WHAT YOU COULD NOT VISUALIZE: Rema-Rema the Post-Punk Enigma

You can dig down into the annals of any genre, and you’ll excavate some immaculate relic that could be an undiscovered classic, underrated gem; a lesser seen, seldom heard, barely distributed, preciously kept masterpiece that’s eluded the masses because, as is the case with many artists the work is beyond its own time. This figurative scenario applies to main genres, rock, rap, pop, and so forth, and the “you” applies to well anyone; but when it comes to subgenres, namely ones as distinctive and hallowed as post-punk, you need someone like Marco Porsia to excavate something as special as the subject of his latest rock inspired documentary, What You Could Not Visualize (Visualise outside of the US). 

A Hidden Legacy In Plan Sight

The buried treasure here is Rema-Rema, a band whose legacy is as enigmatic as the post-punk phenomena; having recorded a four-song EP, Wheel in the Roses, the subtle legacy left behind is something that resonated with a cult of like-minded people from musicians who covered the songs (Big Black, Renegade Soundwave, This Mortal Coil) adjacent members of said bands and other notable musicians, Steve Albini, (Big Black), Bettina Köster, (DIN-A-Testbild) Groovie Mann, (My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult), Chris Connelly (Ministry, Revolting Cocks), JG Thirwell, (PragVEC, Foetus), Stephen Mallinder, (Cabaret Voltaire), Betina Köster (Malaria!), Peter ‘Pinko’ Fowler, (creator/producer Snub TV) it’s a veritable who’s who of musicians and a field day for fans and a pen-and-paper type documentary; even the most informed disciples will find something of interest in this comprehensive and moody movie. 

Opening with James Elliott, a perfumer who discovered his gift because of his synesthesia, concocting a scent specifically inspired by the music of Rema-Rema, this framing device articulates the alchemical effect of music, the power of its influence and is corollary to the creative process. Who hasn’t taken in the scent of a moment, tasted a sound, or licked a memory?

It’s the liminal space where something as seemingly innocuous as a short-lived band, whose legacy is a 4-track EP, can thrive in the minds of an entire generation, creating an enigmatic legacy enlivened by their elusive, almost mysterious narrative; it’s another case where the unlikely/uncommon denominator isn’t merely the niche arena of post-punk 4AD scene, you have to burrow into the sub-strata, unearth a little matter, and extract a nugget that is the riddle that is Rema-Rema. 

(Talk Talk) Talking Heads

This rolodex of talking heads laying on praise is one sincerity after another. There’s this roiling kettle of behind-the-scenes reverence; Rema-Rema is presented as both an under-heard, lesser-seen instrument that unlocks and decodes the mysterious locus of the veritable post-punk phenomena. There’s the recognition of everything oft associated with this period, and the film presents us with a modicum of significant players touting their admiration for this group, and What You Could Not Visualize reveals that amid the manifold leagues of shifting cultural mores and musical transformation, there’s this glacially charged thumping pulse that is Rema-Rema informing, inspiring and hiding in plain sight as this pivotal sea-change in music is going on.

To a varying degree, we all know Magazine, Throbbing Gristle, Wire, Talk Talk, Gang of Four, A Certain Ratio, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and so forth, one could draw a roadmap to-and-from these players and all the associated music, but this movie is about the sincerity of a specific time and place, the fluttering lure of a specific sound, and in this case the sound is the music of Rema-Rema. 

Cover Art – An Album Says a Million Words

While there’s something to be said for a compelling rock doc, a historical timeline covering the big moments, triumphant touchstones, and dramatic junctures, from where I’m standing, it doesn’t feel like that’s not what Marco Porsia is going for. What You Could Not Visualize is about the music, not just that of Rema-Rema (although that’s the guiding measure) but the brick-and-mortar operation of playing live, recording an album, practicing, cultivating an image, and generating album art. The band members (Marc Cox, Mick Allen, Gary Asquith, Dorothy Max Prior sans Marco Pirroni who declined to participate in the film) casually share their founding, recording techniques, and, most importantly, the inspirations of the recondite elements that make their work so compelling.

The background behind the album art, bassist/vocalist Mick Allen, describes his fascination with African tribal culture and happened across the image, the cover for their EP Wheel in the Roses, where the champion of a Korongo Nuba wrestling match is carried on the shoulders of their defeated contender. Porsia’s sly inclusion of footage from George Rodgers’ ethnographic documentary Kordofan – The Nuba Tribe of Southern Sudan reveals the delicate immensity of varying dimensions contained in this world incidentally cultivated by this group.

Looking Forward – Marco Porsia & Hidden Gems

 Later in the feature, people begin to note that this period was replete with bands who, despite their reputation, recorded one album and were then shuffled into the flotsam of otherness. But I don’t think Porsia is saying, “This is just one tale of many….” Because that invalidates the whole trip. Not to diminish the work of others, and that’s not to say that there’s not some 7″ demo-reel or EP that’s equally deserving of its own feature, but What You Could Not Visualize is about Rema-Rema. Sure, like any good documentary, there’s more to it than its titular premise, but it’s about the unique vision and crackling, lighting-in-a-bottle moment that gave us Rema-Rema. 

 Something of an acolyte of Rodney Ascher, director Marco Porsia presents the film as “A Visual Artefact by Marco Porsia,” a fitting moniker for an essay film that feels like an amalgam of Ascher’s uncanny ability to discover a rich tapestry of material in between the lines of pop cultures back catalogs and Porsia, who already displayed superlative music doc-chops with his 2020 Where Does a Body End, perhaps the definitive documentary on the singular group Swans featuring some brilliantly candid footage with member Michael Gira and Jarboe.

To say that Porsia is the only one cut out for this task is an understatement; he’s the only one with the cunning to conceive What You Could Not Visualize. Someone could make a definitive punk/post-punk documentary, and as we’ve seen with the crowd-funded multi-volume features ala In Search of Darkness series, fun as they are, it’s a series of people agreeing with one another about stuff we’ve already crowned as culturally significant. Something like that is easy to watch in terms of entertainment, but does it really mean anything in terms of longevity? 

Wrapping Up – Release Information 

In the end, our perfumer James Elliott provides a thorough rundown of his process, his scent, his realization of Rema-Rema, the way he expresses his interpretation of this sliver of musical miasma, and its revelation. We feel like active participants, and in a way, we, as the viewers, have undergone a journey and, alongside Elliott, have been directing a movie of his own with this scent derived from the tonal ascensions contained within these tonal arrangements. This apotheosis is so hazily aligned with the conjuring vibe of the film, and how it brings us to the profound destination of artistic completion is miraculous. 

I might be projecting here, but the work of Marco Porsia feels like a refutation of the nostalgia-fueled currency of our present-day cinema; What You Could Not Visualize and Where Does a Body End cast an eye forward by recovering something distinctive to a time when a change was constant and artistic evolutions were cropping up underfoot. What other filmmaker can you say the same for?

What You Could Not Visualize has played at festivals, namely Doc’n Roll Film Fest 10 November 2022, and is awaiting a potential DVD/Blu-Ray release. Its initial Canadian release date was back in November of 2022.

Watch What You Could Not Visualize