Berlin, 10 June 2022 – Lolita Terrorist Sounds unearth never heard studio version of “Shaved Girl” from their highly anticipated debut album “St. Lola”, out in October.
With the release of the studio version, the band wants to remember Avant-Garde artist Bob Rutman, who contributed to “Shaved Girl” and passed away in June 2021. “Shaved Girl” is a landmark song of Lolita Terrorist Sounds. The first to be composed and performed live by the band. When the band came up with six minutes of obsessive piano and bass lines with Morricone-style guitar riffs, they felt the composition needed a drone-sounding instrument. The idea was to achieve something similar to Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut“ party scene with Jocelyn Pook soundtrack. The choice fell immediately on
Berlin-based avant-garde hero and instrument builder Bob Rutman. Bob Rutman was the first guest musician to take part in the recording session. His bow chime was recorded in his flat in Berlin Mitte by bandleader and producer Maurizio Vitale with a portable recorder.
For him, this encounter was a memorable one: “It was one of these rare sunny days in Berlin. I remember showing up at Rutman’s flat with a portable recorder, a case of beers, and a package of croissants for breakfast. Bob’s reaction towards the croissants was the ‘Fk that S* put it away and leave the case of
beer’. When I showed up at his flat it was around 1 pm and Bob was in a great mood and very friendly. He then proceeded to show me where his instrument (the bow chime) was packed and asked me to build it up for him. It was a great occasion to get to know Bob and his instruments in the daytime. Up to that moment, I only had a chance to play with him during crowded and loud late-night concerts in Berlin. Bob had a discrete sense of humour and contagious energy. He tuned up his bow chime in the tonality of the song and performed two mind-blowing takes. The second one is the one I picked for the album. He then switched to his Styrophone instrument to record some ‘Terrorist Sounds’ noise. At the end of the
recording, he said he loved the song and he wished Lolita Terrorist Sounds to reach the charts with it.”
The recording of Bob Rutman’s bow chime was then used for the studio version and kept live as a backing track. In 2017 Lolita Terrorist Sounds performed the song on the stage of the legendary SO36 ft. a live drawing performance by German cartoonist Reinhard Kleist (Nick Cave “Mercy on me”, David Bowie “Starman”). The show was recorded and mixed by Thomas Stern (Einstürzende Neubauten, Swans) and later released on vinyl by cult label Psychofon Records. The studio version of the song commemorates one year of Bob Rutman leaving this world. This previously unreleased version of “Shaved Girl” also features Swans lap steel guitar legend Kristof Hahn, already present on the first single of the band “Prison Song,” Ralf Goldkind (Nina Hagen, Hugo Race and the True Spirits) on bass, and Roderick Miller (Bee and Flower, Richard Ruin) on piano.
The lyrics of the song (“We light the candles on the altar”) delve into ritualism, shamanism, and body transformation, describing how the spiritual part of any individual can transcend our ego through a tortuous process of elevation (“Without our ego are we useless?”).
Watch the live video clip of “Shaved Girl” through the YouTube player below:
About Lolita Terrorist Sounds:
Lolita Terrorist Sounds is a Berlin-based avant-garde band founded by Maurizio Vitale. The name is a provocative combination of Nabokov’s novel title “Lolita,” and adding the challenging perception of the word “Terrorist.” Both were generated using the W. Burroughs cut-up technique and adding to it the word “Sounds” to best describe the groundbreaking nature of the band’s compositions and erformances. Vitale’s past and present collaborations include work with members of acclaimed bands such as Einstürzende Neubauten, Swans, Iggy Pop, Thåström, PJ Harvey and Faust. His talent was at the service of the legendary Sabar percussionist Doudou N’Diaye Rose (SN), and he has played with German singer Andrea Schroeder both in the studio and live.