A rare cassette find in Michigan unleashes more bangers from Patrick S. Keel
Since revealing The Pool’s influence on everyone from LCD Soundsystem to Pet Shop Boys, his legacy and fanbase have continued to grow. While many of these fans reach out to share words of appreciation, Instagram user slabgoody reached out to me with something unexpected and rare.
In his own words, “I bought the tape for 3 dollars off a guy who said he got it in a big lot from a collector in Pennsylvania who looked like Randy Johnson when he played for the Mariners.”
Slabgoody was especially excited because he thought The Pool stopped making music after his 1983 debut, 333, according to my interview with The Pool’s brother, Michael Keel. I immediately reached out to Michael with pictures of the tape. He responded,
“That’s the way he made his cassette tapes for the family at Christmas time. As to the Pool 3 tape he refers to, that is a project that we are still working on with the work tapes and other music that we have uncovered in his archives that have not been released before.”
Knowing that Michael was working with Dark Entries to release more music from The Pool archives, I didn’t realize how massive this find was until I played the digital files slabgooody shared with me.
I was blown away. Side A features a mix of punishing synth wave and funky electro, with Side B diving into ambient textures and score-like compositions. I knew I had to share ‘Local Lix’.
Across the electro-driven track, vocal samples repeat names, one of them being “Jody Denberg.” An Instagram user commented, “Jody Denberg is a legendary radio DJ and music journalist in Patrick's former hometown of Austin. This is wild to hear. Sounds like Paul Hardcastle producing Ministry.”
Patrick S. Keel (The Pool) was proud of Austin, Texas, and repped it frequently. It’s wild to think this tape originated there, was possibly handed out to family members, and was found 40 years later in Michigan. The Pool’s legacy and influence refuse to be kept under wraps, and I have no doubt we’ll be hearing more of his unreleased music soon.
Help spread the word by grabbing “The Pool” and “James Murphy Owes Me Royalties” stickers here, and follow Musically Proper and Dark Entries on Instagram for more updates.
