☰ MENU

Hastings of Malawi

two people in leaf costumes
Hastings of Malawi (HOM) are thought by some to be a band that sits on the fringes of the industrial music genre.

Describing one of their albums Wire magazine wrote “Rarely has an album so consistently made me question what the actual fuck is going on”

The HOM website is HERE.

album cover for body with organ by hastings of malawi

Body with Organ - a radio play released under the name Hastings of Malawi.

Duration 28 minutes.

HOM performing at the Wroclaw Industrial music festival in Poland.
album cover for HOM9 the humanoid robot that can read braille by hastings of malawi

HOM9 The Humanoid Robot That Can Read Braille - a 25 minute sound poem. HOM refers to Hastings of Malawi and HOM9 denotes the ninth album released under this name.

Duration 25 minutes.

album cover for Yuri's dream by hastings of malawi

The eighth recording released under the name Hastings of Malawi - a digital only release available on the Papal products label

Duration 37 minutes.

CD cover for live in Vienna album by hastings of malawi

CD recording of Hastings of Malawi live at the Klang30 festival in Vienna in 2023 available on the Klanggalerie label

Hastings of Malawi playing live in Münster, Germany
cover artwork for yeah baby single by hastings of malawi

Yeah Baby - single released in 2023 on the Chocolate monk label. (artwork by Ted Trager)

Duration 3 minutes.

album cover for London zoo 1939 by hastings of malawi

London Zoo 1939 - the seventh recording released under the name Hastings of Malawi - a digital only release available on the Papal products label

Duration 25 minutes.

CD album cover for 30 steps towards a by hastings of malawi

30 steps towards a. The sixth composition released under the name Hastings of Malawi. A Self help method. Released on CD by the Papal Products label. Available here

Duration 30 minutes.

album cover for electromechanical dissociation by hastings of malawi

Electromechanical Dissociation - the fifth Hastings of Malawi LP. Individually lathe cut transparent acetate disks presented in a transparent cover. Sounds of electromagnetic induction, sounds of internal combustion engines with clarinet, saxophone and voice interpretations of numerical data transmitted between Mission Control and astronauts during the NASA Apollo and Mercury space missions . Released on the Papal Products label. Available here

Duration 35 minutes.

album cover for choreological exchanges by hastings of malawi

Choreological Exchanges. The fourth Hastings of Malawi vinyl LP. A dance that takes place within the chain, or pipe, that is brain - mouth - telephone - telephone exchange - telephone - ear - brain. It combines the sounds of mechanical telephone exchanges, the voices of telephone engineers, digital voice synthesis and the voice of Yuri Gagarin. Released on the SubRosa label.

Duration 35 minutes.

album cover for Axial incidents LP by hastings of malawi

Axial Incidents - the third Hastings of Malawi album (the Xmas album) Released on the SubRosa label on purple vinyl. (artwork by David Hodes)

Duration 38 minutes.

album cover for visceral underskinnings LP by hastings of malawi

Visceral Underskinnings - the second Hastings of Malawi album. Released on the SubRosa label on yellow vinyl. (artwork by David Hodes)

This two-track, forty-minute record toes the line between music and sound art as well as incorporating blasts of pure noise. Machines malfunction, strange voices chant, seasick computer melodies ghost in and out of the mix, and structurally the sides have plenty in common with the surreal collage of the album’s artwork. It’s a challenging record, but persevere and you’ll realise that Hastings Of Malawi have given us a Dadaist masterpiece. - Bleep.com

Duration 39 minutes.

album cover for Vibrant Stapler obscures Characteristic Growth LP by hastings of malawi

Vibrant Stapler Obscures Characteristic Growth - the first Hastings of Malawi album - originally released on the Papal Products label in 1981 on red and orange vinyl. Later re released on the SubRosa label initially on red vinyl then as a limited edition on gold vinyl. (artwork by David Hodes)

....a heavily beguiling session of dadaist lo-fi concrète, coruscating haywire synths, the speaking clock and lots of acousmatic clangour ...Strikingly future-proofed by way of its outlandish, disclocated temporality and punkish disregard for convention, - untrammelled, explorative madness. ...one of the wildest records you’ve never heard before. - Boomkat

Duration 37 minutes.

Back to top of page