Photo Credit: Tony Mottram
Last year anarchist punk icons Crass released the original separate track stems of their seminal debut album, The Feeding of the Five Thousand, as a free download on One Little Indian Records, giving people the opportunity to create their own remixes and interpretations.
“Yours for the taking, yours for the making,” the band commented. “You do it, we’ll stew it. Mix it backwards, forwards and upside down. Turn up the heat and fix it with a downbeat, bring in the trumpets and let ‘em blow, let the piper call the tune to let us all know, it’s up to you to do what you like with it. The only limitation is your imagination.”
With close to one hundred submissions, the first results of the creative process will be released as the Normal Never Was EP, available as a 12-inch vinyl (alongside a limited 1000 red vinyl pressing) on 24th July 2020 via Crass Records. The EP features remixes by producer and XL Recordings honcho Richard Russell, under the guise rLr (They’ve Got A Bomb) and experimental synth-pop artist Glasser (Do They Owe Us A Living?).
“Crass is a great example of futuristic art and lifestyle; anchored in communal ethics and collective spirit, moving beyond mere defiance of authority and into radical ideas of love and creativity,” explains Glasser. “I’m so glad I had the chance to play around with their recordings. It’s basically the best gift a fan could get from the artists they admire.”
Normal Never Was is available to pre-order HERE with all proceeds going to Refuge, who provide specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic violence. Find out more about Refuge HERE.
Crass are still accepting contributions for the project – the final date for submissions is 1st August 2020. Download the track stems HERE.
