Premature Ejaculation - (Part 2) (1981) - Mal 2. Malaise Music
Part 2 was the second Premature Ejaculation tape released by
Rozz Williams and Ron Athey in 1981. It was never officially released, only
copied for friends. Here in it's fully remastered double disc form, original
artwork; it differs greatly from Part 1.
Part 1 was a series of differing experiments within the
noise /industrial /experimental genre. Part 2 is one long continuous 45 minute
work; it contains a lot of the methods explored in part 1 and it yet attempts
to work them all together. Part 2 functions as a journey (or a trip.) across
the American landscape. In-between bursts of frequency assault, wind tunnel
like sounds move along changing to engine noise and back. Noise is pushed to
unbearable frequencies at various times throwing out sounds that would not be
out of place in David Lynch's Eraserhead. Deliberately or because of recording
quality, sounds are broken for periods of time, either way it is incorporated
into the entire sound.
Fractured voices appear regularly; inaudible conversations,
Preachers in the street and film dialogue. The voices are never given full
clarity, their speed is mutated to become 'other' sounds that work in the
entire equation; the voice is abstracted elsewhere. Although not the first,
this predates a lot of current voice based noise (Maja Ratkje, Kylie Minoise,
and Massona) and lies in a chain of abstracted voice work within experimental
music. The vocals are frequent interruptions or stops in the journey.
Further stops include fairground noise, domestic sounds,
train tracks and TV ads. These are not glorified, if anything it is an empty
lonely dark trip. More and more upon each listen Part 2 becomes re
representation of the American landscape as wasteland.
Part 2's use of noise is not pure or focused enough to be
considered pure noise or power electronics. However it is clear that there was
already a fully formed awareness of all the electronic extreme genres as there
are still some industrial concerns in PE at this point. What is very evident is
that after Part 1's experiments in sound, Part 2 is a confident successful
conceptualized long passage of work. This is far from fully formed in sound, but
it is strong and bares some hints to PE's future work. PE would never really do
one long work in their label released work, yet ambient passages of sound
became their forte; mental associations could always be made to strong
suggestive effect. Part 2 does prove PE to be a project well capable of
sustaining works for long periods of time.
The bonus disc is not part of Part 2, but five separate
recordings Ron and Rozz made around a year later in 1982 tackle religion and
noise. However these do show a better
quality of recording and the beginnings of a more cohesive approach to P.E's
work. Choir arrangements are boiled and others turn into hallucinogenic
nightmares; further religious torment from Rozz. There is a long track from a
sex education video of children's voices describing the process of sexual
intercourse, the sample is not touched, just played in its entirety and all the
more disturbing after the hellish sermons that came before. There are two final
tracks that present a more accomplished and aggressive minimal noise assault,
very different to what there is today. This is a primitive important document.
The journey begins to find its direction.
Choppy Noodles 2010.
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