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We are here to change nothing, before dada there was nothing, you’ll do well to remember that.
— Dadavistic Orchestra
From the forthcoming Document .01, to be released on Dust Science end of February 2011. Visit dadavisticorchestra.com for details.
(Source: twitter.com)
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Friday Mixtape: Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia - Live @ Villa 65 (1995)
Live performance for the Dutch radio programme Villa 65, courtesy of P.W.O.G’s Tim Freeman, straight from DAT. Ambient to deep and driving — well wicked percussion. Kudos to Moggieboy of Ripped In Glasgow for this. Find out more about the Psychick Warriors in an earlier post.
(you might need to right/ctrl+click to save)
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Friday Mixtape: The Black Dog - One Hour With The Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia
Original tracks and Black Dog remixes mixed together by Sheffield’s finest. Tracklist and download on SoundCloud. Find out more about the Psychick Warriors in an earlier post.
“Thee story ov how we know P.W.O.G is so long it would take an entire book to explain, so we’ll save all that for another day and just present the mix.”
“P.W.O.G went from Noise to House and we loved them for it. Love and respect to all the guys, we miss you. Buy everything you can find.”
— tBd
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Magick ov thee rhythm
“In the midst of the witching hour, bodies move tirelessly in oceans of sound, entranced by the drive and pulses of rhythm. Beams of white light cut into the darkness. Strobing colours synchronise with the music until time ceases to exist; light and sound become momentarily indistinguishable. Dancers locked into a ritual as ancient as humankind itself. An instinctual motion, flowing force. Bodies alive, reborn in rhythm.”
— Desmond K. Hill - Metabolic Alchemy (1994) [1]
Just as lighthearted ambient house began to hit the mainstream in the early ’90s, Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia foreshadowed a move to sinister downtempo music, more influenced by Coil and Psychic TV than The Orb. The Dutch group’s shadowy nature and lack of connection to the close-knit dance community mystified some (their live shows were often performed behind large screens), but the band’s sound — organic tribal-trance with an understated use of samples — became quite influential, as many groups mirrored the move to darker rhythms later in the decade. [from AllMusic: Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia biography][2]
Intoxication (Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia (rare demo tape), Katharos Foundation, 1989)
The original lineup played in an industrial band called The Infants in 1985. Later in the ’80s, the group appeared as Sluagh Ghairm (Spirits Cry), but by the end of the decade they had become known as Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia — the name signifying membership in Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth, the occult collective founded by members of Psychic TV, Coil, Current 93 and others. In 1990, the band released their debut single “Exit 23,” a dark, minimalist trance epic with a haunting vocal sample from Timothy Leary. As with all their future work, it appeared on Belgium’s KK Records. [from AllMusic: Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia biography][3]
Exit 23 (Return) (Exit 23, KK Records, 1990)
UK techno DJ/producer Oliver Ho discussing P.W.O.G’s 1993 EP Psychick Rhythms Vol. 1 in a recent interview on Sounds Like Me:
“The thing about this release that struck me at the time and what continues to be relevant to me is the is the purity of intention. It was an attitude towards music as ‘magick’ that was inspirational. The idea that a particular rhythm is like a spell, something that isn’t just about entertainment, but is operating on a more powerful level. There is a message on the record sleeve artwork that reads: “Warning! This object has nothing to do with art or artificial intelligence. This double package (12” version) was designed for mixing, for breaks, for possession, for collectors.” This seemed to articulate that there was something inside the music, that was waiting to be released, some kind of energy, that had been placed there by the makers.”
”[…] it’s a very distilled record. It’s like a box of tools, because all the tracks are related and are different versions of a single idea. I hadn’t seen this before, music as a tool, as a very specific tool. There’s something very esoteric about that, it’s similar to the way alchemical/spiritual ideas were passed on through architecture and symbolism through history.”
Is this really just a tool?
“I would say it’s anything you want it to be. However, if you have the desire and focus, it can be a tool. That’s the essence of magick, it’s about intent. It’s also art and music if you want it to be. It’s really about how you deal with it once it’s in your possession. All things are pretty elastic until you decide to make them solid by giving them a name or function. In a way this record was half the story, the other half was experiencing it being performed live by the group. You realised the potential of the music, and how it could be manipulated in a very spontaneous way. I remember seeing them play at a place called Club UK. There seemed to be 3 or more of them, all pushing and pulling sounds and rhythms in and out of the mix in a very organic, physical way.” [4]
Ensnared (Psychick Rhythms Vol. 1, KK Records, 1993)
Moggieboy from the recently departed Ripped In Glasgow blog remembers a great night out:
“They played at the first ever Pure at the Barrowlands [Glasgow, 6 Nov 1993, clash of the techno titans: Jeff Mills, Derrick May, Lenny Dee, P.W.O.G, Ege Bam Yasi, State of Flux] and I got told that their pre-gig ritual was to lie in silence, complete darkness for an hour before they went onstage (at the Barras? Dearie me). Got talking to the merchandise guy and was checking out their latest release at the time which was a double-pack of ‘rhythms’ for mixing. The guy said “if you’re getting it, get the vinyl rather than the CD ‘cos you get an extra track”. I didn’t do CDs but was intrigued as the tracklistings were the same. “You play side A and side C on decks at the same time and it creates an extra track with hidden messages”. My mind exploded at this point and I had to run upstairs to see Derrick May.”
“Eventually when I did get my decks I tried it out one night. Load of pish! That guy must’a been fucked.”
“Anyway, here’s the best mix of Maenad. Enjoy.” [5]
Ov The Maenads (Maenad*, KK Records, 1991)
Desmond K. Hill notes in an interview with P.W.O.G’s Reinoud van den Broek in 1993:
“To Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia sound is not just a transmitter to communicate rather intriguing ideas, but a direct means of resistance. From birth until death our desires are reduced to marketable commodities. Our emotional lives are defined by price tags and an eternal cavalcade of latest things. There is a deeper meaning to be found in obsolete, concealed techniques.”
RVDB: “We are very interested in the methods of ‘those primitive peoples’ who used dance throughout the ages, as a celebration of life or a way to communicate with spirits. To be spiritual is a strange word now but you can break the structures of conditioning with that physical experience. That’s the side we’re interested in.”
DKH: “On the dancefloor the bass physically hits you. The higher notes lift your emotions. The entire spectrum of sound affects us in ways we do not even understand. It becomes an act of invocation. As Reinoud believes, “You can sing about freedom, you can shout for anarchy, you can scream for revolution, but if you are good at it, rhythm can make those things happen at that moment.” [6]
A Kind Of Prayer (Record Of Breaks, KK Records, 1995)
While the esoteric side of P.W.O.G’s persona might not appeal to everyone, they were undeniably great at using complexity and chaos in the grey area between ambient, house, techno and trance.
Turn on, tune in… return to the source.
I’ve left out much of their discography because this is intended merely as an introduction. Follow the links for deeper insight and look out for a ritual braindance** mix this coming Friday.
— h.
*In Greek mythology, maenads were the female followers of Dionysus, the god of wine, ritual madness and ecstasy. Their name literally translates as “raving ones”. Often the maenads were portrayed as inspired by him into a state of ecstatic frenzy, through a combination of dancing and drunken intoxication. In this state, they would lose all self-control, begin shouting excitedly, engage in uncontrolled sexual behavior, and ritualistically hunt down and tear to pieces animals — and, in myth at least, sometimes men and children — devouring the raw flesh. [7][8]
**I’m poking fun at the ridiculous micro-genres and Internet memes invented by music media and promo agencies in recent years.
References:
1. Hill, Desmond K. (1994). Metabolic Alchemy
2. Bush, John (1996). AllMusic: Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia
3. Bush, John (1996). AllMusic: Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia
4. Johannsen, Finn (2010-11-01). Rewind: Oliver Ho on “Psychick Rhythms Vol. 1”
5. Ripped In Glasgow (2009-05-15). Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia - Maenad
6. Hill, Desmond K. (1994). Metabolic Alchemy
7. Wikipedia (2010-11-06). Maenad
8. Wikipedia (2010-11-06). Dionysus
