Sperm, The / 50th Erection
Album: 50th Erection   Collection:General
Artist:Sperm, The   Added:Apr 2018
Label:Svart  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2018-04-19 Pull Date: 2018-06-21 Charts: Classical/Experimental
Week Ending: Jun 3 May 27 May 13 Apr 29 Apr 22
Airplays: 1 2 2 1 1

Recent Airplay
1. May 30, 2018: Brownian Motion
3.Korvapoliklinikka Hesperia
4. May 12, 2018: stringless balloon
Side A
2. May 26, 2018: stringless balloon - DIARIES ON AIR
side A
5. May 09, 2018: Brownian Motion
5.The City Was Silent
3. May 23, 2018: Brownian Motion
8.Pieni Sienikonsertto – A Little Soup For Pian...
6. Apr 28, 2018: Buford J. Sharkley Presents: As Told to Hervey Okkles
5.The City Was Silent, 2.Jazz Jazz

Album Review
Your Imaginary Friend
Reviewed 2018-05-02
Obscure art noise from Finland, 1967. Early experiments in “you can’t do that!” And “you call that art?” Admittedly a lot sounds like someone took an electric guitar and plinked around on its various parts through a loud amp and whatever echo effects were on hand, banging on the body, etc. vocalizations are similar, stuffing a mic in your hand and cramming it into your mouth, with lots of overdrive. CD1 contains a good chunk of dystopian spoken word. But all of this has a true “old school” low fi grab whatever tape machine you can find quality, something that’s mostly lost today.

More on the artist Pekka Airaksinen (Wiki): Airaksinen formed his first band, The Sperm, in the 1960s. The Sperm mixed elements of avant-garde music with free jazz and psychedelic pop. Their concerts featured confrontational performance art, which resulted in two members being arrested for simulating sexual intercourse and screening pornographic films. Following The Sperm's breakup in the early 1970s, Airaksinen turned to Buddhism and ceased making music. He returned to music in the mid 1980s with his album Buddhas of Golden Light, which mixed free jazz with percussion from a Roland 808 drum machine.

All bizarre, experimental in nature. CD1 4-12 are spoken word over noise. Track by track =>

CD1
1)* (16:05) long form noise, tape loop delays, rumbling noise layers, mostly sparse and chill but builds and ends noisy, totally tripped out, like seriously tripped out 2) (8:47) echoey reverb drenched saxophones 3)* (5:57) beautiful symphonic low fi noise with building strange radio broadcast sounds with white noise (in Spanish? Female tower communications?) 4) (19:51) noisey guitar based tones, sounds like someone bouncing a ball off of hollowbody electric plugged into lots of echo effects 5)* (4:50) spoken word handheld recorder spoken word, creepy story about rockets trained to sky, post nuclear wartime story, over dark drone noise 6) (1:45) another spoken word piece 7) (0:50) spoken word, “approaching planes” continuation of previous post nuclear war story 8)* (1:44) spoken word continues, “revolution” people’s desire for change and more freedom 9) (2:21) noise builds, more spoken word “it’s over we don’t have to kill anyone” 10) (1:35) “cbs in south Vietnam!” Second coming of Christ... 11) (0:45) hell 12) (1:24) and the people screamed we are hungry 13)* (3:13) noise collage with vague fem vocs. 14) (1:27) low fi guitar and “singing”, reminds me of Manson’s stuff 15) (2:46) low fi noise w spoken submerged vocalizations 16) (3:13) fade in of more raw noise

CD2
1) (2:28) playing around with the tailpiece of an electric guitar, high pitched notes, slide, echo, subtle vocalizations 2) (2:37) noise, layers 3) (6:35) noise, bursts of tones, electric guitar noise 4) (3:56) heavier noise 5) (8:11) clangy noise, buried spoken word, grows pretty hairy 6) (7:20) continuation of previous (play together?) goofy vocs 7) (7:48) harsher noise 8)* (8:44) organic tones, distant, nice 9)* (5:28) synth tone, percussion, organic low fi noise 10)* (6:33) cool echo efx 11) (6:11) drony fuzzy, didling w guitar again 12) (6:29) echo feedback galore 13) (5:32) more echo feedback, fuzziness

Track Listing
1. 1.Heinäsirkat   15. 15.Pillow (Original Ep Edit)
2. 2.Jazz Jazz   16. 16.Staffstaff (Original Ep Edit)
3. 3.Korvapoliklinikka Hesperia   17. 1.Forest Laughing Organ
4. 4.Dodekafoninen Talvisota   18. Organ
5. 5.The City Was Silent   19. Tune Out
6. 6.She And Herbert   20. System
7. 7.The People On The Hill   21. 5.Selected Letters (Full Length Version Of Pillow)
8. 8.The Sound Of The Revolution   22. 6.This Dream Is Angel (Full Length Version Of H...
9. 9.It?S All Over   23. 7.Staffstaff (Full Length Version)
10. 10.Cbs In South Vietnam   24. 8.Pieni Sienikonsertto ? A Little Soup For Pian...
11. 11.He Who Should Go To Hell   25. 9.Mo-On-Ing
12. 12.And The People Screamed   26. 10.Sadetta ? Somerain
13. 13.3rd Erection   27. 11.Skata
14. 14.Hero (Original Ep Edit)   28. Rock
  29. Fos 2