New Wave Tarot is deliciously clever and well-researched, both as tarot figures and as New Wave history personified. In this delightful deck, the suit of Pentacles (Disks) appears as gold LP records.  Swords appear as microphones. Cups are teacups, in honour of all the thirsty Brits in the list; Wands are represented by eyeliner. Siouxsie Sioux is, of course, the High Priestess; Kate Bush the dramatic Moon. Fad Gadget appears as…what else? The Fool. Mister Romance himself, The King of Cups, comes in the guise of Robert Smith….he appears with Mary Poole again as The Lovers. Klaus Nomi and David Bowie comprise the mighty Chariot; Gary Numan is cast as the Magician. Budgie and Siouxsie are Two of Cups. Depeche Mode’s dark prince Dave Gahan leaps out of the abyss as the Devil. The most inspired of all: Genesis P-Orridge as the ultimate card of transition, Death.

The original deck was created as a gift for her spouse Stacey, who she was dating at the time. “I wanted to gift him something really unique,” she says. “I made the Major Arcana of the deck with his favorite musicians and had it printed for our anniversary…I then spent the next year crafting the rest of the cards based on other bands we both loved. We both grew up in Houston and spent every Friday night at #’s for their “Classic Numbers” night, which features all 1980s music…it was a critical part of our young adult years.”

LastCraft, which started in 2013, grew out of Stilwell’s desire to showcase her collage art, love of pop culture, and witchcraft. Their original offerings were an assortment of pop-culture candles, and the enterprise grew very quickly, especially after enamel pins and patches joined the roster. LastCraft is sold in over 50 shops across the US, with a focus on witchy home goods and accessories. Stilwell is currently co-creating a new tarot deck with Diana Rose, continuing Stilwell’s trademark collage style using found and vintage photos.

The backs of the New Wave Tarot cards feature 80’s-inspired geometry with roses. Cards are just less than 3×5 inches with rounded edges and printed on premium thick card stock, shipped in a tuck box that holds the entire deck and a fold-out description of cards and details on how to read the deck.

NOTE: This will be the final printing of the New Wave Tarot, which has been out of print for over a year and revived due to high demand. The deck is available for pre-sale ONLY at: lastcraftdesigns.com. Music fans, dabblers in the occult, you know what to do. Let the spirits move you.

Major Arcana cards include:
Gary Numan
Siouxsie Sioux
Nina Hagen
Peter Murphy
Nick Cave
Robert Smith/Mary Poole
Klaus Nomi/David Bowie
Frank Tovey
Andrew Eldritch
Devo
Grace Jones
Ian Curtis
Gen P-Orridge
Morrissey
Dave Gahan
Kate Bush
Marc Almond
Pete Burns

The post LastCraft’s New Wave Tarot A Divine Tribute To 80s Post-Punk appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Humanity loves believing in a simpler past. To modern sensibility, the 1980s seem as much of a gentle utopia now as the 1960s did when The Wonder Years premiered in 1988. The deluge of nihilistic reboots is played out so heavily now, one wonders if innovation is still allowed, or if we’re just going to settle for pacifying our anxiety-riddled selves until the bitter end. With that in mind, it is time to exhume Frank Tovey’s time capsule of the writhing, rotten underbelly of the Reagan/Thatcher era we’ve blithely chosen to forget.

Tovey, much like the soothsayer of Julius Caesar, warned of the dangers of late capitalism with his bitterly anti-commercial, vulnerable lyrics. Perhaps he was simply too ahead of his time, or, quite simply, his message was too bleak for an era hell-bent for a bull market on Wall Street.

Frank Tovey’s band Fad Gadget, the first outfit signed to Mute Records, boldly steered electronic music into the realm of industrial by mixing hand drills, Orff-inspired vocals, musique concrete, and shrieks. Fad Gadget was filthy, dangerous, and chaotic. Eschewing the robotic playing by his contemporaries, Tovey shocked audiences with intense theatrics evoking…and provoking…the basest corners of the human psyche. As Fad Gadget, Tovey abandoned British propriety and flagrantly debased himself into a primal nightmare. This festering manifestation of the shadow self tore out and tossed his pubic hair into the audience, mock-masturbated, sported medieval bondage gear, crowd surfed (often resulting in serious injury), fought with audience members, covered himself in shaving foam, and climbed rafters panting loudly in a microphone stuffed in his mouth. At various points in his career, the corporeal form of Fad Gadget withstood snapped tendons, spurting head gashes, and an X-shaped scar across his chest from broken glass. (Par for the course in any performance art scene, but too shocking for Top of the Pops.)

Much like Bowie, Tovey found inspiration from various collaborators. His act was less rock star than performance art, taking inspiration in multiple disciplines. Barbara Frost, then his wife, was a frequent artistic partner; her crystal-clear vocals float through much of his early recordings (as well as their toddler daughter in subsequent albums). Frost also created striking photographic imagery in the vein of Man Ray, Lee Miller and Hans Bellmer. Anton Corbijn would later find a muse in Tovey for some of his early photographic portraits, including an iconic photo of Fad Gadget covered in shaving foam. Tovey’s performance art background was also tailor-made for music video, creating mesmerising vignettes with his family, and occasionally appearing in friends’ projects, notably Daniel Miller’s Silicon Teens, and as a monk in Propaganda’s Doctor Mabuse.

Although he remained mostly relegated to the avant-garde scene, Tovey’s notorious performances wielded tremendous influence in Great Britain and West Germany. Tovey had already inspired Soft Cell’s Marc Almond when they were students at Leeds Poly. A fledgling Depeche Mode were entranced by his antics, later joining him on the Mute label. The entire industrial genre owes Tovey a tip of the hat, with artists like Skinny Puppy, NIN, and Marilyn Manson snatching the relay baton (he explained in a later interview that he preferred Al Green and Dylan instead).

The later sonic switch of his folk-inspired sound confused his fans, the press, and even his own label, but ironically, Tovey had always been a folk musician. His lyrics delved into the psyche, the human experience, and the Everyman existing in a technologically-fueled fascism.

On that note, Tovey still strikes a deep chord today during this time of political chaos. Tovey remains one of the only artists brave enough to authentically confront the corporate evils of the 80s that informed and compounded the political drama of the modern era. As a result, his music has finally caught up with the horrifying dystopia he predicted decades ago. Tovey tackled environmental disaster, gentrification,  fascism, technological weaponry, mass incarceration, religious fervour, the power of mass media, and the military industrial complex – a collective shadow still deftly avoided in the music world.

Following this album release, Frank Tovey largely put his musical career on pause as “life got in the way,” although he continued to dabble in producing. Nearly a decade passed before the mojo returned in full form, but things really changed when Andy Fletcher caught him at the 2001 Electrofest. When asked what his next plans were, Tovey joked that he intended to open for Depeche Mode at Wembley Stadium…and they called his bluff. He spent the rest of the year supporting the band on their Exciter tour, neatly bringing his career full circle.

Tovey was all set to explore new technology and compose new material: armed with a Mac and a copy of Logic, he was in good spirits, even mentioning plans to tour solo, but his heart suddenly gave out on 3 April 2002.

Although Tovey’s death at just 45 was an immense loss, one can also find consolation knowing his earlier accomplishments and words remain as poignant and relevant as ever.

If you’re feeling frustrated with society, spend a couple of hours with his remarkable, diverse discography, ripped from the headlines years before they happened. (It’s worth mentioning Tovey’s fascinating collaboration with Boyd Rice in 1981’s Easy Listening For the Hard of Hearing, noteworthy for its sonic experimentation, but that particular collection is entirely instrumental.)

As Fad Gadget:

Fireside Favourites (1980)

Standout track: Newsreel

Pretend the camera doesn’t change things
Send me a few images in only one eye
A soldier poses, then pulls the trigger
Wipes his hand and waves good-bye

This droning, sarcastic number lays out the invasion of the press into the private lives of regular citizens. Fad Gadget describes highly personal human experiences (birth, death) relentlessly exploited for public consumption (and entertainment), predicting the social media deaths of George Floyd and Eric Garner, the screeching modern-day Karens, and TikTok.

Incontinent (1981)

Standout track:  Swallow It

Poisoned personalities
Talking in household names
The package is the prize
That’s sure to catch your eye
And the contents taste the same

Swallow It attacks the hypnosis of mass media, rendering us all mindless fools swallowing the propaganda served to us. Tovey died just as the early phases of social media appeared on the horizon, but these lyrics show he understood the dangers of unchecked newsfeeds long before “fake news” hit the zeitgeist.

Under The Flag (1982)

Standout track: Wheels of Fortune

The tiger in the tank is a vile compound
Hold on to precious breath you’re homeward bound
I’ve got to breathe, lead free

A piano pounder with backing choir and zipping synth arpeggios, Wheels of Fortune addresses the environmental destruction plaguing the very air we breathe. Mocking the classic Esso slogan, Fad Gadget channels William Blake’s Jerusalem and laments the loss of quality life through the relentless pursuit of fossil fuels.

Gag (1984)

Standout track: Ad Nauseum

“Spineless and fish-like, I swim in the mire
I swear like a saw-tooth, fin-flap and gill
Scrap this ludicrous chain of events
Tear away from book-form and screen-time.”

Ad Nauseam closes 1981’s Gag with a horrifying stream-of-consciousness Howl manifesto railing against modern society, driven by persistent Bernard Herrmann Psycho strings, and Tovey’s droll snarl. It is intense, urgent, disorienting, (Don’t listen to it on psychedelics.)

As Frank Tovey:

Snakes and Ladders (1986)

Standout track: Luxury

Luxury dissects the persistent demands of materialistic pursuit in the 80s. Released in the thick of the Wall Street era, he throws dark shade at the meaningless mindsets of yuppietopia. Looking for a track that really gets into the meat of criticizing the Boomers? Frank Tovey was decades ahead of you. Here’s your anthem.

Civilian (1988)

Standout track: Ultramarine

Liberation comes
In jeans and Coca-Cola
Liberty this bullet’s
Got your name on it
You make the films
And you’re making history
Napalm-burger-bars
Popcorn victory

Tyranny and the Hired Hand (1989)

Standout track: Sam Hall

Truly embracing a more acoustic sound here, Tovey recorded a delightful compilation from the great “working-class stiff” songbook. Although his previous work revolved around a modern synth sound, Tovey never strayed from the ideals of Woody Guthrie and traditional English folk, so it is not surprising that he revisited the source material with his own Cockney spin. His rendition of the folk classic Sam Hill addresses incarceration and execution.

As Mkultra:

Immobilise (1987)

Invest in Mkultra
Your counter culture
They’re stealing your dreams
While everything is ultra
Big Mac money culture

A criminally overlooked masterpiece of cacophony, Immobilise is a frantic plea to reject the dangers of corporate brainwashing. MKUltra was a side project Tovey formed with Malcolm Poynter and Simon Stringer. The track is an unnerving audio collage laced with the shrieks of screaming horses and backwards recordings. For those wondering, MK Ultra was (is?) an illegal CIA operation acting as a continuation of the work begun in WWII-era Japanese facilities and Nazi concentration camps on subduing and controlling human minds. Definitely a relevant topic/psychological rabbit hole for 2020.

As Frank Tovey and the Pyros:

Grand Union (1991)

Standout track: The Liberty Tree

They tie you up and put you in a cage
And wonder why you should be in a rage
Then feed you on scraps
Comes off their taxes too
And say you’ve gotta
Keep up with the age

Tovey went full-tilt with the folk sound after joining forces with Irish outfit The Pyros, creating a landscape of song material revolving around the Grand Union Canal snaking through London. The Liberty Tree has been widely regarded as the pinnacle of Tovey’s songwriting: a scathing critique of trickle-down economics and government gaslighting. Particularly effective lyrics for the rising unemployment numbers due to COVID. Blast this one at your next protest.

Worried Men In Secondhand Suits (1992)

Standout Track: All That Is Mine

All That Is Mine is about the closest Frank Tovey ever came to penning a straightforward love song, although this one is still cloaked with his proclivity for symbolism, darkness, and references to mythology. In his final video release with the Pyros’ wonderful backing, Tovey appears in a charming performance art scene with his little son. All That Is Mine can encompass the gamut of familial trauma, unconditional love, and personal growth. A beautiful final bow.

The post Revisiting The Prophetic Lyrics of Frank Tovey and Fad Gadget appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Zachery Allan Starkey has been a vulture gnawing the carrion of New York City, spitting out the gristle and grime in a modern city. NO SECURITY, the political techno debut single off his upcoming album, FEAR CITY, is a wild force of nature.

Starkey has made a name for himself during the course of his wild DIY trajectory, from his working-class roots to transforming the sound landscape of Brooklyn. No stranger to the socio-political fallout himself, he has brought an authentic punk rage to the techno scene, infusing his electro-industrial tinged bangers with deeply biting social commentary. Taking lyrical cues from artists like Public Image Ltd, Fad Gadget, NIN and Lou Reed, Zachery Allan Starkey is out for blood.

Starkey has seen some shit in the hedonism-drenched NYC nightlife, and mourned its fallen soldiers. As social media and the press praise the vibrant scenes of youthful decadence, Starkey cuts through the bullshit: this curated scene is all a tragic façade to escape the rise of global fascism. He lambasts the complicity of the media for the acceleration of chaos and paranoia, class inequality, mass hysteria and the devastation of the opiate epidemic.

There is no security in an unjust world. There is no security in a fragile environment. There is no security in the government. There is no security in the economy. There is no security in a volatile society. There is no security in existence. NO SECURITY is an anthem for a generation coming of age suffering from acute anxiety, brought to you by mega corporations and the autocrats raking it all in. If there’s a hell below, we’re all going to go down dancing.

NO SECURITY is ZAS’s first release from his upcoming album, FEAR CITY, which scours the headlines and sets the focus on an increasingly dystopian future. Starkey’s vision and songwriting caught the attention of New Order’s Bernard Sumner, who invited Starkey to open during their sold-out Music Complete tour. The friendship led to exciting new musical collaborations for FEAR CITY.

Directed by William Murray, the brain-blasting video for NO SECURITY is a visual cacophony ripped straight from the news and every dystopian novel that’s ever frightened you. The future is now, so what is your role?

The post Zachery Allan Starkey’s Nightmarish “No Security” Is a Dystopian Anthem appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Mute is reissuing Rowland S. Howard’s long-awaited solo albums (through Fat Possum for North/South America; Bloodlines for Australia). Newly remastered by Lindsay Gravina, Howard’s 1999 solo debut Teenage Snuff Film will finally be re-released on double vinyl with one side etched, as well as on CD and digitally.

Howard died aged 50 from liver cancer in 2009, only months before the release of his final album, Pop Crimes, (recorded with Mick Harvey and JP Shilo). Pop Crimes will also be released on vinyl, CD, and digitally.

“… It seemed that everything he did was something I had never heard before…(his voice was) this deep well of emotion you knew was real. An absolutely brilliant musician and songwriter…I’m so glad these records are back out again. –Henry Rollins

Rowland S. Howard’s legacy was documented in the film Autoluminscent (2011), which is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

Both albums will be available on 27 March 2020.

Preorder these treasures through Mute Records.

The post Mute Re-Releases Rowland S. Howard’s “Teenage Snuff Film” and “Pop Crimes” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

The original 2001 CD release of The Best of Fad Gadget was the last release before the untimely early death of Fad Gadget’s Frank Tovey in 2002. The tracklisting, his own personal selection, was designed to be both a concise retrospective of the Fad Gadget years and an introduction to his work for a new generation as he embarked on Depeche Mode’s Exciter tour as their special guest.

Fad Gadget was Mute founder Daniel Miller’s first signing to his label, and the groundbreaking debut 7”, “Back To Nature” / “The Box”, recorded using a drum machine and a synthesiser, was the second release on the label. following Miller’s own project The Normal with “Warm Leatherette”.

Alongside Cabaret Voltaire, The Human League, Throbbing Gristle, Soft Cell and The Normal, Frank Tovey was at the forefront of the British electronic movement of the late 70s/early 80s and his live performances, drawing on his art school background and interest in performance art, were intense, spectacular and innovative.

The Best of Fad Gadget features the classic singles “Ricky’s Hand”, “Fireside Favourite”, “Collapsing New People” and “For Whom The Bells Toll” (featuring Alison Moyet), b- sides and tracks from his celebrated albums, Fireside Favourites (1980), Incontinent (1981), Under The Flag (1982), and Gag (1984) as well as ‘Luxury’, taken from 1986’s Frank Tovey release, Snakes & Ladders.

This release is the first stage of Mute’s celebration of Frank Tovey’s work, to be followed by a career-spanning box set in early 2020 marking the 40th anniversary of his first album Fireside Favourites.

The silver vinyl edition of The Best of Fad Gadget is out 6 September through Mute.

Order Here

The Best of Fad Gadget tracklisting
Side A
1. Back To Nature
2. The Box
3. Ricky’s Hand
4. Handshake

Side B
5. Fireside Favourite
6. Insecticide
7. Make Room
8. Lady Shave

Side C
9. Saturday Night Special
10. King Of The Flies
11. Life On The Line
12. 4M
13. For Whom The Bells Toll

Side D
14. Love Parasite
15. I Discover Love
16. Collapsing New People
17. One Man’s Meat
18. Luxury

The post The Best of Fad Gadget Issued on Vinyl for the First Time⁠—Celebrating 40 years Since Frank Tovey’s Debut Single appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

This is where David Bowie recorded his masterpiece Heroes, paving the way for many post-punk and avant-garde acts to follow—such as Mute Records artists like Depeche Mode, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Einsturzende Neubauten, and Fad Gadget.

In a new documentary Hansa Studios: By The Wall 1976-90. directed by Mike Christie, artists such as Gudrun Gut, Alexander Hacke, Barry Adamson, Martin Gore and producers such as Daniel Miller, Flood, Tony Visconti, and Gareth Jones discuss the legacy of the historic studio just meters away from the Berlin Wall.

The documentary recently aired in the UK earlier this month.

Watch it below:

The post Hansa Studios: By The Wall 1976-90 | Watch the 90 min documentary about the important Berlin recording studio appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Now Daniel Miller is curating Mute: A Visual Document—a 320 page book of comprehensive discographies, including photography and video stills from legendary photographers, conceptual artworks, and “rare ephemera and equipment”. Also included is a family tree of Mute artists,  and anecdotal and photographic contributions from important figures in the label’s history that include Moby, Alison Goldfrapp, Anton Corbijn, Bleddyn Butcher, Brian Griffin, Jon Spencer, Barry Adamson, Ivan Novak (Laibach), Angus Andrew (Liars), Adrian Shaughnessy and Tom Hingston.

The book follows the comprehensive 10-disc singles and b-sides boxset Mute: Audio Documents 1978 – 84, which was released in 2007.

Mute: A Visual Document, is a project helmed by author and musician Terry Burrows is being released by Thames & Hudson on November 28th

Pre-Order Here

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We discussed with Douglas the Post-Punk influences of Berlin (including The Birthday Party, Einstürzende Neubauten and Malaria!), as well as Techno’s influence on Industrial/EBM and vice versa—plus how he ended up working with Terence Fixmer, and his thoughts on Berghain—and it’s infamous door policy.

We also remembered the late Frank Tovey of Fad Gadget, who would have turned 60 on the day this interview was filmed.

..and off camera we briefly discussed Hazel Hill McCarthy III (his wife), and her work on Bight of the Twin—a film about Voodoo made with Genesis BREYER P-ORRIDGE.

Pick up FIXMER/MCCARTHY SELECTED WORKS 2003/2016

and catch Terence and Douglas at their next gig:

17.09.2016
Germany | Oberhausen | Kulttempel
FB Event Page

Read our interview with Terence Fixmer here:

Getting Beneath the Skin | An Interview with Terence Fixmer

The post An interview with Douglas McCarthy of Nitzer Ebb and Fixmer/McCarthy appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Following the release of Back to Nature via Mute, many other fantastic track were to Follow; such as Ricky’s Hand, Coitus Interruptus, Love Parasite, For Whom The Bells Toll, and of course the Einstürzende Neubauten inspired track Collapsing New People.

In remembrance of Frank, watch this full concert shot on the 28th of February. 1984 at Manchester’s legendary Hacienda.

Setlist:

01 State Of The Nation
02 Coitus Interruptus
03 King Of The Flies
04 I Discover Love
05 Ideal World
06 Collapsing New People
07 One Man’s Meat
08 The Ring
09 Jump
10 Ad Nauseam
11 Lemmings On Lover’s Rock
12 Love Parasite
13 For Whom The Bells Toll
14 Ricky’s Hand
15 Back To Nature

The post Remembering Fad Gadget’s Frank Tovey | Celebrate his life by watching this full 1984 concert shot at the legendary Hacienda in Manchester appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

The importance of this album is evident in the fact that this was the first Depeche Mode album featuring Alan Wilder as a full band member. Wilder wrote the songs “Two Minute Warning” and “The Landscape Is Changing”, as well as the B-side Fools. The title comes from the second line of the first verse of the track “Pipeline”.

Construction Time Again features one of Depeche Mode’s most popular singles of all time, the politically charged “Everything Counts” (above), as well as

“Love in Itself” 

and “Told You So”

Tracklist:

1. Love In Itself
2. More Than a Party
3. Pipeline
4. Everything Counts
5. Two Minute Warning
6. Shame
7. The Landscape Is Changing
8. Told You So
9. And Then…
10. Everything Counts (reprise)

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