BRITISH ELECTRIC FOUNDATION (B.E.F.) - Music for Stowaways
"LP version. Reissue, originally released as a cassette in 1981. The first reissue of seminal early 1980s electronic recordings from the British Electric Foundation (B.E.F.), aka Heaven 17/ex-The Human League's Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, with Adi Newton (Clock DVA/The Future), and John Wilson (Heaven 17), originally a cassette-only release (1981). Following two groundbreaking albums (Reproduction and Travelogue), the original line-up of Sheffield-based The Human League split in half in late 1980. The two primary musicians in the group, Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, formed a new production company -- the British Electric Foundation (B.E.F.) -- and signed a deal with Virgin Records to write and produce up to six albums a year. The artists they were to produce would include Heaven 17, their own new band formed with vocalist Glenn Gregory. B.E.F. would also release their own material, commencing with the music on this collection, which was issued in various permutations in 1981-82. Its initial release in March 1981 was a limited edition numbered eight song cassette entitled Music for Stowaways, with "Stowaways" being a reference to the original name for the then-new Sony portable cassette player -- later renamed the Walkman -- of which B.E.F. were great fans. Music for Stowaways was intended to be listened to on such a device. The cassette was followed by a seven song LP, Music for Listening to, which had a slightly different track listing, while other B.E.F. music was utilized for B-sides of early singles by Heaven 17. This music was among the first recorded by Martyn and Ian directly after their departure from The Human League. Some tracks had evolved from other recordings they were working on at the time, such as "Groove Thang" -- an instrumental version of the debut single by Heaven 17 -- and "The Old At Rest", which derived from a version of "Wichita Lineman" by Jimmy Webb, their very first recording with Glenn that would subsequently appear on B.E.F.'s Music of Quality and Distinction, Volume One covers album in 1982. The innovative sounds heard on Music for Stowaways were an inspiration to many aspiring electronic artists. In 2015, Uncut magazine included it in a list of the "50 Greatest Lost Albums of All Time"." - Cold Spring Records.
After nearly a decade of false starts, multiple game plans veering off the rails, and a handful of shattered hopes and/or dreams, the odyssey is finally complete—the new Fusetron site is here.
This is the first phase of a multipart rollout that will span the next few months: the currently browsable stock includes miscellaneous new releases from the past 8+ months (we have a lot of catching up to do), plus approximately a third of our backstock. Note that we’ve reduced/slashed prices on many titles and will continue to do so in order to make room for new stock. We’ll also be expanding / tweaking / improving / debugging the site itself (for example, we still have work to do on the automated international postage system, not to mention the inevitable inventory discrepancies that come with transferring an ancient and massive database to a new system).
Over the next few months, as we take inventory, clean house, and delve into our storage, we will be uploading thousands of additional items, gradually, on a near-daily basis. This will include the majority of the LPs, as well as many titles, in all formats, once thought long-gone. Many currently “sold out” items are likely to resurface.
Finally, once our general backstock is up (probably in the next two or three months) we’ll begin making our extensive stockpile of rarities available online for the first time: tons of random out-of-print titles, "deadstock," warehouse finds, secondhand collectibles, etc., accumulated over the past few decades.
Frequent/returning customers will be getting early access to these items. Details to follow on how this will work (a priority mailing list? a 'frequent flyer'-like program?), but it will not be based on dollars spent. We want to reward those who consistently support us, especially in the discogs marketplace era (to those who show up trying to poach five copies of a one-off rarity, and nothing else, ever… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ).
So—we suggest you take some time to dig through the site—even we’ve been surprised by what’s been turning up, and there’s much more to come.
