Tor 51
Song by Collectionism
Collectionism Tor 51 was a release on a compilation from the "Mad in Belgium" Volume 6.
It's a bit of a forgotten release that may even have some dust on a shelf somewhere. But these compilations brought some talent into the industrial music scene.
It started in 1985 from the parent label called "Mad tapes and Record," and somewhere in the middle of 85, they created the label "Mad in Belgium."
The first and second compilations were released in ‘85, by various artists. Although, the genres on the album were as varied as the artists. We're talking about vast differences—Post-punk, synth pop, industrial techno, experimental, and EBM.
“Yes, it’s forgotten today, however back in 85, the cassettes that were issued immediately got sold. ”
It was easy to catch the audience's attention with the first track, "The Neon Judgement - Concrete."
They were the pioneers of Belgian electronic body music.
And their music was only composed with a couple of gears: A Roland TR-808, a Korg MS-20 synthesizer, and Korg SQ-10. The beauty hiding behind these two was the combo of rock and roll and electronic music—they translated the post-rock ‘n’ roll era into contemporary technology.
“However, one of the absolute highlights from these compilations was listed on the 6th release. A track by Collectionism, called - “Tor 51”.”
Collectionism was a duo by Peter Fey and Tomas Fey. Both banging on the piano, guitar, and synths. Originally from Frankfurt, Germany, these two guys, unfortunately, are way underrated.
The standard path they chose was the "non-musician" concept. This view is well known today and is found in many leading musicians, such as Brian Eno, Can, Kraftwerk, etc.
“Collectionism were visionaries of the genre. ”
They were challenging the aesthetics of post-punk and electronic music. They were widely involved in the self-distribution and collaborations with many different artists from the 80s.
Influenced by all different genres and subgenres of the music, they were able to challenge the grasp of the music, even with just one track on the compilation, with Tough and experimental sounds recorded on field trips, synced with sick drum machine kicks that perhaps were TR-808.
The snare that follows the track till the very end was recorded during the live session.
The hi-hat is almost like a power source for the dance floor—the looped sounds, after-effects, and the powerful drive. Somewhere in the middle, we face weird vocals that are echoed and a bit reverbed. It almost created the association of the church chorus.
The track is banging around 130 BPM and has been heard in many different clubs.
In 2018, two tracks by Collectionism were released on "Domestica Records," which were also initially released on the cassette in 1987. Tracks were mastered from the original tapes and so that we could enjoy the digital copy as well.
Collectionism is one of the duos that challenged the theoretical side of music. It's a definite green light if seeking some experimental work.