They became associated with industrial music with the 1980 release of their album White Souls in Black Suits on Industrial Records, although in reality the early material that predates this release is a blend of extreme electronics and frequencies that was heard only by a spartan few, including Jhon Balance and other notaries. (This early archive material, which includes the Sex Works Beyond Entanglement 12" EP (1979) originally planned for release by Cherry Red with the tracks Throbbing Sweeping Obscene/Coil/The Pop Hell, is due for release with a number of other extreme pure-electronic compositions and will readdress the morphology of DVA history.) The album Thirst followed in 1981, by which time Adi Newton and Steven Judd Turner had combined musique concrète techniques with guitar, bass, and drum instrumentation, fused with Newton's unique art direction and existential lyrics and writing.
After the tragic death of Steven Judd Turner, Adi Newton formed a new version of the band in 1983. First releasing the singles Passions Still Aflame and High Holy Disco Mass on the major label Polydor under the name DVA, the group then released the album Advantage (along with several singles). During a European tour a dispute amongst the musicians occurred resulting in Adi Newton disbanding the group. However the remaining musicians attempted an abortive continuation of the tour without him, which resulted in negative reaction from DVA fans appalled by Newton's absence.
After the 1983 breakup of Clock DVA, Adi Newton put in process his original concept of the multimedia arts project The Anti-Group aka T.A.G.C., which staged a number of performances directed and choreographed solely by Adi Newton. T.A.G.C. released a series of films and recordings, namely The Disscussion Anti-Theatre piece/Dual 16mm Film and Soundtrack, Ha/Zulu, ShT, Big Sex, The Ambisonic Album Digitaria, Meontological Recording Record 1, Meontological Recording Record 2 (Teste Tones), Burning Water Film/ Soundtrack, and Iso-Erotic Calibrations.
In 1987 Adi Newton, while still working within TAGC, allowed a reformation of DVA. He was at the time experimenting with computer sound sampling techniques and sequencing and had already created a blueprint for a track originally titled "Diamond Bullet," which later became "The Hacker." This reformed line-up consisted of creative director Adi Newton; vocalist, sound designer, Dean Dennis; and Paul Browse. From this line-up came the album Buried Dreams.
After the release of Buried Dreams and a series of singles taken from the album, a number of problems occurred. Paul Browse left to try to resolve issues with the record label in Berlin but remained in Germany and never returned. As a result, Robert Baker joined the line up, which then released the albums Man-Amplified and Digital Soundtracks. Dean Dennis left to start work on a new project. The album Sign followed during a transitional period in which Adi Newton relocated to Italy, taking Clock DVA/TAGC with him as sole director and reactivating the project in a new direction.
Adi Newton and creative partner Jane Radion Newton are currently working on the remastered release of their whole back catalog, which was set to be released in the autumn of 2008 by Mute records as a box set including a 120-page book. They are also working with invited guest artists on new Clock DVA/TAGC studio albums, which are scheduled for a 2009 release to coincide with a number of key European performances and installations.
Sites: YouTube and http://MySpace.com/ClockDVAauthorized (official)
Hide
Clock DVA Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In my sensations
Incredibly new and incredibly sweet
I knew myself to be tenfold more evil
This intoxicated me like wine
Here was a realm you have never known
You will be transported to paradise
The chemistry of love
The vapours of hate
Soul turned inside out
The alchemistry of sex
The apparatus of blood
We have no more solid core
Lycanthropy unfolds
Dark Aegis
New boundaries broken
The lyrics of Clock DVA's song Hide are open to interpretation, as it can be viewed as a narrative of a person experiencing a transformation. The opening lines, "There was something strange in my sensations, incredibly new and incredibly sweet," can be interpreted as the beginning of something new, like a metamorphosis. The lyrics then go on to mention feeling more evil before being intoxicated like wine, indicating that this transformation could potentially lead to something dark, yet sweet.
The lines "Here was a realm you have never known, you will be transported to paradise" seems to suggest that this transformation is something that can only be experienced and not merely observed by others. The change can be powerful and paradisal, bringing one to unknown and unexperienced places.
The next verse, "The transformation begins, the chemistry of love, the vapours of hate," invites us to ponder the possibility that this transformation could be related to emotions, specifically love and hate. The following lines, "Soul turned inside out, the alchemistry of sex, the apparatus of blood, we have no more solid core," seem to suggest that this transformation is something deep and visceral, going beyond the surface level.
The final lines, "Lycanthropy unfolds, dark aegis, new boundaries broken," can be interpreted as a symbolic representation of a werewolf transformation. Or, it could represent the breaking of new boundaries and the exploration of new territory in life.
Overall, the lyrics of Hide offer a poetic commentary on the transformative power of emotion and sensation.
Line by Line Meaning
There was something strange
I noticed something unusual
In my sensations
Within my feelings
Incredibly new and incredibly sweet
It was fresh and delightful
I knew myself to be tenfold more evil
I acknowledged my wickedness increased ten times over
This intoxicated me like wine
It affected me like an alcoholic drink
Here was a realm you have never known
It was a place unknown to you
You will be transported to paradise
It will take you to heaven
The transformation begins
The change is starting
The chemistry of love
The science of affection
The vapours of hate
The fumes of repulsion
Soul turned inside out
The spirit was reversed
The alchemistry of sex
The magic of intercourse
The apparatus of blood
The mechanism of blood circulation
We have no more solid core
We don't have a stable center any longer
Lycanthropy unfolds
The transformation into a werewolf begins
Dark Aegis
The shield of darkness
New boundaries broken
Novel limits breached
Contributed by Andrew L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ania Bartus
There was something strange in my sensations Incredibly new and incredibly sweet I knew myself to be tenfold more evil This intoxicated me like wine Here was a realm you have never known You will be transported to paradise The transformation begins The chemistry of love The vapours of hate Soul turned inside out The alchemistry of sex The apparatus of blood We have no more solid core Lycanthropy unfolds Dark Aegis New boundaries broken
justiceleague3000
That whole album is quite eerie. One of my all-time favorites.
Anvw0
One of my all time fave albums.. takes you to another place/atmosphere
Vislav
Looking at your picture and your comment... i cannot believe it. :D
psycheciety
it's ONE of their best songs... are there ANY "bad" tracks by CLOCKDVA EVER??????? psy
neocoders
Love that blaring trumpety-sound. Makes me think of something sinister and Empire-like, Romanesque. Slight sample of crowd roar in there too, adds to that
fstop77
Awesome!!!!!!!! Dark, atmospheric tension.
Scott Kathan
I seem to find zero to little information about the opening sample to this song. To me, the vocal pattern and timbre sounds like Burgess Meredith, but I'm still not 100% sure. I'd also like to know where that sample is from. Great album, great band. I wonder if it's really true that Dahmer was listening ot this when he got arrested.
boom baby
There was a very creepy original video, a woman bathing in blood and stuff, it was on the cable show "offbeat" in Germany. I can't find it anywhere on the web, dammit!
crushsatan
when Jesus comes back the angels may play this trumpet sound.