Wednesday, September 14, 2005



Out now:

B!043 33RPM

Final Solution “Rape Session” b/w “Strip Search”

Classic, vicious, adult-themed New York City power-electronics

7-Inch
33 RPM
Pressed in an edition of 300 copies
White vinyl
White labels with minimal black text
Poly-lined inner sleeve
Unmarked white cardboard sleeve (sealed on three sides)
Black and white insert

Orders are now being accepted
$6.00 each - postpaid - USA - First Class
$8.00 each - postpaid - World - Air Mail
All records will be sent in strong 7-inch mailers

Wholesale rates are available

- Please inquire
- Minimum of five copies to qualify

Engineered by Ed Luke
Produced by Mark Solotroff
LoHo Studios, NYC, August 21, 1992
Mastered by Chris GreeneAlien Soundscapes Inc., Chicago, May 5, 1999


From the liner notes:

At the start of the 1990’s, very little in the way of true “Power-Electronics” was going on here in the States. By way of a record deal that went sour for Intrinsic Action (for the CD “Sado-Electronics” on a sub-label of the much-maligned Future Shock – the questionable U.S. label of Winter, Godflesh, Hellbastard, etc.) I was introduced to a NYC group called Final Solution. The initial demos that I heard were right in line with what I was doing with Intrinsic Action at the time. Final Solution was a (second-generation) power-trio in the truest sense of the term. Detractors saddled them with the usual unimaginative “Whitehouse clone” tag, but as I got to know the group more, it was plain that they owed as much to their environment as they did to their genre forefathers. Final Solution sweated out New York City from their pores, and lead man E.J. Vodka (a.k.a. Ed Vodvarka or Eddie Conners) filtered a William Bennett style through Taxi Driver protagonist Travis Bickle’s personality. On a trip out to NYC in January 1991 to play two shows set up by them, the aggression and the hostility that I witnessed during their performances was eye opening. While details should likely be kept private and are probably a bit unbelievable, the various types of substance abuse that fueled their live shows (and lives) should be the stuff of legend. While E.J., Chris Yustinich (synth), and Greg Scott (synth) all had their own preferences, time spent around the band meant witnessing massive ingestion of alcohol, heroin, cocaine, pills, etc. Particular substances in each member could trigger very different outbursts from show to show. Malt liquor might turn Greg Scott’s vocals on “Bludgeoned” into a formidable outburst of pent-up anger, while E.J. could go from violent towards the audience to totally self-destructive depending on his chemical cocktail. Chris’ fondness for smack caused a creepier, introspective onstage demeanor that doubled as lurking danger. The band’s “back side of my hand” knowledge of late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s Times Square was also a major factor in their existence. Jobs in jerk-off joints, girlfriends who stripped, and a thorough knowledge of where to find what, blended in seamlessly with their aesthetic. Their relationship to the early NYCHC scene is also worth mentioning. Paul Bearer from Sheer Terror did guest vocal duties, and a Nihilistics cover version shows up in their repertoire. An average audience contained many luminaries from the hardcore scene (Agnostic Front, Cromags, Leeway, etc.), as well as the New York “noise rock” scene (Cop Shoot Cop, Big Stick, etc.) that was dying out at the time. Final Solution remains sadly underrepresented as far as recorded output goes. Their time spent on AWB Recording added to speculation regarding the band’s – and the label’s – misdiagnosed racism (let’s be straight, their hatred was unbiased and unfocused), initiated by their “nom de guerre,” a name they shared with one or two Nazi skin bands. The “Half/Dead” cassette and their material on the “Private Thoughts” compilation hinted at their potential, but until the release of “Do As You’re Told,” their true sound and power had not been captured on tape. Recorded at the (literally and appropriately) underground LoHo studios in SoHo, their classic and essential 7-inch was laid down along with a set of tracks for an as-of-yet unreleased full-length. The recording sessions that I produced were furious, loud, and sticky-hot. The single wound down a small batch of records on AWB Recording that paint a picture of the late ‘80’s/early ‘90’s scene; Intrinsic Action, Sigillum S, Terre Blanche, and Final Solution, all offering different sides of the electronic story. Essential to the AWB Recording roster, Final Solution helped out with the relocation of the label and the reformation of Intrinsic Action in New York, specifically Brooklyn. Final Solution members even played synth for Intrinsic Action at a few high visibility shows (The Building, CBGB, Underworld). The development of Intrinsic Action’s NYC aesthetic, as well as those of BLOODYMINDED, Slogun, and of course, Greg Scott’s post-Final Solution project, Hydra, were touched in some way by what Final Solution was doing during their brief period of activity. A look through Deathpile’s discography will also turn up a Final Solution influence by way of a powerful cover version. In a genre still sadly filled with four-track bedroom/home recorders, it is also worth mentioning that Final Solution did the bulk of their work in actual recording studios, allowing them to more accurately portray the volume and the dynamics of their sound. Whether or not any more of their studio sessions make it onto compact disc or vinyl remains to be seen, but these archival releases are certainly a step in the right direction. (Mark Solotroff, March 1999 – Requested by Greg Scott for the proposed release of a Final Solution live tape series)

Please note that 20% of this pressing (60 copies) is being held as royalties for the surviving members of Final Solution, should they wish to get in touch with the label.