LEWIS/GILBERT & MILLS-PACIFIC/SPECIFIC (IN A DIFFERENT PLACE), CD, 1995 (RECORDED: 1980-1982), UK
Essentially Dome under a different moniker, this post-Wire crew hold a very specific and special place in the pantheon of the greats for me, having for some three plus hours soundtracked perhaps the strangest acid trip of my life, an event that left both my bandmate in VDO and myself permanently shattered and in thrall to their higher key sonic hallucinations for life. That the work of Dome to this day remains in the shadow of their far less significant and radical work in Wire speaks for the truly occult nature of the mode of operation Dome manifested, something I'd rate on par with the likes of This Heat for life-altering significance, but it's also music that doesn't immediately reveal it's truly sick psychotropic heart of darkness under the cold rational light of day or the casual perusal. This release compiles together three death-defyingly brilliant cuts spontaneously composed for a Peel Session that rival the peak works of their canon for sheer doom-laden phantasmagorical action, a real testament to the near-supernatural level of communication between Graham Lewis and Bruce Gilbert during this era. That said, one of the few lesser lights in their discography, a live-on-air sonic experiment relaying musical elements recorded individually by Gilbert, Lewis and Russell Mills (and unheard by them combined together previously) via satellite between Australia (where it was being mixed live) and ABC Studios in London. It *is* an interesting piece of work, offering up a 15 minute plain of overlapping voices, metallic clatter, droning sheets and rustling detritus, but absent most of the uncanny (and unwholesome) madness evident in their main body of work. Oddly, this is followed by a 5 minute block of silence and then an interview with them about the proceeding piece. It's most curious, but it's the Peel Session material that stands to floor many here and for that alone, this is an indispensable document.
***************NEW LINK POSTED SEPTEMBER 2012***************
Get it here
9 comments:
Most certainly, the greatest ever Gilbert and Lewis work is MZUI, which is the ultimate expression of the Dome ethos. It is perplexing, brilliant, inexplicable, eternally surprising and one of the greatest works of fine art in sound ever produced. Your review of This CD is spot on. That peel session is pure genius, and the version of 'Ends with the Sea' titled 'Anchors' is better than the studio produced 7" version. Peel sessions had a habit of making people perform better; its a fact that is evident with many groups.
The Dome sound is unique, and they are one of the most important groups ever to have existed. I am sure that you have now explored all of the Bruce Gilbert solo work, and you should really track down every He Said release up until the pinnacle of Lewis' HE said solo work, the LP 'Hail'.
When a true history of those times is written, the limitless genius of Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis will finally be acknowledged and placed at the center of new thought in music.
And I don't say that lightly.
Who the fuck would not want to download this record after reading that review! That was intense! Thanks for the post I really wanted this!!
Big thanks for posting this - I've been after the Peel Session for ages. I was a precocious brat and bought "Dome 1" and the "Ends With The Sea" 7" before I even had any Wire records (frighteningly I was only 13 at the time. . ). The mystery and vague insanity of their music pretty much floored me, and I was doing my own "tape experiments" within the month. . . I seem to remember banging on an electric fire with a pair of scissors and then splicing the tape back-to-front so it played backwards on my tiny portable mono player. If only I could have afforded Blackwing!
Many thanks for the review. The 5 minute block of silence is in fact 4minutes and 33seconds. Our hoamge to the late John Cage.
Kevin Eden - WMO
(Hi Kevin!)
Yay verily I can confirm the effect that the mighty Dome had on my adolescent psyche... from that point on I realized I could indeed make my own noise...
And I'm still doing it!
ibrahim
I was listening to a lot of Stockhausen at the time that I first heard DOME. I was mesmerized; these 'punks' were definitely on to something. And they were way cool, too. I too would love to see some HE SAID recordings. Thanks for the posting, I can't wait to listen to it.
Hi, I am exploring my memories of the dome period, and indeed, it is monumental music (I thought I had some disorder listening compulsively to my dome LPs). I found this blog and
actually, I have a single which is the first recording gilbert and lewis did together, a single of A.C. Maria (Drop/So), just tell me if you are interested as I have already saved it as MP3.
Hi Claude,
thanks for the A.C. Marias offer, but that material has already been shared elsewhere:
http://samemistakesmusic.blogspot.com/2009/05/rarities-from-ac-marias.html
Eric
The link seems to be dead. Can you please reupload this very interesting album? I thank you in advance!
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