HERE IS AN EXTRAORDINARY

excavation from the buried history of the Downtown NYC scene: the unreleased,

self-titled Transmission EP, recorded in 1981-82. Comprised of Jonathan Kane and Daniel Galliduani, the duo is one-half

of the original version of the behemoth band Swans. Transmission both preceded and ran concurrent with the formation

of Swans (Michael Gira was enough of a fan that he mixed Transmission's few live shows), and much of their material

evolved into the crucial rhythmic structure of Swans tracks, including the standout "Weakling".

Even without the historical connection, this is a great record. Unclassifiable within any conventional genre, it recalls the

improvisation and complex, trance-inducing beats of North African music while adding a crust of No Wave bluster and

enough percussive artillery to sink a small island. Galliduani, whose saxophone is so heavily treated and processed that

it sounds like a wall of guitars, lays down drones then adds fierce, Eastern-tinged polyphonics; meanwhile Kane is a

frenzied dervish, generating complex cross-tempos and rhythmic subdivisions.

Imagine the Master Musicians of Jajouka (Brian Jones recordings, of course), powered with the crushing intensity of

Swans, the twisted esoterica of Public Image's Flowers of Romance and some unbelievably relentless drumming, and

you'll get an idea of what we missed by not hearing this 25 years ago. Transmission is not only an absolute must-have

for fans of either Swans or Jonathan Kane's critically-acclaimed present-day releases (not to mention his fine work with

Rhys Chatham and La Monte Young), but an essential missing link from that Lower East Side scene of yesteryear.

NEW RELEASE

ON

FORMAT: CD
RELEASE DATE: 10 October 2006
FILE UNDER: Rock
CATALOG NO: TOE-CD-804
UPC: 806501180421
LIST PRICE: $11.98
BOX LOT: 25
5% DISCOUNT THROUGH TWO WEEKS AFTER RELEASE DATE

1. Fireball

4:24

2. South Wind

3:45

3. With Dawn

3:05

4. Battlecry

4:31

5. Surrender

2:14

6. Power Stations 4:30

TRACKS

8 0 6 5 0 1 1 8 0 4 2 1

R

88

R

88

T R A N S M I S S I O N