VA – So Low [VF170]

Optimo’s prolific DJ/producer/label boss JD Twitch aka Keith McIvor has curated a compilation of early ‘80s synth, industrial and cold wave classics and undiscovered gems in collaboration with The Vinyl Factory, titled So Low. The 16-track collection had its genesis in McIvor’s irregular club night of the same name in his hometown of Glasgow. “So Low is an occasional night at The Poetry Club in Glasgow where I play some of the music I played when I first started DJing back in 1987,” McIvor explains. “At that time the audience I played to mostly loathed what I was playing and rarely danced but then shortly after, when House music arrived I found a different audience who actually liked to dance. In response to my wife’s deep love of this music and requests from some friends who were too young to hear it in a club at the time, or indeed were not even born when most of this music was made, I was persuaded to revisit a lot of records I still loved but rarely played out, and So Low was born. It has an extremely enthusiastic audience, a joyous atmosphere and is the antithesis of what a club in Scotland playing this music nearly 30 years ago would have been like.”

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VA – So Low [VF170]

Visonia – Opals Sunflowers [TRAJECTORYLP3]

The second Visonia album out now on Last Known Trajectory. Stunning cold-wave influenced techno and electronics, ‘Opal’s Sunflowers’ continues the new-wave/cold wave theme combined with inimitable romanticism. Coupling emotive elegance with eighties synth-pop influences and the result is quite simply splendid.

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Visonia – Opals Sunflowers [TRAJECTORYLP3]

Stabat Stable – Ultrissima On The Junk’s Moon [CACHE014LP]

Incredible, idiosyncratic and obscure early 80s French futurist DIY project led by Jean-Luc Aime (Univers Zero) this feature-length album of elusive recordings marks the bone fide axis point where Zeuhl-Skool meets synth pop, dark ambient and early electro culled from rare vinyl and disparate cassette co-op releases for this first ever LP release.

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Stabat Stable – Ultrissima On The Junk’s Moon [CACHE014LP]

Move – Move [MNQ074]

Long sought after by collectors and originally released in 1986 by a small independent label, the sound of this stellar full length is driven by sharp post-punk guitars, tribal rhythms and ghostly synthesizers, following the UK cold wave and post-punk tradition. A forgotten classic, strongly recommended for fans of Joy Division, New Order, Section 25, Killing Joke, Bauhaus, Gang Of Four.

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Move – Move [MNQ074]

Night Court – Law & Order [NNF313LP]

NIGHT COURT - Law & Order

The origins of these enigmatic VHS-scrambled prog-techno explorations are so true and tripped they’re worth quoting in full from co-chairman Christopher Hontos: “Night Court was recorded in July two summers ago (’13) in a remote cabin on Lake Namekagan (located on national forest grounds in northern Wisconsin). We usually do these ball-busting weeklong recording sessions up there with a good group of folks and a grip of mushrooms. For this one we had this idea of setting up our synths on the deck and doing a trippy somnabulistic overnight open-air recording sesh that would be called “Night Court.” However when the time came and the crew got together we interpreted the name literally and ended up jamming out an album of legal system-themed tracks. We recorded the entire album in one day every song in one take and with very little post-production. Track after track flowed and we never drifted from the theme nor spent time diverting our focus (with the exception of Farstad being vetoed after trying to start up a footwork-style track). After the session we were all so burnt-out and fried we thought little of the recordings. But as time passed we went back to them and realized we had struck gold. Italics ours – this is rare ore. A freaked fusion vision, flowing cold city collectivist synths interlaid with executioner guitar, ambulance/TV samples, alley haze, and flashing sirens sax. Insane music for insane times. Its meanings are manifold: political (a sweeping overview of the nothing-specific nature of humanity via the American legal system), metaphoric (tongue-in-cheek turns to fist-in-air, and we realize that life imitates fiction less than fiction imitates life), realistic (at the time of recording none of us had ever seen an entire episode Law & Order).”

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Night Court – Law & Order [NNF313LP]

The KVB – Mirror Being [INV147]

Now Berlin-based duo The KVB land on Geoff Barrow’s Invada label for the first in a series of releases. Mirror Being differs from most releases from The KVB as the pair’s deep set vocals, a key component of their sound, are largely absent from the 10 tracks but their reverb soaked mastery of guitars and analogue gear is still very much evident throughout.

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The KVB – Mirror Being [INV147]

No More – A Rose Is A Rose [DE084]

NO MORE - A Rose Is A Rose

No More are a band from Kiel, Germany, founded in the summer of 1979. Their music is rooted in early Post Punk / No Wave. No More began as a quartet with Andy A. Schwarz (vocals, guitar, bass), Tina Sanudakura (synthesizers), Christian Darc (drums, vocals) and Thomas Welz (bass, vocals). In 1982 No More released the mini­-album “A Rose Is A Rose’ on 10′. Songs on this mini­-LP convey the desolate and bleak attitude of German youth in the early 1980s. This reissue compiles all 8 tracks from the mini­-LP, both tracks from the Suicide Commando’ 7′ plus 3 demos from 1982.

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No More – A Rose Is A Rose [DE084]

Ssleeping Desiress – Ssleeping Desiress LP [OS026]

Coldwave / darkwave debut album by San Francisco based producer Gabriel Ramos. While the band has gone through some lineup changes Ssleeping Desiress has essentially remained the sole recorded output of Gabriel Ramos, who has been the only constant member. The album runs the boundaries between minimal synth, coldwave, and electro with lyrical themes spanning gentrification to coping with loss.

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Ssleeping Desiress – Ssleeping Desiress LP [OS026]

Post Industrial Noise – The Official Anthology [MR045LP]

Medical Records in collaboration with Crispy Nuggets is proud to present a collection of tracks by Post Industrial Noise. PIN was an “audio artsemble” conceived in 1982 in Columbus, Ohio by the trio Robert Crise Jr, Gerald F. Nelson, and Dana Riashi Ritchey. The output of PIN could be described a more experimental/minimalist offshoot of new wave with pleasant synth sequences blanketed in rich synth tones. The opening track “Sketch” has a definite cold wave vibe with slightly echoed vocals over a subtle drum machine beat and monotonous synth lines. “Prelude” is a deep instrumental cut with synth and sample interplay resulting in a hypnotic slab of brilliance. The tracks on this collection have been restored from the original analog tape reel for this reissue.

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Post Industrial Noise – The Official Anthology [MR045LP]

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]

2+2=5 – Into The Future [MNQ058]

Anniversary Edition of this Italian Cold Wave masterpiece from 1984. On a cold autumn evening in Milan in 1981, Nino La Loggia met Giacomo Spazio for the first time. The two had the same passion for music: Kraftwerk, Joy Division, DAF and the whole new scene of proto-electronic wave headed by Cabaret Voltaire. Together they decided to start the musical project called 2 + 2 = 5, a tribute to Orwellian dystopia. Shortly after, Cha Cha Hagiwara joined the band. Already a keyboard player in Jeunesse d’Ivoire, she enriched the band’s raw sound with sonority and resonance which we can now define as analog. In 1983 the trio entered the studio to record their first LP titled ‘Into The Future’, now reissued by Mannequin Records for the 30th Anniversary.

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2+2=5 – Into The Future [MNQ058]

Das Ding – Why Is My Life So Boring? LP [EE001RTM]

Debut release for Electronic Emergencies hailing from Rotterdam. They present their first release, a new album of Dutch cold wave legend Das Ding: Why Is My Life So Boring? It’s a brand new 10-track album, which sounds crisp and young in the club and mature when you play it at home. Das Ding has always had that certain thing; strict and detached beats combined with warm melancholic melodies, emotionally distant and intense at the same time. The sound is clearly analogue and very specific since Danny Bosten rebuilds his vintage synths and builds his own sequencers and modular systems.

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Das Ding – Why Is My Life So Boring? LP [EE001RTM]

The Rattler Proxy – Death Machine [LURID002]

The Rattler Proxy, a sonic duo from Athens, release their second single featuring two original songs – ”Company of Wolves” and ”Death Machine” – along with two remixes of the latter by Antoni Maiovvi and Jokers Of The Scene. The Rattler Proxy explore the realm of urban alienation through intense and claustrophobic soundscapes. Often swapping their pulsating electronic crawl, for digital rockabilly-esque freak-outs, theirs is a world of back alleys and gang laden imagery, a rhythmic decent into a hellish, concrete landscape.

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The Rattler Proxy – Death Machine [LURID002]

The Actor – Exploded View [MNQ057]

Mannequin Records announce the reissue of one of the most important Dutch Wave bands The Actor, with their seminal 1982 tape “Exploded View”. “In the beginning of the eighties, a new phenomenon emerged: home taping. This way of recording resulted in a lot of noise. But that was less important then getting one’s music out to the public. A well known label for cassette bands in those days was the dutch Trumpett Tapes. They were the first to publish the music of The Actor, who became their top selling cassette band in 1982 and 1983. The Actor’s first release was Exploded View in 1982. The songs – sung both in English and German – often related to fashion, modernism, dancing and appearence. This made The Actor “quite fashionable.”

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The Actor – Exploded View [MNQ057]

Light Sounds Dark – Light Sounds Dark [LSD013]

Blimey, Light Sounds Dark really went to town on this new compilation of curios, obscurities and delights that’s spread across three 12″s. If you’ve indulged in previous slabs of LSD curated obscurity then you should have an idea of what is waiting for you within the rather tempting mirrored, triple-gatefold sleeve; namely a smorgasbord of industrial, proto rhythms and early wave sounds. Unlike previous Light Sounds Dark transmissions, there is no identifying information of any sort.

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Light Sounds Dark – Light Sounds Dark [LSD013]

VA – Selection 1 [WP001]

The first release by Worn Pop Records, independent label from Kiev, Ukraine, curated by Nikita Mekalin. Tracks by Ukrainian acts Cold Comfort, Aircraft, Geuxx, Londoners Sundaze and Neiv from Italy.

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VA – Selection 1 [WP001]

Nine Circles – Number Not Available [EV009]

EE Tapes are more than honoured to welcome Nine Circles aboard of their 7″ vinyl series.  A new line-up with new challenges, starring Lidia “The Rose” Fiala and keyboard  wizz Per-Anders Kurenbach.

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Nine Circles – Number Not Available [EV009]

V2 Schneider – Tape Works 1981-85 [VOD126]

The finest German Minimal / Synth from early 80’s NDW Underground by V2 Schneider. For this release Jurgen Schweighart, alias V2 Schneider, sat down, saved and listened to approximately 50 original master tapes, reels and cassettes from 1980 to 1985 including his official tape releases ”Vol. 1” (1981), ”Blues” (1982), ”Abgrund der Gefuhle” (1984), ”Nr.1 in Hong Kong” (1985), ”After A.I.D.S. Symphony” (1985) and many so far unreleased hidden treasures, demos and out-takes. At the request of VOD-Records, none of the tracks were remixed or edited and therefore kept in their authentic original and charming form.

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V2 Schneider – Tape Works 1981-85 [VOD126]

LeLu/Lu’s – Operating On Specific Cues: Early Works 1982-86 [VOD125]

LELU/LU'S - Operating On Specific Cues: Early Works 1982-86

LeLu/Lu’s were an early to late 80’s electronic/synth-based project based around Deni (in the early 80’s known as Yo-Yo and nowadays known as Timekode). In 1985 they released a fantastic 12 song tape on Unlikely Records (URT91) called ”Operating on Specific Cues” which forms the basis of this 25 track 2 LP-release While the tape is still rather unknown to fans of synth music, the three 7”s released from 1985-87 (on Alain Neffe’s Insane Music as well as Possum and R&D Records), with the outstanding tracks ”Spaceman Bassman”, ”Africa” and ”Fragile Thing”, are better known to the minimal synth/wave community and collectors of 80’s wave and minimal synth vinyl.

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LeLu/Lu’s – Operating On Specific Cues: Early Works 1982-86 [VOD125]

Rational Youth – Cold War Night Life Recordings 1981-84 [VOD124]

One of Canadas first synth-pop groups, Rational Youth was formed in the summer of 1981 by Tracy Howe (The Normals, Men Without Hats, Heaven Seventeen) and Bill Vorn (U, Sacred Noise). Within the 10+ years that Howe put Rational Youth on indefinite hiatus, their early vinyl recordings (1981-1982) became much sought after collector items, and had been re-branded as minimal-synth. This 5LP set with booklet provides an almost complete overview of their works from 1981-1984.

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Rational Youth – Cold War Night Life Recordings 1981-84 [VOD124]