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Kim Harten has been involved in the underground network for something in the region of a quarter of a century now, going back to the Bliss tape label in 1993, on whose compilations a fair few MMATT tracks found their way, ta kissy kissy, and the Aquamarine zine in 1994, in the pages of which many an encouraging word about both MMATT and Music & Elsewhere oft appeared. The tape label is, like most of the others, just a memory these days, but its name is kept alive with that of the paper publication's on the website, which Kim describes more fully as an "online fanzine dedicated to underground / independent music, focusing on folk, psych, indiepop and related subgenres." LINK: http://www.blissaquamarine.net Earlier in the year, she was kind enough to feature our UWU Collection, and this is what she had to say; VARIOUS ARTISTS - THE UNITED WORLD UNDERGROUND COLLECTION VOLUME 1
(MUSIC & ELSEWHERE) Over on the CD there's Into the Abyss, whose brand of underground rock takes on board goth, spacerock, prog, classical and Middle Eastern influences; Grass Harp, with a floaty, Eastern-tinged, proggy / psychey |
number; the laid-back country-rock of
Blacklight Braille; cassette culture icon Lord Litter with a slightly
off-centre take on US-style folk-rock; The Stinking Badger of Java with
their brilliant bendy choppy-changey quirky rock; the dark and frenetic
electronica of Cosmic Dance Society; and Steve Andrews, another icon of
the cassette underground who more recently went on to bigger things with
an appearance on Britain's Got Talent, teams up with Ned Zero for a
dance-rock reworking of Steve's classic track Real Love and Communication,
in which intense psych-rock guitar is effectively interspersed with
thumping electro beats and vocoder. We actually thought we were going to lose her from the network completely a while back, that would have been a really sad day for us all after her being an integral part of it all for so long, so I can't tell you how pleased we are that she's decided to keep fighting the good fight. Though it comes at a cost. Kim explains; "In an effort to keep my review backlog under control, I only accept promos in physical formats: CD, CDR, vinyl, and cassette." So if you're not in a position to provide those, you may find you have to work much harder to get her attention in the first place! Contact can made via the website or via her Facebook page. LINK: https://www.facebook.com/blissaquamarine
Necessarily, Kim has had to limit her work to reviews only (for the most part, there are occasional features on bands or labels), she says; "I don't really cover news / what's happening type stuff but do have a newsletter with a roundup of recent website additions." And you can subscribe to that via the website's homepage, should you so desire. That's where you can also find news of Kim's own musical projects (yes, this was the first I knew of her involvement too!), she actually sings with a rather kitsch folk-pop outfit called Fly Away Sorrow, who knew? We all do now, and if you want to take a listen, here's the relevant... LINKS: https://soundcloud.com/flyawaysorrow https://flyawaysorrow.bandcamp.com https://www.facebook.com/flyawaysorrow 0 Right: Kim Harten, stalwart of the global underground scene, a classic 'back in the day' pic from the mid 90's, dutifully nabbed from the 'United World Underground' photo album on the M&E Facebook page. Et voila! |
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UPDATE: REVIEW OF "CREAVOLUTION REBORN" FROM AQUAMARINE # 31 ( December 2018) |
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MAGIC MOMENTS AT TWILIGHT TIME Creavolution Reborn: The Brain Dead Studio Analogue Remaster CD/Download (TMR)
Magic Moments at Twilight Time had been mainstays of the DIY cassette
underground since the late 1980s, but took a different route for their
1995 album Creavolution, which instead of being recorded on 4-track and
released as a homemade tape, was recorded at Brain Dead Studios and
released as a factory pressed CD. The album has now been remastered by its
original engineer, Brain Dead Studios' Marc Bell, and is available as a
free download or cost-price CD. The CD is again professionally duplicated,
and comes with an 8-page booklet featuring great cover art by Thayen Rich,
featuring the band and Marc on a spaceship, as well as extensive liner
notes about the album's history. |
this album, featuring tinges of Blondie alongside crunchy rock guitars, a
dancey electronic beat and swirling analogue synths. Spirit Electric sets
ghostly lyrics to a flamenco-influenced arrangement ornamented by
electronic whooshes. Love Let Thy Name Be Darkness, another of my faves,
is an inventive, well-crafted piece that manages to be poppy, spooky and
spacey all at once - a true classic. LINK: http://www.blissaquamarine.net/albumreviews31.html And our undying love to Kim for that review, nice lady. It's probably worth pointing out though that the free downloads won't be available forever, as far as I know it's just till Xmas. Believe me, Marc's done a lovely job on it, so I hope you'll all go for the CD anyway. As for "The Spaceship Psychotron", a pointy hat with a big 'D' on will be delivered by courier to Kim's workplace right in the middle of her staff Christmas party. By a male stripper dressed as Donald Trump. She won't be making that mistake again... ;-) |
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