The Sound of Silence

Silence. There is all too little of it. Elevators whimper with muzak, grocery stores boom non-stop consumer announcements, college dormitories wail a grotesque collage of Robbie Williams and The Doors. Inanimate objects are getting in on the act with cars, refrigerators and key rings that nag, advise and bleep incessantly.

At one point in the not so distant future, punters may be forced to pay exorbitant cover charges for the privilege of enjoying silent spaces. Picture the special club nights devoted to fans of no-sounds-whatsoever. Drinks would be served in clang-proof glasses, chat-ups entirely carried out with meaningful glances and, in Japanese style, shoes would be removed at the door. Of course, dancing could be difficult in such surroundings and those suffering from tumultuous flatulence could find such nights a tad embarrassing.

Silence can already arrive in the most unlikely of times and spaces. One very clever band just outside the Pale have chosen to devote their life's work to the production of silence. There is a slight chance that this quiet life marketing plot may be a genuine mistake of fate. They cite their influences at the loud, hard and hairier end of the musical spectrum. We prefer to think that these foresighted minstrels left their C60 demo blank to confound and delight the overwrought eardrums and auditory senses. In any case it's always a sound idea to listen to any demo before sending it out.

Just in case this hushed movement is unintentional, we will leave the name and exact locale of our quiet types a mystery for now. To be fair, it was one of the few tapes in Demo Dip this year that has been listened to for the full 60 minutes. Leaving a tape blank isn't quite as embarrassing as the faux pas one band made when sending in a demo recorded over Weight Watchers' motivational tips. Don't even think about taping over your old audio love letters or class lectures.

Johnny Butler came close to a similar fate. His tape opens with a fraction of a second of some other artist. We can't decipher the mystery voice that opens the demo but chances are Johnny is better.

The Butler boy has a quality to his voice and style that sets him apart from the masses of other talented singer-songwriters in this country. He needs to work on his guitar technique and aim to record at a slightly higher budget from the Walkman-style recording here if he wants mass acceptance, but he has his own style. Think Nick Drake meets Donovan with maybe a bit of David Gray for atmosphere. There is an interesting use of the talking clock on the second track as a sample/rhythm instrument, so it's clear he has some good ideas.

An enclosed picture shows a resemblance to those moody '60s pics of Scott Walker, so commercial acceptance with the cool school girls as well as Palace or Red House Painters indie boys could be a possibility.

Since he was last reviewed in these pages Johnny has learned how to send an impressive cover letter, photo, and press kit. Just as important, he's been busy playing support slots and recording more new material on his home portastudio.

Loon offer a whopping 15 tracks in CD and tape form in their Demo Dip contribution. We usually suggest three, but the CD is in the form of their US-released album. The band are Irish expats living and recording in San Francisco. So it's no surprise that there are hints of both psychedelia and Celticism in the influence. The recording is professional, the sound is mixed well and the band are doing the right things. Overall, though, they lack the distinctive sound to mark them out from the hordes of other rock bands vying for airtime and those all-too-rare and precious major deals.

Clayface, all teenagers from Coleraine, Portstewart and Kilrea, also send a CD with more tracks than really necessary, eleven in total. It's clear after listening to the first where their strengths and weaknesses are. In short they need to develop, rehearse, and do more of what they've been doing. They've made the all-too-common mistake of going into the studio before they were ready. In this case they recorded an entire album only a month after the band formed in October 1998. Points for enthusiasm, and impressive artwork, but they do need to work on the basics.

The drums are mixed too loudly and are a trifle over-exuberant, the vocals could do with some refining, and they need to bring out the hooks in the songs.

The cover letter explains that Clayface are playing gigs throughout Northern Ireland, so it looks like they will refine their musical and stage skills this year.

Yep, you might have to lick a stamp or two but it should be worth it. Send in that demo of your musical endeavours. Elvis started with a song to his mom, the Beatles in grotty Hamburg clubs, you could start right here. Or maybe that stamp tastes just too awful to risk it. Send a demo in tape, CD or vinyl format, photo if you have one, cover letter and brief biography to: Demo Dip, Debbie Skhow, Hot Press, 13 Trinity Street, Dublin 2.

On line? Say howdy to Debbie with demo questions or requests for the airwaves . . . [email protected]

Like to listen to music—the strange, the new, the traditional, the kind of music that will change your life and rock the little socks off your smelly feet? Tune in to THE HOT PRESS HOT SPOT on East Coast Radio, (Wicklow's number one station) every Friday 9–11 PM. Debbie Skhow hosts the show.