Discussions concerning the USA’s early 1980s underground scene often dwell upon punk’s adjustment into hardcore and the new wave’s gradual transformation into college rock. However, as the clock incessantly ticks, numerous archival releases have assisted in expanding the sonic landscape of said timeframe, and a fresh addition to this shelf has just arrived from the New York City label RVNG Intl. Having already devoted a volume to the solo recordings of K. Leimer, Artificial Dance continues the enlightening overview of the composer’s productivity by focusing on his studio project Savant. It’s out now on 2LP/CD/digital.
Starting in the mid-‘70s Seattle’s Kerry Leimer began a mission of self-documentation that has been recently reevaluated as one of North America’s earliest responses to Euro-based electronic innovators Cluster and Brian Eno, especially the latter’s groundbreaking ’73 collaboration with Robert Fripp (No Pussyfooting). Holding 30 tracks (31 on the double wax), RVNG’s A Period of Review (Original Recordings: 1975-1983) nicely illuminates the breadth of Leimer’s achievements and is a superb primer into his influences.
Undisguised influences at that, for amid the riches is a brief entry named “Eno’s Aviary.” Some might find the reference a tad blatant; it rather quickly reminded this writer of “In the Wake of King Fripp,” the leadoff cut on the second album from Heldon (Heldon II “Allez-Téia”), the French prog rock unit led by guitarist Richard Pinhas.
Like Heldon, K. Leimer was part of a milieu where postures of originality were at least sporadically deemed as less crucial to success. And it was an epoch seeing a large percentage of recordings bought on intuition and high hopes; trying before buying simply wasn’t as common, and therefore a song title as homage could clue in prospective buyers and potentially lead them to the cash register.
Or to the post office; A Period of Review and Artificial Dance are accurately described as belonging to the late ‘70s/early ‘80s DIY impulse, the artist and his wife Dorothy Cross forming Palace of Lights to release Leimer’s music and that of (amongst a handful of others) Marc Barreca, Roy Finch, and Robert Carlberg, this last-mentioned individual having recorded under the nom de disque, Anode (according to Discogs Leimer’s Natural History/The Mind and its Likeness cassette was issued by Anode Productions in ’79).
All three were collaborators in Savant alongside New Flamingos members Alex Petit and brothers Jim and David Keller, Op Magazine founder John Foster, guitarist Dennis Rea, drummer Kevin Hodges, and a few others, the lot invited by Leimer to his studio for an endeavor of his direction. Utilizing the loop based methodology of his solo output and integrating concepts of chance/contingency derived from John Cage, when the group’s experimentation truly clicked Leimer would press play on the tape machine.
Artificial Dance rounds up the 12-inch “Stationary Dance” b/w “Sensible Music,” the LP The Neo-Realist (At Risk) and compilation and unreleased work. Issued in ’81, the debut single’s a-side also details the range of their home city’s musical action by simultaneously appearing on Engram Records’ Seattle Syndrome, Volume One, wherein Savant’s arty-edge shares groove space with rock-aligned acts such as The Fastbacks, The Beakers, and The Fartz.
Sporting a prominent David Keller bass line in tandem with his brother on drums, their unflagging rhythmic bed (peppered throughout is Carlberg’s percussion) has surely tempted humans to engage in the activity of its title, though Leimer has stated (in a Bomb magazine chat with fellow composer Alexis Georgopolous) that “Stationary Dance” was sarcastic. Ultimately, it establishes Savant’s initial motions as experimentally inclined yet not off-putting.
Leimer and Barreca’s synths and tapes reside on the darker end of the new wave scenario as the integration of spoken words produces an environment similar to the Industrial genre in general and the recordings of geographical cohort Steve Fisk in particular (not coincidentally, the veteran producer-musician figures in Palace of Lights’ ‘82 various artists effort Regional Zeal, Mouth Music From Olympia Washington).
No matter the intent, “Stationary Dance” delivers a terrific slice of art-groove as “Sensible Music” lends diversity via post-punkish atmospherics. Curiously reinforcing Leimer’s art objectives, both numbers are of the exact same length, though Savant tends to favor longer durations than the cuts shaping the majority of A Period of Review.
Also from 1981 and initially on a Palace of Lights comp 7-inch featuring tracks by Leimer, Barreca, and Anode, “The Radio” sees Carlberg and Barreca joining Leimer to fill out a slimmed-down and more formidable incarnation of Savant as captured speech, shards of an agitated buzz saw and plumes of synthesizer enter and exit atop an electronic drum pulse.
It’s impressively sculptured audio, but Savant is strongest across The Neo-Realist (At Risk), which RVNG has smartly sequenced as Artificial Dance’s first LP and leadoff to the CD. Right from the outset, the cyclical constancy of the snare, the gradually arising vaguely art-funky bass, a flurry of terse vocal samples and frequently stuttering loops (including long whining threads reminiscent of a car engine attempting and failing to achieve ignition) make it difficult to tidily peg “Using Words” to a specific historical moment.
Neither contemporarily prescient nor a neat fit to assumptions of 1983, it stretches to over seven minutes as the concise “Indifference” flaunts fractured spasticity interjected with layers of repetition and the wordless voice of Cross. By contrast, “The Neo-Realist” braids a lengthy angular motif to an intermittently diced-up monologue by Foster that largely pertains to religion; overall it’s a bit like a considerably more aggro Talking Heads blended with a portion of an “Over the Edge” radio show by Negativland.
Next is “Shadow in Deceit,” the tribal inflection of Roy Finch’s electro-massaged vocal at the beginning and the rhythmic patterns throughout heightening the appropriateness of comparisons to Eno and Byrne’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and underlining it as an early merger of Western and Third World music; Dennis Rea’s bass and somewhat Fripp-ish guitar toughen the vibe quite nicely.
“The Shining Hour” travels a relatively smooth trajectory all the more noteworthy for the intricacy of its weave; folks into prime Animal Collective might want to investigate. Highlighting Leimer’s social concerns and intensifying his global perspective is “Knowledge and Action,” its monologue taking on the guise of news reporting on the state of African (and by extension US) politics. From there the progression of “Heart of Stillness” staunchly defies easy categorization, its burble and flutter deftly accented by bamboo woodwind.
“Deceit in Passion” was previously heard in 1985 on the cassette comp This is Religion courtesy of the winningly named Shitting Elephant Tapes; though shorter than the selections on The Neo-Realist (At Risk), it matches up well. “Facility,” the first of three tracks all apparently unreleased, nods back to the 12-inch as “Falling at Two Speeds” and “Fault Index” mingle the gist of Leimer’s occasionally ambient-leaning solo stuff with elements strengthening the Industrial reference made above.
Long dormant, Palace of Lights was recently reactivated as Leimer continues to be musically active from the Hawaiian island of Maui. Checking out the imprint’s wares is advisable, but newbies are urged to begin with RVNG’s reissues; both are highly worthwhile, Artificial Dance further spotlighting creativity that defies the too-easy encapsulation of its era.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
