Lux Rec’s first record for 2015 is a dark and moody affair coming from Momentform, a French musician that has no fear to plunge into obscurity, melancholy, a somber look into memories that are too painful to forget. Yet, he transformed all those postcards from the past into listening and dance material. Our last dance together.
Suction Records is pleased to present “Dominion”, the debut full-length LP by June. June is the solo project of Tsampikos Fronas, originally from Greece, and now based in Berlin, Germany. “Dominion” is focused on June’s synthwave sound, utilizing hardware step sequencers to sync and control his arsenal of classic drum machines and synthesizers including Roland’s SH-101, TR-606 and Juno-60, and the minimal synth percussion staple, the Korg KR-55. The romanticism and elegance of early ’80s synth pop is clearly evident, not only in the production and instrumentation of the music, but in the artwork and song titles. Even more prominent is the influence of modern minimal synth master Sean McBride of Martial Canterel and Xeno & Oaklander, who’s sophisticated classicist sequencer composition looms largely over the material on “Dominion,” minus McBride’s distinctive vocals. Save for the gorgeous and meditative “Queen Of Flowers” cuts that end both sides of the LP, the music on “Dominion” is driving, danceable synthwave that references the past while maintaining a thoroughly modern edge.
Medical Records presents the debut full-length release of Le Cliche, entitled ‘Consumer Behaviour’. The album consists of 11 songs influenced largely by European synth pop of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. The music might be best described as minimal synth, synth pop, postmodernist, cold assembly line with neo consumerist themes, based on the use of synth sequences and virtual voices. Le Cliche is the synth project of Gerard Ryan, native of Limerick (Ireland). All of the tracks on the album are from the 2012-2014 period except for ‘I woke up this morning (like I always do)’, which is a reimagining of a 1984 demo of the track entitled ‘I dreamt I was dead’. ‘Production Line’, is the mostly instrumental opening track to the album which clearly displays its Kraftwerkian influences. The Le Cliche sound is attained by combining a mix of old and new technologies.
Medical Records in partnership with Crispy Nuggets Blog present the unreleased recordings of England’s Mixed Feelings. Mixed Feelings grew up in Basildon which was also the home of Depeche Mode. In 1981, Sean Cooper met Martin Gore on holiday (around the time of “New Life”), and they instantly hit it off discussing synthesizers, school, teachers, etc. Martin was inspirational for Sean to follow his dream of making music. They played shows at school and various locations until 1982 when they first entered a studio and recorded “Final Demand”, “Because Of You”, and “Ice Machine”. These tracks received some local airplay, and they continued to play more gigs. A year later, they entered the studio again to record a few more tracks. This LP is a collection of known recordings by Mixed Feelings. It is a brilliant snapshot into the minds and talent of a group of young musicians on a mission. The opening track “Another Place (Like Home)” sets the mood with melodic synth lines and punchy electronic accents. Excellent songwriting and moody atmospheres prevail on this record. 11 tracks in total (including one cover and homage to their inspiration early on…). Other notable tracks include “Because Of You”, “They Told You So”, and “The Captain”.
Medical Records presents a hand-picked selection of the early recordings of Germany’s Bal Pare. Members were Kirsten Klemm (vocals), Jan T. Krahn (Synthesizer), Matthias Schuster (Synthesizer, Beatbox). and drummer Jurgen Weiss. The first Bal Pare LP “Hamburg-Paris-Catania” was released in 1982 on Konkurrenz Records. Since they had a large fanbase in Sweden, the second release (“Metamorphose”) came out in Stockholm on the Krautrock label. Around this time, a new member, Manfred Asmus , joined on keyboards and programming and Jan T. Krahn and Jergen Weiss had left the band. Much of the material from this selection of tracks were culled from unreleased sessions from the 80s with Manfred Asmus. The opening track “Rien” is a perfect display of what synth pop is modeled after. Rich lead synth textures, male/female interplayed vocals, and electronic percussion. Though the entire record flows with ease and captivates the listener from beginning to end, other standout tracks include “Palais d’Amour”, “Die Idioten”, and “Meilleur Du Monde”.
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.
“The new Tanz Ohne Musik seems to be a small step back to the synthpop / minimal wave sound of earlier releases and away from the Galakhorrö angstpop. A small step though. Like on “Between Our Body Shapes” there are still heavy Galakthorrö influences, but Tanz Ohne Musik seems to be working more towards their own sound; an interesting sound! Most tracks have a slow, analogue sound with typical vocals. Some tracks tend more towards minimal wave, other more towards angstpop, but most are somewhere in between.” gangleri
Portland based Futility returns to FlexiWave with a new 7″. This time with the very much sought after synth-pop-wave banger track Zero Sum as the title tune and the instrumental up-beat track Gaz and spike for the b-side.
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.
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.”
Gnd Lift is a slow building hazy hypnotic track with heavy atmosphere, fitting perfectly on a smoke filled dance floor. Jai Mang des Nerfs is a classic vocal driven synthpop track with the grit characteristic of In Aeternam Vales 80s cassette works. The 12″ closes with Animals Dont Mind, a slow and deeply emotive smoldering darkwave track that speaks directly to the heart, this one feels the most personal thus far. The Gnd Lift 12″ shows us all sides of In Aeternam Vale, his strengths lying in his ability to create both techno masterpieces and classic underground wave tracks, moving seamlessly from one to the next.
Dresden don Dunkeltier (aka Sneaker aka Gino ‘Der Hammer’ Galan) is next up on the Macadam Mambo flex, dipping into his personal armoury of EBM, industrial and post punk favourites for a premium set of edits. If you dug his Rat Life edits this year or got blown away by a Traxx session then you will definitely levitate towards the sounds here as Dunkeltier tweaks Kozmonaut, Absolute Body Control and EM. Do check the mind altering Phase Adjustment of “Tanzmusik” from cult Belgian crew Absolute Body Control which is exactly the sort of fizzing power electronics that will provide a welcome deviation into absolute beat down territory for the more adventurous selectors.
Originally to be released in 1985. Finally released in 2014. Straight from Das Dang on his excellent cassette series. Handmade covers and cassette labels, these are very limited edition items.
The Hipodrome Of Music 