Colin Potter – Two Nights

Inside the included plastic sleeve.

Originally released on cassette in 1981, this effort is Colin Potter's first attempt at recording a "live" performance.  Each side is its own piece, each of which was recorded on one of two successive nights in his studio in a single take and presented unedited, as is (see the liner notes image below). The long out of print cassette was recently rereleased by Deep Distance Recordings in a limited run of 500 pressings on split green and red vinyl.

First thing to note about the release is the absolutely gorgeous packaging. The record is housed in a die-cut 'cones' sleeve which allows light to shine through the transparent green/red vinyl. It looks absolutely stunning when held up in front of a light source, and the picture here does not really do it full justice.

Out of the sleeve, in front of the light.

The recording itself falls under the "electronic" genre of music, although there is plenty of effects processed guitar amongst the sounds of sequencer programmed synthesizers and the mechanical beating of a drum machine. The material has been further classified as "Abstract," "Noise," "Minimal," and "Experimental" according to the Discogs release information of the original cassette.

I would say that this recording is not really "noise," as there is definitely harmony and readily noticeable distinct instruments playing structured individual parts. "Abstract" and "experimental," sure, why not, but I would perhaps even balk at calling it "minimal" as there is definitely a "fuller" sound stage much of the time with at least a few instruments frequently adding their individual voices to the mix.

Oh so pretty.

I would also say, given the somewhat repetitive nature of the programming, this could possibly fall into a "drone" sub-categorization, but perhaps the more (at times) frenetic guitar work might keep it from being heard as such.

Speaking of which, and as Potter notes himself in the insert, there are times when the guitar work goes a little astray--with the occasional, but seemingly rare, "bum notes"--however, overall, it fits in very well with the gurgling, buzzing, and/or droning synth parts and keeps pretty good time with the pulsing drum machine. If these were more or less  "impromptu" recordings, then I'd say that Potter has done more than a fine job at creating nicely layered pieces that have a fair bit of variety while at the same time relying on a core of more or less straightforward step sequencer programmed parts. It seems to me that in this aspect the guitar really carries the driving force of the pieces, lifting them out of mechanical sounding repetitiveness, and, again, easily pushes these recordings outside of a  simply "minimal" sound.

5" x 5" Insert

Overall, this is a fun and easy recording to listen to. There is enough structure and variation in the parts to keep these pieces moving along at a fair pace balanced with enough repetitiveness and drawn out synth notes to give the pieces hints of a more droning oriented sound. Both sides are ready compliments to one and other--Potter seemingly choosing to use the gear that he had available to create "Two Nights" of self-smilar recordings.

Rotating and ready to go on the RP1.

As far as quality goes, and since I bought this brand new I feel I can reasonably mention this, there is some small amount of "surface noise" at times in terms of occasional "pops" and "clicks." I have found this is sometimes the case with small run indy pressed releases and is certainly part and parcel of the whole "vinyl listening experience." That said, some of these "pops" could also be attributable in part to static on the record as my copy seems to have gathered itself a pretty high amount of charge, heh. Other than that, this pressing sounds great and is, as far as I know, a faithful representation of the original.

As Potter went on to frequently work with the "experimental" legend Nurse With Wound (among others), it seems to me this set of two pieces is at least worth having with regards to placing Potter's work in a more historical context: it's a sort of "origins issue," if you will. With this in mind, I give this record eight ears out of ten.

This release on Discogs.