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LP
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OS 009LP
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Company Of State was a Belgian new wave and DIY minimal synth duo that started out experimenting with a rhythm box and post-punk guitars in the vein of early Cabaret Voltaire. Rudolf Hecke explains the origin of the band: "By the end of the '70s we were both living in small towns near Leuven. I had been playing in bands since 1973 and was still living with my parents in Veltem-Beisem where the garage was my rehearsal-room. One day he showed up, he was looking for a songwriter, he'd be the singer. He rode a bike." The group debuted in 1983 on their own label with an incredible 7" ("Dark/Discipline"/"Dance Remotion/Here as I Am"). Rudolf Hecke provided screeching guitar playing with different forms of feedback and distortion, Paul Taes expressed his mood through his singing and the rhythm box did what it had to do, it rumbled along. It made sense for COS to join the Anything But Records label run by Ludo Camberlin (A Blaze Colour), where they shared the roster with bands like Neon Judgement, Poésie Noire, Aimless Device, and Men 2nd. On stage they always delivered a spectacle to the public. "Well, we very much liked to mess up things. Most of the time there was blood, I broke my nose once and ended up at the hospital when I cut my left arm with a razor blade on stage. We had some medieval weapons we'd like to throw around while the strobo's were lit." On this retrospective LP release the emphasis lies on the first few years of the band, including their first 7" and demo recordings from that period, when the experiments were still rough, the spirit high and the results chaotic and surprisingly dynamic. Pressed at Handle With Care and housed in a rough-sided cover sleeve. Mastered by Anders Peterson. Edition of 500 copies.
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