Exit-Stance – Exit-Stance Records – 1984 / Rema Rema / Door And The Window

Esthetics

Conspiracy Of Silence

Exit-Stance, not the Milton Keynes punk band that released records on Mortahate and supported Conflict from time to time.

The Exit-Stance that recorded these tracks, releasing them on this record via the bands own label, were from Bristol and had a sound reminiscent (actually pretty much a carbon copy) of UK Decay (with added Ritual perhaps). After the recording of the ‘Esthetics’ 7″ single, the punk Exit-Stance, supported perhaps by Mortahate records, forced the Bristol Exit-Stance to change their name after threatening legal action. If this is correct then it’s a pretty ironic situation. Exit-Stance changed their name to Feud.

For the second time in a year*** I get a totally unexpected box of goodies from Mike Clarke, Defiant Pose fanzine editor and owner of Inflammable Material records. This time the box contained three Rema Rema 12″ singles.

Two different sleeve versions of the track ‘Entry / Exit’, a track that Charisma Records rejected during the bands lifetime for “Blasphemous Content”.

The track itself is a six minute slow bass led plodder with some great feedback guitar work from Marco, and a call and response vocal style. And yes, the lyrics might be labelled blasphemous.

The B – side of ‘Entry / Exit’ is a stripped down instrumental version.

I was also sent (of which I am greatly indebted to Mike) the limited edition sleeve version of ‘Entry / Exit’. The record is the same but the artwork for the limited edition is a different design which is screen printed. The quantity of the limited sleeve edition is 50 copies. I was sent number 50 / 50.

The second 12″ single is actually two modernised remixes of the old Rema Rema track ‘Rema Rema’ and is on the band’s record label ‘Le Coq Musique’. Two remixes by Renegade Soundmachine (Soundwave) bringing the track kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Please support these releases if you have any interest in Rema Rema by going to the Inflammable Material website HERE or HERE

*** HERE is the original KYPP post regarding Rema Rema, Defiant Pose and Inflammable Material.

THE DOOR AND THE WINDOW
‘Detailed Twang’
12 track LP only: Label: Overground : Edition of 500
Cat. No. OVER 146LP
Release Date: On sale now

Originally inspired by both the DIY ethic of the punk movement and the likes of Throbbing Gristle and File Under Pop, two friends Nag and Bendle decided to form The Door And The Window in March ’79. Lacking any musical experience, the first thing they did was to book a gig, then set off to a rehearsal studio to record their first single on a cassette recorder.

“Initially we had little interest in making music; we were interested in sound and noise. I had a cheap guitar and a collection of 2nd hand tape recorders, and Nag had a cheap synth. It was an advantage that we couldn’t play anything. When the guy running the rehearsal studio proclaimed that we were the “worst band he had ever heard” we took it as a complement and drunkenly caroled his sentiment back to him and recorded that too.” – Bendle

The first single ‘Don’t Kill Colin’ EP came from the pressing plant in plain white labels and sleeves. The band painstakingly hand-made the labels and sleeves and managed to self-distribute all 1000 copies.

The success led to a distribution deal with Rough Trade. Their next single ‘Production Line’ EP was joint NME ‘Single Of The Week’ with Ian Dury’s ‘(Hit Me With Your) Rhythm Stick’. Inspired by Crass, the ‘Pay No More Than 55p’ on the sleeve caused problems for the distributors, but the single still sold an impressive 2000 copies.

As true exponents of the DIY ethic the band produced a fanzine called ‘Common Knowledge’ devoted to the politics of record reproduction and included the likes of the Desperate Bicycles.

The Door And The Window were becoming more popular and highly respected. They played with the Pop Group, Scritti Politti, Delta Five, Swell Maps and Raincoats.

The line-up of the band was always fluid and sometime members included Fritz (23 Skidoo), Dennis Burns (ATV/Good Missionaries), Grant Showbiz (The Fall) and Giblet (49 Americans). In late 1979, Mark Perry, disillusioned by the constraints and expectations of Alternative TV joined the band as drummer and co-songwriter.

As more bands formed with the same attitude the band toured as part of the ‘Weird Noise’ tour with The Instant Automatons and 012 – a band fronted by Kif Kif and made up of members of that night’s audience.

1980 saw the release of the album ‘Detailed Twang’ which sold 2000 copies at the ridiculously cheap price of £3.00 before the band split up in the summer of ’81, although they’ve reformed on an occasional basis to experiment with new ideas.

The LP replicates the original album but with the bonus of an inner bag featuring a detailed band history and rare photos, limited to just 500 copies making rarer than the highly collectable original!

Track Listing:
Dads/Habits/We Do Scare Each Other/Order And Obey/He Feels Like A Doris/ Part-Time Punks/In The Car/Subculture Fashion Slaves/Sticks And Stones/ Positive/Why Must You Build Walls Around Us?/Detailed Twang

Order from Overground Records directly HERE

1 comment
  1. Mark Jevs
    Mark Jevs
    November 25, 2022 at 6:23 pm

    For the record:
    The Milton Keynes based Exit-Stance, who were forced to change their name in court from their original name of ‘Fuck Authority’ stated to the Bristol based ES band that the band had proof of being the originators of the band name, as it is documented in the court case & media, that the band had to ‘exit their stance’ of the band name, to avoid further prosecution & persecution from the ‘authorities’. So it was stated that if the Bristol band pursued ownership of the name (not that the MK based band would) then they wouldn’t stand a chance in court, due to the documented history of the MK band.
    So the words were twisted, as no court action was threatened, just facts stated.
    All the best.

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