December had a non-compulsory Christmas theme that was reflected in some but by no means all of the records we played. We opened with a track I brought along - an excerpt from Tuluum Shimmering’s hour-long psyche jam based on Linus and Lucy from the classic Peanuts Christmas soundtrack.
Tom kicked off with the gothy Swedish synthpop of Troth’s Blood In My Hair (2022), before moving onto the exquisite Lift You from Moin’s You Never End (2024) - a glorious slice of math-rock-meets-spoken-word.
Tom kicked us off with Bruce Haack’s Electronic Record For Children from 1969, taking us back to a time when at least part of the intended audience for wiggy electronic weirdness was kids, via the somewhat harrowing Spiders. Then we enjoyed the strangely affecting MIDI-folk of Thomas Bush’s Old And Red (2018) before finishing with an outsider classic from Ireland, Michael O’Shea’s self-titled album from 1982 in which he conjures up some dark and deeply percussive soundscapes from a homemade zither-like instrument constructed from an old door.
Last night the Really Strange Record Club met at Dreamhouse Records to make a beautiful May evening on Francis Road a little bit weirder. And as the drinks flowed from the newly-inaugurated Dreamhouse bar, we enjoyed some truly amazing sounds.
First up was Gareth, who took us back to the new wave of British heavy metal with the 1980 compilation Metal For Muthas - notable for the inclusion of two early mixes of Iron Maiden’s songs Sanctuary and Wrathchild, their first appearance on EMI ahead of their debut album later that year.
It was another evening of weird and wonderful musical discoveries at Dreamhouse Records last night as The Really Strange Record Club met for the fourth time. We enjoyed some truly incredible music gathered from around the globe and from the deepest recesses of Leyton’s most adventurous record collections.
Tommaso opened proceedings with Safe Inside The Day, the title track from Baby Dee’s 2008 album on Drag City that boasts an all-star cast of collaborators including Bonnie Prince Billy and Andrew WK.
What a night! It was a capacity crowd for the third meeting of the Really Strange Record Club, as Dreamhouse Records filled with old friends and new eager to hear some truly out-there sounds. It was probably also the widest and wildest range of records we’ve listened to at an event yet.
Josh opened with a pair of 7-inches that had a distinctly local flavour - Football, Football by Orient FC (1974), and Fantastic’o by The O’s & The OK Band (1978) - two songs by our local club Leyton Orient, the latter released in the run-up to their epic FA cup showdown against Arsenal.
What a brilliant night that was. Thanks so much to everyone who came down to Dreamhouse Records last night and made the inaugural meeting of The Really Strange Record Club such a special evening. It was fabulous meeting everyone, and the range of music you all brought with you was truly extraordinary.
As promised, here’s a recap of what we listened to…
Phil kicked off the evening with a couple of 12” singles by Fetus Productions, from the Auckland post-punk scene of the early 80s.