VA - Cease & Resist - Sonic Subversion & Anarcho Punk in the UK 1979 -1986 (2023)

Announcing the Optimo Music launch party for:
Cease & Resist - Sonic Subversion & Anarcho Punk In The UK 1979-86
Featuring DJs playing a selection of Anarcho Punk records; Q&A Panel featuring a number of significant figures from the scene and two exclusive photography and archival exhibitions.

The Speakers:

Steve Ignorant: Vocalist with Crass, the band who started it all, should need no introduction. Steve also sung with Conflict and Current 93 amongst others and is currently touring with his new project, Slice of Life, having had two autobiographies published in addition to co-writing a book of Crass lyrics, Steve's experiences within the anarcho scene from its genesis to the present day are second to none.

Nicholas Bullen: Founding member and original Vocalist with Napalm Death who started off as an anarcho punk band and enjoyed their first vinyl release in 1984 on the Crass Records compilation, Bullshit Detector Vol.3 in addition to publishing a number of fanzines whilst still at school. Nick currently works in sound art and plays with Rainbow Grave.

Rebecca Binns has written the first ever monograph on the work of the artist and designer, Gee Vaucher, titled Gee Vaucher: Beyond Punk, Feminism and the Avant-Garde (MUP, 2022), which evolved from her PHD research (LCC, 2019). She works as a lecturer on critical theory for design and illustration BA students.

Chris Low: Chris became involved with the anarcho scene before even reaching his teens, publishing a fanzine and drumming for seminal anarcho acts including The Apostles, Part One, Oi Polloi and Political Asylum. A co-compiler of the compilation album with Twitch of Optimo who he met through starting a DJ career at the same Edinburgh club, Chris has remained engaged with the punk scene through his internationally exhibited photography work and writing.

Tony Drayton aka Tony D: Moved from his native town in Scotland to London at the explosion of the original punk movement, starting his first fanzine Ripped & Torn in 1976 before launching the more anarcho focussed Kill Your Pet Puppy zine which ran from 1979 to 1984 becomg involved with the early 80s London Anarchy Centres. A compendium of his first fanzine was recently published by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. Tony will open proceedings by exploring punk's evolution into the anarcho movement this evening celebrates.

Matthew Worley: Coming from an anarcho punk background Matthew has gone on to become a professor of modern history at the University of Reading and co-founder of the Subcultures Network. He has had several books published on the topics of punk, fanzines and associated culture in addition to collaborating with Steve Ignorant on his most recent autobiography and the collection: References Lyrics & Stories by Steve Ignorant with Matthew Worley. He will be chairing the panel and Q&A. Other contributors and special guests to be announced. The Sounds: Guest DJs joining Chris Low in previewing the complete album and spinning a selection of choice anarcho tunes from past and present over the night are: Nick Hydra (Shocks of Mighty) & Dani Mejia (Less Than Human) The Sights: Chris will also be previewing two exclusive exhibitions this evening: Beyond The Monochrome featuring photographs he took of the original, iconic anarcho acts plus demonstrations and squats he visited as well as Best B4 1984 featuring a selection of images from his extensive archive of fanzines, handouts and gig posters collected over this period illustrating the graphic vibrancy and ideological diversity of this halcyon period of the movement. This will only be open to view on this evening and none of the material has been previously exhibited. Photographic prints and publications collecting images for both will be available to purchase on the night

Thursday 11th May Helgis, 177 Mare St, London E8 3RH From 8pm-1am

Press Release: 10 years in the making, the double LP looks back at some of the most radical music ever recorded by acts at the forefront of the underground and self-initiated musical movement, Anarcho Punk.

Compiled by JD Twitch and Chris Low, and set for release on Optimo Music, the compilation spans music made between 1979-86 and features classic tracks from Crass, Poison Girls, Flux Of Pink Indians, The Mob, The Apostles, Zounds, Honey Bane, The Cravats, The Ex, Lack of Knowledge, Hagar The Womb, Chumbawamba, The Alternative, Annie Anxiety, Andy T and more including several previously unreleased studio versions of classic tracks.

The resounding victory of Anarcho Punk is that it is now a the unifying soundtrack to a culture of resistance that spans Scotland to Indonesia and remains without compromise. It is still as removed from mainstream music and oppositional to conventional culture as it was over forty years ago and shows no sign of changing. Quite the opposite: the more popular Anarcho Punk becomes the less it has to engage with the music establishment and the more control it can enjoy. In 2023, that message remains as uncompromising as ever.

Anarcho Punk was the one sub-genre of Punk that emerged in isolation from the rock & roll establishment. During its pioneering days of the early 1980s it thrived in opposition to the music industry, existing as a fiercely underground alternative to the bands, labels and venues of the commercialised mainstream Punk scene. It continues to do so. Anarcho Punk represented one of the last truly underground and autonomous music movements ever witnessed and remains a movement that has never sold out and has never gone away.

The major differentiation between the Anarcho Punk acts and the more traditional Punk outfits was that for the former, albeit often more due to musical limitation than intent, the message was more important than the music. Standard song structures were often dispersed with in favour of a relentless lyrical polemic accompanied by a similarly uncompromising aural assault. As the scene grew, so did the diversity of records that emerged under the Anarcho Punk umbrella: from D & V (drums & vocals) to the proto-EBM synth-pop of Belfast's one-man Hit Parade and the Dadaist Beefheart hybrid of The Cravats. In later days the two biggest acts of the scene, Flux of Pink Indians and Crass themselves, both released LPs which had more in common with improv Jazz than hardcore punk.

The resounding victory of Anarcho Punk is that it is now a the unifying soundtrack to a culture of resistance that spans Scotland to Indonesia and remains without compromise. It is still as removed from mainstream music and oppositional to conventional culture as it was over forty years ago and shows no sign of changing. Quite the opposite: the more popular Anarcho Punk becomes the less it has to engage with the music establishment and the more control it can enjoy. In 2023, that message remains as uncompromising as ever.

This is a double vinyl retrospective compilation of some of the most radical music ever made, a musical force that changed lives. Covering the years 1979 - 86 and including classic tracks from Crass, Poison Girls, Flux Of Pink Indians, The Mob, Zounds, Annie Anxiety, The Ex, ATV plus 10 more, all newly remastered by iconic Punk mastering engineer Daniel Husayn. It has been lovingly compiled by JD Twitch and Anarcho legend Chris Low and was ten years in the making. There are also a couple of previously unreleased mixes included. It comes as a high quality double vinyl pressing, and has a full colour sleeve with back and front images designed by the legendary Gee Vaucher. It also comes with a 6 page fold out poster on one side with detailed sleeve notes, recollections and essays on the other side.

The compilation is a fundraiser for Faslane Peace Camp. Not so far from Glasgow Faslane Naval Base is home to Britain's abhorrent Trident nuclear missiles. The camp has been there, protesting since 1982 and is still active to this day. We hope in our lifetime we will see those missiles leave Scottish soil. We have so much respect for those who have dedicated their lives to protesting these weapons and it seemed an obvious choice that the proceeds from this release should go to help them, and the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Official release date: May 12, 2023

Tracklist
[2:44] 1. Zounds - Can't Cheat Karma
[3:59] 2. Honey Bane - Girl on the Run
[6:45] 3. Crass - Bloody Revolutions
[5:41] 4. Annie Anxiety - Hello Horror
[4:07] 5. Flux of Pink Indians - Tube Disasters
[1:30] 6. Andy T - Death is Big Business
[4:19] 7. Poison Girls - Underbitch
[4:42] 8. Alternative - Anti-Christ
[5:48] 9. The Cravats - Rub Me Out
[4:13] 10. THE APOSTLES - Mob Violence (unreleased studio version)
[4:03] 11. Lack of Knowledge - We're Looking for People
[3:09] 12. Hit Parade - Here's What You Find in Any Prison
[2:49] 13. Hagar The Womb - Idolisation
[3:49] 14. Alternative TV - The Force is Blind
[4:46] 15. Chumbawamba - Revolution
[3:14] 16. The Ex - Aye Carmela
[2:59] 17. D&V - Conscious (Pilot)
[6:20] 18. The Mob - No Doves Fly Here (unreleased studio version)