Lata Ramasar – The Greatest Name That Lives [ICE009]

Hindustani singer/songwriter Lata Ramasar’s “The Greatest Name That Lives” has long been considered something of a pioneering voodoo disco/proto-house classic. In a bid to beat bootleggers, Invisible City have rushed through this official re-edit – produced with the cooperation of the Ramasar family – backing the original version with Alessandro Adriani’s infamous, previously unreleased remix on the flip. While that version, blessed as it is with additional analogue drum machine hits and dub effects, is rather fine, it’s the druggy simplicity of the chugging, synthesizer-heavy original – on which Ramasar’s vocal sounds particularly haunting – that’s the real killer.

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Lata Ramasar – The Greatest Name That Lives [ICE009]

VA – World Of Rubber 1 [RUBBER001]

Rubber is a new label from The Hague with a motley mixture of off-radar electronix for both the experimental clubber and home listener. Rubber001 is a bold three-tracker. Mannequin Records head-honcho Alessandro Adriani hits the nail on the head with his secret weapons. Secondly, reigning from Finland, 0.5W pans across the room like running with titanium scissors. The cherry on top is this piece of Dutch drum-laden ”poetry”, probably on illegal medication, about a bicycle mechanic from The Hague by legends Unit Moebius, Reverend Cor Gout and Salo Mentale.

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VA – World Of Rubber 1 [RUBBER001]

VA – Der Zeltweg – Italian Tapes Industrial Music 1982-84 [MNQ060]

For a brief moment Turin was Italy’s Sheffield, producing an astonishing number of DIY electronic groups. In the context of a wider Europe, Italy has never been thought of as a hotbed of minimal electronic music, but Mannequin Records compilations Danza Meccanica: Italian Synth Wave 1982-1987 have shone a light on a scene little heard, even within Italy’s borders. But the history was still incomplete.. some new horizons now must be unveiled, showing that between the years of 1982 and 1984, the city of Turin in northwest Italy was home to a quiet underground renaissance of experimental electronic music.

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VA – Der Zeltweg – Italian Tapes Industrial Music 1982-84 [MNQ060]

Ancien Régime – The Position LP [MNQ032]

The Italian band Ancien Régime with theoir first album on Mannequin Records. “The Position” evokes new wave and synth-pop memories, delivering epic vintage sounds and wrapping them all with catchy riffs and melodies. Still, despite this fascination with the past, the band’s work stands out as a distinctive, highly personal take on the genre. The album is opened by the single “Negative”, with its dark gloomy vocals and war-like drumming. “Negative” is, in fact, the quintessential Ancien Régime composition: wave, biting snare, interweaving synths and guitars, reverbs, delays.

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Ancien Régime – The Position LP [MNQ032]

Newclear Waves – S​/​T LP [DSR028LP]

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Hailing from Rome – Italy, Newclear Waves is essentially the  solo  project  of  Alessandro  Adriani,  mind  and  boss  of  Mannequin  Records,  one  of    the  most  important  synth  wave  /  cold  wave  labels  around,  with  contributions  from Oksana Xiu, an academic russian musician devoted to analog synths. Deeply  influenced  by  the  works  of  the  early  minimal  electronics  sounds  on  Mute  Records  and  4AD,  Newclear  Waves  is  exploring  droned  out  electro  pop  territories  with  an  interest  for  a  refreshing  hyperactive  80s New Wave. Having turned out releases on Mannequin Records, the duo is now presenting a full‐lenght ten  tracks  collection  of  caliginous  pure  analog  minimal  synth  on  the  way  on  Desire  Records,  french  Cold  Wave  and  Electro  Wave  label,  focused  both  in  new  artists  and  stunning reissues from 4AD like Mass, In Camera and Dance Chapter.

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Newclear Waves – S​/​T LP [DSR028LP]

Budapest & Berlin Holiday

Continue reading “Budapest & Berlin Holiday”

Budapest & Berlin Holiday