Originally released by Side Effects in 1986, “Zamia Lehmanni (Songs of Byzantine Flowers)” was the third (and final) core SPK
album and was Graeme Revell’s first truly solo project. On the day before this album was first released, this style of music, now ubiquitous (especially in soundtracks), did not exist.
The reissue now also has a mastering as it was originally intended, something quite noticeable on the track “In Flagrante Delicto” which was later used by Revell for his work on the soundtrack for the 1989 film “Dead Calm”, which won him Best Original Score from the Australian Film Institute.
Unavailable in any format since Mute’s 1992 CD edition, Cold Spring now presents this landmark album on newly remastered CD in a 6-panel digipak. The track “The Doctrine of eternal Ice” appears on CD only, but is included on the digital download for vinyl (limited gold and black).
Origins of the band
SPK were an Australian industrial music and noise music group formed in 1978. They were fronted by mainstay member, Graeme Revell on keyboards and percussion. In 1980 the group travelled to the United Kingdom where they issued their debut album, “Information Overload Unit”. In 1983 Sinan Leong joined on lead vocals. The group disbanded in 1988. Two years later Revell and Leong relocated to the United States, where Revell works as a Hollywood film score composer.
SPK stands for?
The meaning of the SPK abbreviation is deliberately unclear; the album covers suggest several different alternatives. The most well known is Sozialistisches PatientenKollektiv, but there are also others, such as Surgical Penis Klinik, Suave Poronga Kinoto, System Planning Korporation, SePuKku, Selective Pornography Kontrol, Special Programming Korps and SoliPsiK.
On Facebook the band has SozialistischesPatientenKollektiv in it’s url, so we guess that’s the most official interpretation.
New layouted artwork
Below is the cover artwork of the 1992 CD version. And below that the new layouts.
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