2023: A Trilogy

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2023: A Trilogy by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu
2023, a trilogy by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu.jpg
Author The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Genre
  • Alternative histories
  • Science fiction [1]
Published London
Publisher Faber and Faber
Publication date
2017
ISBN 9780571338085
OCLC 1041418081
Website http://k2planthireltd.com/
REMEMBERED – TOLD – TRANSCRIBED
for K 2 Plant Hire Ltd

2023: A Trilogy is a book by Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond writing as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu. The book was published in 2017, 23 years after the duo had burnt one million British pounds they earned in the music industry as The KLF.

Contents

Background

Music-industry figure Bill Drummond and artist/musician Jimmy Cauty began recording together in 1987 as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (also known as The JAMs), naming themselves after the fictional conspiratorial group "The Justified Ancients of Mummu" from The Illuminatus! Trilogy . [2] In 1988 they had a UK number one hit single—"Doctorin' the Tardis"—as The Timelords, [3] [4] and subsequently wrote their first book together— The Manual —documenting the process of making a hit record. [5]

After transitioning into The KLF, Cauty and Drummond became the biggest-selling singles act in the world for 1991. [6] [7] In May 1992, the KLF announced their immediate retirement from the music industry and the deletion of their back catalogue. [7] [8] Flush with cash from their pop career, the duo formed the K Foundation, a creative outlet for their art projects and media campaigns. [9] [10] On 23 August 1994, the K Foundation infamously burnt what was left of their KLF earnings—a million pounds—and filmed the performance. [11] [12] [13] They later issued a statement that on 5 November 1995 they had signed a "contract" at Cape Wrath in northern Scotland agreeing to wind up the K Foundation and not to speak about the money burning for a period of 23 years. [14]

On 5 January 2017, a poster attributed to Cauty and Drummond's company K2 Plant Hire Ltd was sighted in Hackney, London with the heading "2017: WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?", [15] echoing the press advert for—and title of—the KLF's 23 minute comeback performance as 2K in 1997—"1997 (What The Fuck's Going On?)", [16] and a reference to The JAMs' debut album 1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?) . [17] The poster announced that the Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu "are currently at work in their light industrial unit", and that the work would be made public on 23 August 2017, [15] but Drummond denied that the duo had any plans "to reform the KLF or exploit our back catalogue in any way". [18] Nonetheless, rumours were rife that The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu would be making a return to the music business, this assumption being made by at least The Guardian , [19] Fact Magazine [20] and the NME. [21] It soon became apparent, however, that the JAMs would be releasing not music but a novel titled 2023: A Trilogy. [22]

Book launch

At 23 seconds past midnight on 23 August, 23 years after they burnt a million pounds, [23] [24] [n 1] Drummond and Cauty arrived at the "News From Nowhere" bookshop in Liverpool in their ice cream van and officially launched 2023: A Trilogy. [26] [24] The number 23—or the 23 enigma—is a recurring theme in both The Illuminatus! Trilogy and the work of the KLF. [24] [27] Following a book stamping, [28] Cauty and Drummond staged a three-day festival called "Welcome to the Dark Ages". [26] [24] [28] [29]

Plot

Hannah Ellis-Petersen writing in The Guardian describes the book as "a multi-layered, self-referential meta tale." [27]

Cover

Like Illuminatus!, the cover of 2023 features a pyramid. The pyramid on the cover of The Illuminatus! Trilogy references the Eye of Providence icon, often depicted as an eye within a triangle or pyramid. [30] The pyramid has been another consistent feature in the duo work's: KLF Communications' logo was the "Pyramid Blaster", a pyramid, in front of which is suspended a ghetto blaster displaying the word "Justified". [31] [32] During the duo's 1997 re-emergence, they proposed the building by K2 Plant Hire of a "People's Pyramid" to be built with as many bricks as there were births in the 20th century in the UK, [32] [33] and the plan was rebooted during "Welcome to the Dark Ages" with the pyramid now to be built from bricks containing the ashes of dead people. [34]

Critical reception

Jake Arnott, in a review for The Guardian, said the book was "enslaved by its sources", pointing to its many references to pop culture and its "disparate backstories", but "there is too much borrowing and simply not enough stealing". [35]

Notes

  1. ↑ A journalist participant from The Guardian reported the arrival as 23 minutes after midnight. [25]

Related Research Articles

<i>K Foundation Burn a Million Quid</i> 1994 work of performance art

K Foundation Burn a Million Quid was a work of performance art executed and filmed on 23 August 1994 in which the K Foundation, an art duo consisting of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, burned £1 million in the back of a disused boathouse on the Ardfin Estate on the Scottish island of Jura. The money represented the bulk of the K Foundation's funds that had been previously earned by Drummond and Cauty as the KLF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Drummond</span> Scottish artist and musician (born 1953)

William Ernest Drummond is a Scottish artist, musician, writer, and record producer. He was a co-founder of the late-1980s avant-garde pop group the KLF and its 1990s media-manipulating successor, the K Foundation, with which he famously burned £1 million in 1994.

James Francis Cauty, also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo the KLF, co-founder of the Orb and as the man who burnt £1 million.

The Black Room is a never-completed album by the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, intended to be the follow-up to their KLF album The White Room.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K Foundation</span> Art foundation set up by Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond

The K Foundation was an art foundation set up by Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond, formerly of The KLF, in 1993, following their 'retirement' from the music industry. The Foundation served as an artistic outlet for the duo's post-retirement KLF income. Between 1993 and 1995, they spent this money in a number of ways, including on a series of Situationist-inspired press adverts and extravagant subversions in the art world, focusing in particular on the Turner Prize. Most notoriously, when their plans to use banknotes as part of a work of art fell through, they burned a million pounds in cash.

The 23 enigma is a belief in the significance of the number 23. The concept of the 23 enigma has been popularized by various books, movies, and conspiracy theories, which suggest that the number 23 appears with unusual frequency in various contexts and may be a symbol of some larger, hidden significance. A topic related to the 23 enigma is eikositriophobia, which is the fear of the number 23.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Grim Up North</span> 1991 single by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu

"It's Grim Up North" is a song by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu. The song was originally released as a limited edition "Club Mix" in December 1990 with Pete Wylie on vocals. A re-recorded version with Bill Drummond on vocals was released commercially in October 1991. These recordings were the first releases by Drummond and his creative partner Jimmy Cauty under the JAMs moniker since the 1988 compilation album Shag Times, and the last under that name; in the meantime they had operated as the Timelords and the KLF. The 1991 single release reached No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart and entered the top 10 in Denmark and Finland.

This discography lists the key British and notable international releases of The KLF and the other pseudonyms of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty. It also details the other releases on their independent record label, KLF Communications, by KLF-spinoff Disco 2000 and Space. In the United Kingdom—their home country—Drummond and Cauty released six albums and a wide array of 12 " singles on KLF Communications. In other territories their material was typically issued under licence by local labels.

Disco 2000 was a British pop band, a side project of The KLF. Vocals were handled by Cress, then-wife of KLF co-founder Jimmy Cauty, and "Mo". Between 1987 and 1989, Disco 2000 released three singles on the KLF Communications label, none of which entered the top 75 of the UK Singles Chart.

<i>1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?)</i> Debut album of The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu

1987 is the debut studio album by British electronic band The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, later known as the KLF. 1987 was produced using extensive unauthorised samples that plagiarised a wide range of musical works, continuing a theme begun in the JAMs' debut single "All You Need Is Love". These samples provided a deliberately provocative backdrop for beatbox rhythms and cryptic, political raps.

<i>Who Killed The JAMs?</i> 1988 studio album by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu

Who Killed The JAMs? is the second studio album by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, and the final one under the JAMs moniker before renaming themselves The KLF. Similar in style to the preceding 1987 , the album is a fusion of hip hop, drum machines and samples of a diversity of musical works, although in general the samples are more covertly integrated here than they are in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Last Train to Trancentral</span> 1990 single by The KLF

"Last Train to Trancentral" is a song released, in different mixes, as a series of singles by British electronic band The KLF, including "Last Train to Trancentral ". A commercially successful single of April 1991, it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, number one on the UK Dance Singles Chart and achieved international top ten placings. It is a central song within The KLF's work, and is distinctive for an uplifting string-synthesiser break.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What Time Is Love?</span> 1988 single by the KLF

"What Time Is Love?" is a song released, in different mixes, as a series of singles by the British electronic music band the KLF. It featured prominently and repeatedly in their output from 1988 to 1992 and, under the moniker of 2K, in 1997. In its original form, the track was an instrumental electronic dance anthem; subsequent reworkings, with vocals and additional instrumentation, yielded the international hit singles "What Time Is Love? " (1990), and "America: What Time Is Love?" (1991), which respectively reached number five and number four on the UK Singles Chart, and introduced the KLF to a mainstream international audience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justified & Ancient</span> 1991 single by The KLF

"Justified & Ancient" is a song by British band the KLF. It was featured on their 1991 album, The White Room, but its origins date back to the duo's debut album, 1987 .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All You Need Is Love (JAMs song)</span> Song by the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu

"All You Need Is Love" is a song by the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, independently released as their debut single on 9 March 1987. A politically topical song concerning the British media's AIDS furore, the track was initially given a 12" white label release because of its sampling of other records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitney Joins the JAMs</span> Song by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu

"Whitney Joins the JAMs" is a song and 1987 single by the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu. The song, released on the JAMs' independent label KLF Communications, is built around plagiarised samples of Whitney Houston in which—thanks to studio technology—she "joins the JAMs".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The KLF</span> British electronic music duo

The KLF are a British electronic band who originated in Liverpool and London in the late 1980s. Scottish musician Bill Drummond and English musician Jimmy Cauty began by releasing hip hop-inspired and sample-heavy records as the JAMs. As the Timelords, they recorded the British number-one single "Doctorin' the Tardis", and documented the process of making a hit record in a book The Manual . As the KLF, Drummond and Cauty pioneered stadium house and, with their 1990 LP Chill Out, the ambient house genre. The KLF released a series of international hits on their own KLF Communications record label and became the biggest selling singles act in the world in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuck the Millennium</span> 1997 single by 2K

"Fuck the Millennium", sometimes spelled "***k the Millennium", is a protest song by the band 2K—Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty—better known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu or the KLF. The song was inspired musically by Jeremy Deller's "Acid Brass" project, where a traditional brass band plays acid house classics; these include the KLF's "What Time Is Love?". They were also inspired topically by the then-forthcoming end of the second millennium and the plans to celebrate it.

Welcome to the Dark Ages was a three-day event organised by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, held in Liverpool in August 2017. The event heralded a revival of the creative partnership between Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond, under the name with which they first recorded and released music together in 1987. The duo had last worked together in 1997, when, as 2K, they staged an art performance and released a single, "Fuck the Millennium", and, as K2 Plant Hire Ltd, hatched a plan to build a "People's Pyramid" to celebrate the new millennium.

References

  1. ↑ "2023 : a trilogy". Library Hub Discover.
  2. ↑ Cranna, Ian (1987). "1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?) review". Q . Archived (via the Library of Mu) on 4 October 2016.
  3. ↑ Paphides, Peter (22 February 2004). "Making the law". The Observer Music Monthly. Archived from the original on 23 February 2004.
  4. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  5. ↑ Cauty, Jimmy; Drummond, Bill (1988). The Manual. United Kingdom: KLF Publications. ISBN   0-86359-616-9.
  6. ↑ Bush, John. KLF at AllMusic . Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Timelords gentlemen, please!". New Musical Express . 16 May 1992. Archived (via the Library of Mu) on 11 October 2016.
  8. ↑ Shaw, William (July 1992). "Who Killed The KLF". Select . Archived (via the Library of Mu) on 11 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "The Best Of Artists, The Worst of Artists". The New York Times . 29 November 1993. Archived (via the Library of Mu) on 16 September 2016.
  10. ↑ Ellison, Mike (24 November 1993). "Terror strikes at the Turner Prize / Art at its very best (or worst)". The Guardian . Archived (via the Library of Mu) on 16 September 2016.
  11. ↑ Reid, Jim (25 September 1994). "Money to burn". The Observer . Archived (via the Library of Mu) on 16 September 2016. This article is a first-hand account by freelance journalist Jim Reid, the only independent witness to the burning.
  12. ↑ Butler, Ben (18 June 2003). "Interview: The KLF's James Cauty". Rocknerd (interview with Jimmy Cauty for The Big Issue Australia ). Archived from the original on 10 December 2007.
  13. ↑ Smith, Andrew (13 February 2000). "Burning question". The Observer . Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  14. ↑ K Foundation (8 December 1995). "Cape Wrath". The Guardian (advertisement). Archived (via the Library of Mu) on 16 September 2016.
  15. 1 2 Doran, John (5 January 2017). "KLF Announce Return After 23 Year Absence". The Quietus . Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  16. ↑ "Jeremy Dellar Presents". mutelibtech.com. Mute Records. Archived from the original on 27 March 2006.
  17. ↑ McCormick, Neil (11 October 1998). "Yes, this is the cutting edge of rave music". The Arts. The Daily Telegraph . London. p. 26. Archived from the original on 26 February 2016. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  18. ↑ Trendell, Andrew (5 January 2017). "The KLF respond to reunion rumours with mysterious messages". New Musical Express . Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  19. ↑ Robinson, Peter (5 January 2017). "The KLF are back (sort of) – and it's exactly what 2017 needs". The Guardian . Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  20. ↑ Twells, John (5 January 2017). "The KLF confirm return with mysterious poster". Fact Magazine . Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  21. ↑ Trendell, Andrew (3 January 2017). "The KLF tease return to music in 2017?". New Musical Express . Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  22. ↑ Morgan Britton, Luke (6 February 2017). "The KLF announce new book". nme.com. NME . Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  23. ↑ Paterson, Colin (23 August 2017). "The KLF return 23 years after bowing out of the music industry" (video). BBC News . Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Pilley, Max (24 August 2017). "The Ice Kream Van Kometh: The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu Return". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  25. ↑ Ellen, Barbara (26 August 2017). "KLF Welcome to the Dark Ages review – what time is chaos?". The Guardian . Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  26. 1 2 "The KLF: Pop's saboteurs return after 23 years". BBC News. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  27. 1 2 Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (23 August 2017). "The return of the KLF: pop's greatest provocateurs take on a post-truth world". The Guardian . Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  28. 1 2 Beaumont, Mark (23 August 2017). "The KLF return: all of the rules of their bizarre book 'signing'". New Musical Express .
  29. ↑ Ray, Josh (30 August 2017). "Welcome To The Dark Ages: The JAMs Return". Super Weird Substance . Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  30. ↑ Adams, Cecil (23 May 1997). "Is the dollar bill's eye-on-a-pyramid the symbol of a secret society?". The Straight Dope . Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  31. ↑ "The White Room – Information Sheet Eight". KLF Communications. August 1990. Archived (via the Library of Mu) on 5 October 2007.
  32. 1 2 Graham, Ben (1 February 2017). "Embrace The Contradictions: The Strange World Of... The KLF". The Quietus . Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  33. ↑ "2K: Brickin' it!". NME (News item). 8 November 1997. Archived (via the Library of Mu) on 16 September 2016.
  34. ↑ Youngs, Ian (26 November 2018). "KLF's Jimmy Cauty: 'We don't make records, we make pyramids out of dead people'". BBC News . Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  35. ↑ Arnott, Jake (September 7, 2017). "2023: A trilogy by the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu review – the KLF are back". The Guardian . Retrieved October 23, 2017.
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