Robert Turman

Chapter Eleven (1976 - 1987)

Genre: INDUSTRIAL / WAVE / ELECTRO, ELECTRONIC

4CD BOXSET

Boomkat Product Review:

This is a gift: over four hours of revolutionary solo recordings from one of the US industrial/noise scene's earliest and most under-sung underground operators. Essential, completely proto shit, ranging from glacial, thrumming cosmic ambience thru fuzzy kraut-esque meditation and grungy tape noise to dusty rhythm-fuck'd experimentz and ghostly electro-punk, to harry partch/moondog-esque clattering percussion to tape worn solo piano drift oddities and smudged dub-pop vignettes. The square root of so much foundational DIY music, right here.

Don't worry if you haven't come across Robert Turman's music before, this epic set, originally released as an eight-cassette box in 1988 and now re-packaged on CD by Aaron DIlloway’s Hanson Records, gives you all the introduction to the US noise innovator you need. Turman was initially spotted as one half of legendary noise act NON alongside Boyd Rice, but quickly redirected his efforts into more personal, singular solo werk. "Chapter Eleven" rakes together some of the Ohio-based artist's earliest material, compiling 45 tracks made between 1976 and 1987. And jeez it's a revelation: out-zone sounds that are truly jawdropping not just for their stylistic scope, but for their originality. Really, who else was doing tape-degraded xylophone and kalimba loops AND crumbling rhythmic tape noise while Jimmy Carter was in the Whitehouse?

Listening to the album from beginning to end gives you a real sense of Turman's musical curiosity and dedication to his craft. It's the gnostic missing page that contextualizes the US noise/experimental scene's flirtation with industrial grot, dreamy guitar jams, futzed psychedelia, extreme noise, deep listening and hypnogogic tape loops. Turman has it all, and "Chapter Eleven" is an ideal primer to his sound, working like a diary or self portrait, revealing a personal journey marinated in emotion, texture and wonder, sitting a few paces outside the musical establishment's buttoned-up critical perception.

Dilloway has done the world a solid here, teaming with Helicopter Records to offer up a remastered edition of the entire long out-of-print set. And while Turman's music has experienced a resurgence of interest in the last few years following reissues on Spectrum Spools and Dais and collaborations with Dilloway, "Chapter Eleven" is the real key to understanding his role in the US experimental music landscape. Highest possible recommendation.

4CD BOXSET (45)