Erk Gah
Encyclopedia
"Erk Gah" is the title of an extended song written and composed by Tim Hodgkinson
in 1976 for the English
avant-rock group
Henry Cow
. "Erk Gah" was performed live by the band between 1976 and 1978, but was never recorded in the studio. Three live performances of "Erk Gah" were later released in The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set
(2009). In 1993, 15 years after Henry Cow split up, Hodgkinson recorded the composition under the title "Hold to the Zero Burn, Imagine" and released it on his second solo album, Each in Our Own Thoughts
(1994).
"Erk Gah" was the second of two "epic" compositions Hodgkinson wrote for Henry Cow, the first being "Living in the Heart of the Beast
" (1974).
wrote the words and music for "Erk Gah" in mid 1976. It was a 17-minute, "12-tone
, atonal
" extended song that he described as "dry, astringent, angular, with no compromise to rock music". Known for his "complicated" compositions for Henry Cow
("Amygdala" from Legend, "Living in the Heart of the Beast
" from In Praise of Learning
), "Erk Gah" was initially a challenge for the group to learn, but by the end of 1976 they had performed it live several times with their singer Dagmar Krause
negotiating the lyrics.
In December 1976 Hodgkinson requested that "Erk Gah" be withdrawn from the band's repertoire until he had rewritten the lyrics. The group, however, felt it should remain on their set list
until it was rewritten, and they continued to perform it. In July 1977 the group, already having made anti-capitalist statements in their music, wanted to make an anti-fascist
statement and suggested that "Erk Gah" new lyrics should reflect this stance. In January 1978, as Henry Cow prepared to depart for Switzerland to make their next album, with "Erk Gah" on the list of pieces to record, Hodgkinson presented his revised lyrics of the song to the group. They rejected them, and asked Chris Cutler
, the band's drummer and part-time lyricist to write new lyrics for the piece. But Cutler was unable to so in the short space of time left before the recording sessions were due to begin, and the band decided to shelve recording the song until new lyrics were written.
Henry Cow continued to perform "Erk Gah" live several times in 1978, but this time reworked as an instrumental because Dagmar Krause had left the band due to ill health. They went to the studio for the last time in August 1978 to record their last album, Western Culture
(1979), but did not record "Erk Gah". The band split up after recording the album.
In 1993, "Erk Gah" was recorded for the first time in the studio, with the unrevised lyrics, by Hodgkinson under the title "Hold to the Zero Burn, Imagine" for his second solo album Each in Our Own Thoughts
(1994). The recording session was a Henry Cow reunion of sorts in that ex-band members Dagmar Krause, Chris Cutler and Lindsay Cooper
recorded the piece with Hodgkinson. In 2008 Hodgkinson said that "In retrospect I far prefer the Cow version to the later studio version. The live one sounds more dynamic."
composed "Erk Gah" to include scores
for each of the instruments featured in Henry Cow, including the drums. When guitarist Fred Frith
looked at his part at the first rehearsal of the piece in 1976, he cried out "Erk Gah" in the same way that Don Martin's cartoon characters express shook and dismay. Frith's utterance became the composition's provisional title, and then the working title, which remained until Henry Cow broke up in 1978. It was only when Hodgkinson recorded the piece in the studio for his second solo album Each in Our Own Thoughts
in 1993 that he assigned it the formal title of "Hold to the Zero Burn, Imagine".
:
Tim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds and keyboards. He is best known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968...
in 1976 for the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
avant-rock group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
. "Erk Gah" was performed live by the band between 1976 and 1978, but was never recorded in the studio. Three live performances of "Erk Gah" were later released in The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set
The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set
The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set is a nine-CD plus one-DVD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and was released by RēR Megacorp in January 2009. It consists of over 10 hours of previously unreleased recordings made between 1972 and 1978 from concerts, radio...
(2009). In 1993, 15 years after Henry Cow split up, Hodgkinson recorded the composition under the title "Hold to the Zero Burn, Imagine" and released it on his second solo album, Each in Our Own Thoughts
Each in Our Own Thoughts
Each in Our Own Thoughts is a 1994 solo album by English experimental music composer and performer Tim Hodgkinson from Henry Cow. It is his second solo album, after Splutter , and comprises six unreleased pieces composed by Hodgkinson between 1976 and 1993...
(1994).
"Erk Gah" was the second of two "epic" compositions Hodgkinson wrote for Henry Cow, the first being "Living in the Heart of the Beast
Living in the Heart of the Beast
"Living in the Heart of the Beast" is the title of an extended song written and composed by Tim Hodgkinson in 1975 for the English avant-rock group Henry Cow...
" (1974).
History
Tim HodgkinsonTim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds and keyboards. He is best known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968...
wrote the words and music for "Erk Gah" in mid 1976. It was a 17-minute, "12-tone
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
, atonal
Atonality
Atonality in its broadest sense describes music that lacks a tonal center, or key. Atonality in this sense usually describes compositions written from about 1908 to the present day where a hierarchy of pitches focusing on a single, central tone is not used, and the notes of the chromatic scale...
" extended song that he described as "dry, astringent, angular, with no compromise to rock music". Known for his "complicated" compositions for Henry Cow
Henry Cow
Henry Cow were an English avant-rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together, but drummer Chris Cutler and bassoonist/oboist Lindsay Cooper were important long-term members...
("Amygdala" from Legend, "Living in the Heart of the Beast
Living in the Heart of the Beast
"Living in the Heart of the Beast" is the title of an extended song written and composed by Tim Hodgkinson in 1975 for the English avant-rock group Henry Cow...
" from In Praise of Learning
In Praise of Learning
In Praise of Learning is an album by British avant-rock groups Henry Cow and Slapp Happy, recorded at Virgin Records' Manor studios in February and March 1975...
), "Erk Gah" was initially a challenge for the group to learn, but by the end of 1976 they had performed it live several times with their singer Dagmar Krause
Dagmar Krause
Dagmar Krause is a German singer, best known for her work with avant-rock groups like Slapp Happy, Henry Cow and Art Bears. She is also noted for her coverage of songs by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler...
negotiating the lyrics.
In December 1976 Hodgkinson requested that "Erk Gah" be withdrawn from the band's repertoire until he had rewritten the lyrics. The group, however, felt it should remain on their set list
Set list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
until it was rewritten, and they continued to perform it. In July 1977 the group, already having made anti-capitalist statements in their music, wanted to make an anti-fascist
Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
statement and suggested that "Erk Gah" new lyrics should reflect this stance. In January 1978, as Henry Cow prepared to depart for Switzerland to make their next album, with "Erk Gah" on the list of pieces to record, Hodgkinson presented his revised lyrics of the song to the group. They rejected them, and asked Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler
Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of a number of other bands, including Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and Gong/Mothergong...
, the band's drummer and part-time lyricist to write new lyrics for the piece. But Cutler was unable to so in the short space of time left before the recording sessions were due to begin, and the band decided to shelve recording the song until new lyrics were written.
Henry Cow continued to perform "Erk Gah" live several times in 1978, but this time reworked as an instrumental because Dagmar Krause had left the band due to ill health. They went to the studio for the last time in August 1978 to record their last album, Western Culture
Western Culture (album)
Western Culture is an album by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, recorded at Sunrise Studios in Kirchberg, Switzerland in January, July and August 1978. It was their last album and was released on Henry Cow's own private label, Broadcast, in 1979. Later editions appeared on Interzone in the US...
(1979), but did not record "Erk Gah". The band split up after recording the album.
In 1993, "Erk Gah" was recorded for the first time in the studio, with the unrevised lyrics, by Hodgkinson under the title "Hold to the Zero Burn, Imagine" for his second solo album Each in Our Own Thoughts
Each in Our Own Thoughts
Each in Our Own Thoughts is a 1994 solo album by English experimental music composer and performer Tim Hodgkinson from Henry Cow. It is his second solo album, after Splutter , and comprises six unreleased pieces composed by Hodgkinson between 1976 and 1993...
(1994). The recording session was a Henry Cow reunion of sorts in that ex-band members Dagmar Krause, Chris Cutler and Lindsay Cooper
Lindsay Cooper
Lindsay Cooper is an English bassoon and oboe player, composer and political activist. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and the Pedestrians...
recorded the piece with Hodgkinson. In 2008 Hodgkinson said that "In retrospect I far prefer the Cow version to the later studio version. The live one sounds more dynamic."
Title
Tim HodgkinsonTim Hodgkinson
Tim Hodgkinson is an English experimental music composer and performer, principally on reeds and keyboards. He is best known as one of the core members of the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, which he formed with Fred Frith in 1968...
composed "Erk Gah" to include scores
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
for each of the instruments featured in Henry Cow, including the drums. When guitarist Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
looked at his part at the first rehearsal of the piece in 1976, he cried out "Erk Gah" in the same way that Don Martin's cartoon characters express shook and dismay. Frith's utterance became the composition's provisional title, and then the working title, which remained until Henry Cow broke up in 1978. It was only when Hodgkinson recorded the piece in the studio for his second solo album Each in Our Own Thoughts
Each in Our Own Thoughts
Each in Our Own Thoughts is a 1994 solo album by English experimental music composer and performer Tim Hodgkinson from Henry Cow. It is his second solo album, after Splutter , and comprises six unreleased pieces composed by Hodgkinson between 1976 and 1993...
in 1993 that he assigned it the formal title of "Hold to the Zero Burn, Imagine".
Live recordings
Henry Cow never recorded "Erk Gah" in the studio but did perform it live a number of times between 1976 and 1978. Three recordings of "Erk Gah" appear in The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box SetThe 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set
The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set is a nine-CD plus one-DVD limited edition box set by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and was released by RēR Megacorp in January 2009. It consists of over 10 hours of previously unreleased recordings made between 1972 and 1978 from concerts, radio...
:
- 25 August 1976 in VeveyVeveyVevey is a town in Switzerland in the canton Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne.It was the seat of the district of the same name until 2006, and is now part of the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District...
, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
for the Swiss TV program, Kaleidospop (Volume 10: Vevey) – released on the only known video recording of Henry Cow. - 9 May 1977 in StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
for the Sveriges RadioSveriges RadioSveriges Radio AB – Swedish Radio Ltd – is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. The Swedish public-broadcasting system is in many respects modelled after the one used in the United Kingdom, and Sveriges Radio - like Sveriges Television - shares many characteristics with...
program, Tonkraft, broadcast on 8 June and 11 June 1977 (Volume 6: Stockholm & GöteborgStockholm & GöteborgVolume 6: Stockholm & Göteborg is a live CD by English avant-rock group Henry Cow, and is disc 6 of the 10-disc 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set...
) – released on a separate CD in September 2008 in advance of the box set release, this was the first official release of "Erk Gah". - 22 March 1978 in BremenBremenThe City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for Radio BremenRadio BremenRadio Bremen , Germany's smallest public radio and television broadcaster, is the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state of Bremen...
and broadcast live (Volume 8: Bremen) – an instrumental version of the composition necessitated by the band being without a vocalist at the time.
External links
- The original Erk Gah lyrics. The Canterbury Website.