Victrola – Born From The Water (Demos 1983-85) [DE235]

January 22, 2019March 4, 2025 hipodromealbum, antonio cuscin, carlo smeriglio, dark entries records, minimal synth, synth pop, synth wave, victrolaLeave a comment

Victrola is the duo of Antonio ”Eze” Cuscinà and Carlo Smeriglio from Messina, Italy. The band formed in 1979 but shortly thereafter relocated to Florence take part in a rich musical scene alongside Neon, Pankow, Alexander Robotnick, and Diaframma. Beginning as a 4-piece (two guitarists, bassist, drummer) they slimmed down to a synthesizer and guitar-based duo by 1982. Their sole release was the now classic ”Maritime Tatami”/”A Game Of Despair” EP from 1983, which we reissued in 2012. ‘Born From The Water’ is a 12 song collection of unreleased demos recorded between 1983 and 1985. The band sent us over 100 cassettes, through which we dug to compile the first volume of their archival darkwave ballads. They used an array of Roland synthesizers (TR-606, TB-303, TR-909, Juno 6) plus a Korg Polysix, Yamaha DX7, Casio VL-Tone VL-1, DR-55 Dr. Rhythm, and Fender Stratocaster and Jazz Bass. Some of the songs would later appear on various compilations, but the versions presented here are unique. Victrola engulfs the listener with trance-inducing synth lines, oblique minor-key bass lines, angular guitar riffs, and melancholic vocals. The songs tell tales of youth, love, karma, and the decline of civilization in modern times.

Dead Husband – Luxe Kondo LP [W06]

January 14, 2019December 13, 2023 hipodromealbum, dead husband, disco, electro, synth pop, waste editionsLeave a comment

Boston duo Dead Husband are responsible for the new and captivating release “Luxe Kondo”. Six varied and punchy tracks made up the long-awaited debut 12″ which as usual go hand in hand with a well prepared design and a white colored vinyl. Doubtless, this uplifting work is abounding with old and up-to-date influences and make clear that these tasteful guys share their love for Minimal wave, Electropop and Techno.

Afrobot – 10AM [10AM]

December 20, 2018November 24, 2021 hipodromeafrobot, afrobotic musicology, am, disco, edits, new beat, roeland otten, synth popLeave a comment

AFROBOT - 10 AM

Afrobot cuts up four wavy 80’s tracks for darker times! A1 is a sleazy minimal wave banger of Ensemble Pittoresque, recorded in The Hague in ’84, now tripled in duration! After that we continue our trip from France to New York ending in the UK on the B-side. First track is a mix of a 7” b-side and a wrong speeder and a slowly pounding track with a twist is the one to finish with.

Zurich Dada – Globus Cassus EP [AH005]

December 13, 2018June 29, 2021 hipodromeanbau, antoni maiovvi, aspecto humano, electro, franck kartell, synth pop, zurich dadaLeave a comment

ZURICH DADA - Globus Cassus

A new work produced by Zurich Dada, a duo from Porto, who play a kind of calm and melancholic Synth Pop. The release comes with two original tracks from them. On side A with ‘Peta Bytes’, which includes Antoni Maiovvi and Franck Kartell remixes, who are back on Aspecto Humano. On side B is included ‘Kites’ with a banger remix from the house by Anbau.

Osynlige Mann – Airports / Exodus [HNR028]

December 13, 2018July 21, 2023 hipodromeelectro, hoga nord rekords, osynlige mann, synth popLeave a comment

Well renowned bass player extraordinaire, Osynlige Mann from Gothenburg releases long awaited new solo material on Hoga Nord Rekords. This 7inch contains high voltage material; ‘Airports’ and ‘Exodus’ brings tense seventies synth and early eighties electro to the table. The A-side ‘Airports’ is a Kraftwerk inspired elegy over the lumpenproletariat of the machines – aeroplanes. ‘No sleep for the big machines, no rest for the sad machines’. The B-side, ‘Exodus’ carries more obvious characteristics from Osynlige Mann’s other electronic projects.

Ruins – New Record LP [RUINS001]

November 30, 2018October 5, 2021 hipodromealbum, alessandro pizzin, experimental, minimal synth, mothball record, piergiuseppe ciranna, ruins, synth popLeave a comment

RUINS - New Record

Mothball Record presents a lost album from legendary Italian wave band: Ruins. Hailing from Venice, Ruins are one of the pioneering artists of the Italian new wave scene beginning in the late seventies: an explosion of new and exciting art, music and film. The tracks on ‘New Record’ were taken from the self-distributed, tape only release from 1983 ‘Side Roads’. This album was timed directly before their most well-known releases in contemporary times, the ‘Fire / Crime’ 12′ and the eponymous 4 track EP on Black Square. Taken from the original master tapes and selected by Ruins themselves, the album should be listened as a whole to gain the full experience, but immediate ‘must-hear’ tracks are ‘I Don’t Know’, ‘I Love You’ and ‘Last Night DJ Killed My Wife’ featuring early use of Roland TB303. At times unsettling, beautiful, violent, harmonious, these songs will finally get the audience and exposure they deserve 35 years later.

The Golden Filter – Talk Talk Talk EP [4GN3S-00]

November 30, 2018April 29, 2022 hipodrome4gn3s, colder, cooper saver, disco, fantastic twins, house, kasper bjorke, synth pop, the golden filterLeave a comment

The first release on The Golden Filter’s brand new label, 4GN3S (pronounced ‘Agnes’) is The Golden Filter “Talk Talk Talk”, along with three remixes.

Curses – Romantic Fiction [DA007LP]

October 26, 2018October 20, 2021 hipodromealbum, curses, dischi autunno, jennifer cardini, luca venezia, minimal synth, new wave, post punk, synth pop, synth waveLeave a comment

CURSES - Romantic Fiction

“Romantic Fiction” the debut LP from Curses is an honest musical expression drawing influences from his youth growing up in NYC in the 80s. References to new wave, post-punk, synth music and early EBM are skillfully merged with the DIY approach of punk and rock n roll angst. Brandishing an immersive sonic palette, all instruments throughout the album were played and recorded by the artist.

Soft Vision – Zwei [AD-014]

October 24, 2018October 23, 2018 hipodromeacoustic division, soft vision, synth pop, techno, tobiasLeave a comment

Soft Vision returns to Acoustic Division with ZWEI, a 4 track 12” EP that breaches the flood walls between synth pop and techno. This Austin, TX duo proves not only make you cry or laugh, but possibly dance and lose any notion of self at all. The tobias. remix of the A1 Track ”Tractor Beam,” glides the original into a hallucinogenic territory. Melody and rhythm dissolve into each other as an ethereal voice guides you in from the fog.

Peaking Lights – Sea of Sand [DKMNTL060]

October 20, 2018May 28, 2019 hipodromeaaron coyes, dekmantel records, disco, indra dunis, peaking lights, synth popLeave a comment

Californian electronic pop duo Peaking Lights make a splash on Dekmantel with ‘Sea of Sand’, the band’s first release in 2018. It’s a kaleidoscopic melting-pot of dainty dub, experimental and leftfield beats, with wondrous sunny soundscapes that blend together the unconventional home-fashioned electronics, and windswept vocals that have defined Peaking Lights to date. ‘Sea of Sand’ is the band’s first record in three years not released on their own imprint. With six tracks, exceeding 30 minutes in total, the extended EP is a prelude to a forthcoming LP. With a DIY aesthetic and approach to analogue instrumentalism, Peaking Lights retro-digital sound is one that sits perfectly with Dekmantel.

1/2 GOTT – 1/2 GOTT [UV048]

October 19, 2018August 26, 2021 hipodromedark wave, electro, gott, scannoir, sneaker, synth pop, uncanny valleyLeave a comment

1/2 GOTT - 1/2 Gott

1/2 GOTT is the new project of Sneaker from Dresden/Berlin and Scannoir from Zurich, who share their love for EBM and Synth Pop not only when DJing but also when producing. In several nights and with the help of a decent group of instruments, they have evoked a series of tracks that can certainly be subsumed as New Swiss wave. The first record is entitled 1/2 GOTT and will be followed by GOTT in the foreseeable future. The result is music that sounds as if the Iron Curtain had never fallen. Although Sneaker likes to step to the microphone, he leaves the vocals to Scannoir, who gives the perfect counterpart for the menacing beats with his deep laments. The tracks are little masterpieces in the matter of repetition with whipping drums and off-beat percussions. However, they cannot disguise their hymn-like gesture. This must be the sound of a sunrise over the industrial area.

Continue reading “1/2 GOTT – 1/2 GOTT [UV048]” →

Raw – Fragments EP [DE-221]

October 15, 2018July 17, 2024 hipodromedark entries records, electro, elfish records, experimental, giannis papaioannou, makis faros, minimal synth, raw, synth popLeave a comment

Raw formed during the summer of 1990 in Athens, Greece when keyboardist Giannis Papaioannou and percussionist Makis Faros started composing music for imaginary waiting rooms. They combined the traditional cut-up technique of tape-loops, the industrial timbres of musique concrète with the harmonics of world music, all filtered through digital sampling and computer programming. Their first recordings generated an 8 track demo, which was freely distributed among friends and the local underground press. After 6 months of work and several sessions with guest musicians on acoustic and electric instruments, Raw self-released their first album ‘Land’ in December 1991 on Elfish Records. In 1992 they recruited the band’s sound engineer, Coti K., as a third member, both on stage and studio sessions. ‘City’ was their second album fully inspired by the mechanisms of their home town. Presenting a different electronic face of Raw, manipulating rhythms with analogue synthesizers and harsh sampling to evoke the atmosphere of Athens. ‘City’ was released on CD only by Elfish Records in 1994. ‘Fragments’ is a collection of 4 songs from ‘City’ presented on vinyl for the first time plus bonus track recorded during the “City’ sessions previously released on a compilation in 1992.

Machinegewehr & Ayden Vice – Work It [ME001]

October 2, 2018October 24, 2023 hipodromeayden vice, disco, electro, machinegewehr, musique exotique, synth pop, yobkiss, yuko arakiLeave a comment

This is Amsterdam based Musique Exotique’s launch release. Dutch artists Machinegewehr and Ayden Vice team up to bring that timeless retro Italo vibe with Moroder inspired bass arpeggiation, mysterious vocals and epic pads. On the B side, San Francisco based Dutch artist, Yobkiss, offers up a masterful remix taking the track into darker electro territory. His offering includes beautifully haunting Japanese vocals by the producer’s long time collaborator Yuko Araki for exceptional exotiqueness.

Videogram – Choice Cuts 2014 – 2018 [SVCED007-002]

September 18, 2018September 18, 2018 hipodromealbum, horror disco, magnus sellergren, selectavision, synth pop, synth wave, videogramLeave a comment

Celebrate four years of VHS-inspired synth-driven greatness with Choice Cuts, a special-priced anniversary compilation culling highlights from Videogram’s vast discography between the years 2014 to 2018. Featuring songs from the official releases, as well as unreleased gems found in the vaults, the fourteen-track album gives you close to an hour’s worth of Videogram’s trademark genre sounds, with each track carefully selected, and lovingly remixed and remastered in HD for maximum audio punch.

King Ende Shneafliet – Dimension Mix 01 [AD004]

September 12, 2018July 2, 2019 hipodromealbum, artificial dance records, ende shneafliet, experimental, king ende shneafliet, minimal synth, synth pop, synth wave, trumpettLeave a comment

Having previously released some rare solo material from Ende Shneafliet member Hanjo Erkamp AKA Dr. C. Stein, Artificial Dance is now serving up something special from the cult Dutch minimal wave band’s lesser-known side project, King Ende Shneafliet. The result is the first ever vinyl release of tracks from the outfit’s cult Dimension Mix series.

Takenoko – L’Amour Est Mon Arme [ERC062]

August 28, 2018August 27, 2018 hipodromealbum, emotional rescue, emotional response recordings, italo-disco, synth pop, takenokoLeave a comment

Emotional Rescue presents French 80s electronic band Takenoko and their unique and quirky euro synth-pop, here as collected works from 1982 to 1988. The compilation includes their 3 singles plus a number of unreleased songs heard for the first time. Formed in 1981 when Bruno Aujard, Jean Louis Simonet and Jean Michel Louisor met in Bordeaux, France, the trio took their admiration of post punk bands like Talking Heads and Gang Of Four and mixed it with the pioneering sound of Kraftwerk and the new wave of UK electronic bands and set about composing songs with the simple aim to make people dance. Encompassing their interest in Japanese culture, Takenoko, meaning young bamboo shoot – a metaphor for teenager in Japan – was born.

Takenoko – Sneaker Mixes [ERC063]

August 28, 2018August 27, 2018 hipodromeedits, emotional rescue, emotional response recordings, italo-disco, sneaker, synth pop, takenokoLeave a comment

Emotional Rescue returns to the music of Takenoko, the Bordeaux based synth-pop project from 1982-1988, to follow their LP collection L’Amour Est Mon Arme (ERC062), with an EP of remixes from Dresden’s cult-like producer, Sneaker DJ.

Cold Beat – A Simple Reflection [DE223]

August 21, 2018July 17, 2024 hipodromealbum, cold beat, dark entries records, re-release, reissue, synth popLeave a comment

Cold Beat is a San Francisco-based quartet fronted by Hannah Lew (synths, vocals) with Kyle King (synths, guitar), Luciano Talpini Aita (synths) and Sean Monaghan (guitar). Formed in 2013 the band has released three albums and two EPs. ‘A Simple Reflection’ is a 7-song collection of Eurythmics covers, yet feels just as personal as any of their original material. While digging through a collection of 12?s for her record shop Contact Records, Lew stumbled across the earliest Eurythmics B-sides and was floored. This lead to the discovery of their debut album ‘In The Garden’. Annie Lennox’s abstract and poetic lyrics really struck a chord with Hannah. What had started out as a single cover quickly snowballed into a full blown obsession. The synth and drum programming resonated with her songwriting process, so reimagining them was very creatively fulfilling. The covers on this EP are simultaneously dynamic and atmospheric post-punk that plays to Lew’s ethereal vocals and King’s crystalline guitar.

Polaroid – Senza Respiro LP [DE219]

August 21, 2018July 17, 2024 hipodromealbum, dark entries records, polaroid, re-release, reissue, synth popLeave a comment

Polaroid were an Italian post-punk/new wave band, formed in Turin in 1981. The original lineup of the band consisted of Marcello Zavatto (voice, guitar), Massimo Vagnarelli (bass, drum-machine), Evandro Fornasier (guitar), Claudio Vagnarelli (synthersizer) and Marco Farano (Drums). Polaroid made their debut with the cassette 6-track EP ‘Senza Respiro’, self-released in 1984. Influenced by Bauhaus, Joy Division, The Cure, Pere Ubu as well as Chic and Talking Heads. The music was dark and cold, but also melodic especially with regards to guitars and voices. At the end of 1984 the band added vocalist Michele Cantoblundo while drummer Marco left and was replaced by a Roland TR-909. With Michele began a period of very dark and poetic music, influenced also by bands like Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and The Sisters of Mercy. The band peacefully broke-up in 1987. This vinyl re-issue of ‘Senza Respiro’ contains all 6 original songs with 4 bonus tracks from the band’s later period.

EchoDroides – Glowing In The Dark [KODE07]

August 21, 2018August 3, 2021 hipodromeechodroides, electro, frank de la mora, kode, miguel martin, nation records, synth pop, synth waveLeave a comment

ECHODROIDES - Glowing In The Dark

EchoDroides is a collaboration between Chicago natives Frank De La Mora & Miguel Martin. Their sound can be described as a trip through space with analog synthesizers and drum machines. They came together in 2011 first working on remixes then shortly after decided to work on original material. Their music has been featured in TV shows, movies, promotional videos from Peugeot, fashion labels and the Ubisoft video game, Watch Dogs. For this special and limited release they re-created a track from 80s US studio project, Experimental Products, – paying tribute to “Glowing In The Dark” original and an instrumental. “Experimental Products has always been a massive influence on us from the very 1st time we heard them back in the 80s. Glowing in the Dark, in particular changed everything for us. Mark Wilde and Michael Gross were way ahead of their time. We wanted to pay tribute to them by re-creating this song from scratch.”