Thomas Barnett – Nude Photo

"I still can recall where I was the first time I heard it on the radio in Detroit or dancing to it in Chicago. Unfortunately, since the original release and up until a year or so ago I was purposely uninformed and kept in the dark about the 'european' response to this track. This is what compelled me to re-record it and in the process I gave birth to 'Subterfuge', a paradise of sounds dwelling deep within the circuitry of my human computer. Now I record in my livingroom in complete solitude answering to no one while thinking of nothing else but the future, my nude photo is your nude photo.

It was on a cold night at the very beginning of 1987 in an old and run-down appartment building located in one of the most suffering areas of Detroit where a makeshift recording-session took place. I was a 19 year old dreamer filled with rage and passion and the burning desire to manipulate tones, rhythms and melodies; but on the first night of recording on equipment far superior to my own, I found myself only to be lost and completely unimpressed. By the time I left it was early morning and as I was driving home all I could think about was the three Roland drum machines strategically placed on the floor of Derrick's living room and how I wanted to make them join together in an extraterrestrial-midi-rain-dance.

I returned the following night with not a hint as what was about to transpire. Within the first forty-five minutes our lives were changed forever. The session began with me wasting more of our time with material from my early adolescent years. Once I noticed the air of boredom in the room something took over, my fingers began to dance atop of the keys in a way they would only perform when no one was around and I could be as free and experimental as I wished. After eight or so bars with this magic the room went silent. And when I started to play again the previous material was forgotten and the rest of the night became extremely productive.

Once the sun began to tease us with its glory I knew I needed rest, so I began my journey home leaving Derrick with everything he needed to explore an extraordinary mix of this yet untitled track. When I returned the next afternoon it took only minutes before I knew which of the two mixes should be presented to the public. That same afternoon I was overjoyed by the proposition that was made to me; Derrick just introduced his 'Transmat'-label to Detroit and wanted to split a twelve-inch record with my track on side A and two of his on side B as his second release. I went home that evening with much on my mind.

I so desperately wanted to be on vinyl I didn't care about the groupname or even contracts, although I was truly pleased with Derrick's choice of using 'Rythim is rythim'. We had 200 copies sold before we noticed the printers mistake in the spelling of our name, strange enough we liked it and kept it. Coming up with a title to my side A took longer than anything else did, it wasn't until the day before printing up the labels that I called Derrick and told him to delete the current title because an alien spacecraft advised me of a better one... 'Nude Photo'."

Thomas Barnett

A side plays at 45 RPM, B side at 33 RPM, but the labels indicate the opposite.

℗+© Prime 1993
Made in Holland.