Bunhill Row
(Paradigm Discs - PD19) LP $17.50
In 1980, Adam Bohman (Morphogenesis, The Bohman Brothers) made his first recordings using two budget cassette recorders, an ordinary trumpet, and a variety of other acoustic instruments and objects, many of which are still part of the current Bohman armory. Bunhill Row was his first complete album of material, but it and subsequent releases from the time remained in tiny cassette editions made for friends or exchanged through the mail art network. On vinyl for the first time, Paradigm Discs' hand-numbered reissue opens another window into the incredibly fruitful astral alignment that occurred over London at this time. "Beautifully raw, dirty, and mesmerizing," opines Ed Pinsent in Sound Projector, "A genuine masterpiece of grown-in-the-UK genius." Edition of 500.
Last Orders
(Mycophile) Used CD $6.50 (Out-of-stock)
Objects struck, rubbed, chafed, chivvied, bothered and caused by other means to resonate over the course of eight coherent soundscapes, each with its own distinctive feel and inner logic. Rather than draw attention to the materials, Bohman foregrounds their conventional musicality as an echo to what is being done by electronics musicians and avant garde classical ensembles in their respective avant gardes.
Music And Words
(Paradigm Discs) Used CD $12.00 (Out-of-stock)
The freest possible improv by this UK national treasure (whose soundmaking devices include disassembled violin, springs, lightbulbs, barbecue grill, wire record rack, wooden box with wires stretched across) presses more detail into every split second of a post-serial slipstream of variegated events than ought to be allowed. Bohman also tapes audio-letters containing commentaries on his daily life spoken in hilariously lugubrious tones (Christmas with the family, collage-making in the kitchen, receiving gifts of home-made Turkish delight, walks to the local pub, the state of public restrooms). DIY dada from the midst of suburban banality.
Out Of The Unknown
(Chocolate Monk) CDR $8.00 (Out-of-stock)
COMING SOON. On April 12, 2025, a strange man followed Joseph Baldwin home from the train station. Out of politeness Joe invited him in. The man had a large suitcase with him and what appeared to be an amplifier on a metal trolley. After perusing Joe’s books and records, the man took a seat and demanded a drink. Joe poured him a whisky, as well as one for himself. Glancing to his right, the man exclaimed, “Oh good! You have an Internet Computer!” At the man’s request and behest, Joe looked up trailers for obscure films and TV shows he’d never heard of before. The man’s knowledge in this area appeared to be prodigious and limitless. After several hours of this, the man opened his suitcase and started to unpack an assortment of objects. Joe wondered if he was selling antiques. The man then asked Joe to bring him the ironing board he’d spied in the hallway. On the board he began to arrange these objects in a way that appeared systemized, but not decipherable. He attached wires from the items to what he now confirmed was an amplifier after all. The man began to touch these objects and strange sounds emerged from the amplifier, seeming to make the furniture talk. Joe realized that half of this conversation was missing and quickly began to gather whatever was to hand around his flat and set up a folding table next to the man’s ironing board. He dragged his old practice amp from the storage cupboard in the hallway. Once sat at this table, he felt a tap on his shoulder. The man looked at him knowingly and anded him a small flat microphone attached to a cable, which plugged easily into his practice amp. Joe began to learn this new (or possibly very, very old) language and the conversation began in earnest. “So this is what it sounds like, when bricks cry” thought Joe. Edition of 60
Text Pieces + Compositions for Prepared Strings and Objects
(Krim Kram) CD $14.00 (Out-of-stock)
“Exposing the absurdities of everyday life,” summarizes MJE, “knowing of the cynicism that could ensue, and taking a complete 180 from that — joyous deconstruction.”