SPK (band)
Encyclopedia
SPK, formed in 1978 in Sydney
, Australia
, was a 1980s and early 1990s industrial music
and noise music
group. One member, Graeme Revell
, would later go on to become a successful Hollywood movie composer.
when they became inspired by the manifesto
of the German radical Marxist group known as the Sozialistisches Patientenkollektiv
(SPK). The band also recruited two teenagers, David Virgin and Danny Rumour, who helped create the first recordings of SPK in 1979. The following words, inspired by the SPK manifesto, are used on one of the band's first recordings, Slogun (1979): "Kill, Kill, Kill for inner peace/ Bomb, Bomb, Bomb for mental health/ Therapy through violence!" Dominik Guerin (aka Tone Generator) joined in 1980, and was later to concentrate on the band's notorious visual content. Guerin and Revell recorded the first album, Information Overload Unit
(1981), in a Vauxhall
squat
(during the Brixton riots in London) with the help of Revell's brother Ash (aka Mr.Clean) and Wilkins (guitar/bass). After the recording of SPK's second album, Leichenschrei
("The Scream of the Corpse")(1982), they were joined by Sinan Leong, who had initially auditioned for a planned SPK side-project, Dance Macabre. She and Revell were later to marry. In the first week of February 1984, just short of his 28th birthday, Neil Hill committed suicide two days before his wife Margaret Nikitenko died as a result of complications from anorexia.
Other musicians working with SPK included Danny Rumour and David Virgin of Sekret Sekret, who were on the band's first recordings that were done in 1979, James Pinker and Karel van Bergan, who toured the U.S. in 1982 with Guerin and Revell, Brian Williams of Lustmord
, John Murphy of Forresta di Ferro (better known as Kraang) and Derek Thompson, who later had a brief stint in The Cure
and went on to record as Hoodlum Priest. Thompson claims that he left SPK when founder member Revell wanted to take the band in what Thompson perceived as a more commercial direction.
, Selective Pornography Kontrol, Special Programming Korps and SoliPsiK
, Leichenschrei and AutoDaFe. 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. There is a clear dichotomy between early industrial SPK (1978–83) and the more commercial music later favoured by Graeme 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).
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, was a 1980s and early 1990s industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
and noise music
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
group. One member, Graeme Revell
Graeme Revell
Graeme Revell is a New Zealand film score composer.Revell attended Auckland Grammar School, where he finished his final year in 7A...
, would later go on to become a successful Hollywood movie composer.
History
The group was formed when Revell (aka Operator, Oblivion, EMS AKS) met up with Neil Hill (aka Ne/H/il). They were both working at a psychiatric hospitalPsychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
when they became inspired by the manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
of the German radical Marxist group known as the Sozialistisches Patientenkollektiv
Socialist Patients' Collective
The Socialist Patients' Collective was a patients' collective founded in Heidelberg in February 1970, by Wolfgang Huber. The kernel of the SPK's ideological program is summated in the slogan Turn Illness into a weapon, which remains actively practiced...
(SPK). The band also recruited two teenagers, David Virgin and Danny Rumour, who helped create the first recordings of SPK in 1979. The following words, inspired by the SPK manifesto, are used on one of the band's first recordings, Slogun (1979): "Kill, Kill, Kill for inner peace/ Bomb, Bomb, Bomb for mental health/ Therapy through violence!" Dominik Guerin (aka Tone Generator) joined in 1980, and was later to concentrate on the band's notorious visual content. Guerin and Revell recorded the first album, Information Overload Unit
Information Overload Unit
Information Overload Unit is the 1981 debut full-length album by the Australian industrial band SPK. Originally released in 1981 by Side Effects, it was re-released twice; in 1985 by Normal, and in 1992 by The Grey Area.-Side A :...
(1981), in a Vauxhall
Vauxhall
-Demography:Many Vauxhall residents live in social housing. There are several gentrified areas, and areas of terraced townhouses on streets such as Fentiman Road and Heyford Avenue have higher property values in the private market, however by far the most common type of housing stock within...
squat
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
(during the Brixton riots in London) with the help of Revell's brother Ash (aka Mr.Clean) and Wilkins (guitar/bass). After the recording of SPK's second album, Leichenschrei
Leichenschrei
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 Scream of the Corpse")(1982), they were joined by Sinan Leong, who had initially auditioned for a planned SPK side-project, Dance Macabre. She and Revell were later to marry. In the first week of February 1984, just short of his 28th birthday, Neil Hill committed suicide two days before his wife Margaret Nikitenko died as a result of complications from anorexia.
Other musicians working with SPK included Danny Rumour and David Virgin of Sekret Sekret, who were on the band's first recordings that were done in 1979, James Pinker and Karel van Bergan, who toured the U.S. in 1982 with Guerin and Revell, Brian Williams of Lustmord
Lustmord
Brian Williams is a British electronic musician often credited for creating the dark ambient genre with albums recorded under the name Lustmord.- History :Williams started recording as Lustmord in 1980 before joining SPK in 1982...
, John Murphy of Forresta di Ferro (better known as Kraang) and Derek Thompson, who later had a brief stint in The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
and went on to record as Hoodlum Priest. Thompson claims that he left SPK when founder member Revell wanted to take the band in what Thompson perceived as a more commercial direction.
Acronym
The meaning of the SPK abbreviation is deliberately unclear; the album covers suggest several different alternatives. The most well known is Sozialistisches PatientenKollektiv, but there are also others, such as Surgical Penis Klinik, System Planning Korporation, SePuKkuSeppuku
is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai bushido honor code, seppuku was either used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies , or as a form of capital punishment...
, Selective Pornography Kontrol, Special Programming Korps and SoliPsiK
Works
The most notable recordings of SPK are early: Information Overload UnitInformation Overload Unit
Information Overload Unit is the 1981 debut full-length album by the Australian industrial band SPK. Originally released in 1981 by Side Effects, it was re-released twice; in 1985 by Normal, and in 1992 by The Grey Area.-Side A :...
, Leichenschrei and AutoDaFe. SPK's music is best described as disturbing and psychologically disorienting, in line with their nihilistic
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
, subversive philosophy. Live performances included video backing (some of which was issued in two Twin Vison videos, Despair and Two Autopsy Films), transgressive
Transgressive art
Transgressive art refers to art forms that aim to transgress; i.e. to outrage or violate basic mores and sensibilities. The term transgressive was first used by American filmmaker Nick Zedd and his Cinema of Transgression in 1985...
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
RE/Search
RE/Search Publications is an American magazine and book publisher, based in San Francisco, founded and edited by Andrea Juno and V. Vale in 1980. It was the successor to Vale's earlier punk rock fanzine Search & Destroy , and was started with $100 from Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti...
's Industrial Culture Handbook. There is a clear dichotomy between early industrial SPK (1978–83) and the more commercial music later favoured by Graeme Revell. Later releases, such as Machine Age Voodoo
Machine Age Voodoo
-Track listing:# "Machine Age Voodoo" - 4:06# "With Love from China" - 5:48# "High Tension" - 4:29# "One World" - 4:28# "Flesh and Steel" - 5:24# "Metropolis" - 4:27# "Metal Dance" - 3:41# "Seduction" - 4:26# "Crime of Passion" - 4:16-Personnel:...
(1984), were more synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
-oriented than industrial. Still later, the group moved into electronic orchestral work, with the release of Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers
Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers
Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers is the fourth album by the band SPK.-Track listing:# "Invocation " – 5:16# "Palms Crossed in Sorrow" – 5:05# "Romanz in Moll " – 4:15...
(1986).
Albums
- Information Overload UnitInformation Overload UnitInformation Overload Unit is the 1981 debut full-length album by the Australian industrial band SPK. Originally released in 1981 by Side Effects, it was re-released twice; in 1985 by Normal, and in 1992 by The Grey Area.-Side A :...
- LP/CD - 1981 - LeichenschreiLeichenschreiLeichenschrei 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...
- LP/CD - 1982 - Machine Age VoodooMachine Age Voodoo-Track listing:# "Machine Age Voodoo" - 4:06# "With Love from China" - 5:48# "High Tension" - 4:29# "One World" - 4:28# "Flesh and Steel" - 5:24# "Metropolis" - 4:27# "Metal Dance" - 3:41# "Seduction" - 4:26# "Crime of Passion" - 4:16-Personnel:...
- LP - 1984 - Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine FlowersZamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine FlowersZamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers is the fourth album by the band SPK.-Track listing:# "Invocation " – 5:16# "Palms Crossed in Sorrow" – 5:05# "Romanz in Moll " – 4:15...
- LP/CD - 1986 - Digitalis Ambigua: Gold & PoisonDigitalis Ambigua: Gold & PoisonDigitalis Ambigua: Gold & Poison is the fifth album by the band SPK. Half of the tracks can be found on their previous record, Zamia Lehmanni.-Track listing:# "Breathless" - 4:50# "Mouth to Mouth" - 5:50# "Sheer Naked Aggression" - 4:12...
- LP/CD - 1987 - Oceania - LP/CD - 1988
Singles, EPs, cassettes
- "No More/Kontakt/Germanik" - Single - 1979
- "Factory"/Retard/Slogun" - Single - 1979
- "Mekano/Kontakt/Slogun" - Single - 1979
- "Meat Processing Section" EP (Slogun/Mekano) - Single – 1980
- "See Saw/Chambermusik" (as SoliPsiK) - Single - 1981
- "At The Crypt" - Cassette - Sterile RecordsSterile RecordsThe Sterile Records record label was formed in London in 1979 by Nigel Ayers and Caroline K of the post-industrial music group Nocturnal Emissions. With a background in the mail art networks, their intention was to create and promote a new form of music...
- 1981 - "Last Attempt at Paradise" - Cassette - 1982
- "Dekompositiones" - 12"EP - 1983
- "From Science To Ritual" - Cassette - 1983
- "Metal Dance" - Single - 1984
- "Junk Funk" - Single - 1984
- "Flesh & Steel" – Single - 1985
- "In Flagrante Delicto" - Single – 1986
- "Off the Deep End" - Single - 1987
- "Breathless" - Single - 1987
- "Digitalis Ambigua: Gold & Poison" - Single - 1987
Videos and films
- "Despair" - SPK Video by Twin Vision - 1982
- "Two Autopsy Films" - SPK Video by Twin Vision - 1983
- "Despair" - Digitally extracted DVD by Twin Vision - 2007
External links
- Homepage of Graeme Revell
- http://spk.id.au/
AUSTRALIA. Official Site 2009; Tone Generator K. Osmosis & CaTV - Information Overload Unit - archive of early
- No Night Sweats - first
lineup