Album Notes

Cassette Walkman recordings of passers by, vocal sketches, and ambient settings made during walks of the historic cobbled streets of Canterbury UK and nearby locations.

These recordings were then treated and layered, used as vocal lines and sounds and finally merged with electronic rhythms, sequences and other found samples.

With 16 tracks lasting just over half an hour this is music in the vein of Boards of Canada, Scanner and Plaid, with elements and some feel influenced by the likes of 23 Skidoo, Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle.

Originally released in 2004 on Fete Recordings, this version has been re-mastered, re-ordered and given a new cover, for inclusion in the Drey Grade 6 CD Box/Bag set ‘Redoubt (1982-2007)'.

For more about Drey Grade see the Fete Recordings web site or READ ON...

History Section

Drey Grade began I think with clicking clippers and birds tweeting on a hot summer Sunday morning in the garden in 1982 as a solo idea but ended up involving a multigrade of people. The core line-up usually consisted of 2 people concentrating on the sound, and 2 on the visuals. At gigs, burnt and unburnt slides and cut ups of 8mm films were back projected onto tracing paper screens or front projected onto white sheets and generally an angry type noise was made, which seemed to annoy a lot of people most of the time. The recorded output, however, was more introspective and moody, like true serious young men and women with industrial overcoats. Notable gigs - Supporting Strawberry Switchblade in 1983 at The Escape Club in Brighton and early Zap Club events, when it was at the Richmond - more performance pieces at times than conventional gigs. Equipment used (for musos) - Electronic Dream Plant Wasp, original Fostex and Tascam 4-track tape recorders, Sequential Circuits Pro 1, Commodore 64 Ultisynth using the SID sound chip in this computer, Dr. Rhythm drum machine, Syn Drum, home built Powertran digital delay line, Boss DE200 sampling digital delay line, Roland MC202 sequencer, Roland 808 and 909 drum machines, TB303 Bass line, Casio 1000P synth, Roland Juno 6 synth, Alesis Accessit spring reverb- bladibla......

Drey Grade is now once again a solo affair - missing many friends... Sporadic recent releases of old, remastered things and new things in 1999, 2002, 2004. and 2007.