**Reissue update below** Incredibly crucial post-punk/diy split 7". Not only is this the first record on the highly sought after label Le Rey, it is also the first recorded work of Robert Haigh (that I know of).Truth Club consisted of Robert Haigh and Trevor Reidy. Their contribution to this 7" is one of just two tracks they appear to have released. The other, To the Nile Sister, appeared on the United Dairies compilation - Hoisting the Black Flag, which Mutant Sounds has kindly posted here.
Fote, consisting of Haigh & Reidy from Truth Club, and augmented by Deborah Harding, were a bit more prolific (but not much). In addition to this 7", Fote released two EPs (Perfect Sense & Shaking the House) in 1981, both on Le Rey. If anyone wants to see these EPs posted, leave a comment!
Robert Haigh is probably the most familiar name here. After Fote & Truth Club, Haigh went on to record under his own name and as Sema for various labels like Le Rey, L.A.Y.L.A.H. and United Dairies. After a brief hiatus, Haigh re-emerged in the early 90's with a drastic genre switch as a drum & bass artist, most notably Omni Trio, Splice, London Steppers.
Trevor Reidy contributed percussion on recordings by Nurse with Wound, Danielle Dax, Shock Headed Peters, Chrystal Belle Scrodd and The Monochrome Set.
As for the music:
Fote - Lemon Kittens is a good comparison, off-kilter rhythms, discordant guitars, creaking female vocals.
Truth Club - Post punk w/ vocals similar to Two Daughters/Five or Six, basically music that could have fit on early Factory or Cherry Red (odd-rhythm drums eventually build into a snare-heavy march with guitar, piano and restrained brass squeals).
UPDATE (3/26): This 7", along with the other Le Rey releases are due to be reissued by Seal Pool out of Japan, and they have kindly agreed to allow this post to stay up. I encourage everyone who downloads this file to support the artist and label and purchase the reissues when they are released.
First up in the series is not a reissue, but a collection of new material. Robert Haigh and Silent Storm - From the Air will be released in an edition of 500 copies, 100 of which as a special edition with a bonus CD-R. There are two tracks available here to preview. They are future release and Evolution Crawls. I have to say that Evolution Crawls is a beautiful track - I'm really looking forward to this CD.
The first reissue will likely be Robert Haigh - A Waltz in Plain C, which these days seems to be harder to find than any of the other Le Rey titles (despite being the most recently released). Even though it features Haigh performing solo piano and doesn't fit the mold of 'difficult' listening like other Le Rey titles (or his label mates from United Dairies/L.A.Y.L.A.H.), it is a breath-taking collection of music.
Right now, while listening to this CD for the first time in around 10 years, I am in awe of how Haigh created pieces so simple with their minimal and restrained instrumentation that I still instantly remember the melodies building, drifting and playing off each other...
Enjoy.
9 comments:
Hi David,
Great post! Thank you. I really like this split 7".
It would be a treat to hear also the Perfect Sense and Shaking the House EPs, if you ever decide to post those as well.
Hope you had a nice weekend and thanks again.
-OTM
OTM: I was about to post the Fote EPs, the 'A Waltz in Plain C' CD and what I have from Sema.
Since these are due to be reissued, I wil refrain and hope that everyone will purchase them instead.
Glad you like the 7" - I can say the two EPs will be well worth waiting for...
David,
I didn't want you to miss this...
Agata Morio - Norimono Zukan, 1979, Vanity, Japan
I hope you come back with some new posts soon! (It's been a slow week for my blog too).
I'm having internet connectivity issues, but they should be resolved within the next day or two.
-OTM
OTM - thanks for the heads-up. I was eventually going to post this one as well. Looks like it is one more I can check off the list, so to speak...
Will have 2 or 3 posts finished on Sunday to make up for the slow week...
*+*
Where are the Robert Haigh reissues?
Anymore RH or Sema greatly appreciated.
Thanks also for this
X
X - I would check with either of the Seal Pool links in the post for status.
Thank's a lot for this fantastic work.
I have been serching for R. Haigh works for a long time. It would be fantastic if you post also two EPs by Fote (Perfect Sense & Shaking the House).
Great blog!
Alex
Very cool! (And rare as hell!)
Do you have another Le Rey artifacts?
Any chance of posting the two FOTE EPs? It's been a few years now and no sign of them being reissued. Great blog BTW!
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