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Here is an extraordinary excavation from the buried history of the Downtown NYC scene: the unreleased, self-titled "Transmission EP", recorded in 1981-82. Comprised of Jonathan Kane and Daniel Galliduani, the duo is one-half of the original version of the behemoth band Swans. Transmission both preceded and ran concurrent with the formation of Swans (Michael Gira was enough of a fan that he mixed Transmission's few live shows), and much of their material evolved into the crucial rhythmic structure of Swans tracks, including the standout "Weakling". Even without the historical connection, this is a great record. Unclassifiable within any conventional genre, it recalls the improvisation and complex, trance-inducing beats of North African music while adding a crust of No Wave bluster and enough percussive artillery to sink a small island.