The Canadian-German darkwave pioneers pay tribute to Nash the Slash with a poptastic cover of one of his signature tracks.
Psyche were inspired by Nash’s use of gothic horror imagery and drum machines to emerge from their Edmonton bedrooms into the darkness of Cold War Europe. It is fitting, therefore, that they reimagine the bandaged one’s material in their own way.
In the middle of the new documentary, Nash the Slash Rises Again!, a former roadie describes how anyone alternative was treated by the rockers and rednecks of 1970s and 80s Toronto: “They’d call you fags!”
Never mind that the abusers were wearing Queen t-shirts and adored Judas Priest: for a gay violinist interested in drum machines and horror movies, being near the Canadian mainstream was a potential hazard.
It’s no wonder, therefore, that people ask whether Jeff Plewman adopted his Nash the Slash persona as a way to disguise himself. On the evidence considered by the producers of the film, the best answer is no. Plewman created Nash to embody his love of old horror movies and bring forward the imagery. He wasn’t hiding himself; he was using himself to keep the flame burning for “the children of the night.” If breeder bullies didn’t like it, then too bad for them.
That helps to explain Nash’s appeal to outsiders: the man in the bandages was one of them. A one-man band, armed with keyboards, mandolins, drum machines, and violins, all channelled through guitar pedals – Nash avoided guitars and eschewed the cliches of North American rock. He performed covers of The Who, Rolling Stones, and Jan & Dean, but subverted them with his unique set of side-chains.
The documentary features contributions by Gary Numan (who discovered Nash by chance and immediately invited him on tour), Steve Hillage (who produced an album for him), Youth (who played shows with Killing Joke, on the same bill), and Danielle Dax. There are also stories from close associates, including lyricist Toby Dammit and Plewman’s brother. The picture that emerges is a complex one: Nash blew everyone’s minds with his creativity; but Plewman could be volatile (and sometimes violent). The film doesn’t shy away from addressing this dialectical relationship.
There are plenty of Toronto celebrities to spot in the clips found by the producers: Sam Sniderman, J. D. Roberts, Michael Williams, Jeanie Becker, Robert Vanderhorst, and Valerie Buhagiar all get cameos. The most Canadian thing in the story, however, comes near the end of the film: a friend of Plewman’s describes breaking into his living space and drinking the last of his beers.
The film includes a library of material from Nash’s live shows to feast on. Bathed in psychedelic lights, or backed by movies, Nash knew how to perform at the highest level. He was a perfectionist who demanded perfection from others. When they didn’t measure up, he let them know. That made him a difficult person to get to know; but, through his work and the memories of his cohort, Nash the Slash Rises Again! goes a long way to address that.
The film is a masterful music documentary. It is clearly a labour of love, brought to the screen by the affection of the outsiders and misfits Nash collected and inspired – in his life and in his art.
The ICA in London is the setting for the world premiere of Nash the Slash Rises Again!
It is fitting that the documentary film is released at Halloween. Nash – the alter ego of Jeff Plewman – emerged under the influence of horror films. His album, 1981’s Children of the Night, was Goth-adjacent with a title inspired by Dracula.
The sound of Nash the Slash was completely unique. He didn’t play guitars, but his sound found its way into the work of Simple Minds via their shared producer, Steve Hillage (Gong, System 7). He was signed to the same label as OMD, but the closest he came to pop was a cover of Jan and Dean’s “Dead Man’s Curve. He toured with Gary Numan and Iggy Pop; walking a line between genres as a one-man band.
We spoke with the Director of Nash the Slash Rises Again!, Tim Kowalski, about the film and his experience giving shape to the invisible man.
Nash the Slash is a bit of a cult figure. What motivated you to tell his story?
As a latch-key kid in Toronto, Nash The Slash left an indelible mark on me. I’d see him veiled in bandages and wielding a skull-shaped mandolin on TV. He spooked and fascinated me.
My first job out of high school was as a printing press operator. One day, I felt a tap on my shoulder. At first I thought it was my boss, who was about to tell me to stop wearing my headphones on the job. As I turned around, sheepishly removing my headphones, it was John – the older pressman next to me.
He asked if I knew who Nash The Slash was. He then proudly disclosed his involvement in Nash’s inaugural album. John told tales of Nash’s peculiar abode – a movie theater with a recording studio – and suggested a likeness to Elton John, sans bandages.
Despite lingering doubts, the notion of a cinematic tale began to germinate within me. Little did I know that, years later, I’d be involved in making that film. It’s funny how little incidents like this can set you on a life-altering path.
There are a number of celebrities in the film. Gary Numan, for example, who was one of the first to notice Nash’s style and creativity. Who are some of the artists we should look forward to seeing on the screen?
Yes! Gary Numan, found Nash one night while out on the town in Toronto as he was doing rehearsals for his first headlining tour in North America. After the show, he liked Nash’s style and creativity so much that asked Nash to go on tour right then and there. Gary was very happy to be talking about Nash and loved that his good friend is finally getting the attention he deserves.
Iggy Pop was also one of Nash’s early supporters and appears in the film in an infamous, early 80’s one on one with Nash as they took over a public access TV studio while on tour in Calgary. It’s a wild piece of video!
I also travelled to England to interview Martin “Youth” Glover from Killing Joke, Steve Hillage from Gong who produced “Children of The Night,” and Danielle Dax. All gave great interviews and added so much to the story.
The fans really got behind the project. What have they been telling you about their love for Nash?
Many fans had their first experience seeing a live concert watching Nash open for Gary Numan in the early 80s. He left a big impression on them in their formative years. Others have fond memories of seeing him in clubs around the Toronto area – or on television interviews and music videos, as I did.
In all cases, he inspired and captivated. Nash truly loved his fans and treated them as friends, staying in touch for years or decades – as many have told me.
On a related note, before we finalized the edit, we did some test screenings with young film students and cinephiles who were unfamiliar with Nash. The feedback was surprisingly positive, creating new fans! They found his image, story and music to be highly fascinating. Nash is timeless.
What did making the film teach you about Jeff, the man inside the bandages?
He’s a truly fascinating character. He loved remaining anonymous. It was like his superpower.
He enjoyed lurking in the audience before his shows, unmasked, and nobody caught on! He got a real charge out of hearing fans talk about him as he stood right next to them.
Like all people, he has his insecurities, flaws and challenges – as the film deeply explores. He also had this unique way of stubbornly doing things his own way, for better or worse. He’s a true individualist. I don’t want to spoil the film, but there are surprises. It seems, the more you learn, the less you know. I think he wouldn’t want it any other way.
Nash the Slash Rises Again! is shown as part of the Doc n Roll Festival at the ICA on Wednesday, 29 October 2025.
It is the nature of the beast. The more you put into a film, the more it costs to clear intellectual property and polish it for release.
The producers of Nash the Slash Rises Again have appealed for additional funding to complete the project. They have recorded contributions from Iggy Pop, Gary Numan, Youth, Danielle Dax, Steve Hillage and others, but putting the final pieces into place requires fans to pitch in.
There is a link to the fundraising initiative here: https://gofund.me/e96c232b
We strongly encourage fans to contribute, if they are able.
Nash the Slash was an original. Wrapped in bandages, like a mummified prog guitarist, Nash toured with Gary Numan and Iggy Pop and played along to silent films. With a drum box and electric violin, he fired up alternative music crowds with horror imagery and pulsating, processed riffs.
The man inside the mask, Jeff Plewman, died in 2014, aged just 66. He left behind a legacy of music that spanned film soundtracks and pop music, experimental works, and innovative songs from an alternative jukebox.
Nash is the subject of a forthcoming documentary film, And You Thought You Were Normal. The producers, Tim Kowalski and Kevan Byrne, took some time to speak with us about the details they have disinterred.
Nash was raised to prominence by Gary Numan, and he was loved by the electronic music scene, but he wasn’t a synthesizer artist. Why do you think that he was so adored by that scene?
TIM: Nash crossed a lot of boundaries as an artist. He was classically trained, but he made new sounds with conventional instruments in a world infested with guitars – which was very unconventional and punk-as-fuck in spirit. Combine that with the dark imagery and the theatrics, and it’s no wonder Nash ended up meeting with artists like Gary Numan at the fork in the road between rock and futurism.
KEVAN: It’s true that he wasn’t an electronic musician in a pure sense. He played synths on many of his recordings – usually a Korg Poly 6 and Roland D-50 – but overwhelmingly his music centred on electric violin and mandolin which were heavily processed through fuzz boxes and tape delays. He also used drum machines extensively in the early days, and the only other musicians using those at the time were post-punk bands or bands that were entirely synth-based, like Human League, etc.
There were strong electronic music influences on his music. He was a big fan of Kraftwerk, as well as early Tangerine Dream and Hans-Joachim Roedelius, and very much influenced by Eno, as well. I think some of those elements must have resonated with electronic music audiences.
Like Fad Gadget, Nash was a bit of an outsider. What do we know about the man beneath the bandages? Was he like the character he created?
TIM: Nash was the definition of outsider. A proto-nerd, if you will. He had a deep fascination with the macabre, lived in a movie theatre, and wrote scores for silent films that were shown there. Like many great artists, Nash had a complex character with many contradictions. He had a duality in his day-to-day persona, which – oddly enough – I think was amplified with the bandages.
KEVAN: Nash was a real dichotomy. His inner life was volatile and chaotic, and he remained intensely private until his death. The bandages reflected the mystery of his personal life, which was in some ways unknown to his family and friends.
He was generous and patronly, acting as a mentor to some, but could also be vindictive and petulant. His individuality and fierce independence made him an outsider.
His music fell across genres. He rejected the music industry; and he combined performance art and popular culture, which put him at odds with the world.
Besides working with Gary Numan, Nash toured with Iggy Pop and recorded with Steve Hillage. Are you planning to capture their memories?
TIM: I interviewed Steve Hillage at his studio in London. He was very gracious and forthcoming. Gary Numan also did an excellent interview with us last year when he was in Toronto. We’ve tried getting Iggy but we haven’t been as lucky.
KEVAN: We’re still hopeful that we can get an interview with Iggy, as a big fan. We also want to interview Bill Nelson, Laurie Anderson and – at the top of the wish list – Brian Eno. Nash reportedly met Eno whole recording “Dance After Curfew” with Daniel Lanois.
What are your plans for the film, once it is completed?
TIM: We intend to shop for distribution and are looking at some festivals. We hope to have the film released late 2019.
KEVAN: Dream release date is Halloween 2019!
You have been provided with some one-of-a-kind Nash instruments to help raise funds for the film. What is the story behind them?
TIM: We have been very fortunate to work with Trevor Norris, Nash’s good friend and holder of his estate. Trevor believes in this project and wants Nash’s story to be told, so he’s donated some one-of-a-kind items to us to fund this film. We have Nash’s bat violin that can be seen on a late 70’s TV appearance. We also have one of Nash’s sawed-up violins. Neither are playable, but they really are beautiful. We had 3 bows but they were claimed immediately.
KEVAN: One of the most interesting rewards is a never-before release of Nash’s first live performance (as Nash The Slash) at the Roxy Theatre in 1975. He played a live accompaniment to the Brunel silent film Un Chien Andalou. This was pre bandaged Nash.
Nash had a keen interest in visual art. Is there any material that he created himself in the archives? Will we get to see it?
TIM: Very true. Nash was very visual, had a long history of working with great artists, was a photographer, and had a very hands-on approach to creating his live shows. This extended into his home life. He had a doorway to nowhere in his garden and he did start to paint later in life.
Nash’s early photos from his days at the Rockpile, like Toronto’s Filmore, are being featured at the Masonic Temple and may come out in a book.
KEVAN: The most notable visual archival materials are the photographs that Nash took in the late 60s at the Rockpile (later named The Concert Hall/ The Masonic Hall). There are pictures of blues artists like Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, as well as rock legends, such as Led Zeppelin, The Who and Jimi Hendrix, all of whom were playing for the first time in Toronto.
How can fans help to support the project?
TIM: Please support us at: https://igg.me/at/youwerenormal.
KEVAN: we are running a crowdfunding campaign, and we are about 28% of our way to our goal of $50,000. There’s time left to hit our goal, so anything towards that is enormously helpful. Apart from that, like and share our posts on social media!!
Nash the Slash was a genuine legend of Canadian music. In this interview, he talks about his Krautrock influences, illicit use of drum machines and why Toronto artists need to get themselves to London or New York.
There is a Nash documentary on its way, and we look forward to more material like this.
The incandescent Nash the Slash is sorely missed. In this clip from Canadian TV, he performs two tracks from his first album, Children of the Night: “Wolf” and “In a Glass Eye.” Gary Numan knew what he was doing when he ditched his planned warm-up act for Nash on his first Canadian tour.
The Curse of 2016 took a lot of artists from us. The year opened with Lemmy’s passing fresh in everyone’s minds, and the roll call of musicians claimed by the Grim Reaper kicked off from there: David Bowie, Prince and Vanity, Leonard Cohen, Pierre Boulez, Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, Gisela May, Craig Gill (Inspiral Carpets), Pete Burns, Caroline Crawley, James Woolley (Nine Inch Nails), Alan Vega (Suicide), Steven Young (M/A/R/R/S and Colourbox) and Richard Lyons (Negativland) all shuffled off this mortal coil. We’ve often said at Cold War Night Life that we need to show appreciation to artists while they are still with us, as you never know when the window to do it will close, and Death did its part to reinforce the warning.
Those who survived 2016 were confronted with the spectre of a Trump presidency and the consequences of the Brexit decision. It was as if Pinky and The Brain had finally succeeded, setting up 2017 to be the United Nations International Year of Incompetence. There will be dark times; but, as Brecht once noted, there will also be singing about the dark times. We will be there to critique the critiques. In the meantime, here are our sixteen picks for 2016.
Norway’s Pieces of Juno went darker than usual for her year-closing single, “Your Mouth Is a Dragon.” The KOSO protagonist has impressed us with sets of more experimental material in the past, so it was a bit of a surprise to hear her exploring a traditional song structure with seductive, haunting guitar licks fit for a Tarantino movie. This is territory that John Fryer and Barry Adamson have explored previously, but Juno’s approach is feminine, subversive and underpinned by exotic rhythms that lift the material from smoke-filled nightclubs into a world of dreams.
As I Am Snow Angel, Julie Kathryn issues the kind of quirky and angelic pop that sometimes belies its more serious lyrical content. “Losing Face” sounds jazzy and jaunty, on one level, and the accompanying video of Kathryn spinning on a pole might pass for a sensual presentation designed for VH1, but when the singer laments being left feeling “dirty and incomplete” there is more going on. Sugar-sweet on the surface, “Losing Face” is deeper, more complex and richer than your usual music television fare.
Zanias is the latest project from Alison Lewis, the mind-expanding, psychedelics-ingesting chanteuse of Berlin’s underground. The video for “Through This Collapse” is a stark, futuristic performance of the song, showing Lewis in a Vantablack dress surrounded by particles as fine as her voice. The song is tension itself: with needle-sharp vocals and a vein-scraping, bit-crushed instrumental track, it will play as intensely in caverns as it does in clubs.
As the half of Psyche who handled the keyboards, Stephen Huss was a legend of Canadian alternative music. His spiky hair and hook-laden synth lines were instantly recognisable, and Psyche’s style became the template for a dozen imitators.
Huss withdrew from active participation in the band after illness made it impractical to continue, but in the background he didn’t stop recording original material. After his untimely death last year, brother and Psyche vocalist Darrin collected many of Stephen’s solo instrumental recordings and put them out for appreciative fans. Notes of a Lifetime is both a reminder of Stephen’s talent and the love that held Psyche together. The inclusion of a joint Huss brothers recording makes it even more poignant.
John von Ahlen’s Parralox project is as prolific as it is impressive. At the end of 2016, Parralox released two full albums: Subculture and a collection of covers, Holiday ’16. Subculture shows off von Ahlen’s growing list of celebrity connections, featuring vocal contributions from Marcella Detroit (Shakespears Sister) and bass work by Ian Burden (Human League), while Holiday ’16 re-interprets classic tracks by Pet Shop Boys, Cicero, Depeche Mode and Human League.
You don’t have to choose between the two, as Parralox’s label, Conzoom, offer a package deal, but the place we would take you first is von Ahlen’s take on Depeche Mode’s “Blasphemous Rumours.” It is positively fizzing with energy, turning a rather mournful piece about teen suicide into an energetic, acid-fueled dance track with a more positive vibe.
Sarah Badr’s FRKTL project matured in 2016 with a proper second album. The first release from the Anglo-Egyptian digital pioneer was Atom, back in 2011: an electro-acoustic marvel that stretched sounds beyond recognition. Qualia, named for the psychological and philosophical categories of qualities that are always experienced but hard to explain, went further and incorporated Badr’s voice and world rhythms suitable for the dance club into mixes that were both exotic and intriguing.
We recently caught up with Badr to learn more about her approach, and our interview with the globe-hopping multi-instrumentalist will be coming out shortly. In the meantime, we can’t recommend Qualia strongly enough.
There are signs that Covenant, the Swedish darkwave legends, are slowly, collectively, morphing into Brian Eno. It’s certainly hard to avoid that conclusion when a feature of their new album is the sound of the sea and engines being focused by a parabolic sound mirror; particularly as they were attracted to it as a sonic and historical metaphor for Europe’s response to the Mediterranean refugee crisis. The Blinding Dark puts some of the experimentation that was reserved for the bonus disc on Leaving Babylon in the foreground, even as it showcases the band’s continuing deftness with energetic rhythms.
John Fryer’s Black Needle Noise is really the reincarnation of This Mortal Coil, his most famous studio project. Fryer’s prolific writing and recording make it hard to keep pace with the new tracks that issue from his current base in Oslo, but there were two very exceptional songs beamed out by BNN this year: “Warning Sign” with Kendra Frost and “Heaven” with the dreampop cult figure, Jennie Vee.
“Warning Sign” was a revelation for listeners more attuned to Frost’s work with Kite Base (see number 3 in our list, below). It also featured the kind of spatial depth that has long been a signature of Fryer’s production style. Although it clocks in at 4’35”, the single seems to flash by and require a constant replay. Proof of progress: in the old days, you would have to return the needle to the groove by hand.
With “Heaven,” we got to hear Vee at her darkest, intoning a mantra for an unhappy state of mind. Vee’s voice is one of the most distinctive in modern pop, but with Fryer behind the controls it emerges with new textures that reveal painfully sensitive moments.
Nash the Slash is sorely missed. A true Canadian original, he is known outside of his home and native land mainly for his early work with Gary Numan and an album produced by Steve Hillage. However, Nash was also a composer of soundtracks to surrealist films (“Un Chien Andolou”) and – so we argue – the inventor of the sounds that became signatures for The Orb and System 7.
A bold claim? Just listen to “Blind Windows” from Bedside Companion and try to make a counterargument. We’d go even further and point out that there are sounds in “Blind Windows” that can be found in Wamdue Project’s “King of My Castle.”
Thanks to Artoffact, both Dreams and Nightmares and Bedside Companion were re-released in 2016. We have it on good authority that 2017 will see a reissue of And You Thought You Were Normal, which will be an even bigger reminder of how big an influence Nash was on electronic music.
Are we allowed to blow our own trumpet? Well, we’re going to, because the Heresy compilation blew many minds in 2016. A tribute to Rational Youth, it gathers no less than nineteen artists, including the Canadian electro-pioneers and two former members of the band, into three vinyl platters. There is a CD bundled into the package, but no downloads. There is no way not to touch the vinyl in order to play the material. You can almost hear Super Hans saying: “No downloads.”
Did we mention that it makes an excellent present? And that it can be ordered from Storming the Base, who also handle Psyche and Nash the Slash products, should you know a vinyl junkie who needs that final hit? We did? Then you are sorted.
Speaking of Rational Youth, they made 2016 better with a new album up their sheer black sleeves, in the form of Future Past Tense. The first studio album from RY since To the Goddess Electricity, it proved that the Canadian pioneers have lost none of their sense of melody or political angst. The lead single, “This Side of the Border,” is influenced by Canadian nationalism, social democracy, nostalgia and The Who – a heady cocktail made more potent by the addition of Gaenor Howe’s vocals.
We caught up with RY on their European tour to support the album, and it was striking how much enthusiasm there was for the new material. Crowds in Sweden and Germany happily sang along to the new tracks with the same confidence and affection as the hits from 1982’s Cold War Night Life. They didn’t always give Tracy Howe his microphone back, but that’s another story.
It is hard to believe that Vile Electrodes are only on their second studio album. Britain’s best synth band stunned with The Future Through a Lens, which established a benchmark for the island’s electronic scene with tracks like “Proximity” and “Nothing.” Now that the island has decided to sink into the Atlantic, rather than accept European influences, the Viles are setting the bar again in a less pop-oriented vein.
In the Shadows of Monuments sounds like an industrial title, and singer Anais Neon certainly channeled more Cosey than Debbie on the interim EP track, “Love Song for a Pylon,” but discogs.com thinks that the band is going in a “synthwave” style. It isn’t. From the opening, eponymous track, Shadows is part 4:00 am and part 4AD: dark, moody and sleep-deprived. You can dance to “The Red Bead,” but you’ll want to get the headphones back on for “As Gravity Ends.”
There is not a spot of magenta or cyan to be seen, nor a sample from the Tron soundtrack to be heard. This is not “synthwave” but dark ambient and experimental material of the highest standard.
Hannah Peel shifted gears half-way through her latest album, moving from delicate pop into more industrial sounds, layers and loops. The arc of the album mirrored the dementia that eventually claimed her grandmother, and many of the songs are both raw and unnerving for anyone who has lived through a similar experience. It turns out that many people have, as Awake But Always Dreaming received substantial attention and acted as the focal point for an Alzheimers-related culture event in Shoreditch to general acclaim.
It was Peel’s performance of the new material at the Troika! show that led us to include her in our Live Act of the Year selection. It might have a serious motive, but the songs of Awake But Always Dreaming work best when you can feel the rhythms and see the hair flicks up close.
We first saw Kite Base warming up for Hannah Peel in deepest, darkest hipster territory. First impressions were very promising with dueling bass guitars, natty electronics and Kendra Frost’s vocals forging an original and deep sound. Bandmate Ayşe Hassan also plays in Savages, so you’d expect them to be loud, but Kite Base has subtlety as well as rhythm.
This year, we finally got a 7″ single to spin, and it turned out that the duo were just as good in the studio as on stage. “Dadum” has the kind of hook that sticks in your ear for days on end, while the accompanying video highlights the band’s interest in origami. It’s on the flip side, however, that the promise of Kite Base really starts to kick off with Frost’s voice opening up over bass lines that throb like the veins of a long-distance runner.
Along with Hannah Peel and I Speak Machine, Kite Base were our joint choice of Live Act of the Year for their Troika! show at London’s Shacklewell Arms. The rumble outside would have been only a partial clue to the intensity of their performance, which has been crafted through shows in Europe and America alongside Savages. The sonic fractals really fly when Kite Base are plugged into their DI boxes, and they expand and shift with a deft psychedelic touch that is anchored by the tautest of bass lines.
Eddie Bengtsson has promised a new Page album in 2017. Until then, we have the band’s midsummer single, “Är det jag som är en idiot” (EN: “Is it Me Who Is an Idiot?”), to keep us company through the Nordic winter. Produced and mixed by Richard Flow of Machinista, this is Page’s only official release since 2013’s “Som ett skal” (EN: “Like a Shell”), and it’s a tease that it was accompanied by only one B-side. We know what’s coming next, and we can’t wait.
Pole position for 2016 didn’t go to an obvious choice with a hipster following on Facebook. Eric Random has come and gone from the music scene over the years, but is most closely associated with Cabaret Voltaire and its Doublevision label. Random’s return in 2016 with Words Made Flesh kept some of the indie-industrial vibe from his earlier recordings, but was notable for repositioning dance music as something with character and texture. With influences drawn from world music, Random breathed new life into electronica, as this stand-out track demonstrates.
When Gary Numan first toured Canada in 1980, he stumbled across an eccentric and remarkable performer called Nash the Slash. Numan promptly ditched the support act booked for his tour and took Nash in their place. In short order, Nash was in England, signed to the Dindisc label alongside Martha and the Muffins. His output was produced by Steve Hillage and Bill Nelson, and he appeared on a Smash Hits flexi with label-mates OMD. Nash performed live with Numan at his “farewell” concert and played violin on his single, “She’s Got Claws.”
Artoffact, the Canadian industrial and electronic label, have now re-issued several Nash the Slash releases. The series starts with the first solo Nash the Slash release, Bedside Companion. A four track EP, Bedside Companion reveals Nash’s prog rock roots. The outstanding track on this release, “Blind Windows,” marks the birth of the ambient trance style that is the missing link between Steve Hillage’s solo material and the sound that he later developed for The Orb and System 7. The four songs are presented at the intended speed and 1/3 slower, reflecting the happy accident that occurred when Toronto DJ, Dave Marsden, mistook the 45 rpm 12″ for a 33 1/3 album: Nash realised that the instrumentals could be played at different speeds with equally interesting results.
Marsden’s oversight helped to inspire the release in 1981 of Decomposing, the first album designed to be played at any speed on a conventional record player. Essential for any Nash fan’s collection, and including the magnificent “Womble,” Decomposing is not part of the current Artoffact series. Instead, we have Dreams and Nightmares, the second Nash the Slash release, which collected recordings as diverse as a soundtrack to Un chien andolou and music for late night television. Essentially a compilation of tracks recorded to four-track, this is the kind of material that eccentric electronic artists recorded in their bedrooms in the 1970s and circulated on cassette tape through the Contact List for Electronic Music, but Nash was already a step ahead in releasing vinyl through his own label, Cut-Throat Records.
A surprise is the inclusion in this series of Hammersmith Holocaust, a reproduction of one of Nash’s rarer recordings. Lifted from the sound board at a support show for Numan in 1980, it begins with “Wolf,” in which Nash uses a motif from Prokofiev, stretched and distorted over simple bass patterns. A cover of “Smoke on the Water,” rewritten as “Dopes on the Water,” plays with Deep Purple’s classic tale of jazz venue immolation. “Children of the Night,” the title track for the Hillage-produced album that would follow the show, starts with an ambient intro that signposts the template that The Orb later lift for “Blue Room.” Nash is in full stride during a cover of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” that also strays into ambient trance territory, before a nitro-fuelled version of “Danger Zone” wraps proceedings.
Things really get interesting with the reissue of Children of the Night, Nash’s sole album for Dindisc. Recorded at Britannia Row, the London studio owned by Pink Floyd where New Order created “Blue Monday,” the album has cover artwork by Martyn Atkins, who also worked with Joy Division and Depeche Mode. In the studio, Hillage, who was getting ready to produce Simple Minds’ legendary Sons and Fascination, was supported by engineer Michael Johnson, who also worked on some of Joy Division and New Order’s best-known recordings. The result was an alternative classic, packed with essential tracks like “In a Glass Eye” and “Reactor No. 2;” but, even with the inclusion of a jukebox-friendly remake of Jan and Dean’s “Dead Man’s Curve,” the commercial success of those other artists eluded Nash, who returned to Canada and revived his Cut-Throat imprint. Always ahead of his time, his next album would feature input from the Martha and the Muffins producer, Daniel Lanois.
When Nash died in 2014 from a heart attack, the tributes were led by Gary Numan. Numan has contributed liner notes to Hammersmith Holocaust that re-tell the story of how he met Nash, as well as his feelings about working with Jeff Plewman, the man beneath the bandages. Even if Nash’s absence leaves a hole in the heart of alternative music, the material assembled in these recordings lives on.
The loss of Nash the Slash was a terrible blow to Canadian alternative music. Nash had been one of the first successful electronic artists, first with FM and then in a solo career that took him to the UK to work with Steve Hillage and tour with Gary Numan. He made music for films and comic books, driven by an interest in the horror genre, but the man inside the bandages wasn’t accorded the recognition he deserved before he passed away. This clip was recorded four years ago this week, at a show in Toronto, and shows his version of the Jan & Dean classic, “Dead Man’s Curve.”