Monday, December 6, 2010

Nightstalking - Broken Silence


A neat find from the Vinyl Obscurity blog and one of my favorites. Here's the link to the entry where I found it.

(http://vinylobscurity.blogspot.com/2010/08/broken-silence-nightstalking-7-1984.html)

Broken Silence, according to this source were formed somewhere in Canada, featuring Edward Kay on lead vocals and Jim Lysowycz on guitars, synthesizer, etc. though both shared duties.
Nightstalking was released in 1984 and was apparently very underground although these guys probably had a small following in the Canadian dark wave scene. Just look at them!
What happened? God knows. There was probably in-family murder involved but I wouldn't be surprised if these two can be seen lurking in an alley somewhere in Ontario.
'Nightstalking' is a cool, gloomy dark wave tune that flows along like a zombie anthem with simplistic, dark synthesizer notes and Kay's brooding vocals. It definitely has a dark theme and a music video would probably just be Kay singing cut in with clips from 'Night Of The Living Dead'.
The B-side, 'Through The Glass' is a real treat too and could be better than the A-side with it's lighter, more mainstream new wave tone, faster synth and cool lyrics. With this one, I'm getting a vibe of people's submission to higher powers, religion, government, etc. At least 72% of 80's songs have this topic, I swear.

 

Well it's cool. Shame these guys didn't do more. I heard there was another single but I have yet to find a trace of it. Anyone who has any information, come forward now! I want to hear more!
Here are links to good quality postings of these two tracks
'Nightstalking'
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QZHZFeb_p8)'Through The Glass'
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61c6KfV714c)
And the lyrics.

"Nightstalking"

Nightstalking
(Nightstalking)
Nightstalking
Nightstalking
Through the shadows
Through the dark
Thoughts aren't concentrated
Nightstalking
Burning past the footsteps
Jerry-rig a home
Voices in the distance
On the midnight run

(Feeling nothing, feeling everything)
(Night unfolding, flowing endlessly)

(Driven by desire)
Fire in the night
Trying to save the stronger
Nightstalking
Indistinct visions
Past the headlight where
Step into twilights
Fade a disappear

(Feeling nothing, feeling everything)
(Night unfolding, flowing endlessly)

(Nightstalking)

Into the darkness
I can't tell you where
Past all explanation
Nightstalking
Closing in on something
Vivid and remote
Something implosion
Reaching overload

(Feeling nothing, feeling everything)
(Night unfolding, flowing endlessly)

Nightstalking
(Nightstalking)
Nightstalking
(Nightstalking)
Nightstalking
Nightstalking
Nightstalking
Nightstalking


"Through The Glass"

(Think)
(Move)

I can't stop it
Look in through the glass
I can't touch it
Look in through the glass
No love relation
Just beyond your grasp
I can't catch it
You've got to move so fast
The power
The intensity
So affecting
You can feel the heat
The rhythm
Of the big machine
Domination
Under the wheel

Sensations
So outside, outside
Estrangements
On the other side

The signal
Just coming out of synch
The big lie
And the double think
Shades of meaning
Hard to understand
They can self-spin
Another sleight of hand

Sensations
So outside, outside
Estrangements
On the other side

(Other side)

Sensations
So outside, outside
Estrangements
On the other side

Can't stop it
Look in through the glass
Can't touch it
Look in through glass
No love relation
Just beyond your grasp
Can't catch it
You've got to move so fast
Submission
To a far sighting
Subversion
Of your humility
Hidden bondage
Extended energy
Falling movement
Like homeography

Sensations
So outside, outside
Estrangements
On the other side
Sensations
So outside, outside
Estrangements
On the other side

4 comments:

  1. No, there was no second record unfortunately. I am not sure where Edward Kay is 30 years down the road from this single, but Jim Lysowycz is a friend of over 40 years and we had a band together prior to Broken Silence as well. Jim still lives in "the big smoke" Toronto.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Edward Kay is a writer and television producer living in Toronto as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What an unexpected pleasure to encounter this. The sad reality was that in mid-80s Canada, record labels were mostly branch plants of foreign companies, and for the most part were very conservative and interested only in signing Canadian bands that parroted mass market foreign bands (i.e., Platinum Blonde: The Police). The good part was that in the face of all that indifference (even when Broken Silence was higher on the charts than so-called "commercial" bands) , I moved on to greener pastures as a smart-ass television comedy writer and novelist, which served me well, and which I continue to do to this day. Cheers, Edward

    ReplyDelete
  4. Canadian record labels had nothing to do with the demise
    of Broken Silence. Jim L.

    ReplyDelete