Scream & Writhe Forum

I HAVE BEEN FUCKING OBSESSED WITH THE RITA AS OF LATELY.

After watching the WCN podcast with Sam, I have come back around to revisiting some releases I have not heard in a while or just straight up dismissed the first time. "Thousands of Dead Gods," "Voyage of the Decima MAS," "Shark at Knife Pointe" and several collabs (Prurient, Skin Crime) have all been rotated into the mix. What releases do you like from Sam that I should check? I know there is plenty to go around, so throw out whatever.

Lend an ear to his works from the 1990's if you haven't already. It's a different beast. OCD, Shin Health and Living Dead Girl were reissued on CD recently. The first two on one disc from Phage and Ominous Productions, the latter from Amethyst Sunset. Shin Health is extra interesting, I think. Quite unlike anything Sam has done, before or after.

Skate/Snorkel is a personal favourite. Also check out his other projects like BT.HN too.

Curious about The Rita but no idea where to start

Namahs wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 10:13 am Curious about The Rita but no idea where to start

Start with the theme you like best.

SS1535 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 11:49 am

Namahs wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 10:13 am Curious about The Rita but no idea where to start

Start with the theme you like best.

Any heads up with the themes he has? Bit easier to pinpoint what to check

I - like many - love Magazine and Bodies. I always mistake the name of the former for Manifesto, which I think it could be as it shows the notorious "deconstruction of the harsh noise object" in progress so well. One thing I really like about Bodies is that you can actually hear the sound source when some of those giallo screams are able to penetrate the wall briefly. Of the 90's recordings Living Dead Girl is a favorite.

A selection of what I consider "classic" full length albums through several periods:

Sea Wolf Leviathan (2004 - Solipsism)
Bodies Bear Traces Of Carnal Violence (2004 - Troniks)
Magazine (2005 - Abisko)
Thousands Of Dead Gods (2006 - Troniks)
Nylons Of Laura Antonelli (2009 - Utmarken)
Skate \ Snorkel (2009 - RRRecords)
Escorting (2013 - At War With False Noise \ Urashima)
Gamzatti (2014 - Total Black)
Sharks And The Female Form (2018 - Old Europa Cafe)

A good entry point would be the compilation releases if you want a good overview of the project, Retrospective I + II. The 7"s are also particularly great, the Shark At Knife Point CD on Troniks is a nice package with some of the best ones.

totalblack wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 12:39 pm A selection of what I consider "classic" full length albums through several periods:

Sea Wolf Leviathan (2004 - Solipsism)
Bodies Bear Traces Of Carnal Violence (2004 - Troniks)
Magazine (2005 - Abisko)
Thousands Of Dead Gods (2006 - Troniks)
Nylons Of Laura Antonelli (2009 - Utmarken)
Skate \ Snorkel (2009 - RRRecords)
Escorting (2013 - At War With False Noise \ Urashima)
Gamzatti (2014 - Total Black)
Sharks And The Female Form (2018 - Old Europa Cafe)

A good entry point would be the compilation releases if you want a good overview of the project, Retrospective I + II. The 7"s are also particularly great, the Shark At Knife Point CD on Troniks is a nice package with some of the best ones.

Thanks!

A lot of the 7"s are really great: Shark Knifing, Shooting Sharks, Women Pissing (with Prurient), Dark Angled Eyebrow, Stage Makeup and Fibreglass, etc.

Personal favourites:

Anna Christie 3" CD-R
Eyeliner, Rome, The Sphinx CS (split with Worker) - the Caesar/Cleopatra film samples used here to me are the ultimate representation of the project's themes at this specific time. Perfect.
The Voyage of the Decima MAS CD
Womankind tapes

Scream & Writhe wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 12:56 pm A lot of the 7"s are really great: Shark Knifing, Shooting Sharks, Women Pissing (with Prurient), Dark Angled Eyebrow, Stage Makeup and Fibreglass, etc.

Personal favourites:

Anna Christie 3" CD-R
Eyeliner, Rome, The Sphinx CS (split with Worker) - the Caesar/Cleopatra film samples used here to me are the ultimate representation of the project's themes at this specific time. Perfect.
The Voyage of the Decima MAS CD
Womankind tapes

I just saw that "the voyage of the decima mas" cd for sale somewhere. That started my interest again.

I like Sam’s late 90s releases — Swingers Get Killed actually was reissued on CD last year via Input Error and Self Abuse and is still available for a good price.

For his recent, “reductionist” works, I found myself enjoying the tape he did in the last Dead Gods batch.

Here’s some basic musings but I’ll probably come back with more later on….

Namahs wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 12:11 pm Any heads up with the themes he has? Bit easier to pinpoint what to check

This is definitely a question that requires a longer dive than a forum post can accommodate. Even splitting it into the most basic “pre-ballet” The Rita era (sharks, giallo, “the creature”, tights worship) vs Sam’s interest in ballet is an oversimplification at best. His collabs could be another category all to itself.

I am admittedly a huge fan and on somewhat of a bender myself. Been listening to a ton of different releases lately. I really enjoy all eras and am always interested to hear different albums. I had not heard the legendary Magazine prior to the New Forces reissue and the recent CD reissues have been really great. I’m a huge fan of his current output as well.

I have amassed a pretty friggin’ huge collection over the years of different eras. I would say maintaining a healthy purchase schedule of releases old and new is one of my mail record collecting goals. Not counting comps and remixes I think I’m at over 120 not including BT.HN, BA.KU, Edwige, Black Air, Viju Krem, Vice Wears Black Hose etc. I’ve been toying with the idea of making a “collectors corner” type feature in Untitled zine to find the wildest and craziest The Rita collectors. If you are one, get in touch!!

I also do not have that Kay Lawrence LP on Urashima. If you want to trade for something hit me up! And my collection of BT.HN is far from complete. I was going through and I believe I have lost the Troniks CD. Kind of a “core collection” kind of release.

Appreciated!

Here’s a potentially silly question - when did the ballet aesthetic make its first “formal” appearance in The Rita discography? I feel like it’s “Ballet Feet Positions” CD (2014), Gamzatti (2014) or the Climax Denial split tape (also 2014) but I’m wondering if my assumptions are off base.

One I really like is “The Rack” CD on Handmade Birds. I was following that label and it came out alongside albums like the Locrian & Christoph Heemann LP (fantastic record), Sissy Spacek etc. I was picking up CDs and tapes when I could but that one was the one that solidified me into a die hard.

Another one I think is just fantastic is the BT.HN “Vitiated” LP - this thing is so friggin’ heavy, and the packaging is absolutely insane. It blows my mind you can buy this on discogs for like $15.

holy ghost wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 3:59 pm Here’s a potentially silly question - when did the ballet aesthetic make its first “formal” appearance in The Rita discography? I feel like it’s “Ballet Feet Positions” CD (2014), Gamzatti (2014) or the Climax Denial split tape (also 2014) but I’m wondering if my assumptions are off base.

One I really like is “The Rack” CD on Handmade Birds. I was following that label and it came out alongside albums like the Locrian & Christoph Heemann LP (fantastic record), Sissy Spacek etc. I was picking up CDs and tapes when I could but that one was the one that solidified me into a die hard.

Another one I think is just fantastic is the BT.HN “Vitiated” LP - this thing is so friggin’ heavy, and the packaging is absolutely insane. It blows my mind you can buy this on discogs for like $15.

The Climax Denial split, Preparing for Pointe, was the first "ballet document", followed by the Ballet Feet Positions CD. I distinctly remember picking up copies from Sam's place and him more or less saying then that ballet was the ultimate future for The Rita.

I remember enjoying The Rack but always forget I have it given the slim card sleeve packaging.

BT. HN.'s Vitiated is also great, love the high concepts this project can get into.

Another amazing collab is The Rita & Wilt - Werewolf In the Black Space CD on Cipher. Still relatively affordable on Discogs, depending on which part of the world you're in.

Scream & Writhe wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 4:08 pm The Climax Denial split, Preparing for Pointe, was the first "ballet document", followed by the Ballet Feet Positions CD. I distinctly remember picking up copies from Sam's place and him more or less saying then that ballet was the ultimate future for The Rita.

This tracks - I figured it had to be around 2014. I remember getting Preparing for Pointe and probably the Ballet Feet Positions CD in the mail from Sam but not realizing what a profound shift it was at the time.

I remember enjoying The Rack but always forget I have it given the slim card sleeve packaging.

Same - I am pretty sure AAD did an IG post about it which is why I pulled it out yesterday.

Another amazing collab is The Rita & Wilt - Werewolf In the Black Space CD on Cipher. Still relatively affordable on Discogs, depending on which part of the world you're in.

Definitely a good one. I’m always on about the collab with Carlos Giffoni too.

My goal for tonight is to come up with a “top 5”. I would say the “Skate/Snorkel” LP might be a definitive highlight of the discography.

I could go on all the live long day about this stuff….

Namahs wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 12:11 pm

SS1535 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 11:49 am

Namahs wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 10:13 am Curious about The Rita but no idea where to start

Start with the theme you like best.

Any heads up with the themes he has? Bit easier to pinpoint what to check

Ballet, sharks, feet/stockings are the most prominent, I think.

33033 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 9:42 am Skate/Snorkel is a personal favourite.

Same for me:

Scream & Writhe wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 12:56 pm Anna Christie 3" CD-R

This is one of the first ones I heard back in the day that hooked me. Something about it is so warm and enveloping, I used to put it on to fall asleep to.

I'm sure this has been posted in the Noise Camera thread, but the TIGHTS WORSHIP documentary is very good, and you should watch it if you have a spare 20 minutes: https://vimeo.com/299801424

King Richard III on Foul Prey is really good. It kind of encompasses both side of the reduction aspect and theimagery. Really, there isn't much I haven't heard by Sam that's made me say, "That sucks". If you want something more wall like, check out Total Slitting of Throats. It's a collab but still,classic. Chefs. Kiss.

Got the Bandaged Invisibility box plus the King Richard III CD yesterday. I haven’t listened to them yet but I want to keep this thread bumpin’ so here we go.

I like the different approaches of Sam’s work. And like everyone else, I have some favorites from The Rita's rich catalog...I have a lot favorites from The Rita...

I find the two tracks from the Mania / The Rita – True Ass Worship box very good. Both are raw and full of dirt. Also the great project Paris & that “Black Air” lp is one hit in heaviness and sound manipulation and the new Bandaged Invisibility double Cassette box is a good start to. 3 times The Rita and 3 times different. I think..

Here is a short clip from The Rita live at The Pit’s Kortrijk Bloody Belgium 2010:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-eN2XA1JNc