Mancunian born Andy Votel came from an era of record collecting and DJ’ing that had more in common with scrap metal haulage than expensive trophy chasing. Spending his early teens making “music” with crudely modified old vinyl LPs, kitchen utensils and cassette tape loops his continued search for discarded noise lead him to run one of the most respected vinyl re-issue labels in the world (Finders Keepers) and be involved in over 250 record releases covering every aspect in making, breaking and mistaking experimental pop music. Multiple genres and language barriers (Turkish, Iranian, Spanish, Welsh, etc) and has resulted in a constantly mutating career transcending wide pop-cultural circles such as hip-hop, mod-culture, experimental, ambient, cinematic winning him unanimous respect in the process. He selects for us five tracks, rarer than rare.
Maria Teresa Luciani
Suoni Di Una Città (Fama/Italy 1972)
« One of just two LPs by the sister of Italian library composer Antonio Ricardo Luciani, this electro acoustic / field recording loop frenzy casts a sharp contrast to her only other Fama released LP of baroque chamber music. Comprising of 12 tape-loop based compositions this LP defies genre or era and earns her a tenuous comparison to a “female Basil Kirchin” while giving other female Italian “librarians” like Daniela Casa and Giulia “Kema” De Mutiis a run for their money. »
Geoff Krozier and The Generator
Tranceformer (Fission Chips/Australia 1981)
« Imagine mixing Alexandro Jodorowsky with Gong’s Daevid Allen and you might come close to this Australian poet / magician / punk / theatrical activist. This spoken word magic mixture is backed by Melbourne synth-duo The Generator who blend Dawn Of The Dead style electro drama with growling proto-synth-pop on this untravelled micro-press nugget. »
Gérard Sallette
Plus Loin (Un-Deux-Trois/France 1976)
« Released on Jef Gilson’s lesser know label Un-Deux-Trois (the shy sister of Palm) and sharing schedules with the likes of Steve Potts this stark solo treated-guitar LP is one of the more adventurous of French avant-pop independent pressings. Composed, improvised and played by Gérard Sallette from the band Acanthus (Jean Rollin soundtrackers) later known as Unity (who made ‘O Wa Nou Me Nou Ma’) this record meets at a fantastique French cross section where two of my heroes in film and music meet for strong coffee. »
Fuzzy
Blau (EMI/Denmark 1974)
« Incredible major label one sider by the Danish field-recorder / progressive-pop / electro acoustic musical joker known only as Fuzzy. Comparable to Jean-Claude Vannier’s ‘L’Enfant Assassin Des Mouches’ this spooked growling theme-tune sounds like an outtake from Marc Moulin’s ‘Sam Suffy’ or an unused scene from ‘La Planète Sauvage’ utilising a range of pop instruments alongside kitchen utensils and kids toys. The perfect recipe. »
Drumo Vocalo
Drums For Screen volume 1 (IML/France 1971)
« Amazing and overlooked collaboration between Swiss drummer / fine-artist Daniel Humair (collaborator of Martial Solal / Barney Wilen / François Jeanneau) and mythical studio engineer Claude Martenot (collaborator of Jean Guérin / Igor Wakhevitch / Uta / Lileth) on the equally underrated IML library label. Martenot’s tape manipulation of Humair’s drums and vocals draw a fair (and cheaper!) comparison with his other collaboration with drummer Jacques Thollot on the LP ‘Quand Le Son Devient Aigu, Jeter La Girafe À La Mer’… a nice companion piece. »
