Experimental Recorder Music

MyGen Profile Generator MyGen Profile Generator MyGen Profile Generator MyGen Profile GeneratorThe Legacy of the Dog
Recorderoy is the break through album from the revolutionary South Wales combo ERM. This is not the first incarnation of this revolutionary collective. Founded in the winter of 1997 the collective underwent a transition of both form and man-power. Originally lead by the legendary Mad Dog Murphy they produced a little heard EP entitled Flange-Sub-Woofer, on the Sweet Light label. At this time they performed under the name The Crazy Hounds, and the break beat/hip hop influences that are present in Recorderoy are there for the world to see. However, after the excesses of drugs, women and life on the road robbed the world of the magic that Mad Dog promised, the group were forced to forge ahead on their own.
Vinnie "the V-man" Watson tells us about this period in his own words; "After we lost the Dog, our world fell apart. The warmth and charisma that he produced fuelled us and our sound. When I walked in and saw what those women had done to our beautiful boy, I was heart broken. But I was able to channel my pain into writing our music. El Mac and Retro-Noggin were not so lucky, and I know Ahab blamed himself. They were devastated and it took them longer to come to terms with the loss." The V-Man released much of this music still under the Crazy Hound name, and built on this fan base. His ability to create mainstream pop tunes also lead to him making a name for himself as a producer, and whilst his band mates came to terms with the loss of Mad Dog Murphy he channelled his own energies and pain into some of the most innovative mainstream music to date, culminating in his nomination in the 2003 Mobo Awards for his work with Cleopatra and U2.
El Mac, retreated into his writing too, but we are unlikely to ever hear his work. For whilst the V-Man maintained a commercial ear even in such a painful time, El Macs fusion of classic death metal, English chamber music and hardcore porn, whilst being a fitting tribute for his friend and mentor, has been banned in much of the English speaking world. El Mac is up beat however, "I dont think the world is ready to hear the true sound of the dying Dog, whilst I feel my sound poetry reveals the true depth of loss and pain that I - we all - feel for what happened to the Dog, the music is mainly for us. The world can wait." Whilst the governments knee jerk reaction to El Mac's YOU DO A BARRYMORE TO THE DOG AND THE DOG WILL F*CK YOU BACK! release is understandable given the explicate nature of the content, those who have been privileged to hear the recording all agree it represents the future of music, and they all are waiting for a day when the world is ready for the Dog.
During this period however Retro-Noggin underwent a darker transition. Upon hearing of the death of his friend, Noggin left his home and went to a spiritual retreat in the countryside around Prestatyn. Whilst at the retreat he met, and forged a deep love with the Welsh Jazz scene, and joined several local collectives and toured through out the United Kingdom under the name Blind Jimi Miller. However, after many attempts to recapture the success of the Crazy Hounds with his new bands Noggin returned to South Wales and began writing with the V-Man, using the name JIM9000. Happy in this collaboration 9000 began to contemplate the future and the possibility of rejoining the Crazy Hounds. He claims "My time away from the limelight gave me the ability to explore the vastness of musical possibilities, but all the time I knew where my heart lay. The Dogs death really took it out of me, but when I started working with Dickie again, I knew it was right."
Ahab Hausenberg, the final member of the collective had a harder time coming to terms with the Mad Dogs death. He had been present at the party that was to finally steal the world of Murphy, and he confessed only recently that he had also helped the Dog purchase both the women and the drugs that would be the undoing of the talented musician. "The music came so much easier to me and the Dog, thats not me boasting or anything, its just when we got together everything clicked. The other boys had an ethic, they worked, and created some amazing stuff, but the Dog and I could just sit and create." This lack of focus lead Ahab and Murphy to look elsewhere for their challenges. "Whilst we were in Bristol we ran into some old mates and they were shooting up, I guess the Dog decided we should try and see what the drugs would do for our process, I mean so much of the best music was fuelled by drugs." At first things were going great, but the circles that Murphy and Ahab began moving in had a dark influence on their behaviour. This culminated in the events of April 12th 2000, where after binging on a cocktail of booze and heroin, Ahab awoke to find Murphy dead having suffered from a massive bowel haemorrhage and other injuries caused by his desire for more and more extreme experiences. Ahab says it was horrific, "I tried to revive him, but he was gone. I wish I could say I cleaned up my life there and then, but unfortunately I had further to fall. But when I saw the video of that night on Trevor McDonald I knew I had to change. I have been sober for the past 3 years."
Whilst Ahab dealt with his pain separately V-Man, El Mac and JIM9000 knew that they had to put the loss of Mad Dog behind them, and briefly formed Swansea Experimental Recorder Music and released a heartfelt tribute to Murphy "Every Dog Has His Day". But despite the success of SERM and the tribute rifts began to form over the direction the band should take. "The V-Man was a genius and knew exactly how to make music that would make your soul cry, but that wasnt enough for me or El Mac. The Mad Dog was about more than just the music, he had a message and El Mac wanted that to be heard, I tried to stop him but his passion was too much even for me and V" [JIM9000 speaking in 2005] This schism was however short lived and El Macs splinter project Swansea Political Experimental Recorder Music released only 3 albums mainly exploring the more radical side of the Mad Dogs legacy. And whilst it was a critical success, the anger that fuelled El Macs writing was somewhat extinguished when the now sober Ahab opened up and told the band the full story of Murphys death. "Once all our questions were answered I [El Mac] felt less anger and more peace. I knew then that the future lay with the boys, and when we started playing together again as a collective it was as if magic was back in the room."
And what magic! It may have been forged slowly through a flame of pain, adversity, suffering and retribution, but as the group became Experimental Recorder Music and began working on Recorderoy they were able to deliver on all the promise of their earlier work, both individual and collective, but with a maturity and vision that can only come with age. All Hail ERM! And may the Dog rest in peace.
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