The cassette culture of early 80s Britain is showcased with a limited edition 10” of music from multi-instrumentalist Kez Stone and one of his myriad of projects in Imago. A considerable feature on the Cornwall and the West Countries burgeoning music scenes, his project Artistic Control and Ah…! have been comprehensively reconsidered and reissued in the last decade.

His one-off project Imago first came to light on the superb “Perfect Motion” album compiled by NTS Radio luminaries Bruno and Flo Dill, with the inclusion of Going Through The Motion as the compilation opener. Having produced just one album, released on local label A Real Kavoom in 1985, here unearthed and remastered are 3 more musical gems.

Inspired as a teenager by the explosion of punk, Kez Stone formed his first band in 1977 aged just 15, taking his interest in art and channeling that creativity into music and song writing, “painting with sound and the pictures in people’s minds”. Soon Stone was in the studio, working alongside members of Hawkwind, starting to visualise and form what became Artistic Control.

Teaming up with fellow local musician Phil Pickering, they recorded at Pickering’s ARK studio. The new wave influenced songs were formed around Roland SH09 and RS09 synths, Boss DR-55 DR Rhythm and Simmons Kit Brain drum machines, plus homemade sequencer, guitars and (fretless) bass, all channeled via real spring reverb and echo, using a three head cassette player for automatic double tracking on the vocals and then looped and mastered via Revox Reel to Reel.

Starting with their amazing cover version of John Lennon’s LSD opus, Tomorrow Never Knows, this 9-minute remake lifts the song to some kind of arpeggio dream, respectful but updated for its time perfectly. A new wave meets psychedelic anthem. This is followed by Hot Sun, a new wave meets some kind of California surf song on the trials of relationships, before All Come Together wrestles the nature of man and spiritualism.

Released on cassette as a “means to own production”, making their own music that is affordable but reachable to an audience, the DIY aesthetic in reality. The diverse and healthy nature of a local scene offered Stone the opportunity to express his music tastes and writing without pandering to the big labels of London.