Solo Projects

(Today is a day I've set aside to get together a bunch of posts and set them up in the queue to start randomly appearing on whatever day I decide that something should show up. I'm doing a lot of posts right now in the beginning so there's something here and to give the few folks who come here (and the even fewer who partake) something to make it worth their while. (I think there's been around 40 odd page views and 4 dls of things posted.) I'm aware. I do it anyway.)

This first thing is about solo projects. And by solo projects, I'm talking projects by one person. One person with a personal and unique musical vision and no friends.



Amor Fati is latin for "Love of one's Fate" if wikipedia is to be trusted, which I do more or less. It's pretty straightforward. They've no reason to lie about something like that. It's also the name of the project by Amaury Perez that released this seven inch slab of vinyl in 1984.

 

Amor Fati (1984)

This is a one man band in the truest sense of the word. One dude and a what had to be a very early 4-track cassette machine. I'm betting it was expensive at the time. (They certainly still weren't cheap when I got my first one four years later.) And done with a $15 mic. It's what I imagine happens when you've got access to some instruments and a the first few PiL lps. (I'm willing to bet that he sprung for the full on Metal Box version of the Second lp.) More power to him. He even did the art work on the color xeroxed cover. Dude was a renaissance man. 

"Blanking Out" is the standout track for me, this time through listening to it. It's got the most oomph to it. But over all I appreciated this much more than I think I did when I first got it many years ago.

If you like it, Amaury is apparently still making music. He's got an album up for cheap on Bandcamp. Go ahead and buy it. 

Then we have Asbestos Rockpyle. They seem to have been the vision of a gentleman by the name of Paul R.W. Clarke. Despite the super punk rock looking cover, that's not what you get.

 Asbestos Rockpyle (1983)

This is entertainingly bad. You have some distorted guitars and incompetent playing, a drum machine on the b-side and a faux English accent singing some protest songs. A hippy with a mohawk. But it's the painful earnestness of the guy as he tries to convey his message that makes it. It's car wreck that you can't quite bring yourself to turn away from. Your mileage will vary, but remember delete is always an option if you can't hang with the big kids.