NEW JOE ROTHERAY INTERVIEW A new and exclusive interview with Joe Rotheray by Khun P. Sanchompu has been posted on the WORDS AND PICTURES page. NEW BANGKOK FANNY-RAT REVIEW BY THEBLUESBUNNY.COM (REPRODUCED HERE WITH KIND PERMISSION) New Juche Whores of Leith Bangkok Fanny-Rat NJ002 2007 Now what to make of this one? As is the Bluesbunny custom, we dutifully read the sleeve prior to listening to the album. The title had caught our attention - "Bangkok Fanny-Rat" - but even that clue did not prepare us. The sounds are ambient and eerie. The voices are distorted (intentionally, it would appear) and are interviews with veterans of the Bangkok sex scene. It all forms part of an aural nightmare as the rich western world meets the poor in Bangkok. "Mission to Ranong" had a worrying, cartoon like voice explaining his experiences on his trips to that city with remarkable candour, almost revelling in the depravity. "I Fell in Love with a She-Male Stroker" featured an interview with a lady boy. The frankness will no doubt offend but it is an eye opener. Whilst we remember, read the sleeve notes carefully. Maybe the point was to shock but this was jaw dropping stuff. To its credit, there was nothing judgemental about any of this. To that end, the point of it all is a bit of a mystery. Is it exploitation like the old "mondo" movies? There seems to be no conclusion drawn and there is something almost ambivalent about it all. Maybe pointing the finger at the guilty is not such a good idea anyway as we might end up pointing that finger at ourselves if only for letting it happen? Bluesbunny is not even sure that the music is important here. This album is more of a documentary of the human (and not just the male) psyche after the veneer of civilisation has been discarded and, from the evidence presented here, there can surely be no darker or more lonely place. Downright disturbing. www.bluesbunny.com NEW JUCHE AND TURGID ANIMAL PLEDGE SOLIDARITY NEW JUCHE are proud to announce that our products are now also being distributed by the Italian Division of TURGID ANIMAL. We encourage those interested to check their website at the following address: www.turgid-animal.co.uk WONDERFUL WOODEN REASONS REVIEW - REPRODUCED HERE WITH KIND PERMISSION New Juche Whores Of Leith - Bangkok Fanny-Rat (New Juche NJ002) CD Whores of Leith made their debut by mixing recordings of Scottish prostitutes with multilayered noise constructs. This bold follow-up continues with that idea but this time the location is Bangkok and the subjects are, primarily, the clientele. I'm not a great fan of voice samples in my music as I find they soon become quite cumbersome and intrusive into the flow of an album however on Bangkok Fanny-Rat the voices are utterly intrinsic to the project and whilst the music upon which they occasionally sit is undoubtedly impressive it often disappears into the background which, I suspect, is, to a great extent, intentional. The voice samples it must be said are somewhat clumsy. As reportage they impart no new information and as voyeurism they are reduced to the level of the farcical by the efforts taken to disguise the voices of those interviewed. For me it is the instrumental tracks here that work the best (and the all dialogue tracks the least) as the music holds an admirable sense of place wherein it sounds like an untamed and riotous traditional Malay or Indonesian orchestra utilising all the crashing and clanging atonalities that are often associated with the musics of the region. In conclusion, interesting but not, I think, essential. NEW BANGKOK FANNY-RAT REVIEW BY THE SPHYNX CAT (Reproduced here with kind permission) After the triumphant success of the debut WHORES OF LEITH album, which somehow managed to out-horrible all contemporaries with authentically dark subject material and delivery, Joe Rotheray has returned with the splendidly titled BANGKOK FANNY-RAT. If the first WHORES record - set in the ever present but pleasantly ignored UK sex trade - was about the illusion of British morality then the second is most certainly about western naivety. For those new to the unique musical stylings of WHORES OF LEITH, he has trawled the world?s frontline sex workers interrogating them about their more colourful exploits and then placed the recordings over unsettling noisescapes. Due, probably to the language barrier, the Thai interviews in BANGKOK FANNY-RAT are largely with western customers - who in turn display some quite staggeringly hilarious notions. The seedier end of Thailand has been absolutely scoured - which is really saying something - to chart the trails of various western undesirables before they join the company rung then die of AIDS. It?s hard to feel anything but disdain for such nuggets of wisdom as "I do not remember feeling offended by the answer if I heard her age was 15" or on why not to use a condom,?I don?t worry about her having aids, cause she takes her pills", ?the dirty little bitches gave it to me in the first place?. A giggle is let out at the revelation of getting your first case of gonorrhoea. How can your heart not be touched by ?it was a decent arrangement, I wanted to get laid and she needs to eat tomorrow?? The track I FELL IN LOVE WITH A SHE-MALE STROKER addresses the always amusing ladyboy debate and, yes, predictably enough, when push comes to shove, the lads love getting a cute girls penis up in them. Despite the language barrier Joe extracts the sordid details of a ladyboy's experience of losing his virginity at 9. All asked in the forward manner you?ve come to expect: "Do you want make pussy?", "What do you think about when you masturbate?? All of this is set suitably over a diverse mix of drone, electronics and dark ambient. Even John Carpenter esque gloomy synth territory is explored. During the frequent segues there is an intriguing mix of detuned am radio broadcasts of Thai music, gamelan and techno but without all the pretentiousness usually associated with mixing "world" and dance music. The sinisterly titled UNCLE utilises the ever faithful "doom bell". Possibly because of its detachment from domestic surroundings (and the predictability of American stupidity) it is a less harrowing experience than his debut but lacks no power whatsoever in reaffirming your opinion of human behaviour. That is providing, of course, you couldn?t give two fucks about most humans and don?t expect better. THE SPHYNX CAT FORTHCOMING RELEASE Taking the Khmer Rouge Era in Cambodia as a starting point, Joe Rotheray and Justin Nickless are currently engaged in a heart-rending odyssey across the country collecting information for a new project. The release of the finished cd is planned for late next year. The photograph shows Joe Rotheray with Him Hoy in Hoy's residence in Kandal province. Hoy worked in the notorious S21 facility, and admitted to the Vietnamese that as a team leader, he had personally executed around 2000 people with a tyre iron at Choeung Ek. Other more reliable sources claim the number is probably around 3000, including women, children and babies. Since the Vietnamese left Cambodia, Hoy has lived unmolested with his wife and raised 9 children. 01.09.07 - WELCOME We are very pleased to announce that after much preparation this website is now fully operational, and our brand new cd BANGKOK FANNY-RAT has been officially released and is available for purchase on the PRODUCT page. Please check back for regular news updates, reviews, text and photography. Feedback, queries or correspondence of any kind is encouraged and appreciated. Please see the PRODUCT page for contact details. We are also happy to say that NEW JUCHE WHORES OF LEITH live appearances can now be booked in the following countries only: Kingdom of Thailand, Kingdom of Cambodia, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, People's Democratic Republic of Laos, People's Republic of China and Malaysia. We hope to extend this list soon.