Nocturnal Emission — Tissues Of Lies

First appearing in the early 80’s Tissues Of Lies is glum, grey, at points jarring mix of murky bass lines, disquieting dada, troubling industrial texturing,  jaded electro beats and general ugly/grim 1980’s sound-scaping. Here from Klanggalerie is a double CD reissue of the album- with the original album on disc one, and a complete bonus disc taking in three bonus tracks and a highly murky/ noise thirty six minute live set.

The two CD’s come presented in a glossy monochrome six panel mini gatefold- this takes in a photo booth picture of a wide eyed yet glum pre-teen boy on it’s front cover. Sadly this release  has now gone out-of-print with the label, but lets hope there a re-print down the line.

Starting in the year 1980, and running to present day Nocturnal Emission is the experimental project of one Nigel Ayers- discogs lists it as having seventy one albums in all. Along the projects  history Ayers has  been joined by other like minded sonic minds-  for this their debut album the line-up Nigel Ayers was Voice, Guitar, Violin, Tape. Caroline K- Voice, Bass, Synthesizer. Daniel Ayers-computer programme, and keyboard on a few tracks.

Tissues Of Lies was first released on Sterile Records- which was run by Nigel Ayers and released in the form of a small vinyl pressing on the 13th of February  1980. Though over the time since has gone on to receive eleven reissues.

So the first disc takes in the original nine tracks from the album- these have runtimes between two and seventeen minutes. We start in a suitble shifting/ disorientating manner “When Were You Last In Control Of Your Dreams And Aspirations?” it opens with a dialogue sample of a posh English man talking about flies dashing them self anganist a wall, we then get a densely murky blend of slowly bounding synth bass tones. Before shifting into a running on a bike chain like beat ‘n’ hiss tones meets chanted to muffled female ‘n’ male vocals, and akward baying struts of bass guitar.  As we move through the album there’s “Limited Holocaust Engagement” which is a grey and murky sound scape of bass darts, sawing to light fidgeting junk metal, forking whistles and grim tone stretches. There’s the wonkily purring guitar fuzz,  manically layered male ‘n’ female vocals of “Shrubbish Factory” which late moves into repetitive dialogue sample/ gritty tone stretch collaging. Or the nearing eighteen minutes of “Backwards Man: Regressive Music” which is a disorientating mix of echoed/ reverberating female vocals/ dialogue, sudden searing low grade noise tones, doomy bass toll ‘n’ baying guitar strikes, muffled dialogue sample collaging, and later a steady ticking beat….before ending on what sounds like several minutes of a cat sleeping/ purring locked in a rhythmic pulse.  All in all the albums a disquieting, bleak at points jarring journey into grey and murky early 80’s industrial sound craft-  it’s clearly in the same grain as early material from Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire, but with it’s own nightmarish/ unpredictable quality too.

On the second disc we have  just three tracks- though the third is a thirty six minute live performance. First up we have “From Puberty To Serenity” which is just over four minutes of grey ‘n’ shapeless chugging guitar tone, feed over by  a often not  very clearly heard male spoken/ to semi sung vocals.  Next is “Bad Machine” which is all about blunt guitar feed back, bleak electro tone fed back churn, and grimly simmer pitch climb. The third and final track is the thirty six minute and sixteen second ‘live’ recording “Live At The Crypt” which is a very apt title- as this has to be some of the most necro/ crude/ nasty live recordings I’ve ever heard. We move from tolling of muffled female voices & blunt detunded guitar tone- alive with feed back sear. On blend of gratting and pirecing feed back, underfed by grey churn. Onto repeive blunt  bass hits and purrs- pin pricked wailing and gratting electo tone detail/ chopped up dialogue elements.

 

I’d be aware of the Nocturnal Emission name for some years now- but this double disc set is my first taster of the projects work, and I must say I was most impressed with both it’s grey nastiness and sickly unpredictable. Lets hope Klanggalerie have plans to reissue this, and more of the projects work down the line- as I’d love to hear more!