minimal synth
Evelyne / Masao – Testpattern LP [DE-330]
Evelyne/Masao bring ‘Testpattern’ to Dark Entries for the label’s first foray into vintage Japanese electronics. Masao Hiruma and Fumio Ichimura’s project Testpattern is known for their release Apres-Midi, a cult slab of synthpop perfection released by Yukihiro Takahashi and Haruomi Hosono’s legendary Yen Records in 1982. While Hiruma and Ichimura parted ways following Apres-Midi, Hiruma’s musical endeavors would continue after recruiting French/American model and vocalist Evelyne Bennu. The duo spent time performing in Tokyo clubs while recording at Hiruma’s home studio throughout 1984 and 1985. The album Testpattern comprises seventeen of these songs, which have never been released previously. The Evelyne/Masao duo continues building on the soundworld of Apres-Midi: lush, sophisticated electronics with intricate yet minimalist production. Tracks like “Sakuramochi” and “Bird Island” bear influence from Hosono most clearly, their soaring melodies revealing a subtly ironic redeployment of East Asian musical tropes. But Testpattern is more than homage to Yellow Magic Orchestra. “Tabac” and “Le Soleil Se Leve” display oddball sensibilities closer to Sky Records icons Asmus Tietchens or Cluster. Elsewhere, the project shows affinity for the punkier ethos of continental DIY electronics, like on the quirky “Alien Go Home” and a positively skewed cover of “Singin’ in the Rain.” Bennu’s vocals provide a common thread through these explorations, as she alternates deftly between New Wave deadpan and unhinged chanson singer—check her waxing maximally Francophone on “Au Clair de Lune,” based on an 18th century French song. Testpattern will be available on both double LP as well as CD, and includes a fold-out poster with liner notes with lyrics. This album is dedicated to Masao Hiruma, who passed away in 2011.
VA – Nihon No Wave 2 [MEC099]
Japan’s electronic music scene has always stood out as uniquely distinctive. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a wave of underground projects, bands, and independent labels – primarily based in Tokyo and Osaka – began crafting their own sound. Inspired by the post-punk, new wave, and experimental movements emerging from Europe and North America, these artists embraced a DIY ethic, using whatever technology they had access to in order to forge something entirely their own. This movement, often referred to as the “Nippon-wave” scene, remained largely hidden from the outside world. Many of its releases – on cassette tapes, flexi-discs, and privately pressed vinyl – never distributed beyond Japan’s borders, making them rare treasures for the few who managed to discover them. “Nihon No Wave” presents a selection of these long-overlooked recordings, making them accessible to listeners beyond Japan for the first time. This is Nihon No Wave part 2.
VA – Nihon No Wave [MEC030]
Japan’s electronic music scene has always stood out as uniquely distinctive. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a wave of underground projects, bands, and independent labels – primarily based in Tokyo and Osaka – began crafting their own sound. Inspired by the post-punk, new wave, and experimental movements emerging from Europe and North America, these artists embraced a DIY ethic, using whatever technology they had access to in order to forge something entirely their own. This movement, often referred to as the “Nippon-wave” scene, remained largely hidden from the outside world. Many of its releases – on cassette tapes, flexi-discs, and privately pressed vinyl – never distributed beyond Japan’s borders, making them rare treasures for the few who managed to discover them. “Nihon No Wave” presents a selection of these long-overlooked recordings, making them accessible to listeners beyond Japan for the first time. This is Nihon No Wave part 1.
Traxx @ Dreams of Neon 04.07.2025
VA – Underground Wave Vol. 3 [WR005]
Walhalla Records pesetns a limited reprint of the sold-out Volume 3 from the Underground Wave series, featuring Belgian and Dutch wave, synth, and minimal artists. Underground Wave vol. 3 is a minimal synth, EBM and cold wave compilation with hard to find tracks for the first time available on vinyl. It’s a tribute to the underground cassette scene of the eighties, Spleen, RadioNome, Vinyl Magazine and the Dutch ultra movement.
In Trance 95 – The Move [MW083]
Minimal Wave announces the forthcoming release from legendary Greek electronic pioneers In Trance 95. This special EP features six vintage tracks recorded between the late 80s and early 90s at Airdawn Studio in Athens. A vital piece of the Greek electronic music story, these songs showcase In Trance 95’s visionary approach to analog synth and early EBM sounds. Formed in Athens in 1988 by Alex Machairas and Nik Veliotis, In Trance 95 quickly became known for their stark, minimal synth sound, distinguished by hypnotic melodies, analog textures, and a futuristic edge. At a time when electronic music was still emerging in Greece, they were true innovators, blending the raw spirit of early EBM with a distinctly Mediterranean sense of space and atmosphere. Over the decades, their work has earned cult status among fans of underground electronic music worldwide.
Another Body Found – Scooterboys From The Pool LP [CITI033]
Cititrax presents ‘Scooterboys From The Pool’, the debut LP from Another Body Found, the latest project from A//, best known for his pioneering work as Le Syndicat Électronique. Emerging from the depths of the French underground, ABF fuses dark electro, industrial, minimal synth, and wave into a sound that is both stark and visceral. With a focus on raw energy and haunting atmospheres, the project strips electronic music down to its essence – mechanical, hypnotic, and unrelentingly evocative. Blending commanding rhythms with melancholic undertones, ‘Scooterboys From The Pool’ is a descent into shadowy textures and dystopian landscapes, where driving basslines meet icy, mechanical beats in a pulsing haze of underground spirit.
Plague Pits – Escalator To The Abattoir LP [YCR204]
Swiss coldwave DIY collective Plague Pits deliver their third full-length ‘Escalator to the Abattoir’ on Young & Cold Records. “One skill that you master while working at an abattoir is disassociation. You learn to become numb to death and to suffering. Instead of thinking about cows as entire beings, you separate them into their saleable, edible body parts. It doesn’t just make the job easier – it’s necessary for survival.”
Ascending – Guanto nero [DR-049]
“Guanto nero” is the long-awaited new album by Ascending, including six great new Synthpop songs.
Grauzone – Eisbær [WRWTFWW041]
The official reissue of Grauzone’s essential 1981 maxi single with timeless classic ”Eisbär”, proto-techno beast ”FILM 2”, and romantic synth ballad ”Ich Lieb Sie”, just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Swiss band’s formation. The three-track vinyl is sourced from the original reels, cut at 45rpm, and comes with its iconic artwork on a 350gsm sleeve.
En Direct – The Illusion Of Control [CLEAR013]
Clear Memory welcomes back En Direct. After their appearance on CLEAR001 and the two EP’s on the sister label Lunatic. With ‘The Illusion Of Control’, En Direct release their first Album. A long player diving deep into the realms of the human mind and its abyss. Exploring insecurities, uproar and mania with Industrial studies and EBM, rounding it off with bittersweet Minimal Wave and Electro for the sleepless.
Luc Van Acker / Pas De Deux – The Fear In My Heart / Cardiocleptomanie [STR7-103]
Belgian label Stroom presents a 7″ release featuring Luc Van Acker’s ‘The Fear In My Heart’ on the A-Side and Pas De Deux’s ‘Cardiocleptomanie’ on the B-side.
Intergalactic Gary @ The Lot Radio 01.02.2025
Yvgoslavia – Zairja [OR134]
Yvgoslavia is undoubtedly one of the best post-punk and minimal wave acts from Spain, and they’re returning to Oráculo with their second mini-album, following the highly sought-after “Vertebra”. Their frozen atmospheres and relentless, punishing beats immediately captivate any advanced darkwave enthusiast.
Rawmance – E.S.T. 096
La Nuit Je Mens – Teatro Del Metapresente LP [RASLP002]
‘Teatro Del Metapresente’ is the debut album by La Nuit Je Mens, a duo hailing from the Parisian suburbs and southern Italy. Now based in Rome, the two artists (Asymetrical & Rawmance) have crafted a striking sound that merges their DIY ethos with raw, unfiltered energy. Driven by synthetic, minimalist rhythms created on a fleet of analog machines, the seven tracks pay homage to the sound of the ’80s – yet entirely forward-looking and embracing the dancefloor modernity. Blending genres such as EBM, synth-pop and minimal-cold-wave, paired with French vocals, the album delves into themes of underground activities, the slow decay of the club scene and the depths of emotional yearning.
VA – Deep Entries : Gay Electronic Excursions 1979-1985 [DE320]
Dark Entries has raided the bathhouse to bring us Deep Entries: Gay Electronic Excursions 1979-1985, 10 tracks of obscure queer synth bliss. One of Dark Entries’ most important missions has been illuminating neglected facets of gay musical history, with crucial archival works by legends like Patrick Cowley, Sylvester, and Man Parrish. On Deep Entries, the label spans 6 years of gay electronics – from sultry to angsty to camp, these songs are overflowing with snappy 808 snares and sinewy analog synth leads. The ’80s were a difficult period for many in the gay community as they grappled with the horrors of the HIV/AIDS crisis. The 10 tracks on Deep Entries, varied in genre and vibe, are united in their portraiture of 1980s gay life, and the hope for love or fleeting romance. Previously unreleased cruising soundtracks come courtesy of Patrick Cowley’s “Love Me Hot” featuring vocalist Paul Parker and Boytronic’s “Tonight (Alternate Mix)” set on Hamburg’s famous “Mile of Sin.” Brisbane-based Megamen deliver the proto-electroclash number “Designed for Living,” which prefigures Madonna’s Marlene Dietrich rap in “Vogue.” Trans vocalist Paula “Ula” Villagrá declares, “Everyone is gay!” on Muzak’s “Happy Song,” a skittering tecnopop anthem. Dereck Higgins’ “This Was Something” rings like a lost Joy Division cut draped in bizarre effects, and Polar Praxis’ “(I Want) To Be Different” is a seething ode to alterity. Nightmoves’ “Nightdrive,” is best known as the brooding instrumental B-side to their epochal “Transdance.” Transistor Jet’s “Master Of The Universe (BW’s f-w)”, Maxx Mann’s “Just Like a Razor” and Bachelor’s Anonymous’ “A Stranger’s Bed” are mood music for the pleasures of BDSM and one-night stands. The record comes housed in a retro bathhouse fantasy sleeve designed by Gwenaël Rattke and includes a double-sided poster with photographs and lyrics. Deep Entries arrives on December 1st in honor of World AIDS day, and proceeds will go to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
Zona Utopica Garantita – Tanz Minimal [MYTRA004]
Fourth release for Mystic Transfers with the alternative group Zona Utopica Garantita ”ZUG” with an EP based on the single ”Tanz Minimal”, an infernal circle dotted with minimal wave shadows and rhythmic rustles that convey into a well-defined space in time. Accompanied by the versions of Gropina, which faithfully reflects the elegance and style, Toulose Low Trax’s dubby version with kraut rock reminiscences and ultimately a hypnotic version native to the dark world of headacheaday. ZUG’s music is a marriage between the machine-gunned punk of CCCP and the Body Music of the teutonic DAF, with his own poetry and experimental attitude.
Nacho Marty Meyer – Half-Forgotten Digital Dreams: Selected Works 2010-2023 [SOSR032]
First compilation album by Argentine synthesizer maniac Nacho Marty Meyer. Since the 80’s, Meyer has been interested in synthesizers and electronic music, and started making demos. The compilation includes the Italo disco track Magical Journey, previously released under the name Xarion, which is now a hard-to-find record.
