RECORD TURNOVER 80s HITS #215
Here’s one that takes a while to get your head around. Monitor was the musical outlet of Los Angeles art collective World Imitation Productions (or WImP for short) and in 1981 their sole album came out on their own label. A unique document of the outliers of the LA punk scene, Monitor was everything that we envision as ‘punk’ today. Yet they embodies the qualities of all great punk groups – a complete disregard for convention, a penchant for experimentation and a cross-pollination with other art forms.
Core members Steve Thomsen, Michael Uhlenkott, Laurie O’Connell, Jeffrey Rankin, Anne Connor and Keith Mitchell initially started out working mostly with collage art, prints and mailart – collecting their output in zines. This way they got in touch with Throbbing Gristle, Devo and their producer Ed Barger. He eventually came down to LA as they had started experimenting with music-making and recording.
Their first single ”Beak” was recorded by Barger and released through their own World Imitation label in 1979. Monitor became associated with other local bands like Nervous Gender and had their own sub-scene known as the Associated Skull Bands. There is a wealth of ephemera (including many scans of printed art) on their fb page.
Several of the members studied together at university and collaborated with other artists and musicians in an open fashion reminiscent of the NYC art/punk scene and even 60s hippie culture. They shared a vision with Barger, who recorded the self-titled album throughout 1980, apparently “recorded this LP in 1980, “burying the presence of shrieking cats, closing doors and tape loops deep in the mix”, according to Superior Viaduct.
They reissued this now classic LP in 2013, after it had been remastered for its 30th anniversary. The cd version also includes the tracks from their debut single and from a 1980 compilation called Darker Skratcher. This was released by another collective, Los Angeles Free Music Society, and included many of their friends like Non (Boyd Rice) who later signed to Mute.
