Abbo Daboo Doo

Portion Control - Hit The Pulse

Ripped from a vinyl mini-album released on In Phaze Records (EZ 2) in 1983 to high resolution 24-bit flac audio. We have covered this album before but never in this quality. Hit The Pulse marked Portion Control's move from complex tape loop and electronic experimentation into more accessible, almost danceable electronic grooves. Their next releases were to be on the important Illuminated Records label and reflected a hardening to their sound, however this transitional album deserves to be recognised as one of their best. For penguinflight.

A1 Chew You To Bits (Version)
A2 Discord
B1 Crash Weight Gain
B2 Eat Your Heart
B3 Trust Angle
B4 Death By Venom (Ricochet Mix)
B5 Abbo Dabbo

From Ilford With Love

Portion Control - Purge

Re-re-ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Dead Man's Curve Records (DMC 001) in 1986 to high resolution 24-bit flac audio. Yes, I know this is the third post of this single, but this is without a doubt my best rip.

A1 Raise The Pulse (Remix)
A2 Go-Talk (Remix)
B1 The Great Divide (Remix)
B2 Karateka

Strontium Dogs

Portion Control - Psycho-Bod Saves The World

2000AD comic fans will immediately recognise John Hinkleton's excellent sleeve work for this 1986 Portion Control album. I have always held mixed feelings about this record, and every time I listen to it I can only think of the awful Sigue Sigue Sputnik. I am sure this wasn't the band's intention but their interpretation of punk electronica has mutated a long way from their best work on the classic Step Forward.

The record is full of sci-fi sampling and references to a 2000AD comic world packaged up by the appropriate fine artwork. I suppose on reflection it is a concept album of sorts, and hold that thought when measuring its credibility. Portion Control disappeared shortly after Psycho-Bod's release, to reappear some 20 years later with a harder European sound. These tracks were to resurface on the 2006 Archive CD boxed set. Here they are as originally mastered, ripped from my 1986 vinyl.

Ripped from a vinyl album released on Dead Man's Curve Records (DMC 008) in 1986 to high quality lossless flac audio.

A1 Brain Scraper Death Dive
A2 Siren City
A3 Breaker Breaker
A4 Danger Zone
A5 Screen Of Death
A6 Coming For You Baby
B1 Fistful Of Creds
B2 Trashville Baby
B3 Cut And Thrust
B4 H.O.T. Matter
B5 Soap Distant

Red Megga

Portion Control - I Staggered Mentally

The debut Portion Control album proper ripped to quality lossless flac. I promised to fill the Portion Control gaps before Christmas, so I Staggered Mentally is undoubtedly the best place to begin. The promise shown on the early tape packages is realised as PC mature from low fidelity home recordings to hard rhythmic electronics generated in the studio. 

The Portion Control sound has evolved alongside that of their peers, especially Cabaret Voltaire. On first listen, many would think this is a Cabs album with  treated vox electronica and distorted sampling, but tracks like All Present And Correct and Fiends sound quite different to where the Cabs were in 1982 using very early acid beats. Portion Control's direction was now facing East to more European influences. Having said that, Mass Disorder would very well onto Red Mecca. Staggering Stuff.

Ripped from a vinyl album released on In Phaze Records (CP 007) in 1982 to high quality lossless flac audio.

A1. He Is Patriotic
A2. Out Of Order
A3. Plateau Stage
A4. All Present And Correct
A5. Karsic
B1. Sex Crimes
B2. Sure Is Kinda Spooky
B3. Mass Disorder
B4. Fiends
B5. Sort Out

Bites Your Head

Portion Control - The Man Who Did Backward Somersaults

To end the recent swathe of indie electronica and dance, here is a nice, though cheaply packaged compilation of Portion Control tracks from the 1982-1986 era recordings which snuck out self released in 1994. I should really get around to filling in the gaps in their lossless discography, and will maybe get around to doing so in the new year.

Ripped from a compact disc album released on TEQ (TEQM 94003) in 1994 to high quality lossless flac audio.

01. The Great Divide
02. Brain Scraper Death Dive
03. Screen Of Death
04. Go-Talk
05. Eat Your Heart
06. Sure Is Kinda Spooky
07. Refugee
08. Raise The Pulse
09. Karateka
10. Fistful of Cred$
11. Chew You To Bits
12. Abbo Dabbo
13. Under The Skin
14. The Man Who Did Backward Somersaults
15. All Present And Correct
16. Cut & Thrust
17. Havoc Man
18. Bite My Head

Break Beats

Various - Breaking the Back Of Love

Regulars will know that I am a bit of a label-centric and have been known to purchase records based upon the release record label before actually hearing the music. In 1985, Illuminated Records made a sharp turn chasing commercial success following 400 Blows dent on the hit parade but this was to eventually be their downfall and the label folded shortly after. French indie label Saderal had begun licensing some releases until their collapse. One of the few items to be released in the UK was this interesting compilation of Illuminated related bands. Most of the acts have featured here before, except for the ital-disco-pop of Colour Me Pop, the post-goth hi-energy of Lilly AK, and the difficult & incoherent Sex Gang Children. Those of a weaker constitution may be distressed by The Leather Nun's attempt to tickle America's prostate in their own unique way. ahem!

Ripped from a vinyl album released on Saderal Records (SDLP 1) in 1985 to high quality lossless flac audio.

A1. 400 Blows - Pressure
A2. Lilly A.K. - Take Me Now
A3. Portion Control - Raise The Pulse
A4. Out - Business As Usual
A5. Colour Me Pop - Beat Me Till I'm Blue
A6. The Leather Nun - F.F. America
B1. Lilly A.K. - Passionate Strangers
B2. Sex Gang Children - Into The Abyss
B3. Colour Me Pop - Go
B4. Heavy Duty Breaks - Heavy Duty Breaks
B5. Dormannu - Degenerate

A Seriously Nice Portion

Portion Control - Raise The Pulse

Ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Illuminated Records (ILL 2612) in 1983 to high quality lossless flac audio.

A. Raise The Pulse

B1. Collapse

B2. Bite My Head

Portion Control - Rough Justice

Ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Illuminated Records (ILL 3212) in 1984 to high quality lossless flac audio.

A. Rough Justice

B1. Justice

B2. The Man Who Did Backward Somersaults

Portion Control - Go Talk

Ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Illuminated Records (ILL 4312) in 1984 to high quality lossless flac audio.

A. Go Talk

B1. Upside Down

B2. Drag Down

Portion Control - The Great Divide

Ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Rhythmic Records (RMIC 007R) in 1985 to high quality lossless flac audio.

A. The Great Divide

B1. The Great Divide (Instrumental)

B2. Total Recall

Here are the rips of my four Portion Control singles which have yet to feature on ESWA. They are all classic industrial synth-pop and took some cleaning to get to a decent quality for ripping. Illuminated Records pressings were never the greatest and some of the mastering to vinyl was not of the highest quality. The b-side of The Great Divide remix single is shot to pieces and some digital de-clicking has made it listenable though crackly in places. 

All of these featured on the Archive cd box-set but were limited to death - enough to make your ear's bleed, so here for your enjoyment are the original singles how they were supposed to sound.

Perfect Beat Boys

Portion Control - Step Forward

I have had been meaning to post this for ages but software issues (more about this later) have kept vinyl rips on hold.  Portion Control continued their development from minimal and experimental work on the early tapes and records, to this harder edgier sound. For me this was them at their peak, and the Illuminated Records releases are my favourites. 

The introduction of sequencers allowed Ilford's finest to hone their sound for a wider audience, with the assistance of a support slot to Depeche Mode on tour. This album contains PC classics such as Under the Skin (which reminds me of New Order's 5-8-6), the superb Tex-Mex, the early newbeat of Tongue Beat, fans of minimalist beats will delight in Havoc Man, and the wonderful Scramble which should have been a single.

Never reissued, this LP is in great demand in collector's circles. Portion Control did feature the tracks on a compilation cd-boxset a few years ago but they were brickwalled to death. Son Of Go Talk is a tempter to the four classic twelve inch singles released between 1984 and 1985.

Ripped from a vinyl album released in 1984 on Illuminated Records (JAMS 44) to high quality lossless FLAC audio.

A1. Refugee
A2. Under The Skin
A3. Mutie
A4. Tex-Mex
A5. Tongue Beat
A6. Micro Box
B1. Micro Beat
B2. Real Estate Cult
B3. Tin
B4. Havoc Man
B5. 319
B6. Scramble
B7. Son Of Go Talk

A Lite Bite

Portion Control - Dining On The Fresh

A rare and unusual package from Ilford minimal-synth act, Portion Control. Dining On The Fresh was a very limited edition cassette and flexi-disc package which also contained inserts, a balloon and a badge. The four tape tracks clock in at no more than a couple of minutes each and alongside the Gaining Momentum tape document some of their earliest recorded works (though your blogger has recently unearthed some even earlier demos). Wippy Dippy Dappy Do! is a lost synthpop classic. The tracks from the flexi have been ripped really well and are the best copies out there from the original product.
Inside the archive are scans of the flexi, badge and inserts, I'm told by our kind blog contributor that the balloon has now virtually disintegrated.

Ripped from a flexi-disc and cassette package released on In Phaze Records (PR CON 004) in 1981 to high quality 16-bit FLAC audio.

Flexi-disc tracks:
A. Across The Fence
B. All Of My Time

Cassette Tracks:
A1. Better Place
A2. Whippy Dippy Dappy Do!
B1. Untitled
B2. sweet Julia (New Version)

Portion Control - Purge

Four years later, Portion Control were churning out high quality indie-electro dance singles, three of which were remixed and collected onto this fine EP released on Dead Man's Curve. I've re-ripped this on the new deck and of course posted it in lossless FLAC audio.

Purge : ripped from a 12" vinyl EP released on Dead Mans Curve Records (DMC 001) in 1986 to high resolution FLAC audio.

A1. Raise The Pulse

A2. Go Talk

B1. The Great Divide

B2. Karateka

Re:Upped

Portion Control - With Mixed Emotion

A cassette compilation of early experimental works of East London electronic dabblers Portion Control lovingly packaged in a blue pvc wallet including a booklet of images of the band's film work. I'd like to thank a blog follower for this fine transfer of an original cassette, which I've uploaded as high quality lossless FLAC.

With Mixed Emotion : digitised from a cassette album released on In Phaze Tapes in 1982.

A1. Simulate/Sensual

A2. Held Back

A3. Come Alive

A4. Le Crunch

B1. One Choice

B2. Moving Towards A Waste

B3. New Phase

B4. Return To Situation

Re:Upped

Various - Illuminated Records Megamix - Heavy Duty Breaks

Re-ripped! I thought I'd redo my rip of this album using new hardware and post it as lossless for all the audiophiles out there. Here again is the superb Illuminated Records Megamix released as Heavy Duty Breaks, but this time in high quality audio.

Heavy Duty Breaks : Ripped from the 1984 Illuminated Records LP (JAMS 49)

A Side400 Blows - Pressure
23 Skidoo - F.U.G.I
Out - Tough EnoughDormannu - The DreadZazou - M'pasi Ya Pamba400 Blows - Grove Jumping23 Skidoo - Coup400 Blows - Declaration of Intent
B Side
Executive Slacks - Our LadyData - Blow
Portion Control - Raise The PulseData - Blow
Portion Control - Go TalkPower to Dream - Faith HealerTara Butler - Up Against the WallPower to Dream - Faith HealerSex Gang Children - Dieche

Re:Upped

Portion Control - The Great Divide

Portion Control's Sensoria moment! It has always amazed me how similar the two singles were. Virgin Records couldn't get a hit out of The Cabs - The Great Divide had no chance being released on an obscure indie label after the collapse of Illuminated Records. I can remember many a house party where this was played in 1985/6 but I never heard it in a club or on the radio. Very likely Portion Control's most accessible and commercial release. The use of tablas and congas in the mix is inspired. Sounds great even today!

The Great Divide : ripped from a 12" vinyl single released on Rhythmic Records (RMIC 7) in 1985

A1. The Great Divide
B1. Divided
B2. Bolt It Down

Re:Upped

Portion Control - BBC Radio John Peel Session

Transmission: 11/01/1984
Producer - Roger Pusey
Engineer - Nick Gomm
Studio - Maida Vale 4

Tracklist:
1. Go Talk
2. Rough Justice
3. Scramble

Personnel:
Dean Piavani
Ian Sharp
John Whybrew

Re:Upped

Portion Control - Hit The Pulse

I've covered Portion Control before and will drip feed you some more of their work as time goes on. The history of industrial music is well covered elsewhere, yet this band's contribution has been mostly ignored as they have been drawn into the dire murk that is now known as EBM. Those of us who knew their work from the earlier releases will no doubt appreciate their contribution.

Early 1980 & 1981 tapes by Portion Control prove they were the equivelent of their peers and were allowed to develop their sound away from the industrial wasteland of Sheffield and away from the gaze of a hip early eighties music press. You will be surprised to know that their first and only Peel session was recorded in 1984 - by then Portion Control had fully evolved into a hard-synth band producing danceable singles.

The Hit The Pulse EP is up there with The Crackdown, Yashar and Sensoria and was released at the same time the Cabs sound was redeveloping to (indie) dance.

Hit The Pulse : ripped from a 12" 45rpm/33rpm vinyl mini-album released on In Phaze Records (EZ 2) in 1983
A1. Chew You To Bits
A2. Discord
B1. Crash Weight Gain
B2. Eat Your Heart
B3. Thrust Angle
B4. Death By Venom (Ricochet Mix)
B5. Abbo Dabbo

Re:Upped

Various - Free 1984 Sect. One

Here's a lovely packaged 7" single and magazine package released on Italian label Industrie Discografiche Lacerba in 1984.

The carefully designed envelope contains a 12 page magazine about the all things industrial and Frank Sinatra. If I spoke Italian, I could tell you more. There are three postcards, one for each band, the UK's Portion Control, France's Die Form and Italian noiseys Rinf. Also in the pack is a catelogue of the labels output.

The mid-period Portion Control track Dragdown is superb and worth the purchase price alone. I'm not too fussed about the other artisits.

The zip file also features scans of everything.

Ripped from a limited edition 7" single released on Industrie Discografiche Lacerba (LACER 4) in 1984.

A1. Portion Control - Dragdown
B1. Rinf - Bulldog
B2. Die Form - Autolyse
B3. Die Form - Masochist

Re:Upped