anything and everything

elsewhere classic

The New Blockaders – Changez Les Blockeurs

(self-released, 1982)

Before Changez Les Blockeurs there was no Noise. Whereas Industrial music of the late 70s used noise in song The New Blockaders decided to reject music altogether, the same way they rejected art and well… everything. Rupenus said that when they sent Changez Les Blockeurs to the vinyl pressing plant (to press only 100 copies), they were asked if they made a mistake, as there was only noise on the tape – the Rupenus brothers had succeeded and the first true Noise record had arrived. Although calling it Noise also sells it short as it defies categorization altogether, which has made it stand the test of time. Despite the apparent complete lack of composition, if you allow it, the album will draw you into its world of scraping metal, random sounds and bizarrely looping rhythms (for lack of another word for it). On first listen it might sound just random and/or broken, but to open ears it can be as soothing as an ambient soundscape and is a total escape from conventional music. You will be drawn into its world as you try to figure out what sources were used to make the collage of this symphony. Provocative, pure, exceptional, absurd, shocking, unique and magnificent, so many words to describe nothing. What a classic masterpiece. 

As the original LP was so limited, today it will set you back up to 1000 Euro, personally I have never held an original in my hands. With intentionally very generic design, it looked like a white label test pressing with a pasted xeroxed picture of an old woodcut (with scribbles all over) on the front, it looked very unusual for a Noise record. While even reissues of the album are hard to find, there were a couple of limited official rereleases over the years: a beautiful vinyl version by the Vinyl-On-Demand label from Germany (pictured here in this article – this reissue also came as a box with an additional live material LP). The album also features in full on the excellent 4CD collection The New Blockaders – Gesamtnichtswerk: 20th Antiversary Antiology (1982-2002), released by Hypnagogia and other CD and Cassette versions also exist.

There are excellent New Blockaders albums that followed after this debut (most of them louder and more brutal), The Final Recordings feat. Andrew Chalk as Ferial Confine is another personal favourite, but Changez Les Blockeurs still stands as the breakthrough that is like no other.

(Jenus)

label: self-released (original release)

released 1982

( M U S I C K C U R E S Y O U O F T I M E )