MR MUTT Records

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Over the past few years, mentioning music from the eighties, and particularly electronic pop and its many derivations, has been considered a sort of taboo, something you should really be ashamed of. As a result, we have learnt to secretly disguise the enjoyment of listening to certain songs, sing along to the words under our breaths, lower our voices even more when the wind of radical cutting-edge criticism, which has conceitedly liquidated certain intuitions of 80s pop, is perceived around us. However, if we take a look at the music produced since the turn of the century, it becomes evident that these intuitions have revealed themselves very important if not fundamental in contemporary music production. The 80s have influenced electronic music more than what one can believe, through the rediscovery of melody, the airiness of certain formal solutions, the reintegration of rhythmic and enveloping melodies… If you like it or not (and although many tend not to recognise it) electronic music has absorbed the influences of the 80s, that is to say that nuances of 80s pop are recognisable within contemporary electronic music and its mechanisms of composition, as if inherited. This is undeniable and becomes even more evident if we merely consider the number of composers who have reintroduced voice into music, hidden between the abstract digital samplings created on laptops. The musicians who have taken part in this compilation have probably unconsciously tapped into the memory of the forbidden 80s, making it re-emerge under the tepid light of their computers, with an eye towards contemporaneity yet conscious of their past. All tracks are unreleased and created for the compilation only. — Mr Mutt, Press Release

Reviews

Over the past few years, mentioning music from the eighties, and particularly electronic pop and its many derivations, has been considered a sort of taboo, something you should really be ashamed of. As a result, we have learnt to secretly disguise the enjoyment of listening to certain songs, sing along to the words under our breaths, lower our voices even more when the wind of radical cutting-edge criticism, which has conceitedly liquidated certain intuitions of 80s pop, is perceived around us". So runs the manifesto accompanying The Forbidden 80s (Mr Mutt CD) an enjoyable if curious compilation curated by Rossano Polidoro and Emiliano Romanelli (aka Tu m', or, in their new incarnation with Frank Metzger, formerly of Oval, Steno). Enjoyable because it rapresents a varied selection of accomplished miniatures, from the spot-the-sample smash 'n' grab of Jason Forrest to the dreamy J-glo of Minamo, via Tu m's toy piano glitchfest and Mapstation's video game dub; curious because it sounds so utterly 21st century, with the possible exception of Nathan Michel's "Suds", wich sounds like a dawn raid into the Todd Rundgren back catalogue. One wonders how many of the contributors are old enough to recall the gray raincoat end of the 1980s; no doubt many of their tracks were sourced in 80s material (I suspect something rather well known lurks behind the impeccable filters of Stephan Mathieu's "Heller Raum" and the skipping CDs of Steno's "Talk"), though the fact that the originals have been so cunningly morphed by today's software would seem to embrace the taboo criticised above. Only Scanner's "Glittery Plastic", with its tight Detroit rhythmics and Acid squiggles, sounds as if it could have come from that blighted decade, and the one bona fide cover, courtesy of Greg Davis, is of a song originally released in 1979, Christopher Cross's "Sailing". — Dan Warburton, The Wire

An interesting and diverse compilation. "The musicians who have taken part in this compilation have probably unconsciously tapped into the memory of the forbidden 80s, making it re-emerge under the tepid light of their computers, with an eye owards contemporaneity yet conscious of their past." (Press Release). varied goodies here. all taking an influence off the eighties. warm digital pulsetexture, an openness to sound and rhythm. T he cd opens with more directly engaging jams kinda track, 'legwarmers', moving into claustrophobic new romantic acid bleep territory, 'bubiacid' (Betreib). Things get more abstract later with tracks by Minamo-|Shining out now on 12k-and 'talk' by Steno-Frank Metzger (ex-Oval) and colleagues Rossano Polidoro and Emiliano Romanelli (Tu M')– a mixture of form, melody and glitch that makes me think of Pollock: rhythmically stacatto, and exacting, the tempo also cycles around, waxing and waning, pitching, quite organic with obvious acoustic sounds sources (guitar). http://tum.com/STENO this more considered context continues with a track by Sergej Mohntau, a duo, producing 'Life Ain't Always The Way',. again utilising acoustic samples, but within a more abstract process. from the press release it sounds like these two people, Jurgen Berlakovich and Thomas Pfeffer, operate as a kind of Dr.Rockitt outfit, "figures such as the window, battery run toys and self-made computers all play both visual and acoustical roles in our performances. The result is a common sound generated from both analog and digitals sources which is encased in a dramaturgical concept based on the animality of the body, mechanics, electricity and electronics." www.sergeimohntau.net Scanner follows, with soulfull, elastic electro, 'Glittery Plastic'. Greg Davis, acoustic number, soundstage different, but melodies and rhythm there. vocal too… topped and tailed by some more familiar electronic texture, could be Fennesz: the track drops out into a kindof pause: point and counterpoint: which then leads into the next track well, like an intro… Tu M's 'Polaroid 84' propagates beauty, keening around, dancing, the movement is a very central theme here due to the nature of the composition, micro and macro, beats and phosphorescent flutterings, mixed with some sublime piano markings. Stephan Mathieu's track 'Heller Raum' follows Tu m': point and counterpoint again, movement and rest. — Ben Guiver, Dogmanet.org

This spring the music world is experiencing an offensive of European mp3 labels. While the French Autres Directions presents the first "proper CD" after a series of download-for-free releases, Italian minimalists Tu'M have entered the real world with a nice little compilation from the new Mr. Mutt label. The tracks are dedicated to the music of the 1980s, talking about which "has been considered a sort of taboo", hence the title. But rather than merely trying to create electronic music with an '80s taste, the 13 international arists featured on the compilation express in their pieces the immeasurable influence that culture had on their music, while keeping everything on a very cutting-edge level. Results vary from folky ambient (including Greg Davis' cover of a Christopher Cross song) to experimental electronica and straight electro pop, and it's fun to try and locate the details in which the '80s are reflected in each of the pieces. ***** — Andreas, Real Tokyo

The idea behind Forbidden 80's is to take a decade of music that is often frowned upon but secretly loved worldwide and give it a new twist. New and established artists from around the world come together to contribute tracks that, while they are distinctly modern, draw influence from the music the 80's brought us. Amongst those contributing tracks are Scanner, Mapstation, Jason Forrest, Greg Davis and Stephan Mathieu alongside some lesser known artists. Kicking things off is Jason Forrest with ‘Leg Warmers’; a deranged cut and paste experiment utilising various samples mixed with weird electronic effects and other digital mayhem. Changing direction completely is a dubby house track with catchy analogue melodies called ‘Bubiacid’ by Betrieb that gets more addictive with every listen. Minamo's ‘FM Tokyo’ is a gently floating ambient track with occasional clicks and guitar notes that is thoroughly soothing and tranquil. Returning more to the more frantic style of the opener is ‘Talk’ by Steno which is, like Forrest's track, a manic hyperactive experiment with acoustic guitar loops and cut up voice samples. Forbidden 80's already proves its credentials as a diverse mix of music styles and interpretations around the theme covering everything from melodies, rhythms, ambience, experimentation and cut-ups – and that is just in the first third of the album! Sergej Mohntau offers another varied mix of styles in a single track with ‘Life Ain't Always the Way’; a track that switches backwards and forwards between harrowing ambience, guitar cut-ups and experimental click electronics. Greg Davis turns everything upside down again with the pleasant nautically themed acoustic song ‘Sailing’. He is flanked on either side by Scanner's excellent classic techno anthem ‘Glittery Plastic’ and Tu M' with the fidgety yet fascinating electronics of ‘Polaroid '84’. While Mapstation veers off into digital dub reggae territory with ‘Digikal Masters’, Sogar ventures into high frequency click ambience and HDJ Tom opts for 8–bit computer blips and bleeps with a touch of buzzing bass. If that wasn't diverse enough, Stephan Mathieu presents a meditative tonal driftscape entitled ‘Heller Raum’ while, in complete contrast, the album closer ‘Suds’ by Nathan Michel is a playful novelty electro-pop track that features a vocalist not that dissimilar to Damon Albarn of Blur/Gorillaz/The Good, the Bad and the Queen fame. Forbidden 80's is a wide-ranging compilation covering an eclectic range of musical styles, almost all essentially electronically based, and most people should find something of some interest amongst the 13 tracks on offer. Quality varies as always with compilations and this one is particularly diverse but standout tracks are Scanner's ‘Glittery Plastic’ and ‘Bubiacid’ by Betrieb. For those more into mellow ambience and drones, Stephan Mathieu's ‘Heller Raum’ is also worthy of a mention. — Paul Lloyd, Igloo Magazine

According to the press text, to say that one loves the the music eighties, is usually something to be ashamed of. Don't know why this is, but I have no trouble saying that at least 75% of all music on my ipod is filled with music from that decade (and maybe less than 10% with music you read about in Vital Weekly, to compare these things). When I travel I like to hear crap? Ok, so it's not really Duran Duran or Kajagogoo (or how on earth one spells that), but still a fair portion of say Depeche Mode and Ultravox. I love the eighties! The people collected on this compilation are probably all old enough to listen to music in the eighties, I must say I don't get this tribute very much. The music is all quite alright. From ambiance's from Minamo or Stephan Mathieu, or the microdisco of Betrieb and Scanner, or the more icrosounding stuff by Tu M' (who organized this bunch). Again according to the press-blurb, "the 80s have influenced electronic music more than what one can believe, through the rediscovery of melody", and these contributions should reflect that. Maybe my expectations were wrong, and I thought I would get a bunch of rip off eighties songs, tribute or satire, but in fact there is only one here: Greg Davies covers 'Sailing' by Christopher Cross, and follows the original quite nicely (without liking the original very much, I must admit). So it's hard to trace back the influences from the eighties in this compilation, but that doesn't mean that I don't like the compilation. It's a nicely varied plate with a bite for everyone under the electronic sun. — Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly

Un passaggio che ci aspettavamo per la Mr.Mutt (dai cdr ai cd). Non poteva esser compiuto in maniera migliore. Chiamando a raccolta una schiera di musicisti e sperimentatori d'alto profilo. Il dato di partenza è la ricerca, l'investigazione sugli anni ottanta, infanzia dell'elettronica nel quotidiano, campo di battaglia fra melodia, ritmo ed innovazione dei suoni. Esercizio non futile, eseguito davvero con garbo e proprietà dalla gran parte degli autori. Anche nelle proposte più 'ammicanti', quelle di Jason Forrest 'Donna Summer', o di Greg Davies, ad esempio (che re-interpreta Sailing di Christopher Cross). I toni sono sempre mantenuti sobri, evitando revisionismi posticci ed eccessi di criticismo. I giapponesi Minamo, Scanner, Mapstation, Sergej Monthau, Stephen Mathieu, Nathan Michel, fra gli altri, completano il quadro delle partecipazioni, architettate dai Tu m' – Rossano Polidoro ed Emiliano Romanelli. — Aurelio Cianciotta, Neural.it

…la conoscenza dei Minamo in Italia è dovuta, in larga misura, ai tu m' che ne hanno intuito fin dalgli inizii le potenzialità – e hanno inteso l'incanto racchiuso nella loro musica – dandogli spazio a più riprese nella compilation on line '’Tu Mp3’ e, infine, pubblicandogli un disco nell'etichetta di CD-R Mr.Mutt. Oggi che la Mr.Mutt compie il salto di categoria e passa dal CD-R al CD, proprio con questa compilation tirata in un migliaio di copie, i Minamo restituiscono stima e gentilezza, nonostante lo spirito della raccolta non mi sembri particolarmente consono al loro stile, attraverso la presenza in scaletta con un brano. Nella presentazione alla compilation, dedicata alla disco music degli anni '80, i tu m' stessi scrivono che 'Over the past few years, mentioning music from the eighties, and particularly electronic pop and its many derivations, has been considered a sort of taboo, something you should really be ashamed of. As a result, we have learnt to secretly disguise the enjoyment of listening to certain songs, sing along to the words under our breaths, lower our voices even more when the wind of radical cutting-edge criticism, which has conceitedly liquidated certain intuitions of 80s pop, is perceived around us'. Che i tu m' avessero a cuore questo tema era chiaro fin da quando lo avevano trattato in una pagina importante della loro discografia, qual è ‘tu m' And The Magical Mystery Orchestra’, ma ‘The Forbidden 80s’ rappresenta un evidente passo in avanti poiché, oltre a quello dei Minamo, schiera il contributo di altri musicisti sicuramente 'non allineati' rispetto alla materia in questione: Scanner, Stephan Mathieu, Sogar… Accanto ad essi sono rappresentate tutta una serie di posizioni, fino a quella estrema di Jason Forrest che appare intrigato dalla disco-music degli anni Ottanta fin nello pseudonimo con cui si è affermato (Donna Summer). Fra gli altri protagonisti della raccolta, tutti di rango, ci sono ben due presenze dei padroni di casa, sia come tu m' sia come Steno (progetto che condividono con l'ex Oval Frank Metzger). Personalmente non sono abbastanza esperto in materia da poter condividere o confutare le tesi dei tu m'. Posso solo dire che la compilation è ben fatta e interessante e, quel che più conta, mi ha enormemente divertito. E non solo nei momenti in cui le interpretazioni si sono allontanate di più dal modello originale, ma pure quando lo svolgimento è stato più conforme al tema dato, come nel gioiello firmato proprio da Jason Forrest o nei contributi di Betrieb, Sergej Mohntau, Hdj Tom, Scanner, Steno, Mapstation e Nathan Michel, se non nella reinterpretazione dell'arcinota Sailing di Christopher Cross offerta da Greg Davis. Un giudizio indubbiamente positivo, quindi, e attendiamo le prossime uscite per comprendere con più precisione come la Mr.Mutt intende schierarsi nel panorama delle etichette indipendenti. — Etero Genio, Sands-zine.com

I giudizi sul contributo degli anni '80 all'evoluzione della musica popolare sono vari e contrastanti ma va riconosciuto che, qualunque sia la nostra opinione al proposito, l'elettro-pop esploso all'inizio della decade ha lasciato una sua duratura impronta sulle relazioni tra musica e nuove tecnologie. I pescaresi Tu M', già coordinatori sul loro sito web di collaborazioni ad alto livello, hanno pensato di porger tributo ai "piaceri proibiti" degli '80 coi lavori in tema di una dozzina di sperimentatori internazionali. Evitando la scorciatoia della cover, fatta eccezione per Sailing di Christopher Cross omaggiata da Greg Davis, costoro rivisitano in stilizzzate vesti digitali le pulsazioni e i lustrini dell'electro vintage (Jason Forrest aka Donna Summer, Betrieb, Scanner, Mapstation, ecc.) o ne destrutturano le modalità in sfarfallate glitch-pop (Tu M', Steno, Sogar…). Una gradevole antologia che ha anche una sua piena ragione d'essere. — Vittore Baroni, Rumore Magazine

Jason Forrest, Minamo, Greg Davis, Sergej Monthau, Stephen Mathieu, Nathan Michel sono alcuni tra i musicisti invitati nella nuova compilaton The Forbidden 80s della Mr.Mutt Records. Rossano Polidoro ed Emiliano Romanelli appaiono particolarmente proteiformi e impegnati non solo come produttori e critici (n.d.r molto efficaci le note allegate al cd), ma anche come musicisti e pronti, inoltre, al debutto a tre con Frank Metzeger e il progetto Steno. Il concept che sostiene l'intera operazione si fonda su una consapevolezza generazionale di conciliare due tra le anime caratteristiche della contemporaneità: sperimentazione e conservazione della forma, dialettica, in parte, derivabile dal ventre degli anni '80, quando, l'elettronica si sviluppò al livello pop e rock ritrovando la melodia ed il ritmo. I Tu m' adottano una regia che sa abilmente gestire l'eterogeneità stilistica dei musicisti invitati intessendo tra loro una sequenza ricca di imprevedibili sbalzi umorali. — Marco Altavilla, Exibart

Biographies

Jason Forrest makes music under the moniker Donna Summer. He has released records in the US, the UK, EU, and Japan. He has been featured in periodicals such as The Wire, XLR8R, Crash, Muzik, The Village Voice, Go mag, Grooves, De:Bug, and Vice. His music is a combination of stadium rock, 70's disco, electro-acoustics and hair metal. His live shows are intense participatory events of fast music, bad dancing, and the occasional shattered laptop. His albums is released on Sonig and Irritant. www.cockrockdisco.com

Betrieb wellknown for his work on Klang Elektronik, as Autopoieses on Mille Plateaux, his Ekkehard Ehlers Plays… series on Staubgold and März on Karaoke Kalk. Betrieb signs his digital sound-sketches sometimes very concrete and rock, sometimes kind of abstract, in a classical music style, sometimes more playful, simply following his very own interpretation of DeepHouse. www.myspace.com/betrieb

Minamo born in 1999, the electro-acoustic group was formed by Keiichi Sugimoto and Tetsuro Yasunaga. In 2000, Minamo's self-released CD-R Wakka was reissued by the New York label Quakebasket. This was selected Matmos' one of best sounds in 2001 on Wire magazine. In 2001, made first appearance in New York. Yuiichiro Iwashita (guitar) and Namiko Sasamoto (sax, organ) has joined. In 2002, first CD album .kgs has released by the Tokyo label 360 Records. Made first appearance in Chicago. “ Superb Japanese experimental group ” (Chicago Readers). www.cubicmusic.com

Steno is a trio formed in 2003 by Frank Metzger, Rossano Polidoro and Emiliano Romanelli; where they explore a personal world made up of second-hand music. www.tu-m.com/Steno

Sergej Mohntau was conceived in 1999 by Jürgen Berlakovich and Thomas Pfeffer. Concerts and performances are based on a combination of music, speech, estures, and optical impressions which result in a special form of music theatre. Sergej Mohntau uses computer manipulations to transform noises generated from objects not usually associated with music into musical sounds – and thus transforms the objects themselves into instruments. Figures such as the e-window and the rubber glove bagpipes, the jack-of-all-trades double bass, manipulated human voices, body parts, battery run toys and selfmade computers all play both visual and acoustical roles in our performances. The result is a common sound generated from both analog and digital sources which is encased in a dramaturgical concept based on the animality of the body, mechanics, electricity, and electronics. www.sergejmohntau.net

Scanner is the British sound artist, Robin Rimbaud – creates absorbing, multi-layered soundscapes that twist technology in unconventional ways. His controversial early work used scanned mobile phone conversations which he wove into his compositions, and more recently his focus has shifted to trawling the hidden noise of the modern metropolis as the symbol of the place where hidden meanings and missed contacts emerge. Winning admiration from Bjork and Stockhausen, Scanner is committed to working with cutting edge practitioners and has collaborated with musicians Bryan Ferry and Laurie Anderson, Rambert Dance and Random Dance Company, writers David Toop and Simon Armitage, the artist Mike Kelley, among many others. As well as producing compositions and audio CDs, his diverse body of work includes soundtracks for films, performances, radio, and site-specific intermedia installations. www.scannerdot.com

Greg Davis is a musician based in Chicago. As an undergraduate at DePaul University in Chicago, Greg Davis studied classical and jazz guitar alongside composition and jazz studies. At the moment work for the integration of laptop processing and acoustic instrumentation for label like CarparkKrankywww.autumnrecords.net

TU M' is an Italian duo – Rossano Polidoro and Emiliano Romanelli – whose moniker is taken from Marcel Duchamp's last painting Tu m' – have deservedly risen to prominence recently with celebrated works on Phthalo, Fallt, Cut, ERS/Staalplaat. Frequent collaborators – they have released works with Steve Roden and recently formed a new group titled Steno with Frank Metzger (ex Oval) – the duo also have numerous tracks on compilations like Apestaartje, Bottrop Boy, CubicFabric… In addition to their work as musicians, Polidoro and Romanelli work as Video Artists and curate both the web-based label Tu M'p3 and label Mr Mutt. www.tu-m.com

Stephan Mathieu is an electronic musician from Saarbruecken, Germany. Starting out as a drummer in various improvised contexts he made the switch to working mainly with computers in the late 90's. Since then he has released a string of highly acclaimed recordings on labels like Ritornell, Orthlorng Musork, Häpna and Headz. From his interest in design and work with installations he has acquired a fine-tuned sense of form. His music is based on recordings of acoustic instruments and esotheric software processes. www.bitsteam.de

Hdj Tom aka Tamas Szoke was born in Miskolc, Hungary, 1968. He made music by himself, with others, in different groups. In 1995 he and his friend, Golden Sztaniol formed The Golden Army band. Their first and second album came out in 2000 (Egomachine) and 2001 (Masters), released by Ucmg/Ugar records. Hdj Tom's first solo album, Taste was released in 2003 at American records Inflatabl Labl. In 2005 Hdj Tom founded Hdjcdr mini label, which released his new album True of False. www.hdjtom.hu

Mapstation is Stefan Schneider, lives and works in Duesseldorf. Member of Düsseldorf/Berlin trio To Rococo Rot. Recording as Mapstation since 1999. Records on: Staubgold, Domino, Karaoke KalkMapstation's music is closer to minimalist techno, but brings the euphoria of the genre together with charming slow-downs of pace and bpm. www.mapstation.de

Sogar aka Jürgen Heckel, was born in Nuremberg in 1970 and has been living in Paris for 10 years. Thus Jürgen manipulates accidental sounds to create light and fragile melodic textures. The sources of these arrangements are guitars as well as sounds from mixing consoles, amplifiers, cables or other aural finds. These sounds are then reworked on a computer to become a music made of cracklings, creakings and rich melodic oscillations exploring the extremes of the sound pectrum by associating acoustic technique and software. His work is released on 12k and Mr Mutt. www.monohr.com

Nathan Michel makes music in both the classical and rock traditions. His debut album of melodic, lo-fi electronic music entitled abc def was released in 2002 on Tigerbeat6 records, and he performs live with computer, keyboards, voice, and other instruments. Currently a Ph.D. composition fellow at Princeton University, Nathan has also studied with Elliott Schwartz at Bowdoin College, with Louis Andriessen in Amsterdam, and at Yale University with Ezra Laderman and Martin Bresnick. Recognition for his work has come from Yale, Bowdoin, Ascap, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters from whom he received a 2002 Charles Ives Scholarship. His interests range from the concision and rhythmic vitality of Stravinsky to the poetic ramblings of Captain Beefheart, and some things in between. Dear Bicycle, Nathan's second record for Tigerbeat6 was released in July 2003, and a recording of his live performances entitled Trebly will be out October 2003 on the Italian label Mr Mutt. A new album for 2005 coming out on Skipp/Sonig. www.nathanmichel.com