Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 15:18:33 EDT From: Dez (100702.123@COMPUSERVE.COM) Subject: Gus Gus / Reykjavik Rocks Hi everyone, I'm back from Iceland, and brought back with me a copy of the eponymously-titled debut album by new 4AD signings Gus Gus. It was originally released towards the end of last year in Iceland on the Kjol og Anderson label, and whilst not quite a classic, it is the sound of a band absolutely oozing with ideas. It's one of the most eclectic collections I've ever heard, and judging from this, I think they'll prove to be one of 4AD's most exciting signings of recent years. So what do they sound like? I really couldn't describe an overall sound, such is the breadth of ground covered. Underworld and Lionrock are the bands I think of most - not bad company to keep. The opener, Gun, is a fairly laidback techno/funk groove that sounds a bit like Underworld in their more mellow moods, overlaid with a dirty funk guitar lick. The funk groove continues with Barry White Power, with a rather bizarre falsetto vocal that becomes a bit annoying after a while. Polyester Day is another funk trip which sounds a bit like the more uptempo stuff that Tricky does. Less dope-fuelled, more superfly. It goes on for eight and a half minutes which is probably twice as long as it should. Chocolate sends us into Coldcut territory - mellow grooves, almost latin rhythms, funky bassline, and subtle dabs of guitar. Oh, track five, and Gus Gus have gone bossanova, with vibes, and the singer sounding like Mick Harvey on his Serge Gainsbourg trip. The first half closes with a ballad, Why, sung by Emiliana (I think), whose voice is a little like Beth Gibbons of Portishead, but not that much. But it's a really nice song. Believe sends as back into a groove, a bit like Underworld's River of Bass. Mellow almost to the point of somnambulance. Cold Breath '79 follows, and reminds me very much of Manchester duo Lamb. Sweet vocals, a bit of techno, and some wonderful downtempo beats. Remembrance starts like it's going to be an Orbital homage, and then somehow metamorphoses into Xymox! It sounds really incongruous compared with what has gone before - all robotic beats, icy synths, and yearning angst-in-overcoat vocals. It's actually very good indeed, even if it does go on for eight minutes. If you played somebody Is Jesus Your Pal, and ask them to guess the label - they would probably say 4AD. Very This Mortal Coil. The last two tracks, Message From Disney and Purple, are superb, and taken as a whole, run to a thirteen minute epic closer. The first is almost pure Detroit techno, before it gets lusher and runs into Purple which sounds a bit like Orbital's Halcyon. A brilliant way to close the album. So with Gus Gus, looks like 4AD have got their techno/funk/trip-hop options all covered, with some TMC type stuff thrown in. It will be interesting to see what the first 4AD stuff will be like. Personally, I'm really looking forward to it. I've no idea what distribution outside Iceland is like - I've certainly never seen a copy of the album in the UK. I'd suggest you write to them at PO Box 1141, 121 Reykjavik, Iceland. 17th June is the Independence Day national holiday in Iceland, and everybody goes totally barmy. There was an all day open air concert in Reykjavik. I saw about five bands, most of whom were awful. But one stood out - Kolrassa Krokridandi, a four female/one male guitar band, with the distinction of having a violinist, and playing some fairly wired rock. Muses fans would probably like them a lot - I know I did, so much so that I sought out an album of theirs. It's called Kynjasogur, and is a little more restrained than they were live, but has some good tunes on it. The label is Smekkleysa, and the address is PO Box 710, 121 Reykjavik, Iceland. The only other band I saw (apart from a pretty awful Irish folk duo) were called KOL. They played about 50% covers, the rest original material in Icelandic (or covers of Icelandic songs). They were pleasant enough, but only merit a mention here because they closed the set with a jolly reading of the Pixies' Here Comes Your Man. Of course, I didn't spend all of my time in Iceland at gigs or in record shops. It's a stunningly beautiful country. I'd loved to have stayed all summer. Certainly picked the right time to get out of Manchester, anyway. - Dez Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997 14:55:11 EST From: Dez <100702.123@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Polydistortion I got my hands on a promo copy of Gus Gus's forthcoming masterpiece today. Eleven tracks, and every one a classic. The track listing is as follows: Oh / Gun / Believe / Polyesterday / Barry (White Pride) / Cold Breath '79 / Why / Remembrance / Is Jesus Your Pal? / Purple / Polybackwards. Five of the tracks appear in the same form as they did on the original Icelandic release of the album (then just titled Gus Gus). 'Oh' is a short one minute plus edit of an originally longer track that features a snippet of Magnus Jonsson's Serge Gainsbourg-like monologue over a kind of cheesy-easy backing. 'Gun' follows in what is quite a radically remixed version. The funky guitar riff has been toned down, and the mix soaked in distortion. What was originally Underworld playing dirty funk has been turned into something almost Daft Punk-like. The two singles follow, and surely need little introduction here. Two of 4AD's best singles of the nineties. At this juncture, I'd like to express mild disappointment that no room could be found for 'Chocolate'. There are a couple of stripped-down techno versions on the first promo twelve (Gus 1). Perhaps these, or the original will find their way on to a forthcoming single release. 'Barry (White Pride)' has been remixed and sounds a whole lot better than it did originally. Magnus Jonsson's falsetto is endearingly silly, reminding me of some of those crap early eighties jazz-funk bands - anyone remember Imagination's Leee Johns? The music is souped-up Isaac Hayes without the strings, and with a nineties beat. 'Cold Breath '79' has a new, shuffling beat, and a kind of minimalistic techno feel to it on the lines of Mark Broom or some of Slam's stuff. On top of this, Hafdis Huld's distracted, dreamy vocal lends the track a kind of disconnected feel with dubby undertones. 'Why' appears in the same version as the original release, and bloody right too. It's a beautiful ballad sung by Gus Gus guest Emiliana Torrini who is something of a star in Iceland and has had two solo LPs of her own. This leads into the ambient techno epic, 'Remembrance'. Eight minutes of absolute brilliance. Imagine Carl Craig remixing Joy Division, or something like the vocal version of Orbital's 'The Box' (only bleaker) and you're some way there. 'Is Jesus Your Pal' is the album's only cover, having been originally recorded by Icelandic rock band Slowblow. It's another Emiliana Torrini ballad, so delicate and wisp-like that it almost drfits off into nothingness. Just a slow beat, a voice, and sampled-whales (it may not be sampled whales, but sounds like it to me). 'Purple' is a techno/breakbeat stormer that absolutely brought the house down when the band played in Reykjavik in January. If 4AD get around to sticking a white label of this out, then it'll be residing in most self-respecting DJ's boxes very soon. I think they call these things anthems. The album ends with 'Polybackwards', a brand new track, which as the title suggests is based upon 'Polyesterday' played backwards, but becomes a supreme piece of chill-out ambient in it's own right. And then it's over. This is some album, and if the forthcoming Tarnation record is anything like as good as it promises to be then 4AD should finally have shut up the cynics who doubt the label's relevance in 1997. They're on a roll. By the way, if you've continued reading my excitable prose this far, then you'll be interested to know that this month's Muzik conains a short interview with the band, and a review not dissimilar to this one (in flavour if not in length) of the album, and there's an equally gushing review of the london live show in Melody Maker. Wish I'd been there. - Dez Date: Tue, 18 Mar 1997 11:28:53 -0500 From: Jeff Keibel Subject: GUS 6 From the PolyGram press release... GUS GUS Polydistortion 4AD Gus Gus are a nine-piece Icelandic collective including musicians, vocalists, film-makers, actors, computer programmers, photographers and DJs. Like their internationally known predecessors The Sugarcubes, Gus Gus are a boundary-breaking group with a hypnotic, highly appealing, yet innovative sound. Highlighted as one of the electronic hopefuls to break in North America, the songs on "Polydistortion" are a trippy combination of ambient atmosphere, funky guitar, electronic loops and dreamy lyrical images. This is a priority project for 4AD worldwide & Elektra in the US. The domestic release will feature a limited edition bonus EP of remixed and reworked tracks with the initial pressing. A limited servicing of 12" vinyl for "Polyesterday" was serviced to tastemakers last year to extremely favourable response. Our first work track at alternative radio & clubs will be "Believe" (serviced with exclusive mixes). A Canadian Stickman remix for "Why" is also being done to support our efforts around the second single. Publicity priority with weeklies, dailies, magazines, targetted across the country. Flyers will be created for distribution at clubs, internet cafes and concerts. Advertising will be booked at all club culture publications across the country. Compact Disc catalogue number DAD7005CD Track Listing 1. Oh (edit) 2. Gun 3. Believe 4. Polyesterday 5. Barry 6. Cold Breath '79 7. Why? 8. Remembrance 9. Is Jesus Your Pal? 10. Purple 11. Polyreprise Bonus EP Cold Breath '79 (Husmix) Believe (16B Remix) Believe (LFO Remix) Polydistortion Jeff Keibel Scarborough, Ontario CANADA e mail: redshift@interlog.com Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 09:26:14 -0800 From: Jef-Marcel Encinas Subject: GusGus/Fassbinder The film in question that gave GusGus their name is : "Angst Essen Seele Auf". Released in 1973, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder it stars Brigitte Mira and El Hedi Ben Salem. The story of a widow in her sixties who falls for a man twenty years younger. They soon move in together , marry and trouble follows. Much condemnation and prejudice are expressed , due in part to the age difference but more so from the man's ethnic background. The prejudice only makes them stronger and brings them closer. In time, as even this ceases to be a threat any longer and people begin to accept.....their relationship unravels.... Daniel of GusGus claims that there is a "local joke" within the film and has made it everyone's homework to seek it out.