Shelley, Pete: Sky Yen

Cold Spring are proud to announce the first-ever CD release of 'Sky Yen', the experimental electronic recording made by PETE SHELLEY in March 1974, two years before he co-founded the legendary punk band BUZZCOCKS.

While studying electronics in Bolton, Shelley made his own oscillator which was utilised to record 'Sky Yen' on a two-track tape recorder, adding echo and other effects to create a series of extended sounds built from electronic tones, drones, feedback and noise. The resulting recording has a raw, spontaneous quality that reflects both the limitations and possibilities of the equipment he was using.

Still a teenager, Pete Shelley had been listening to German experimental electronic music, notably Tangerine Dream and Cluster, but also Kraftwerk, Can and Faust. Their influence helped to open up a different 'Berlin School' soundworld for him to explore and emulate, far removed from the conventional rock and pop scene of the mid-'70s.

Eventually released by Pete Shelley himself on his Groovy Records label (April 1980), 'Sky Yen' demonstrates his interest in electronic experimentation went back to the very beginning of his recording career.