Ian Loveday a.k.a. Eon In Memoriam

Eon: 'The Spice Must Flow' (1991)

Via Blissblog:

Ian Loveday a.k.a. Eon, a legendary British electronic dance music producer, passed away on Wednesday June 17 from complications with pneumonia at the age of 54. Loveday was known for such rave tunes as 'Spice' (1990) and 'Fear The Mind Killer' (1991), and the album Void Dweller (1992). He also recorded under such monikers as Minimal Man, Tan Ru and R. Rash. I interviewed Ian Loveday for pHinnWeb in 2002, through his connection with J Saul Kane's Electron Industries label, for which Eon released such 12"s as 'Wave Angel' (1995) and 'Phaze Test' (1996). Rest in peace.

More:

Eon interview @ pHinnWeb (April 2002)

Partial Eon discography @ pHinnWeb

Eon @ MySpace

Eon @ Discog

Obituary @ The Daily Swarm

Obituary by Louise Gray @ When That Helicopter Comes

Depth Charge: 'Mecha Squirrel' (12", DC Recordings)

Artist: Depth Charge
Artist: Mecha Squirrel
Format: 12"/digital download
Cat.no.: DCR80
Record label: DC Recordings (UK)
Date: 23 February 2009

Tracklist:

1. Mecha Squirrel [Part 1] (5:49)
2. Mecha Squirrel [Part 2] (4:17)
3. Shy (6:00)

Credits:

Written & produced by J. Saul Kane.
Recorded at Iron Monkey. Mastered by Mike at The Exchange.

Press release notes:

The creation of 'Mecha Squirrel' has been a long and arduous struggle between the various machinations that inhabit J. Saul Kane's mind. In the lengthy hiatus since his last release under the Depth Charge moniker (2004's 'Hi Voltage Man') his musings have taken many points of focus: the homeless cats of North-West London, the aesthetic charms of Japanese bubblegum machine cards, but always in the background has loomed the ferrous monstrosity of Mecha Squirrel.

Drawing on arcane lore, 'Mecha Squirrel' transports you to a new sonic galaxy that is emergent in Kane's mind although very much keeping with his own tradition of powerful rhythmic electro, razor-sharp breaks and bizarre sonic ruptures. Augmented by the spoken word mythologizing of an unknown narrator -- Part 1 -- and then rendered at its most percussive and dancefloor-focused -- Part 2 -- 'Mecha Squirrel' evokes the dual dimensions of Kane's deviant imagination at its most promiscuous.

B-side 'Shy' sees this imagination's more sordid dimension giving vent to the funk of potent pent-up creative forces. Polyrhythmic percussion lines drive a P-Funk swagger around staccato melodies and off-kilter electro bass, whilst demented voices evoke unknown orgiastic pleasures. The genesis of these we can but guess at, but the heightened activity at Kane's Iron Monkey studio promises more to come...

The Genius of The Octagon Man...

... a.k.a. J. Saul Kane.


The Octagon Man: 'Free-er Than Free' (1989)


The Octagon Man: 'Demented Spirit' (1990) [X-Mix version]


Depeche Mode: 'Dream On' (The Octagon Man Remix) (2001)

Too bad The Octagon Man alias of Kane (also known as Depth Charge) has been quiet for a while. His albums The Exciting World of Octagon Man, Itô Calculus and Magneton, and such 12"s as 'The Rimm/Phonic Maze', '10 Ft. Flowers', 'Vidd' and 'The Toy Boxx' (10") are nothing less than classics of abstract, percussive and abrasive electro sound, a path followed by far too few in a genre often dominated by retro copycats and recent kitsch trends such as electroclash (though I have to admit, to be able to make any proper judgment here, I've been too skint to purchase any new releases to keep up with what's happening in electro these days, or too lazy even to follow related discussion forums, so my own view must be quite retrospective, sigh). Well, I remember some material by Double Dutch for Marguerita Recordings was in a bit similar vein, but that too was years ago...

See also: Electron Industries, a sublabel of DC Recordings.

White Light Circus: 'Break The Circuit'

And yet another release from J. Saul Kane's DC Recordings...

Artist: White Light Circus
Title: Break The Circuit
Label: DC Recordings (UK)
Cat. No: DCR87
Format: 12" / digital download
Release Date: 11 August 2008

Tracklist:

A. Break The Circuit (5:00)
B. Up To Rot (5:47)

Credits:

Written & produced by Dean Meredith.
Vocals on 'Break The Circuit' by Jonny Spencer.
Recorded & mixed at Rogue Cat Sound.
Mastered by Mike at The Exchange.

Press release notes:

'Break The Circuit' is another burst of blinding light from White Light Circus, the astronomical nom de plume of Dean Meredith, also known as half of Chicken Lips alongside Andy Meecham (a.k.a. The Emperor Machine) and Goat Dance.

We aren't sure what has occurred in the control room of Meredith's White Light Circus since the last burst of discoid energy -- 2007's 'Interrupted Time' (DCR79) -- but things seem to be increasingly crazed up there.

Title track 'Break The Circuit' features a slow-paced swagger of disordered analogical funk accompanied by a delirious monologue from Jonny Spencer, whose breathy invocations and deranged thrills echo the dysfunctional bleeps and chatter of the out of control machines in the background.

B-side 'Up To Rot' is by comparison a less volatile cosmic phenomenon. With no human voice in sight, the machines seem synchronous once again; their misfiring circuits strangely harmonized allowing the listener to drift into a familiar state of analogical dementia, tinged with sci-fi-psych-osis.

This new cosmic event is the fourth in the White Light Circus constellation, following on from the nebular 'Interrupted Time' (DCR79), 'Rocket Ride' (DCR71) and 'Marching Orders' (DCR62).

And The Lefthanded (FIN) on DC Recordings' (UK) Forthcoming Compilation

Finland's And The Lefthanded (formerly Larry and the Lefthanded; the members Timo Kaukolampi and Vilunki 3000 are also part of Op:l Bastards) will appear on DC Recordings' forthcoming compilation Death Before Distemper 2 with their magnificent 'Rocket Rock', my favourite track (early Pink Floyd meets Hawkwind meets 60s psychedelic garage rock meets Krautrock meets...?) from their 2004 album In the Kingdom of The Shadows. (You can hear 'Rocket Rock' also at the MySpace page of And The Lefthanded.)

Artist: Various Artists
Title: Death Before Distemper 2 - Revenge of the Iron Ferret
Format: CD/2-LP/digital download
Cat.no.: DCR89
Label: DC Recordings (UK)
Date: 9 June 2008

tracklist:

1. The Emperor Machine: Introduction (0:55)
2. Booze: Insanity Drive (4:28)
3. And The Lefthanded: Rocket Rock (4:29)
4. The Oscillation: Somatone (4:26)
5. Bot'ox: The Crash Theme (6:41)
6. Depth Charge: Castle of Doom (4:49)
7. Kelpe: Shipwreck Glue (5:57)
8. Muscleheads: Phosphorescence (8:32)
9. The 63 Crayons: Heal Us (4:54)
10. The Emperor Machine: Swiss Machine (2:25)
11. Padded Cell: Beautiful Gloom (Dennis Young version) (5:10)
12. Astral Manhole Project: Perfected Love (6:20)
13. The Oscillation: Head Hang Low (Kelpe version) (5:56)

Press release notes from DC Recordings:

Following on from 2006's astounding Death Before Distemper (DCR73) compilation, DC Recordings is proud to present the second installment in the series: Death Before Distemper - Revenge Of The Iron Ferret. The inevitable culmination of years of rodent fetishism, the Distemper that has been gradually affecting the label, manifest in recent DC Recordings events and peculiar art works, has demanded a new survey of our musical landscape from which we are now able to present the following specimens:

Booze is the formidable collision of Milo Smee (Chrome Hoof) and Demian Castellanos (The Oscillation); taking a break from their respective projects to deliver this febrile outburst of gravelly percussive filth -- 'Insanity Drive'. And The
Lefthanded herald from Finland and bring their lunar psych to the roster after years of self-imposed musical exile in their native country. Bot'Ox features the talents of masterful French producer and DJ Cosmo Vitelli, here bringing a touch of the cinematic with the sumptuous disco groove 'The Crash Theme'. Already notorious for their recent DJ set at the "Hairy On The Inside" event in London, Muscleheads are a shadowy duo whose debut track 'Phosphorescence' is a remarkable experience in droning disco-fied Krautrock. The 63 Crayons delivers a mutated motorik classic in the form of the Silver Apples-esque 'Heal Us'. All of these tracks are exclusive to this DC compilation.

Alongside these new characters certain members of the DC familiar are present with fresh new offerings. Depth Charge, the eponymous leader of our creed who some feared lost in musical oblivion -- returns to dispel any such speculation with the truly masterful, Carpenter-esque 'Castle Of Doom'. Meanwhile Padded Cell give us a unique version of 'Beautiful Gloom', a track taken from their new album Night Must Fall (DCR72) but reworked here by Liquid Liquid's Dennis Young. The Oscillation's bucolic 'Somatone' is a glimpse of one of the many new directions that Demian Castellanos is heading in with his forthcoming material. Andy Meecham's Emperor Machine goes into library-esque territories with the bizarre mechanical guile of 'Swiss Machine', whilst Kelpe's 'Shipwreck Glue' is one of the standout tracks from the acclaimed Ex-Aquarium (DCR82) album. Due to repeated demands from the music-consuming masses we have also featured here Kelpe's remarkable remix of The Oscillation's 'Head Hang Low', previously available as download only b-side.

Released just prior to the summer, when DC artists old and new, will present a series of unprecedented live events, Death Before Distemper 2 - Revenge Of The Iron Ferret will provoke fear, rage, uncertainty and rabid delight amongst the musical hordes!

Death Before Distemper 2 Launch Party
@ Corsica Studios, London, 21st June 2008

The Emperor Machine live (First Ever Live Show Ever!!)
Padded Cell live
Kelpe live (feat. All Traps Set on drums)
The Oscillation live - tbc (feat. Live Visuals of JULIAN HAND)
Depth Charge DJ - Clause Four DJ - Muscleheads DJ
More details of this sensational event to follow...

And even before the compilation DC Recordings gives the latest offering from Padded Cell, a.k.a. Richard Sen and Neil Higgins, with an exclusive remix from Depth Charge (a.k.a. J. Saul Kane, the label's boss and a cult artist in his own right):

Artist: Padded Cell
Title: Savage Skulls
Format: 12"/digital download
Cat.no: DCR88
Label: DC Recordings (UK)
Date: 21 April 2008

Tracklist:

A. Savage Skulls (Extended Version) (5:26)
B. Triple X Syndrome (Depth Charge remix) (6:28)

Press release notes

The Exciting World of J. Saul Kane @ pHinnWeb