First of two dub-beat collaborations between British DJs Tom Ford and Laurie Osborne
(their synergy's a lot dreamier than that cover art would suggest)...
Gunnerzide - Demo '83
Swedish 13-15 year old punks playing like 14-16 year old punks
(they're not too detuned or out of beat). Produced by Micke Blomqvist of Asta Kask...
Rampage - "War - Big Business" Demo 1992
Strangely (but not badly) metallic U.K. '82 in U.K. '92. Their first of three tapes...
Pekinska Patka - Demo 1979 (LP Bootleg 2000 @ 320)
Pekinška Patka (Peking Duck) is an eminent Serbian and former Yugoslav punk rock band from Novi Sad. Their debut album, Plitka Poezija, released in 1980, is considered the first punk rock album by a band coming from Serbia. Being one of the first punk acts in Yugoslavia, they played a major role in opening doors for many bands that came after. On their second and last album, Strah Od Monotonije, released in 1981, they turned towards post-punk and darkwave sound, disbanding during the same year.
Pekinška Patka's roots are found in Trafo, a short-lived cover band formed in 1976 by electric guitarist Sreten Kovačević with Nebojša Čonkić providing the vocals. Further featuring Štrc on bass and Zare on drums, the band performed rock standards covers of The Rolling Stones, Santana, Deep Purple, etc. The following year, Kovačević formed Café Express, a pop band featuring Čonkić as guest vocalist in addition to Boba Mama on guitar, Aleksandar Čerevicki on keyboards, Aleksandar Kravić on bass, Laslo "Cila" Pihler (Shital Puri) on drums, and vocalist Aleksandar Krstić.
During early summer 1978, Čonkić (nicknamed Profesor Čonta), at the time 25-year-old teacher at Mihajlo Pupin High School in Novi Sad, visited London where, among various acts, he saw The Clash, The Specials, Midge Ure, Glen Matlock's Rich Kids, The Skids, and Magazine perform live, before returning home to Yugoslavia full of impressions and ideas about putting together a band with a new sound. In July 1978, Kovačević, drummer Laslo "Cila" Pihler, and Čonkić decided to form a punk rock group inspired by the British punk bands. The first lineup also featured bass guitarist Miloš "Žure" Žurić. The band held rehearsals at the University of Novi Sad's Faculty of Mechanical Engineering building where their first live performance took place. Four people attended the gig, all of them friends of the band members. After that, Čonkić and Kovačević started working on new material, mainly in Serbian language. Soon, Srbislav "Srba" Dobanovački became the new bass guitarist.
The band's first official live appearance took place in December 1978 at Novi Sad's Klub 24 venue and immediately got the local public talking due to the commotion it raised among the club's staff who were sufficiently shocked by the performance that they decided to put a stop to it, sending the crowd of about 200 youngsters home. The immediate reason was the band's performance of an impromptu vulgar punk cover of a communist youth work action song featuring the modified lyrics "Brižit Bardo bere čičke, vidi joj se pola pičke" ("Brigitte Bardot is picking thistles, half of her pussy is hanging out").
The band based their act on melodic punk and vivid public image with high-energy live shows featuring constant jumping and gyrating that had a strong effect on the young crowds. Being one of the first groups in the country with this kind of sound and performing style, they attracted media interest before releasing any material. Čonkić often used those media appearances for self-promotion, delivering sweeping statements like: 'We're the first important thing to happen to Yugoslav rock since the days of Ivo Robić and Marko Novoselić'. He also purposely courted controversy with soundbites such as referring to his group as the "first Orthodox punk band", which went against the doctrine of the ruling Communist League (S.K.J.) that very much promoted atheism in Yugoslav society.
The band quickly developed a cult following among the sections of Novi Sad youth who expressed their devotion by spraying "Čonta Je Bog" ("Čonta Is God") graffiti throughout the city. All of this unconventionality also got the band plenty of attention from local communist authorities who saw subversive and incendiary potential in their sound and appearance. As a result, despite generating a lot of interest, not only in the city but also throughout other parts of Vojvodina, the band experienced problems with live performances, many of which would get canceled on the day of the show on suggestions from the authorities. In December 1978, the band played the last BOOM Festival, which was being held in their hometown that year.
The band appeared at the Festival Omladina with the song "Bela šljiva". Vesna Vrandečić (later to join Xenia) won the festival's main award, but Pekinška Patka got the Audience Award. Their whole performance was broadcast on national television which was the first TV appearance of any punk band in Yugoslavia. This raised their profile as far as Yugoslav recording companies were concerned; they started negotiating with PGP-RTB label about a debut album, but ultimately could not reach a deal. The band continued playing and soon developed a wider following in bigger Yugoslav cities: Belgrade, Sarajevo and Zagreb. They eventually signed with Jugoton after its representatives saw them perform at Zagreb's Kulušić club. The first Pekinška Patka release became a vinyl 7-inch single "Bela šljiva" / "Biti ružan, pametan i mlad" produced by Slobodan Konjović. Relatively good reception of that single, with 35,000 copies sold, paved the way for them to begin recording a full-length debut album.
In October 1979, the band was invited to perform in the village of Stepanovićevo at the anniversary celebration of the end of World War II. The band performed their standard set-list and the show also featured blowing of condoms and throwing them to the audience as well as swearing on stage that was met with a mixture of shock and delight by the audience. Another punk rock band, Gomila G (a censored version of their original name Gomila Govana - Pile Of Shit), which played as the opening act, performed the song "God save Martin Bormann", which was also the reason why the authorities and the media turned against the two bands. Soon after the show, Gomila G bassist Borislav "Bora" Oslovčan joined Pekinška Patka as replacement for Dobanovački. Together they recorded a demo, consisting of seven tracks, which was unofficially released during the 1990s. The new lineup also performed at the Leto na Adi manifestation, which was held at a luxurious raft at Ada Ciganlija, with the song "Poderimo Rock". Since the crowd rushed to the stage and jumped around, the raft almost sank.
The album Plitka Poezija (Shallow Poetry), a punk rock material with occasional ska elements and humorous lyrics, was completed by fall 1979, but Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito's illness postponed the release until summer 1980. It was ushered in by another 7-inch single, "Bolje da nosim kratku kosu" / "Ori, ori". The whole material was recorded in the Boris Kovač studio, outside Novi Sad, and was produced by Slobodan Konjović, well known disc jockey from Studio B radio station. Eventually, their debut album was released in 1980 and sold about 15,000 copies, which Jugoton considered a failure. One of the first live presentations of the new material was at the Split festival with the band Azra. Several thousand people attended the concert. The relations within the band were somewhat strained at this gig. Dissatisfied with the band's decision to go on tour of Bosnia and Herzegovina, bassist Oslovčan played with his back turned to the crowd, while actively sabotaging the proceedings by purposely making the band sound as bad as possible.
Following the debut album release, the band went through some personnel changes with some members changing instruments and others leaving altogether. Guitarist Kovačević expressed a desire to play saxophone so he moved to that instrument while new member Zoran "Bale" Bulatović, a 17-year-old Pečat member, took over the vacated guitar spot. Second guitarist Prosenica, and bassist Oslovčan also left the band. Oslovčan was first replaced by Aleksandar "Caki" Kravić and then the former bassist Srba Dobanovački until Marinko Vukmanović joined the band. Prosenica's spot stayed vacant as the band continued with only one guitar. That lineup did not last long as Kovačević left the group during fall 1980 to form his own band, Kontraritam.
The new lineup went on the successful Bosnia and Herzegovina tour, ending with a sold-out show at Sarajevo's Skenderija Hall. The band recorded the cover of the popular Dragan Stojnić chanson "Bila je tako lijepa", with altered lyrics, and released it on single with "Buba-Rumba" as the B-side. Another cover version, this time The Hollies' hit "Stop! Stop! Stop!", appeared on the "Rokenroler" show broadcast on TV Belgrade. The song was used by JRT (Yugoslav Radio Television) station for representing Yugoslavia at the Montreux Rose d'Or festival. Čonkić also planned to cover the "Hymn to Saint Sava", which was not approved by the rest of the band.
During December 1980, the band performed at the Grok festival held at the Novi Sad Fair. The band left a good impression, but also caused an uproar by burning a copy of the Borba newspaper. During the intro for the song "Biti ružan, pametan i mlad", Čonkić said that the song was dedicated to Bijelo Dugme leader Goran Bregović. Soon after the show, Dnevnik journalist Bogdan Četnik wrote an article demanding the band to be completely banned. From October 1980 until March 1981 the band prepared new material inspired by Joy Division, The Stranglers, The Cure and Magazine. The band changed the style to post-punk and dark wave, presenting a different sound and image, which mostly failed to connect with the audiences the way their debut did. The album Strah Od Monotonije (Fear Of Monotony), released in May 1981, was sold in about 8,000 copies. The band then performed rarely and their last notable shows were at a large concert at Zagreb Velesajam (performing with Riblja Čorba, Haustor, Film, Prljavo kazalište, Leb i Sol, Parni Valjak, and other bands) and the Kalemegdan park which was their last concert, During the summer, Čonkić went to serve the Yugoslav People's Army and by the time he returned, Bulatović was already the member of Luna and Vukmanović formed the pop band Primavera.
In 1994, Čonkić emigrated to Toronto, Ontario, Canada with his family and, after working as a pizza deliverer and computer programmer at Canada's state broadcaster CBC, he got a job as lecturer at Seneca College in Toronto. Bulatović moved to New York City during the 1990s. In 1997, their complete discography, including singles and albums, was re-released on CD format by Croatia Records (legal successor of Jugoton). Then on July 5, 2006, the same was done by Serbian Multimedia Records at which time the band got a significant promotional push from Serbian web magazine Popboks.
On May 28, 2008, it was announced that Pekinška Patka would be reuniting to perform at the 2008 EXIT festival. Their performance took place on EXIT main stage on Sunday July 13, 2008 - the festival's closing night - together with Sex Pistols, The Hives, and Ministry. Pekinška Patka played a 40-minute set consisting of old favorites. In the interviews immediately after the reunion performance, Čonkić left the door open for a full comeback. After pulling out of a Novi Sad performance for New Year's 2010, the band decided to reconvene again for a show on 21 May 2010 at Belgrade's SKC in order to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the "Bila je tako lijepa" single release. The band reunited in the lineup which recorded the single and the second studio album, Strah od monotonije, and after the Belgrade performance, they played at the Zagreb Boogaloo club. At a press conference, the band announced the release of a cover album, featuring songs performed at the Yugoslav 1960s pop festivals such as the Opatija, Beogradsko Proleće and Vaš Šlager Sezone. A few days before the upcoming concert in Belgrade, the first lineup guitarist, and the co-founding member of the band, Sreten Kovačević, announced suing the band over the usage of the name Pekinška Patka as well as the performance of the songs from the Plitka Poezija album for which he is credited as author in SOKOJ (The Serbian Copyright Protection Organization). In the response to the announcement, the band responded at the Long Play record label official site with the explanation that Čonkić has the right to the band name, and that in July 1980, without previously informing the rest of the band, Kovačević had signed co-authorship to the debut album tracks at SOKOJ, thus the information on the authorship and at SOKOJ mismatch.
Both the Belgrade and Zagreb performances featured the band playing most of the tracks from Plitka Poezija, with the exception of the song "Bolje da nosim kratku kosu" written by Kovačević according to SOKOJ, the upcoming single, the cover version of Luz Casal song "Un año de amor", and the song "Neko", from the second album Strah Od Monotonije. However, the Belgrade performance did not feature Pihler on drums, and the substitute drummer was Veliki Prezir drummer Robert Radić. In December 2010, the band released a free digital download MP3 version of the single "Un año de amor" on the Long Play record label official site. Former bassist Borislav "Bora" Oslovčan died on October 5, 2017 at the age of 56.
Masokismi – "Häpeällinen Siveysoppi" CD 2004
That cover is actually a TikTok of you after listening to this...
Fatal - "Retrospective From Hell 1988-1990" CD 2005 & February 1990 Rehearsal
Metalcore Fanzine Interview (Year? Post 2005)...
MC: How have you been and in a nutshell tell me what you have been up to since the break up of the band?
TH: Wow. Where to begin...well, first off, its been 16 years since Fatal split up. Since then I've been involved with many, many musical projects ranging from gothic, to industrial, to pop and country. I've gotten married and been a rather successful music producer and audio engineer here in the Detroit area.
MC: How did the band form way back in the 80's? Did you play any early cover songs? What was the vibe like during the first few practices if you remember? Did the band have an easy or hard time writing songs?
TH: The bassist and vocalist Mark Nowakowski had been friends for several years, since kindergarten to be exact. It was always just him and I until we got his neighbor Allen to play drums. The first incarnation of Fatal began in 1985. We just started right off playing our own music, with a few covers thrown in. We did Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Metallica, etc.
MC: Tell me your thoughts now on your 1st demo? Where did you record it and how do you think you did in the studio for the 1st time?
TH: The FIRST thing we ever recorded was summer '86. We did more of a 'power-metal' thing at the time. This recording was never released. After that we started getting heavier and faster. We did the official 1st demo in January '88 and that is the 1st demo that appears on our 'Retrospective From Hell' CD. It was recorded live with no overdubs at the now defunct Spectrum Studios.
MC: Did you sell many copies of it and did you sent it out zines and play many local shows to promote it?
TH: No, we didn't really know how to promote ourselves at the time so we didn't really sell that many. Mainly to friends and fans at live gigs.
MC: What were the bands that were influencing your sound back then? Did you guys think you were an original band and did you have a nice local following at the time?
TH: At first we were influenced mainly by the classics - Ozzy, Priest, Metallica, AC/DC, etc...the turning point was the first time we heard bands like Venom, Slayer, Celtic Frost and all the European thrash stuff. We were just playing music we wanted to hear, having fun with it. Our local following came much later after playing many, many shows.
MC: Let's talk about your 2nd demo. Did you think it was an improvement over the 1st one. What the recording of this one easier than the 1st one? Did you go back to the same studio?
TH: The 'Molested Slaughter' demo marked the first time we worked at Tempermill Studios, the same studio I work at today. We did it the summer of 1988 and is markedly more brutal that anything we had done before. We were really into the UK grindcore scene, listening to bands like Napalm Death, Unseen Terror, etc...we just wanted it to be fast and heavy.
MC: Did you send the demo out to many fanzines? What was the response like and did you send the demo out to any record companies?
TH: No record companies, but by then we were starting to get into the world of underground tape-trading. So that demo got around a bit.
MC: Your 3rd demo is your most famous of all the demos and also you got a new drummer. What happened with the old drummer and where did you find the new drummer?
TH: Yeah, 'Soul Burns' was done at a time where we were hitting our stride. We had booted our 1st drummer for not showing up to a gig and he was really holding us back technically. We met Bill thru a mutual friend that got him to play drums with us April of '89 and we just took off from there.
MC: This demo I remember got quite a lot of attention in the underground at the time. Do you feel it is your best work of the band? How many copies did you end up selling and did you send it to any record companies?
TH: As far as our best work, maybe, parts of it. It was our best sounding recording, for sure. Not sure how many we sold, but we did sent out a lot to zines and people who wanted to trade. I believe that is how Thrash Records out of France got ahold of us.
MC: I can listen to the band now and I think it is a crime you were not signed to a label. Why do you think this was?
TH: Honestly, I just don't think we pushed it hard enough to get a legit record deal. We were young and just wanted to have fun, party and play.
MC: How did you come up with your name and was writing lyrics easy or tough and who wrote most of them?
TH: The name just came out of a brainstorming session one day, nothing special. Mark wrote most of the lyrics and I wrote a few here and there. We just wrote about horror, gore and satan, ya know stuff we knew about!
MC: I know you played one of the Michigan Deathfests. Was that like a career highlight for the band? What do you still remember about that special day?
TH: Yeah, I would agree with you that was one of our bands highlights. The other was playing with Death and Pestilence, as well as Sacrifice, Cryptic Slaughter, Coroner too. But the thing I remember most about the 1st Michigan Metalfest is sitting on the side of the stage and watching Pete from Morbid Angel play drums. Purely amazing. Also meeting Trey Azagthoth and talking to David Vincent about how great Fates Warning was.
MC: Your last recorded work was a 7". How did this come about and what do you think of this release now? I know it is out of print obviously, but how many were printed up and does it go for a high price on eBay?
TH: I was sent a contract from Thrash Records. We then went into Tempermill Studios and recorded 4 songs summer 1990. Only 3 made the cut onto the 7". Not sure if I've ever seen it on eBay, but I have quite a few left over here. I think the 7" has the best songs on them, but the production isn't as good as 'Soul Burns'.
MC: What led to the break up of the band and I read where you played your last show in 1990. What do you remember about your last show?
TH: At the time, we were all branching out into different musical tastes. Our hearts weren't into playing metal like in the early days, so we decided to just go do different stuff musically. Unknown to us at the time, our last show was summer 1990 opening for Death and Pestilence. It was awesome!
MC: Do you still keep in contact with any of the ex-band members and do they know about your CD that came out now to long ago?
TH: Yes we all still talk very frequently. As a matter of fact, Bill and I are in an alternative band right now called 'Ether Aura' here in Detroit. Mark lives in Seattle with his wife.
MC: Your 'Retrospective From Hell' release on Necroharmic. How did this release come about and are you finally happy and think it puts a fitting end to the band that your stuff is finally on CD? Is this release sold out or can you still get this incredible CD?
TH: Roy from Necroharmonic emailed me about putting out our demos. So I remastered them from the original tapes, Mark wrote the amazing forward and that was it. I don't believe its sold out, there is a link on our myspace page on how to get it: www.myspace.com/fataldetroit
MC: I know you have a MySpace page. Why did you decide to do one and how has the response to it been and have you had a bunch of people like me emailing you and stuff about the band, etc?
TH: Its been awesome. I put it up about a year and a half ago and I've requainted myself with so many old school fans! Its good to know people still remember Fatal.
MC: Are there any good soundboard recordings or videos of the band that might see the light of day?
TH: No, I don't think so.
MC: Can you still listen to your music and appreciate what you brought to the table so to speak?
TH: Sure, that time in my life was amazing. I look back on it with great fondness.
MC: Do you think if bands such as yourselves had the internet, etc., that the band would have been more successful?
TH: Probably.
MC: What was your favorite and least favorite show and why? What do you remember about the show you guys played in NJ?
TH: I don't think I have a least favorite show. The NJ show was really fun and we met a lot of cool people like Exmortis, Immolation, etc.
MC: Do you still follow the underground scene at all or go to shows at all?
TH: Not as much, no. But I still like some of newer metal, though. I'll go see the bigger bands like Cradle of Filth, Morbid Angel, etc.
MC: If you could give a young band some advice what would you tell them?
TH: Be persistent and true to yourself.
MC: Have you seen any websites dedicated to the band or have you heard of any bands doing a cover song of yours?
TH: No.
MC: Would you ever consider getting the band back together to do a reunion type of show?
TH: No, I don't think we could play that stuff these days! We did a 'one off' show in 1992, but it was just for fun.
MC: Do you still have a lot of your old flyers, reviews, band t-shirts etc? Is there any merchandise that you or Necroharmic might put out in the future?
TH: No, I have a few letters and flyers here and there but that's it.
MC: If you could do it all over again, what things would you do differently?
TH: Get better equipment! Other than that, not a thing.
MC: Did you join any other bands or get any offers to join other bands after the band broke up?
TH: Tons. I 've been playing in bands ever since 1984.
MC: Tony I am out of questions. Horns up for letting me take you back in time for this interview. Anything you want to say or add and I will say this Fatal will always kill and I feel you were one of the most underrated bands I have ever heard and I have heard 1000's.
TH: Thanks so much for the interview, it was fun to remember the old days!
www.myspace.com/fataldetroit
The Nurse - "83-84" CD 2011 (FLAC)
"The work of Nurse, a four-member female band representing the dawn of hardcore in the 1980s. This release is a total of 30 songs including 17 unreleased live in addition to the 1st flexi sheet released in
1983 produced by Baki (Gastunk), and the 2nd EP released in 1984 produced by Tam (Stalin) and also participation of members of Dead Cops."
K100 - "The Vault Of Apparitions" CD 2010
"The solo project of multi-artist Kim Solve. After a decade of introspection, intense work and self-imposed musical seclusion, he now presents his first [and last under this name. --S] tracks of dark glimmering electronic sound. This is distant, transporting music built from ghost frequencies, excursions to industrial ruins, and condemned places which resonate with otherness and timelessness. There are also samples of personal artifacts and intense personal experiences bordering on ritual. Turn the key, open the vault and hear what's inside...the aural equivalent of a false awakening." --Edited From Neuropa Records
Freya Aswynn - "Shades Of Yggdrasil" CD 1995
"Elizabeth Hooijschuur (born 19 November 1949), known by her pen name 'Freya Aswynn', is a Dutch writer and musician. She became involved in modern paganism in the 1980s after a move to the United Kingdom. She was first active in Wicca, then in Edred Thorsson's 'Rune-Gild'. Her experiences from Wicca left a lasting impact on her own construction of rituals and runic divination. Her book 'Leaves Of Yggdrasil' had a significant influence on the practice of Germanic neopaganism on an international level. She also became involved in the emerging British neofolk scene. Her house in London was a meeting point for musicians such as Douglas Pearce of Death In June, Tony Wakeford of Sol Invictus, David Tibet of Current 93, Boyd Rice of NON and Ian Read of Fire And Ice. She appears on recordings by several of these artists, performing her own rune chants."
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