stefan jaworzyn: drained of connotation

Writer, musician, and misanthrope Stefan Jaworzyn was a notorious and energetic presence in the UK underground of the 1980s and 1990s. Following a brief stint in Whitehouse, in 1986 he formed Skullflower with Matthew Bower and remained the band's guitarist for four years, playing on Birthdeath (1988), Form Destroyer (1989) and Xaman (1990), among others. In 1990 he established the Shock label. Shock Records was a resounding boot to the arse of the narrow-minded, welcoming artists as disparate as Lol Coxhill, Coil, Drunks With Guns, The Dead C, and Ramleh into its fold. Jaworzyn rejoined Whitehouse in 1990-1991, and around this time was also invited to participate in a roundtable discussion about serial killers on Channel 4's After Dark program -- it ended with him vehemently debating the meaning of the word "integrity" with fellow guest Michael Winner. Despite having supposedly renounced the guitar, in 1991 Jaworzyn returned to the instrument with some venom, forming Ascension (later Descension) with drummer Tony Irving. In the second half of the decade, Jaworzyn retired the Shock label and largely withdrew from music, choosing to focus on drinking and cursing; although his Texas Chain Saw Massacre Companion was published by Titan Books in 2003, and on occasion he emerged to play live (including the Whitehouse "farewell" show in a duo with drummer Chris Corsano). Now, after 17 years off the grid, Jaworzyn has reappeared. 2013 saw him reactivate Shock to issue two 12" EPs of emphatic new solo material, as well as Eaten Away by Shadows (a compilation of solo bedroom recordings from '82-'83) and the aforementioned Skullflower KINO CD series. Pre-dating the Eaten Away tracks, the driving, faintly sociopathic and supremely zoned pieces on Drained of Connotation were created in early/mid-'82 at Jaworzyn's then home in Cardiff using a Korg MS10 or 20 and his beloved Dr. Rhythm drum machine. SJ: "While a maniacal edge predominates, a couple of pieces seem surprisingly 'mellow,' a concept infrequently associated with my subsequent endeavours and disposition."