Manafonistas

on life, music etc beyond mainstream

2014 27 Nov

Nerve Net / My Squelchy Life

von: Michael Engelbrecht Filed under: Blog | TB | Tags: , | 2 Comments

While Ian has had a strange epiphany looking at an abstract painting in Paris, i’ve been looking for a big high quality anorak that keeps the icy winds of Sylt from my body while strolling through deserted coastlines. Cause I was really tired after all. Cause I got lost (mesmerized) in a book that rendered (?) me speechless even after finishing the last of its 600 something pages, everything slowed down, but I’ll start the journey soon. Little delay. In case someone hasn’t got the message (the book and the message have at least one thing in common: time traveling), four Eno albums (from the 90’s) will be re-released as „expanded“/“extended“ editions that really deserve that word. Is there anyone out there who loves surreal heartfelt experimental rhythmical wild music from the outer fields of so-called electronic multicoloured post-fusion anti-math-rock who has never heard NERVE NET? Among its admirers Heiner Goebbels and Eivind Aarset. So tomorrow (in Germany, on Monday in all other countries) you can correct history and get your hands on NERVE NET and MY SQUELCHY LIFE on one double cd. And there’s a special story (see comment 1) behind those „squelchy songs“: it’s  a „killer“ with Eno often working in expressionist mode. Might kick another hole in the cosmos for you, these extensions with all their connections to ancient cave painting, atheist space prayers, deconstructing a John Paul Jones guitar solo, fractal zooms and profound dadaism. I do not know if Ian has ever had a relationship with NERVE NET, but „le Jardin du Luxembourg“ would be a great place to listen to it: a cold afternoon, strange faces, lonesome benches. And feeling great. Late autumnal euphoria. And for the ambient music lovers: NEROLI and THE SHUTOV ASSEMBLY will do the trick and spread their wings around you. Mhm, this sounds too poetic, but it’s not easy to avoid the thing with the „immersive experience“ here. Oh, so sorry, and,  a propos „immersive“, I forgot to give you at least the name of the book: THE BONE CLOCKS.

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2 Comments

  1. Michael Engelbrecht:

    DISC 2 – MY SQUELCHY LIFE

    01. I Fall Up
    02. The Harness
    03. My Squelchy Life
    04. Tutti Forgetti
    05. Stiff
    06. Some Words
    07. Juju Space Jazz
    08. Under
    09. Everybody’s Mother
    10. Little Apricot
    11. Over

    „Under“ became part of Brian’s album „Another Day On Earth“ (2005). MY SQUELCHY LIFE should have been released in the late summer/early autumn of 1992. I remember Brian phoning me one day and playing a track to me regretting I might not get the bass line because of the frequency range of telephones. But it was fun to listen to a new Eno piece on an old phone.

    Not much later he wrote me a quite long letter about Warner postponing the release because of a Prince or some other superstar record. Or some other things being part of major company politics. He was so upset about this that he withdrew the album, and part of the anger influenced the „trash jazz“ elements of NERVE NET. I remember inviting myself to a Warner Hamburg listening session before Brian said „no“ to the planned relrase.

    I was the only person in the office and had a great time listening to one of my favourite singers. The Wire even published a review of My Squelchy Life, written by Mike Fish. When it became clear the record would not see the light of day I wrote a letter to Mike Fish, and, o wonder, really nice guy, he sent me his original promo copy of the record. At that time I regarded this old C-90 cassette as one of the biggest buried treasures in my archive. Apart from a signed vinyl version of the first edition of Bo Hansson’s „Lord of the Rings“ (original Swedish release).

  2. Michael Engelbrecht:

    ‘This record is: LIKE PAELLA / A SELF-CONTRADICTORY MESS / … / DISSONANT / EVANESCENT /… / GODLESS / RECKLESS / SQUELCHY / UNAMERICAN / TECHNICALLY NAÏVE / FAR TOO VAGUE / DERIVATIVE OF EVERYTHING / POST COOL /… / POST MAN / … CLEARLY THE WORK OF A MIND IN DISTRESS.’ (Brian Eno on Nerve Net)


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