HR046 — Konstruktivits — Live At The King Charles Ballroom — C46 — 1987
Side A:
3rd May 1985 Kontakt After Thee Summer Lunatik Side B: 11th May 1985 What Would You Say Kontakt 2 After Thee Winter Lunatik 2 |
G.M. Wallis - Words
J. Ahmed - Noise |
Review by Jerry Kranitz
Live at the King Charles Ballroom features two live Konstruktivits performances from dates in May 1985.
Side A was recorded May 3, 1985. ‘Kontakt’ sounds like a toilet flushing and then water draining. And then it abruptly launches into the live performance. There’s three songs in the credits but before I knew it I heard the lyrics for the third. There’s jagged pounding and clattering percussion, combined with vocals that are alternately chanting, moaning and growling, before eventually launching into a dancey industrial tune. I really like the rhythmic pulse, melody, and playfully intense keys that are whiney, swirly, spacey, and even a bit punk proggy. I especially like the expressive vocals that are like a combination of John Foxx, John Lydon, Robert Calvert, and Genesis. The synths get really interesting during ‘Lunatik’, firing off rapid fire bubbling blasts, and there’s a dog bark effect that embellishes the pounding dance pulse.
Side B was recorded May 11, 1985. ‘What Would You Say’ begins with a newscast sample before, again, abruptly launching into the performance, which right out of the chute is a tuneful industrial New Wave dance number. Glenn Michael Wallis goes full Genesis on the vocals, which sounds pretty cool along with the spacey New Wave keys and freaky effects. Damn good song.
We’re back to the clattery percussion on ‘Kontakt 2’, along with a record scratching rhythmic effect, a warbling pulse, spacey throbbing keys, and a quirky melody on this robotic spacey dance tune. And the show goes on, each song blending into the next, making for a cool blend of industrial, New Wave, dreamily spacey atmospherics, and quirkily high-powered dance grooves.
Live at the King Charles Ballroom features two live Konstruktivits performances from dates in May 1985.
Side A was recorded May 3, 1985. ‘Kontakt’ sounds like a toilet flushing and then water draining. And then it abruptly launches into the live performance. There’s three songs in the credits but before I knew it I heard the lyrics for the third. There’s jagged pounding and clattering percussion, combined with vocals that are alternately chanting, moaning and growling, before eventually launching into a dancey industrial tune. I really like the rhythmic pulse, melody, and playfully intense keys that are whiney, swirly, spacey, and even a bit punk proggy. I especially like the expressive vocals that are like a combination of John Foxx, John Lydon, Robert Calvert, and Genesis. The synths get really interesting during ‘Lunatik’, firing off rapid fire bubbling blasts, and there’s a dog bark effect that embellishes the pounding dance pulse.
Side B was recorded May 11, 1985. ‘What Would You Say’ begins with a newscast sample before, again, abruptly launching into the performance, which right out of the chute is a tuneful industrial New Wave dance number. Glenn Michael Wallis goes full Genesis on the vocals, which sounds pretty cool along with the spacey New Wave keys and freaky effects. Damn good song.
We’re back to the clattery percussion on ‘Kontakt 2’, along with a record scratching rhythmic effect, a warbling pulse, spacey throbbing keys, and a quirky melody on this robotic spacey dance tune. And the show goes on, each song blending into the next, making for a cool blend of industrial, New Wave, dreamily spacey atmospherics, and quirkily high-powered dance grooves.