Behind Closed Curtains/Tap Dancing In Slush is the first disc in the two disc Behind Closed Curtains/Tap Dancing In Slush/Rotcodism outtakes box-set by Renaldo & The Loaf.
The disc collects the entire first then unreleased album by Renaldo & The Loaf, recorded circa March 1979 (Tracks 1 - 9), and pairs it with an unreleased EP, recorded circa April 1979 (Tracks 10 -14)
Track Listing[]
- Niot Cudortni (0:51)
- Catch! (4:55)
- Robot Tango (6:22)
- Cast Iron Smile (2:04)
- Skeleton Music (3:26)
- For Jane (7:01)
- Ode Clone (3:53)
- Duo Dance In H Flat (3:00)
- Kelp (11:54)
- Vile Bodies (3:55)
- Zing Went The Strings (5:06)
- Brittle People (3:53)
- Dada Smoothed (2:52)
- Segment One (4:16)
Liner Notes[]
Recorded at Sneff's Surgery September 1978 to April 1979. The LP, Behind Closed Curtains and the EP, Tap Dancing In Slush, were due to be released by a UK Independent Label in March and April 1979 - but ultimately it didn't happen. For that project we went under the moniker of Plimsollline - think we liked the three L's together - but quickly dropped that name in favour of the snappier Renaldo & The Loaf as we went to develop our ideas and write new material. These recordings very much reveal the embryonic Renaldo & The Loaf, the genesis of our sound and approach - we are more than happy for them to carry our name. So the LP and EP tapes were shelved, gathering dust for 35 years and have remained unreleased until now. Feel free to explore and dig in our archeology.
These recordings were all made with relatively simple equipment - two Akai 4000DS two-track tape decks, a few effects peddles, an old Watkins (Yes, Watkins) Valve copicat tape echo unit, a glockenspiel, various bits of percussive metal & hand drums - plus guitars and voice.
We did not have any mixing equipment apart from the 'Left - Right - Centre' settings on the tape machines... and, of course, no synthesises. Tracks were built up by bouncing between the two tape decks and once bounced could not be re-balanced or altered.
The quality of the recordings certainly reflects the technology we had available, so make allowances for any extraneous hiss, muddiness or distortion... and the occasional lapses of timing!
From early 1977, we had been freely experimenting with alternative means of making sounds - from preparing and playing guitars with all sorts of odd things to using tape delays and various ways of configuring the tape deck connections.
We improvised a lot and often recorded the results and, in time, became very used to playing our guitars in unconventional ways.
Apart from using the voice as an instrument, we had not thought of creating songs until one Thursday afternoon in September 1978 when we played a piece that almost had a song structure and that was under 3 minutes long, that tune, Thursday matinee, we credit as being the one that kick-started us into attempting songs, the tracks on these discs show that transition - the LP and EP include some songs that we made soon after Thursday Matinee but in terms of track timing these are overtaken by the instrumental / improvisation tracks which made up the majority of our output.
Recorded at Sneff's Surgery, September 1978 to April 1979.
Rotcodism[]
Rotcodism is the second disc in the Behind Closed Curtains/Tap Dancing In Slush/Rotcodism outtakes box-set by Renaldo & The Loaf. It collects material from 1977 to April 1979.
Track Listing[]
- Segment Two (12:44)
- Ex-Directory (1:58)
- Segment Three (4:27)
- For Jane (Part One) (3:34)
- Segment Four (4:48)
- Ecnad Oud (3:04)
- City Rhythm (3:24)
- Thursday Matinee (2:55)
- Robot Prelude (13:06)
- Jungle Bowels (3:44)
Liner Notes[]
When we delved into the archives we found a large number of the improvisations that formed the foundation to our music. The 'Rotcodism' disc gathers some of these together and generally features excerpts from much longer pieces, plus a couple of song outtakes.
The pieces we selected were recorded between late 1977 and March 1979 and have been digitised from our original work-in-process cassettes, other tapes do exist that contain material back to early 1977 but those were never kept on cassette and the original reels are probably unplayable now.
However, the representative selection of tracks chosen contain what we think are the most interesting parts of what is available - those that, having re-discovered them, we've particularly enjoyed listening to and are very happy to share.
Segment Two (Late 1977): Excerpts from an improvisation for two guitars, leading into another improvisation which includes our friend, Terry Nichols, on flute.
Ex-Directory (March 1979) A guitar experiment that deprived the notes played from random selections of numbers taken from the telephone directory. All playing uses the top E string only but the fret positions correspond to the number IE. 0 = Open string, 2 = 2nd fret 8 = 8th fret, etc. The piece is made up of two tracks, recorded independently and neither monitored, so any melodic or rhythmic content is totally accidental.
Segment Three (Spring 1978) Excerpts from a long piece created as an atmospheric backdrop to accompany an art show by Renaldo's cousin. This also includes Terry Nichols playing flute.
For Jane (Part 1) (October 1978) First section of a three part instrumental piece - part two is included on behind closed curtains.
Segment Four (Early 1978) Part of a long delay improvisation with voice, guitar and harmonica - some of it backwards (naturally)
Ecnad Oud (March 1979) An experimental reversed version of duo dance with rotcod vocals
City Rhythm (November 1978) Excerpt from a longer improvisation evoking the energy and chaos of the city, the opening crash is a slowed down saw blade - is this cutting-edge music?
Thurdsay Matinee (September 1978) As we said previously, for us, this is the track that heralded in the recording of songs, although it only features a little bit of voice it showed us a way forward as it suggested structure and brevity.
Robot Prelude (Summer 1978) The original robot tango, an improvisation for two guitars, was something like 24 minutes in length - from a very long build-up it ultimately broke into the rhythms of the version on behind closed curtains. We really like this slower, restrained prelude for, at times, it has an almost ambient quality.
Jungle Bowels (December 1978) A Christmas song that we did just for fun.
Credits[]
Renaldo M: Guitar, Acoustic 12st Guitar, Scrapables, Glockenspiel, Fuzz & Octave Glock, Indian Flute, Harmonica, Percussion, Hacksaw Blade, Rotcod Voice & Vocals.
Ted The Loaf: Guitar, Lead & Prepared Guitars, Scrapables, Loops, Bowed Guitar, Tape / Sound Manipulation, Clarinet, Drones & Rotcod Voice.
Audio Enhancements to Disc One By: Christian Loebenstein
Cover Design: Renaldo & The Loaf
Front Cover Artwork By: Old Rena
Tap Dancing In Slush Original Front Cover Art By: Paul Taylor