Tip! *2024 stock* An entirely chance online interaction with Frans de Waard (Vital Weekly, Korm Plastics, Kapotte Muziek) lead to adhuman acquiring a master tape of unreleased 'Private Performance' extracts recorded in 1988 by Ron Lessard. These tracks were originally submitted to Korm Plastics for inclusion in a series of 7" releases centered around ‘Musique Concrete Composers', but sadly the project was never completed and the recordings have been held in Frans’ archive ever since. Noticing that the dates attributed to these recordings coincide with Private Performance extracts found on One Man Penis from 'RRR 5th Anniversary Boxset Thing' we asked Ron about their origin -
‘the private performance series was my early attempts at compositions, I would basically just shut myself in at home and keep doing the same piece over and over again till I was satisfied I had it down - it could very well be the same piece but a different performance. If you have a copy of the Emil Beaulieau Recycled Music tape, give it a listen as each side is the same piece but 2 different performances - one is me doing a practice session at home and the other is a live concert performance. I'm inclined to think its the same with Korm 88 but I really dont remember what material I sent Frans’
Following several bouts of obsessive cross referencing at adhuman HQ we are inclined to agree. Though noticeably sharing much of the clattering, metallic timbre of One Man Penis, the extracts found on Korm 88 offer a more focused, ethereal take on this material. While One Man Penis presents the rough and gritty sound you would expect from earlier Emil, here he leans into directions of crumbled, decaying tonality; injecting additional layers of screeching resonance and eerie space into the composition. Of course, this is all wrenched through the unmistakable and endlessly satisfying pallet of amplified vinyl malpractice present in all of Emil’s work, but with a new sense of meticulousness and breadth revealed in the process.
And as if that wasn’t enough…
Seemingly inspired by the discovery of this tape, Frans took to further digging, emerging with another cassette - an audio letter from Emil to 'Franz' sent sometime during the same era. If the 'Composer Series' material gives us Emil with his more serious, institutional hat on then the audio letter represents him at his most mischievous and wildly roughshod self. Nothing but Emil kicking back at home with his gear, croaking intermittent greetings, questions and the occasional jibe to Frans amidst a sea of jagged loops, twanged junk and destroyed noise. Raw, hilarious, unedited and joyous, the material was too good to remain private and forms the B side of Korm 88 at both Ron and Frans' suggestion.
Korm 88 is not just a red-hot slice of classic Emil Beaulieau action - it is a document which reveals new context and insights into the early working practices of an artist who is rightly considered a living legend and pioneer of underground noise as we know it.
Adhuman is very happy to release this document from a true personal favourite, inspiration and since 1988 (at least).
America's greatest living noise artist.
