I have been wanting to dive deeper into Steven Stapleton's work ever since I first heard Merzbild Schwet, but I am only now getting around to it. I tried to search for a thread on NWW, but was surprised to come up short-handed. Any fans out there?
Used to be a big fan ages ago, but have lost interest over the years. Still enjoy the creepy 'Homopathy to Marie', the hilarious 'The Ladies Home Tickler', as well as 'Thunder Perfect Mind', and 'Ostranine 1913', however. The track 'A New Dress' on the 'A Bead To A Small Mouth compilation was what got me hooked - you really have to hear that if you haven't already: the dark and unsettling suspense easily overriding the banality of the story. Haven't investigated much since the turn of the century, as I was going down other avenues, although I did catch him live around then, and it wasn't too bad...
One of my favorite acts. Listened to all the (40+) records i own over the last few weeks while reading the Englands Hidden Reverse reprint. Love Steve's editing/mixing. My favorites are Spiral Insana, Merzbild Schwet, Homotopy To Marie & Soliloquy For Lilith..
You can't talk about NwW without highlighting Chrystal Belle Scrodd (including Beastings) and Diana Rogerson's other work. They're every bit as great as the best NwW material. When I see she releases something, I can't wait to hear it.
Merzbild Schwet, for my money, is a high-water mark in the history of experimental music, and when I was first getting into this type of music, the title Chance Meeting On A Dissecting Table Of A Sewing Machine And An Umbrella represented all the mystery, fascination, allure, and excitement I was feeling. I don't care to listen to The Sylvie and Babs Hi-Fi Companion album very often, but in the realm of tape cut-up and construction, I think it deserves to be at the top of the vat. It and the Bladder Flask album are worthy of study (along with a couple others that are related).
favorites:
Merzbild Schwet
Soliloquy for Lilith
Salt Marie Celeste
recent recommendations:
Faust/Nurse with Wound - Disconnected 2007 - a couple of VERY nice droning tracks and some processed vocals that sound like Tuvan Throat Singers or Gyuto monks - when Faust takes the lead, its far less successful than when NwW takes the wheel.
Nurse with Wound - Soundpooling 2006 - has some additional layers, which almost make it feel like Merzbild Schwet+Salt Marie Celeste - great results - Recommended.
Anyone have any opinions on the collabs with Graham Bowers...? (Already five on disogs fer fucksake...)
Quick and lazy list of (mostly more recent mostly recommendable) NWW (love all the earlier shit too!):
Spiral Insana
Lumb's Sister (!)
Man With The Woman Face
Alice The Goon
Funeral Music For Perez Prado
Angry Electric Finger (all of them)
Shipwreck Radio Volume One
Shipwreck Radio: Final Broadcasts
Sand Tangled Woman
The Little Dipper Minus Two
Soundpooling
Disconnected (w/Faust)
Tooth, Teeth, Milk, Skin, Teeth
Requital For Lady Day
The Continuous Accident
Space Music
The Memory Surface
The Surveillance Lounge
Erroneous, A Selection Of Errors (w/Larsen)
4 Orphans (w/irr. app. (ext.))
Der Brennende Acker (w/Andrew Liles)
Orgasm Mix
Still dithering about
Dream Memory (samples sounds aiight)
Chromanatron
Contrary Motion
Among other easy sources, I now check the bandcamp every month or so. Which reminds me... holy fuck, what in hell is Dark Fat?
https://nursewithwound1.bandcamp.com/album/dark-fat
I love a lot of NWW but Spiral Insana is my first, last and always.
Quote from: Bloated Slutbag on June 20, 2016, 04:51:17 PM
Quick and lazy list of (mostly more recent mostly recommendable) NWW (love all the earlier shit too!):
Spiral Insana
Lumb's Sister (!)
Man With The Woman Face
Alice The Goon
Funeral Music For Perez Prado
Angry Electric Finger (all of them)
Shipwreck Radio Volume One
Shipwreck Radio: Final Broadcasts
Sand Tangled Woman
The Little Dipper Minus Two
Soundpooling
Disconnected (w/Faust)
Tooth, Teeth, Milk, Skin, Teeth
Requital For Lady Day
The Continuous Accident
Space Music
The Memory Surface
The Surveillance Lounge
Erroneous, A Selection Of Errors
4 Orphans
Der Brennende Acker
Orgasm Mix
I do not own most of these.. I do have Space Music but can't get into it at all..
Quote from: impulse manslaughter on June 21, 2016, 01:26:40 AM
Quote from: Bloated Slutbag on June 20, 2016, 04:51:17 PM
Quick and lazy list of (mostly more recent mostly recommendable) NWW (love all the earlier shit too!):
Spiral Insana
Lumb's Sister (!)
Man With The Woman Face
Alice The Goon
Funeral Music For Perez Prado
Angry Electric Finger (all of them)
Shipwreck Radio Volume One
Shipwreck Radio: Final Broadcasts
Sand Tangled Woman
The Little Dipper Minus Two
Soundpooling
Disconnected (w/Faust)
Tooth, Teeth, Milk, Skin, Teeth
Requital For Lady Day
The Continuous Accident
Space Music
The Memory Surface
The Surveillance Lounge
Erroneous, A Selection Of Errors
4 Orphans
Der Brennende Acker
Orgasm Mix
I do not own most of these.. I do have Space Music but can't get into it at all..
I took me a while to get into that one, and there are times when I'm almost sure I still can't. Like Stapleton is trying to re-present the vastness (and vast boredom) of space. But it was on some boring afternoon in a slightly distracted state, the shit on repeat and the ears finally conceding they were actually into it. Definitely not of the instant wood variety...
Maybe Surveillance Lounge would be the most classically Nursey of the more (relatively) recent shit. A tad slow for some, perhaps, but all the elements I like are there- consistently unsettled surreal atmosphere gentrified with some woozy synthetic 'scapes.
Some music is only for special occasions, but that does not mean it is any less valid.
Quote from: Bloated Slutbag on June 20, 2016, 04:51:17 PM4 Orphans (w/irr. app. (ext.))
Also am a bit intrigued to learn more about irr. app. (ext.). Second rate NWW wannabe or worthy of further investigation?
Quote from: Zeno Marx on June 20, 2016, 03:34:22 AM
You can't talk about NwW without highlighting Chrystal Belle Scrodd (including Beastings) and Diana Rogerson's other work. They're every bit as great as the best NwW material. When I see she releases something, I can't wait to hear it.
Agreed. I even quite liked the relatively recent one with Liles.
Speaking of 2nd rate nww wannabes, I notice now on discogs there is a fairly recent irr. app. (ext.) mix/collab of Fistfuck...
https://www.discogs.com/irr-app-ext-Diana-Rogerson-Fistfuck-The-Famine-Road/master/451125
Any takers?
Salt Marie Celeste is pretty epic . used to listen a lot also to A Handjob From The Laughing Policeman and Man with the Woman face.
useless information : noticed that the Shipwreck Radio: Final Broadcasts artwork is used partially in quack quack /milos olympus cs artwork.
well
re: recent nww gig in London.
me and a mate intended to go, had tickets, but were so drunk that we spent several hours wandering east London backstreets only to arrive at the venue as the audience were leaving (still quite early in the evening).
decided this was the best part of the evening and a good third and final way to see new live.
The show last month @ Incubate Festival was great. Saw them live 2 times before but this was my favorite by far..
Quote from: Bloated Slutbag on June 21, 2016, 03:04:00 AM
Also am a bit intrigued to learn more about irr. app. (ext.). Second rate NWW wannabe or worthy of further investigation?
Absolutely worthy of further investigation. TONS of interesting stuff. The releases on Helen Scarsdale and Beta-Lactam Ring come to mind as especially great. The double cd-r "piano record" is one you can probably avoid. One of those artists that I don't necessarily always want to hear but every time I put one on, am totally blown away.
I will second Surveillance Lounge, but add that I think it is the best gateway to NWW material. If you don't like that one, you won't likely get into too much else.
Space Music is highly enjoyable for me. It is ambient music without the beard-scratching, sound for sound's sake, but with a vague sense of beauty (and space). Plus I am a sucker for those hardbound LP jackets.
Speaking of.... The Musty Odor of Pierced Rectums is also like that, and the collage art is great. On brown vinyl. The material is very minimal, vocal musique concret maybe? Little tidbits. I enjoy it.
There is also "She and Me Fall Together in Free Death". That one has some krautrock elements and a particularly dirgey cover of "Black Is The Color of my True Love's Hair", and otherwise excellent ambient sounds.
There are plenty of albums I think are great by them/him, but people don't talk much about Alice The Goon.
There is a ten minute long loop of lounge music with synth skronk over the top and it's absolutely infectious to me. Plus, again, very good ambient music, but that's not a gateway, that's for going deeper.
As for the collaborations with Graham Bowers, I don't think it's bad, what I've heard on Spotify, but it just sort of felt like dialing it in.
But of the most popular albums of NWW, I'd say I prefer Thunder Perfect Mind. It features David Tibet and members of COIL, and Tibet isn't too intrusive, or vocal. Whatever his input, it seems to be sonic, and it's interesting (preferable to these ears, I have to admit). Great odd, surrealistic soundtrack/soundscape material.
I frankly haven't heard a NWW album that I thought was bad/forgettable/not worth returning to, but the closest one to it would be "Gas Huffin' Blues". It is an attempt at relatively straight lounge/exotica vibes, with varying degrees of success. When it is successful, I enjoy it, but that is admittedly about half the time, maybe. I much prefer to own the 12" single that came with it, not remembering the name of it right now, but it has a remix on it that is well worth the admission, and to me is important in the NWW cannon.
You mean Huffin' Rag Blues, I presume? Yes, it was the last NWW material I bought, and I disliked it so much, I never bought another thing by him!
with more recent (or indeed not that recent) stuff you get the impression he can churn stuff out with little commitment-remember his puzzled response to the reception to salt Marie Celeste as a cave when it came out as he put little effort into it.
also in terms of sound there does appear to be a clear break between his output on LSD and his output post (though still likely stoned).
I only know and own a rather small part of the NWW discography (10-15 records), but out of these my favourites are Salt Mary Celeste (great how it progresses very slowly), all Shipwreck Radio discs and - for special occasions - Soliloquy for Lilith.
NWW were at the start of my fixation with 'industrial' music. individually and on various comps of the time(eighties), their contributions to C93, DIJ and others are rather overlooked in this kind of forum, if lionised in something like 'England's hidden reverse' book by dave keenan.
(as an aside, there are a few bands that seem to, after taking control of their history and back catalogue (as well as diversifying onto other genres-which may or may not be code for dance orientated stuff) , have been by passed in the more recent historification of older industrial music and artistes
Been listening NWW Flawed Existence box set on VOD. 4 LP's, 10", 5",... in neat red velvet like box. Some early tapes here, as well as compilation tracks and unreleased ones. Main thing to write about this, is that if someone has this on shelves, I'd recommend to check out the condition of LP's.
Same with the VOD's Psychnic TV box set, with the industrial-strength glue used in attaching velvet to LP cardboard, some surprise revealed later on. This actually reacts with the vinyl itself, causing vinyls to "melt". I was unlucky enough to have storage Psyhic TV LP's between gatefold covers and therefore the glue melted one side of each LP in this 4xLP set..... You can still play them, but there is LOUD veil of hiss on top of everything and vinyl turns to matte-grey'ish. It doesn't matter that the LP's were inside polylined innersleeves!
With NWW box, all the LP's were luckily outside covers, but also not in physical touch with any of the velvet. However, the 10" with unreleased NWW recording was inside the cover and similarly "melted". Worthless to listen anymore.
Now that years have passed, I'd recommend to check what has happened to your NWW (or PTV) boxes if you have them. It would be quite curious to see if some dealers have stashed "mint" limited membership boxes what are now ruined unlistenable......................
Bloody hell! Talk about some occupational hazard. I checked my (rarely opened) NWW box (bought from a certain dealer in Lahti, by the way) and noticed that 10" and single LP's have been indeed exposed to some glue-n-matte-n-hiss treatment looking really greyish and etchings hardly visible anymore but the double LP is fine. My PTV LP's are fine. Since getting them I have stored them all inside innersleeves and covers, so it seems like it is accidental which records have been more ruined than others?
Eh, maybe VOD have invented self-degenerating vinyl but forgot to tell customers about it.
I asked them about it, and seems like he'll be repressing PTV vinyls. I'd hope to be able to get replacement NWW 10", but not sure how much label can invest or who is responsible for such thing....
In my case, with NWW 10", it's odd that it reacted even if it was inside the cover. Others were when LP is outside the cover - next to "velvet". But indeed, very odd that it reacts through polylined paper innersleeves too... If enough people would find out about possible damages of the records, perhaps it would be better motivation for VOD to make represses of these couple titles.
Contacted Frank and he told me he's having NWW records re-produced in red vinyl.
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on December 15, 2016, 04:07:03 PM
Been listening NWW Flawed Existence box set on VOD. 4 LP's, 10", 5",... in neat red velvet like box. Some early tapes here, as well as compilation tracks and unreleased ones. Main thing to write about this, is that if someone has this on shelves, I'd recommend to check out the condition of LP's.
Same with the VOD's Psychnic TV box set, with the industrial-strength glue used in attaching velvet to LP cardboard, some surprise revealed later on. This actually reacts with the vinyl itself, causing vinyls to "melt". I was unlucky enough to have storage Psyhic TV LP's between gatefold covers and therefore the glue melted one side of each LP in this 4xLP set..... You can still play them, but there is LOUD veil of hiss on top of everything and vinyl turns to matte-grey'ish. It doesn't matter that the LP's were inside polylined innersleeves!
With NWW box, all the LP's were luckily outside covers, but also not in physical touch with any of the velvet. However, the 10" with unreleased NWW recording was inside the cover and similarly "melted". Worthless to listen anymore.
Now that years have passed, I'd recommend to check what has happened to your NWW (or PTV) boxes if you have them. It would be quite curious to see if some dealers have stashed "mint" limited membership boxes what are now ruined unlistenable......................
don't have either so reaction purely theoretical, but I can hardly see label lack of foresight as blameworthy.
recall several current93 and nww cd's as potentially liable to disc rot-hardly their fault and luckily for them the manufacturers offered swaps. that said, affected cd's still play fine.
sometimes , life conspires against and you just have to deal with it and buy it again.
would rather buy the new again than ptv. whilst the temple still interests, the band, post major label misadventures have limited appeal
just checked my Flawed Existence box and all the LPs look visibly fine. haven't had a chance to play them yet. maybe they'll be a bit hissy when i do.
Quote from: aububs on December 19, 2016, 08:59:31 PM
just checked my Flawed Existence box and all the LPs look visibly fine. haven't had a chance to play them yet. maybe they'll be a bit hissy when i do.
play them man, we are all on tenterhooks!
My NWW vinyl (VOD) play just fine, as do the PTV records ....
Have anyone heard the two recent NWW cds?
I used to be a huge fan, but the limited edition hysteria and more uniform sound of last few years made me lose interest. Didn´t like that "Huffin´rag.." lp at all - think it was the last i bought. But "Salt Marie Celeste" on the other hand is among the very best and a later one, so he might very well still have it in him.
NWW played a concert here in Stockholm a year ago, was very nice to speak a bit to Steve Stapleton, but the gig was not that exciting. Seems like they´re stuck in a loop since quite a while.
Spiral Insana was just re-released on 2LP in a couple different versions. Looks like it got the GZ treatment.
"Here on Rotorelief, the definitive complete sessions of Spiral Insana; the original LP of 1986 plus session recordings and the one sided album track, A Missing Sense, also recorded during these sessions (A tribute to Robert Ashley's, Automatic Writing)."
Quote from: david lloyd jones on June 30, 2016, 08:07:46 PM
also in terms of sound there does appear to be a clear break between his output on LSD and his output post (though still likely stoned).
Which NWW album was the last LSD-influenced one?
Quote from: Marko-V on December 15, 2016, 06:57:31 PM
Contacted Frank and he told me he's having NWW records re-produced in red vinyl.
Got my replacement vinyls today.
As a side note, that NWW VOD box set gives color. I have stored it right next to VOD C93 box set with black&white sleeve and noticed some red extra colorisation on it. One more reason to store records/box sets with fabric-style sleeve in plastic. Bummer.
Was asking some O'Rourke recommendations on other topic of this forum, and got some. I guess this collab was not mentioned, but is really good one: NWW + O'ROURKE Tape monkey mooch anry electric finger 1. I suspect NWW is to be thanked for big part, but I'm sure Jims touch is heard too. It has very good sounds, dynamics, and composition, without being "music" really.
Same goes to another related collab. Last night listened Wakeford + Stapleton CD. Sometimes surprisingly noisy and experimental, but also bits of experimental neo-folky' Sol Invictus type bits here, but it blends into neat experimental music. Something what I would hope more of later days neofolk, that it wouldn't be just singer-songwriter kind of stuff, but NEOfolk...
Couple weeks ago bought pile of NWW cd's, yet to listen them, but I got feeling I need to start filling my NWW collection of some newer things.
The Diana Rogerson albums continue to be very good. The 2021 album made my "best of" list. I was surprised to realize the previous albums were way back in 2007 and 2008.
Nurse With Wound – Lumb's Sister CD 2014
So far perhaps the best later days NWW what I have listened? There is actually Coil remix here too. How to Destroy Angels II (Lumb mix). Album is overall experimental soundscapes, dark and gloomy.
Nurse With Wound – Huffin' Rag Blues CD 2008,
is more experimental jazzy fun. More musical, less good than album above, but as I don't have that much of bizarro lounge music and rhythm egg jazz soundscapes, this stays in collection..
Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on February 09, 2022, 07:59:10 AM
Nurse With Wound – Lumb's Sister CD 2014
So far perhaps the best later days NWW what I have listened?
Well I don't know that this is to be counted among the later days, unless the nth remix of the remix is to be counted among the later days (with NWW I wouldn't argue that it couldn't!). Regardless, and considering the range of alternate mixes of this particular release floating around, certainly to be counted among the greats.
Still quite frequently go back to the best of my first exposure, which is the 2nd track off the 1st Tibet/Stapleton release.
The Grave And Beautiful Name Of Sadness. Apart from the awesome title, a classic among classics.
Quote from: Bloated Slutbag on February 09, 2022, 04:04:53 PM
Well I don't know that this is to be counted among the later days, unless the nth remix of the remix is to be counted among the later days (with NWW I wouldn't argue that it couldn't!). Regardless, and considering the range of alternate mixes of this particular release floating around, certainly to be counted among the greats.
Yeah.. I have not actually followed what is happening with this or that NWW old recording, what things he did return and what are untouched since the early 80's?
I have had the RRR/UD tapes since the 90's probably, but finally bought the latest CD versions of some old works. Listened two oldies from 1980. Remastered reissue of the 1980 LP from the original analogue tapes, says the info, but its kind of pointless to compare RRR's old tape dub vs. new CD and try to figure out how much remastering has effected vs. for example old CD versions from 1990.
To The Quiet Men From A Tiny Girl CD 2019
Merzbild Schwet CD 2019
Both new digipak versions have at least the advantage of not suffering of disc rot like 1990 version may do. Sound is killer. The clarity and sharpness, but also the spacy, airy and dynamic range so good. There are occasions with these albums, that material is so simple and based on really "easy" things. Like long tracks just playing cymbal. Or one squealing and annoying pitch of instrument, with tasty very audible reverb. Things you can appreciate so easily, when there is no mass. Just very distinctive sound, and the effect. At the same time, it does make me wonder, how I would react on new artist, 2022, sending recording, where he just plays with cymbal? Sure, he might not be blessed with vision that Stapleton was/is, and simply can't be that good. It does make me want to know how much and where, by whom, is the experimental sound, that is somehow in same realms as this. Not relying on synthesizers, computers, being very concrete, very dynamic, bizarre, composed and... good?
Just ordered the Opium Cabinet cd. Supposed to be a really good recent nww record. Looking forward to listening to it.
I love the 80'S NWW,
especially Homotopy to Marie and Spiral Insana.
Stapleton has mastered his craft so well and it shows.
As everyone else seems to agree about latter work, Salt Marie Celeste is the undisputed winner.
Quote from: Bloated Slutbag on June 21, 2016, 03:04:00 AMQuote from: Zeno Marx on June 20, 2016, 03:34:22 AMYou can't talk about NwW without highlighting Chrystal Belle Scrodd (including Beastings) and Diana Rogerson's other work. They're every bit as great as the best NwW material. When I see she releases something, I can't wait to hear it.
Agreed. I even quite liked the relatively recent one with Liles.
this Rogerson/Liles is really good. it shouldn't be surprising, but it always is when they get more traditionally musical and don't sacrifice an iota of fuckery. want to introduce someone to experimental music? Give them a Scrodd/Rogerson release.