Buy Chemical Plant - Caveat Emptor Features vocals by Penelope Andrews; samples, programming and production by Tim Whelan; drums/percussion and samples from Hamilton Lee. Twelve tracks. The first edition was limited to 500 copies and was packaged in a specially designed black box.
Second edition released in standard CD jewel case.
Buy Chemical Plant - The Cold Store Tapes The Cold Store Tapes were recorded in June 1990 at The Nine Elms Cold Store, a disused meat warehouse in Vauxhall, London. Originally released on Chemical Plant's own Chainsaw label, this album has been unavailable since 1994. The re-discovery of the original master tapes and a growing interest generated by the few copies still in circulation, has led to this underground curio's re-release on D.O.R.
The CD captures this improvised acoustic performance in all of its raw intensity and allure. The selections have been edited and mastered directly from the original stereo cassette recording, without processing. The natural echo created by the massive empty concrete hangar lend these recordings a unique presence. The sound captured is that of the building itself, as 'played' by those involved. The percussion consists of materials found at the site.
The story of Chemical Plant begins in 1984, when two young music fans exchanged correspondence and live tapes of their favourite bands. This evolved to swapping cassettes of home recordings made on lo-fi recorders. These tapes were then edited, manipulated and passed back and forth - a process which has always been an integral part of the working method of Chemical Plant.
Half Life: 1987-90
Eventually, the postal collaborators - Ashley Davies and Richard Gallon - met to play out some ideas in a rehearsal-cum-recording session. The duo worked on and recorded various improvised pieces based around hypnotic metal percussion, Ashley's WASP synthesiser and utilising any other object that was available to make a sound. Enthused by this meeting, the duo decided to form a 'band', adopting various names before settling upon Chemical Plant.
Recording and collaborating continued in the same vein, the group swapping tapes and ideas, as well as meeting to record improvised pieces which were then edited, re-structured and continually re-interpreted. As an outlet for the recordings which were being amassed by Chemical Plant (as well as other artists known to the band) Richard set up Chainsaw Cassettes and the ideas found their way into the outside world via several releases between 1987and 1991. Much of the material of this period has been re-mastered for the 'Half Life' compilation scheduled for release on Personal Soundtracks in 2007.
Concrete: 1990
During this period, and from then on in their work together, the duo explored not only unusual instrumentation to orchestrate their ideas, but also introducing other atmospheres to their productions by recording at sites with a particular resonance. One of the most notable of these recordings is the Cold Store Tapes, originally a cassette-only release on Chainsaw, subsequently re-issued on D.O.R in 1998. Recorded on stereo Walkman using the natural echo of the huge empty concrete rooms of the Nine Elms Cold Store, the pieces on this album were improvised and recorded live, as they sound, without the addition of studio effects such as reverb.
Bankrupt: 1991-92
Having heard the group's Chainsaw releases, London-based experimental label D.O.R. expressed interest in releasing a Chemical Plant ep. Tim Whelan and Pinkie Maclure were brought in to work on this first release, the "World Is Bankrupt" 12"/CD. Henceforth, Tim became a regular in the irregular get-togethers of Chemical Plant, both live and in the studio. He was also heavily involved in the group's more dancefloor-oriented project, E.C. Noise Mountain.
Caveat: 1993
A second D.O.R release, the full-length "Caveat Emptor" was recorded and released the following year. Penny Andrews now handled vocal duties and Hamilton Lee joined as a kit drummer. As a 5-piece, Chemical Plant began playing live shows around London in diverse settings, from performing hypnotic beats at Club Dog to providing backing for performance-art piece 'Disturbance'. Featuring a mixture of material from 'Caveat', interpretations of earlier compositions and live improvisations, each set was tailored to its setting.
Rust: 1993-94
During this (by CP standards) busy period of live shows, the line-up was once more in a state of flux, with Kay Grant and Stefan Lombard joining when Hamilton, and then Penny, left. This phase of Chemical Plant is documented on the 'Rust' CD due for a Personal Soundtracks release in 2007/08. This material is all previously unavailable and stems from three main sources. The bulk of the tracks were recorded at various live shows, and are mainly improvised. 'Awaken' and 'Second Liberation' (which appeared on D.O.R's 'Water' compilation in 1994) form part of a session performed live to 16 track, capturing the energy and fluidity of the live shows of this time. The rest of 'Rust' is made up of studio demos - tracks such as 'Scramble Suits' and '30 Seconds' - for a planned third D.O.R release. Other commitments left it in limbo. Finally abandoned towards the middle of 1994, the album was never completed, and the two main protagonists went their separate musical ways.
after so many years I wanted to reconnect with the last music project I was part of in the UK Chemical Plant. hearing it again I really think that the project was ahead of many curves, really nice to see this is on the net. You can check out a few of my projects in the US www.earthfilms.org or the film I am currently working on www.houseoffiremovie.com
