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“Penny remains a relevant and vital voice of anarchism" – Vive Le Rock
“A talented impressionist, Shortt is able to extract a mind-boggling array of noises and impersonations from her cello” – The Cusp
Working in association with One Little Independent Records, Penny Rimbaud is pleased to announce the launch of Caliban Records, a new label specialising in new music or, as he himself puts it, “that which might not otherwise get the hearing it deserves”.
Caliban’s first release will be ‘Kernschmelze III – Concerto For Improvised Cello’ in which Rimbaud supplies electronic backing to the sonic wizardry of cellist Kate Shortt. Translated from the German, “kernschmelze” means “meltdown”, generally nuclear. However, it can also mean “the process or state of irreversible breakdown or decline” which, in the context of this recording, Penny Rimbaud sees as the catastrophic social effects of Covid-19 through punitive politicisation.
In 2011, in response to the Fukushima disaster, Rimbaud created an electronic composition working on a Fostex 4 track recorder to process voice sounds until “they were no longer recognisable as such”. This, he hoped, would give the finished piece an “underbelly of humanity within a situation like Fukushima where our very essence becomes challenged”. The ominous nature of the result is hard to ignore, but deep within it there does seem to be a cry (or is it a scream?) saying “we can do better”. This key motif has been central throughout Rimbaud’s creative life.
Although the original version of ‘Kernschmelze’ stands strongly on its own, Rimbaud’s choice has been to employ it as a canvas to a series of recordings featuring different solo artists. The first of these was described as a “concerto for electronic piano” featuring Charles Webber on keyboards, while the second being a “cantata for improvised voice” along with Crass songstress Eve Libertine.
‘Kernschmelze III – Concerto For Improvised Cello’, features Kate Shortt with whom Rimbaud has worked on innumerable projects. Describing her as “an avant-garde romanticist”, he feels that this recording ably showcases her extraordinary musicianship and imaginative skills, adding with an affectionate smile, “where angels fear to tread”.
Shortt takes on the challenge of Rimbaud’s uncompromising canvas with consummate ease, weaving a form of solace into what otherwise leaves little hope. Which is not to say that she misses out on expressions of anger and frustration which, given that the recording was made during lockdown, was at the time highly pertinent to us all.
The result is a dramatic and daring experiment in ambient tension mining similar apocalyptic territory to Rimbaud’s latest outing with Youth, ‘Corpus Mei’. Instrumental world-building recalling free jazz and Herrmann-esque soundtracks of suspense.
Penny Rimbaud is best known as the co-founder, drummer and lyricist of the seminal anarchist punk band Crass, yet his musical taste has always been broader than this might suggest – Corelli to Coltrane, Mozart to Monk, plus a specific interest in the avant-garde (as anyone listening to Crass’ work should be aware of).
‘Kernschmelze’ might easily be seen as a logical outcome of Rimbaud’s long-term musical commitment to pushing the barriers, thereby creating progressive music of an intense and highly demanding nature. Certainly, it belongs comfortably within the tenet of his righteous demands for betterness to prevail, or as he puts it, “hurling the cobblestones of love”.
Future Caliban releases will include Dominique Van Cappellen-Waldock’s ‘Fleur de Fleu’, a drone-driven threnody to loss, Mikado Koko’s ‘To Our Other Selves’, a radical ‘cut-up’ of Rimbaud’s seminal ‘Acts of Love’, and Diane McLoughlin’s ‘The Casimir Connection’, playing new compositions bringing classical sensibilities to the freedoms of jazz.
“Working with OLI is a great joy,” says Rimbaud, “and I’m pretty certain that it will stay that way. They’ve always been happy to accommodate my musical waywardness, but I felt that I’d like to take responsibility both artistically and financially for some of the flack that progressive music seems to attract. Hence the idea of Caliban”.
On top of producing hard copy recordings, Rimbaud also intends to create a Caliban download site featuring new acts which, for financial reasons, he might be unable to assist further. “There’s so much wonderful stuff going on out there,” he says, “and I’d love to be involved in bringing it to light. In this respect, I hope to create an audience for some of that as yet unknown talent”.
And so, the highly respected independent ethos of OLI and Crass Records will find further voice in Rimbaud’s Caliban. Listen out, it’s just around the corner. | 
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