Category Archives: Music

Pestrepeller’s Isle of Dark Magick

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Free improvised noise from the deep UK Underground, enriched with dark pagan folky vibe and horror/supernatural elements. Dedicated to HP Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith and Austin Osman Spare.

For this 2001 recording, the core Pesterepeller trio of Savage Pencil, Ed Pinsent and Harley R were joined by vocal artiste Rob Brown and Peter Hope-Evans of Medicine Head.

“…an oppressively dark slab of freestyle Improv recorded in a single session… the epic sprawl and sustained impact of the music retain an undiluted potency.”
– Tom Ridge, The Wire

About Pestrepeller

Pestrepeller (or Attack Wave Pestepeller, to give them their full moniker) specialise in a unique brand of detailed and noisy improvised music inspired by the occult.

The core of the band is a trio of Ed Pinsent – cartoonist (Illegal Batman, Windy Wilberforce, Drake Ullingsworth), Sound Projector radio show and magazine – Harley R – publisher and editor of Ugly Mug comic – and Savage Pencil – punk cartoonist (Sounds, NME, The Wire) and designer of album covers and t-shirts for bands such as Sonic Youth, The Fall, Sunn O))) and Rocket from the Crypt. The core trio are sometimes joined by honorary pests such as Sharon Gal, Peter Hope Evans, Rob Brown and Gary Ramon.

Pestrepeller have performed at the ICA and the Equinox ‘Festival of Scientific Illumination’. Recordings include Insect and Rodent Eliminator (Sympathy for the Devil records), Nug Yar (Prescription), The Cruel Sea (a collaboration with the Chelsea Magrigal Group), Isle of Dark Magic (Important Records), As Wolf (a split release picture disc with My Cat Is An Alien), Noises for the Leg, Alphabet of Daggers and Rough on Rats.

About this release

Track listing
1. Mold With a Mind (15:13)
2. No Screeches and Snakes And Deep Dark Menaces (07:15)
3. My Gun Scatters, My Gun Kills (20:18)
4. Dismembered Dead Things (14:54)
5. The Smell of Wet Fur in the Rain (06:05)
6. Teaching the Clouds to be Inverted Flames (12:35)

Recorded at LMC Sound. Released in 2005 on Important Records.

Engineered by Xentos and Lepke B, former members of cult bands The Homosexuals and Milk from Cheltenham. Cover image was supplied by Martin Stone, guitarist with Mighty Baby and Chili Willi and the Red Hot Peppers.

Listen to this excerpt…

Celophrane-wrapped jewel case CD. Long out of print, but the House of Harley has a very small number of copies on sale for £15+ p&p each from our Etsy shop. While stocks last!

Some 21st century pop classics

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This list was compiled while I was preparing to speak at the Battle of Ideas discussion, Is Modern Music Rubbish? Although I was critical about the modern pop industry, I wanted to acknolwedge some songs which prove, to my ears at least, that commercial pop can still come up with the goods now and then.

Click on the links to listen to the songs or immerse yourself in the whole set on this YouTube playlist.

Is modern music rubbish?

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“The Taylor Swifts and Beyonce’s of this world may be able to top the streaming playlists, fill stadiums, generate headlines, hold court to politicians and even awaken dormant economies when their circus comes to town. But outside of their admittedly considerable number of fans, how many of us could name or hum more than one or two of their songs? Or maybe, any of their songs?”

In October I took part in a panel discussion about modern music at the Battle of Ideas festival in London, along with Aaqil Ahmed, Rushabh Haria, Lysia Leal, Leo Villa and chair Andrew Calcutt. You can watch a video of the discussion below.

You can also watch other debates from the Battle of Ideas festival on the Academy of Ideas YouTube channel.

And, for anyone interested in the list I mentioned of great 21st century pop songs, I’ve posted it here.

Pestrepeller’s Noises for the Leg

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“It’s out, it’s out, and only the Lord knows when it’ll be on us all…”

A VERY limited release of Pestrepeller’s unbelievable tribute to the Bonzo Dog Band. The Bonzo’s cod-medieval instrumental miniature, ‘Noises for the Leg’, from their Keynsham LP, is extended, elaborated and transfigured into a thirty minute organ and moog meditation on the horror stories of HP Lovecraft.

About Pestrepeller

Pestrepeller (or Attack Wave Pestepeller, to give them their full moniker) specialise in a unique brand of detailed and noisy improvised music inspired by the occult.

The core of the band is a trio of Ed Pinsent – cartoonist (Illegal Batman, Windy Wilberforce, Drake Ullingsworth), Sound Projector radio show and magazine – Harley R – publisher and editor of Ugly Mug comic – and Savage Pencil – punk cartoonist (Sounds, NME, The Wire) and designer of album covers and t-shirts for bands such as Sonic Youth, The Fall, Sunn O))) and Rocket from the Crypt. The core trio are sometimes joined by honorary pests such as Sharon Gal, Peter Hope Evans, Rob Brown and Gary Ramon.

Pestrepeller have performed at the ICA and the Equinox ‘Festival of Scientific Illumination’. Recordings include Insect and Rodent Eliminator (Sympathy for the Devil records), Nug Yar (Prescription), The Cruel Sea (a collaboration with the Chelsea Magrigal Group), Isle of Dark Magic (Important Records), As Wolf (a split release picture disc with My Cat Is An Alien), Noises for the Leg, Alphabet of Daggers and Rough on Rats.

About this release

Track listing
1. Noises for the Leg (5:29)
2. Noises for the Longer Leg (25:56)

The shorter ‘Noises for the Leg’ first appeared in 2003 for Noises for the Limb – a tribute to the Bonzo Dog Band published by Wood Records. (Listen to the entire album on Mark Wood’s YouTube channel).

‘Noises for the Longer Leg’ appears here for the first time.

Recorded at Mr E Studios North.
Listen to this excerpt…

CD-R. Card cover. MRE-CDR0003.
ULTRA-LIMITED 2023 numbered edition of six.

£5+ p&p from our Etsy shop. While stocks last!

Mystery Dick’s One Note Mind

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Jump aboard the good ship Mystery Dick as it fires up its Marshall amps, sets coordinates on a Vox Continental organ, and hurtles on an unforgettable Fantastic Journey into the mind.

Recorded in 1997, released in 2001, out of print for eons and now reissued in a limited pressing by the House of Harley’s audio imprint, Mr E Discs.

About Mystery Dick

A duo of Ed Pinsent – cartoonist (Illegal Batman, Windy Wilberforce, Drake Ullingsworth), Sound Projector radio show and magazine – and Harley R – publisher and editor of Ugly Mug comic. They are non-musicians who deploy obscure and intuitive methods to create ‘made up music’ and unforgettable sounds.

‘The Dick’ erupted onto the musical landscape back in the mid-1990s with the legendary Volcano Tape, and have performed and recorded sporadically ever since. Albums include One Note Mind, Pensioners Fear Hall, In the City of Violent Giants (recorded live at the Phoenix Arts Centre, Brighton), and Single Angel, a contemplative collaboration with the Chelsea Madrigal Group.

About this release

Track listing
1. One Note Mind (38:11)

Recorded at Mr E Studios, one take no overdubs.
Listen to this excerpt…

CD-R. Card cover. MRE-CDR0001.
ULTRA-LIMITED 2023 numbered edition of six.

£5+ p&p. To purchase a copy, enquire here. While stocks last!

RIP MES: The Wonderful, Frightening and Joyous World of The Fall

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This Friday, I joined Ed Pinsent on The Sound Projector Radio Show to curate a tribute to my musical and personal hero, Mark E Smith, who died this week.  You can hear it on the Sound Projector site.

RIP MES

  1. ‘R.O.D.’
    From Bend Sinister, BEGGARS BANQUET BEGA 75 LP (1986)
  2. ‘Rollin’ Dany’
    From BEGGARS BANQUET BEG 134T 12? (1985)
  3. ‘The Container Drivers’
    From Grotesque After The Gramme (Expanded Edition), CASTLE MUSIC CMRCD883 CD (2004)
  4. ‘Blindness’
    From The Complete Peel Sessions, CASTLE MUSIC CMXBX982 (2005)
  5. ‘Auto-Chip 2014-2016’
    From Sub-Lingual Tablet, CHERRY RED CDBRED 660 (2015)
  6. ‘Impression of J. Temperance’
    From Fall In A Hole, CASTLE MUSIC CMQDD1225 (2006)
  7. ‘Rose’
    From Shift-Work, COG SINISTER / FONTANA 848 594-1 LP (1991)
  8. ‘No Bulbs’
    From Call For Escape Route, BEG 120E 12? (1984)
  9. ‘Mr Pharmacist’
    From Bend Sinister, op.cit.
  10. ‘The Rhinohead’
    From Tromatic Reflexxions, DOMINO WIGCD190 (2007)
  11. ‘Leave The Capitol’
    From Slates, CASTLE MUSIC CMRCD1006 (2004)
  12. ‘Repetition’
    From Early Years 77-79, STEP FORWARD SFLP6 (1981)
  13. ‘M5’
    From Behind The Counter EP, PERMANENT RECORDS / COG SINISTER 12S PERMX13 12? (1993)
  14. ‘Victoria Train Station Massacre’ / ‘New Facts Emerge’
    From New Facts Emerge, CHERRY RED CDBRED 706 (2017)
  15. ‘Pumpkin Soup and Mashed Potatoes’
    From The Unutterable, EAGCD164 CD (2000)
  16. ‘Cruiser’s Creek’
    From BEGGARS BANQUET BEG 150T 12? (1985)
  17. ‘ Theme From: Sparta F.C. #2 ‘
    From ACTION RECORDS TAKE23CD CD SINGLE (2004)
  18. ‘Dedication’
    Unreleased live track
  19. ‘Fantastic Life’
    From Hip Priest And Kamerads, SITUATION TWO SITU13 LP (1985)

All tracks by The Fall, except #10 by Von Südenfed

Mystery Dick on camera

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mysterydick_160930_01

A porcupine whose name was known as knowledge, photographed by Agata Urbaniak.

On Friday 16th of this month, we played our first gig in four years, at Paul Kimasia Morgan’s Aural Detritus night in Brighton. It was an honour to meet and perform on the same bill as fellow improvisers YOAF, Hákarl and our host Paul M.

Here’s some documentary evidence of the event, shot by the talented Agata Urbaniak…

  • Photos of the whole evening,
  • The introduction to our set – a cover of The Making of a Soul by The Residents
  • A video of the rest of our set, including covers of Strangers Die Everyday by Butthole Surfers and Coda by Kramer.