HR030 - Cancerous Growth — Remission — C60 — 1986
Side A:
The Trap
Death's Head Rattle Snake Rock
Daddy Cool
On The Fritz
Side B:
Ratchet Head
Dead In The Road
Thou Shalt Not
Crash Course
Cancerous Growth is Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson
The Trap
Death's Head Rattle Snake Rock
Daddy Cool
On The Fritz
Side B:
Ratchet Head
Dead In The Road
Thou Shalt Not
Crash Course
Cancerous Growth is Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson
REVIEW by Jerry Kranitz
The duo of Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson return for a cracking set on their second outing as Cancerous Growth. Side A opens with ‘The Trap’, a space-industrial rocking almost dance song with cavernous soundscape effects, spoken-rap and anguished vocals, and, surprise surprise, wailing harmonica! There are SO many moods going on at once here. A sense of peril clashes with peaceful ambience, stilted dance grooves, punk-komische, and grooooovy Blues from the harmonica.
‘Death's Head Rattle Snake Rock’ is next, being punk industrial with hip-hoppy elements that gets sucked into a hideous vortex of spaced out synth action on this wailing, clattering, high octane vocal ranting concoction. Cancerous Growth go totally bizarro on
‘Daddy Cool’, a cosmically chaotic, brain scrambling synth and effects meltdown that hits all the marks for noise and creative mash-up of spaced out effects. And ‘On The Fritz’ is in a similar spirit but is a more purely experimental freeform noise-industrial dirge that is rhythmically rambunctious, sonically intense, and even has a twisted free-jazz vibe.
If the Forbidden Planet soundtrack were a space-industrial exploration, you might get something like the tripped out effects anarchy of Side B opener ‘Ratchet Head’, which would have been more appropriately titled ‘Mess With Yer Head’. The mayhem is creatively concocted, deployed, and Frankenstein stitched together, and the welcome lack of density highlights all the parts and pieces and how they come together. It’s ALIVE!!!
‘Dead In The Road’ is one of the more purely atmospheric tracks of the set, with a tuneful harmonica pied piper leading the way, followed by spectral ambient guitar licks and multiple haunting soundscapes. It brings to mind The Residents doing a space rock horror film soundtrack. ‘Thou Shalt Not’ is a splatter collage of skittishly fiery beats, whacked vocals, spoken samples, sundry effects, hypnotic synth lines, and dragged/sped up/you name it tape manipulation. And ‘Crash Course’ closes the set with the same humongous blend collage spirit… repetitive guitar licks and voice, surrounded by dangerously whirring and oscillating effects, synth rumbles, and electronic swarm sirens that build in intensity until stopping abruptly and bringing the tape to a close.
INTERVIEW with Mike Jackson and Chris Phinney by Jerry Kranitz
Jerry Kranitz (JK): This is the second Cancerous Growth album in the HR catalog. I described Bound To Die as the first, but not sure if I ever actually asked if it was?
Mike Jackson (MJ): Yes it was and I'm pretty certain that Remission was the second one.
Chris Phinney CP: It’s the second Cancerous Growth tape. Mike didn’t release any on his Xkurzhen label until later on.
JK: Wherever this fell in the CG discography (i.e, if there were releases on other labels since Bound To Die), do you have any thoughts on how you had progressed as a duo at this point?
MJ: This must be late 1986 or early 1987. There's a certain confidence about the music here that is noticeable.
CP: Having played in R.S.V.P. and Viktimized Karcass together, we had gotten to where we pretty much knew what we wanted to do. It’s improv. Space rock and noise oriented as well.
JK: So like you had told me with Karcass, you had more experience with one another and were more in tune at this point.
CP: Yeah, and we got better and better as time went on. You know who you’re jamming with.
JK: I think you nailed it with your comments when we were talking about Viktimized Karcass, where you said you had more experience and could play your instruments better and had better gear. So I’m sure that applies here too.
CP: We knew what we were doing. It was mostly synthesizer and noise and guitar and whatever we decided to grab.
JK: Did you have more/new gear than on Bound To Die?
MJ: Chris had recently acquired a digital delay pedal and an electric guitar. I brought over my Casio SK-1 for the first time. Chris' Poly 800, drum machine and analogue delay were always on hand as were my bass guitar and cassette detritus.
CP: If I had the digital delay I probably had the Arp Axxe too. I’m not sure if I had the Rogue Moog or the Prodigy yet.
JK: One of the things I like most about this tape, and this had been the case as the Mental Anguish and Viktimized Karcass tapes progressed, there’s a massive cauldron of bits and pieces that get stitched together in single tracks. All these contrasts that come together in cool and strange ways.
CP: It all pulled together. And that’s because we’re used to dealing with each other. You can give Mike or me anything right now, we could sit down and use whatever instruments we have and record a tape right now.
MJ: The recording process was always so cool and casual at Chris' crib; an idea would be discussed and the instrument set-up would follow and then the tape would roll. Chris would later edit the releases et voilà! The improvisational work came later.
JK: Who did most of the tape editing?
CP: I mixed it all together. We recorded it all and then he’d split and then I’d mix it down.
JK: I love the harmonica on ‘The Trap’ and ‘Dead In The Road’. It’s so bizarre for this music, which of course makes it so cool and different. And you use it in different ways on each song, being crazy wailing bluesy on ‘The Trap’ and nicely melodic on ‘Dead In The Road’.
MJ: We were operating on our own terms. We owed no one a goddamned thing. Cultural baggage was just that. We worked it. ‘The Trap’ was really a nod to Nocturnal Emissions, Cabaret Voltaire and Bourbonese Qualk for me. And ‘Dead In The Road’ is very Memphis (the city as an adjective) of the time. Slide guitar, melodica, Bollywood tape. No idea who is doing what. I dig The Residents nod but I was probably in a more Foetus swamp mode.
CP: My Hohner harmonica.
JK: Was that you playing harmonica?
CP: Yes (laughs).
JK: I like the whacked vocals on ‘Thou Shalt Not’ and all the splatter collage and spoken samples.
MJ: That's me spouting off about some such of nothing manipulated with the Realistic, a stock cassette on pathology, Chris' analog delay.
JK: ‘Death's Head Rattle Snake Rock’ was a great punk industrial with hip-hoppy elements tune.
MJ: Classic Phinney Memphis voodoo Skoptzies rock that is not Krsna but not not Krsna.
JK: Any live gigs at this time?
CP: It was hard to find places to play. The Antenna might book you or not. Cancerous Growth only played one gig at the Antenna Club.
JK: I remember you mentioning before that you guys only ever played out as Cancerous Growth once.
CP: It was at the Antenna.
The duo of Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson return for a cracking set on their second outing as Cancerous Growth. Side A opens with ‘The Trap’, a space-industrial rocking almost dance song with cavernous soundscape effects, spoken-rap and anguished vocals, and, surprise surprise, wailing harmonica! There are SO many moods going on at once here. A sense of peril clashes with peaceful ambience, stilted dance grooves, punk-komische, and grooooovy Blues from the harmonica.
‘Death's Head Rattle Snake Rock’ is next, being punk industrial with hip-hoppy elements that gets sucked into a hideous vortex of spaced out synth action on this wailing, clattering, high octane vocal ranting concoction. Cancerous Growth go totally bizarro on
‘Daddy Cool’, a cosmically chaotic, brain scrambling synth and effects meltdown that hits all the marks for noise and creative mash-up of spaced out effects. And ‘On The Fritz’ is in a similar spirit but is a more purely experimental freeform noise-industrial dirge that is rhythmically rambunctious, sonically intense, and even has a twisted free-jazz vibe.
If the Forbidden Planet soundtrack were a space-industrial exploration, you might get something like the tripped out effects anarchy of Side B opener ‘Ratchet Head’, which would have been more appropriately titled ‘Mess With Yer Head’. The mayhem is creatively concocted, deployed, and Frankenstein stitched together, and the welcome lack of density highlights all the parts and pieces and how they come together. It’s ALIVE!!!
‘Dead In The Road’ is one of the more purely atmospheric tracks of the set, with a tuneful harmonica pied piper leading the way, followed by spectral ambient guitar licks and multiple haunting soundscapes. It brings to mind The Residents doing a space rock horror film soundtrack. ‘Thou Shalt Not’ is a splatter collage of skittishly fiery beats, whacked vocals, spoken samples, sundry effects, hypnotic synth lines, and dragged/sped up/you name it tape manipulation. And ‘Crash Course’ closes the set with the same humongous blend collage spirit… repetitive guitar licks and voice, surrounded by dangerously whirring and oscillating effects, synth rumbles, and electronic swarm sirens that build in intensity until stopping abruptly and bringing the tape to a close.
INTERVIEW with Mike Jackson and Chris Phinney by Jerry Kranitz
Jerry Kranitz (JK): This is the second Cancerous Growth album in the HR catalog. I described Bound To Die as the first, but not sure if I ever actually asked if it was?
Mike Jackson (MJ): Yes it was and I'm pretty certain that Remission was the second one.
Chris Phinney CP: It’s the second Cancerous Growth tape. Mike didn’t release any on his Xkurzhen label until later on.
JK: Wherever this fell in the CG discography (i.e, if there were releases on other labels since Bound To Die), do you have any thoughts on how you had progressed as a duo at this point?
MJ: This must be late 1986 or early 1987. There's a certain confidence about the music here that is noticeable.
CP: Having played in R.S.V.P. and Viktimized Karcass together, we had gotten to where we pretty much knew what we wanted to do. It’s improv. Space rock and noise oriented as well.
JK: So like you had told me with Karcass, you had more experience with one another and were more in tune at this point.
CP: Yeah, and we got better and better as time went on. You know who you’re jamming with.
JK: I think you nailed it with your comments when we were talking about Viktimized Karcass, where you said you had more experience and could play your instruments better and had better gear. So I’m sure that applies here too.
CP: We knew what we were doing. It was mostly synthesizer and noise and guitar and whatever we decided to grab.
JK: Did you have more/new gear than on Bound To Die?
MJ: Chris had recently acquired a digital delay pedal and an electric guitar. I brought over my Casio SK-1 for the first time. Chris' Poly 800, drum machine and analogue delay were always on hand as were my bass guitar and cassette detritus.
CP: If I had the digital delay I probably had the Arp Axxe too. I’m not sure if I had the Rogue Moog or the Prodigy yet.
JK: One of the things I like most about this tape, and this had been the case as the Mental Anguish and Viktimized Karcass tapes progressed, there’s a massive cauldron of bits and pieces that get stitched together in single tracks. All these contrasts that come together in cool and strange ways.
CP: It all pulled together. And that’s because we’re used to dealing with each other. You can give Mike or me anything right now, we could sit down and use whatever instruments we have and record a tape right now.
MJ: The recording process was always so cool and casual at Chris' crib; an idea would be discussed and the instrument set-up would follow and then the tape would roll. Chris would later edit the releases et voilà! The improvisational work came later.
JK: Who did most of the tape editing?
CP: I mixed it all together. We recorded it all and then he’d split and then I’d mix it down.
JK: I love the harmonica on ‘The Trap’ and ‘Dead In The Road’. It’s so bizarre for this music, which of course makes it so cool and different. And you use it in different ways on each song, being crazy wailing bluesy on ‘The Trap’ and nicely melodic on ‘Dead In The Road’.
MJ: We were operating on our own terms. We owed no one a goddamned thing. Cultural baggage was just that. We worked it. ‘The Trap’ was really a nod to Nocturnal Emissions, Cabaret Voltaire and Bourbonese Qualk for me. And ‘Dead In The Road’ is very Memphis (the city as an adjective) of the time. Slide guitar, melodica, Bollywood tape. No idea who is doing what. I dig The Residents nod but I was probably in a more Foetus swamp mode.
CP: My Hohner harmonica.
JK: Was that you playing harmonica?
CP: Yes (laughs).
JK: I like the whacked vocals on ‘Thou Shalt Not’ and all the splatter collage and spoken samples.
MJ: That's me spouting off about some such of nothing manipulated with the Realistic, a stock cassette on pathology, Chris' analog delay.
JK: ‘Death's Head Rattle Snake Rock’ was a great punk industrial with hip-hoppy elements tune.
MJ: Classic Phinney Memphis voodoo Skoptzies rock that is not Krsna but not not Krsna.
JK: Any live gigs at this time?
CP: It was hard to find places to play. The Antenna might book you or not. Cancerous Growth only played one gig at the Antenna Club.
JK: I remember you mentioning before that you guys only ever played out as Cancerous Growth once.
CP: It was at the Antenna.