The Time Being | Steve Kilbey

steve's picks

credits

steve's comments

ok
so i did unearthed n it went well
it actually went to #1 in the indy charts here in australia
so i was inspired
i had written a book of poetry called earthed
and i conceived a grandiose plan to have a book n a record out
i was good at conceiving ideas
but usually i hate doing all the work to see em thru
consequently earthed the record n the book
are a bit half-arsed….
with a bit more work they could have been good
but i kinda cobbled it all together more than i should have
i shoulda taken my time
i shoulda had more quality control
i shoulda watched all that quantization on the piano
i shoulda been born with more talent
nonetheless
here was my big project and i rushed it a bit
i was impatient to be hailed as a genius or something
another problem with earthed for me is
that ryko released it just after milky way had been a hit
it got released with peter n martys solo records too
which was not what i wanted
i didnt want them reviewed together or compared
but inevitably they were
i guess some people who had bought milky way
musta been confused by this weird instrumental record
no words or songs
just some good and some bad instrumentals
the book was reduced down to booklet size
and it came with the disc
in a way it was my chance to impress america
and this record did not n could not do that
its easy to see it in hindsight
you dont get too many opportunities i guess
and i certainly blew that one
as i said there is some good instrumental stuff here
neuman is just what youd expect
from steve kilbey trying to write a german spy theme
carthage is not a bad stab at some ancient rock
memory tries to simulate a drug experience
napoleons army was also used on an abc album called ambience
it plays backwards n forwards at the same time
agog was used in an informational package on eye surgery
earthed was suitably pseudo-epic
other bits of the record are kinda stiff n over-sequenced
not enough feeling n not enough substance to justify their existence
still it went to # in the aust indy charts in 1987
but it wasnt the ideal move or follow up to unearthed
included are some poetry readings from the book i did in 2000
the cover was a “deathmask” of me a friend of mine did
my face covered in plaster…it took a while to dry
i had a straw up each nostril so i could breathe
russell took some shots of it in water
i recently saw it used as a flyer for a goth club in holland in 2005
the map inside too….where the hell is that place…?
and cloudberry studios, illyria …well
wasnt that just bedroom studios rozelle under a fancy name
so there you go
a semi-realized project ; the book n the record
some cool stuff
some awful stuff
some stuff i cant even say what it is or was supposed to be
earthed unearthed…confusing isnt it?
i shoulda call it something else
but nevertheless
its an interesting relic from a bygone time
go on
have another listen