Psychic TV - Themes box set

#183 - 188) Psychic TV - Themes box set (2011)

Disc 1 - Themes
 1. Piano and Clarinet
 2. 23 Tibetan Human Thigh Bones
 3. Cowbell, Bicycle Wheels and Vibes
 4. New Guinea Headhunters Pipe, Large and Small Drum
 5. Piano and String Machine
 6. Recording made at Jonestown, Guyana at the time of the suicides
 7. African Initiation Drum and Animal Tusk Horn
 8. Various Temple Bells, Gongs, Cymbals and Vibes

Disc 2 - Themes 2
 1. Themes 2 part one
 2. Themes 2 part two
 3. Themes 2 part three
 Unclean
 4. Unclean
 5. Mirrors
 6. Unclean Monks


Disc 3 - Themes 2: A Prayer for Derek Jarman
 1. The Loops of Mystical Union
 2. Elipse of Flowers
 3. Mylar Breeze (Parts 1 and 2)
 4. Mylar Breeze (Part 3)
 5. Prayer for Derek
 6. Rites of Reversal

Disc 4 - Themes 3
 1. ???
 2. ???

Disc 5 - Themes 3 part 2
 1. ?
 2. ?
 3. ?
 4. ?
 5. ?
 6. ?
 7. ?
 8. ?
 9. ?

 Disc 6 - Themes 4: Lady Jaye
 1. I'm Making a Mirror
 2. I Like the Holidays (A Children's Story)
 3. Gobbledegook
 4. Mother Jack (A Children's Story)
 5. Candy Factory
 6. I Love You, I Know
 7. This is the Final War

Psychic Tv is the band Genesis P-Orridge formed after Throbbing Gristle. i love TG but for some reason i never really got into PTV. i decided to start with this 6 disc (or 7 discs if you order it directly from the label) set. i had only heard a few PTV tracks but nothing like what was in this set. here's what Cold Spring has to say about it:

For the first time, all THEMES albums by PSYCHIC TV released together, in a sumptuous, matt laminate, spot-varnished box set. The music itself was designed not only as soundtrack but also for subsequent use by Initiates of The Temple Ov Psychick Youth in their rituals as Functional music intended only to aid in the process of making things happen. It is a practical tool. Thee essential collection of rare, archive and modern PTV ritual / esoteric musick!
Each CD has been carefully remastered and is presented in it’s own matt laminate, spot-varnished mini-LP sleeve. The box also includes a 32-page booklet of rare photos and essays.
“Themes” was originally released in 1982 as a limited bonus LP with the first 5000 copies of the legendary PSYCHIC TV album “Force The Hand Of Chance”. Musicians: Stan Bingo, Peter Christopherson (Coil, Throbbing Gristle, Soisong), Genesis P-Orridge, and David Tibet (Current 93).
“Themes 2″ was originally released on LP in 1985 by Temple Records and subsequently reissued as an extended CD version by Cold Spring in 1997. Musicians: Genesis P-Orridge, Alex Fergusson, John Gosling (Zos Kia, Coil, Mekon). “Themes 2″ is presented here as a 2 CD set, including the full vinyl version – plus the original “Unclean” 12″ and it`s two B side tracks that were recorded in the same sessions.
“Themes 3″ was originally released on LP in 1986 by Temple Records and is presented here for the first time on CD, completely remastered. Musicians: Genesis P-Orridge, John Gosling (Zos Kia, Coil, Mekon), Mark Sangerman, Monte Cazazza. “Themes 3″ is presented here as a 2 CD set, with an unheard, yet legendary version performed in Boston, US by Genesis P-Orridge and John Gosling under the title of “Pagan Easter”.
“Themes 4″ is a brand new Psychic TV album, recorded by the late partner of Genesis P-Orridge, Lady Jaye and Psychic TV. Compiled by Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Ryan Martin and Bryin Dall. Musicians: Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Larry Thrasher, Bryin Dall.

each track on Themes 1 is named after what the recording contains. the liner notes state that "Almost all the instruments used were acoustic but many of them have specifically ritual or Psychic properties and that is why we chose to use them. Certainly the illogical intensity of these recordings far exceeds those made with conventional acoustic instruments."
as mentioned in the statement from Cold Spring this album was recorded as both a soundtrack to The Temple of Psychick Youth's First Transmission and as "Functional music intended to aid in the process of making things happen."
i really dug these tracks, especially "Tibetan Human Thigh Bones".

Themes 2 collects tracks used in Derek Jarman films while Themes 2: A Prayer for Derek Jarman collects tracks that were used but were previously unreleased. the liner notes state that while Themes 1 was to be used "at the time it was released within ritual to try and consistently generate certain psychic states...", Themes 2 is to be used as "a facilitator of internal psychic and emotional observation."
there's a lot of cool experimentation throughout these tracks and a couple more straightforward pieces, i'm interested to see the films they were written for.

Themes 3 Disc 1 is a live recording of Thee Temple of Psychick Youth done on April 22 and 23, 1984 in Chicago. it was an event featuring "almost 20 video monitors, slides, super 8 films and video projections" presented "in an assemblage manner that made it impossible to focus on more than a third of the images at any one time." it was set up this way with the intent to answer the question "does the leakage from the edge of vision find a more direct path to the 'subconscious' and result in a more primal and evocative effect?"
Themes 3 Disc 2 is a previously unheard alternate version of the set on disc 1 that was recorded April 22 1984 in Boston. it was almost entirely pre-recorded tape and video.
they're both cool records, it's a shame there's no video of either performance though.

Themes 4: Lady Jaye is a disc that collects tracks that were all written by Lady Jaye. Cold Springs says it's a new album but it's more of a "rarities" collection with 2 previously unreleased tracks. 

all in all it's a rad box set and is worth picking up for Genesis' liner notes alone.












































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