Wednesday, 11 December 2019

Intersystems - Peachy (1967)

Just over half an hour of gleefully morbid insanity from Canadian avant-gardist John Mills-Cockell and his Intersystems compatriots.  This was their second of three albums, and showed a growing influence of musique concrete and Cageian absurdity.  Over a backdrop of tape-manipulated percussive noises, electronics and occasional gloomy organ, performance poet Blake Parker narrates increasingly bizarre versions of a story about two men finding a cave full of guns.

A striking and pioneering record (it really feels like it belongs in the mid-70s, contemporaneous with prime Residents, but this was '67), Peachy sounds like it would've made Intersystems a shoo-in for the Nurse With Wound List.  In fact, just checked and I was surprised they weren't there.  Perhaps no copies of their original LPs found their way to the UK; had any turned up in a 70s London record shop, surely Stapleton would've sniffed them out like a bloodhound.

link
pw: sgtg

4 comments:

  1. I didn't know Mills-Cockell did anything outside of Syrinx, sounds very interesting, thanks.

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  2. All too right. The first track alone sounds like it was lifted from Spiral Insana. Still amazing after 5 decades!

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  3. 'gleefully morbid insanity'!!? Got to get me some of that. I have a couple of 'Syrinx' albums but was unaware of
    anything Mills-Cockell was up to before that. Many thanks for this! Now.... let the mayhem begin....

    -Brian

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