the
CONSUMER PRODUCTIONS Archives
cassettes page 1
A Cook and His Hat
Recorded in December 1995 in Wynyard, Tasmania, released a few months later. CP's operations at this point utilised a simple two deck portable cassette player. Complaints were made, people wanted their two dollars back, the label was set to implode immediately, this particular cassette only contained sound on one channel for a few copies.
The sounds represent very restricted recording conditions, a single tape deck, an Amiga computer, no effects units, one keyboard and a guitar. The result is an experiment, ingredients mixed together by a cook and his hat to produce mashes, sours, tarts and a quiche. Can be considered either innocent or immature, with ideas and methods undistorted by culture or trends, seminal.
hmas - hmas
23 songs written and recorded in a space of two months, some never to be played again. Overexcitable punk/pop music missing any kind of percussion or beat. Honest, with integrity, discardable.
Page 27 - the first tape
A combination of the first two Page 27 recording sessions. The first recording 'page 27' was released on casette the day after it was recorded, approx. six copies were made with unique packaging for each cassette and bonus B-side, 'page 28', a 45 minute recording of the band discussing their newly completed project, through a distortion pedal which was deemed unlistenable. The second recording, 'Open Sesame' was made a month later. It took a year for the recordings to appear together on a cassette; some minor changes made to the programming of each session, a future CD release will feature the original session programming.
"I
smoke cigarettes, they suit me fine. I need to wash, but I don't have the time."
- Caffiene Dog
'Page
27' can be considered a classic for many different reasons, the first is it's
spontaneity and subsequent freedom from logical pre-planning, recording started
barely hours after the idea was conceived. What we had was what was used and
we didn't have much, this is evident by the inclusion of the two 60's pop covers
in 'My Girl' and 'I'm a Loser', we had the ideas for production, we had no real
material to produce. Overdubs were attempted in an environment where monitoring
was impossible, timing was a matter of guessing.
'Caffiene Dog' is the closing track, recorded onto two separate tapes simultaneously,
one of the room sound, one of keyboard and guitar direct input. The two tapes
were sync-ed together badly resulting in a half second delay between them live
sound first with DI sound echoing, the result is breathtaking.
"Daryl
Somers is the Devil."
- Jumpsuit Robot
The recording of 'Open Sesame' was far more difficult, there were times, some of which appear on the tape, where tension was in the motherfuckin house as a result of balancing between what you want and what is actually possible to achieve with limited equipment and time. There were many interruptions to recording; workmen, friends, flatmates, all sought to delay proceedings, the proceedings were far more planned than the first time and the problems in this were evident. Despite all factors the recording was a success, lo-fidelity pop songs of a unique form.
Ben Consumer - In A Consumer Society
The first BC tape to use the BC moniker. Side A is BC, side B is BC + Friends. The first BC four-track recordings, a combination of pre-written material and improvised stuff. Side B features a recording of a Putney analogue synth, very rare, very nice, very amateur use on this tape. Also, a performance at the Tasmanian University Union Bar where ten or so minutes of noisy shit is met with a tirade of boos from a yobbo audience, featuring vocal work by John Emmerton of Streetkid Jake.
Cassette
comes with lyric sheet drawn by Andrew
Harper
Chubb Wonder Bunny - First Thing in the Morning
If you can imagine bronzed maniacs visiting regularly in order to jam, two drummers, two guitars and drinking your friends piss the day after they've eaten Fly Agaric, then you can get a feel for Chubb. Some members of the band weren't involved in the making of this cassette and don't support it's content, but from an outsider's point of view, it passes.