Incompetence by Grotesque Circular Dance

I’m not entirely sure how I came to be aware of Grotesque Circular Dance, but it’s proven to be one of the weirder / more interesting stories to result from the label. 



I do know that I came across some videos of the experimental synth duo from Newcastle (my hometown) playing live at the local university in the early 80’s and needed to know more. Long story short, I was able to contact one of the parties responsible, Colum, and to have some dialogue with him about the band he shared with other member, ‘Bo’. I learned that they had never released anything while they existed, but that some recordings had been made and stored away. I somehow also later found out that Colum had attended the same high school and art school as my dad in Newcastle.



Not surprisingly, GCD and their other satellite groups, Ghosty & The Skeletons and Two Village Dinosaurs, were not especially well-received by Newcastle audiences at the time of their birth. It is something of a feat they were able to even access synths at the time, let alone master them, create excellent songs and torture the residents of Newcastle live. 



These recordings have aged remarkably well. Not only are they examples of perfectly executed minimal-wave / synth-pop songs, they are delivered with an inimitably Novocastrian sense of humour and absurdity. If there is any single release to be considered the legacy and convergence of paths I’ve tried to achieve through AST, I feel like this is it.



Limited release, first 25 copies include 8-page zine of archival photos and flyers. Download includes PDF's of booklet pages and two additional bonus tracks. 


https://alteredstatestapes.substack.com

Nipaluna tape label

Operating since 2010.

~download credit to the value of any donation to a worthwhile cause will be honoured on email of receipt~

alteredstatestapes at gmail dot com