Bender, John
I Don't Remember Now/i Don't Want To Talk About It
John Bender recorded voraciously between 1978 and 1980 at his home in Cincinnati, Ohio. Not even song titles could slow down his creative pace, as he named all the tracks after their position on the original tapes. "36A2," for example, was cassette #36 side A, piece #2. To close the DIY aesthetic circle, Bender made sleeves by hand with no two covers alike and pressed the LPs in hyper-limited editions on his own Record Sluts imprint. I Dont Remember Now / I Dont Want To Talk About It, Benders first album from 1980, is the holy grail of minimal lo-fi electronics. Layers of fractured melodies, distorted synthesizers, hollowed-out rhythms and claustrophobic vocals unfold over the 40 minutes of this lost masterpiece. "Its A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl," one of Fausts greatest songs, is perfectly deconstructed by a distinct punk-meets-experimentalist sensibility. While I Dont Remember Now is impossibly rare and the man behind the music remains shrouded in self-imposed mystery, the real surprise is that it has taken 35+ years for listeners to discover Benders warm, art-damaged immediacy. This first-time standalone reissue is recommended for fans of Pere Ubu, Brian Eno and Robert Ashley. Limited to 1,000 numbered copies. Red vinyl with hand-stamped jackets, each one unique. Liner notes by John Bender..