Written by: David Bowie, Brian Eno, Reeves Gabrels, Mike Garson, Erdal Kızılçay, Sterling Campbell
Recorded: May 1994 – February 1995
Producers: David Bowie, Brian Eno, David Richards
Released: 25 September 1995
Available on:
1.Outside
Personnel
David Bowie: vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, treatmentsBrian Eno: keyboards, synthesizer, treatments
Reeves Gabrels: guitar
Erdal Kızılçay: bass guitar, keyboards
Mike Garson: piano
Sterling Campbell: drums
‘(Segue) – Algeria Touchshriek’ is the second and longest of five spoken-word pieces on David Bowie’s 1.Outside album.
In the Outside story, Baby Grace Blue was a 14-year-old murder victim. Her death is being investigated by detective Nathan Adler and his assistant Paddy, who work for Art-Crime Inc.
The murderer is a mysterious artist known as The Minotaur. There are three main suspects: Leon Blank, a former convict and outsider; Ramona A Stone, Blank’s former lover, who may also have been in a relationship with Adler; and Algeria Touchshriek, a septuagenarian man who portrays himself – perhaps falsely – as lonely and frail.
Sounds: Do I detect a character from 1984 lurking on your new album?Bowie: Not intentionally. The guy who rents the room… A-ha – Catshriek! Yes, the guy who owns the store in 1984. That’s a little bit of him, I thought. It is very much. A very English character, he’s almost the stereotypical shop owner.
Sounds: 1984’s dystopian imagery has always played a role in your music.
Bowie: It has, indeed. I think it comes out of my background. For those of us born in South London, you always felt you were in 1984. That’s the kind of gloom and immovable society that a lot of us felt we grew up in.
The vinyl edition of the album was titled Excerpts From 1.Outside. In addition to shorter edits of ‘Leon Takes Us Outside’ and ‘The Motel’, it omitted the songs ‘No Control’, ‘Wishful Beginnings’, ‘Thru’ These Architects Eyes’, and ‘Strangers When We Meet’, as well as the Algeria Touchshriek and second Nathan Adler segues.
Outside, Track 10 – Segue – Algeria Touchshriek
Here’s another wonderfully bizarre interlude. Sounds like they diid a lot of processing on my piano – so interesting. #TimsTwitterListeningParty
— Mike Garson (@mikegarson) July 5, 2020
Lyrics
My name is Mr Touchshriek, of Touchshriek with mail over and fantasy.
My shop sells egg shells off the shesores and empty females.
I’m thinking of leasing the room above my shop to a Mr Walloff Domburg, a reject from the world wide internet.
He’s a broken man. I’m also a broken man.
It would be nice to have company. We could have great conversations, looking through windows for demons and watching the young advance in all electric.
Some of the houses around here still have inhabitants in them.
I’m not sure if they’re from this country or not.
I don’t get to speak much to anyone, or that sort of thing.
If I had another broken man.
Oh, I dream of something like that.
