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Japanese bimonthly music magazine "NEWSWAVE" 10 June 1989 (No.20)   (English translation) (p.38-39) PHILLIP BOA AND THE VOODOO CLUB - KILL YOUR IDEALS! Text: Youko Morikawa Voodoo, a magical religion that originated in Africa and is practiced among blacks in the southern United States and West Germany. A group name that has the mysterious atmosphere somewhere - Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub. I would like to follow their trajectory with the release of the second album "Hair" after transferring to Polydor (the fourth album in total). They are based in West Germany, but now, even Germany, due to the contribution of Japanese importers, it should no longer be an inaccessible cultural area in such a distant country. It can be said that many of the musicians we can touch on have some of the complex elements of the various historical backgrounds and the regional colours of the small country divisions that Germany has had. I don't really think it's healthy to think of Germany equal the social background, connecting them immediately. But it is also true, for example, that Can, Faust and Stockhausen have had a musicality that have had a lot of influence on the history of rock to the present, it was never possible in other areas. The musicality of Einstürzende Neubauten and Die Tödliche Doris, which has recently been particularly accepted in Japan, will also be substantiated, especially by looking at the dead end around Berlin. Meanwhile, Phillip Boa, who heads the Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub, is truly positive in terms of revitalizing the German music scene and approaching of Germany to Britain and the United States.Phillip Boa formed the group's base with his girlfriend Pia Lund in the summer of 1984, when he was 26 years old. And they started the group with the help of their ideal backing band, The Voodoo Club, which consists of Haiti-born The Voodoo and Der Rabe. "I was a high school student in 1977 and 1978, and I was influenced a lot by British punk rock and Frank Zappa in real time. Five years later, I stayed in Haiti for a while. And I had an interest in Voodoo culture there. It's amazing that more than 30 percussion sounds at once. By the time I returned to Germany, the punk movement was already down. So I wanted to try some interesting music with the powerful drumming that I contacted in the voodoo culture." They Released the maxi single "Most Boring World" from JA! Music in May 1984. And a year later, they released the first album "Philistrines" from the same label. "Ostrich", a single cut from the album, featured the percussion like a shower and cool vocal style.It made me feel the strong will when they formed the band and the experimental musicality that he was influenced by Stockhausen. But sales were not good because of its aggressiveness. They released the single "Diana" in October 1986, and the following month they released the second album "ARISTCRACIE" from Constrictor, the label they founded themselves. The basis of the sound is the same, but pop noise with a mysterious atmosphere different from the first album is developed in it. From the album, in November 1986 "Empires Burning", and in March 1987 "I Dedicate My Soul To You" were single-cut. They succeeded in sales with a series of sound appeals on this album, and they signed with Polydor Records. "Kill Your Ideals" released in September 1987 showed a turning point as a breakthrough work in their sound conversion that is becoming more and more popped for each work. It's literally a bitter irony of their own, and while it's strange as if it confuses the listener's thought circuit, it can be said to be the representative song that is established as a pop song. The third album "COPPER FIELD" released in January 1988 became a very fulfilling work. The album featured John Leckie, who produced XTC, The Fall, Pink Floyd, etc. as producers, and developed the colour of their sound, "the game of ordered confusion." For the first time during this period, Max Nobel joined as a permanent member bassist from the jazz field. The freelance bass of jazz music added colour to their musical style and made it even more interesting. They then toured the UK, the response in the UK was great. Their sound as "world pop noise" not only in Germany was established. And here is the latest work "Hair". they featured Tony Visconti(!), who is famous for working on David Bowie and T. Rex, Nigel Walker (Japan, David Sylvian, Joe Jackson), Jay Burnett (New Order, Run-DMC) and Tony Taverner (The Jam, Motorhead) as producers. They made it quite colourful one. While they built their own musicality, Phillip Boa founded their label Constrictor in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1986. He said "I want to introduce more and more German minor groups, bands that are willing to do more prominent activities in England". He released many interesting German bands such as Christian Hound, The Palookas and Jowe Head and distributed the artists of the British Ron Johnson label to revitale the music scene. By the way, "BOA CONDTRICTOR" is an anatomical term for muscles that contract and expand the organs of a living body. It would be really interesting if Phillip Boa's "BOA" and his founding "CONSTRICTOR" allude to the implications of disturbing and revitalizing the rigid music scene. I really want Phillip Boa & The Voodooclub to emerge as the center of it. DISCOGRAPHY - ALBUMS - PHILISTRINES (JA! MUSIC/RED FLAME RF-50) (4/1986) With this creepy cover and the strange group name that hear for the first time, maybe there are at least 10 people avoided it somewhere (the colour is also black & velvet)? This work, their first album, was produced by a total of 10 people including the original members, half of whom are rhythm sections. The result is an ambivalent sound with strings dangling classic elements based on twin drums, and the way Boa and Pia's elusive vocals overlap establishes a unique sound. You'll be immediately drawn to the stateless sound at first listen, but also note the imbalance of each part that makes it up. The album also included single-cut "Skull" and "Ostrich". It can be said that their experimental elements are scattered in a messy but interesting way. (p.40) - ALBUMS - ARISTCRACIE - worldwide (CONSTRICTOR CON!-00011) (11/1986) The previous work was distributed from Red Flame in the UK, and it got some acclaim also outside Germany. And this second album was offered to produce by the famous German producer Conny Plank. The proposal got "rejected" because of a slight misunderstanding, but it can be said that they showed a strong will to their direction by self-producing and releasing on their label. The basic direction hasn't changed at all, but the power and sounds that were thrown out in a cluttered way in "PHILISTRINES" are well balanced and fused. And consistency can also be seen in the melody lines. The two songs "Clean Eyes For Dirty Faces" and "I Dedicate My Soul To You" are excellent songs in that sense, they are definitely representative songs even if you listen to through the four albums. COPPERFIELD (POLYDOR 835 237-1) (1/1988) Looking at the artwork of the early singles, the influence of voodoo culture was clearly felt. But this album, which is the first album after the transfer to Polydor, has an atmosphere that does not limit the listeners. To come to the point, John Leckie of XTC was featured as the producer of this work, and the guitar that had tended to be pushed by rhythm and vocals has come to the fore. The first song on side A is "angry" seen in the early Gang of Four, and the intro of the second song is definitely reminiscent of XTC at one time. They easily crossed the frame that could not be produced by the members themselves, and they were absorbing those elements as their own. A totalized, familiar album in their works. From this work, bassist Max Nobel joined as a member for the first time. HAIR (POLYDOR P00P-20248) (1/1989) As mentioned in the text, it is a "wasteful" work with producers who are too "luxury". The producers are different for each song, and each person's colour is strongly reflected. Is there any reason why they have to do such a "wasteful" thing in this one album called "Hair"? To put it better, it can be said that the content is colourful, but the totality cannot be understood without taking back a step or two and listening. I think that the fans so far would feel calm if the artist explained the concept or "reasons" as soon as possible. Personally, I feel that the numbers that Jay Burnett worked on are the best for them. But maybe the whole album doesn't feel right to me because of Phillip Boa's lack of control? After all, the cause is probably the "luxury" production lineup. - SINGLES - MOST BORING WORLD (JA!-MUSIC) 12" (5/1984) OSTRICH (JA!-MUSIC) 7" (5/1985) DIANA (JA!-MUSIC) 7" (10/1986) SKULL (RED FRAME/UK RF-750) 12" (3/1986) photo #1 EMPIRES BURNING (JA!-MUSIC) 7" (11/1986) NO MAD'S LAND (CONSTRICTOR CON!-0005) 12" (1986) CLEAN EYES FOR DIRTY FACES (RED FRAME/UK RF-1252) 7"/12" (1/1987) photo #2 I DEDICATE MY SOUL TO YOU (CONSTRICTOR CON!-00018) 7"/12" (3/1987) photo #3 FOR WHAT BASTARDS (RED FRAME/UK RF-1254) 12" (5/1987) photo #4 KILL YOUR IDEALS (POLYDOR 887 109-1) 7"/12" (9/1987) photo #5 KILL YOUR IDEALS (RED FRAME/UK RF-1255) 12" (11/1987) ANDY W (POLYDOR) 7"/12" (1/1988) ANNIE FLIES THE LOVE-BOMBER (POLYDOR 887 497-2) 7"/12"/CD (4/1988) CONTAINER OF LOVE (POLYDOR) 7"/12"/CD/CDV (2/1989) Cooperation in making discography: Nobumi Nagaoka |