.. while being obviously very much in support of those guys, it's like.. 2021 and GPO?! Haha. So having 'zine like Troubled Sleep that has LEGLESS or such thing, oh yes, I would assume it would be healthy to allow currently active bands some exposure instead recycling stories of industrial forefathers...?
Even if I just said that, I think one has to recommend the book. It is always possible that people are not really that exposed to works of John Duncan, and even people like myself, who may have more than dozen albums in shelves, often somewhat ignore most of "new things" that artist does. There has happened plenty since Riot came out, or man did the most memorable performance acts he is most known for... I guess that could be even good topic of its own! Noteworthy later works of the industrial pioneers??
There was released book called DIFFERENT PEOPLE by Carl Abrahamsson. Interview collection book.
"Different People" is an anthology of interviews by Swedish author Carl Abrahamsson, focusing on art, life and the creative process. Included are in-depth conversations with Conrad Rooks, Malcolm McLaren, Stelarc, John Duncan, Charles Gatewood, Mark McCloud, Ralph Metzner, Peter Beard, Bill Landis, Ralph Gibson, Maja Elliott, Michael Bowen, Bob Colacello, Dian Hanson, Anton Corbijn, June Newton, Kendell Geers, Simeon Coxe III (Silver Apples), Vicki Bennett (People Like Us), and Brian Williams (Lustmord). These groundbreaking artists, writers, musicians, photographers, filmmakers, editors and psychedelic researchers have all helped shape the culture we live in. But what makes them do what they do? Which are their driving forces and their inspirations; their joys and fears?Trapart Books, 2021, 6 x 9" paperback, illustrated with photographic portraits, 292 pages. This is sold exclusively by Amazon, I guess...
Yesterday's playlist JOHN DUNCAN "Phantom Broadcast" CD
Ice cold, minimal, ghostly static drone works. Things do happen in this album, but slowly. Overall atmosphere is great, so is the tone of short-wave radio sources. It's calm, unlike RIOT. Of course decades between the early works and this 2000's short-wave stuff.
Whole thing is in one, nearly hour long track. Very nice!!
Only realized when catching up with this thread that Riot was not a 1:1 repress of the original so now I need it. Any US distros still have stock? Checked with Ron and Pat but no dice. No at forced exposure either. Trying to avoid $50 w/ intl postage.