SPK (band)

Last updated

SPK
Also known asSoliPsiK, SepPuKu, Surgical Penis Klinik, System Planning Korporation, Sozialistisches Patienten Kollektiv
Origin Sydney, Australia
Genres
Years active1978–1988
LabelsSide Effects, M Squared, Nettwerk, WEA, Industrial, Mute, Fresh Sounds, Regular, Thermidor
Past members Graeme Revell
Neil Hill
Danny Rumour
David Virgin
Dominik Guerin
James Pinker
Karel van Bergen
John Murphy
Derek Thompson
Brian Williams
Sinan Leong
Jeff Bartolomei
Mary Bradfield-Taylor
Sam McNally
Jan Thornton
Karina Hayes
Paul Charlier
Kit Quarry

SPK were an Australian industrial music and noise music group formed in 1978. They were fronted by mainstay member, Graeme Revell on keyboards and percussion. In 1980 the group travelled to the United Kingdom where they issued their debut album, Information Overload Unit . In 1983 Sinan Leong joined on lead vocals. The group disbanded in 1988. Two years later Revell and Leong relocated to the United States, where Revell works as a Hollywood film score composer. According to Australian rock music historian Ian McFarlane, SPK were "at the forefront of the local post-punk, electronic/experimental movement of the late 1970s ... [their] music progressed from discordant, industrial-strength metal noise to sophisticated and restrained dance-rock with strange attributes".

Contents

History

SPK was formed in 1978 in Sydney when New Zealand-born Graeme Revell (a.k.a. "EMS AKS", "Operator", "Oblivion") met Neil Hill (a.k.a. "Ne/H/il"). Revell was working as a nurse on a psychiatric ward at Callan Park Hospital where Hill was also working. Hill and Revell shared a house and an interest in the manifesto of the German radical Marxist group known as the Sozialistisches Patientenkollektiv (SPK). [1] The duo were influenced by Kraftwerk, Can, Neu!, Faust, and John Cage – they started playing their own variety of industrial music as SPK. [1] According to rock music historian Ian McFarlane the acronym SPK is variously given as "SoliPsiK, SepPuKu, Surgical Penis Klinik, System Planning Korporation and Sozialistisches Patienten Kollektiv". [2] The band recruited two teenagers, Danny Rumour (later of The Cruel Sea) on lead guitar and David Virgin on bass guitar (both ex-Ugly Mirrors, and went on to form Sekret Sekret), on early recordings by SPK in 1979. [2] In that year they independently released three 7" pressings: SoliPsiK as a three-track extended play in April, "Factory" as a single in August and "Mekano" in November. [2]

Dominik Guerin (a.k.a. "Tone Generator") joined on synthesisers in 1980, and later concentrated on the band's visual content. In May they issued an EP, Meat Processing Section, as Surgical Penis Klinik. Without Hill, SPK relocated to London where Guerin and Revell recorded their debut album, Information Overload Unit , in a Vauxhall squat with the help of Revell's brother Ashley Revell (a.k.a. "Mr.Clean") and Mike Wilkins (guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals). The album deals with psychotic states and mental retardation. The original 1981 release on Side Effects has a black cover with a small picture of head being operated on, the 1985 version on Normal is blue and pictures a man in a wheelchair and the 1992 CD reissue has System Planning Korporation with the initials SPK highlighted in red. [3] McFarlane suggested "the album's harsh, thumping sound appealed to fans of Throbbing Gristle and early Cabaret Voltaire". [2] In June 1980 they issued the single, "Slogun", with lyrics inspired by the Marxist manifesto: "Kill, Kill, Kill for inner peace / Bomb, Bomb, Bomb for mental health / Therapy through violence!" Other musicians working with SPK included James Pinker (drums, percussion) and Karel van Bergan (violin, vocals), who toured with them to the United States. In July 1981 in Australia, the M Squared label released another single, "See Saw". [2] The cover depicts SoliPsiK with members given as Kitka (a.k.a. Kit Katalog), Sushi (a.k.a. Margaret Hill), Charlyiev (a.k.a. Paul Charlier) and Skorne (Neil Hill). Both tracks are co-written by Charlier and Hill. [4]

In 1982 SPK's Guerin and Revell were joined by Brian Williams (a.k.a. Lustmord), John Murphy of Forresta di Ferro (a.k.a. "Kraang") and Derek Thompson (who later had a brief stint in The Cure and went on to record as Hoodlum Priest). SPK's second album, Leichenschrei (English: The Scream of the Corpse) (1982), shows Sozialistisches Patienten Kollektiv (English: Socialist Patients' Collective). After its recording they were joined by Sinan Leong on vocals, who had initially auditioned for a planned SPK side-project, Dance Macabre. Leong and Revell later married. In 1983 Thompson left SPK because Revell "wanted to make a very commercial sounding album which I did not". [5] McFarlane found that "SPK had softened the approach somewhat with discernible synth melodies and dance beats coming to the fore amongst the noise". [2] In August 1983, the group issued a compilation album, Auto Da Fé, showing SepPuKu written with SPK in red capital letters. [6] It included three studio tracks recorded in 1981. Bush suggested the album was the "beginning of a more organized approach for SPK material, Auto Da-Fé presents an intriguing industrial-disco fusion, reminiscent of prime contemporary material by Cabaret Voltaire and DAF ... Although fans probably thought of [it] as an unconscionable crossover attempt, it's still quite experimental in retrospect". [6] The three-track EP, Dekompositiones (also by SepPuKu) followed soon after. Its tracks were added to a later version of Auto Da Fé.

In early February 1984, just before his 28th birthday, Neil Hill committed suicide.[ citation needed ] Two days later his wife Margaret Hill (née Nikitenko) died as a result of complications from anorexia.[ citation needed ] In March SPK issued another single, "Metal Dance", which was co-written by Revell, Leong and Thompson. [7] SPK returned to Australia for a tour and recorded their third album, Machine Age Voodoo , in Sydney which was issued in 1984 on WEA Records. For the album, SPK's Revell and Leong were joined by Jeff Bartolomei on keyboards, Mary Bradfield-Taylor on vocals, Graham Jesse on saxophone, James Kelly on guitar, Sam McNally on keyboards and Phil Scorgie on bass guitar. [2] McFarlane saw the album as "mixed mainstream disco-pop and sweet vocals with electronic experimentation (sort of like Blondie meets Kraftwerk)". [2] While Bush felt it was "another leap towards dance-rock and away from the group's industrial past". [8] The album spawned a single, "Junk Funk" in 1985. [2]

Leong and Revell returned to Australia and added Karina Hayes as vocalist. They issued Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers in 1986 which provided a single, "In Flagrante Delicto". It was followed by Digitalis Ambigua: Gold & Poison in 1987. Allmusic's Sean Carruthers observed that Revell "was in a period of transition... [s]omewhere between the industrial noise of the early years and his later soundtrack work". [9] In 1988, the band issued a live album, Oceania... In Performance 1987 but disbanded during the year. In 1989, Revell moved into work on scores and soundtracks. [2] SPK's track "In Flagrante Delicto" was used by Revell for his work on the soundtrack for the 1989 film, Dead Calm . [10] By 1991 Leong and Revell had moved to Los Angeles.

McFarlane regarded SPK to be "at the forefront of the local post-punk, electronic/experimental movement of the late 1970s ... [their] music progressed from discordant, industrial-strength metal noise to sophisticated and restrained dance-rock with strange attributes". [2]

Initialism

The meaning of SPK is deliberately unclear; and some of the album covers suggest several different variations. The most well known is Sozialistisches Patienten Kollektiv, but there are also others, such as Surgical Penis Klinik, System Planning Korporation, SepPuKu , Selective Pornography Kontrol, Special Programming Korps, Sushi Patata Kalabacita and SoliPsiK

Works

The most notable recordings of SPK are early: Information Overload Unit, Leichenschrei and Auto-da-fé. SPK's music is best described as disturbing and psychologically disorienting, in line with their nihilistic, subversive philosophy. Live performances included video backing (some of which was issued in two Twin Vison videos, Despair and Two Autopsy Films), transgressive performances with animal carcasses and other attempts to make the audience uncomfortable. The group issued manifestos, such as DoKuments 1 and 2, "The Post-Industrial Strategy", which appeared in RE/Search's Industrial Culture Handbook. [10] [11] There is a clear dichotomy between early industrial SPK (1978–83) and the more commercial music later favoured by Revell. Later releases, such as Machine Age Voodoo (1984), were more synthpop-oriented than industrial. Still later, the group moved into electronic orchestral work, with the release of Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers (1986).

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Singles, EPs, cassettes

Videos and films

Related Research Articles

Dark ambient is a genre of post-industrial music that features an ominous, dark droning and often gloomy, monumental or catacombal atmosphere, partially with discordant overtones. It shows similarities with ambient music, a genre that has been cited as a main influence by many dark ambient artists, both conceptually and compositionally. Although mostly electronically generated, dark ambient also includes the sampling of hand-played instruments and semi-acoustic recording procedures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clock DVA</span> English band

Clock DVA are a musical group from Sheffield, England, whose style has touched on industrial, post-punk, and EBM. They formed in 1978 by Adi Newton and Steven "Judd" Turner. Along with contemporaries Heaven 17, Clock DVA's name was inspired by the Russian-influenced Nadsat language of Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange. Dva is Russian for "two".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tin Tin (band)</span> Australian band

Tin Tin was a pop rock band, which first formed in Australia as the Kinetics in 1966. They relocated to the United Kingdom in 1969 and were renamed as Tin Tin, which comprised Steve Kipner, Steve Groves, John Vallins and Geoff Bridgford (drums). In 1970 they issued a single, "Toast and Marmalade for Tea", which was a No. 10 hit on the Go-Set National Singles Chart in June the following year. It also reached No. 20 in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100. Their next single, "Is That the Way?" (1971), peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Graeme Revell is a New Zealand musician and composer. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the leader of the industrial/electronic group SPK. Since the 1990s he has worked primarily as a film score composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoodlum Priest (musician)</span> English musician

Named after a 1960s movie, Hoodlum Priest is a name used by producer/multi instrumentalist and composer Derek Thompson, born of an Irish background but born and raised in London. The name later became his self-chosen moniker for his work as a producer and engineer, using hip-hop, industrial, and techno influences as the source of material for his sounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girl Monstar</span> Australian rock band

Girl Monstar were an all female Australian rock band which formed 1988 with the line-up of Damian Child on bass guitar; Anne McCue on lead guitar and vocals; Sherry Valier on vocals and rhythm guitar ; and Sue World on drums and vocals. Both of their singles, "Surfing on a Wave of Love" / "He's Hell" (1989) and "Joe Cool" (1990), topped the Australian Independent charts. They issued one album, Monstereo Delicio, in July 1992 on Timberyard Records. Child was replaced by Janene Abbott but the group disbanded in 1993. Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, described their sound "trash pop style mixed tough guitar riffs with strong harmonies". Valier as Rich, is a country rock artist and has issued solo material as well as performing in bands. McCue is also an alternative country artist, she relocated to Nashville and has released several solo albums.

<i>...Ish</i> (album) 1988 studio album by 1927

...ish is the debut album by Australian pop rock band 1927, released on 14 November 1988, which peaked at number one for four weeks in early 1989 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album remained in the top 50 for 46 weeks and reached No. 2 on the 1989 ARIA Year End Albums Chart. The album was awarded 5× platinum certification – for shipment of more than 350,000 copies. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1989, 1927 won 'Breakthrough Artist – Single' for "That's When I Think of You" and 'Breakthrough Artist – Album' for ...ish. At the 1990 ceremony the group won 'Best Video' for "Compulsory Hero", which was directed by Geoff Barter. In 1999 rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, described the album as "brimful of stirring, stately pop rock anthems". As of 2002, it was in the top 10 of the most successful debut albums by Australian artists.

Little Heroes were an Australian band formed in 1980, by founding mainstay Roger Hart on lead vocals and guitar. They released three studio albums, Little Heroes, Play by Numbers and Watch the World. Their highest charting hit, "One Perfect Day", which was released in 1982, reached No. 12 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Their other charting singles are "Young Hearts" (1982), "Watch the World" and "Bon Voyage". They disbanded in June 1984.

<i>Esteem</i> (album) 1983 studio album by Machinations

Esteem is the debut studio album from Australian synthpop band Machinations. The album was released in April 1983 on White Label Records, a subsidiary of Mushroom Records.

The Black Sorrows are an Australian blues rock band formed in 1983 by mainstay vocalist Joe Camilleri, who also plays saxophone and guitar. Camilleri has used various line-ups to record 17 albums, with five reaching the top 20 on the ARIA Albums Charts: Hold on to Me, Harley and Rose, Better Times, The Chosen Ones - Greatest Hits and Lucky Charm. Their top 40 singles are "Chained to the Wheel", "Harley + Rose" and "Snake Skin Shoes".

Rockmelons, often referred to as the Rockies, were an Australian pop/dance/R&B group formed in 1983 in Sydney. Primary members are Bryon Jones, his brother Jonathon Jones and Raymond Medhurst. They had two Australian top five hit singles in the early 1990s with "Ain't No Sunshine" and "That Word (L.O.V.E.)", both sung by Deni Hines. The associated album, Form 1 Planet, peaked at number 3 on the ARIA albums chart in 1992, and was certified platinum in Australia.

Scattered Order are an Australian post punk band, which started as an experimental rock trio. They were formed in 1979 by founding mainstay Mitch Jones on vocals, guitar and bass guitar and Michael Tee on guitar and synths. Their line up changed often through the 1980s and 1990s. In late 1983 Drusilla Johnson joined on synthesiser and vocals – Johnson and Jones later married. The band went on hiatus from 2000–2011, reforming with a line-up featuring Jones, Tee and Shane Fahey from Makers of the Dead Travel Fast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reckless (Australian Crawl song)</span> 1983 single by Australian Crawl

"Reckless" (aka "Reckless (Don't Be So)", "Reckless (Don't You Be So)", "She Don't Like That") is a 1983 song from the EP Semantics by Australian band Australian Crawl. The song showed a change in the line up of the band as drummer Bill McDonough was temporarily replaced by Graham Bidstrup (also on keyboards). After the EP was released, Bidstrup was replaced by John Watson (drums).

Horsehead are an Australian hard rock band which formed in late 1991 with Scott Kingman on guitar (ex-Cattletruck), Cameron McKenzie on guitar, Andy McLean on vocals, Mick Vallance on bass guitar and Craig Waugh on drums. They toured nationally and internationally as well as supporting United States group, Metallica, on the Australian leg of their April 1998 tour. The band issued three albums, Horsehead (1993), Onism (1996) and Goodbye Mothership (1999) before disbanding in 2000. According to Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, their style of "stadium rock mixed a Led Zeppelinesque bottom-end kick with gut-thumping Faith No More-styled riffs. Nothing subtle or innovative, but everything delivered with great force and conviction".

<i>Machine Age Voodoo</i> 1984 studio album by SPK

Machine Age Voodoo is the third studio album by Australian industrial band SPK, released on 30 November 1984 by WEA Records. It was first released outside the United States until 1985 when it was released by Elektra Records. Produced by Graeme Revell, the album is a radical departure from the band's previous material, leaning more towards synth-pop and dance-rock, rather than industrial music. It is the band's first studio album to feature Sinan Leong as lead vocalist.

<i>Leichenschrei</i> 1982 studio album by SPK

Leichenschrei is the second album by the band SPK. It was released in 1982 on Thermidor Records in the United States and in 1983 on the band's own Side Effekts label in the United Kingdom. The title is a German word meaning "corpse scream", and might refer to an alleged supernatural behavior exhibited by the deceased.

Russell James Dunlop was an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer-engineer. From the late 1970s he collaborated with Bruce Brown in a production company for albums and singles by Australian performers including Mental As Anything, The Reels and Machinations. As a musician he was a member of various groups such as Aesop's Fables (1968–70), Levi Smith's Clefs (1971), Southern Contemporary Rock Assembly (SCRA) (1971–72) and Ayers Rock (1976).

Richard Arnold Pleasance is an Australian rock musician and producer. He was a founding member of Boom Crash Opera on guitar, bass guitar, vocals and as a songwriter in 1985; they released three albums before Pleasance left in 1992. Their hit Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) singles, "Great Wall" and "Onion Skin" were co-written by Pleasance, who also co-produced their second album, These Here Are Crazy Times. His debut solo release, Galleon received four nominations at the ARIA Music Awards for 1992. Pleasance composed the theme music for Australian television series, SeaChange (1998–2001), for 2006 feature film Kenny and more recently he composed the theme music for the prison drama series Wentworth. Pleasance is married to Michelle and, as from May 2009, he was living in Hepburn Springs, Victoria where he has a recording studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Virgin</span> Musician, songwriter and producer

David Anthony Healy, who performs as David Virgin, is an Irish-born Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. In the 1980s he was a member of punk industrial noise group SPK, and later formed a post-punk band, Sekret Sekret. He was active in the 1990s and 2000s touring Australia and Europe. He performed and recorded both as a solo artist and as a member of numerous bands. Virgin is the owner of Beardfire Recording Studios in Dublin, Ireland where he has produced music for artists including Ailsha, All The Queen's Horses, RUNAH, Patricia Lalor, and SPK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Kingsmill</span> Australian rock musician (born 1956)

Mark Adrian Kingsmill is an Australian rock musician. He has drummed with several bands including the Hitmen (1979–84), New Christs (1983–84), the Screaming Tribesmen (1984) and Hoodoo Gurus. He is the older brother of Richard Kingsmill, former music director and presenter on Triple J.

References

  1. 1 2 Blake, Trevor (September 2000). "Part 2: Post-industrial Band SPK/Graeme Revell, Australia/England/USA, 1978 – present". SPK – Krankheit Im Recht. Heidelberg, Germany: KRRIM - PF-Verlag fuer Krankheit. ISBN   978-3-926491-26-8.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'SPK'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop . St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN   1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 6 August 2004. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  3. Bush, John. "Information Overload – SPK". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation . Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  4. "'Chambermusik' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 29 February 2012. Note: User may click on 'Search again' and enter other titles by SoliPsiK e.g. See Saw or Zombod.
  5. "Interview with Derek Thompson of Hoodlum Priest". 7 January 1998. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010.
  6. 1 2 Bush, John. "Auto Da Fé – SPK". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  7. "'Metal Dance' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  8. Bush, John. "Machine Age Voodoo – SPK". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  9. Carruthers, Sean. "Digitalis Ambigua, Gold and Poison – SPK". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  10. 1 2 "Panelist Bios: Graeme Revell". Survival Research Labs (Mark Pauline). Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  11. Austin, Mark; et al. (1983). V. Vale, Andrea Juno (ed.). Industrial Culture Handbook: Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, SPK, Z'ev, Non, Monte Cazazza, Mark Pauline, Sordide Sentimental, Johanna Went . San Francisco, CA: RE/Search. ISBN   0-940642-07-7.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Indie Hits "S"". www.cherryred.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  13. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/1984/CMJ-New-Music-Report-1984-02-13.pdf#search="spk" [ bare URL ]
  14. 1 2 "SPK | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com .