SPK were an Australian

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initial ...

and

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical ...

group formed in 1978. They were fronted by mainstay member,

Graeme Revell Graeme Revell (born 23 October 1955) is a New Zealand musician and composer. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the leader of the industrial/electronic group SPK. Since the 1990s he has worked primarily as a film score composer. Some of ...

on keyboards and percussion. In 1980 the group travelled to the United Kingdom where they issued their debut album, '' Information Overload Unit''. In 1983 Sinan Leong joined on lead vocals. The group disbanded in 1988. Two years later Revell and Leong relocated to the United States, where Revell works as a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

composer. According to Australian

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States a ...

historian

Ian McFarlane Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017. As a journalis ...

, SPK were "at the forefront of the local

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-r ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

movement of the late 1970s ...

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offic ...

music progressed from discordant, industrial-strength metal noise to sophisticated and restrained

dance-rock Dance-rock is a dance-infused genre of rock music. It is a post-disco genre connected with pop rock and post-punk with fewer rhythm and blues influences. It originated in the early 1980s, following the decline in popularity of both punk and disc ...

with strange attributes".

History

SPK was formed in 1978 in Sydney when New Zealand-born

(a.k.a. "EMS AKS", "Operator", "Oblivion") met Neil Hill (a.k.a. "Ne/H/il"). Revell was working as a nurse on a

psychiatric ward Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

at Callan Park Hospital where Hill was also working. Hill and Revell shared a house and an interest in the

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

of the German radical

Marxist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialecti ...

group known as the Sozialistisches Patientenkollektiv (SPK). The duo were influenced by

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize t ...

, Can,

Neu! Neu! (; German for "New!"; styled in block capitals) were a West German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Plan ...

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

, and

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading f ...

– they started playing their own variety of

as SPK. According to rock music historian

the acronym SPK is variously given as "SoliPsiK, SepPuKu, Surgical Penis Klinik, System Planning Korporation and Sozialistisches Patienten Kollektiv". The band recruited two teenagers, Danny Rumour (later of The Cruel Sea) on lead guitar and

David Virgin David Anthony Healy (born 14 January 1962), who performs as David Virgin, is an Irish-born Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. In the 1980s he was a member of punk industrial noise group SPK, and later formed a post-punk ban ...

on bass guitar (both ex-Ugly Mirrors, and went on to form Sekret Sekret), on early recordings by SPK in 1979. In that year they independently released three 7" pressings: ''SoliPsiK'' as a three-track extended play in April, "Factory" as a single in August and "Mekano" in November. Dominik Guerin (a.k.a. "Tone Generator") joined on synthesisers in 1980, and later concentrated on the band's visual content. In May they issued an EP, ''Meat Processing Section'', as Surgical Penis Klinik. Without Hill, SPK relocated to London where Guerin and Revell recorded their debut album, '' Information Overload Unit'', in a

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

squat with the help of Revell's brother Ashley Revell (a.k.a. "Mr.Clean") and Mike Wilkins (guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals). The album deals with psychotic states and mental retardation. The original 1981 release on Side Effects has a black cover with a small picture of head being operated on, the 1985 version on Normal is blue and pictures a man in a wheelchair and the 1992 CD reissue has System Planning Korporation with the initials SPK highlighted in red. McFarlane suggested "the album's harsh, thumping sound appealed to fans of

Throbbing Gristle Throbbing Gristle were an English music and visual arts group formed in 1975 in Kingston upon Hull by Genesis P-Orridge, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Peter Christopherson, and Chris Carter. They are widely regarded as pioneers of industrial music. Evol ...

and early Cabaret Voltaire". In June 1980 they issued the single, "Slogun", with lyrics inspired by the Marxist manifesto: "Kill, Kill, Kill for inner peace / Bomb, Bomb, Bomb for mental health / Therapy through violence!" Other musicians working with SPK included James Pinker (drums, percussion) and Karel van Bergan (violin, vocals), who toured with them to the United States. In July 1981 in Australia, the M Squared label released another single, "See Saw". The cover depicts SoliPsiK with members given as Kitka (a.k.a. Kit Katalog), Sushi (a.k.a. Margaret Hill), Charlyiev (a.k.a.

Paul Charlier Paul Charlier is an Australian composer and sound designer who works primarily in theatre and film. He has also worked in radio and was a founding member of the Sydney post-punk band SoliPsiK. His theatre work includes the Sydney Theatre Compa ...

) and Skorne (Neil Hill). Both tracks are co-written by Charlier and Hill. In 1982 SPK's Guerin and Revell were joined by Brian Williams (a.k.a.

Lustmord Brian Williams is a Welsh industrial musician, sound designer and film score composer. He is often credited for creating the dark ambient genre with albums recorded under the name Lustmord. His experimental work has been described as "not tra ...

), John Murphy of Forresta di Ferro (a.k.a. "Kraang") and Derek Thompson (who later had a brief stint in

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

and went on to record as Hoodlum Priest). SPK's second album, '' Leichenschrei'' (English: ''The Scream of the Corpse'') (1982), shows Sozialistisches Patienten Kollektiv (English: Socialist Patients' Collective). After its recording they were joined by Sinan Leong on vocals, who had initially auditioned for a planned SPK side-project, Dance Macabre. Leong and Revell later married. In 1983 Thompson left SPK because Revell "wanted to make a very commercial sounding album which I did not". McFarlane found that "SPK had softened the approach somewhat with discernible synth melodies and dance beats coming to the fore amongst the noise". In August 1983, the group issued a

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

, ''Auto Da Fé'', showing SepPuKu written with SPK in red capital letters. It included three studio tracks recorded in 1981. Bush suggested the album was the "beginning of a more organized approach for SPK material, ''Auto Da-Fé'' presents an intriguing industrial-disco fusion, reminiscent of prime contemporary material by Cabaret Voltaire and DAF ... Although fans probably thought of tas an unconscionable crossover attempt, it's still quite experimental in retrospect". The three-track EP, ''Dekompositiones'' (also by SepPuKu) followed soon after. Its tracks were added to a later version of ''Auto Da Fé''. In early February 1984, just before his 28th birthday, Neil Hill committed suicide. Two days later his wife Margaret Hill (née Nikitenko) died as a result of complications from anorexia. In March SPK issued another single, "Metal Dance", which was co-written by Revell, Leong and Thompson. SPK returned to Australia for a tour and recorded their third album, '' Machine Age Voodoo'', in Sydney which was issued in 1984 on WEA Records. For the album, SPK's Revell and Leong were joined by Jeff Bartolomei on keyboards, Mary Bradfield-Taylor on vocals, Graham Jesse on saxophone, James Kelly on guitar, Sam McNally on keyboards and Phil Scorgie on bass guitar. McFarlane saw the album as "mixed mainstream disco-pop and sweet vocals with electronic experimentation (sort of like Blondie meets Kraftwerk)". While Bush felt it was "another leap towards dance-rock and away from the group's industrial past". The album spawned a single, "Junk Funk" in 1985. Leong and Revell returned to Australia and added Karina Hayes as vocalist. They issued '' Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers'' in 1986 which provided a single, "In Flagrante Delicto". It was followed by '' Digitalis Ambigua: Gold & Poison'' in 1987. Allmusic's Sean Carruthers observed that Revell "was in a period of transition... mewhere between the industrial noise of the early years and his later soundtrack work". In 1988, the band issued a live album, ''Oceania... In Performance 1987'' but disbanded during the year. In 1989, Revell moved into work on scores and soundtracks. SPK's track "In Flagrante Delicto" was used by Revell for his work on the soundtrack for the 1989 film, ''

Dead Calm Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

''. By 1991 Leong and Revell had moved to Los Angeles. McFarlane regarded SPK to be "at the forefront of the local post-punk, electronic/experimental movement of the late 1970s ...

music progressed from discordant, industrial-strength metal noise to sophisticated and restrained dance-rock with strange attributes".

Initialism

The meaning of SPK is deliberately unclear; and some of the album covers suggest several different variations. The most well known is Sozialistisches Patienten Kollektiv, but there are also others, such as ''Surgical Penis Klinik'', ''Suave Poronga Kinoto'', ''System Planning Korporation'', ''

SepPuKu , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

'', ''Selective Pornography Kontrol'', ''Special Programming Korps'', ''Sushi Patata Kalabacita'' and '' SoliPsiK''

Works

The most notable recordings of SPK are early: ''Information Overload Unit'', ''Leichenschrei'' and ''Auto-da-fé''. SPK's music is best described as disturbing and psychologically disorienting, in line with their

nihilistic Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Iva ...

subversive Subversion () refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to transform the established social order and its structures of power, authority, hierarchy, and social norms. Sub ...

philosophy. Live performances included video backing (some of which was issued in two ''Twin Vison'' videos, ''Despair'' and ''Two Autopsy Films''), transgressive performances with animal carcasses and other attempts to make the audience uncomfortable. The group issued manifestos, such as DoKuments 1 and 2, "The Post-Industrial Strategy", which appeared in

RE/Search RE/Search Publications is an American magazine and book publisher, based in San Francisco, founded by its editor V. Vale in 1980. In several issues, Andrea Juno was also credited as an editor. It was the successor to Vale's earlier punk rock fanz ...

's ''Industrial Culture Handbook''. There is a clear dichotomy between early industrial SPK (1978–83) and the more commercial music later favoured by Revell. Later releases, such as ''Machine Age Voodoo'' (1984), were more

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

-oriented than industrial. Still later, the group moved into electronic orchestral work, with the release of ''Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers'' (1986).

Discography

Albums

* '' Information Overload Unit'' - LP/CD - 1981 * '' Leichenschrei'' - LP/CD - 1982 (#14 UK Indie) * '' Machine Age Voodoo'' - LP - 1984 * '' Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers'' - LP/CD - 1986 * '' Digitalis Ambigua: Gold & Poison'' - LP/CD - 1987 * ''Oceania'' Live - LP/CD - 1988

Compilations

* ''Auto-Da-Fé'' - LP/CD - 1983 (#11 UK Indie) * ''Box 1'' - 3CD - 1992 * ''S.P.K. Dokument (Recordings 1979-1983)'' - 7LP/7CD - 2016

Singles, EPs, cassettes

* "No More/Kontakt/Germanik" - Single - 1979 * "Factory"/"Retard"/"Slogun" - Single - 1979 * "Mekano/Kontakt/Slogun" - Single - 1979 * "Meat Processing Section" EP (Slogun/Mekano) - Single – 1980 (#42 UK Indie) * "See Saw/Chambermusik" (as SoliPsiK) - Single - 1981 * "At the Crypt" - Cassette -

Sterile Records The Sterile Records record label was formed in London in 1979 by Nigel Ayers and Caroline K of the post- industrial music group Nocturnal Emissions. With a background in the mail art networks, their intention was to create and promote a new ...

- 1981 * "Last Attempt at Paradise" - Cassette - 1982 * "Dekompositiones" - 12"EP - 1983 * "From Science to Ritual" - Cassette - 1983 * "Metal Dance" - Single - 1983 (#91 UK) (#5 UK Indie) * "Junk Funk" - Single - 1984 (#94 UK) * "Flesh & Steel" – Single - 1985 * "In Flagrante Delicto" - Single – 1986 * "Off the Deep End" - Single - 1987 * "Breathless" - Single - 1987

Videos and films

* "Despair" - SPK Video by Twin Vision - 1982 * "Two Autopsy Films" - SPK Video by Twin Vision - 1983 * "Despair" - Digitally extracted DVD by Twin Vision - 2007

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spk (Band) Australian electronic musicians Australian industrial music groups Dark ambient music groups Musical groups established in 1978 Musical groups disestablished in 1988 Fresh Sounds Records artists Mute Records artists Nettwerk Records artists Industrial Records artists