"c i n d y t a l k", Abstract Magazine Issue 5, 1985
Mark Balmer

"A PEAP ABOVE TELLS ME THAT NOTHING IS EVER AS IT MAY SEEM, YOU LAST NO LONG TIME AND BE A WHORE LIKE ME AND SHE IS, AND YOU CAN THROW MY ASHES BACK IN MY FACE WHEN I AM GONE FOR I SHALL SPIT AT THE STARS AND THE SUN BECOMES MY FRIEND."

The packaging of "Camouflage Heart" gave no hint of what layed within it's interior: A distorted image of a man among forest covered the sleeve from edge to edge, with only the minimal track listing and inevitable copyright details being revealed on it's reverse. There were no clues on this, CIndytalk's debut album released last year, of the turmoil that lay within the claustrophobic atmospheres resonating between the grooves. Yet for those who were intrigued by the obscurity of the cover, it was an experience that went beyond the accepted formula for a premier release: A mixture of unusual approach, vague, yet firm ideals, and images that would be illuminated by the resonating rhythm, then snatched, ripped and torn by Gordon Sharp's harsh, penetrating voice.

Unfortunately the concentration and escapism required to appreciate "Camouflage Heart" led many an impatient journalist to dismiss this album, or pass it off as a force they couldn't describe. One particularly erudite scribe gave a profound prescription by calling it "Toby"; Toby being his interpretation of the music, the fragmented vocals and indeed the entire spirit eminating from the vinyl. Truly an occasion where the major music press was eloquently elaborating on the unsurpassed style of Cindytalk.

But as the title suggests, it is not an easy task to find what lies in the heart of Cindytalk. There is no easy way out when evaluating their music, it is material which cries out for personal experience and further research.

"The reason the heart is camouflaged isn't because there is nothing there, but it knows itself that if there isn't some form of protection, some ability to hide from itself, then people will abuse and destroy it. But hopefully people that are drawn towards it will sense that is is worth pursuing."

The history preceeding Cindytalk revolves around Gordon's work with The Freeze; a different sound to Cindy which was only captured on two singles.

"I took the ideas of The Freeze to a more extreme nature. We've been working on these ideas for about 2 years and this became Cindytalk."

"Cindytalk is a nucleus of myself and John Byrne, who I was lucky to meet when I came to London. We were both interested in experimenting with music and trying to do something special. You could call him a musician, but at the same time he has a certain amount of intelligence to realise that it's not just music, not just playing guitar and bass, there's much more to it than that. It's more about people and characters, how different people related to different things and how you can work together without compromising."

The idea of compromising may have been predominant when Ivo asked Gordon if he'd contribute to the This Mortal Coil project, guesting on the single "Kangaroo" and on the album tracks "Fond Affections" and "A Single Wish", but as Ivo elaborated in the last Abstract:

"I just asked Gordon to be Gordon. I mean Gordon with Cindytalk isn't really lyrics, he's much like Lisa (Dead Can Dance), he sings words but they're shapes of words or hints of words, he just makes them up. That's why I'm happy he's on this record, because he's singing differently here than he is with Cindytalk, he's got a wonderful voice and he's using it in a far purer sense."

And as Gordon explained:

"That was an experiment in a more orthodox sense and I only did it because Ivo is a very close friend. I didn't particularly sing in a different way, I just did what came naturally and it came out more, maybe conventional. But I thought it would be an interesting game to play, just to see how people would react having heard that kind of music, and then tried to visulise what Cindytalk might be like. Then to be confronted by what it is like: It's setting up a familiar ground and then taking it away. Then making it more obstaining, which is what we're trying to do, to create an uneasy landscape that has some kind of familiarity in it, but not making it that reachable unless you really, really work with it."

"DESIRE... A SINGULAR VISION...AN ATTEMPT AT SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL / SOMETHING OF A BLISSFUL MESS."

"We're not into perfection, or everything being well ordered: Like on "The Ghost Never Smiles" there was only meant to be a buried scream in behind it, but to record that I went into the studio and just completely lost my rag, wrenching my stomach out through my throat. With a lot of songs the voice gets stuck on top, clear, you can make out every word and the music is only the background. But the music's got to be right up there, which is why the words are often buried. I think it is far more interesting if you have to find them."

"ONLY A FEW WILL REACH THE HEART FOR THE MASSES WOULD ABUSE IT."

"It's not meant to create elitism by saying "For the masses would abuse it", it's just the basic truth that if you're working within a minority situation you have to realise that only the minority will be attracted by it. But if we were bigger and we made ourselves too much of an easy target for society, they'd castrate us, as they did with punk and have now done with Frankie; turning them into meaningless cartoons. They take away your teeth and all possible danger."

Possibly the best and definately the most obviously powerful track from their album is "Everybody Is Christ", a searing attack of electrified bass, shattered by the screaming vocal.

"It must be seen on the level that we're not trying to change the world, we will never be saviours of anything, we are doing it for ourselves and anybody who cares to listen. OK it's not the most unique thing in the world, but it's your own ideas which is very important."

I wondered how far these ideas went, how far the Cindytalk imagination can be streched and what exactly Gordon Sharp wants to acheive with his releases:

"There are a few records I've got like Clock DVA's "Thirst" and maybe "Metal Box" by PIL, which I can't listen to very often, I can only listen to them every 6 months if that. But I know that when I do listen I'll really enjoy it, and it will be special to me. I've probably always wanted to make a record like that myself, not one which you can play on any occasion, but one what demands an amount of immediate attention."

"SO LOOK FURTHER INTO THE BUSHES BY THE LAKE, FOR THE HEART STILL BEATS AND BECKONS YOU TOO IT."

(Quotations from sleeve notes of "Camouflaged Heart")

Reprinted without permission.