Map 71 - Gloriosa

Fourth Dimension have done a grand job in bringing this to my attention as this is really good stuff from this Brighton based duo. Map 71 feature poet and artist Lisa Jayne and drummer Andy Pyne. Lisa Jayne brings her poetry as spoken word, while Andy Pyne provides electronics and rhythms. What's really good about Map 71 is the punk spirit inherent in Lisa Jayne's words and delivery while Pyne's backing builds on industrial and post-industrial rhythm 'n' noise. It's a thrilling proposition.

Map 71's songs aren't really songs. They dispense with melody and the verse/chorus structure for an intentional disconnect between Lisa Jayne's delivery and Andy Pyne's beats. Lisa Jayne doesn't have to shout or accentuate her proclamations, observations and confessions; it's the rhythms that provide movement here. It's not always poetry either. They may have started off as poems but they've evolved and been adapted for Map 71. And while the electronics revel in comparisons with the proto-electronic sound of Suicide and the rhythms of Z'ev, they're just as likely to co-opt the electro beats of techno.

Gloriosa kicks off with stark minimal industrialised electronics and percussive rhythms of 'Red Mass'. Right from the off Lisa Jayne's oblique poetic descriptions adorned with references to goddesses and moons, blackbirds and tree roots are delivered in a steely, composed English accented punk vocal. "I am not a reproduction model" she declares on 'Monoprint' amidst stark confessions over a pummelling rolling rhythmic beat, mixed with a recurring soft electronic wash and occasional cymbal crash. Outside of Map 71 Andy Pyne drums in the psych-noise group Kellar and in free jazz outfits West Hill Blast Quartet and Aeolipile and these other pursuits ensures he brings an expressive improvised and inspired nature to the rhythms of Map 71.

Ritual edged primitive propulsions fuel 'One-Dimensional Bang', its rhythms surrounded by light flurries of electronic tones underpin Lisa Jayne's words which seem subject to the experimental cut-up and fold-in techniques developed by Burroughs and Gysin. Shuddering to blasts of electronic thuds 'CDM' is harsher, throbbing against light rhythmic clicks, as Lisa Jayne warns against "controversial dance moves". 'CDM' flirts with the electronics of techno but it recoils from anything approaching dance music. Just as Factory Floor reconfigured early industrial electronics on their initial releases, Map 71 are doing something similar co-opting elements of early industrial, post-punk and techno in their own way to the point that the end section of 'CDM' bustles to mammoth shudders and echoing dub beats closer to the electro-dub of 23 Skidoo's hugely influential Seven Songs.

'Azaleas' takes a more spacious and less direct approach, couching the spoken word in fragmented tones, synth bursts and background percussive flourishes. Lisa Jayne's delivery is calm and controlled throughout Gloriosa. She follows in the footsteps of female provocateurs such as Lydia Lunch, the late Ari Up and - where is she now - the punk-poetess Joolz. Min's work with Zos Kia is another worthwhile reference point since her bleak, brutal vision was offset by her future trajectory as part of the peace convoy.

Elsewhere, Martin Rev-esque electro melodies float over the flickering stuttered analogue synths of 'Cruise Night' bringing a Suicide feel to a track filled with Ballardian imagery. Those chiming melodies feature on the rhythm-less 'Default Slogan' too. This time, however, their cast against Lisa Jayne's clipped delivery. Interspersed and cut with processed textured effects the series of single words she unleashes is no less powerful than her more wordy monologues found throughout Gloriosa.

Gloriosa is well suited to the cassette format as it does recall the old days of cassette culture. Much of this would sit nicely within Cherry Red's recent excavations on Close To The Noise Floor. Ignore my comparisons though, they're merely pointers on the musical and lyrical landscape Map 71 traverse. Gloriosa is a wonderful release, and how I've never heard or encountered them before is a real misgiving on my part. Let's hope this gets a further release as Map 71 are a very individual band and a mere 55 copies on cassette really doesn't do this justice. Gloriosa is released by Fourth Dimension Records and is available for £8.00 GBP including postage anywhere in the world, Paypal to richo_j(at)hotmail.com