Needle Time

  Clock DVA - Buried Dreams [01717-08 DEU 1989 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Here is an album you don't come across too often these days, especially in ultra high resolution.  I've religiously held on to my Clock DVA releases for decades, however obtaining the post-1988 releases on vinyl is not easy. They were never readily available in the UK as Adi Newton chose German, Italian and American labels for DVA releases in the post-Polydor years. We have had many, many hints that Mute Records had done a deal to reissue everything from Thirst onwards, but that idea seems to have completely dried up. The electronic era of the fourth coming of Clock DVA seems to be the most illusive on vinyl and my compact disc originals are quietly gaining value & dust on the shelf. Buried Dreams is a widely appreciated masterpiece of electronic music, so it deserves a high rez rip from an original vinyl pressing. So without further ado...... A1 Buried Dreams A2 Hide A3 Sound Mirror A4 Velvet R...

  The Anti-Group - ShT [SEX 010 UK 1986 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] A few weeks back, I posted the first recordings by Adi Newton's Anti-Group project. These had a very abstract jazz feel and this sound was to develop with each subsequent release. As with most Newton projects, associated musicians were jettisoned with changes in direction, for the first studio mini-album, ShT, Richard H. Kirk, Ian Craig Marsh and Martin Ware are credited with samples and post production. This record is more of a challenging listen when compared to the first live recordings with greater emphasis on drone electronics and shock factor. Further & Evident Meanings is a re-working of the Ha! single, heavy with TV news samples from the eighties, including the harrowing Bradford City football stadium fire. Other tracks borrow from tribal recordings and National Geographic, whereas the two b-side compositions are complex & detailed and very well-recorded electronic works. A sticker on the sleeve states...

  Clock DVA - Transitional Voices [01718-08 DEU 1990 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Transitional Voices was a live document recorded in Bologna, Italy of the fourth version of Adi Newton's Clock DVA. Newton split the more commercial Polydor line-up after a bust-up over a dented trumpet after a gig in Paris during 1983, then became The Anti-Group (or T,A.G.C.) for a series of releases for Sweatbox Records. The DVA brand was rekindled in 1989 with the more electronic Buried Dreams album with bassist Dean Dennis and Anti-Group collaborator Robert Baker.This album was a record of that band's first live performances, released in 1990 on German label, Interfisch Records. The track running order seems a little rearranged as I am sure I can hear Newton say 'good night' after Sound Mirror and again following the closing Technogeist . A1 Transitional Voices A2 Sound Mirror A3 Syntactic B1 N.Y.C. Overload B2 Fractal 9 B3 Technogeist

  Clock DVA - White Souls In Black Suits [EX 24 ITA 1982 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] My current reading is Gordon King's When Does The Mind Bending Start? which includes some highly informative sections on his part in the Sheffield music scene pre-World Of Twist and their relocation to Manchester. During one of the most interesting anecdotes, King describes his time following early Clock DVA and the Sheffield industrialists' cameo appearance in The Rolling Stones  Undercover Of The Night promo video which was partly filmed at Les Bains Douches venue in Paris. This prompted me to dust off and deep clean my copy of  White Souls In Black Suits and make a serious attempt of the best possible rip of an album which is quite difficult to rip. Whilst the pressing isn't great, this is the original 1982 Italian album with untampered audio and it really sounds a whole lot better than any CD, although the evident hiss suggests they used a cassette tape as the source. The original ve...

  Clock DVA - Horology 3 [VOD154 DEU 2019 24-Bit FLAC] Subtitled: Tape, Reel - Recordings & Art 1978 - 1980 I first ripped this set back in the early summer of 2019, however I was never happy with the results so returned to it in April of this year - these files have sat on my hard drive since. I used an Ortofon Quintet Red MC cartridge hooked up through a Project Tube Box to 24/96 and the results were better. I guess some of the source material for this four album (with book) boxset may have come low fidelity sources, it does have the feel of an out-takes collection when compared to the superior Horology 1 set, however I am sure that some of you will be all over this. Some of the tracks are reel-to-reel sourced and as the spectrogram image below reveals, are in stunning detail & quality, I've left the tracks almost 'raw' with minimal de-clicking purely to add to that authentic vinyl experience. Perhaps one day, I will contemplate letting the Hana Shibata loose on...

  Clock DVA - 4 Hours [DVR 18 UK 1985 24-Bit FLAC] I promise this is my last Clock DVA post ....for a bit! Originally a seven inch only single on the Fetish Records label in 1981, Cabaret Voltaire's Doublevision label reissued Clock DVA's finest moment as a twelve inch in 1985. I last ripped this carelessly back in 2014, time now to get that upgraded in full resolution to sit alongside the last four DVA singles.  I have the original seven, however it will never sound as aurally pleasing as this pressing with its wider grooves and better quality vinyl. In fact, after a good clean, I believe this sounds amazing - but I would say that wouldn't I? Judge for yourselves..... A1 4 Hours B1 Sensorium

  Clock DVA - Breakdown (Remix) [POSPX 627 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] By 1983, during those Polydor years, Clock DVA had come a million miles from Thirst and even further from those experimental tape textures of those earliest recordings. Breakdown was their most commercial single, dark industrial pop-funk with a horn section hook and female backing vocals was not their usual style, however I believe it worked and suited the leather clad Newton growl very well.  They mucked about a bit with the original album version for this twelve inch remix, but all the elements are their for this huge stab at a hit. That hit was never to come unfortunately for this immense sounding single, so Adi lost interest and eventually disbanded this line-up by simply not turning up to the recording sessions for their third album at Strawberry Studios. We have been promised that Mute Records have done a deal to reissue much from Clock DVA's output between 1980 and 1983, however a release schedule is yet...

  Clock DVA - Resistance [POSPX 578 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] Resistance was the first of two singles lifted from Clock DVA's major label album, Advantage . Here is the twelve inch mix ripped from my original single in a choice of resolutions. After a deep clean with a dilution of Tergikleen brand surfactant, followed by a dip in an isopropyl/distilled water mix, I can hear so much more clarity & depth than on my previous rip back in February 2015. A1 Resistance B1 The Secret Life Of The Big Black Suit (Instrumental) The Suit Walks On (Size 12)

  Clock DVA - High Holy Disco Mass [POSPX 499 UK 1982 24-Bit FLAC] This a brand new rip of a single that I have featured a few times over the years. Clock DVA unleashed this slap bass and horn driven (with the help of Beggar & Co.) as a 12" single under the simplified DVA in 1982. The term disco in the title is quite misleading because I just can't imagine this going down well in any nightclub - this complex industrial funk is virtually impossible to dance to. Don't let that put you off because it is a great track, featured here from an original twelve inch single in two full length versions backed with the abstract film noir jazz tribute to the late original band member, Steven Judd Turner that is The Voice That Speaks From Within . A1 High Holy Disco Mass B1 High Holy Disco Mass (Dance Macabre) B2 The Voice That Speaks From Within (Triumph Over Will) Part 1

  Clock DVA - Passions Still Aflame [POSPX 437 UK 1982 24-Bit FLAC] I am taking a ten day break from ripping & blogging later this week, hence a mini-rush of new rips. There may be time for a few more tomorrow, in the meantime, I haven't visited this classic Polydor-era Clock DVA twelve inch EP for a while, so let's give it a run out and hear how good it sounds today. Lovingly coaxed from a 39 (and a half year) old 12" vinyl single, all four tracks sound amazingly crisp yet dark, brooding and ever so slightly funky. Their debut major label single, Passions Still Aflame casts tall shadows from the expressive & creative mind of Adi Newton. A1 Sons Of Sons A2 Theme From (I.M.D.) B1 Don't (It's Taboo) B2 Noises In Limbo

  Clock DVA - Thirst [DVR 19 UK 1985 24-Bit FLAC] Whilst the world waits for Adi & Mute to sort out a reissue campaign, and as promised a while back, here is the second pressing of Clock DVA's classic Thirst album, released in 1985 on Cabaret Voltaire's Doublevision label. This pressing is significantly better than my 1981 original on Fetish Records, further enhanced of course by my recent hardware upgrades. I have also invested in a SBooster BOTW MkII PCU - which is a serious upgrade to the very basic unit supplied with my Pro-Ject deck.  Every time that I rip this record, I hope that somebody out there discovers Thirst for the first time. This album is a unique listening experience and there is nothing else quite like what Adi Newton and his band of co-conspirators created. After their early more experimental works, Thirst was a significant landmark in the development of Clock DVA - the sequence of Blue Tone , North Loop and 4 Hours is, in my opinion, one of the fines...

  Clock DVA - Advantage [SETH 006 DEU 1989 24-Bit FLAC] I will admit to have given up on the hints of a Clock DVA reissue campaign, rumoured to be coming via Mute Records. Originally released in 1983 on Polydor Records, Advantage is Clock DVA's most accessible long player, tarnished a little by band disagreements - Adi Newton failed to turn up for the sessions to record the follow-up - this album is a journey from post-punk to dark avantgarde jazz and stands out as a personal favourite from it's era. Newton allowed German label, Interfisch to remaster the album by Joachim Hinsch in Hamburg for this limited distribution reissue in 1989 via Newton's Reserved Anterior label. The original Polydor pressing is flimsy in comparison to this robust mint condition German pressing, Hinsch's remastering work adds punch and clarity to the original recording, missing on the first pressing.  My rip of the 1983 UK pressing is here . For Beautiful Losers everywhere.... A1 Tor...

  Clock DVA - Horology DVAtion 78/79/80 [VOD96 DEU 2012 24-Bit FLAC] Some of you may well be all over this.... it is time to push your bandwidth a bit, here is the 6xLP + 1x7" compilation of all those rare Clock DVA cassette tracks (plus many others previously unheard) from the earliest days of the Sheffield industrial post-punk noise specialists. Some of you, like me, will have owned multi-generation bootleg tapes of some of these recordings. For you ...it is time for an upgrade. The set follows the very earliest electronic manipulations & recordings through to the more guitar distortion works before White Souls In Black Suits and Thirst . I've ripped this release privately before, this is a new 2020 rip. LP1 Lomticks Of Time This is the cutting edge industrial sound of 1978 Sheffield with plenty of treated electronics and rhythms, tape loops and early electronics. The Extreme Frequency Manipulation Experiment twists, distorts and turns you inside out, just as the tit...

Clock DVA - Thirst [FR 2002 UK 1981 24-Bit FLAC] I thought I would revisit one of my favourite albums before Mute Records embark on a significant reissue campaign of Clock DVA material. This is my February 2015 rip of my original Fetish Records pressing released in 1981, I've balanced the channels, cleaning up some of the fuzz and crackle, then resampled to 24/48 flac. I also own the Doublevision 1985 repress, perhaps that also needs a rip for comparison purposes? I really hope Mute do this album justice when it gets reissued - it is a significant opportunity to obtain a wider audience for one of the most important post-punk albums of all time. After their early more experimental works, Thirst was a significant landmark in the development of Clock DVA - the sequence of Blue Tone , North Loop and 4 Hours is, in my opinion, one of the finest moments in alternative music. Post-industrial, post-punk, post-avant jazz, post-Beefheart blues - this album has it all - I put it right up t...

Clock DVA - Passions Still Aflame [POSPX 437 UK 1982 24-Bit FLAC] Recorded in a post- Thirst world with a new band in London in late 1981, Sons Of Sons is dedicated to original Clock DVA guitarist Steven James Turner who passed away in September 1981. Lovingly coaxed from a 30+ year old 12" vinyl single, all four tracks sound amazingly crisp yet dark, brooding and ever so slightly funky. A1 Sons Of Sons A2 Theme From (I.M.D.) B1 Don't (It's Taboo) B2 Noises In Limbo Clock DVA - High Holy Disco Mass [POSPX 499 UK 1982 24-Bit FLAC] Newton unleashed this slap bass and horn driven (with Beggar & Co.) 12" single as just DVA. The term disco in the title is quite misleading because I just can't imagine this going down well in any nightclub - it is virtually impossible to dance to. Don't let that put you off because it is a great track, featured on the twelve inch single in two full length versions combined with the abstract film noir ...

Clock DVA - Advantage [POLS 1082 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] This is a re-working of the original album rip from my Advantage Plus post on ESWA many moons ago. I've cleaned things up to my new standards, re-balanced the channels and removed the occasional click or two before resampling to 24/48. Advantage is very much a concept album, like a film noir tribute to avantgarde jazz, with funk overtones and experimental soundscapes to which Newton's gravelly tones are incredibly well suited. It's not as good as Thirst , but is more accessible and represents a delve into Newton's dark, and occasionally twisted conscious. Advantage was recorded with a different band to Thirst after the original DVA abandoned Newton en masse to become The Box. Apart from a brief reissue on Contempo in Italy in the early nineties, this classic album still awaits a re-release. The associated singles will follow..... For Beautiful Losers everywhere. A1 Tortured Heroine A2 Beautiful...

Clock DVA - Man-Amplified [CONTE 182 ITA 1992 24-Bit FLAC] The third (or is it fourth) incarnation of Clock DVA released a volley of albums and singles on Italy's Contempo label between 1989 and 1993. Man-Amplified was the penultimate and featured the singles Bitstream and Final Program . Adi Newton's complex layered electronica envelops the listener in a blanket of dark waves and prosthetic beats, some of the more uptempo tracks verge on the extremities of house music. A1 Man-Amplifiers A2 Techno Geist A3 Axiomatic And Heuristic A4 NYC Overload B1 Transitional Voices B2 Bitstream B3 Fractalize B4 Final Program Please excuse the light crackle and surface noise in places. This is due to a pressing flaw on on the vinyl and I have attempted to minimalise this without further affecting audio quality.

The Anti Group - Ha / Zulu [SOX 009 UK 1985 24-Bit FLAC] Allegedly this project began back in in 1978 featuring Adi Newton and Steven James Turner from Clock DVA. When Newton split DVA after the Advantage album, he rekindled The Anti Group with a live performance in Berlin in early 1985 and changed his name to Adolphus Newton (no chortling at the back now please). Ha /Zulu is the first single recorded as a six piece with Stephen Mallinder and Richard H. Kirk from Cabaret Voltaire assisting on post-production. This lavish 12" was released in a glossy die-cut embossed sleeve on the important Sweatbox Records label, my copy comes with an eight page of Adolphus Newton 'scriptures' with associated artwork.  A1  Ha AA  Zulu The Anti Group - ShT [SEX 010 UK 1986 24-Bit FLAC] I am not too sure who featured in the studio line up for this mini album, however Richard H. Kirk, Ian Craig Marsh and Martin Ware are credited with samples and post production. ...

Clock DVA - White Souls In Black Suits [EX 24 ITA 1982 24-Bit FLAC] A brand new rip for 2019. Whilst the pressing isn't great, this is the original 1982 Italian album with untampered audio and it really sounds a whole lot better than any CD, although the evident hiss suggests they used an Industrial Records cassette as the source. Most of you will already have this, but I'd say it is a huge upgrade from my previous attempts. If you haven't already heard this, then you are in for a treat. Seminal. A1 Consent A2 Discontentment (1&2) A3 Still / Silent A4 Non B1 Relentless B2 Contradict B3 Anti-Chance (Soundtrack; Keyboards Assemble Themselves At Dawn) More from me towards the end of February as I am taking a short break. That should give you all enough time to listen to my rips ....or perhaps you just collect them in a download folder? 

Various Artists - The Industrial Records Story [JAMS 39 UK 1984 24-Bit FLAC] I moved to the peace & tranquility of rural Surrey over the Summer of 1984 from the cold harsh post-industrial north. Finding a good source for my music purchases proved difficult at first, however tucked away in a little back street in the small town of Godalming was Record Corner.  The store was tiny, split into two and run by a father & son team. Dad ran the front of house which specialised in classical and jazz music, whereas the rear of the store (accessed by another external door) was a treasure trove of independent and alternative music delights with many obscure rarities stocked with many unsold as clearly they had a very limited market in what was very conservative stockbroker-belt Surrey. Most of my industrial and obscure stuff came from the original Piccadilly Records in Manchester ....and the back room of Record Corner in Godalming, Surrey where the racks full of arcane phot...