Date: Thu, 5 May 1994 17:55:16 GMT From: Julian Lawton Subject: FSA Flying Saucer Attack -------------------- >The politics seem a bit muddled though - they seem to prefer vinyl as a more >democratic, cheap, accessible medium, but then issue 1000-copy limited-edition >singles, and put about 10% of them in one huge shop in London. Hmm, Dave charged a French friend of mine about 5 quid for a copy of the first 7" as he only had 10 left in the house - mine says No.170/250. . . a friend in Bristol's is 263/300 (or something - I don't KNOW the first numbers, just they disagree). All I can say is no firm will press LESS than 500 7"s . . . makes you think. Also the cheeky git charged me an extra 1.50 for the LP, because 'there's only 3 in the shop'! ! ! (Now consider that it hadn't been shipped anywhere, and that the recording costs (at home on a 4 track) were minimal & think how much profit that is!)). . . So political they are not - I think their aesthetic/politics are more like Duophonic in the early days - release records that are hard to find & expensive so people covet them. . . Haven't got Crystal Shade (on Planet Records - Bristol label who also issued the Crescent & Movietone singles I mentioned previously - both have an FSA connection). The first 7" was re-issued by VHF in the states with different packaging, and I think the second one is going to be too. Unfortunately I can't recall the titles of either - one of the tracks is on the LP, and there's also an excellent instrumental track. I'll check out the names tonight. They've now signed to Domino for their next LP, and there's a John Peel session to be broadcast soon. If they (as is likely) become more succesful I wouldn't be surprised if someone did a 'Switched On' type of compilation. The band info is thus - first off it was just Dave from Revolver Records using a 4 track. On the LP he plays all the non-programmed bits, with percussion loops by 'The 3rd Eye Foundation' (haven't a clue about this - probably Dave again anyway!), and the drums on the Drowners cover are by Rocker; a dentist from Cheltenham. . . (actually he used to be in the Flatmates and has plenty of keyboards/etc). Since the LP 'they' became a band, with Dave's girlfriend Rachel playing bass (her main band is Movietone), and a second guitarist & drummer whose names I don't know. 'Crystal Shade' is the first stuff by the band, and the only remains of an aborted 2nd LP (they split up after doing it. For less than a month!). That's everything I know, except the titles of the first two 7"s. . . Date: Fri, 6 May 1994 13:22:21 GMT From: Julian Lawton Subject: FSA (again) The first 2 singles were Soaring High/Standing Stone (Stargazer Records - reissued by VHF) Wish/Oceans (Stargazer Records) Apparently ltd. to 300 in the first case, 700 in the second. Oceans is a really ace instrumental - all shimmers of sound, and percussion like a train. . . Soaring High is dedicated to lots of cool things that give away the FSA aeasthetic (Patrick McGoohan, Kurt Vonnegught, Philip K Dick, Syd Barret, Colin Wilson, American Music Club, Can, Faust, Tim Buckley, Roy Harper). Incidentally I was listening to a tape of Dead C 'Driver UFO' last night, and that's pretty much what Flying Saucer Attack sounded like live. . . J. Julian Lawton - julian@sahiber.demon.co.uk ---------------------------------------------- "My political inclination is to be a traitor" - Robert Wyatt ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Sep 1995 09:09:00 +0100 From: Andrew Norman (nja@LEICESTER.AC.UK) Subject: Cocteaus, Main, FSA Flying Saucer Attack - Outdoor Miner / Psychic Driving (Domino, RUG41) FSA have now officially Sold Out, as this single is also available on CD, with last-but-one single "Land Beyond the Sun" / "Everywhere was Everything" added (and I am extra-sad because I bought both formats). I have always thought that Lush's cover of the Wire song was one of their finest moments, and it's hard to listen to FSA's version without imagining Emma and Miki singing in the chorus. B-side is a sludgy repetitive instrumental, and the two bonus songs on the CD are the standard FSA "sweet pop songs with tons of distorted noise" formula. -- Andrew Norman, Leicester, England // nja@le.ac.uk // 26/09/95 On my walkman this morning : Teenage Fanclub - Grand Prix To one another! for the world, which seems Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 16:02:54 -0400 (EDT) From: butterfly mcqueen Reply-To: ctip@dharma.firstcomm.com To: Multiple recipients of Subject: Re: Stars Of the Lid, FSA/Roy M. > Some referents to tie this to might be Fripp/Eno's "Evening Star" >(which a lot of people seem to be drawing from of late), :Zoviet*France:s >"Shamany Enfluence", Harold Budd's "Gypsy Violin", Windy & Carl's >"Antarctica", Seefeel's "Minky Starshine", and bits of the Aphex Twin's >"Selected Ambient Works 2". This album is definitely worthy company. I also heard some Lovesliescrushing in there (track 6, "Music for Twin Peaks episode blah blah blah, pt. 1"). Yeah, I guess the album has nice parts, but I didn't really find it worthy paying full price for. On a side note, I bought the FSA/Roy Montgomery CDEP and am quite satisfied with it. The "collaboration" is really just a marketing ploy, as Roy's contribution to it is just a recording of when he sat in with them live one time, recorded on a Dictaphone no less. So there are three official tracks on the CD, but the third one has two parts separated by fifteen seconds of silence. They're distinct enough to be considered separate songs, in my opinion. Anyway, here's a little rundown: (1) "goodbye" (4:48) -- Tape collage, "assembled by chance": Dave's pretension never stops, does it? Chance operation is no longer such the innovative thing -- I don't know who he's fooling. Not that it's a bad idea; there's just no validity in boasting about it. Anyway, this one is okay. It's got a bunch of different noises and textures, all on the darker, less melodic side. Some washing machine-type loops, some tele:funken-reminiscent grinding, some piano, among other things. In summary, "eh." (2) "and goodbye" (8:49) -- Ah, Roy.... this one is real lo-fi (Dictaphone live recording), but it doesn't matter. Anything Roy touches seems to attain godhood instantaneously. A real nice two-note droner with that great Roy feel. Did I mention that Roy Montgomery plays on this one? :) The static (not so much from fuzzy guitars as from shitty sound quality) kind of adds to it. Cool bass line, too. (3) "the whole day" (9:58) -- Part I (3:15): Nice, fuzzy, dark ambient noise awash with overtones. It's nice, but not that special. Part II (6:23): YES!!! This is where it's at! Brighter loops and washiness, a la "there but not there" from _Chorus_, with great resounding bass drums -- the chords alternate between two two-noters (sorry, I know the wording is quite lame). The effect is ... dare I say ... majestic? In any event, it's fucking brilliant. It's a little bit of a departure from "Phase One" while retaining some of its nicer, more abstract elements -- so if this is "Phase Two" (okay, Dave), then I'm hooked! Mm... This one could be about, oh, say, 20 minutes longer? :) ; ed Date: Thu, 4 Sep 1997 21:30:19 +0200 From: Frank Brinkhuis Subject: Re: Flying Saucer Attack Chris wrote: >Can anyone tell me some more about this band. I recently bought "Distance" >which is a collection of B-sides etc apparently and I love it. Can anyone >recommend some further purchases and some info on who they are? A and B sides. Anyway, EVERYTHING they've done is BRILLIANT. For me they are the best thing music has brought over the last 3-4 years. Check out: 'Flying Saucer Attack' debut album 'Chorus' 2nd singles colelction 'Further' 2nd proper album 'Goodbye' EP with Roy Montgomery And then: 'Sally Free And Easy' EP 'Distant Station' a remix album by a certain Telefunken the self-titled Live CD on Corpus Hermeticum Also try the many FSA spin offs: Movietone, Amp, etc. etc. etc. Frank frankbri@pi.net Frank Brinkhuis Date: Thu, 4 Sep 1997 20:45:05 +0000 From: Andrew Norman Subject: Re: Flying Saucer Attack Chris Plume: > Can anyone tell me some more about this band. I recently bought > "Distance" which is a collection of B-sides etc apparently and I > love it. Can anyone recommend some further purchases and some info > on who they are? I think that's their best album - FSA are Dave and Rachel from Bristol (now just Dave I think), and albums are (in chronological order): Flying Saucer Attack (a.k.a. "Rural Psychedelia") Distance (compilation of singles from about this time) Further (a bit folkier) Chorus (compilation of singles and a Peel session) There's apparently another album due later this year, notable EP and compilation appearances (in order of quality): "Outdoor Miner" - the Wire song with a noisy instrumental, CD version has the "Land Beyond the Sun" single added. "Sally Free and Easy" - Lovely folk song and instrumental B-side. "Harmony of the Spheres" - 3 LP vinyl-only box with a dodgy FSA instrumental side, plus Jessamine, Bardo Pond, Roy Montgomery, Loren Mazzacane Connors and Charalambides. Not FSA's finest moment. "Goodbye" - noisy 3-track EP with Roy Montgomery on one track. "Distant Station" - Tele:Funken remix of FSA live/studio tapes. Untitled live album on Corpus Hermeticum - these last two are cut-ups of tapes to form interesting sound collages, and are good but wildly different from most FSA releases. There have also been a few split singles and compilation tracks which are so far uncollected on albums. -- Andrew Norman, Leicester, England andrew@riverrun.demon.co.uk http://www.riverrun.demon.co.uk/ Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 09:50:10 +0000 (GMT) From: Andrew Norman Reply-To: ctip@dharam.firstcomm.com To: Multiple recipients of Subject: What about the voice of Geddy Lee? Flying Saucer Attack * Roy Montgomery - Goodbye (VHF#26) Metal machine music. According to rumour this is a farewell single, or was originally recorded as one, and the notes say it is compiled from bits of tape (live and studio) assembled by chance. "Goodbye" is FSA in offensive noise mode with a piano breaking in towards the end, "And Goodbye" is from a tape of a gig with Roy Montgomery, and is more noise, and then there's "The Whole Day", which is more noise. About 25 mins, all instrumental, no trace of folk music. Interesting for fans, but if this was all FSA had ever done nobody would be very enthusiastic about them. The "Sally Free and Easy" EP has better soundscapes on "Three Seas", and the further bad news is that as yet it's only available as an import for UK listeners (mine did come with a free VHF sampler, which cushioned the financial blow somewhat). If you have to make a choice, you are better off buying the Tele:Funken/FSA album.