Album Notes

Kevin Harrison Biog. So far 1975 - 1983

1975. I buy a Fender Stratocaster, EMS Synthi AKS and a Revox Tape Recorder, I now have the necessary equipment, I start in earnest to write and record some music, along the way I become good friends with the nascent outfit 'This Heat' in London (I'd met Charles Bullen previously in Nuneaton shortly after I returned, we rehearse a couple of times at The Nags Head with a bass player and two drummers), We swap tapes and spend considerable time listening to lots of interesting music (e.g. Can, Beefheart, Philip Glass, The Residents, Eno, Miles, Sun-Ra, Harry Partch etc.) and on one occasion I get asked if I would record an early gig in a London pub, (this was '76 I think) So I trek down to London with my Revox and a set of headphones and the band literally blow me away. Fantastic! One of the tracks I record (Rainforest) ends up on their debut album, (not released until '79 - the blue and yellow one). Charles Bullen and Charles Hayward visit Lynda and myself in Bedworth and we do some fairly casual recordings, At Gareth's invitation, I also spend a few days in Camberwell playing and recording with This Heat.

1979. I join 'Transposed Men'. (The name comes from a Sci-fi book cover I have glued on the front of an old drum machine) Neol & Brad are friends of mine at this time and the line-up shows great promise - Neol Davies - Guitar and Vocals, John Bradbury - Drums, Desmond Brown - Hammond Organ, Steve Wynne - Bass, and myself on Guitar and Vocals. (I have already recorded a few demos of Neol's songs at Brad's basement cellar in Warwick at an earlier date) Anyway the main bulk of the songs we are playing will become staples in the Selecter's set and feature on their first album. Virgin Records are interested but nothing happens. We split.Neol and Desmond go to Selecter, John to Special AKA, Steve to The Swinging Cats and sometime after that Dexy's Midnight Runners.

1979-1981, I get invited to do a support spot at a birthday party at the 'Rockhouse' in Coventry, The group, 'The Urge' are also playing. Sometime later they ask me to record a rehearsal session. After a few weeks I join them, I play guitar, electric piano, synthesizer and start to introduce some of my songs. We get rid of 'the' and are now just called urge ( * v. encourage or entreat earnestly to do something). David and I have good chemistry. It turns out to be a good song writing team, David writes most of the lyrics, and I compose most of the music.

Also during this period I release a cassette 'On Earth 2' under the 'Ambivalent Scale' umbrella. This is a Nuneaton collective comprising Eyeless In Gaza and Bron Area among others, I feel an immediate affinity with them and record some tracks for Side 1 of Bron Area's 'One Year' cassette. We also try to organise dates where bron/eyeless play with urge or myself whenever possible.

After a series of press reviews and good word-of-mouth for 'On Earth 2', Cherry Red's Mike Alway approaches me to ask if they can release it on their label as an LP. I say yes. After a few overdubs, and a sprinkle of sonic 'ear candy' at Woodbine Studio, it becomes 'Inscrutably Obvious'. I'm quite fond of paradox at this time. The cover for this and the Fly EP are designed by my good friend Mark Osborne and will be featured in an exhibition of 'album sleeve art' at the South Bank, London.

I start performing live locally with my Fender Stratocaster and a tape-delay system, (this consists of two tape recorders, both in 'record' mode, the tape spools from the left (tape deck #1) through two sets of recording heads and is taken up on the right (tape deck #2) the delay is the space between the tape heads, you can then improvise over the top of what you've already played, this is cool as it automatically records the performance). I also record a one minute track for a Japanese label for the compilation album 'Sound Cosmodel' All of the tracks are this length.

Next up is a cassette for Glass Records 'Spectro Verdu est Mort?' (Pretty much a continuation of the 'On Earth 2' type of thing). This is followed by the more commercial 12" EP 'Fly'. This features (besides myself), Lynda on backing vocal, Horace Panter (Specials) on Bass (say no more), and Rick Medlock on Drums. (It also features perhaps the definitive version of the urge song 'inkman') It receives some good reviews in the music press (NME like 'Views of the Rhine) and is played plenty on local radio, but that's about it. Also 'The Wonderful World of Glass'. (a compilation) is released featuring tracks by Pete, Martyn & myself. There is an album scheduled, but never sees the light of day. This is variously listed as 'Neuro -Atomic' and 'Fraudulent Confessions,True Obsessions'

1982-1983. A productive time recording with Steve Parker begins, followed by a concert in France.

Steve & I record a cassette for Illusion Productions, a French avant-garde label. The recording at DNA Studio is relatively quick and we soon have enough music done to complete the project. I suggest 'Against the Light' as a title and we send it to Illusion Productions. They are both involved in Art & Music themselves and design the brown paper envelope for the cassette. Steve is a fine lyricist/songwriter and I'm very happy with the way the collaboration goes. For the final play list we choose an equal balance between Steve's songs and my material. The arrangements are for vocals, casio keyboards, guitar, tape loops and melodica. Personally I think it's quite a unique piece of work.

A few months later we are invited to play a concert in Caen on the sixth of November, as part of the 'Transit Urbain' event, funded to some degree by The French Ministry of Culture.

The night before the concert, we are made very welcome, talking until late about our favourite records and films (They have little English and we have little French, so this seems a reasonably good way to make conversation) The concert goes well (Pascal Comelade, Soft Verdict, Steven Brown (Tuxedo Moon) & Benjamin Lew all play good sets, this, plus films by The Residents are screened, hooray!) We celebrate (with some of the other artists who have played) in the evening and well into the night at our friends apartment. Much bourbon is consumed by myself and Steven Brown!

For more info see my website www.dnastudio.freeserve.co.uk