Stratis is an electronic duo from Cologne, Germany, formed by Antonios Stratis and Albert Klein in 1981. They took inspiration from the progressive electronic synthscapes of Tangerine Dream & Vangelis and the proto-techno of Chris & Cosey and Yello, as well as jazz and funk. The duo recorded 5 cassette-only albums between 1982 and 1986 – Exotic, New Face, Musica da Ballo, Film Musik, and Raging Beauty – which were released on their own label Creative Tapes (later called Temporary Music), and which were also licensed to Colin Potter’s Integrated Circuit Records (ICR) label. We are pleased to announce the first ever standalone vinyl reissue of their sophomore album “New Face’, which was recorded and released in 1983. It consists of eight future-fixated tracks that could have been composed for movies like Blade Runner or Tron. A wide range of minimal electronics are presented, from robotic synth pop to melancholic cold wave to Neue Deutsche Welle electro.
cold wave
All posts tagged cold wave
No stranger to the darkness, Kris Baha takes us by the heart this time for the 8th She Lost Lontrol’s release. The sound of this 12 extended EP is sad as it is romantic filling the void of most things that are present in our lives albeit momentarily. ‘In Your Arms’ is not the defeat but the endless struggle, the serendipitous celebration of loss. Within the lyrical confines as dark as the period that brought them to light, he screams about fighting and resisting in a cruel present through a selfless in-look for a outsiders perspective into what it means to him and us to have lost to love , lost to lust and lost to death. Every end has a beginning.
It’s been almost six years since the release of the band’s critically-acclaimed debut album “The World Is Getting Colder”. Since then the half Brit-half German duo have established themselves as one of the most powerful and successful genre-defining acts throughout Europe, scoring 5 heart-throbbing albums and numerous performances all around the world, making them one of the most successful bands of the cold wave / minimal wave scene. Lebanon Hanover’s the 5th album “Let Them Be Alien” is available via Fabrika Records. Exploring the sonic and emotional range that the audience have learned to expect from Lebanon Hanover, “Let Them Be Alien” is built up in emotional vocals, liquid chords, dramatic keys, and distorted digital waves where the duo recalls the eerie clouds of industrial and goth 1980’s. The album depicts the dark honesty and profound feelings of two alienated personas with true romantic hearts yet feeling socially unrest. In each track, William and Larissa tell a different story which will sweep the audience through a deep, conscious, continual and wistful trip, and ultimately keep them anchored in feelings.
First chapter on Onderstroom digging into the history of Dutch minimal synth & wave. Comes in a gatefold sleeve with metallic finishing and pressed on 180gr. vinyl. Who needs a big, expensive recording studio with all those fancy high-tech machines that only make your weary head spin when you can do it all by yourself at home in your (teenage) bedroom? Way back in the early eighties all you really needed was an idea, quite a bit of guts and some rudimentary equipment. You could basically do whatever you wanted. The means were limited, yet the sky was unbounded. It was the time of the cold war nuclear threat, social unrest and mass unemployment but at the same time it was an era of infinite possibilities. The future was just around the corner. A lot of music that was being produced sounded just like that: a brave new world of sound and rhythm. Music was simply put on cheap cassettes, easily duplicated and swiftly distributed in limited quantities into the big world outside.