For those of a certain age, the rise of fanzine culture was revolutionary. The energy of punk transformed the independent publishing scene in countless ways. No longer did readers need to depend upon the conventional weekly music press to feed their interests, but instead could pick up a cheap photocopied fanzine, hastily stapled together, often directly from the creators themselves. Nothing was censored, it was about the freedom to write and share.
They were created by enthusiastic young people, who engaged immediately with the world around them. Music intersected with diverse themes, from feminism, race, identity and queer culture. Today we’d turn to social networks to fire off an update, but a cheap typewriter and photocopier were more than enough to share a vision with others.
A Who’s Who of European Experimental Music
Neumusik burnt brightly for only a short time, between 1979-1982, and focused on European experimental music, French progressive rock and the more esoteric dimensions of electronic music. Now, Dutch publisher Korm Plastics has compiled the complete series of six fanzines, in their raw glory, mistakes and all, into a weighty 425-page volume.
Steered by David Elliott, the fanzines offer up both a picture of the experimental music at the time, whilst at the same time letting the reader into his own life. The editorials introduce the contents for each issue, whilst equally offering frequent postal address updates as he moves his studies from University in Brighton to Strasbourg, and in so doing engages with a wider appreciation of the European music scene.
The naïve enthusiasm is beguiling, with every issue growing in size and distribution. We learn where he photocopies each edition, beginning in the back office of fashion retailers Miss Selfridge, with the final issue duplicated in a ‘proper’ print store. By the end of the first issue, we’ve been introduced to Edgar Froese, Art Boyd, Michael Rother, Steve Hillage, Cluster, Nurse with Wound, SAB, and Ash Ra Tempel.
“Making music, however crude, is great fun”
The introduction of regular articles on guides to creating music is sadly abandoned after a few issues, but not without essential advice: “‘the most important thing in tape music is to have several tape-recorders…the other good factor is to have some good sounds to record.” And for the keen pocket operator, there’s a feature that explains how a programmable calculator can be set to be a rudimentary rhythm machine, and includes several programmes to encourage users to type in for fun. “Making music, however crude, is great fun,” we are keenly advised.
These were very different times indeed, when artists addresses and phone numbers could frequently be found on the backs of their album sleeves. No gatekeepers in place meant that Elliott and his modest growing writers’ team could meet with Conrad Schnitzler in his Berlin flat, or hang with Vangelis in his London studio.
As a historical document it’s equally fascinating, with a reviewer questioning whether Throbbing Gristle’s 24 hours (Industrial) is worth the £77 investment (it currently sells used for closer to £2000), and news that Tangerine Dream’s live album of an East Berlin concert will be ‘limited’ to ‘just’ 100,000 copies.
Farewell to Neumusik
By Neumusik 6 the reader has quite thoroughly visited the European scene, with the print run extended to 600 copies with distribution as far as Mexico, with reports on Chris Franke, Christian Kneel, Ulbrich and Grosskopf, Wolfgang Seidel, and Clara Moonshine. A visit to Manuel Göttsching at home offers them a chance to hear the now seminal E2-E4, which wasn’t to be released until 2.5 years later.
Unfortunately, this was to be the final issue as the real world took over, though their accompanying tape label YHR continued for almost another year. For a picture of the vibrant Euro scene experienced in real time by listeners, Neumusik is a most absorbing read.
Buy Neumusic at Soleilmoon USA, Soundohm EU
Or directly from the publishers, Korm Plastics in The Netherlands
Originally published in The Wire magazine, November 2023, Issue 477
