blurt are perhaps the act who have played live at optimo more than any other. active for close to 40 years they are one of the uk’s all time great acts, phenomenal live and on record and supremely underrated. blurt mainman ted milton is a living legend. now in his 70s but more vibrant on stage than most artists 50 years his junior, he is a man of many talents, artist, poet, musician, performer…. in 1984 he released a solo 12”, “love is like a viol&#275,nce”, a no doubt accidental dancefloor gem completely out of kilter with any other music of the era that now makes total sense in 2017. dubbed-out stabs, programmed rhythm, trademark sax squeals and a more subdued than normal vocal that is strangely reminiscent of vincent price. thee definition of a cult classic and much in demand, side a of this 12” presents the a and b side (the equally outre “it’s only recently that stalins have begun to roost”) of this mighty 12” on one side of vinyl.

tendts are two brothers that make -music that you can da nce to, or not-. it seems an odd phrase, but aptly explains the duality of the greek duo. the compositions of christos and fotis papadakis are both emotive and movement inducing, even though they are written and structured with disparate elements that refuse to fall into obvious patterns. they consist of palpitating beats, imaginative textures, seductive melodies and sporadic bursts of treated vocals. it s everywhere is a concept ep soundtracking tendts intergalatic encounter with the pleiadians (dimension traversing nordic aliens to the unenlightened ) at the far edge of the universe. upon their journey home they brought with them not only costumes, masks and relics of extraterrestrial civilizations, they brought with them the spirits of two great celestial beings, momongo and floflolo. fotis and christos were the reincarnation of these two and the main purpose of their return was to enlighten the people of earth about the beginning of the era of the cosmic swimmer.