VA – Dutch Wave: A History Of Minimal Synth & Cold Wave In The Netherlands [OS036]

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.

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VA – Dutch Wave: A History Of Minimal Synth & Cold Wave In The Netherlands [OS036]

Palais Des Bauzards – In The Grassfield [OS028]

Palais Des Bauzards pursued an industrial and electronic variant of the sound that swept into vogue during the first half of the ’80s. This compilation digs into the original material provided by the band and offers an amazing selection from start to finish. The sometimes rudimentary though gripping tracks tracks on the first side are emblematic for their early period, for example “Money” a song driven by a screeching rhythm box, distant guitar lines and a nonchalant voice. Cabaret Voltaire comes to mind. They’re not afraid to experiment and to explore new horizons (the track “Lies”). The second side shows a more developed dark wave sound with In The Grassfield and Knowing Too Much both produced by legendary Belgian producer Ludo Camberlin. On top of this there are two dark goth rock stomper hidden in the selection, they hide by the names My Life Is A Sin & Eat Out Of My Hands. Overall it’s a broad selection of tracks which show the capability of the band to do something different with the new wave genre. Initially the group was formed in 1983 in the Belgian city of Leuven by Danny Jacobs, Dirk Van Regenmortel, Chris Serré (+2006), Frank De Wit and Rudy Stuyckens. In 1983 they released two tracks on the Mask Live LP together with Front 242. In the three following years many of their home recorded tracks were published on a bunch of cassette labels.

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Palais Des Bauzards – In The Grassfield [OS028]

Twilight Ritual – The Ritual [OS027]

The re-release of the first ever recordings by Belgian minimal synth masters Twilight Ritual. Released in 1982 in a tiny cassette edition this album has not been heard by many people. ”The Ritual” includes some of their best work, from mysterious dark synthpopsongs like ”Elegy” to club music and the epic 14-minute track ”Up To Now”.

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Twilight Ritual – The Ritual [OS027]

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]

Twilight Ritual – The Factory Scream [OS018]

Twilight Ritual was/is the main project by Geert Coppens and Peter Bonne. During the early eighties they were involved in many other bands including Autumn and The Linear Movement, but Twilight Ritual is by far the most inspired project. The spirit of the band lingers on beneath the work of Autumn through A Split Second. The work of Twilight Ritual is diverse, yet consise. Their pioneering album Rituals inspired other musicians and became an underground cult classic in the minimal synth genre. “The Factory Scream” is a compilation of varied works recorded during 1984 and 1986.

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Twilight Ritual – The Factory Scream [OS018]