TUXEDOMOON Part 4.: WINSTON TONG

Country:

USA

Genre:

Electronic, Pop, Rock
Style:
New Wave, Electro, Synth-pop, Experimental, Ambient

VIDEO
"Stranger"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcrzJr0LoK0

WINSTON TONG/ TUXEDOMOON - Stranger 7" (1979)

Credits:
Percussion - Greg Langston / Bass, Synthesizer - Peter Carcinogenic Producer - Tom Tadlock (track 01) /
Bass - Peter Carcinogenic Co-producer - Paul Zahl (track 02)

Tracklist:

01 Stranger
02 Love/No Hope

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/73962334/1979_-_the_stranger__7___.rar.html

LIKE THE OTHERS (1983 )

Notes:
Includes collaborations with members of Tuxedomoon and Cabaret Voltaire

Credits:
Peter Principle - Drums (track 03)/ Blaine L. Reininger - Viola (track 03) /Daniel Link - Percussion (track 01)/Bruce Geduldig - Synthesizer (track 03)/Willy van der Linden - Vocals (track 03)/Featuring - Blaine L. Reininger , Peter Principle , Richard H. Kirk , Stephen Mallinder , Steven Brown (track 05)/Producer - Gilles Martin , Peter Principle (track 04)

Tracklist:

01 Like The Others (3:20)
02 In A White Room (24:10)
03 Going Out Of My Head / For Your Love (7:17)
04 Comme Les Autres (3:20)
05 Last Words At The Scaffold (TUXEDOMOON & CABARET VOLTAIRE ) (26:50)

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/73420846/others_192_kbs.rar.html

"Chinese born and American bred performance artist Winston Tong is probably best known for leading the overtly arty group Tuxedomoon through their late ’70s to mid-’80s heyday. This long lost and sought after solo album — Tong’s second — originally appeared in 1983 as a deluxe cassette and book package and was referred to at the time as “tone poetry.” In retrospect, the sung-spoken prose and piano-led musical accompaniment that dominate Like the Others sounds a lot like another romantically dismal and critically lauded act: Tindersticks. The opening title track is a beautiful four-minute cut where Tong riffs off late-night existential poetry like a bedraggled lounge singer who’s down on his luck and a little drunk with self-sympathy. Next is the 24-minute album centrepiece, “In a White Room,” where two voices (ego and id) freely associate with each other over consistently engaging piano scaling. Amazingly, it never drags or gets boring. The cover medley “Going Out of My Head/For Your Love” adds percussion, synth, viola and other people’s voices to drastically rearrange the originals into something akin to a mind slowly going mad. This reissue adds a few great bonus track "Last words at the scaffold"-is a live improvisation, recorded on the Move Back - Bite Harder tour- where Tong playing together with members of Tuxedomoon and Cabaret Voltaire."

"Given Winston Tong's interest in art in general, not simply music in and of itself, it's little surprise that his 1983 solo release, his second overall, is more than just an album — in original form, it was a combination cassette/book release. Like the Others was reissued as a strictly stand-alone effort in the future, but the literary focus of the release remained central, pitched somewhere between a spoken word/poetic recitation and a series of musical explorations. The core of the original release, the nearly half-hour long "In a White Room," features Tong's vivid, almost feverish (yet quietly delivered instead of ranted) portrayal of a mysterious romantic/artistic relationship over his own gently rhythmic piano playing. Weirdly compelling and made more effective by Tong's gift for drama — the occasional overdubs of himself simultaneously speaking and singing constantly keeps the focus of listening unstable — it's not the easiest of pieces to sit down and listen to, but rewards the attention. The opening title track is more of a conventional song, with the addition of percussion by Daniel Link, while "Going out of My Head/For Your Love" — the latter part indeed being an interpretation of the Yardbirds' breakthrough pop hit — features his then Tuxedomoon counterparts providing spare backing. An alternate version of the title track in French appeared as a separate single appended to later editions.."













LIVE IN JAPAN feat. Niki Mono (1984)

Tracklist:

01 Move Me (Principles Of Movement)
02 No Regrets
03 Zimbabwe
04 To You
05 Incubo
06 Theoretical China
07 (?) Play With Fire
08 Dream Assassins
09 Comme Les Autres/Like The Others
10 Said And Done
11 Endgame
12 (?) Colours /Flowers

Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/73426769/wt-lt_192_kbs.rar.html

Notes:
(?) means: I don't know the correct title ,let me know please if you know!

Live in April 1984 The Loft, Tokyo during the MUSIQUE EPAVE package tour with Durutti Column and Mikado in Japan.
Its a fantastic never released live album, Tong and Mono are amazing here!Very worth to listen,don't miss to take!
4 songs released also on VHS (Move Me/Zimbabwe/Incubo/Theoretical China). You can watch them here:

"Move Me"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFcYgGMFvYM

"Zimbabwe"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEZhOfxL0R4&feature=related

"Incubo"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFcYgGMFvYM&feature=related

"Theoretical China"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UhOwxA_lF8&feature=related

THEORATICALLY CHINESE (1985)

Credits:
Line-up includes Niki Mono ,Jah Wobble (PiL), Stephen Morris (New Order), Dave Formula (Magazine) and Simon Topping (A Certain Ratio).Producer - Alan Rankine (The Associates)

Notes:
Written and composed by Winston Tong. Except Broken English written by Faithful, York, Stannaro, Reynolds.

Tracklist:

01 Big Brother
02 Endgame
03 The Quotidian
04 Theoretical China
05 Yellow Peril
06 Broken English
07 No Regrets
08 Reports From The Heart
09 The Principles Of Movement
10 The Hunger
11 Broken English (12" remix)
12 Dream Assassin

Links to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/73408770/tc_a_192_kbs.rar.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/73417740/tc_b.rar.html

Winston Tong in the meantime, had started a recording project with Niki Mono, a Belgian singer. This resulted in the Theoretical China 12", issued in August and best remembered for it's impressive B-side, The Hunger. It would take almost a year before a second Tong 12" appeared, Reports From The Heart, forerunner of the Theoretically Chinese album, released in October 1985, that costed a fortune to record. The LP, with members of New Order and A Certain Ratio guesting, "surprised all who heard it, being a lush and expensive-sounding dance album, courtesy of producers Alan Rankine and Dave Formula," as James Neiss puts it. Due to the success of Theoretically Chinese plans were made to record a second Tong album, but had to be scrapped when Tong returned to the USA, in 1987.

Niki Mono (http://www.swerquin.net/nikimono.htm) and Winston Tong:

"Arriving in Brussels from Ostend, her city of birth, in 1983 she joins Micky MIKE's SNOWY RED. For one year she will take part in the ventures of one of Belgium's foremost electro-groups, and in 1988 she even resurfaces at Mike's side when SNOWY RED makes a remarkable come-back.
In 1984, after seeing her on stage with the band, Winston TONG (Member of TUXEDOMOON) convinces her to work with him, not merely as a back-up singer but as a sidekick with a role of more vital importance. He speaks very highly of her: "I knew immediately that Niki possessed the same qualities that people told me I have, and I imagined that the two of us alone on stage would be quite hypnotic". Together, they record the single 'Theoretical China' in London and during their tour in Japan Niki conceives the solo-12" 'The Hunger' released on Les Disques Du Crépuscule. After laying down the tracks for a subsequent album, she parts company - for various reasons - with TONG"
Read more here: http://www.barikada.com/rock_biografije/2005-10-17_niki_mono.php

"Tong's final solo effort, or at least the last one that has seen any sort of formal release, Theoretically Chinese is at times quite an intriguing attempt at an art-pop/dance effort, mid-'80s vintage. Most of the album is essentially a collaboration with ex-Associates member Alan Rankine, and if Theoretically Chinese isn't a hysterical classic on the level of Sulk, say, Rankine brings shimmering energy to the album that pays off in spades. The sparkling "Endgame" and the moodier "Reports From the Heart" are fine pop through and through, with Tong's smooth, often underplayed singing at the center — he rarely takes over a song, instead easily flowing with the arrangements. Throughout the album Tong touches on everything from lyrical references to George Orwell ("Big Brother" — not a cover of the Bowie song, though Tong himself owes a debt to Bowie's crooning style more than once) to a fine enough reworking of Marianne Faithfull's stellar "Broken English." This perhaps takes on a new level of meaning given Tong's long-standing interest in his Chinese descent and American upbringing, also addressed via his calling another song "Yellow Peril." One song, the almost-title-track "Theoretical China," is a supergroup jam of sorts, with players including New Order's Stephen Morris and Jah Wobble, but it's a touch overcooked, Tong sounding a bit forced on the verses. LTM's reissue, as is par for the course with their efforts, includes a fine essay on Tong from label boss James Nice as well as three bonus tracks — an Italian remix of "Broken English" and two collaborations with Belgian singer Niki Mono. One, "The Hunger," is a striking tour de force, a quarter-of-an-hour-long effort done in collaboration with a number of Japanese musicians. (http://wm11.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:w9fyxqrhldse~T1)

"LTM are pleased to announce the re-release of the classic 1985 electro album Theoretically Chinese by Winston Tong, the cult visual artist best know as frontman of the group Tuxedomoon. The album was recorded in 1984 and 1985 and originally released by Les Disques du Crepuscule. Smoothly produced by former Associate Alan Rankine, it features a stellar supporting cast of post-punk royalty including Jah Wobble (bass), Steve Morris (drums), Dave Formula (keyboards), Simon Topping (percussion) and Sussan Deyhim (backing vocals). Many were surprised that Tong could produce a ‘disco’ album, complete with superior dance tracks such as Big Brother, Principles of Movement and a cover of Marianne Faithfull’s classic Broken English. However the extended CD also includes more left-field material, including epic 16 minute piece The Hunger, recorded with Japanese musicians in Tokyo, and the previously unreleased Dream Assassins. The booklet features a detailed biography of Winston as well as archive images. The 74 minute CD has been digitally remastered from the original master tapes with 3 bonus tracks. Winston Tong is alive and well and living in San Francisco, where he continues to perform at salon events. "

"Just different from Tuxedomoon: this is the first thinking one faces hearing this perfectly re-mastered album. Yes, absolutely different, but Tong's voice offers to us the same level of dramatic power and quality. So listen to it and your point of vue about the theory of music will be changed. Instantly. A great timeless dance cult. "
"Tong surprises with melodic Pop that is very different to his Tuxedomoon work. Major credits go to Alan Rankine of "The Associates"-fame (okay he could be more famous...) and Tong´s all star new wave line-up. I still like this record very much. His unsingerly voice conveys depth and beauty. The record really sounds 80ies style but that needn´t always be a downpoint. This is beautiful. Check it out - if you can get your hands on a copy that is..."

More review:
http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com/reviews/review.asp?id=1623

























MISERE (1985, re isuued in 2003) (Soundtrack)

Credits:
Vocals - Sussan Deyhim

Notes:
MISERERE ("Mercy") was composed in 1985 for a modern ballet of the same name (staged by Belgian choreographer Pierre Droulers, based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.)
The lyrics were written by Winston Tong, the music being a collaboration with Sussan Deyhim. This "music" was recorded using voices alone, and employs no instruments at all. For many years thought to have been lost, the work was finally released in 2003.

Tracklist:

01 Prologue
02 Orpheo Walks
03 Vicious Circle
04 Song
05 Lovers
06 Soliloque
07 Metropolises
08 Cobalt Room
09 In Turning
10 Penumbra
11 Egypt
12 The Way to Me
13 Burdens of Passion
14 Beyond
15 Miserere
16 Compassion

Link to download (is the same like you can find below with "Communion" album):
http://rapidshare.com/files/73399014/communion_2____miserere_.rar.html

"LTM are pleased to announce the release of a long-lost soundtrack album by Winston Tong, the cult performance artist who made his name as a member of the group Tuxedomoon. Miserere (“Mercy”) was composed in 1985 for a modern ballet of the same name staged by Belgian choreographer Pierre Droulers, based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The lyrics were written by Tong, and the music a collaboration with celebrated Persian-born dancer and vocalist Sussan Deyhim (http://www.sonyclassical.com/artists/deyhim/bio.html).
Miserere is remarkable in that it was recorded using voices alone, and employs no instruments at all. The effect is both eerie and seductive, and always hypnotic. Closer in tone to Tong’s meditative cycle Like the Others (1982) than to his polished ‘pop’ album Theoretically Chinese (1985), Miserere is now revealed as a major work, which for many years was thought to have been lost. The booklet features Winston’s poetic text for Miserere, and still shots from the performance. The album has been painstakingly digitally remastered from the original master tapes. Winston Tong is alive and well and living in San Francisco, where he continues to perform at selected salon-style events. Sussan Deyhim has worked with Richard Horowitz and Bill Laswell, and with Peter Gabriel on the score for Scorsese’s Last Temptation of Christ. Her most recent album, Shy Angels, appeared in 2002." (http://www.darla.com/catalog/search.asp?id=6754)

"Originally planned for release in 1987 on the Crepuscule label but was cancelled, and long believed to have been lost, this score for a ballet finally sees the day, thanks to Les Temps Modernes.
Co-written and performed by Tong (ex-Tuxedomoon) and extraordinary Iranian singer Sussan Deyhim, the music is allegedly produced only using vocal sounds, often heavily processed, sounding amazingly like percussion at times. Elsewhere eerie and beautiful drones are bathed in a sea of reverb. There are moments that are reminiscent of Diamanda Galas or Etant Donnes. This is high art that is truly enjoyable and awe-inspiring. Great remastering too."

More review:
http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com/reviews/review.asp?id=745



COMMUNION (1988)

CD 1

01 Like The Others
02 Going Out Of My Head + For Your Love
03 The Hunger
04 Phadre Slips On Her Silver Girdle = In A White Room na CD1 (In A White Room + What Makes This Click In Me + Now We Were Misunderstood + Orpheus + The Last March Of A Poet + The Other Half Lives + Thirteenth Hour + Silence + China She Said + Soulsearch + Lost Everywhere)
05 Dream Assassins
06 Said And Done
07 To You
08 Incubo

CD2

MISERERE

01 Prologue
02 Orpheo Walks
03 Vicious Circle
04 Song
05 Lovers
06 Soliloque
07 Metropolises
08 Cobalt Room
09 In Turning
10 Penumbra
11 Egypt
12 The Way to Me
13 Burdens of Passion
14 Beyond
15 Miserere
16 Compassion
17 Part 17

SINGS DUKE ELLINGTON

18 Sophisticated Lady
19 Personal Touch
20 Mood Indigo
21 It Don't Mean A Thing
22 Solitude
23 Don't Get Around Much Anymore
24 I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good
25 Im Beginning To See The Light
26 Moon Indigo (Reprise)

Links to download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/73397455/communion_1_192_kbs.rar.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/73399014/communion_2____miserere_.rar.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/73409514/communion_2_part_2__sings_.rar.html

A Winston Tong double-LP/CD, Communion,-Cancelled, although both the 2xLP version (Sep 87) and the CD version (Mar 88) were approved by Tong!- containing many unreleased pieces, was set for release in the Spring of 1988 too, probably to coincide with the Tuxedomoon reunion tour. But although Tong approved, the set was sadly scrapped.So it is very rare!

"Dream Assassins" is an outake from the TWI 549 sessions, with Nikki Mono on vocals. "Miserere" is a score for a ballet. ..."Sings Duke Ellington" is a performance that was never properly recorded (only audience recordings exist). "Said And Done", "To You" and "Incubo" are demos with Nikki Mono, recorded January 1984.

Various - MINERS' BENEFIT Tuxedomoon, Negative Trend, Sleepers, UXA (Live in SF, The Mabuhay Gardens (aka The Fab Mab) ,1978) (2003)

Tracklist:

01 U.X.A - Intro
02 U.X.A - Got To Run
03 U.X.A - I Don't Lose Sleep
04 Dirk Dirksen ("Pope of Punk") - Intro
05 Sleepers - Opening Jam
06 Sleepers - The Dogs
07 Sleepers - Sister Little
08 Sleepers - Linda
09 Sleepers - No Time
10 Sleepers - Seventh World
11 Sleepers - I Wanna Be A Pilot
12 Sleepers - Time Has Come Today
13 Negative Trend - Intro
14 Negative Trend - People Are Sick
15 Negative Trend - Nwfl (runout) & Dialog
16 Negative Trend - Polyvinyl Lover
17 Negative Trend - Intensive Care
18 Negative Trend - Psychotherapy Please
19 Negative Trend - Dream Date
20 Negative Trend - Crimes Of Passion
21 Negative Trend - You're In Love With Imagery
22 Negative Trend - Death In A Cadiilac
23 Negative Trend - Groovy Terrorist
24 Negative Trend - 25 December 14th
25 Negative Trend - Welcome To My City
26 Tuxedomoon - Intro
27 Tuxedomoon - We Won't Go Back To Work
28 Tuxedomoon - Holiwex Flies Tonight
29 Tuxedomoon - Steven Brown Announcement
30 Tuxedomoon - New Machine
31 Tuxedomoon - Litebulb Overkill

Links to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/73428287/miners_a_192_kbs.rar.html

http://rapidshare.com/files/73420686/miners_benefit_part2.rar.html

An --> (APPARENTLY NOT AVAILABLE!!) CD from White Noise Records entitled MINERS' BENEFIT, from a live benefit show for striking coal miners in Kentucky, which took place in San Francisco in 1978 at The Mab. The CD Includes four songs from Tuxedomoon, one of which won't be heard anywhere else (Tong singing We Won't Go Back to Work), plus tracks from UXA, Sleepers, and Negative Trend. A seminal document of punk history.

"There is also a huge mass of unreleased stuff from this era, and if you start to get into cassettes and extend it out into 1983 then all bets are off. The only CD I'll mention here is the "Miner's Benefit" comp that came out two or so years ago, which chronicles a live show for striking coal miners (the only thing being deep-shafted around here...ah forget it) that includes entire live sets from the likes of the Sleepers. I mention it as an example of what must be floating around in shoe boxes from Sausalito to Palo Alto. What records outside of New York's or Los Angeles' (both with 10 times-plus the population) compare to the SF Bay Area scene's output of 1977-83? Then there are legendary groups like the Bobby Death Band that never made it to vinyl..." (http://www.terminal-boredom.com/sfartguide.html)

Some about The Mabuhay Gardens (aka The Fab Mab) ,this cultic place :
The Mabuhay Gardens (aka The Fab Mab) was a San Francisco nightclub Originally a Filipino restaurant and club owned by Ness Aquino.In 1976, Aquino agreed to have rock promoter and television producer Dirk Dirksen book punk and new wave bands there; it soon became one of the main venues for punk rock in San Francisco in the late 1970s and early 1980s (a sort of west coast CBGBs). Virtually every early Bay Area punk and new wave band performed there at one time or another, and it was an important touring stop for bands from beyond the San Francisco Bay Area.The Mabuhay Gardens shut down in 1986.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mabuhay_Gardens)

If you are intersted in you can find more here: http://www.angelfire.com/oh/liveperformances/Mabuhay.html


and some about the participating bands:

U.X.A
http://www.comnet.ca/~rina/uxa.html

Sleepers:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=7730502

http://www.angelfire.com/indie/object_music/sleepers.html

Negative Trend
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_Trendhttp://www.localsonline.com/negativetrend/Ntstory.html



Biography:
Winston Tong is a San Francisco-based performer and artist, probably best known as the frontman for Tuxedomoon. Tong has also received notoriety as a puppeteer, actor/playwright, visual artist, and as singer/songwriter for his solo musical work.Tong's intensely personal and unique approach to performance art has earned him an Obie award in puppetry (for "Bound Feet", 1978), as well as numerous references and quotes in theatre-related publications. Recently, Tong was reunited with Tuxedomoon for two performances in San Francisco (March 2005), the first time they had performed together in twenty years.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Tong)

Winston Tong has been actually touched by William Burroughs, astrally tortured by Jean Genet, and artistically tied to Obie Award winning performance art, and the infamous neo-dada band Tuxedomoon. His beautiful song 'In a manner of speaking' was covered by Martin L. Gore of Depeche Mode and the band Nouvelle Vague, among others. He also collaborated intensively with members of PiL, New Order, A Certain Ratio, Cabaret Voltaire, Factrix and Magazine. Tong has continued to perform new shows such as 'Winston Tong Sings Duke Ellington' and 'Rasputin, Isadora and Mao'. He also appeared with Tuxedomoon for their 25th year reunion concerts in San Francisco in March 2005.

Much more bio:
http://www.ltmpub.freeserve.co.uk/wtbio.html

More info:
http://winstontong.sevcom.com/

www.myspace.com/winstontong

http://www.ltmpub.freeserve.co.uk/wtcat.html

http://www.theindependentreviewssite.org/v4_i1_word_pick.html

http://www.tuxedomoon.org/links.html

Im sure some of you know more about Tong,so feel free to complete this entry,or correct the mistakes!:)

If you have any song from Niki Mono - Contradictions Are A Luxury Lp or you have any other released by her share with us please!

I know you will ask me to continue with Tuxedomoon:)
Yes im about to make an entry next year with Blaine L. Reininger and Steven Brown as Tuxedomoon part 5-6 .