The KLF - Solid State Logik 2

Since we are talking about The KLF, the necessary supplement to their anthems is a collection of remixes and b-sides that will definitely help us stand by The Jamms. Solid State Logik 2 compiles the extended singles and B-sides released on KLF Communications between 1989 and 1992 (and beyond as suggested by the compilation’s subtitle). Following January's Solid State Logik 1 compilation, and last month's Come Down Dawn album, which is a reworked, "pre-mix" version of their 1990 album Chill Out. The KLF's site revealed the reason why they're uploading these albums on streaming platforms, "This appropriation was done in order to tell a story in five chapters using the medium of streaming. The name of the story is SAMPLECITY THRU TRANCENTRAL."
The five chapters include Kick Out The JAMs, Pure Trance Series, Come Down Dawn, Moody Boys Selection, Solid State Logik (Parts 1 & 2). The duo added on their site of the chapters, "There have been rumours of a lost chapter. The five chapters of SAMPLECITY THRU TRANCENTRAL are to be streamed in no particular order between the 1st of January 2021 and some destination in an unknowable future."

The KLF – Arkive 1

Welcome to Saturday lunchtime at TFGC and we’re back with a further KLF bootleg release, Arkive 1. Arkive was a series of unofficial CD-Rs made by fans of The KLF (starting with Mike Dutton), in order to help other fans collect extended & hard-to-find mixes. They were marketed among fan clubs, fanzines, magazines, and mailing lists mainly in the 1990s (starting in 1994, according to Lazlo's discography) and 2000s.

 

The KLF - Solid State Logik 1

Finally available on streaming services, the UK art-pop pranksters’ throwback rave anthems, jock-jam singalongs, and mischievous myth-making prove as enduring as they are audacious.

To be a follower of the KLF is to be a scholar, an acolyte, a digital monk treating zip files like illuminated manuscripts. Trawling forums and message boards for shards of the apocryphal mythos, sifting through various international versions of The White Room and multiple mixes of “3 A.M. Eternal,” finding hidden resonance in the absurdist symbolism of the number 23 or the sudden appearance of ice cream vans. KLF fandom is a secret language and a circle of rituals, intensely ironic but also deadly serious, like the music of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty itself.
2021 opened, entirely unexpectedly, with the quiet release of Solid State Logik 1, a compilation of the KLF’s most heavyweight jams—an unexpected move from the group that fired blanks into the crowd at the 1992 BRIT Awards and then deleted their catalogue. Drummond and Cauty have poked their heads out at various points over the years, most recently in 2017, to pay some kind of respect to the 23rd anniversary of their infamous ritual burning of a million pounds. But this wasn’t some Glastonbury cash-in reunion set; the K Foundation returned as a literal undertaking business, selling a “MuMufication” package to their devotees. For £99, you can purchase a custom-fired brick, which contains a slot for you to insert 23 grams of your ashes upon death; post-mortem, your brick will be joined together forever with other justified, ancient, and hopeful KLF fans in a “People’s Pyramid,” a bizarre but bittersweet literalisation of how deeply music can shape one’s personal identity and relationships. Though music streaming might seem antithetical to the KLF’s anti-establishment mentality, the Solid State Logik compilation serves as a pyramid of its own, a step at preserving their paradigm-shifting experiments for the future. 

The KLF & The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu - Come Down Dawn

The KLF have shared ‘Come Down Dawn’, a new album which sees the influential electronic duo putting a new spin on their 1990 album ‘Chill Out’. Released to streaming services (February 4, 2021), the record sees the band offering a reworked version of the seminal album – with a variety of previously unlicensed samples being removed from the release. Clocking in at 38 minutes, the 12 tracks take their name from a series of concurrent road trips across America – beginning with ‘Brooklyn to Atlantic City’ and finishing with ‘San Rafael to Mexico City’. The samples and sampling technique the KLF employed are a large part of Chill Out’s mythos. Notably absent from Come Down Dawn are the prominent Elvis Presley samples. Below is the full statement from the website
    Come Down Dawn was released on the 4th of February 2021.
    Come Down Dawn is a Drive by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu.
    A Drive is a journey in the head.
    The Drive took them from the Reverend Doctor Wade’s tabernacle in Brooklyn, New York to the Mesoamerican Pyramids near Mexico City.
    The Drive lasted just over a period of 43 hours.
    The Drive ended as dawn began to break on Sunday the 4th of February 1990.
    Come Down Dawn by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu is also a pre-mix of Chill Out released by The KLF on the 5th of February 1990.
    Come Down Dawn was released the day before Chill Out, but 31 years later.
    All tracks were recorded live at Trancentral in late 1989 by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, featured guests include Evil Graham Lee on the pedal steel guitar, the Unknown Tuvan Shepherd on throat singing and the Reverend Doctor Wade on spiritual guidance.

2K – F#ck The Millennium

Fuck The Millennium is a one-off comeback single to celebrate the crapness of comebacks, released under the short-lived 2K alias. Bill Drummond’s 45 features a lengthy first-hand retelling of the how’s and why’s. The A side is basically an absolutely epic version of "What Time Is Love" with Bill Drummond chanting "Fuck the millennium, we want it now" and a totally over the top middle section with a Welsh choir singing some hymn while someone gives a sermon/rant. The track itself is built around The KLF’s What Time Is Love? and the cover version by Jeremy Deller’s Acid Brass as performed by the Williams Fairey Band who also reprised their performance for the recording of the single. The B side features the Acid Brass version of "What Time Is Love" which is brilliant. I'm actually mildly surprised KLF didn't come up with the Acid Brass idea before Jeremy Deller. "What Time is Love" definitely lent itself to Acid Brass more than some of the other tunes they did on that album (though "Voodoo Ray" was the best I think).

The KLF - The White Room (The Directors Cut)

The White Room (Director’s Cut) is the fourth entry in the Samplecity Thru Trancentral series, released on all major streaming services on 23 April 2021. It is the first chapter not explicitly announced on the original flyposter. The Director’s Cut is meant to fill a historic gap between the scrapped movie soundtrack and the later commercial album, presenting an alternate unreleased version of The White Room completed in 1989. Since this version predates the 1991 release it does not include some of the later tracks, most notably of course the later radio versions of What Time Is Love? and 3 a.m. Eternal as they had not been recorded at that point in history. It does, however, feature the original versions of Go To Sleep and The Lover’s Side (or edits thereof) as well as the previously promo-only Madrugada Eterna (Club Mix Edit).

‘’THE WHITE ROOM – Director’s Cut by The KLF is not The White Room album that was released globally by The KLF in various formats with various track listings in 1991. Nor was it a version of the same album not completed or released in 1989.

THE WHITE ROOM – Director’s Cut by The KLF is a version of The White Room that was completed but not released in 1990.

THE WHITE ROOM – Director’s Cut by The KLF was constructed in various recording studios by The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu, between early 1989 and sometime in 1990.

THE WHITE ROOM - Director's Cut Flyposter.’’

The KLF - Chill Out

With no hit singles and no discernible songs to speak of, Chill Out was the sound of people and spirits drifting along the coast of America. One of the most influential albums of 90s electronica, floating in and out of this 45-minute, continuous mix were melodies that would pop up in the duo’s later work, like the chorus from Justified & Ancient and the orchestral breakdown from Last Train To Trancentral. A host of samples were used like a palette to paint an imaginary Technicolor motion picture, with snippets of Elvis Presley’s In the Ghetto, Fleetwood Mac’s Albatross and Acker Bilk’s Stranger On The Shore underpinning the whole thing and adding an eerie continuity to proceedings. Excerpts from the classic-pop canon, which would’ve been very much at the forefront of Drummond and Cauty’s DJ boxes in 1990, included After The Love by Boy George’s Jesus Loves You project and Pacific State by The KLF’s electro contemporaries 808 State.

The KLF - The White Room

After the incredible success of their "Doctorin' the Tardis" single in 1988 (better known as that theme from Dr. Who), Drummond and Cauty had plenty of money to hire talented musicians (instead of merely sampling them, as on their early recordings). The White Room is the result, an album bursting with hit singles that nevertheless flows as well as any concept album. Often overlooked as a classic from the acid house era (mostly because of the KLF's retirement one year later), The White Room represents the commercial and artistic peak of late-'80s acid-house.

The KLF - MU (Japan)

MU is a Japanese exclusive 5-track mini album. A possible remix version was listed at one point but was never finished, though rough demos of an alternate Make It Rain remix eventually appeared almost 25 years later. MU is one of the very few CD releases including the extended version of Last Train To Trancentral, and the only place to find the full unmixed UK version of Make It Rain on CD. Despite the different running times Justified And Ancient and 3 A.M. Eternal (Live At The S.S.L.) are the standard versions, though the tracks on this release are slightly pitched down, resulting in longer track lengths.

The KLF - Make It Rain 12”Promo

Welcome all to Sunday’s KLF post and today we’re introducing the 1992 scheduled but unreleased 12” single Make It Rain. Originally released in Feb 1991 as a 12” sampler single for The White Room album, the two track disc contained the album versions including the near 9 and a half minute version of No More Tears on the B’side. This bootleg 12” released as Lost Trance differs greatly with a near 8 minute rendition of Make It Rain on one side and an extended instrumental version on the other. Released in batches of 50 pressings this is currently for sale on Discogs for £199.00…bite me

The KLF - 3 A.M. Eternal (The KLF Present The Moody Boys Selection)

Welcome to Sunday lunch times KLF post from last Sunday that was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. Yes it’s the old adage, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…it’s most probably a duck; release number xxx of a hit single with some additional fucking around to enhance or destroy the original, released in such limited quantities that no one has a chance to buy a copy, yet here it is, again. I don’t really know what to say about the release, so here’s some background on the Moody Boys.

The Moody Boys were closely linked with The KLF; and in particular with KLF member Jimmy Cauty, until the KLF's retirement in 1992, but it is not known whether Cauty was ever officially a member of the Moody Boys or merely a close collaborator. The Moody Boys' original releases were complemented by duties as the "in-house" remixers of The KLF's hit singles "3 a.m. Eternal", "What Time Is Love?" and "Last Train to Trancentral". In each case, The Moody Boys' mixes were released on separate 12"s to the charting singles, in 1990 and 1991.

The KLF - America What Time Is Love

For those who pay attention to detail, yes I’ve featured this single before, but as with all KLF releases, this one is slightly different. Today we have the usual radio mix…blah blah blah…but there is also buried here the full 12” bangin’ mix which makes this ultimately sweet and collectable. Now this might be the last time I feature What Time Is Love (America) because I don’t have any further versions, but…as with all things KLF (JAMS), who knows what is still out there. But don’t worry dear reader; there are many more KLF posts to come, different versions, compilations and some albums included. Remember to set your alarm for 12.00 midday (London GMT) every Sunday for the next four months…it’s gonna get chilled out and relaxed.

The KLF - Last Train To Trancentral (Meets The Moody Boys Uptown)

Yeah folks, it’s that time again where we get to begin another overcast Sunday morning with yet another KLF release from my wee, but not insignificant, collection of odds and sods by the boys. Today it’s the 12″ only remixes of the Last Train To Trancentral (Live From The Lost Continent) version by The Moody Boys. As with previous Moody Boys singles both the 808Bass and 120 Rock Steady mix bear little to no resemblance of the original track, with the former featuring Maxine Harvey’s vocals from the refrain of the unreleased Go To Sleep. Both mixes open with the spoken line “Metaluna is another planet quite like the earth…” which is a reference to the 1950’s science fiction movie This Island Earth (though the sample is actually taken from the LP Themes From Horror Movies by Dick Jacobs, as is the recurring “parties and party music” sample featured in the 808Bass Version). The Mu D. Vari-Speed version is basically the Pure Trance Remix 1 speeding up and slowing down throughout the whole track.

The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu - It's Grim Up North

This was right in the peak era of acid house madness in the UK, a time of great tabloid hysteria about this untameable new social phenomenon. A lot of new forms of dance music were emerging, and a lot of them probably sounded like alien mind control propaganda to the conservatives of the time. This 10 minute beast of a track draws on everything mechanical, terrifying, transhuman about that era, and turns it freakier. The fact of the matter is, techno was always a reaction to the direction the world was going at the time. If there was any conceivable way to make something like this in any of the prior industrial revolutions, I'm sure somebody would have, but only in the late 20th century did human technology reach the point where this was possible. So here's a big long gauntlet of a tune, drawing on the stereotype that the north of the UK is brutally inhospitable to live in, throwing in a weirdly chaotic riff and all kinds of twisted sounds...

The KLF / The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu - Down Town 12”

Perhaps the pinnacle of Drummond and Cauty's early messy sampledelic satires, this one actually has a beat that doesn't fall apart, and the titular plagiarism is even tasteful (no pitch-shifted Beatles here). What really pushes this into the stratosphere is the mixture of joy, sadness, commercialism, cynicism, optimism, and beauty. The ecstatic choir and Drummond's anger and Petula's awe and then the pounding house rhythms and the violent scratches and the distant sirens... In the meantime, "Down Town" was The JAMs' and KLF Communications' final release of 1987, a 7" and 12" single release on 30 November. The song is gospel music driven by house music rhythms but thankfully it did not enter the UK Singles Chart, yet it did make inroads into the UK independent chart. "Down Town" was the second of The JAMs' three 1987 singles to become NME "single of the week". The British music paper called it "One massive hell-hating holler of a song", and concluded: "The JAMs may not be the hippest, sanest or sweetest band to stalk the Earth this year but they're certainly the most imaginative ... They've fired a musical trail so shocking they couldn't have kept you more on your toes if they'd stuffed a hand grenade up your ass and sent you out to tap dance in a pair of stilettos".

The KLF - Justified & Ancient

Welcome along to Sunday midday’s KLF post. I originally posted this lil gem of a single a while back, but I thought I’d revive it, dust it off and go again. This is the KLF (Justified Ancients of Mu Mu) at their peak (imho) and they could make some good tunes though, of which "Justified and Ancient" is maybe the best. Having existed in various forms for most of the duo's time together (and being something of a totemic track, with The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu one of their various pseudonyms), it's the 1991 single version you'll want to listen to; it's upbeat, with touches of gospel and vaguely world musical sounds, a good beat, a Hendrix lick on the chorus, and Tammy Wynette's vocals (and the accompanying "Stand By Your Man" nod) making it a great pop song. The average lifespan of a lot of pop music being what it is, it has also aged well; only Ricardo da Force really dates this thing (although even his rap works, it's just his 'hype man' stuff on the choruses which makes the song feel its 30 plus years). On reflection though, it has to be one of the maddest tracks ever released. Who exactly would have thought that Country Music legend Tammy Wynette could be tempted to front an insane dance act and sing lyrics about driving an ice cream van? Did she do it for money or the kudos of fronting the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu? You decide. Either way, it's a thumping great slab of mad techno frivolity and I still love it. 'Tammy, stand by the JAMM’s).' Oh behave.

The KLF - What Time Is Love (Power Remix)

Holy Shit bloggers, I’ve been over worked and underpaid for the past couple of weeks and my time spent typing to you has been put on the very back burner. Still, here’s a little KLF to make your Wednesday afternoon a little less boring.

The 1989 Power Remix single is an exclusive Austrian release of What Time Is Love? featuring remixes by German producer Jürgen Koppers. The single got a timely re-release when the Live At Transcentral version hit one year later, though with huge discrepancies between the projected track list and the actual tracks. Despite being listed none of the 1990 releases seem to feature the full-length version of the Power Remix but the original Pure Trance versions instead. While not featuring the actual 12″ version of the Power Remix, the 1990 CD single is notable for being the only source for the second Pure Trance mix in CD quality apart from the Japanese box set.

The KLF - America, What Time Is Love

Just when you thought it might be safe to pry your nose out of the bunker for a teensy minute the Justified Elders of Mu Mu, that is, the KLF have come out of a distant horizon to assault your eardrums once again! Yes, those delusional, free-thinking conceptualists BILL DRUMMOND aka King Boy D & JIMMY CAUTY aka Rockman Rock (along with a slew of exciting guest names) relaunched their song  “What Time Is Love?” with the America prefixing that was first out 1992 (with a video, shared below) and it’s a feast for rock fans, as it samples “Ace Of Spades” and boasts Staffordshire-born powerhouse rock vocalist Glenn Hughes, as well as snippets from the pivotal rock musicals Hair and J.C.S. to become cybernetic, vibroscopic and typically dancy. Yes, the photovoltaic, submetallic dazzle of “What Time Is Love?” is a consistent & identifiable hymn for these hard, hard times. So get into the wobbly boat, start paddling, and don’t stand up or you’ll capsize the whole damn thing!

The KLF - What Time Is Love (Live At Trancentral)

The version we’re talking about here is officially known as What Time Is Love? (Live At Trancentral) by The KLF featuring The Children Of The Revolution (don’t be fooled by the fake crowd noises – the track wasn’t recorded in concert, the Trancentral of the title referring to the duo’s recording studio). An earlier version of the track – the eight-minute Pure Trance Original – was a stripped-down, pre-rap and pre-hooks edition that appeared a couple of years before but failed to bother the charts on either side of the Atlantic. But the song gradually gnawed away at the consciousness of club-goers and, when reworked into this, the first of the Stadium House, it became the duo’s first and most enduring hit reaching No.5 in the UK in August 1990 (it also hit No.13 on the US dance chart).

The KLF - 3 A.M. Eternal

Hello again…yeah I’m typing directly to you…Happy Easter Sunday to those who worship the god of chocolate eggs and Easter fucking Bunnies (keyboard warriors, do not be offended if your religion is being undermined, I don’t believe in it). Today, in a possible recurring Sunday lunch (depends on your time zone, I know) we have another KLF release. I don’t really have much to say about the boys Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond. If you haven’t already read/listened to their product…WTF are you doing here? This is another banger that you really need in your collection, so stop procrastinating and scratching your genitals and get it downloaded before kicking out time.