#duet emmo

[radiophd]

duet emmo -- friano

[dustedmagazine]

Duet Emmo — Or So It Seems (Mute)

Photo by Angela Conway

In the early 1980s with Wire in hiatus and nominal front man Colin Newman exploring a more classic sound on A To Z and Not To, his bandmates BC Gilbert and Graham Lewis delved into abstract ambient, electronic and musique concrete under the name Dome. A studio encounter with Mute founder Daniel Miller (The Normal and Silicon Teens) led to the recording and 1982 release of this one-off collaboration which was and has been largely disregarded but has now been remastered by Stefan Betke AKA Pole.

Duet Emmo is an odd combination: the austerity of Gilbert and Lewis knocking against Miller’s playful synth pop proclivities. Or So It Seems plays with this dichotomy with mixed results finding some intersections and common ground between the three. Something of a time capsule, the album looks backwards to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and Brian Eno’s ambient works, nods to contemporaries like Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle and displays some DNA of future synth pop, industrial ambience and techno. 

On the song-based side, Gilbert takes lead vocals on the title track with the orotund theatricality typical of a section of the English synth scene. He aims for deep seriousness but leaves enough wriggle room to combat accusations of pretense. The result sounds like a lesser Eyeless in Gaza played over a slowed down version of Silicon Teens souped up synth rendition of “Memphis Tennessee.” “The First Hand” has a rolling squelchy Radiophonic riff and proto-techno arpeggiated synths as Gilbert and Miller intone sententious lines about love in a consumerist climate. Both are more interesting for what they could have been and how they point to the future. 

“Long Sledge” is a 16-plus minute long ambient drone piece. Distant bass drum and tom beats back machine noise that ebbs and flows like an aural tour of an ironworks in winter. When the drums drop out, it feels like the gates and windows have been thrown open to snow filled gusts as the molten metal cracks and screams at the affront. “Gatemmo” sounds like an outtake from any number of modern voice based ambient records. 

Or So It Seems is a fascinating document of its time, an anomalous entry into the discographies of its producers but nonetheless of interest to fans of both and the scenes from which they emerged and in Miller’s case championed. A step on the path from Eno, COUM Industries and Western Works to synth pop and beyond.   

Andrew Forell

[thisobscuredesireforbeauty]

Duet Emmo was a collaboration of Daniel Miller (Mute), Graham Lewis and Bruce Gilbert (Wire) from 1983.

[kraftwerk113]

Life´s too short for weird music Adventskalender - 13.12.2018

Duet Emmo / Or so it seems

Daniel Miller hat insbesondere in den ersten Jahren sein Label Mute Records immer wieder auch dazu benutzt, seine aberwitzigen musikalischen Ideen zu verwirklichen. Nach The Normal und den Silicon Teens setzt Miller 1982 das One-off Projekt „Duet Emmo“ gemeinsam mit Bruce Gilbert und Graham Lewis (Wire) in die Welt. One-off, weil nach einem Album „Or so it seems“ schon wieder Schluss ist. Zwar kommerziell (leider) völlig unbedeutend, ist aber bis heute der Titelsong „Or so it seems“ eines der kultigsten Musikstücke in der 40-jährigen Werkschau von Mute Records.

[halbermenschena]

writing tunes.

whether it be melodies that give you inspiration for your muse or songs that get you into the writing mood, pick 10 songs you find to give you the urge, the drive, or the creativity to write for your muse - then tag your favourite peeps to get an insight on their musical inspirational feels.

1. einstürzende neubauten-- nnnaaammm 2. primus-- eleven 3. the glove-- mr. alphabet says 4. brian eno-- driving me backwards 5. talking heads-- television man 6. yellow magic orchestra-- absolute ego dance 7. fad gadget-- life on the line 8. tones on tail-- twist 9. duet emmo-- or so it seems 10. oingo boingo-- what you see

TAGGED BY: @kodo-kai THABKS KEWIN TAGGING: @magtitude @mrbisected @agunthing @amelorates @horrauer and i know i’m gonna forget people so uh... whoever is reading this right now. if you see this post with your eyes you are tagged. let’s see your muzak taste!

[radiophd]

duet emmo -- heart of hearts (or so it seems)

[schnuron]

Album playlist, June 28th and June 21st 2024

June 28th 2024: John Grant - The Art of the Lie Field Lines Cartographer - Portable Reality Generator Micah Dailey-White - Micah Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience Pan Sonic - Kesto (2004) Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles (2008) Blu Mar Ten - The Six Million Names Of God (2003) Pet Shop Boys - Actually (1987) Pyrolator - Inland (1979)

June 21st 2024: Machine Girl - SUPER FREQ EP Crush of Souls - (A)Void Love House of Harm - Playground For Those I Love - For Those I Love Windy & Carl - Allegiance and Conviction Sophus Ajlf Agerbaek-Larsen - Deep Rock Galactic Volume 1 OST Merzbow / Hexa - Achromatic Duet Emmo - Or So it Seems (1983) The Associates - Fourth Drawer Down (1981) Fad Gadget - Incontinent (1981)

My past playlists: schnuronplaylist.blogspot.com/

[deepartnature]

Duet Emmo – Or So It Seems (1982)

“... This issue of art versus commerce is especially pertinent to Or So It Seems because the members of Duet Emmo have pedigrees that should concern any fan of modern, post-punk music. Graham Lewis and Bruce Gilbert were from the seminal post-punk innovators Wire. In 1982, Wire were in the midst of an indefinite hiatus brought on by a lack of commercial success and the loss of their record deal, and Lewis and Gilbert were recording under the name Dome. ...”

Duet Emmo’s ‘Or So It Seems’ Is a Testament to Analog Electronic Music (Audio)

W - Or So It Seems

Discogs (Video)

YouTube: Or So It Seems    1 / 9

2009 January: Wire, 2012 January: On the Box 1979, 2013 September: Chairs Missing (1978), 2014 June: 154 (1979), 2014 July: Document And Eyewitness (1979-1980), 2015 April: The Ideal Copies: Graham Lewis Of Wire's Favourite Albums, 2015 July: Pink Flag (1977), 2015 December: The Peel Sessions Album (1989), “Dot Dash”, "Options R" (1978), 2017 June: Outdoor Miner / Practice Makes Perfect (1979), 2017 November: Live at the Roxy, London, 2018 June: Wire at Maxwell's (06-12-1987), 2021 May: 60 minutes of music that sum up art-punk pioneers Wire, 2022 May: Wire Reveal Official Release Of Old Bootleg, 'Not About To Die'

[elizapdushku]

#457 The First Person from Or So It Seems by Duet Emmo, 1983 #duetemmo #thefirstperson #orsoitseems #bcgilbert #lewis #danielmiller #mute #musicilove #songaday #0613 https://www.instagram.com/p/CewxklDjwNP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[barlemusic]

Guten (#avantgarde) Abend ⭐ #KLANGFORSCHUNG 29.05.2022 https://www.mixcloud.com/ribi/klangforschung-29052022-special-mix/🤘 Aus verschiedenen Gründen enthält der Klangforschungsmix heute keine neuen Sachen, sondern ist eine kleine Fahrt durch meine musikalische (80er) Jugend. Manchmal hat man solche Phasen. 1. Depeche Mode - agent orange 2. Numb - lies 3. Manufacture - terrorvision 4. Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft - alle gegen alle 5. Skinny Puppy - yes he ran 6. Ceramic Hello - sampling the blast furnace 7. Psyche - i'm a gentleman 8. Museum of Devotion - caryatid 9. John Foxx - plaza 10. In The Nursery - twins 11. Cabaret Voltaire - do right 12. Front Line Assembly - body count 13. Dominion - pushing forward 14. Click Click - the sack 15. Kraftwerk - it's more fun to compute 16. Test Dept. - pulsations 2 (human run) 17. CTI - dancing ghosts 18. My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult - these remains 19. Einstürzende Neubauten - tanz debil 20. A Split - Second - colonial discharge 21. This Mortal Coil - the horizon bleeds and sucks it's thumb 22. SPK - a heart that breaks (in no time or place) 23. The Klinik - time to choose 24. Poesie Noire - compjutr syntax error 25. Front 242 - special forces 26. Severed Heads - we have come to bless the house 27. Ministry - the land of rape and honey 28. Clock DVA - the unseen 29. Portion Control - chew you to bits 30. Nitzer Ebb - let beauty loose 31. Mussolini Headkick - the eagle has landed 32. Coil - at the heart of it all 33. Trisomie 21 - the clencher 34. The Human League - toyota city 35. Tangerine Dream - song of the whale, part one: from dawn... 36. Duet Emmo - heart of hearts 37. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - 66 and fading (at The Dubai Mall Aquarium) https://www.instagram.com/p/CeJtCNrDbXm/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[postpunkindustrial]

Tracklist:

01. Mountains - Add Infinity 02. The Velvet Underground - Afterthoughts 03. Felicia Atkinson - Aberdeen (Featuring Sylvain Chauveau) 04. Tim Hecker - Acephale 05. Rockwell - Atar 06. Ólafur Arnalds & Nils Frahm - Stare 07. Rockwell - Aria 08. Scanner - Ascension 09. Cujo - Adventures In Foam Intro 10. Clark - Absence 11. Snowman - A 12. Alva Noto - Argonaut 13. Valgeir Sigurðsson - Architecture Of Loss 14. Pete Swanson - A&Ox0 15. Hauschka - Assemblers Mix (Featuring Nobukazu Takemura) 16. Chris & Cosey & John Duncan - A1 Untitled 17. Loris Gréaud - Aria 18. Duet Emmo - A.N.C. 19. Zoviet France - Ascend A Fall 20. Aphex Twin - Avril 14th 21. Scanner - Adagio 22. Cliff Martinez - About Those Thousand Razors 23. Virgin Prunes - Abbagal 24. Ben Frost - Age 13…With A Screwdriver 25. Einstürzende Neubauten - Atmosphaeren Berlin (West) April 1980 26. Jan Bang - Abdication And Coronation 27. Concept - A1 15.00 28. Pan Sonic - Äänipää 29. Scanner - Anna Livia Plurabelle

Also featuring Peter Gabriel, Freddie Mercury, Richard Long, Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Downey Junior, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Don Draper, Adrienne Shelley, Lew Temple and others unknown

[cclopezbcn]

STUMM433 - 58 COVER VERSIONS OF JOHN CAGE’S COMPOSITION, 4’33” #2019 Artists featured include: #ACertainRatio, A C Marias, ADULT., #TheAfghanWhigs, Alexander Balanescu, #BarryAdamson, Ben Frost, Bruce Gilbert, #CabaretVoltaire, Carter Tutti Void, #ChrisCarter, Chris Liebing, Cold Specks, Daniel Blumberg, DannyBriottet, #DepecheMode, Duet Emmo, Echoboy, #EinstürzendeNeubauten, #Erasure, #Fad Gadget, #Goldfrapp, HeSaid, Irmin Schmidt, Josh T Pearson, KÁRYYN, #Komputer, #Laibach, Land Observations, #LeeRanaldo, #Liars, Looper, Lost Under Heaven, #Maps, #MarkStewart / Sonskrif / The New Banalist Orchestra, Michael Gira, Mick Harvey, #MirandaSexGarden, #Moby, Modey Lemon, Mountaineers, #NewOrder, #NitzerEbb, #NON / #BoydRice, Nonpareils, #TheNormal, onDeadWaves, #Phew, Pink Grease, Pole, Polly Scattergood, #RichardHawley, Shadow Party, #SiliconTeens, Simon Fisher Turner and Edmund de Waal, The Warlocks, Wire, Yann Tiersen and Gareth Jones. 4’33” is among the most important of all contemporary music compositions. Composed and premiered in 1952, 4’33” is a piece for any instrument or combination of instruments. The score instructs the performer or performers not to play their instrument for the duration of the piece (generally four minutes and 33 seconds). As challenging and thought-provoking now as it was when it was premiered, 4’33” completely changed popular thinking on silence, sound, composition and listening. #stumm433 (at Barcelona, Spain) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIEWzWZDKwR/?igshid=1u0yhzoc6zfs8

[liminalliebox]

This 1983 recording from Duet Emmo (Wire’s Graham Lewis and Bruce Gilbert,  Mute head honcho Daniel Miller) may be one of the best experimental pop songs ever written, at least to my ears. The use of noise, sequencing, and simple , but effective lyrics and chorus make this opus of romantic doubt and transience strangely addictive, or so it seems.