Saturday 2 July 2011

From the Top Drawer XVIII - Nodens Ictus

Nodens Ictus was (still is?) a side project of Ozric Tentacles, initially involving Joie and Ed, and which concentrated on the electronic/synthesized elements of the studio-produced music of the band. Early influences seem to include the Berlin School, Tim Blake, Roger Powell, Steve Hillage, Todd Rundgren's mid-70s albums and more, shaped into a suitable ambience for both home listening and club chill-out sessions, though the latter term only seems to have come into use after the rave movement saw there was a demand for an area where people could relax and take a break from dancing.


The Nodens played occasional live sets, one (their first?) at St Mark's Church in Deptford, South London on the 9th of May 1987. Playing upstairs were the reformed Pink Fairies and others, but a lot of people seemed to want to spend their evening downstairs in the basement experiencing Nodens Ictus, and they were well rewarded for their choice by a fine set.

Ed with one of his favourite synths of the time, the 'Proone'

I remember spending most of the gig lounging around on a well-worn sofa at the back of the stage, from where I took some fairly dodgy photos over the shoulders of the players and snapped a few of the audience as well. I recognise a few of the usual suspects - maybe you were there as well...?

 St Mark's audience

It took some effort to peel myself off the sofa to leave at chucking-out time but I did get to see Twink (obviously him, as he was wearing a leather jacket with his name on it) from the Fairies loading his drums into the back of a van and wondered just what I'd missed upstairs.


 Side One: The Grove Of Selves / Aerial Procession / To Occur In A Forest / The Melding Of The Mythical Minds / Way Of The Wind / Sarukwa
 Side Two: The Gong Of Ra / Somewhere Indian / Miasma / Banging Bones / Long Musick / Bouncing In The Important Countryside

Tape rip @320kbps from an original cassette as two side-long tracks 
Get it HERE

Ed, Joie, Jane and candle at St Mark's Church

A belated CD release came out in 2000 called 'Spacelines' featuring a few of the tracks from this tape and adding others, some recorded with Merv Pepler.

29 comments:

  1. Wow, had no idea that the Pinks were playing upstairs at this. What a night that must have been - if you could take a doppelganger, that is.

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  2. I wonder if that Fairies performance was the one captured on Chinese Cowboys album

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chinese-Cowboy-Pink-Fairies/dp/B000BONRCI

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  3. Hey Matthew, I heard that the people who watched the Fairies that night didn't think that much of them and wished they had come downstairs instead...

    I checked that link for the CC album and a reviewer there reckons it was taped at Leeds and Long Marston Speedway, so it would seem I'm never gonna find out what the Deptford gig sounded like. Cheers anyway.

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  4. Nice post maan... really loving the blog. :))) xx

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  5. Thanks a lot DH, and cheers for linking me up!

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  6. Thanks Gobbledygook, I was just to lazy to find out where the Chinese Cowboys album was recorded. I guess it was the same approximate setlist - Kill 'em and Eat 'em era Fairies.

    Thanks DH for posting this - have you heard the tape Floating Temple - Skank Space? Its on Better Days and seems similar to a lot of the festi bands you mention here. I've just bought it for 20 Euro from a seller in Germany.

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    1. Wow 20 Euro for a Temple Tape!! Ade here FT guitarist. The tape you have was recorded late 1990 partly at a Club Dog gig, partly in a Studio called Cazimi in Leyton and possibly in Tower Hamlets Community Transport office!! The Cazimi session was a nightmare and unfortunately our best track Googleplex was not considered good enough to go on the tape. We did not survivve long enough to release another tape. Cassettes were copied at home, sleeves photocopied and sprayed with car paint. I think we only ever played about 20 gigs and were around between Summer 89 and summer 91. Core lineup of Chris - Synth, Marc - Drums and myself with Mick on Bass and Synth then the summer of 90 with various bassists . Ben joined just before the tape was recorded. We often had an extra percussionist or second drummer and or a Sax player sitting in..........

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    2. hello, do you have an email i can contact you on... would love to hear the rest of the tape

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  7. Jus passing thru to say thanks for your blog - about time these precious recordings got a proper airing on the web. Well done. Lx

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  8. Thanks Anon, happy to be of service filling the void with these tapes. That's one of the main reasons I started the blog, that and the occasional getting-something-off-my-chest...keep checking back for more.

    Matthew I think I have heard of Floating Temple but not sure where from (on Better Days, hmm)...must have been one of those that slipped by me. Hope you're enjoying it anyway.

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  9. A great release, many thanks.

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  10. Cheers Anon, I wish I had some live stuff to post here.

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  11. Thanx for this,my copy's long chewed by an old n senile tape deck....I was at that gig,kept wandering up n down stairs....Larry Wallis,at one point,wqas leaning back against the wall with his eyes closed,looking pretty much zonked,but still working that ol' Pink magic...Altough,I must agree Nodens played by far the best that night....Awesome blog,by the way!

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  12. Talking of free festivals,there's one at South Wingfield Social Club,South Wingfield in Derbyshire,nr.Alfreton on June 1st & 2nd,feat.Dr.Hasbeen,Spiral Navigators(My band...)Vert-X & many other spacerock & underground bands....

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  13. Mathew-Pretty sure I saw Floating Temple a time or two...Very trippy,never managed to get hold of the tape though! You guys might appreciate Triptych as well...Got a tape called Ambient Offcuts which is sublime....

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  14. Thanks for your comments. Kozmik.A. I don't think I ever made it upstairs that night in Deptford, so I didn't see the Fairies at all (except for Twink loading his kit into the van afterwards), got too comfortable with Nodens.
    Good luck with the festy BTW.

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  15. That's me in the audience picture - laying on the floor grinning :-)

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    1. Cheers for dropping by johnnly, hope you're still exercising that grin regularly ;)

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  16. Hello there I did the lightshow downstairs (Headlights) and at then crypt for a coupla years. My band The Freaks of Science played downstairs as well only ventured upstairs once it was better downstairs nice and cosy I have photos must stick em up somewhere. Nice one for this Blog by the by...
    There is an upload of the Flyer I posted on Joannes Crypt FB group if any one wants a look:

    http://www.facebook.com/groups/2538301020/10150801470331021/?notif_t=group_comment

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    1. Hi Nellie, yes I remember the Freaks of Science, and of course Andy Moore's various venue ventures into (unlicensed - at least @ The Crypt!) psychedelia round South London and beyond. Thanks for the wonderful lightshow all those years ago and for the current link to that FB page, which I didn't know about 'til now..

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  17. Great sound first time i've heard the original all the way through cheers for sharing

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    1. Cheers for dropping by hippydave - yeah, not bad for an old tape played through an old cassette deck ;-)

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  18. Great to see this old tape digitized. Do you take requests? I'd like to hear and see some of the following, if you've got them stored away somwhere. As you can tell by looking at this list, I'm an old Space Cadet. (Can't help it too much Hawkwind/Gong/Hillage/Ozrics etc.) [LEMMY FOR POPE]
    Nodens Ictus - live at the Angel Centre, Tonbridge (About 1989 or 1990) OR
    Nodens Ictus - live at Club Dog (1990)
    Wooden Baby - Embalment (1988-1990)
    pxr1 - Earthspace (?year?)
    Moonloonies - Detonator (1994)
    Krel - Earth Zero (1993)
    Cheops - Euphoria Flit
    Cheops - Pancake Mix (1997)
    Cheops - A Most peculiar Pancake (1996)
    Another Green World - Invisible Landscape (1997
    Afresco Mantis - Arizona Bush (?year?)
    Alman Mulo - Invisible Warrior
    Cellular Structure(Phil Howard) - Saucers (1994)
    Cellular Structure - This must be Space (1996)
    Mandragora - Under the Sun(1990)
    Mandragora - Mandrake Madness (1992)
    Transequence - Armchairs in Outer Space (1996)
    Transequence - Steps Across the Cortex (1997)
    Tubilah Dog - On the Road (1991)

    Most of these were originally cassettes, although some may have been later released as CDs. I know its a fairly long list, but I'm hoping maybe you got some of them.

    Also, I'm delighted by your political awareness and ability to see beyond the veil of mass media and lying politicians.

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    1. Sorry to disappoint you anon/fellow space cadet, but I haven't got any of the recordings on your list, and I'm sorry to say that I'm coming very near the end of my own tape stash. Time for someone else to pick up the baton and run with it themselves, I reckon (ie. start a blog and post some of your old tapes, hint hint...).

      Thanks for your kind words re: the more political posts, unfortunately these are the posts that seem to attract the least feedback :-/

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  19. LOL The audience pic has just made my day.... :-) Cheers mate. I'll have a little mooch about your blog... hahahaha cheers.. :-D

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  20. p.s. I'm the one 3rd from the right with a paisley shirt on in front of the guy with the beard and staring straight at the camera.. Do we know each other? And have you got any more pics?

    TrampyAJ

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    1. Sorry that's 3rd from the right from the guy wearing the frog T-Shirt..

      Trampy AJ

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    2. Haven't got any more pics of this gig I'm afraid Trampy.
      I took this picture of the audience from the stage at random, not really focussing on anyone in particular, and when the picture was developed, I was amused to see that in the middle were three guys in a group (Cardiacs, frog and denim jacket) that I knew. Don't think I've ever met you though, Trampy, even though you're sat right next to them.
      Take it easy.

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