Quote from: Zeno Marx on October 20, 2019, 06:53:05 PM
You rarely hear anyone talk about M/S R, but when you do, they gush over Debbie Jaffe's work. There's a disconnect there that is interesting. Does she not translate well, or maybe fully, for many people? Are people turned off by such a literal name? Maybe just because she's a true fringe artist? She rides that area of being well respected by some and completely ignored by most. That's certainly common with any music, but I feel she rises to that upper percentile where it is even more dramatic. Besides all that, I've found her interaction with technology to be interesting. Elden M/Allegory Chapel Ltd. used to mention her a lot and speak highly of her. Wasn't she behind blackmetal.com?
Been listening every episode. This was among favorites. I was listening old M/SR tape one day at my store, and customer was asking what it was. Then we talked about why there isn't some bigger scale re-issues. My assumption is that material is in fine line of being too noisy, simple and primitive for rhythmic industrial crowd. And too "musical" for noise people. Too genuinely "vintage".
Yet, then you see ton of minimal synth oddities released as luxurious vinyl box-sets, so why not...? In a way, I see no reason why this would be less interesting than Sleep Chamber early days box? There is a challenge. With the customer we talked about the fact that tapes have a lot of odd, weird and even goofy, and somewhat clumsy and technically awkward stuff. To curate M/SR
best of release would not really display what the band
was. It may be challenging at times, but it is 100% fact that no new band would have guts and confidence the publish material like that.
Lack of guts to put stuff out that may be ridiculed by listeners, can lead to making too nice material. It was talked in some of old Merzcasts. In many CD's Masami (or some old noise releases) would have weird and goofy "failures". Silly noises everybody would cut out now in editing process. In old material you often hear moments what sticks out - sometimes annoying - but always surprising. So, if there was reissue of M/SR, it would be shame to be just the
best of, that is judged by current standards. It should have the same smell, unhygienic moments and oddities.
Back in the day, you could buy European fetish magazines, where M/SR existence was acknowledged. SECRET (belgium), and I recall <<O>> and maybe also Marquis (that may be too new magazine for it, but editor was same as in <<<0>>)? Basically biggest glossy rubber themed magazines, who published short articles of project and contact informations. Being familiar with project, it was always amazing to see the cross-over.
About This Lubricious Love, RRRon told me long ago, he was approached by
Dog As Master (Hal McGee mid 80's to late 90's project) who was trying to get released on RRR, but Ron got to hear M/SR stuff as Debbie was McGee's girlfriend at the time and preferred to release that instead of much more "normal sounding" Dog As Master. Certainly RRRon's decision can be understood, as Debbies work stood out so vividly.
(On sidenote, I would say, that now, also D.A.M. certainly would demand some CD reissue to be available for those who don't really listen online! You never hear anyone talk about this project. In this episode they briefly mention Cause And Effect being such a cult label, yet from their discography you can see Controlled Bleeding, The Haters, Lokomotiv S.S., Nurse With Wound, John Duncan, Blackhouse, Attrition and such who are either re-issued or widely recognized.. while all the "house bands" of label, often have only the original tape existing, that came out decades ago: Dog As Master, Viscera, M/SR,.. Maybe Mental also brilliant in some releases..)
This Lubricious Love had only that almost 24 minutes continuous piece, so to make it LP, they took 4 songs from old tapes to fill the A-side. First track guest vocals are done by Hal McGee. So already in 1987 it was partly re-issue of tapes, partly new works.
I'm not 100% how the Cybertzara / Extreme Subterranea thing goes, but I think Cybertzara name appears as catalogue number since M/SR put out the CD-Rom that includes (at the time, revolutionary) music clips & couple seconds animations you could view on your computer and "windows 95 system", heh.. In following years there was three VOND (a.k.a. Mortiis) releases that have catalogue/label mentioned Cybertzara, but as label it says Extreme Subterranea. Since 1997 they started
Blackmetal.com, first to distribute stuff, but eventually also release.
Back in 1998 I made few orders from
Blackmetal.com, and as it was cash-in-letter era, I sent them not only US$$'s but also Clandestine Blaze demo tape, which they were very interested in. Since I was going to publish vinyl only of 1999 album of CB, they proposed if they could do CD version since vinyl demand (at that time) was very small. The whole idea of putting out Black Metal vinyl in late 90's was very very different from what it is now. I was never looking for label, and as for me then, and basically now as well, underground metal as a whole, is going to wrong direction(s), I was very glad to get offer to work with people whom I knew to have long history in transgressive art. Both Elden M and Debbie, was no new to this and their work always had honesty and personality, not the posing as often seems. For me, to industrial background is way way better than entering BM via Iron Maiden and Cradle of Filth, so to say. Not that I'd particularly dislike those bands.
So CB first album CD version 1st press was done as
Blackmetal.com first release 20 years ago, and I fondly remember their long standing support when vast majority of labels at the time was like
Black Metal 7" release, who cares! We don't take it...Nowadays,
blackmetal.com is owned by other people, and to be re-launched at some point. Whatever happens in upcoming
Blackmetal.com site, is not Debbie or Elden M, but the new owners of domain. As far as I can tell, it will be pure BM mailorder operating in USA. They probably still distribute some, if not all, CB items.
