HARRY ZANTEY, Sleep (EEEEEEEE Records)



Harry Zantey – EMS synth
(one take, live, no overdubs), orig. release 1981

Mr. Zantey was in the Australian band Crime and the City Solution, which, as the label owner notes, IS surprisingly under-represented on the ‘Net. I remember seeing their albums around – they had four – they were on MUTE, for goodness sakes! Why is there so little data?

The EMS synth, by the way, has an interesting history. It is a fairly rare instrument, and its most loveable trait is that it seems to have a disturbed mind of its own. Hence its favoured status by Pere Ubu, I’m sure…


Sleep Part One (Some Snoring)

It opens with a looping drone akin to, oh, Kluster, Suicide or Silver Apples and gradually gets very loud and obnoxious. With the squeals of feedback and white noise, it is not entirely unlike certain PiL tracks. All I can say is, if this is the sound of snoring, I am NOT sleeping next to this person…


Sleep Part Two (Sleep)

Evidently a restless slumber. This time, the synth is a lot more lively, producing squealing waterfalls and scratched balloons of sound. There’s a beat, or certainly a pulse, which sounds not entirely unlike someone trying to start a wet engine. Towards the end, the synth starts to sputter, so I guess it’s getting sleepy…