The UK label Blackest Ever Black will be bringing Weekend‘s The 81 Demos to vinyl for the first time, and while the record is still in the manufacturing stages, it’s release is expected for March 3rd. Weekend began to form in 1981 after the disbanding of Young Marble Giants, when that band’s former vocalist Alison Statton started writing music with Mark ‘Spike’ Williams. The Welsh duo would go on to add guitarist Simon Booth, and in this nascent stage the trio recorded four demo tracks of exquisite pop: “Drumbeat” (later titled “Drumbeat For Baby”), “Red Planes“, “Nostalgia“, and “Summerdays“. While all four tracks would eventually appear on Weekend’s only studio LP, La Varieté, which was also one of Rough Trade‘s earliest releases, The 81 Demos find the early incarnations of these songs in gorgeous, fresh shape! The track “Red Planes” opens with the crisp pulse of the Boss DR 55, one of the early programmable analogue drum machines, before housing the song’s winding, pastoral guitar lines, soaring strings, and Statton’s cello-like voice in resounding detonations of bass. This is truly an extraordinary recording, and now mastered by Matt Colton for vinyl, Weekend’s chamber pop resounds in warmth, and wonder! The 81 Demos will be released in an edition of a 1000, and the record will come with extensive liner notes from the band. You can check out what Alison Statton had to say about the demos below…
A JOURNEY TO JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE-
Alison Statton:
It’s a curious experience revisiting the ’81 demos, which now seem, in retrospect, naive and relatively unburdened musically, however the emotion contained within them is still penetrating through, after 32 years.
‘Drumbeat’ and ‘Red Planes’ began as simple basslines and vocals I’d written, after the demise of Young Marble Giants, in a fresh and tentative get-together in Cardiff, with Spike, a musician friend, formally with Reptile Ranch and one of the Z Block Records originators.
Layered narratives and the wish to portray their emotional content in sound (within my technical limitations) was the driving force for me, and Spike was the perfect partner for entering that atmospheric soundscape.
‘Drumbeat’’s melodic ups and downs tempered the track along its journey until, fittingly, entering the surreal at its end.
On ‘Red Planes’ the contrast of the solemn bass and vocal and Spike’s violin playing, soaring and diving and weaving through every possible mood with no inhibitions, created an almost psychedelic feel with a menacing undercurrent. This highlights the whole feel of freedom at the time, despite the apprehensiveness present in the music.
When I first heard ‘Nostalgia’ I was deeply moved by the bittersweet lyrics and depiction of the human resolve that is needed to survive our emotional experiences. One of the joys of working with Spike was his ability to take the soul on an intense journey just about anywhere when he played violin.
Just as Spike and I began exploring these songs I was contacted by Simon with a view to a possible collaboration. I met up with him at Mole Jazz record shop where he was working. He was full of enthusiasm and vibrantly shared his love of so many jazz greats, firing an interest that has stayed with me to this day.
I was inspired by his positivity but didn’t want to abandon the union with Spike and very soon after, I moved to London, into a squat in Camden, where Weekend was born and the ’81 demos were re-recorded with Simon and Spike.
‘Summerdays’ instrumental was practically squeezed out of the tube as it went on to tape and is now instantly recognisable as a different strand sound-wise.
Simon was skilful at visioning and pulling together a whole team of outstanding jazz and world musicians (Larry Stabbins, Dawson Miller, Roy Dodds and the late Harry Beckett and Simon Jeffes) who along with Spike, all contributed their tremendous skills with great zest and creativity, as well as Robin Millar, who was the magic ingredient that smoothly wove everything together, in the studio, when recording La Varieté. It was an honour to work with them all, and was somewhat of a magical mystery tour and an introduction to one of many lessons in life: to expect the unexpected.
– Alison Statton, December 2013
