Another week, another essential release from Superior Viaduct. This one is a reissue of I Don’t Remember Now / I Don’t Want To Talk About It, a “hyper-limited,” DIY release from 1980 by mystery experimental-electronic artist John Bender. Like Bender’s original, the reissue comes with unique, hand-stamped covers and is limited to 1000 copies. Originals go for upwards of $100, so this version should be lighter on your wallet while supplies last. S.V.’s description sums it all up nicely, so check it out below while listening to a methodically-named track from the album. More more more new releases/reissues/restocks hitting the shelves this week(end) too! -MLE
John Bender – I Don’t Remember Now/I Don’t Want To Talk About It LP
Listen: “27B4”
“John Bender recorded voraciously between 1978 and 1980 at his home in Cincinnati, Ohio. Not even song titles could slow down his creative pace, as he named all the tracks after their position on the original tapes. ’36A2,’ for example, was cassette #36 side A, piece #2. To close the DIY aesthetic circle, Bender made sleeves by hand with no two covers alike and pressed the LPs in hyper-limited editions on his own Record Sluts imprint.
I Don’t Remember Now / I Don’t Want To Talk About It, Bender’s first album from 1980, is the holy grail of minimal lo-fi electronics. Layers of fractured melodies, distorted synthesizers, hollowed-out rhythms and claustrophobic vocals unfold over the 40 minutes of this lost masterpiece. ‘It’s A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl,’ one of Faust’s greatest songs, is perfectly deconstructed by a distinct punk-meets-experimentalist sensibility.
While I Don’t Remember Now is impossibly rare and the man behind the music remains shrouded in self-imposed mystery, the real surprise is that it has taken 35+ years for listeners to discover Bender’s warm, art-damaged immediacy.
This first-time standalone reissue is recommended for fans of Pere Ubu, Brian Eno and Robert Ashley. Limited to 1,000 numbered copies. Red vinyl with hand-stamped jackets, each one unique. Liner notes by John Bender.” -Superior Viaduct
To remember and talk about later – new releases, reissues & restocks…
