Konstruktivits – New York
From Konstruktivits – Glennascaul
Released on Sterile Records, 1985, UK

When you go through records, checking the back of the cover for familiar names, some are invitations to give those records a listen while a few almost urge you to buy them on sight. Needless to say that the name of Chris Carter is one of them. Is it necessary to remind one that Chris Carter, a precocious genius who built his first synth when he was still a kid, highly contributed to seminal bands like Throbbing Gristle or Chris & Cosey?

Anyway, Konstruktivists‘ front man, Glenn Michael Wallis, is not a stranger for whoever showed some interest to UK’s Industrial scene, as he worked for Throbbing Gristle as the band’s « control agent » (which involved, amongst other tasks, being a bouncer at the band’s controversial lives) before forming Konstruktivists (or Konstruktivits, depending on the spelling on their records). The band released a bunch of cassettes before signing in 1983 to the soon-to-be influential British experimental label, Third Mind Records, with a first LP, Psykho Genetika (which was also one of the very first releases on the label), soon followed by a second one, A Dissembly, released by cult Industrial-related magazine, Flow Motion.

The following year, Wallis, collaborated with his old friend Chris Carter, this time as a musician and composer, on CTI‘s Conspiracy International One. Carter returned the favour a few months later by giving a hand to Wallis on Konstruktivits’ very « Carterian » second album on Third Mind Records, Black December. In 1985, Carter came back to the studio with Wallis, producing entirely the album we’re writing about today, Glennascaul.

The aforementioned album has a slightly lighter shade than Konstruktivits’ previous records, borrowing some elements from dub and disco. I don’t really like to use the (overused) adjective « cosmic » to talk about music but it would fit Konstruktivits‘ New York perfectly : hallucinogenic synthetic voices seem to mutter the title of the song to a somehow bouncy beat, backed by lines of synths and sounds which strongly reminds UFO-related B-movies and The X files‘ opening credits…

The band is still active and you can check their website for more information and download Glennascaul as well as their other albums from their bandcamp.