And the sheep say 'Mu'

What purports to be a new KLF album is available to download from this site. (Click through the images, and click on the flashing speaker cone to download.)

I have no idea if it's authentic or not... where the KLF are involved there is often no way of separating truth from myth... however it seems unlikely that they would renege on their promise to retire from the music industry until world peace is established. Bill Drummond is nothing if not stubborn.

The facts are that it sounds exactly like a follow-up to the classic 'Chill Out', it's packed with familiar KLF samples, and the site has three new pictures of unmistakable KLF imagery. The album has supposedly been given the catalog number JAMSCD8, and the site states that it contains 'scenes from the forthcoming documentary 'The Sound of Mu(Sic)''

It lacks a couple of the truly magical moments that lit up 'Chill Out'... such as Elvis' 'In The Ghetto' drifting in over the top of the slide guitars.... however even if this is the doing of some fakers / fans it's a worthwhile piece of work. I've been listening to it a lot.






I also just found out that Bill Drummond & Mark Manning (Zodiac Mindwarp) have published the second part of their 'Bad Wisdom' trilogy. I have my copy of the first book signed by both after a strange encounter in a teepee in the middle of Virgin Megastore. They were dispensing 'Bad Wisdom' like a couple of transvestite gypsy acid casualties. I can't remember what they prescribed me, but true to their word it wasn't a lot of help!

'Bad Wisdom' was a very strange book, with the authors writing alternate chapters recounting a journey to place an icon of Elvis on the North Pole. Bill's would be written in his usual sardonic and amusing style, before handing over to Zodiac Mindwarp (Z), who would describe the same scene with the addition of huge doses of surrealism, sadism and sexual deviancy. Shit, Midgets and Whips would feature in the tamer episodes. The more depraved chapters made 'American Psycho' seem like Beatrix Potter. You can read what I presume is one of Z's chapters from the new book here. It generally becomes more bizarre when you have Bill Drummond's version of what is probably a ferry journey to Calais to compare it with!

Apparently this second volume follows a similar style to the first, except this time following a dangerous mission to Zaire to track down loony-bin president Mobutu, on the grounds that he is Earth's closest equivalent to Satan, and Bill & Z want to con him into returning their souls (which they carelessly lost in the 80's).

I love Bill Drummond's writing, and I love everything he does. I will have to order this forthwith. If you've not read it, his semi-autobiographical '45' is essential reading, and comes highly recommended. You can find out what he's been up to for the past 10 years here and here. The Penkiln Burn site is a bit of a nightmare to navigate, but you'll find something in there to entertain or enthrall you... I like his offer to come round and make soup for anyone living on a line between Nottingham and Belfast.... or of course his stunt to sell 10,000 pieces of a Richard Long photograph for $1 each, as described in his book 'How to Be An Artist'.