left ear records

Tim Gruchy / Michael Krilich – Jungles / Arnhem Land [LER1037]

hipodrome, , , , Leave a comment

Left Ear are delivering two previous unreleased Australian ‘experimental’ electronic tracks from the 80’s and honouring them with a split 12” release. Side A: Features an unreleased full-length version of Tim Gruchy’s Jungles, a solo electro-percussive piece recorded in Tim’s Lab D’Avoid studio in Brisbane. The track is emblematic of his style during an era when he worked extensively in music, both as a percussionist and primarily with electronics, including early analog synths. Side B: Michael Krilich’s Arnhem Land began its journey in 1982 in a shared house in North Bondi. Inspired by Brian Eno and David Byrne’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, he experimented with tape loops, cut-ups, and samples, incorporating synthesizers, effects pedals, a drum machine, and an unknown sample from an Australian Aboriginal record.

listen

Tim Gruchy / Michael Krilich – Jungles / Arnhem Land [LER1037]

Poetical Licence – Footprints [LER1033]

hipodrome, , , , , Leave a comment

Poetical License was a brief project uniting Scottish born and Aotearoan (New Zealand) musician Mark Airlie and keyboardist and vocalist Keri Ansley after the duo met in New Plymouth. The solitary 7” came together in 1986, recorded at the infamous Auckland studio, The Lab. The A side’s fragile Footprints is as utterly charming as it is drenched in melancholia with a delicate glockenspiel lick and Ansley’s ethereal delivery of the vocals. On the B Side, Room 101 pivots to wonky rock and a more post-punk approach to composition. The two tracks shine brightly among an abundance of outsider gems made in Aotearoa during the 1980s

listen

Poetical Licence – Footprints [LER1033]

LITIA-LOE – Life Love Dance [LER1032/MS09]

hipodrome, , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Left Ear Records and Mixed Signals team up again to refresh LITIA=LOE’s mid-90s album “Life Love Dance”. On this timeless release, the group channel the golden age of Nu Groove, foundational Warp releases, and the Ibiza days of New Order, all rooted in a uniquely Chicago sound. Five years after their EBM-tinged cerebral house anthem “Each Dawn Every Dawn”, the Litia~Loe (Life In The Insane Asylum = Life On Earth) crew dropped a lush album of wider proportion — six songs that feel more mature, more confident. Yet, despite this cultivated style, they continue to maintain the distinctive jest of their first outing. Grant, Leon, and Simeon’s new approach was more exploratory, traversing adventurous channels of pop, wave, IDM, and house. Not only are the songs more varied, but the growth of the trio’s technical skills are apparent. These songs feel more considered, like they have been refined over time, given just the right amount of polish without losing the ecstatic rawness that gives them breath and bounce. Life Love Dance captures the sound of primetime Chicago melodic house music, but offers something more expansive. Uninhibited by the borders of genre, the trio took a more inclusive approach to their music, which catalyzed in a playful and peerless production style which makes their work stand out from the droves of generic dance records from that era.

listen

LITIA-LOE – Life Love Dance [LER1032/MS09]

VA – Antipodean Anomalies 2 [LER1031]

hipodrome, , , , , , , Leave a comment

Antipodean Anomalies 2 is Left Ear Records most ambitious project to date, a compilation that took over 4 years to license and includes 17 artists across a double LP. AA2 picks up where the first iteration left off, with co-compilers Chris Bonato & Bridget Small continuing to dig through the music of the geographically isolating and maverick landscapes of Australia & New Zealand. As with the first iteration, Left Ear continues to excavate the music from these vast micro-scenes that evolved out of a number of small community-focused domains creating their own unique reinterpretation of musical influences from near and far, spanning the years 1980 – 1992. The compilation scopes an overlooked epoch from Adelaide, presenting acts such as the DNA Lounge, TCH & Will Kuiper. A close-knit community of like-minded mates that made distinctive electronic music together throughout the 80’s, all of which remained unreleased until now.

listen

VA – Antipodean Anomalies 2 [LER1031]

Influenza Prods. – Mémoire [LER1029]

hipodrome, , , , , , Leave a comment

Bruno De Angelis and Giovanna Gulinello unwittingly met in London in the late 70’s, after being introduced by a mutual friend. It wasn’t until Bruno rescued Giovanna from an awkward date that the pair became a couple. At the time, music was just something they did for fun. In 1981 the pair moved back to Italy and found an apartment in Rome. It’s here that they began to focus on their music and where they started ‘recording’ their tracks. As with many artists during the early 80’s, the Influenza Prods’ sound was the direct result of the accessibility of emerging electronic instruments and the recording equipment available to them. Influenza Prods managed to ‘release’ three tapes which comprised of the Greatest Tits (1983), Cheek-A-Bomba (1984) and Quasi Solo (1985).

listen

Influenza Prods. – Mémoire [LER1029]

Tester Housing – Over You [LER026]

hipodrome, , , , , Leave a comment

TESTER HOUSING - Over You

Tester Housing was the short-lived band consisting of mates Bill Tolson and Ken Olver. The duo met during the early 1980s in the burgeoning Southside of Melbourne, St Kilda. Pitched along the bayside, St Kilda at the time was full of artists, painters, writers, poets and musicians. The suburb was the type of place where dwellers wore their hearts on their sleeves; the sort to be found sharing a jug at the pub after a fist fight. The St Kilda music scene during the late ‘70s and ‘80s was infamous, breeding bands such as the Primitive Calculators and The Boys Next Door.

listen

Tester Housing – Over You [LER026]

Rajan James – Impossible Dreams [LER1024]

hipodrome, , , , Leave a comment

Rajan James, the Jamaican-born English-raised musician’s ‘Impossible Dreams’ is an inspirational sax-laced single that walks a fine line between North American boogie and British synth-pop influences of the 1980’s, yet manages to sound distinctly her own. Left Ear have salvaged both the unreleased full-length versions, including the instrumental for a 12” single.

listen

Rajan James – Impossible Dreams [LER1024]

Lungile Masitha – Vuyani [LER1017]

hipodrome, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

LUNGILE MASITHA - Vuyani

Lungile Masitha was the short-lived studio name for renowned SA artist Sello ‘Chicco’ Twala, who played with such iconic bands as Harari and Umoja. However, in the mid 80’s his name was under license to one of the major labels and in an effort for self-expression recorded under the name ‘Lungile Masitha’, here he linked up with long term friend Jimmy Mngwandi to co-write and arrange the two tracks ‘Vuyani’ & ‘Makoti’, both sung in his native Tsongan tongue. Vuyani is an upbeat tune that matches Chicco’s unique vocal style with percolating drums and distorted choruses to incredible effect, while Makoti is a mellower blend of floating keys and choruses sung by local kids in an effort to expose “emerging talent”.

listen

Lungile Masitha – Vuyani [LER1017]

Peter Westheimer – Cool Change LP [LER1008]

hipodrome, , , Leave a comment

WESTHEIMER, Peter - Cool Change

If you walk into a record store you might discover Peter’s recordings filed under the usual headings: Electronic, Ambient, Experimental or New Age. Peter has long loved blending sounds from around the globe, with both Asian and European classical influences often finding comfortable spaces beside his synth pop sensibilities within his soundscapes. In the record stores of our minds you might also file some of Peter Westheimer tracks like ’Walking On The Edge’ or ‘Elastic Smiles’ under Mutant Disco or Divergent Dance Music.

listen

Peter Westheimer – Cool Change LP [LER1008]

Shahara-ja – I’m An Arabian Knight [LER1007]

hipodrome, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

SHAHARA JA - I'm An Arabian Knight (reissue)

The history of dance music is littered with one-hit wonders. The mysterious Sahara-Ja, whose one and only 12″ appeared on Australian label Central Station back in 1989, is a perfect example. Since slipping out in limited quantities 18 years ago, the Egyptian Lover-does-’80s soul cut “I’m An Arabian Knight” has become something of an in-demand record amongst collectors. This timely reissue contains all four versions included on the original ’89 release, including a tasty instrumental and the must-heavy Funky Arabian Mix. This sublime version puts more emphasis on the producer’s killer electro rhythm, dreamy chords, and cascading, Persian style synthesizer melodies.

listen

Shahara-ja – I’m An Arabian Knight [LER1007]

Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo – Mastership [LER1005]

hipodrome, , , , , , , Leave a comment

STARSHIP COMMANDER WOOOOO WOOOOO - Mastership

Left Ear Records went back to Coleman’s original master tapes for their vinyl reissue of the Commander’s 1981 private press album Mastership, a lost electronic funk classic. Truly nuts and really kind of essential. Check the instrumental cut, Mastership – a head nod synth voyage of the highest order.

listen

Starship Commander Wooooo Wooooo – Mastership [LER1005]

Thesda – Spaced Out [LER1004]

hipodrome, , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

THESDA - Spaced Out

The Left Ear label hit that sweet spot once more, diving into the archive and coming back for air brandishing a veritable slab of private press jazz funk history. Originally pressed in 1979 in a run of 100 copies, Thesda was the brainchild of Thomas Crawford and Eugene C. Hagburg, backed ably by a handful of like-minded musicians, and existed for brief moment of sublime expression, captured in its entirety on this gorgeous LP. “Spaced Out” takes us on a cosmic journey through jazz funk, soul and disco into that far out dimension of groovesome psychedelia inhabited by Mandre and Dexter Wansel. Fully licensed and reissued for the very first time, this Left Ear pressing is your best chance to own this forgotten piece of jazz-funk history without having to remortgage the house.

listen

Thesda – Spaced Out [LER1004]