Pip Proud ~ Eagle-wise 1967-68 [Half A Cow, 1996]

hac45

01. De De De Dum
02. Eagle-wise
03. She Dwindles Her Fingers
04. Purple Boy Gang
05. Nancy
06. Latin Version
07. Marie
08. The Tennis Player
09. French Girls
10. Sounds
11. Adrenaline And Richard
12. She Says To Me
13. An Old Servant
14. Hey Sue
15. We Crossed The Atlantic
16. When Each Descends
17. A Fraying Space
18. Into Elizabeth's Eyes
19. There Was Melancholy
20. Vida
21. A Bird In The Engine
22. Empty



'If any Australian performer of the 60's deserves the description 'cult figure', it's Sydney singer-songwriter-poet Philip 'Pip' Proud [1947-2010]. Among his fans are Ian McFarlane, who likens him to Britain's legendary Syd Barrett and American Tom Rapp (Pearls Before Swine). One of his most ardent champions is Sydney writer-musician David Nichols [The Cannanes], who describes Pip as "Australia's first pop primitive" and hails him as "the greatest Australian singer-songwriter of the 1960s". In the late Sixties Pip was touted as Australia's answer to Bob Dylan, but this was a simplistic comparison. Nichols suggests a commonality with other distinctive solo artists like Nick Drake, Richard Thompson, Melanie, Donovan and Sandy Denny, but perhaps more so with some of the 'underground' artists of the last 10-15 years:

"He was, of course, twenty-five years ahead of his time. Listen to Lou Barlow's Sentridoh, or the Folk Implosion's Kidssoundtrack. Listen to other cutting-edge U.S. artists like The Mountain Goats, Beck, Guided By Voices or The Spinanes. Or listen to New Zealand's Alistair Galbraith, such a Proud fan he led off his 1994 Cluster EP with a song called 'Pip Proud'. Then listen to Pip Proud and tell us he doesn't fit so snugly with those sounds it's almost uncanny.'

Pip's style was unique. He wrote strange, plaintive song-poems about modern urban life and love, which he sang in his distinctive high, quavering voice. What made his recordings really stand out was that he accompanied himself by strumming or tapping on the strings of his unamplified electric guitar. Italian music writer Piero Scaruffi describes Pip's songs as

"... bizarre, childish rants of an hallucinated mind, accompanied by an out-of-tune guitar and paced at irregular tempos. The only precedent was the acid-folk music of the Holy Modal Rounders."

Like Syd Barrett, Pip recorded two remarkable solo Albums of original music in the late Sixties -- which now fetch hundreds of dollars apiece on the collectors' market -- and then he more or less disappeared from view. But interest in his remarkable music was kept alive by a dedicated few, and in the mid-1990s his musical career was revived, thanks largely to the efforts of super-fan David Nicholls. We are delighted to report that, since then, Pip has recorded and released several CDs of new music, which have gained international release.

Information about Pip's life and career is scant. What we know so far is that Pip was born in Adelaide and moved to Sydney in his late teens, where he began creating a large body of poetry, songs, novels and plays and also -- like most of his contemporaries -- became involved in the anti-war movement. Ca. 1967 he was 'discovered' by stockbroker and art patron Michael Hobbs, who financed Pip's first recording, the privately-recorded album De Da De Dum. It was released on the Grendel label, and apparently only about fifty copies were pressed, which must qualify it as one of the rarest and most collectible of all Australian recordings of that era.

Fortunately for posterity, Pip's album was heard by Bob Cooley, A&R manager at Phonogram Records [the Australia branch of what later became the Polygram group]. He was impressed by the unqiue qualities of Pip's music and signed him to the Philips label. Pip's first commercial LP was a re-recording of the songs from his debut album, released in 1968 under the title Adrenaline and Richard . It was well-reviewed in Go-Set which led to Pip making a few TV appearances and giving a handful of live performances.'

oldie/goodie. been revisiting this kat's hallucinogenic tone poems of late & wanted to make sure everyone who need knoweth finds out, especially my weird brother badger. say g'day to the australian syd barrett. further

VA ~ Terrace Industry: M Squared Box 1980-1983 4xCD [Ascension, 2010]

ANCD036

1.01 Systematics - Pulp Baby 4:39
1.02 Systematics - Nuts To You 2:42
1.03 Systematics - Product 2:24
1.04 Systematics - Numbers In General 1:57
1.05 Systematics - 2,4,5,T 2:20
1.06 Systematics - When I'm Older 2:13
1.07 Systematics - Flowers On The Wall 3:26
1.08 Systematics - Vanessa Teratology 2:51
1.09 Systematics - Dinner's On The Table 1:30
1.10 Systematics - Stuh Echipidah 4:12
1.11 Systematics - Mmmm 1:58
1.12 Systematics - Midnight On Balancing Day 3:19
1.13 Systematics - Die For My House 2:19
1.14 Systematics - International Voltage 1:58
1.15 Systematics - Bovine 2:20
1.16 Systematics - Fat Cows Go Down An Eastern Beach 1:46
1.17 Systematics - BBD 2:39
1.18 Splendid Mess - NASA Secret Anzac 5:06
1.19 Patrick Gibson - Bland A 5:02
1.20 Patrick Gibson - Church Of England TV 3:36
1.21 Patrick Gibson - Yeah OK 3:17
1.22 Patrick Gibson - Catatonic 4:42

2.01 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - Dead Travel Fast 6:33
2.02 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - Tael Of A Saeghors 4:42
2.03 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - The Dumbwaiters 4:12
2.04 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - No Threat 4:11
2.05 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - Copper Hats 4:29
2.06 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - Lovers Of Observatory Time 4:12
2.07 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - Speed 3:56
2.08 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - Twisting Toxic Forms 1:19
2.09 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - Fibrephone 1:42
2.10 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - Lumber 4:05
2.11 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - Sea Heads 4:44
2.12 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - We Sway In Our Boats 4:32
2.13 Makers Of The Dead Travel Fast, The - Fighting Baboons 4:04
2.14 A Cloakroom Assembly - Fossil Crash Sleeping 8:18
2.15 A Cloakroom Assembly - Trace And Rumble 2:11
2.16 A Cloakroom Assembly - Trace And Tumble 2:13



3.01 Scattered Order - Bent Up 2:11
3.02 Scattered Order - I'm Not Whole 2:32
3.03 Scattered Order - Pilot Reads Crosswords 4:41
3.04 Scattered Order - The Learn Useless Knowing 2:41
3.05 Scattered Order - Wronging Dogs With Ladders 2:34
3.06 Scattered Order - Hold My Cold Hand 2:41
3.07 Scattered Order - Heat 3:51
3.08 Scattered Order - Personal Safety 3:24
3.09 Scattered Order - Yellow Suit Weighing Machine 4:17
3.10 Barons, The (2) - Paint It Black 4:03
3.11 Height/Dismay - Girl From Ipanema 2:08
3.12 Height/Dismay - Mother's Footsteps 3:12
3.13 Height/Dismay - Picnic On The Nile 2:11
3.14 Prod - A Brick Short 3:30
3.15 Prod - Walkers Walk 2:08
3.16 Prod - N.W.O.B. 4:50
3.17 Prod - Coming Attractions 1:10
3.18 Prod - Fish Hook 3:11
3.19 SoliPsiK - See Saw 2:25
3.20 SoliPsiK - Chamber Musik 3:10
3.21 SoliPsiK - Zombod 3:05

4.01 Ya Ya Choral - Waiting Time 3:19
4.02 Ya Ya Choral - Cowboys Are Pt 2 3:23
4.03 Ya Ya Choral - No Control 2:16
4.04 Ya Ya Choral - Nonsense 2:46
4.05 Ya Ya Choral - Jolly Work 2:33
4.06 Ya Ya Choral - My Friend The Chocolate Cake 2:30
4.07 Ya Ya Choral - You Ruined My Fun 2:18
4.08 Ya Ya Choral - God's Buzzsaw 2:55
4.09 Belle Du Soir - Treasure Island 2:22
4.10 Belle Du Soir - Ultramarine 1:45
4.11 Pel Mel - Click Click 2:51
4.12 Wild West - Pelican 2:19
4.13 Limp, The - Pony Club 2:46
4.14 Tame O'Mearas - Curl Curl 2:20
4.15 No Night Sweats - Harry Wong's Cat 2:54
4.16 Denial - California Dreaming 3:11
4.17 Same, The - Why 2:34
4.18 Slugfuckers - Dolphins ? Fish 4:34
4.19 Pleasant Peasants - Pussman Polka 2:36
4.20 Severed Heads - Eat Roland 3:42
4.21 Terse - Hello M Squared 2:18
4.22 M Squared - Hello Terse 2:3

'The M Squared label operated in Sydney, Australia from 1980 to 1983. Founded by Mitch Jones and Michael Tee of seminal noisemakers Scattered Order, and quickly joined by Systematics' Patrick Gibson, the label produced 24 vinyl and seven cassette releases over three hectic years. It all took place in a modest recording studio in an inner city terrace house.

The M Squared catalogue, then and now, is resistant to classification. Contemporary journalists tagged it experimental, electronic and avant-garde – shorthand for 'not what the rest of us are listening to'. In hindsight it's been described as post punk, minimalist, synth wave, no wave, synth pop, ambient, noise, pop electronica, art rock... whatever. Genres were never the point, and many M Squared artists took more than one approach to their music.

During the label's brief lifespan, Sydney's inner city was home to a great variety of sounds that existed almost completely outside the mainstream. M Squared, its artists and supporters had, over the intervening 30 years or so, been largely unacknowledged as a small but vibrant episode in the story of Australian music.

This 30-year anniversary set includes tracks from Systematics, The Makers of The Dead Travel Fast, Scattered Order, Ya Ya Choral, A Cloakroom Assembly, Patrick Gibson, Prod, Pel Mel, Wild West, SoliPsiK, The Limp, Tame O'Mearas, Severed Heads, Height/Dismay, Belle du Soir, The Slugfuckers, The Same, Splendid Mess, Pleasant Peasants and The Barons. In addition, a 36 page booklet contains a label history, recollections from the bands involved and unpublished photos. And to slip under your glass as you sit comfortably for a listen, a set of commemorative drink coasters. Cheers'

==> perch merch <==

aint seen this cracker on any of the hep year end best-of lists, but i reckon this kinda ish is destined fer dustbin status regardless of who might wave the freak flag. pound fer pound, some of the freshest takes on the mutagenic, post-punk, synth-wave strains to date, featuring several of the most original Oz bands evvver. the makers of the dead travel fast are of course my heroes, but i spin the rest with freq & am forever hipping youngsters to virtually every weirdo on here. please support the label & bands by perching the merch & honour their memory by including em on future mixes/playlists :) 320 rips

The Makers of the Dead Travel Fast ~ The Vessels [M Squared] 1981

A1 No Threat
A2 The Shadows Of Mde. Velo's Story
A3 Illuminated Bay, Illuminated Buoy
A4 Row Boat
A5 Into The Arc
A6 Dance Of The Trout
A7 Copper Hats

B1 Mesh
B2 Lovers Of Observatory Time
B3 The Barbers, The Barbers
B4 Zebra Crossing



Peter Richardson [piano, keyboards]
Greg Addison [guitar]
Steve Couri [bass, guitar, synth]
Tim Schultz [bongos, saxophone]
Shane Fahey [synthesizer]

Recorded at M Squared Studios

'One of the best kept secrets in rock n' roll is the renaissance in Australian music in the first half of the 80s. Almost every capital city in the nation produced at least one or two really good bands, and Sydney and Melbourne a stack. Makers Of the Dead Travel Fast were likely the most obscure of the lot.

I simply must tell you this story, because it illustrates the band perfectly. The Makers gig we attended in Sydney in 1981 was the most laid-back rock n' roll show I've ever seen. The entire audience was sitting cross-legged on the floor. The band came on, six or seven people. They never introduced themselves, they just played. Throughout the entire show no one in the band said a word. Not a single person clapped, cheered, booed or even talked during the songs. We couldn't even figure out if it was them or not, because no one had ever seen a photograph of them, and they didn't play anything off the album. Then they played "Zebra Crossing". The song finished and we cheered like maniacs - all five of us! The band walked offstage. That was it.

The Vessels is post-punk instrumental music. The album is bookended by probably the two weirdest pop songs I've ever heard. It is pop - melodic, concise - but it's just out there. Electronic, robotic..? But catchy! And lyrics to boot: "Two of my former idols have now gone to the pack/ I pitted them against each other while we were countin' back to back.'

Between these bookends is the mood music. The mood is of being adrift on a still dark ocean in the middle of the night. It is curious, it is creaking. Just when things seem to be sinking right down into ambience, the pace lifts a tad again, piano-playing respectful and measured. And then.. "Copper Hats"!! One of the classic weird rock n' roll songs, 'Copper Hats' is the sound of a bunch of retards banging pots and pans and muttering - yet still the ever-lingering pop catchiness!

Side 2 sees the band clearly transcending the ambient tag with the addition of some free-form brass which reflects the milieu of jazz-punk contemporaries Laughing Clowns and others. This side is less essential, with repetitive, hypnotic pounding beginning to drag by the middle of the side. A strong finish though, with 'Zebra Crossing'. The Vessels, another minor classic; the sort of obscure rock n' roll grail you could - if you were that way inclined - spend the rest of your life searching for.' ~ source

one of the dreamiest albums from Oz's answer to Tuxedomoon, who retain a haunting vibe throughout without resorting to too much saxophone silliness. simply stunning piano musique, 320 enchanting evocations later