Mauthausen Orchestra

Started by RyanWreck, December 20, 2011, 07:15:27 PM

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RyanWreck

We have Whitehouse and Ramleh threads, but I think we are missing one of the best (in my opinion) artists around. I already wrote an opinion article about MO at my blog so I'll paste that since I still feel the same way and would end up just repeating myself.

http://purestench.blogspot.com/2010/11/retrospection-mauthausen-orchestra.html

QuoteRetrospection: Mauthausen Orchestra

A misanthropic appeal, the converse to quiet, a pull away from the simmering shit of mainstream music. The deafening structure of Noise is more than art to many. Not even the catch term "acquired taste" will fit each and every time down here. Sound documentation that comes in many forms - sometimes loose and chaotic, sometimes structured and tense, other times playful and settled, always unmitigated evidence that pleasure is in the ear of the beholder. Industrial has been around awhile and, because I become bored easily, I thought that I would take a stab at showing some of the best from the past. A retrospection of sorts starting with my favorite "old-school" act.

1982, Italy. Pierpaolo Zoppo starts releasing his own tapes of his project Mauthausen Orchestra under the label "Aquilifer Sodality". Combing through topics such as sexual violence, perversion, torture and murder and picking them apart with the right maneuver as to not come off as cheap and careless is not an easy task. Where the people of one decade find their horrific scenery another decade finds its jokes. Mauthausen Orchestra's atmosphere, one of true debauchery and calculated sickness, coalescing with the sobering awe of his industrial racket blanketed by the 80's true lo-fidelity, raw recording procedures has yet to truly be matched. His early sound traversed a good deal of ground from the sharp and violent piles of feedback and synth work forcefully fed to you, to long chapters of grinding precision and tape manipulation pulling pieces out of itself and building upon it. Maurizio Bianchi was such an obvious influence on most of his work, especially up until "Bloodyminded" where synth play was such a huge factor, that it would be impossible to write anything on Mauthausen Orchestra without mentioning his name at least once. In all of these early recordings one thing can be agreed upon, it was always dirty. My introduction to this project was "Anal Perversions" and it displays Zoppo's range perfectly in two lengthy and harsh tracks. Some may prefer more variation of material such as "Murderfuck", or the damaging assaults of "VLL", so I also recommend that everyone go out and find "5 Year of Slaughter", or even better, "Gravitational Arch of Sex". Both of which collect the assortment of material from his 3 greatest sound periods (check the link at the bottom of this article to download material from 1982-1986).

The project took a rest in 1986 and besides re-releases of the 1982-1986 collection, M.O. didn't wake back up until 1997 with the creation of "Raising Vapors" co-released by Body and Blood and Bloodlust! records. The sound of "Raising Vapors" took a lot from the old Italian sound they helped create and added variation to it. The violence was not as heavy and brutal as it was before, instead it was more minimalistic, the discipline was more exacting. "Lost Boys In Town" displayed a lot of the same characteristics as the previous works but, to me, it seemed even more relaxed. The reason for the change in name, from Manthausen Orchestra to M.O., is unknown to me but the change in sound is very apparent and it is often argued whether or not these two releases should even be considered "Power Electronics". In 1999 M.O. released one of their most talked about LP's, "Kiss The Carpet", an extremely violent and heavy look at human dysfunction. Wherever the last two releases lacked virility and sheer brutality, "Kiss the Carpet" displayed it in spades. From this point on I lost interest in M.O.'s material. Later material such as "Smooth Hate" and "Where Are We Going?" plays on minimalistic Noise with a deep and, in my opinion, boring ambiance.


What are your opinions on Mauthausen Orchestra? Favorite material? Where do they stand in the overall "canon" of Power Electronics and Noise? I know MO sourced other projects and artists in a lot of their work, how do you feel about that?

FreakAnimalFinland

First thing I hear was 5 years of slaughter, which was obviously just "the best of" cuts... and actually, I DO prefer it. I may be blinded by sort of nostalgia. Next to these, I will simply put all Trash Ritual vinyl releases what were very good job done. It is a shame I believe their co-operation won't go further?

Some people responsible for songs on Xn's 10" release were quite surprised he used other people's songs with little to no modification. Whether it was intentional or simply perhaps mistake of some sort (as release was made so much after recordings), I do find it weird.

Compared to previous topics of Whitehouse and Ramleh, those two bands have kept the level of music much higher than M.O., which went from great into utterly horrid or most of all worthless.
E-mail: fanimal +a+ cfprod,com
MAGAZINE: http://www.special-interests.net
LABEL / DISTRIBUTION: FREAK ANIMAL http://www.nhfastore.net

RyanWreck

Quote from: FreakAnimalFinland on December 21, 2011, 07:23:04 PM

Compared to previous topics of Whitehouse and Ramleh, those two bands have kept the level of music much higher than M.O., which went from great into utterly horrid or most of all worthless.

Yea I agree. Raising Vapours was tolerable but not enjoyable, and in comparison to Zoopo's material from the 80's it's a punchline. Then from 1999 on it pretty much lost everything that made the Orchestra a incredibly great and filthy project. At least he realized that his material was different and gave himself the MO moniker instead of keeping the original name.

For me Whitehouse did go down a few levels from Bird Seed on. But I know a lot of people who would disagree with that.

I found the box-set, Gravitational Arch of Sex, for $150 flat but I guess it is missing the original box it came in so he put it in a new box that is the same type of box but without the sticker of the cover art on the top and the tracklisting sticker at the bottom and the Conflict tape is missing (case and J-card is still in there, but what good is that). It still has all the inserts and tape covers though. You guys think this is a good score or no?

bitewerksMTB

5 Years... is the best. I love his vocals but rarely listen to a complete tape; I have a few originals & use to have the Slaughter boxset but someone offered me alot of $ for it so had to let it go. The Trash Ritual records are must-own's!

The New Sadism is probably the best thing he was involved in.

"Other people's songs..." on the XN 10"? Probably havent' played that record since getting it. The artwork is the best thing about it. Will have to pull it & give it another spin. I stopped paying attention after that first horrid cd on Bloodlust.

THE RITA HN

the more and more i continually listen to the material, i start to think that it may easily be one of the most important harsh noise projects of all time.
i talk about it in special interests #2.
favorite five:
ANAL PERVERSIONS (overall greatest release; encompassing styles of HN)
MAFARKA (avalanches of pre-DBL style distortion)
2nd MOVEMENT (extensive crackle and crumble lines)
VERNICHTUNG LEBENUNWERTAN LEBEN (violent PE elements)
KISS THE CARPET (Hijokaidan style HN destruction)




RyanWreck

I'd like to see that too. From what I remember there is some clear Whitehouse lifting going on in some earlier stuff, I don't remember who said it (although I have an idea) that it was Total Sex? And Kiss the Carpet has some Le Syndicat.

FreakAnimalFinland

When I sent "Kiss The carpet" 10" to Beast666 (jap) and received very surprised and detailed e-mail about the material, saying which song was by Le Syndicat and which song was pulled out from old Beast666 comp tape...  But don't have the e-mail anymore.

I don't mind recycling if it's done with taste. As said before, there's been big bands from BDN to Merzbow to Emil Beaulieau to use other people's sounds. Some more, some less. My works have been used by others, there has been 2 occasions when I sampled c. 2 seconds long loop from particular artist - but told them about it later on. As a creator, I enjoying DOING more than just having sounds.
E-mail: fanimal +a+ cfprod,com
MAGAZINE: http://www.special-interests.net
LABEL / DISTRIBUTION: FREAK ANIMAL http://www.nhfastore.net

Coma Detox

#7
I always wondered about my copy of the G.A.O.S. boxset I ordered from Slaughter Prod. years ago.  It comes housed in a box that holds x12 cs with various inserts.  Mine didn't come with individual J-Cards for each tape, all are housed in the box themselves with stickers on each of the cassettes.  Are there different editions?

RyanWreck

Never heard of a different edition. I was thinking maybe they just made copies of the tapes and kept the J-cards before selling it to you but if you got it directly from Slaughter than I highly doubt that would happen.

Is that P.Zoppo on the inserts and cover sucking a dick, or just some random porn shot?

*edit* Come to think of it I got Justmeat from Slaughter and it didn't have any inserts like the one on discogs. (If anyone has those, or would copy/xerox them for me, please PM me.) Hmm...

bitewerksMTB

Yeah, MO boxset had no individual covers. Included a handful of inserts; can't remember how many. One was red, another blue. I do remember the cocksucker image that sort of looked a little illeagle(doubt it's a personal photo).

(The private copies of JUSTMEAT had all the insert i.e. those copies available from me. I didn't even save them for myself!)

RyanWreck

#10
The boxset that the guy is going to sell me looks like the one on discogs ( http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=868645 ) minus Conflict and the box stickers.

(That Justmeat I have is just that cover art/back cover and the tape itself. Nothing else. Is the only insert the little "Would you be interested in using my body for these purposes..." note, or was there more?)

bitewerksMTB

#11
YEAH! The boxset did have the covers. Definitely w as not just the tapes so that pic is correct. It's been a couple years since I sold mine. The insert with all the ass shots, that was on Aquilifer Sodality's catalog/flyer in the late '90s. Write A.S. & a year later you'd get a one sentence reply... I still have Cernotto's ridiculous lists when he was selling-trading his personal collection.

Private JM lim to 36 copies was the Slaughter tape in bag inside an envelope with xerox glued to front then smeared in red paint & several inserts that were copies of letters from people in Jack's Number Two. Can't remember how many inserts I added; seems like there were several...

Coma Detox

#12





this is the version i have, looks different from others i've seen.

bitewerksMTB

The orig MO box was super flimsy. Mine arrived with fucked up corners I had to tape up to reinforce'em. Also, I think, the Slaughter tapes were black with no labels (definitely not labelled like yours). Hate to say it but you have copies, not the originals from Slaughter. The inserts look the same (one insert looks orange- i remember that one on  red paper but maybe it's just the photo?).

Coma Detox

Got my copy directly from Marco 10-11+ years ago.. odd.