• Bob Greene now all been acquitted and released. In the Summer of The fact that some last year, Liberation! have spent up to 4 reported on the case years in prison, that of the "Ballymurphy security forces threat7", seven nationalist Pened to hand over the youth in Belfast who names and addresses were fitted up and tor- of their families to Loytured by the Royal Ulallst death squads, ster Constabulary. and that they were tor. We are pleased to tured both physically say that they have and psychologically land and Michael has shown the lengths Beck - in March this that the British estab- year the Judge delishment is prepared voted most of his time to go to in order to at- emphasising that altempt to smash rests- though there was no tance to British rule real evidence their amongst nationalist statements couldn't youth in Ireland. be trusted anyway. In acquitting the re The reason he had to maining three - Hugh do this is simple -McLaughlin, Tony Gar- there have been too many exposures of the corruption and brutat Ity of the "justice" meted out by the British state in recent years, In particular to nationalists In the north of Ireland.
Behind the smokescreen of the "peace process" very little has changed. The British state still rules the six counties through giving a few minor privileges to the Protestant minority in Ireland and through repression and discrimination of nationalists and Catholics. The courts cannot be seen to admit this because the repressive apparatus are still needed to maintain this system of InequalIty and national oppression. Moreover it would open the way to appeals from the hundreds of other innocent people locked up by the British state.
• Women • music • violence • Techno - A Home For Female • Katherine Sedgeley Women have clung onto the coat talls of men in loads of walks of life. They have to work harder to get less far and they have to justify themselves for having the audacity to enter many male-dominated careers.
The music business is no exception. When rock and roll was new, women were pushed into what were deemed appropriate 'female' roles, hence the huge number of 'girl' groups which came on the scene In the USA In the 1960s. They had great voices but they were marketed by male producers.
You can see a natural progression from these groups to Kylie Minogue who owes her pop persona to record company dect sions. As the years have gone by, more women have blasted their way to the top of the mainstream, l.e. male-dominated and Musical Expression?
constructed, music sic is a whole new scene. Singers such kind of sound and it is as Tina Turner have one in which women even shown that you are currently leading can be a female rock the way. star if you strut your Take the music of stuff forcibly enough. Jane Siberry and MarThis is progress of garet Fiedler for insorts. Turner's whole stance. They mix life of battling against computer-generated men and winning, and samples with acoustic being stronger now Instruments. They crethan ever gives her mu- ate a new musical lansic a great kick to It. guage. They also mix But female perform- samples of lyrlcs or ers like that do very lit- maybe whispered tle to change and words - none of your mould for themselves verse, chorus, verse, the kind of music we chorus, middle 8, reactually hear. In a peat chorus to fade or way, they just speak to death depending men's musical lan- which comes first. guage in different Does this create mukinds of voices. They sic made up of sounds say different things that do not connect to but all the musical each other or to huforms stay the same. man experience? I And so musical forms don't think so. In Intersuch as heavy rock views Siberry often thrash on and on and says that she hates maybe we'll see a few the idea of just experlmore female vocalists menting with technolIn such bands or the ogy for Its own sake. odd token drummer. It makes her feel "like At the moment I do when I hear comethough there are lots dians full of hate and of new sounds coming people laughing". She out by women who sees techno as the have got Involved with chance to get her feel. techno music. This.mu- Ings expressed via music without having to follow any rules.These women see themselves as having their own musical history.
Joni Mitchell has always been an exception to the rule of women having to simply intervene Into male musical forms. She has experimented with and blended a huge number of mustcal forms creating a new one, and that is all that you're doing when you sample. She worked a lot of jazz, blues and even country Into her one sound. It was refreshing and she had her own rules.
Kate Bush has also always used technology to create an in. credibly complex sound. She could layer all kinds of instruments over the top of each other and break up her own volce and then put It back to gether differently. These sounds certainly were not developed in order for these women to distance themselves from their experiences. They have been able to Maybe they are not make incredibly mov- on the brink of creatIng sounds and songs Ing 'a women's mus!all of their own inven- cal language' and it tion. It is on this base probably wouldn't be a that the new techno- good thing if they did. proficlent women are New restrictions for building. female artists would just replace old ones. But techno is providing a way for women to express themselves more freely, and women in turn have no. ticed this and are leading this musical form.