I had two cassette decks and I would just bounce back and forth. Id do one layer on one cassette then play along with it while that goes onto the next one, and so on. On the heels of their reissue of Michele Mercures lone private press long player Eye Chant (originally issued under her then-married name Michele Musser), Freedom To Spend team with RVNG Intl to serve up this exhaustive collection of Mercures rare self-released cassette works. At the time of their release, in the midst of the glossy and cruel 80s, these tracks were probably too cheap-sounding to take seriously, but a thousand lo-fi, synth and lo-fi synth resurgences in the interim allow us to examineMercures work under a more discerning lens. Most of the tracks come from a small handful of cassettes so rare theyre not even on scogs (their full-size artwork is reproduced on the compilations inner sleeves) as well as Mercures scores for independent films and DIY theater productions. The collection reveals not only Mercures advanced programming and arrangements chops, but her imaginative musical visions which are perhaps only apparent now that we can look beyond the cheapness of her wares: Beside Myself and An Accident Waiting To Happen foreshadow the SFX kitchen-sink aesthetic of eski grime and “Night Music” sounds like whatever Arca does,while Liberation Day and Ghosts Before Breakfastquenchmy thirst for Black Is Beautiful-era Hype Williams. The 20 tracks on offer are simultaneously sinister, gentle, sparkling and nocturnal, but remarkably, no two tunes sound alike; from the huge-sounding No More Law In Gotham City and the ethereal sampler spasm Mother, to the hissy Time Piece and warbly microbeats of A Void Dance. 20 tracks altogether spread cross two LPs; art direction is on point as per, with heavy stock printed inners, reverse-glued heavy outer jacket, download code and 12-page booklet containing photos and extensive liner notes. Recommended.

• black double vinyl pressing
• first-ever vinyl issue of Mercure’s rare self-released cassette works
• printed inner sleeve
• 12-page booklet
• digital download included
• music label: RVNG Intl. / Freedom To Spend 2018

reviewed bytom violence 12/2018

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A post shared by @turntablelab on Dec 30, 2018 at 3:23pm PST