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Showing posts with label ian svenonius. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ian svenonius. Show all posts

Thursday, 10 April 2025

Last Of The Sell Outs

Escape- Ism is Ian Svenonius and Sandy Denton. They have an album called Charge Of The Love Brigade, a title I wish I'd thought of. Ian Svenonius has been declaring manifestos and making grand statements since his days in Washington D.C. punk testifiers Nation Of Ulysses in the late 80s and their 13 Point Program To Destroy America (a program which feels suddenly very relevant again). Ian and Sandy make similarly great claims for Escape- Ism, including that the band is 'found- sound dream- drama', an 'act of musical vandalism' that will 're- purpose music as we know it', music that will bring bourgeois society to an end and that will be enjoyed by 'musicians, amateurs and non- musicians but also plant life, wild animals and even inanimate object such as rocks'. Who am I to disagree?

This is Last Of The Sell Outs, a song that seems to gain and reveal more with each listen, an organ/ synth chord sequence and drum machine providing low fi backing to Ian's meditation on the creative and commercial process. The gnarly guitar part at the end is a joy too. 



Friday, 2 March 2012

Music's Not For Everyone


Andrew Weatherall's weekly radio show at XOYO reached episode 5 last night. I'm finding it hard to keep up with two hours a week but the shows have been uniformly excellent and are worth listening to. Last night's is here. Weatherall's show is named after a Chain And The Gang song (from the album of the same name) released last year, with Ian Svenonius pulling out all the stops. As usual.

Music's Not For Everyone

Saturday, 5 March 2011

Back On The Chaingang


Ian Svenonius was a member of Marxist rock 'n' soul testifiers Nation Of Ulysses, who had a 12 point plan to destroy the youth of America from within or something. Good fun. He was also the front man of Make Up, and most recently Chain And The Gang. This song, Deathbed Confession, is a good 'un- deep and heavy, tongue in cheek, groovy and ever-so-slightly odd. Svenonius confesses to all sorts of things, including killing JFK 'for the CIA' and Malcolm X 'for Federal Express' and faking the moonlandings. Well worth a few minutes of your Saturday evening. Brown suit and tank top- yes or no?

Deathbed_Confession.mp3