Herd Of The Ether Space - Kumquat Over Again

Kumquat Over Again

by Herd Of The Ether Space

1 Caused By A Germ Transmission
2 Kumquat Jelly
3 Jellied Quat Kum
4 Germinated From A Transmitted Cause

The cassette album "Kumquat Over Again" was released by Taped Rugs Productions and Sound Of Pig Music in 1990.

Tracks 1 and 4 were created from improvisations recorded by Herd Of The Ether Space (HOTES) members Charles Rice Goff III, Killr "Mark" Kaswan, and Robert Silverman on January 28th, 1990. Tracks 2 and 3 were created from improvisations recorded by HOTES members George Gibson, Charles Rice Goff III, and Killr "Mark" Kaswan on March 18th, 1990. All four tracks were recorded at the Taped Rugs Studio in Oakland, California.

To create the Kumquat Over Again cassette album, Goff used a four track cassette recorder to juxtapose (forwards vs. backwards) two different stereo segments of equal length from the January 28th session and two different stereo segments of equal length from the March 18th session onto a single tape. Goff then played the first "side" of the tape on the four track recorder to mix the forwards and backwards parts together onto a regular stereo cassette deck. He individually panned and varied the input levels of the four tracks during the mixdown. He then turned the tape over and performed the same mixing technique on the second "side" of the cassette. Thus, side one of Kumquat Over Again is, in theory, the opposite of side two. However, because the two sides were mixed individually, they are not exact opposites.

Some specifics:

1 The vibrant tang and Vitamin C punch of kumquats often served as a propellant for HOTES recording sessions. At the March 18th session, however, they also served as a subject for the group's Dadaesque improvised vocal bits. The potent kumquat fuel, in fact, had a near-explosive effect on the band during this session, and the walls of cacophony exhibited in these recordings have often overwhelmed listeners.

2 Other recordings created on January 28th, 1990, were later included on the HOTES cassette album: "President Nixon Fights The Dope Scourge," archived at:
http://www.archive.org/details/PresidentNixonFightsTheDopeScourge

3 The following is the description of Kumquat Over Again from the Taped Rugs Productions 1990 catalog:

"For the totally nonserious, some core members of the Herd (Kaswan, Gibson, Goff, Silverman) slosh through germ transmissions and jellied quat kum in a sort of Warholish tribute to bizarreness. Each side of the tape contains both forward and backward material, which can be listened to in either direction, depending on which side of the tape is in the cassette deck. A good deal of attention is paid to a particular little orange fruit throughout the work. C-90"