C86 Show - Indie Pop

Morgan King in conservation with David Eastaugh 

https://morganking.bandcamp.com/

King's musical career began in 1979 as drummer for Manchester band Illustration, who were subsequently signed by the indie label, "Some Bizzare" featuring on the Some Bizzare Album. After several years immersed in the UK indie scene, King's musical direction changed considerably with the advent of house music in the late 1980s.

In 1988, King moved to Chicago and started writing with Kym Mazelle and Marshall Jefferson on Mazelle's first album, Crazy, which was released the following year. In 1989, King joined his third band, the Manic MCs who had a UK top thirty hit with their first release, "Mental".

Vince Hunt in conversation with David Eastaugh

A Witness are an English post-punk/indie rock band, who were originally active in the mid-1980s alternative music scene. Their first EP Loudhailer Songs brought them to the attention of BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel, for whom they recorded four sessions. Their career was brought to a halt with the death of guitarist Rick Aitken in 1989. Founder member and songwriter Vince Hunt revived the band with a new line-up for a series of UK-wide dates in 2014 marking the 25th anniversary of Aitken's death, and the band continues to play live.

John Whybrew in conversation with David Eastaugh 

https://portioncontrol.bandcamp.com/music

https://portioncontrol.net/

Emerging from the immediate post-punk musical landscape, Portion Control swiftly developed a raw, minimal sound utilising sequenced synthesisers, samplers and strident vocals built on driving, rhythmic structures. Their fiercely independent approach and experimental use of early technology positioned them as pioneers of the electro-industrial genre, as exemplified by their 1982 debut album, ‘I Staggered Mentally’, mini-LP ‘Hit The Pulse’ (1983) and second album ‘..Step Forward’ (1984), all formative works in the evolution of hard-edged dark electronic dance music.Following a hiatus that began in the late ’80s, Portion Control staged their return in 2004. Symbolically plotted on the steps of the British Museum, they introduced a darker, tighter style that nevertheless retained their uncompromising edge. Releases such as ‘Wellcome’ (2004), ‘Filthy White Guy’ (2006), ‘Pure Form’ (2012) and the trio of ‘SEED’ EPs issued in 2020-25 documented this renewed phase, combining the band’s original aesthetic with contemporary production techniques.Throughout their career, Portion Control have remained resistant to commercial pressures while continually exploring new directions in sound. Their body of work stands as a significant contribution to electronic music history, both for its originality and for its lasting influence on subsequent artists within genres such as industrial, EBM, techno and darkwave.

Gregor Gall in conversation with David Eastaugh 

Link to book is https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marxism-in-music-9798765140888/ 
 
the discount code is MARXISM35
 
In Marxism in Music: Constructing a Communist Contra-Culture with The Redskins, Rock'n'roll and Revolution, Gregor Gall examines how The Redskins, so-called for their skinhead aesthetics and commitment to a socialist ideal, were a deliberately political band and built a counter-hegemony through their music and activism.

At the height of Thatcherism in Britain, The Redskins were aligned with the politics of the Socialist Workers Party, though the party did not accept their idea of that a working-class culture could exist. Despite resistance and contradiction, The Redskins created stirring and danceable music that introduced young people to socialist politics, playing over 250 gigs between 1982 and 1986, of which one quarter were benefit gigs for, as an example, striking miners.

Featuring a foreword by Redskins bass player Martin Hewes this book analyses the band's political intentions, interpersonal and inter-party tensions and the outcomes of their ideological, political and creative choices by drawing upon interviews with Hewes, other musicians like Billy Bragg, and the band's followers.

The book uses as a comparison another left-wing band of the same period, Easterhouse, to tease out how and why The Redskins were and are influential amongst a certain milieux and how going against the grain, even among comrades, made for the group's particular contribution to music culture and politics.

Steve Addabbo in conversation with David Eastaugh

https://www.steveaddabbo.com

https://shelterislandsound.com

American record producer, songwriter and audio engineer, who helped launch the careers of Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin. He had a vital hand in Vega's hit single, "Luka" and Colvin's album Steady On.

He has produced and/or engineered for artists including Bobby McFerrin, Bob Dylan, Jeff Buckley, Gary Lucas, Richard Shindell, Suzanne Vega, and Dar Williams.