And while's I'm on the subject of myths, the ellusive Billy Bao has hit
for the vinyl cycle recently w/a lp, 10" & 7" all in the space of 6
months. I'll be goddamned if he ain't somethin of a modern day Matty
Bower w/all that hoopla. But it ain't just the line formin to release
work what's similar, to my ears Billy Bao's soundin somethin like a
latter day Skullflower. There's also a bilge like fodderstomp that
bring to mind Flipper or someone of that ilk too, 'cause on the 'Fuck
Separation' 10" it feels like they meatballed Ted Falconi's guitar into
a jackhammer & pulverized the Xaman lp into smithereens while the
'Accumulation' 7" hoists 'Brainwash' onto a petard, detonating it into
a billion sub atomic particles that seem so toxic, you'd swear the air
was filled w/a sinister amphetamine powder. Guess what? It isn't. Both
of these most likely available from;
m.a.
con-v
uf, cojonudisimo este 'fuck separation', vaya discazo, lo mejor que
habeis
hecho como billy bao hasta la fecha, vamos sin duda.
ZGUN (USA, June 2008)
Billy Bao Dialectics of Shit LP
(Parts Unknown)
Billy Bao Fuck Separation 10” (S-S)
Billy Bao Accumultion EP (Xerox Musik)
Billy Bao shot to micro-stardom wit’ a bullet last year on the strength
of a stunningly powerful guitar-freakout 7” whose enormous sound was
only slightly mitigated by the virtual impossibility of tracking a copy
down. Well, here comes an appropriately apologetic deluge of what we
used to call in The Industry “sonic fuckery.” The mysterious
conglomerate that revolves around Mr. Mattin (no first names please) has
managed to hit all the marks, and not just on the level of mere vinyl
format (well, no 6” flexi releases … yet), while simultaneously
functioning on three almost totally distinct stylistic planes. In order,
from small to big: The 7” sounds like the EP that Harry Pussy never
released on the Bad Vugum label. It’s 10 short bursts of squall and
screaming that functions as the true successor to all those early 80s
hardcore EPs that packed a similar number of songs onto a single
platter; and it plays at 45 rpm! Apparently the theme of the record is
reflected in the title, in that the songs are supposed to pile up the
phlegm and sturm as the thing plays through but I have to say that until
I was told this it didn’t really register. Anyhow, it’s really fresh and
doesn’t get old fast, unlike “real” hardcore, soooo, next we have the
10” and here is something else entirely. Honestly. BB sits down in a
candle-lined, eggcrate-shrouded studio cave and just jams out two
sidelong modern stoner-metal-jamz that echo no band that I am currently
familiar with. I find myself glancing back over to my older Earth
titles, hell, their first couple of obscuro EPs, to find a similar
touchstone. I admit, I’m not up on indie metal moderne, but this No Wave
metal of Billy Bao’s is enough to make me think twice about my reflexive
boycott of Boris and Sun 0)))-- maybe I am missing something. If Greg
Ginn had heard this in 1984, we’d have yet another o/p SST product to
vainly scour the understock for, but this is available in the actual
here and now. And, upon closer listen, the title of the damn thing
starts to resonate, I think they are slowly combining and re-forming two
songs at the same time on this. Clever apes. Now I feel like I failed a
math quiz the first time a round, and now I’m going back over my
scribblings and spotting my errors in the polynomials. What-ev-er, the
concept is not as fascinating as the stuttering sonics anyhow, gimmie
another beer and fuck Mr. Whitaker-Connolly and his fucking geometry
proofs. Finally, their LP, of which the only truly negative thing I can
weakly conjure is that the title is kinda dum. On this record, Billy Bao
takes the No Wave that dominates the 7” and infects the 10”, along with
the metallic churn and the dead-lunged vocals, and adds another
dimension: They’re actually a noise band. A couple of tracks on this
have “imperfections” built into them, “skips” and harsh static and wot
not, that had me out of my stuporous languor and over to the rec player
in no time … fuckers. That’s way more upsetting than Whitehouse
instructing me to rape the next door neighbor’s 10-year old daughter
(purely conceptual critical trick there, since no actual children seem
to live in my neighborhood). But when Billy Bao isn’t making me blow
nonexistent fluff off my needle, they’re swamping my stereo with a
sickly twenty-generations-removed blues vomit that recalls nothing so
much as a Civil War-era hospital orderly absently humming to himself as
he gathers up hundreds of severed limbs for disposal. It’s violently
dissociative in the most life-affirming way, and the only rough
comparisons I can honestly make to are the much-missed Scando gorillas,
Brainbombs. All in all, these three releases are the early contenders to
make 2008 the Year of Billy Bao. —RW
Doom Stoner Community (Spain)
BILLY BAO: Fuck Separation . 2007. S-S records . 10″ vinyl
billy
bao es un grupo de bilbao, empezo como un duo en el 2004 con mattin
(musico-artista bilbaino) y el bateria alberto martin (athom rhumba,
ura, la secta,...) para despues sumarse el navarro xabier erkizia
(gutariko bat,..) prolifico y activo musico desde los 90's.
http://mattin.org/2_Billy_Bao.html
pues
bien, este es un 10" que editaron (solo en vinilo, aunque despues fue
reeditado en un compilacion en cd con mas material) entre el 2007 y
2008 despues de un primer 7" y un primer cd. lo subo al blog porque si
bien billy bao en general es mas bien noise rock (ciertamente con
grandes dosis de actitud "arty") en este 10" se encuentra su material
mas pesado que roza el sludge y creo que podria gustar a bastante gente.
son
2 temas, uno en cada cara como es normal pero con un curioso concepto,
acabar con la tipica separacion de los vinilos entre ambas caras (de
ahi el titulo: "fuck separation") resulta que ambos temas se "cruzan" a
mitad de cada cara, es decir, en la cara A empieza el tema de la cara A
pero la cara acaba con el tema de la cara B, y a su vez, en la cara B
empieza el tema de la cara B pero la cara acaba con el tema de la cara
A, todo esto mediante un cross fade brutal (esto es que segun vas
oyendo va desapariendo lo que estas oyendo y a la vez otra pista va
apareciendo).
musicalmente son 2 temas a piñon repetitivos como
ellos solos pero tambien super adictivos, sobre todo el que empieza en
la primera cara tiene un riff super repetivo pero con mucha mala oxtia,
en defitiniva 2 trallazos de punk sludge noise.
aqui un monton de reviews sobre el disco:
http://mattin.org/reviews/Fuck_Separation.html
The Wire
(July 2008, by Byron Coley)
Good one that somehow escaped earlier notice. My favourite Nigerian
expatriate emerges again with a solid two sides of guitar-phlug,
pounded out in a manner as monolithic as The Stooges at their
gluiest, while he erupts on vocals. Can't say i don't miss the
weirdness of his guitar leads, but this is still plenty good.
Volcanic Tongue (David
Keenan, Glasgow, June 2008)
Billy Bao
Fuck
Separation
S-S
Records SS-033
10”
£10.99
More fevered avant punk rage from a group
that is rapidly becoming some kinda radical European reflection of the
brut
style of early Germs/Electric Eels. Classic nihilist/anarcho lyrics
curled up
in sneers, two chord pugilism that takes the mono-braincell hunch of
the first
Stooges album/Spacemen 3/Motorhead into new realms of anti-mantra and
the
requisite conceptual underpinning that makes for two 10 minute tracks
with the
same riff. White vinyl. Now out of print at the label, these are the
very last
copies and supply is very limited. Highly recommended, as is everything
by
these guys.
TERMINAL BOREDOM (USA,
Spring 2008)
Ah, the wisdom of Billy Bao! Buried in the mess of noise that is
“Jail
Logic,” Billy Bao yells, “Punk has its rules, its reliable methods for
producing satisfactory products. But the reality that must be taken as
a point of departure is the one of dissatisfaction. It’s necessary to
destroy conventions in punk. To undermine its foundations as a genre.
To demoralize its fans. What a task!” And in that line is, perhaps, the
philosophy of the band. “Fuck Separation” is harsh and challenging;
each side of the record contains a single ten minute song that starts
with one riff played repeatedly before crossing over into the other
side’s riff, making both songs essentially a part of the same whole.
The songs are much heavier than on his previous single, “Incinerator,”
the vocals sung more desperately. This one’s not suitable for
background music.(DH)
(SS Records // www.s-srecords.com)
lydfrabaksiden
Billy Bao bråker så du slipper
Billy Bao - Dialects Of Shit (Parts Unknown LP 2008)
Billy Bao - Fuck Seperation (S-S Records 10″ 2007)
Billy Bao - Accumulation (Xerox Musik 7″ep 2008)
Det er nesten ikke grenser; det formelig flasser på med ny,
god
rockmusikk! Rockmusikk fjernt fra indiesuttering, klisjebading og
latterlige posørtakter. Det er som om postpunk/DIY-kulturen fra
tidlig
åttitall har blitt parret med SST og Guided By Voices ca 1995. Ut
av
dette kommer det en bråte band og artister som gjør
gitarbasert musikk
mer interessant enn på mange år. Jeg nevner i fleng The
Hospitals, Eat
Skull, Little Claw, Blank Dogs, La Otracina, Nice Face, Tit Machine, US
Girls, Nothing People, Factums, Wild Gunmen, Pink Reason, Psychedelic
Horseshit, Sic Alps, Times New Viking, A.H. Kraken, The Bad Trips -
lista er vanvittig lang. I tillegg har vi stabler av band som dyrker en
oppdatering av minimal synth/Suicide gruff som Bad Party, Fabulous
Diamonds, Pink Noise og alle artistene på den glimrende samle
lp’en
Festival Der Genialen Dissidenten på Enfant Terrible labelen.
Hva har skjedd spør du ? Ikke om jeg vet, men deilig er det.
Og ikke nok med de ovennevnte; Billy Bao er nok et storveis orkester
som har rammet hardt den siste tiden, snakk om balltre midt i planeten.
Billy Bao spiller blytung, punkete rifforamma ala SST/Big Black parret
med tunge noisedykk og skurrete, elektronisk mishandling med glitch og
cut-ups. Bandet består av Billy Bao på vokal, Mattin
på gitar, Xabier
Erkizia på gitar og Alberto Lopez på trommer. Billy Bao har
blitt
beskrevet som den mest perfekte kombinasjonen av “art and threat” siden
tidlig Pere Ubu. Et til tider svært originalt lydbilde
gjør at du
tenker; hmm, må lytte en gang til!
Det synes å være avantmystikeren og noiseduden Mattin
som er
lillehjernen i Billy Bao. Hans skjeve smil og “prankster”-ånd
hviler
over prosjektet. Ikke minst er den grunn til å ta
røverhistoriene om
vokalist Billy Baos bakgrunn med en klype salt.
All de tre utgivelsene som nå er tilgjengelige er mer enn
nødvendige;
Fullengderen Dialectics Of Shit er en ramm reise i ti tre minutters
(på sekundet!) låter, brygget på knirk, noise og
punktrøkk med
hysterisk vokal på syke tekster. Dialectics Of Shit fenger,
fengsler og
brenner lenge. Åpningssporet I am Billy Bao, Right Here Right
Now!
setter tonen med fullt øs før en tykk noisetåke
stiger frem i lydbildet
og voldtar hele sullamitten. Deilig. Første spor på andre
siden You Get
Me, You Get The Kicks! fikk meg til å sjekke om det bokstavelig
talt
var hakk i plata. Det var det selvsagt ikke, bare en endeløs
repetisjon
inn mot slutten av sporet.
Titommeren Fuck Seperation er enda bedre. To ti minutters spor som
banker på det samme to akkorders riffet gjennom tyve samfulle
minutter.
Som om Spacemen 3 egentlig spilte punkrock og ønsket å
drite seg ut så
godt som overhodet mulig. Tung, insisterende, mantrarock som pirrer den
ene hjernecellen du fortsatt har i behold.
Vi avslutter med syvtommeren Accumulation. Ti spor à ett
minutts
varighet. Totalcrash mellom punk og noise, full vernesko
størrelse 46
rett opp i baken. Accumulation tar oss tilbake til virkeligheten etter
Fuck Seperations audiofile mishandling.
Billy Bao er nødvendige.
Testcard #18 (Deutschland, by Magnus Schaefer)
Yellow Green Red (April 23rd, 2019 Philadelphia)
Billy Bao Fuck Separation 10″ (S-S, 2007)
Billy Bao is probably the most contemporary Discogs Cheapo entry thus far – this record comes from 2007, and although the Billy Bao alias seems to be retired at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if some new triple-LP gatefold came out next week. As far as I’m concerned, this plain-looking 10″ on the S-S label is Mr. Bao’s musical peak – two absolutely shredding cuts of bloodstained noise-punk. I feel like the contemporary hardcore-punk scene has fully realized how great The Leather Nun’s “No Rule” is at this point, and I’d say these two tracks are about as close as a modern group has come to emulating that same sense of combustible, no-brakes menace, like Motörhead riding a bridge to hell in search of revenge. As with all Billy Bao records, I am sure there is some philosophical concept to this one (each side features a single track of exactly ten minutes length), but as far as my ears can tell, the only concept at play here is to demolish every other monotonously-chugging punk band in their wake.
Piero Scaroffi
Billy Bao's EP Fuck Separation (2007) contains just two lengthy pieces: the relentless metal-voodoo dance Borders Of Mass Deception and its continuation Jail Logic, that simply introduces a bit more chaos until dissolving in the end. The single Accumulation (2007) contains ten gro
L’EP dei Billy Bao Fuck Separation (2007) contiene solo due lunghe tracce: l’implacabile danza metal-voodoo Borders Of Mass Deception e la sua continuazione Jail Logic, che introduce semplicemente un po’ più di caos, fino a dissolversi nel finale
S-S RECORDS by Scott Soriano
Don’t tell the INS, but Billy Bao is here. These internationalists destroy all boarders with the grinding bludgeon of pummeling sound. Two lonnnnnnggggg songs churn relentless riffs into wretched pounding and go back. Sub-metal, dirt dirge primitivism that attacks the shit nation state. For one from Billy Bao’s last one check out “Bilbo’s Incinerator” Embrace the degeneration of rock & roll! Fans of Brainbombs, Stickmen with Rayguns, Pissed Jeans, Drunk with Guns, etc. take note. White vinyl. Screened sleeves.
KDVS Radio, California by DJ RICK
It’s hard to think of “Bilbo’s Incinerator” as a catchy song until you hear this 10″. This is the even more deranged and ugly side of Billy Bao. Surely this record is the most severe ass-kicking you will receive this year.
AUDIOLAB blog
Nuevo álbum en vinilo de 10″ (primero de los tres grabados por el combo bilbaíno durante este último verano!) de la infame banda BILLY BAO, en esta ocasión de la mano del sello norteamericano S-S records. “Fuck Separation” es probablemente el mejor trabajo hasta la fecha de la banda liderada por el nigeriano-bilbaino. Un trabajo tan conceptual como visceral que mediante un crossfade gigante llena de esputos de rock bastardo y pesado nuestros oídos.
BILLY BAO talde zitalaren 10″-ko binilozko diska berria (pasa den udan grabatu duten hiruetatik lehena!) argitaratu du S-S records disketxe iparramerikarrak. seguruaski “Fuck Separation” da nigeriako bilbotarrak gidatzen duen taldearen gaur arteko diska hoberena. Kontzeptuala bezain bizia den lana, crossfade ikaragarri baten bidez gure belarriak rock sasikume eta pisutsuz betetzen dituena.
GURE HITZAK por Jon Imbernon
el ultimo ep de BILLY BAO me ha dejado muy pillado la verdad … no me esperaba algo asi, han tirado de guitarras super bestias, riffs de guitarra casi monoliticos, en 2 temas hiper machacones de noise-rock super bestia incluso con toque sludge… pero aki esta la gracia (y la parte experimental tambien) ambas canciones se cruzan en la mitad de cada una. me explico, cada cancion empieza en una cara y acaba en la otra, en la mitad de cada una hay un cross fade que pasa a la cancion que empieza en la otra cara, aparte decir que durante el trance se crea aun mas sensacion de caos y ruidera aun si cabe..
me ha parecido la puta polla vamos…
ESTO NO ES SIMPLEMENTE NOISE-ROCK O SLUDGE, ES MUSICA VERDAREMENTE ARRIESGADA QUE VA VARIOS PASOS MAS ALLA DENTRO DE SU ESTILO, COMO DEBE SER, LA OXTIA!
ROCK IN NICE: NICE ROCK AND UNDERGROUND MUSIC pour Razz
Mais non, c’est pas un carré blanc ! C’est le nouveau 25 cm de BILLY BAO chez S-S Records. D’ailleurs super packaging. Ca se voit pas là, mais le blanc est incrusté d’une carte du monde et du nom “Billy Bao” en énorme à l’arrière, classe au touché. Faut pencher le disque pour le voir.
Sinon, autant prévenir tout de suite, ce machin c’est deux titres, enfin non… juste un seul coupé en deux à la barbare au milieu. 10 minutes pile poil sur chaque face (je sais pas si c’est de l’intox ou pas, y a marqué 10:00, ça sent la frime).
Donc, évidemment c’est un peu un ovni. On dirait NIRVANA qui joue du FAUST à fond les manettes. Durant 20 minutes y a un seul riff avec deux moments de flottement qui change le ryhtme d’une manière un peu zarb’. A la fin j’avais l’impression qu’il avait mis deux fois le titre en décalé l’un sur l’autre!
Le mec gueule comme un taré, mais c’est mixé dans le bordel ambiant. Vraiment pas évident d’avoir un avis correct sur ce genre de musique. C’est bien mais c’est chiant. C’est chiant mais c’est quand même bien. Dommage que ce soit bien parceque c’est chiant. Jamais vu un truc aussi chiant, mais qu’est-ce que c’est bien, etc, etc, etc…
Et je dis : on dirait VENOM qui joue du NEU ?? Ca passe mieux ?
Consumer Electronics: Nobody’s Ugly, No Fun LP
Broom Dusters: Sound From The Bottom Of The Tokyo Underground, Siwa LP
M.B.: Symphony For A Genocide, Hospital / w.m.o CD
Mattress: In the Pocket, Malt Duck 7″
Peter Brotzmann & Sonny Sharrock: Fragments, Okka Disk LP
Angelblood: Mambo Mange, Locust LP
Billy Bao: Fuck Separation, S-S 10″
Blank Dogs: The First Four Weeks, Freedom School 12″
Eat Skull: Eat Skull, Meds 7″
So Cow: Moon Geun Young, Myoclonic / Almost Ready 7″
20 BEST EPs of the year 2007
Billy Bao “Fuck Separation” 10″ (S-S)
Blank Dogs “Yellow Mice Sleep” 7″ (HoZac)
Blank Dogs “The Doorbell Fire” 7″ (Sweet Rot)
Daily Void “Mass Communication Culture” 7″ (Boom Chick)
Eat Skull “Seeing Things” 7″ (Meds)
Electric Bunnies “Eskimo” 7″ (Florida’s Dying)
El Jesus de Magico “Funeral Home Sessions” 7″ (Columbus Discount)
Factums “See Inside” 7″ (Polly Maggoo)
Hank IV “Dirty Poncho” 7″ (Plastic Idol)
Human Eye “Spiders & Their Kin” 7″ (Cass)
ICK “La Parade des Sans Illusions” 7″ (Enfant Terrible)
Dan Melchior und das Menace “The Pink Scream” 12″ (Shake Appeal)
Mutators “Paper Words” 7″ (The Broadway to Boundary)
Nothing People “In the City” 7″ (S-S)
QEK Junior “Wohnanhängar” 7″ (Kernkrach)
Slicing Grandpa “Chaos Midnight” 10″ (Strain Theory/Scatalogical Liberation Front)
So Cow “Moon Geun Young” 7″ (Almost Ready)
Talbot Tagora “Cat Face” 7″ (self-released)
Thomas Function “Relentless Machines” 7″ (Tic Tac Totally)
Tyvek “Summer Burns” 2×7″ (What’s Your Rupture?)
Rotten attitudes birth a primal, infectious hardcore sludge document on Billy Bao’s new 10”. While not necessarily groundbreaking in light of the dearth of fantastic Drunks with Guns-inspired newcomers, Billy Bao perform with such conviction and intensity it affects the listener’s attitude. Unlike those bands, Billy Bao aligns itself more with anarcho punk than noise or black metal. Then again, pinpointing the band in a genre seems counterproductive. Named after their lead singer, they exemplify the current hardcore atmosphere with primal rage, slow riffs and wild feedback solos. Their songs linger naturally and resolve themselves appropriately, encompassing various styles into their structures. Comprised of two side-long tracks, the album pummels listeners with monolithic riffs and smart, angry verse. Both songs melt down fantastically, as their violent riffs burst at the fringes into feedback and drones while free jazz drums Lyrics separate the band from their peers. Billy Bao seems more concerned with the current political climate but they’re smart enough not to directly address it like dime-a-dozen Profane Existence wannabes. Instead, they describe the strife birthed from political oppression, both in the punk scene and the world at large. On “Borders of Mass Deception,” Bao describes the racist upheaval over secure borders with Mexico, shouting, “Bodies floating in the sea/Holidays in the beach/Work in your dreams/From A to B.” His pained vocals sound like a cross between Jake Sayles from Filth and Mike D. Williams from Eyehategod. “Jail Logic” presents a similar Sabbath-infested hardcore riff and a virtual call to arms for the band. Bao yells, “Punk has its rules, its reliable methods for producing satisfactory products/But the reality that must be taken as a point of departure is the one of dissatisfaction/It’s necessary to destroy the conventions of punk.” The band sounds like its playing two songs as percussion double tracks and cacophony underlines the main riff. If one chooses to focus on the extraneous elements of the song and ignore the familiar riff, it may sound like a trainwreck. When taken as a whole, the song sounds like the birth of a new, exciting turn for hardcore.
Third-world punk discoveries never cease, it seems – Billy Bao was grafted from the oppressive climate of Lagos to the streets of Spain, and aided in being given a wider voice by blacktop noise guitarist Mattin. Wildfire ensued, and yet it’s been years since the debut single (reviewed in the very first edition of this column, no less), and the subsequent minimal CD EP had scratched a militant crease into the minds of a newly enlightened punk rock audience. There’s an LP looming on Parts Unknown, but first up comes this two-song 10”, and it’s thicker and meatier and a whole lot less esoteric than previous offerings, two cross-faded 10 minute barrages of dirt-track muddin’, a wall of force. That one song ends where the other starts, and vice versa, is handled as hamfistedly as the chords slammed out to infinity, but somehow it stays in the groove, even as the rhythms drift off into another; it works as a compositional conceit, almost despite itself. Brutal, bludgeoning blows to the head and chest from the heart of the underserved. Essential listening from and for an angry, fed-up world. Edition of 600, white vinyl, white-on-white silkscreened sleeve.
1. Navid Tahernia ‘Speicher 56′ 12″
2. Brainbombs ‘Stinking Memory’ 7″
3. Mr. Oizo ‘Transexual’ 12″
* 4. Billy Bao ‘Fuck Separation’ 10″
5. Uffie ‘First Love’ 12″
6. Vampire Weekend ‘A-Punk’ 7″
7. Pink Reason ‘By a Thread’ 7″
8. Tyvek ‘Still Sleep’ 7″
9. Los Llamarada ‘The Very Next Moment’ 7″
10. The Rebel ‘Tarscoffsky’s the Snackrifice EP’ 12″
11. Waste Management ‘Get Your Mind Right’ 7″
12. Second Sex ’s/t’ 7″
13. Vicious ‘Igen’ 7″
14. Farah ‘Law of Life’ 12″
15. The Secret Society of the Sonic Six ‘Isolated Incidents’ 12″
16. Blank Dogs ‘Yellow Mice Sleep’ 7″
17. Birth Refusal ‘Cove Core’ 7″ & CD
18. Tyvek ‘Summer Burns’ 2×7″
19. Danava ‘Where Beauty and Terror Dance’ 7″
20. Sex Vid ‘Tania’ 7″
From the stark design (white-on-white silkscreened cover, white vinyl, minimal text sheet) to the bold title and the music itself, this release signifies heaviness and radicality; no superfluous ornaments here. The music starts all of sudden, it’s there, without an introduction or a fade-in: voice (Billy Bao), two guitars (Xabier Erkizia and Mattin) and drums (Alberto Lopez), in a bare, full-force rock mode, simple, repetitive, the screamed vocals barely discernible. Two or three chords are enough, and rather than changes there are accentuations, controlled burst of feedback or slight rhythmic variations, which further adds to the monolithic quality of the music. The flipside continues in this vein, yet even more intense, as it introduces a notion of latent chaos, never breaking loose, but always present in the wall of grinding guitar cum percussion noise that towers behind Bao’s vocal frenzy.
At closer inspection there is, however, more to this 10” than raw vitalism. Indeed, there is an elaborate formal and conceptual base underpinning these two tracks. As the text sheet reveals, both are exactly 10 minutes long. This correspondence is matched by the lyrics: they not only intermingle visually, as the text sheet’s layout arranges them in the form of a ‘X’, but they also refer to the two sides of the record and while “Borders of Mass Deception” (A-side) ends with the lines “From A to B, to be their shit”, “Jail Logic” (B-side) ends with “From B to A, I will split your brain” – reflexive strategies that are derived from modernist and conceptual art and add an unexpected complementary ‘layer’ to the force of the music.
‘Radicality’ and ‘pure’ heaviness might seem to have worn out as musical concepts but this work – as in fact quite a few others with Mattin’s involvement – suggest that this assumption has yet to be fully verified. Nevertheless these two times ten minutes of conceptualist noise rock ultimately leave me with ambivalent thoughts. Apparently, Billy Bao aim at a re-actualization of punk as a platform for radical music and thought. “Jail Logic” is explicit about that:
“Punk has its rules, it’s reliable methods for producing satisfactory products. But the reality that must be taken as a point of departure is the one of dissatisfaction. It’s necessary to destroy conventions in punk.”
Viewed in this light, “Fuck Separation” as a whole may be read as both a formulation of this claim and a way to realize it. After all, Billy Bao leave no doubt about both sides, of the record as well as of their statement, being interrelated.
Yet, as much as I’m impressed by the music’s power, as much as I value the conceptual base and as much as I respect this release as a political statement, I remain skeptic if – today – radicality can be expressed and attained through direct appellation or would rather demand more ambivalent strategies to allow a flexible position and circumvent getting lost in the void of agitation or entertainment.
8/10 — Magnus Schaefer (5 February, 2008)
TOP 12 Dec2007/jan2008
1. Billy Bao - Fuck Separation 10″ (s-s records)
2. Death - Keep on Knockin’ 7″ track (Detroit ‘76)
3. John Michael Green - Still The Innocent LP (Canada 70’s)
4. XTC -Respectable Street track (from ‘Black Sea’)
5. Claw Hammer - Ramwhale LP
(so good to be knocked out by it again after all these years)
6. Steel Pulse - Sound System track (1979)
7. The Boys -’Kamikaze’ track (from the 1979 alb ‘To Hell with…’)
8. Jethro Tull - Storm Watch LP (i swear i don’t have a thing for 1979 !)
9. Joanna Newsom - Y’s CD (still not done with it yet)
10. Peter Searcy - Couch Songs CD
(ex: Squirrel Bait frontman from a few years back)
11. The Iceman -Book (oh boy, what a read that is !)
12. C.A. Quintet -Trip Thru Hell CD (every home needs one)
Un 10¨ blanco de los bilbaínos Billy Bao en el sello S-S de Sacramento, California. El rock mutante y ruidoso de su debut, donde todos los extremos se tocan, del noise al thrash metal, atraviesa el charco a la conquista de América con ¨Borders Of Mass Deception¨ y ¨Jail Logic¨,
cuyas letras se cruzan en la X de Malcolm.
1. Billy Bao - Fuck Separation 10″
Christ this is HEAVY. It just grows and grows with each listen into one huge malignant throb of frustration and spite: a bludgeoning flood of anxiety that is damn near exhausting. Fucken A+
2. Dead Raven Choir - Selenoclast Wolves CD
Had this since it came out but it’s brilliance only hit me recently. Another fine, odd + eerie DRC release.
3. Asmus Tietchens -4K7 Box
Great to finally have this…OFF LAYBY! Hands down the best reissue of 2007. Simply AWESOME compositions originally found on small-run cassettes. This is GODHEAD!
4. Chris Smith - Altitude/Cold Ears 7″
This version of “Altitude” is heaps wikid.
5. Drunks With Guns - s/t LP
The feel-good album of 1987. I was into Hot Wheels “crack-ups” + Dynamite Crossing that year. I also started primary school.
6. Don “Sugarcane” Harris - “Sugarcane’s Got the Blues” LP
Opening track rips!
7. Deaf Wish - s/t 7″
Great new record on the local Idget Child label. Scowling, dynamic charge. Mum gets punched.
8. Gordons - 1st Album + Future Shock EP
All on one handy CD.
9. Plastic Cloud - s/t CD
Excellent 60’s fuzz
10. Iron Curtain - Desertion 1982-1988 CD
Superb and now widely available. Cold, eerie stories w/ icy synth and chilly, droning hypnotism. For fans of great songs, Twin Peaks and low temperatures.
- Black Lips - ‘Good Bad Not Evil’ LP (Vice)
- Tyvek - ‘Summer Burns’ 2X7″ (What’s Your Rupture?)
- The Scientists - ‘Sedition’ CD (ATP)
- TV Ghost - ‘Atomic Rain’ 7″ (Die Stasi)
- The Horrors - ‘Strange House’ CD (Loog) + live show at El Rey
- Haunted George - ‘Pile O’ Meat’ LP(Hook Or Crook)
- Final Solutions - ‘Songs By Solutions’ LP (Goner)
- Billy Bao - ‘Fuck Separation’ 10″ (SS)
- Liars - s/t CD (Mute)
- Goodnight Loving - ‘Crooked Lake’ LP (Dusty Medical)
- Blank Dogs - 7″s (Hozac/Sweet Rot/Florida’s Dying) and 12″s (Freedom School/Sacred Bones)
- Nothing People - 7″s (Hozac/SS)
- Grinderman - s/t CD (Mute)
TERMINAL BOREDOM: Best of 2007 by Erin aka Emphysema (The A-Frames)
Factums: Great releases and some of my favorite shows of ‘07. I’m sad that Dan their amazing guitar player and primary documentarian has moved to Chicago, but between the back catalog of existing material and some long-distance collaborating I’m hopeful there will be lots more to hear still. Siltbreeze LP - I just wanna hold it and look at it as well as listen - total tactile experience.
Los Llamarada: Jesus that SS 7 kicked my ass! I was already hooked from the LP so it wasn’t totally unexpected - but that thing sat on our turntable for quite a while. Hope I get a chance to see these guys live sometime soon.
Pink Reason: Everyone here knows this story of course, and a pretty fucking good story it is… I can’t wait to hear the new LP and whatever Kevin has in store for us next.
Climax Golden Twins: Another fave show of the year for me was these guys - Amy Denio showed up unexpectedly to play sax and sing. I stood next to Min the whole set not believing our ears - we were convinced this was the result of planning and practice but of course were totally wrong & the entire set had been improvised. Their new LP 5 Cents a Piece is also great. Min describes them pretty well in his list - this is the record you put on, go about your business, and at some point say to yourself “what the fuck is this again??” - an unending variety of sounds come from these talented folks.
Group Inerane: Well covered on TB - totally amazing.
Billy Bao: 2 perfect extended pieces of total destruction rock + beautiful presentation = something you gotta own! this is what makes me want to buy records. I can’t explain it, but downloading Billy Bao seems somehow ridiculous?
Blank Dogs: I want my Blank Box!!!
Siltbreeze: Been a fan of Dead C and Harry Pussy for a long time - I love this guy’s aesthetic and what I’ve heard of the new releases have been true to the vision here. xNoBBQx, TPK, Factums, Pink Reason, Psych HS, you all know the list better than me probably.
Le Sang Song: Our friend Craig from the Lights and Pyramids doing bedroom recordings - great range of mellow grooves that makes you feel like you’re sitting there right next to him getting your own performance - from Can to Cohen and more. I really hope this gets released in ‘08…
Pyramids/Hexentanz: This band is so good! Just saw them again a few nights ago and they sounded better than ever. 2 piece guitar and drums with both singing - they both know how to lead a song so together they create an almost relentless kind of pop/art/noise/weird/punk that has something for everyone, but it all gels together with it’s own primitive punch. I’ve always had a soft spot for 2 pieces - I love how punked out and direct it usually sounds - but these guys are able to pull off more variety than most in this format.
TV Ghost: Read about these guys in a post by Kevin on TB early on - one visit to their myspace site and I was hooked. How could these kids make such haunting, timeless apocalypse punk? Youth as the future past. Anxious for the LP and a chance to see em live.