SPK - 'Zamia Lehmanni (Songs Of Byzantine Flowers)'





CSR274LP (11 December 2019)

LP on 180gm black vinyl, presented in a 350gsm gatefold sleeve.
Barcode: 0641871745425

Ltd x 500 copies LP on 180gm gold vinyl, presented in a 350gsm gatefold sleeve. DELETED

Originally released by Side Effects in 1986, “Zamia Lehmanni” was the third (and final) core SPK album and was Graeme Revell’s first truly solo project. He was in a period of transition, somewhere between the industrial noise of the early years and his later award-winning soundtrack work. On the day before this was first released, this style of music, now ubiquitous (especially in soundtracks), did not exist.

After “Information Overload Unit” cleared a space for subsequent explorations, and the environmental percussion and anchored mutilated sound collages of “Leichenschrei”, the “body without organs” was fully eviscerated. Graeme felt ‘industrial music’ was becoming ossified and needed to be taken into radically new territories: ‘post-industrial’.

The track “In Flagrante Delicto” (mastered as originally intended here) was later used by Revell for his work on the soundtrack for the 1989 film “Dead Calm”, which won him Best Original Score from the Australian Film Institute.

Unavailable in any format since Mute’s 1992 CD edition, we now present this landmark album on newly remastered CD, and on vinyl for the first time since 1986. Approved by Graeme Revell, this release comes with new artwork by Abby Helasdottir and is remastered by Martin Bowes (The Cage).

Features new liner notes from Graeme Revell, 2019.

The track “The Doctrine Of Eternal Ice” appears on CD only, but is included on the digital download for vinyl.

Track listing:

A1. Invocation (To Secular Heresies)
A2. Palms Crossed In Sorrow
A3. Romanz In Moll (Romance In A Minor Key)
A4. In The Dying Moments
B1. In Flagrante Delicto (Introduction)
B2. In Flagrante Delicto
B3. Alocasia Metallica
B4. Necropolis
B5. The Garden Of Earthly Delights

Reviews:

"...eine Reise in die Vergangenheit und zwar auf mehreren Ebenen. 1986 erstmals erschienen, markierte die Platte [...] einen Wendepunkt, an dem Industrial sich zu Post-Industrial wandelte. SPK kreirten einen Soundtrack, der in der fast 50-minütigen Spielzeit lebhafte Bilder vor Deinem inneren Auge malt. Erdig, kraftvoll und dennoch mit den Merkmalen des treibenden Post-Industrial und sphärischen Ambient eröffnen die zehn Stücke eine exotische Welt, über der ein melancholischer Schleier der Düsternis hängt.... endet "Zamia Lehmanni" stimmungsvoll und verleitet dazu noch mal den "Repeat"-Button zu drücken" (Orkus)

"stupefacente... che approda Dead Can Dance...in forza della bella voce di Jan Thornton cui si inchinano elettronica e violoncello di Revell. È la premessa per "Zamia Lehmanni" ed In Flagrante Delicto,, oltre ad essere nel programma, sarà la base per la colonna sonora di 'Dead Calm' che segnò l'inizio della fortunata e remunerativa carriera del neozelandese come compositore di colonne sonore.... Il sottotitolo dell'album, 'Songs Of Byzantine Flowers', lo esplicita come inno agli splendori dell'Impero Bizantino, in particolare nel periodo dei secoli bui dell'Occidente... d'atmosferica tenebrosità" (Blow Up)

“Australian formation SPK remains one of the uncontested pioneers and leaders of the so-called experimental- and industrial music movement… From cinematic music featuring industrial sound treatments to epic arrangements to the reinterpretation of neo-classic music, the work remains first of all an experimental legacy from the work of SPK. The sound production is absolutely noticeable. SPK has a rather unpolished sound and yet it sounds powerful and professional. From a purely artistic point of view, this work is diversified and original” (Side-Line)

“Stylistically speaking, “Zamia Lehmanni (Songs Of Byzantine Flowers) sees a continuation of some of the ritual/ethnic elements that "From Science to Ritual" already exhibited but takes it multiple steps further until it meanders between dense dystopian jungles and neoclassical epics… Zamia Lehmanni (Songs Of Byzantine Flowers) holds up pretty well as it sidesteps the obvious stale cliché traps of the time and manages to hold its ground… it was good to hear this one again” (Vital Weekly)

“On Zamia Lehmanni (Songs Of Byzantine Flowers) Graeme Revell took the prior exotic noise cum post-industrial dance act into a more cerebral realm with lush orchestration, drone and angelic backing vocals… Gone here are the sizzling, persistent crash of percussion, made way for a far more spiritual journey through world music and mysterious orchestration…The album hints strongly into the world of soundtrack composing into which Revell would enter in due time… This recording is a gateway to something quite timeless: then, now and to be” (Toneshift)

“Back before he was writing scores for films like The Chronicles Of Riddick and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Graeme Revell made mischief in Australian group SPK. 1986’s Zamia Lehmanni (Songs Of Byzantine Flowers) was pretty much a solo record on Revell’s part and saw him attempt to push the group’s industrial sound into ‘post-industrial’ territory. The hypnotic reveries he came up with come off like Arvo Pärt teaming up with Chris Carter” (Norman Records)

“The most unexpected and compelling aspect of SPK’s 1986 release of Zamia Lehmanni (Songs Of Byzantine Flowers) is its sheer breadth of styles. Between tracks, and even within certain tracks, are passages that border on tribal / ambient, industrial, non-Western, sound collages… Zamia Lehmanni (Songs Of Byzantine Flowers) falls in between the industrial and soundtrack genres, capturing some of the best aspects of each… Recorded over 30 years ago, Revell’s ability to fall between and combine established styles in new ways is still being perfected by today’s artists. Zamia Lehmanni (Songs Of Byzantine Flowers) was decades ahead of its time in this regard, and would have been a striking release if it were recorded today“ (Avant Music News).

“The re-issue of a masterpiece by Australian industrial/modern classical music pioneers SPK – long out-of-print and despite from 1986 (!), its meditative, weird and experimental content still sounds exciting and contemporary! A timeless Ethno noise industrial masterpiece, world music meets atmospheric Black Metal in soundtrack style” (Stalker Magazine)

“A real turning point for Graeme Revell and SPK – a set that moves past the easy industrial and metal dance of the group's earlier records, and comes up with the more complicated soundscapes that would serve Revell well for years to come – both in his famous soundtrack music, and his more underground projects! The vibe here is definitely more in the latter mode – kind of the farther, darker reaches of the 4AD spectrum at its best – a matured version of some earlier industrial modes, with a greater sense of the sonic possibilities of the globe – and a trans-historical sensibility that really keeps things interesting – as Revell blends together acoustic and electric sources from a variety of instruments, and samples sounds from live locations too – all in this painterly style that illuminates the tunes” (Dusty Groove)

“Revell would return to orchestration and produce a work that was then both a product of certain currents of the moment and which remains an important touchstone for anyone interested in what happens when post-industrial musical practices are filtered through the western orchestral canon… What’s noticeable in revisiting this album is the way in which the tropes of so many then-outré genres are being laid into place and given room to develop… it absolutely remains an important album” (Spectrum Culture)

“SPK can be considered as the wellspring of inspiration behind many projects that came to define the early to mid-period industrial music scene. This seminal album has lost none of its grandeur and scale…These pieces are simultaneously simple yet complex, almost like musical Mandelbrot sets: the further you delve into each piece, the more you see and the more you realise and understand… multiple hearings are mandated here in order to fully grasp Revell’s mastery” (1208 North Fuller Ave Apt 1)

“...un disco icónico dentro del género post-industrial... Un disco que se adelanta a su tiempo y del que beberán muchos grupos post-industriales de la década venidera...nEl cuerpo del disco nos muestra una profunda introspección en los sonidos rituales y medievales, jugando con la esencia neoclásica de una forma auténticamente ejemplar... Zamia Lehmanni es una de las columnas más sólidas y bellamente talladas del entorno post-industrial” (No Melody, 5/5)

“...gracias a la excelsa remasterización realizada con sumo talento por el maestro Martin Bowes, “Zamia Lehmanni” adquiere su dimensión musical y artística más espectacular en cuanto a su calidad sonora... un monumental trabajo musical situado conceptualmente entre el industrial (del cual SPK se había convertido en grupo de obligada referencia en aquella época) y el estilo post-industrial que marcaría conceptualmente el final de la década de los 80s y toda la 90's dentro de esta apasionante y obscura escena... excelsa re-edición discográfica cuya relevancia musical viene marcada por atesorar en su interior la transición conceptual entre el estilo industrial y el post-industrial. ¡¡¡Disfrútenlo!!!” (Lux Atenea)

“Un vero e proprio spartiacque nella discografia di questi pionieri dell'industrial... Coadiuvato da un intero coro della vecchia chiesa ortodossa russa di Sydney, Graeme accantona l'aspetto più propriamente noisy della sua creatura, districandosi fra sonorità filmiche di ampio respiro che abbracciano etnicismi/tribalismi di derivazione africana ed asiatica... racchiusa in una magnifica confezione molto ben curata... Una irrinunciabile occasione per recuperare un pezzo di storia fondamentale del post-industrial e per comprendere l'evoluzione artistica del suo celebrato creatore” (Darkroom)