Browse by Artist: F/I

Artist:	F/I
Title:	Space Mantra/Boy Dirt Car Split LP
Label:	LEXICON DEVIL (AUSTRALIA)
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.50
Catalog #:	LEXDEV 001CD

Originally issued by Lexicon Devil in 2001. Milwaukee's F/i have been an operational unit since the dawn of the '80s, having produced in their lifetime over a dozen cassettes, half a dozen LPs and a few CDs and 7"s. While their early material concentrated mainly on purely harsh, experimental electronic sounds, influenced heavily by the industrial/power electronics scenes of the day, by the mid-'80s, taking their cues from the likes of Blue Cheer, Hawkwind and '70s Krautrock, they made a radical change in direction and became a "rock" band. This is where the reissuing begins... the most highly coveted releases from the band remain their long out-of-print '80s LPs on the RRR label out of Massachusetts. Lexicon Devil begins with what they consider some fine introductions to the band's work -- their side to the split LP with similar Milwaukee noiseniks Boy Dirt Car (originally released in 1986) and their classic Space Mantra LP from 1988, now released together on one CD. Both feature a churning brew of harsh electronic noise, "industrial" soundscapes and the kind of bong-rattling riffs usually only found on vintage psych-fuzz discs fetching a $100+ price tag. At their time of release, they were an anomaly; at this point in history, these classic discs will perhaps be better and more widely received. Newly remastered by the band, featuring original artwork from the RRR LPs and liner notes by Dave Lang.

Artist:	F/I
Title:	Why Not Now?... Alan!
Label:	LEXICON DEVIL (AUSTRALIA)
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.50
Catalog #:	LEXDEV 004CD

Originally released in 1987 on RRRecords, reissued by Lexicon Devil in 2002. A lovely, fully remastered and extended version of F/i's exemplary 1987 slab of wax, the cryptically titled, Why Not Now?... Alan!. Released at the time by the infamous RRR label, the poor mastering and limits of the vinyl format hampered this killer in two ways: the lack of bottom end in the mix, and the editing down of songs to fit the vinyl grooves. Both of these problems have been resolved. Firstly, the band has remastered it themselves, making the record sound more monolithic than ever; and secondly, several tracks are now in their original, extended forms, along with bone-arse songs to munch on.

Artist:	F/I
Title:	The Past Darkly/The Future Lightly: Rare And Unreleased
Label:	LEXICON DEVIL (AUSTRALIA)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$16.50
Catalog #:	LEXDEV 005CD

...1983-1989. Originally issued by Lexicon Devil in 2002. Continuing on with Lexicon Devil's CD reissue campaign for F/i -- especially in getting back into circulation all their hideously out-of-print '80s vinyl efforts on the RRR label -- we finally have their epochal 1989 3LP box set, The Past Darkly/The Future Lightly: Rare and Unreleased 1983-1989, out and about to do the rounds again as a 2CD pack. Originally released in the ludicrously small edition of only 300 copies in '89, it was quickly scooped up, disappearing so fast, it entered the world of mythic collector lore within months of its release. An excellent sonic brew that encompasses the band's work from a seven-year period, from their embryonic electronic days, to their later space-rock psychedelic blowouts; a CD that long-time fans have been drooling for, and one that will appeal to fans of everything from Hawkwind to Krautrock to Flipper to Merzbow to the current crop of stoner/doom titans.

Artist:	F/I
Title:	Blue Star/Merge Parlour
Label:	LEXICON DEVIL (AUSTRALIA)
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.50
Catalog #:	LEXDEV 006CD

Originally issued in 2003 by Lexicon Devil, and the last of the long out-of-print F/i RRR LPs finally put to rest on CD: the fantastic live/studio Blue Star LP from 1990 and the Merge Parlour EP from 1992. Suffice to say, the Blue Star LP is a space-rock monster, wrapping its gargantuan riffs around its metronomic beats and beating its circular riffs into submission. And with a hyperbolic description like that, you know that before you can utter the words "Whoa, dude!," that those of you out there with a hankerin' for some cosmic-rock aktion need this sitting fancy in your CD collection. Containing three epic-length tracks -- the first two recorded live in Germany, the third in a meat cooler of a sausage factory(!) -- the sonic delights within concentrate more on F/i's brutal rock leanings, the end result approximating a kind of Midwestern take on the classic Space Ritual-era Hawkwind or UFO-period Guru Guru sound. Mighty tasty. The remaining three numbers are taken from F/i's split LP with fellow Milwaukee brethren, The Vocokesh, otherwise known as the Merge Parlour EP, which is a studio affair quite unlike any other F/i disc. With a much cleaner sound than ever before, and a heavy emphasis on electronics, the band -- stripped to a trio -- created what is their most singularly awe-inspiring recorded effort. "Theme For An Industrial Western" twangs and blips like an outer-space Morricone; "Zombie In The Slave Trade" possesses some of the most amazing fret-strangulation/amp-destruction this side of Keiji Haino; and "Pleasure Centres/The Beach" is the real clincher here: a reckless dirge that eventually collapses into a miasma of loops and noise, bringing to mind a collision between Helios Creed circa 1989 and Chrome circa '78. The CD features some beautifully spartan artwork taken from the original Blue Star LP -- pure minimalism, no fuss; the music itself is fully remastered from the original tapes by the band, and the killer sounds within have been kept out of the public ear for a good decade or more.

Artist:	F/I
Title:	Blanga
Label:	LEXICON DEVIL (AUSTRALIA)
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.50
Catalog #:	LEXDEV 016CD

Blanga was originally released in 2005 on Lexicon Devil. Milwaukee space/psych-rock veterans F/i saw original member Richard Franecki (Vocokesh) return to the fold and the results are here to behold. With a string of highly-praised reissues from the band under Lexicon's belts, ranging from the years 1983-1991, they figured it was high time to release some of their contemporary recordings. Also returning are Brian Wensing, Grant Richter with Rick Hake and John Frankovic. Most of all, Blanga (apparently an in-joke within the group and something to do with Amon Düül and Hawkwind) rips out some of the most awe-inspiring, trance-inducing and speaker-destroying psychedelic space-rock of the last 25 years. All the crucial pieces are in place: the metronomic drum beats, the Eno/Hawkwindesque synth swirls and, most of all, the overwhelming cloud of fuzzbox guitar distortion coating the proceedings. You get a mere 5 songs in 47 minutes; from the raga-drone of "An Extremely Lovely Girl Dreams of Blanga" to the stunning blips 'n' whirls of the keyboard/sitar track, "Blanga's Love Song," right on through to the closer, "Grandfather Blanga and His Band Light It Up," a Flipper-y dirge with one foot on Earth, one on Mars.

Artist:	F/I
Title:	Paradise Out Here
Label:	LEXICON DEVIL (AUSTRALIA)
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.50
Catalog #:	LEXDEV 018CD

Reissued by Lexicon Devil in 2006. Originally released on the Human Wrechords label in 1989, Paradise Out Here has long been the most elusive and sought-after recording from Milwaukee's space-rock giants, F/i. Having once again gained a substantial cult following after the other F/i reissues Lexicon Devil has released over the last 5 years, the band came back together. The time is right to get the one non-RRRecords LP from the '80s back into the public eye, and since the LP was only released in an edition of 300 copies, there'll be plenty who will want to hear this. Recorded between the Why Not? and Blue Star LPs, it captures the band in peak form. The opener, "From Poppy With Love" is one of the band's strongest numbers, a surging collision of '80s punk rock energy dosed in clouds of cosmic guitar fuzz. It slays. The drive of the following two songs, "The House Of The Pharaoh's Daughter" and "The Ninth Corner," never lets up until the band sets the controls for the heart of the sun with the nigh-on 20-minutes tribal dirge of "Om 21." The holy combination of amp-destroying guitar noise, anchored, low-end bass, rock-steady drumming and other-worldly synth whoops and bleeps is a beauty to experience. To finish it off, the band has whacked on two bonus tracks, "Satellite Surfer" and "Five Crowns Of The Saxon King," both recorded around the same period, as a taster for the bounties they have sitting around in dusty tape boxes. Paradise Out Here could just be F/i's best recorded work, and Lexicon Devil is pleased to get it out once again for a whole new generation of fans. Fully remastered by the band with all new artwork. Last copies at the moment...

Artist:	F/I
Title:	A Question for the Somnambulist
Label:	STRANGE ATTRACTORS AUDIO HOUSE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	SAAH 040CD

"Along with Die Kreuzen, Boy Dirt Car and sister band Vocokesh, Milwaukee psychedelic rock-and-sound legends F/i spawned a space-rock scene in the '80s unlike any other around. By harnessing the ghosts of Hawkwind and Blue Cheer, extracting the German avant rock scene from the early 1970s as defined by Guru Guru, Ash Ra Tempel and Agitation Free, and sifting it through industrial sounds and analog electronics, over time it has become evident that F/i have quietly influenced a whole new generation of exploratory instrumental freakers. A mini event in its own right, A Question for the Somnambulist marks the return of original member Richard Franecki, who left in 1990 to pursue the way-out trajectories that his band Vocokesh continue to explore. Originally issued in a miniscule run in 2003, A Question For The Somnambulist traverses dark and hazy landscapes, hypnotic textures laced with electronics and exploratory guitar riffs dripping with effects. Resuscitated from the annals of uber-obscurity for another suckerpunch to your third eye, this reissue includes one bonus track from the sessions and comes in a limited edition of 1000 housed in a deluxe letterpressed and recycled paperboard package."

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