Clock DVA

Clock DVA

Clock DVA are an electronic music group from Sheffield, United Kingdom. They form in 1978 and remain active, with a changing line-up centred on Adi Newton. The group’s members include Jane Radion Newton, Robert Baker, Paul Browse, Charlie Collins, Dean Dennis, Simon Mark Elliot-Kemp, David James Hammond, Maurizio Martinucci, Adi Newton, Roger Quail, Nick Sanderson, Steven “Judd” Turner, John Valentine Carruthers and Paul Widger.

Early work and industrial associations

The group first appears under the name Clock DVA in late 1977, when Adi Newton and Steven Turner establish it. Their early music is experimental electronic work. They become associated with industrial music with White Souls in Black Suits, released in 1980 on Industrial Records. Before that release, the group’s material is described as extreme electronics and frequencies. An early archive includes the Sex Works Beyond Entanglement 12-inch EP from 1979, originally planned for Cherry Red, with tracks including “Throbbing Sweeping Obscene”, “Coil” and “The Pop Hell”.

1980s releases and line-up changes

Thirst follows in 1981, at a point when Adi Newton and Steven Judd Turner combine musique concrète techniques with guitar, bass and drums, alongside Newton’s art direction and existential writing. After Turner’s death, Newton forms a new version of the group in 1983. Under the name DVA, the band releases the singles “Passions Still Aflame” and “High Holy Disco Mass” on Polydor, then the album Advantage and further singles. A European tour ends in dispute, and Newton disbands the group.

T.A.G.C. and later Clock DVA

After the breakup, Newton develops the multimedia project The Anti-Group, or T.A.G.C., directing performances and releasing films and recordings including The Disscussion Anti-Theatre piece/Dual 16mm Film and Soundtrack, Ha/Zulu, ShT, Big Sex, The Ambisonic Album Digitaria, Meontological Recording Record 1, Meontological Recording Record 2 (Teste Tones), Burning Water Film/Soundtrack and Iso-Erotic Calibrations.

In 1987, while still involved with T.A.G.C., Newton reforms Clock DVA with Dean Dennis and Paul Browse. This line-up releases Buried Dreams. After that album and its singles, Browse leaves; Robert Baker joins, and the group releases Man-Amplified and Digital Soundtracks. Dean Dennis then leaves to work on a new project. Sign follows during a transitional period, when Newton relocates to Italy and continues Clock DVA/T.A.G.C. as sole director.

Later activity

Newton and Jane Radion Newton work on remastered editions of the back catalogue and on new Clock DVA/T.A.G.C. studio albums with invited guest artists. Clock DVA’s style is identified with industrial, post-punk, new wave, electro-industrial, EBM, electronic and spoken word.