http://aboutparty.net/

Image By Mark Osborne

Virgin Prunes – Sweethome Under White Clouds – 1982
Associates – White Car In Germany – 1981
Human League – Marianne – 1980
Alex Fergusson ( featuring Daniel Miller ) – Stay WIth Me Tonight – 1980
Dave Ball – Sincerity – 1983
Crawling Chaos – Sex Machine – 1980
Ultravox – Hiroshima Mon Amour – 1977
Thoma Leer – Private Plane – 1978
The Wolfgang Press – Prostitute – 1983
Dorothy – I Confess – 1980
Fad Gadget – Coitus Interruptus – 1981
B Movie – Remembrance Day – 1981
Vision – Lucifer’s Friend – 1982
The Chameleons – Don’t Fall – 1983
Felt – My Face Is One Fire – 1982
UK Decay – Disco Romance – 1980
Sex Gang Children – Into The Abyss – 1982
1919 – The Scream – 1983
Play Dead – Walk Away – 1984
Josef K – Sorry For Laughing – 1981
Test Dept. – Pulsations 2 -1983
Crispy Ambulance – Drug User Drug Pusher – 1983
Honey Bane – Boring Conversations – 1979
Adam and The Ants – The Day I Met God – 1979
Rudimentary Peni – Dead – 1981
Zounds – Demystification – 1981
Poision Girls – Persons Unknown – 1980
David J & Rene Halkett – Nothing – 1981

You get your tickets here https://motorcityvssteelcity.eventbrite.com/

The Black Dog – Dark Wave Vol .07
1. P.A.S – Beauty In The Fear (tBd Destroyed In Purpose Pt1) – Ostgut Ton
2. Roly Porter – Atar – Subtext
3. Claro Intelecto – Blind Side – Delsin
4. Shifted – Leather – Mote-Evolver
5. Shifted – Coax – Mote-Evolver
6. Karenn – Caretaker – CDr
7. Samuli Kemppi – Detatched Object – Mote-Evolver
8. BMG & Derek Plaslaiko – Daydreaming About Your Mom – Interdimensional Transmissions
9. Shifted – Spire - Mote-Evolver
10. Puresque - 001a (Bitten By The Black Dog) – Tresor
11. Mark Broom – Box Set – Gynoid
12. Reeko – Miracle – PoleGroup
13. Idealist – Defective Unit – Broque
14. Samull Kemppi – Trans Neptunian – Mote-Evolver
15. Shifted – Spire – Mote-Evolver
16. Mark Broom – M28 - Gynoid
17. Scuba – Gekko – Hotflush Recordings
18. Production Unit – ICU Tracks – Broken20
19. The Black Dog – Dissident Bleep (Sandwell District Remix) – Dust Science
20. George Lanham – Surrogate Siren – Public Stand
21. Alex Under – El Alma Del Tiempo – Soma

Is the third, and final, part of your “Dokument” series on the way soon? If so, how would you describe how it sounds compared to the other two?
[The Black Dog] Dadavistic Orchestra played live in Switzerland in December so we may be using that recording for Dokument .03 but we are not short of material, having 6 people in the collective really helps with making things happen. We are yet to decide what will become Dokument .03. We have no idea how it will sound, it feels like it may be “louder” but that’s all we can say at this point.

How did you end up working with the Psychick Warriors of Gaia in the first place and how would you describe them to people who are not familiar?
[The Black Dog] We’re big fans of their work and we already knew a couple of them through Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth. How would we describe them? Like the sound of idea dropping through a membrane directly into your mind!

What drew you to the Dada art movement and what elements of its philosophy really stuck with you?
[The Black Dog] Cabaret Voltaire first made us aware of Dada in 1978, the idea of art, politics and fun is pretty hard to resist, that’s pretty much our life in three words. There has to be a reason, that’s what’s stuck with us and will do until we stop. In addition to being anti-war, the original dada movement was also anti-bourgeois and anarchist in nature. Which makes it right up our street. Last month, before Mr. Gaddafi was captured and shot, the UK was involved in three wars. There is no permissible way the ordinary citizen can protest, or make their views known about this. Except through a complete rejection. Though it may have been created in 1916 with Verdun and the Somme in mind, dada still twangs strings and strikes a chord today.

Did you start working on the “Liber” 12-inches that led up to your new album because you missed not only making but hearing really solid minimal dance music?
[The Black Dog] We’d been testing the tracks for about a year before in live sets, we wanted to try something different for what we’d been hearing, DJ after DJ rinsing the crowd out with build after build and then a drop, it’s really boring and safe. So we decided to go back to basics, fuck the running with the pack.

While you’ve certainly recorded club-ready tracks before, your recent material is about as minimal as your work gets. Did that come naturally, or did you find it hard to keep some of the songs so stripped down?
[The Black Dog] The hardest part was the stripping back and having a confidence to say that’s it. It had to be right for us, it sounds like an easy thing to do but it really wasn’t.

I love how the new album unfolds like a seamless mix. Was that the idea from the beginning, delivering an experience that’s on par with seeing you guys live?
[The Black Dog] Our last few albums have been paced like that. With no ‘A’ or ‘B’ side anymore, there is a different dynamic to the thing. When people had to flip vinyl albums over, it was permissible to peak in the middle, leaving the listener physically wanting to get up and change the disc over to hear the rest of the tunes. Now that no longer happens, the work has to flow differently.

What’s one recent electronic/dance set you saw that captured the very essence of what you’ve always loved about this kind of music
[The Black Dog] Richard H Kirk last month at Park Hill, he always surprises with his selections, Alva Noto for the cold distance.

What were some artists that you saw early on that influenced or at least inspired the Black Dog in some way?
[The Black Dog] Cabs, Sex Pistols, X-Ray Specs, Kraftwerk, Throbbing Gristle, Spoon Fazer, Lee Perry & the KLF. but that list is far too basic. Lots of things influence us, whether that’s art, poetry, film, magazines, or of course, friends. We still get inspired today by other people’s creativity.

I noticed you mentioned liking Sunn O))) in a recent interview. What do you like about them and what are some other artists people would be surprised you like?
[The Black Dog] Well, we like the music a lot and the performance. The performance is something we don’t really do, because we view performance as a rockism. We are not performers. And we are not a rock ‘n’ roll band. but we like the way it verges on the absolutely ridiculous, very dada. We don’t mean that as an insult, but wonder how it got to the stage of dressing up with dead crows on your arms while covered in flour. As we mentioned we like a lot of things.

You were often lumped in with the IDM scene in the 90s. What do you think of  intelligent dance music as a concept in retrospect? [The Black Dog] We make techno, that’s it really. Often people credit us with inventing it (IDM) but we’d wouldn’t have used such a stupid and insulting title, which shows no respect to the history and spirituality of tribal dance music. As a name and concept it may have been better if it had stayed meta, but hats off to Warp records, for recognising the need to differentiate it from mainstream warehouse/rave techno. We got lumped in, because that’s what journalists do. They see a whole bunch of bands starting up at the same time, and think it’s “a scene”. We experienced the same thing, back in the days of punk. People were labelled “punk”, whether they were punks, or not. It sometimes helps people to put labels on things, we understand that. To be able to pin them down, and know all about them. But that leaves no room for mystery, or anything out of the ordinary. In retrospect, there is nothing wrong, at all, with noodly introspective bedroom music, which you can chill out, or drive to. But we’re glad it’s something we don’t have to do every day.

Going back to “Music For Real Airports”, if you could only listen to one record while on a long layover in an airport, what would it be and why?
[The Black Dog] ‘Vexations’ ~ Erik Satie (meant to be played back to back at least 78 times). or ‘Piano Oracles’ ~ Sakis Papadimitriou (which does the same thing).

I usually hate asking people what their actual artist name means, but in the case of the Black Dog, I feel like there was a lot of thought put into what the group represents. Am I reaching here? Were there some specific guiding principles to the project in the beginning? And if so, how have they changed with time?
[The Black Dog] No, you’re not reaching. A lot of thought went into the choosing of the name. But to explain it in black and white, in a couple of sentences wouldn’t do it justice. We could tell you one thing, but that wouldn’t be the whole of it. Just a facet. One thing that hasn’t changed, since day one, is that there is no songwriter or leader. All band members are equally credited for every tune, and everybody has their say in the direction the band takes. I’m proud we’re still a collective. And happy to say that nobody has ever been ripped off. Another guiding principle that we’ve always adhered to. It was fun having multiple band names, back in the early days. But now we are free to move in any direction we fancy, there’s no more need for them.

Tell me a little bit about your different Black Dog members what their strengths are and what they bring to the Black Dog’s current sound.
[The Black Dog] Ken is unafraid to say “no”, and is not terribly worried if people consider him an idiot. Martin always does what he wants and Richard has ears like a bat.

Many American listeners don’t know the first thing about Sheffield. How would you describe its music scene today, and how have your surroundings informed the Black Dog sound over the years?
[The Black Dog] I’d  (Ken) always been aware of Sheffield bands, but it wasn’t until Rob invited me up to the Warp offices, that I fell in love with the place. I was impressed, because people stop you in the street, and have time for conversations that don’t center around “give me money for beer”. 5 minutes outside of the city center, there are rolling hills which rival anything Devon or Cornwall can offer. I think that’s helped to ground the city. Though it has a heavily industrial past, nature is never very far away and of course Martin and Richard live here.

Finally, can you tell us a little bit about the mix you submitted to us, and let us know what to expect from you next?
[The Black Dog] The next thing we will be doing, is something that we enjoy. If our heart’s not in it, there isn’t any point.

Volume .05 is over at Electronic Explorations with a short interview.

http://electronicexplorations.org/the-show/176-the-black-dog/

Buy here http://duststoredigital.com/ or here https://www.duststore.com/live/index.php?ix=1

Exclusive interview here http://www.self-titledmag.com/home/2011/11/11/needle-exchange-077-an-exclusive-mix-by-the-black-dog/

Here’s a mix we did for Electric Deluxe, something a little different but we think you’ll dig it.

The Black Dog – Industrial Smokers Behind The Factory Wall
Barn Owl – Procession Of Golden Bones/Ancient Days – Root Strata
M J Harris & Martyn Bates – Sheaf and Knife – Invisible
Sunn O))) & Boris – The Sinking Belle – Southern Lord
KTL – Estranged – Editions Mego
Boris – Part III – Midi Creative
Earth – Coda Maestoso In F (Flat) Minor – Southern Lord
Eagle Twin – Storytelling of Ravens – Southern Lord
The Haxan Cloak – Disoder – Aurora Borealis
Black Sabbath – Planet Caravan – Vertigo

http://www.electricdeluxe.net/category/podcast/

We did an interview with the lovely people over at The Quietus and there Part 3 of our Dark Wave series ready to stream, check it out here: http://thequietus.com/articles/07249-quietus-mix-50-the-black-dog-dark-wave-mantras

Download Here – The Black Dog – Dark Wave Vol .03:

Update: This post was was updated 28/11/2011 to fix the broken podcast link.

More – http://www.liberdogma.com
Buy – http://www.duststore.com

High Rise Choir Reprise

Dissident Bleep

More – http://www.liberdogma.com
Buy – http://www.duststore.com