HR060 - Cancerous Growth - Here Lies Buried — C60 — 1988
|
Side A:
Cosmic Endomorphins Big Wad (Short Version) Side B: Hydrant (Ode to Officer Semprana) Celestial Vibrations #1 |
REVIEW by Jerry Kranitz
Here Lies Buried is a C60 cassette album by the Cancerous Growth duo of Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson. The bulk of Side A is taken up by the 23-minute ‘Cosmic Endomorphins’. Right away we’re in droney, rapid-fire shimmering space, which sets the foundation for a parade of psychedelic R2D2 effects antics. It’s like a gaggle of robots having a gab fest inside an extraterrestrial beehive. I love the whole vibe, which is totally spaced out yet playful and fun. Chris and Mike are really letting their hair down with the electronics, and the chaos flows as seamlessly as a spacecraft fighting through an asteroid obstacle course. Later in the piece a perky, free-wheeling synth jams out an underlying melody as the effects banquet parties on. ‘Big Wad (Short Version)’ is like a sci-fi rap song! A pleasant tinkly synth melody underlies a heavy beats rap/hip-hop groove. Very freaky and pretty darn cool!
Side B kicks off with ‘Hydrant (Ode to Officer Semprana)’. Chris and Mike quickly create multiple layers of cascading drone waves, which are soon augmented by phased and sustained synth lines, and spiffed up by goofily frenzied and squealing electronic insect effects. The one phased synth line played serious games with my head… really got my brain in its clutches and wouldn’t let go. The combination of effects and waves and the phased/pulsating/sped up/slowed down sensations are seriously disorienting, making this 20-minute track just as much a psychological endurance test as it is lysergic space excursion. Credit to Mike and Chris for creating such a gripping audio experience! ‘Celestial Vibrations #1’ is completely different, being a freaky and rather gruesome mangling of voice samples combined with upbeat tribal percussion. The mood eventually lightens as the effects become more playful, and a strange rhythmic pulse develops that carries this stilted groove tune to the finale.
INTERVIEW with Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson by Jerry Kranitz
JK: The credits say recorded March 1988 at Xkurzhen, Boston. Were you guys together in Boston?
Chris Phinney (CP): Yes. It was the same trip where I’d been to New York to visit Doug Walker (Alien Planetscapes), and Carl Howard, and Al Margolis. I recorded at Al’s, I recorded at Doug’s, and recorded at Carl’s. And then went up to Boston and recorded with Mike.
Michael Thomas Jackson (MTJ): 1868 Commonwealth Ave, 2nd floor apartment near the Chestnut Hill reservoir was my spot. We went north and to the coast too for photo ops, beachy air and old New England graveyards where the cover art comes from.
JK: What’s the difference between the first track of each side ‘Improvised live’ and the second track of each side ‘Recorded Multi-Track’?
CP: We used the 4-track for the two multi-track pieces. And the others were recorded live.
MTJ: I would use all 4-tracks live for the improvised pieces so that each of us had a stereo presence as well.
JK: So the two ‘live’ tracks you just recorded as you played, whereas with the others you did them track by track?
CP: Yeah, Mike and I put down tracks simultaneously, then two more at the same time.
MTJ: We did the 'track by track' technique later (SOP170/HR301) but not here. In this case, the use of overdubbing was really just a way of adding more texture to our improvisations. Hopefully the spontaneity and organic flow conveys that.
JK: This is really interesting to me because I’m dumb about how all this works.
CP: Like when you’re recording solo you do one track at a time. You record one and then play it back. And you play along with the first track, and then the second, third and fourth. And then if you want you can bounce on to one of the four channels. It depends which ones you want. That way you get a bit of added sound.
JK: And then with the live tracks you just played together.
MTJ: In this case we ALWAYS played together. In the case of the multi-tracked works we did it TWICE!
CP: Usually I only utilize two tracks unless it’s a band like Viktimized Karcass, or when Doug had the big Alien Planetscapes band, then we did four tracks. We used Mike’s 4-track on Here Lies Buried. With the 4-track, two people can record at the same time on a channel or channels of a 4-track. The multi-track is where Mike and I record a track at the same time. For example, me on channel one and him on channel 2. Then we do it again on channels 3 and 4 at the same time while listening to 1 a d 2 channels at the same time. Only one channel at a time if solo sometimes.
MTJ: Tight squeeze on that Fostex. Either way there was an agreement that nothing was released without the others consent or approval.
JK: The credits just say Harsh Reality instead of both Harsh Reality and Xkurzhen. Was this tape only released on Harsh Reality? I thought usually you guys co-released on each other’s labels.
CP: Just Harsh Reality.
MTJ: Never co-release. We would pass recordings around for release or just take turns releasing them ourselves. The other recordings from this trip of Chris' ended up as Growth On The Beach on Sound Of Pig Music (SOP170/HR301).
JK: Let’s talk about the music. The first one, ‘Cosmic Endomorphins’, that was one big killer effects parade. There’s a lot happening on that one.
CP: Cool. That’s playing live.
MTJ: Chris brought his Moog Rogue and Korg Poly 800 along with his pedals. At the time I was 'babysitting' David Prescott's Moog Sonic V plus my trusty ARP Odyssey was on hand so... the joy of friends that speak another language in common with digital delays and the ether spirits. We had jammed with Doug Walker and Carl Howard in the same week so you could say something was in the air.
JK: That’s why it’s so interesting to hear you explain the difference between playing live and multi-tracking. It’s amazing to hear everyone happening on that track and realize two of you are playing it live.
MTJ: This organic sort of electronic improvisation had developed between us just before I left Memphis and manifested itself here fully matured when Chris came to Boston. It was like having a conversation with your eyes closed and your mouth sewn shut
CP: We just played right next to each other. That’s the way we always recorded. I think Cancerous Growth only once ever collaborated through the mail.
MTJ: Smokosphere, I believe.
JK: I described ‘Big Wad’ as being like a sci-fi rap song. Were you guys riffing on rap? That’s a fun tune.
CP: No, nothing to do with rap. And we added ‘(Short Version)’ because it’s a short version (laughs).
MTJ: I always thought more of it as a goofy lo-fi version of Cabaret Voltaire or early FOETUS.
JK: You do that a lot with your titles and I’ve figured out over time that it doesn’t mean there was a longer version on another tape.
CP: Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.
MTJ: Or ends up on some compilation you either forgot about or didn't give permission to release.
JK: ‘Hydrant (Ode to Officer Semprana)’… Who was Officer Semprana?
CP: That’s the cop who gave me a ticket for parking next to a fire hydrant.
JK: He was a Boston cop? When you were in Boston?
CP: SHE was a Boston cop. So that piece is dedicated to her. All those crazy sounds you hear is cause we were pissed off (laughs).
JK: That’s funny. This track had a really weird affect on me. I described it as just as much psychological endurance test as it is lysergic space excursion. So she made such an impression on you that she inspired this whole 20 minute freaked out track.
MTJ: Always wanted to dose a cop...
CP: Yeah. It was recorded for her (laughing).
MTJ: Traffic cops are ruthless, make little bank no work. Still a sober trip into space.
JK: The last track, ‘Celestial Vibrations #1’, are those voice samples that I described in the review?
CP: Yeah, those are voice samples.
JK: I like the way they were combined with all that tribal percussion.
CP: Those are children’s voice samples. They’re my kids voices run through an effects unit.
JK: The cover photo, is that one of your cemetery pics? A tombstone?
CP: That’s one I took at a cemetery in Boston. It’s an old tombstone where they supposedly buried witches.
JK: Is this the only album you recorded on this trip. Did you and Mike recording anything else while you were in Boston?
CP: We recorded the tape that was released on Al Margolis’ Sound Of Pig label. (Growth On The Beach, which was also released as HR301)
JK: So you got two albums out of this trip.
CP: I think Al got the better of the two. Just because of what we did on that tape. We hung microphones out the window of Mike’s apartment and recorded the rain. We had a bunch of weird ass shit on that tape. We got away from some of the synthesizer gear for more acoustics and just recorded sounds. But we’ll get to that later in the catalog.
MTJ: whole other ball o magnetic spool... so proud of what we did with both approaches... Chris Phinney is an American treasure!
Here Lies Buried is a C60 cassette album by the Cancerous Growth duo of Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson. The bulk of Side A is taken up by the 23-minute ‘Cosmic Endomorphins’. Right away we’re in droney, rapid-fire shimmering space, which sets the foundation for a parade of psychedelic R2D2 effects antics. It’s like a gaggle of robots having a gab fest inside an extraterrestrial beehive. I love the whole vibe, which is totally spaced out yet playful and fun. Chris and Mike are really letting their hair down with the electronics, and the chaos flows as seamlessly as a spacecraft fighting through an asteroid obstacle course. Later in the piece a perky, free-wheeling synth jams out an underlying melody as the effects banquet parties on. ‘Big Wad (Short Version)’ is like a sci-fi rap song! A pleasant tinkly synth melody underlies a heavy beats rap/hip-hop groove. Very freaky and pretty darn cool!
Side B kicks off with ‘Hydrant (Ode to Officer Semprana)’. Chris and Mike quickly create multiple layers of cascading drone waves, which are soon augmented by phased and sustained synth lines, and spiffed up by goofily frenzied and squealing electronic insect effects. The one phased synth line played serious games with my head… really got my brain in its clutches and wouldn’t let go. The combination of effects and waves and the phased/pulsating/sped up/slowed down sensations are seriously disorienting, making this 20-minute track just as much a psychological endurance test as it is lysergic space excursion. Credit to Mike and Chris for creating such a gripping audio experience! ‘Celestial Vibrations #1’ is completely different, being a freaky and rather gruesome mangling of voice samples combined with upbeat tribal percussion. The mood eventually lightens as the effects become more playful, and a strange rhythmic pulse develops that carries this stilted groove tune to the finale.
INTERVIEW with Chris Phinney and Mike Jackson by Jerry Kranitz
JK: The credits say recorded March 1988 at Xkurzhen, Boston. Were you guys together in Boston?
Chris Phinney (CP): Yes. It was the same trip where I’d been to New York to visit Doug Walker (Alien Planetscapes), and Carl Howard, and Al Margolis. I recorded at Al’s, I recorded at Doug’s, and recorded at Carl’s. And then went up to Boston and recorded with Mike.
Michael Thomas Jackson (MTJ): 1868 Commonwealth Ave, 2nd floor apartment near the Chestnut Hill reservoir was my spot. We went north and to the coast too for photo ops, beachy air and old New England graveyards where the cover art comes from.
JK: What’s the difference between the first track of each side ‘Improvised live’ and the second track of each side ‘Recorded Multi-Track’?
CP: We used the 4-track for the two multi-track pieces. And the others were recorded live.
MTJ: I would use all 4-tracks live for the improvised pieces so that each of us had a stereo presence as well.
JK: So the two ‘live’ tracks you just recorded as you played, whereas with the others you did them track by track?
CP: Yeah, Mike and I put down tracks simultaneously, then two more at the same time.
MTJ: We did the 'track by track' technique later (SOP170/HR301) but not here. In this case, the use of overdubbing was really just a way of adding more texture to our improvisations. Hopefully the spontaneity and organic flow conveys that.
JK: This is really interesting to me because I’m dumb about how all this works.
CP: Like when you’re recording solo you do one track at a time. You record one and then play it back. And you play along with the first track, and then the second, third and fourth. And then if you want you can bounce on to one of the four channels. It depends which ones you want. That way you get a bit of added sound.
JK: And then with the live tracks you just played together.
MTJ: In this case we ALWAYS played together. In the case of the multi-tracked works we did it TWICE!
CP: Usually I only utilize two tracks unless it’s a band like Viktimized Karcass, or when Doug had the big Alien Planetscapes band, then we did four tracks. We used Mike’s 4-track on Here Lies Buried. With the 4-track, two people can record at the same time on a channel or channels of a 4-track. The multi-track is where Mike and I record a track at the same time. For example, me on channel one and him on channel 2. Then we do it again on channels 3 and 4 at the same time while listening to 1 a d 2 channels at the same time. Only one channel at a time if solo sometimes.
MTJ: Tight squeeze on that Fostex. Either way there was an agreement that nothing was released without the others consent or approval.
JK: The credits just say Harsh Reality instead of both Harsh Reality and Xkurzhen. Was this tape only released on Harsh Reality? I thought usually you guys co-released on each other’s labels.
CP: Just Harsh Reality.
MTJ: Never co-release. We would pass recordings around for release or just take turns releasing them ourselves. The other recordings from this trip of Chris' ended up as Growth On The Beach on Sound Of Pig Music (SOP170/HR301).
JK: Let’s talk about the music. The first one, ‘Cosmic Endomorphins’, that was one big killer effects parade. There’s a lot happening on that one.
CP: Cool. That’s playing live.
MTJ: Chris brought his Moog Rogue and Korg Poly 800 along with his pedals. At the time I was 'babysitting' David Prescott's Moog Sonic V plus my trusty ARP Odyssey was on hand so... the joy of friends that speak another language in common with digital delays and the ether spirits. We had jammed with Doug Walker and Carl Howard in the same week so you could say something was in the air.
JK: That’s why it’s so interesting to hear you explain the difference between playing live and multi-tracking. It’s amazing to hear everyone happening on that track and realize two of you are playing it live.
MTJ: This organic sort of electronic improvisation had developed between us just before I left Memphis and manifested itself here fully matured when Chris came to Boston. It was like having a conversation with your eyes closed and your mouth sewn shut
CP: We just played right next to each other. That’s the way we always recorded. I think Cancerous Growth only once ever collaborated through the mail.
MTJ: Smokosphere, I believe.
JK: I described ‘Big Wad’ as being like a sci-fi rap song. Were you guys riffing on rap? That’s a fun tune.
CP: No, nothing to do with rap. And we added ‘(Short Version)’ because it’s a short version (laughs).
MTJ: I always thought more of it as a goofy lo-fi version of Cabaret Voltaire or early FOETUS.
JK: You do that a lot with your titles and I’ve figured out over time that it doesn’t mean there was a longer version on another tape.
CP: Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.
MTJ: Or ends up on some compilation you either forgot about or didn't give permission to release.
JK: ‘Hydrant (Ode to Officer Semprana)’… Who was Officer Semprana?
CP: That’s the cop who gave me a ticket for parking next to a fire hydrant.
JK: He was a Boston cop? When you were in Boston?
CP: SHE was a Boston cop. So that piece is dedicated to her. All those crazy sounds you hear is cause we were pissed off (laughs).
JK: That’s funny. This track had a really weird affect on me. I described it as just as much psychological endurance test as it is lysergic space excursion. So she made such an impression on you that she inspired this whole 20 minute freaked out track.
MTJ: Always wanted to dose a cop...
CP: Yeah. It was recorded for her (laughing).
MTJ: Traffic cops are ruthless, make little bank no work. Still a sober trip into space.
JK: The last track, ‘Celestial Vibrations #1’, are those voice samples that I described in the review?
CP: Yeah, those are voice samples.
JK: I like the way they were combined with all that tribal percussion.
CP: Those are children’s voice samples. They’re my kids voices run through an effects unit.
JK: The cover photo, is that one of your cemetery pics? A tombstone?
CP: That’s one I took at a cemetery in Boston. It’s an old tombstone where they supposedly buried witches.
JK: Is this the only album you recorded on this trip. Did you and Mike recording anything else while you were in Boston?
CP: We recorded the tape that was released on Al Margolis’ Sound Of Pig label. (Growth On The Beach, which was also released as HR301)
JK: So you got two albums out of this trip.
CP: I think Al got the better of the two. Just because of what we did on that tape. We hung microphones out the window of Mike’s apartment and recorded the rain. We had a bunch of weird ass shit on that tape. We got away from some of the synthesizer gear for more acoustics and just recorded sounds. But we’ll get to that later in the catalog.
MTJ: whole other ball o magnetic spool... so proud of what we did with both approaches... Chris Phinney is an American treasure!