synth pop
Adbaloons – Mad Motor [MEC025]
Adballons (made-up word from ‘advertising balloon’) was a duo formed in Tokyo and active only between 1986-88. Equipped with some gear (Casio CZ-5000, Teisco S-110F, Roland MC-202, Roland TR-909, Korg KPR-77) they released just one 7′ in 1987 and played some shows in local clubs before disappear and become part of the obscure and inscrutable Japanese underground scene.
Todd Terje – Maskindans [OLS018]
Though he may still be tweaking the space laser to perfect album ‘Numero Twomero’, Terje has still found the time to tease us with a sneak preview of what’s to come in the form of this body moving, brain grooving cover version of a Norse synth spectacular from the dystopian dance floors of ’82. Inspired by his Dansbar diversions, Todd took to the studio for a little multitrack mania, replaying every part of this doomy dancer with all the Olsen sparkle you could ever wish for. Luring Det Gylne Triangel back into the booth for the first time in 25 years, Terje topped off the pops with a newly recorded vocal from the original lyricist, closing the temporal loop and opening the door to dance floor nirvana.
VA – Danzas Electricas [MMLP404]
Macadam Mambo is launching a special compilation of adjustments made by friends and members of the label (Kilian Krings, Sneaker/Dunkeltier, Obermannkind, Panoptique, Mori Ra, Shiny Boots, Misha Geylen, Smagghe & Cross, Guillaume des Bois, Johan Ressle). Mostly very obscure tracks in Sacha’s ‘Metalic vibe’, from post-punk to synth-pop, experimental and more.
Led Er Est – Dust On Common [MNQ099]
Dust On Common’ from Led Er Est (Sam De La osa, Shawn O’Sullivan and Owen Hutchinson) was originally released in 2009 by the seminal Brooklyn based record label Wierd Records. The band’s first full-length release showed the three piece clearly breaking out of the minimal synth underground they have been a vitally integral part of since its inception in Brooklyn to create an undeniably contemporary set of highly crafted and restrained, icily psychedelic pop songs.
Synths Versus Me – Sex/Body/Touch [OR026SE]
Synths Versus Me is back with their new album ‘Sex/Body/Touch’. This new album is the longest and more ambitious work they had produced to date, including up to 14 new tracks where find their usual eclectic amalgam of dance oriented darky styles; from EBM to synth pop, passing by electro beats, pure coldwave, italo disco or classical synthwave. All tracks has been recorded using only analog synthesizers captured on a external recorder without make use of daw digital conversions, excepting on the final process of digital mastering.
Èlan Vital – Shadow Self [FISH018]
Èlan Vital formed in 2015 in Dunedin’s None Gallery, an artist-run creative community in a former pharmaceutical factory near the city centre. Their sound takes contemporary European cold-wave synth-pop dance music layered on analogue drum machines, then blends in the warm psychedelic organ sounds of 1960s garage rock. Distorted, overdriven bass guitar adds a further element of chaos into the mix. The expression Èlan Vital describes the vital force or impulse of life. The music on “Shadow Self” represents that life impulse in an ambiguous zone between machine and human worlds. A dense claustrophobic swirl of dark dance-tempo synth-pop blooms from gloomy cold industrial dance music with vocoder vocals into uplifting melodic dream-pop catharsis about memory, longing, and obsession.
Martin Dupont – The Lights (Mick Wills Edits) [VSS010]
The edit master strikes again! This is the second Edits EP from Mick Wills on Vielspass/Prego with courtesy of Alain Seghir. “The lights” is a New Wave anthemn carried out by one of the most talented and obscure french band of the eighties : Martin Dupont. Deeply romantic “The Light Goes Through My Mouth” and “He Saw The Light” are enhanced by the Dx7 amazing synths atmospheres, both tracks shaped into Mick Wills stunning club versions. This release is inspired by Natalie Ann’s love for Martin Dupont’s “The Light Goes Through My Mouth”, helped by the magic touch of Isabella Venis associated to Knappy Kaiserknappy for the design / Artwork and thanks to Isolator for the Mastering.
Ironing Music – Ironing Music [MR070]
Medical Records in collaboration with our friends at Crispy Nuggets blog are happy to reissue a very obscure Australian gem from the 1980s. Ironing Music were a three piece band from Brisbane. They originally formed in 1984 as a result of their collective love for New Order, Human League and eventually Jean Michel Jarre and Cabaret Voltaire. Comprised of bass and electic guitar, Yamaha DX-7, melodica and an 808, they recorded a 12″ single as their sole outpt in 1985 in a limited run of 250 copies (obviously excruciatingly rare now!). It was recorded in their bedroom studio with at Teac 4 track. The video clip for the “hit” Shopping Bag Women was played on several national and local television music shows. They also recorded demos in hopes of landing a LP deal which unfortunately didn’t attract any takers at the time. They actually only played 3 gigs and were forced to disband after one of their members fell ill in 1986. The LP presented here included the original 4 track single as well as hand picked demos which nicely congeal to form a well rounded LP documenting the band’s brief existence. They can best be described as lo-fi synth pop with an emphasis on excellent pop songs and interesting synth/instrument arrangements.
From Nursery To Misery – Pixies In The Woods [DE153]
From Nursery to Misery were three teenagers who grew up together on the same street in Basildon, Essex. Formed in 1987, the band was comprised of vocalists (and identical twins) Gina and Tina Fear, along with keyboard player and producer Lee Stevens. Lee invited the twins to over to record some music with him, suggesting they try singing over some instrumentals he had written and recorded on a newly purchased 4-track. They played a sum total of four gigs before splitting in 1991. Their recorded output, however, was relatively prodigious, with the band appearing on over 22 compilations, as well as self-releasing two album-length tapes ‘The Oak Tree’ (1989), and ‘Equilibrium’ (1990), and a split EP with Germany’s Nostalgie Eternelle, ‘Art is the Tool’ (1990). All these releases were home-produced, hand-made cassettes distributed and swapped via the Mail Art scene. ‘Pixies In The Woods’ is a 13-track career spanning compilation including three previously unreleased tracks. Tracks range from no-fi synth pop overlaid with ethereal, child-like vocals, to audio collages of animal noises and harrowing, double-speed monologues. Lee’s expansive synth productions, informed by the Blade Runner soundtrack, early electro records, and 4AD acts like Dead Can Dance, provided a rich, spacious platform for Gina and Tina’s sung-spoken introspective lyrics. Their songs are disarmingly direct and unfiltered, the product of three self-confessed misfits exploring difficult, often intensely personal issues.
Dollkraut – Holy Ghost People [DA001LP]
Amsterdam based artist Dollkraut (Pascal Pinkert) is back with his sophomore LP on Dischi Autunno – new label founded by Jennifer Cardini and Noura Labbani. “Holy Ghost People” sees Dollkraut delve deeper into his recognizable lo-fi and organic sound, inspired by old movie soundtracks, creating gritty atmospheres mixed with the purest of melodies. Album opens with instant hit “Bonnie Said”, where Pascal’s vocals magically merge with the darkest of bass lines. “Valium” continues the journey, increasing the tempo but confirming the feeling of being in a lost sci-fi movie soundtrack. On “Oblivian”, the rhythm slows down again, allowing us to dive even more in this twisted yet candid universe.
Silvia – Silvia LP [DE152]
Silvia is the name of a Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW ”New German Wave”) project created Tommi Stumpff and Silvia Nemanic. The pair met in Düsseldorf in the late 1970s and started dating when Tommi was the singer of punk band Der KFC. Silvia was absolutely inexperienced in musical things, she said, “I’ve played the recorder.” Tommi rented Klangwerkstatt studio for a few days in January 1982 to record his an album with his bandmate Ferdinand Mackenthun aka Käpt’n Nuss of Der KFC, but finished earlier than expected. With one extra day that was already paid for, they quickly wrote some more songs and recorded them. All they needed was a singer, so they asked Silvia. Simply titled “Silvia”, the record was released in mid-1982 on cult label Schallmauer Records, which had released many German punk, NDW, and New Wave records in the 80’s. Tommi and Käpt’n Nuss played all instruments and wrote the lyrics. Since Silvia had a very deep voice, Tommi slightly pitched up her vocals to sound higher on the recordings. The album displays Tommi’s transition from punk rock to cold electronics, EBM and eventually Techno. Tommi’s instrument set up was a Sequential Circuits Pro One and Moog Prodigy controlled by a Fricke sequencer and a Korg SQ-10 Analog Sequencer. Silvia urges the listener to save themselves and says “No miracle will happen You die tomorrow, young and guilty” evoking the urban Zeitgeist of the Cold War. All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Housed in the original jacket featuring a full color of Silvia on the front with hand drawn magenta type. Each copy includes a replica insert of the original lyrics sheet in German and a postcard featuring a black and white photo of Tommi and Silvia. Sadly Silvia passed away in 2003 and this reissue is dedicated to her.
The Neon Judgement – Cockerill-Sombre EP [DE148]
The Neon Judgement hail from the small town of Leuven near Brussels, Belgium and gave birth to the New Beat and EBM scenes worldwide with the release of their first two cassettes ‘Suffering’ (1981) and ‘TV Treated’ (1982). Always a consistent duo of Dirk Da Davo (synthesizers, vocals) and TB Frank (guitar, drum machine, vocals) The Neon Judgment worked in a parallel world alongside Suicide, Cabaret Voltaire, and the Deutsche Neue Welle. In 1983 they released the infamous 4-song ‘Cockerill-Sombre’ EP containing the dance-floor smash “The Fashion Party” on Anything But Records. Dirk Da Davo says, “First we recorded and mixed the drum parts and effects on 4-track, then we bounced this mix to 2 tracks again what left us with 2 more channels to use for vocals and additional instruments.” Veering between minimalistic industrial drones, odd new wave-ish synth pop and dance music, underlain by cold, mechanical rhythms. The band combine brash and seedy lyrics, with raw synthesizer stabs and repetitive drum machine beats both aggressive and danceable. ‘Cockerill-Sombre’ was recorded in a small basement room under the watchful eyes of Ludo Camerberlin from A Blaze Colour.
Kirlian Camera – Helden Platz [DE143]
Dark Entries is proud to release “Helden Platz”, a long out of print 12” maxi single from seminal Italian electronic act Kirlian Camera. Keyboardist/vocalist Angelo Bergamini founded the project in Parma in 1979 and named it after an electronic device that photographs the electromagnetic halo around objects and living beings. By 1980, Angelo had recruited singer Simona Buja, keyboardist Fabrizio Chiari, and bassist Mauro Montacchini. Their demo cassette, “Dawn”, attracted the attention of Italian Records, a popular independent label. Over the next few years the band would release their first mini-LP, “Kirlian Camera”, the full length “ It Doesn’t Matter, Now”, and the singles “Communicate,” “Edges,” and “Blue Room”. The latter was a significant hit, eventually landing them a deal with Virgin Records. By 1987 the line up consisted of Angelo Bergamini on all instruments, Charlie Mallozzi on electronic drums and Simona Buja on vocals. Virgin wanted the band to provide another hit single in order to exploit the success of “Blue Room”, refusing to release the band’s less commercial material. In 1987 the band went Lark Studio at Carimate Castle, Italy to record with Italo disco producer Oderso Rubini. Thanks to the insistence of Bergamini, the label agreed to release “Helden Platz”, German for “Heroes’ Square,” in 1987. The song features Kirlian Camera’s brand of dark wave, marked by haunting melodies, slow moving synth washes, and orchestral strings. The song features the stark, dramatic vocals of Simona Buja, who sings about the “Blue blood of Winter” in a tale of Germany and Austria during World War II. Included here is the extended 12” mix, the 7” edit, plus the original B-side “Burial”, an instrumental that evokes a funeral procession soundtrack.
East Wall – Silence [DE145]
East Wall was an Italian electronic dark wave band started by Fabrizio Chiari (ex keyboardist of Kirlian Camera) and Wilma Notari in 1982. After a series of demos and live performances, the duo recruited Angelo Bergamini of Kirlian Camera to help with arrangement and synthesizers. They released their debut single ‘Eyes Of Glass’ in 1985 which had huge success in Germany, leading to a deal with ZYX. By 1991 the band consisted of Fabrizio Chiari (Synthesizer, Electronics, Keyboards), Tiziana Wells (Vocals, Synthesizer) and Angelo Bergamini (Synthesizer, Piano, Arrangement). At the beginning of the year, they recorded their next batch of songs at Prominence Studio in Cremona and A Love Sound Studio in Piacenza. “Silence” was self released by the band in 1991. The lead track ‘Silence’ was a left-over song by Kirlian Camera recorded in 1985 with vocals by Simona Buja under the alias Lorenza Larini. It was recorded largely using a variety of now-classic Roland, Yamaha, and Oberheim synthesizers. The album displays East Wall’s maturity and unique aesthetics, with instrumental pieces reminiscent of Angelo Badalamenti’ Twin Peaks score. Tiziana Wells sings with pure emotion, hypnotic at times, upbeat and carefree at others. Frankie Teardrop (of the Wierd party and the Systems of Romance blog) describes this album as “possibly the closest thing to darkwave freestyle that exists.’ We decided to expand the album, releasing it as a deluxe double LP cut louder at 45 RPM. We have also included an unreleased extended version of ‘Ice Of Fire’ and the bonus track ‘Intro’, found on the DAT tapes Fabrizio Chiari sent us.
East Wall – Eyes Of Glas [DE144]
To accompany their re-release of East Wall’s superb 1991 debut album, Silence, Dark Entries has decided to put out the Italian band’s forgotten debut release, 1985 single “Eye of Glass”. Tending towards the darker end of the Italo-disco spectrum, but blessed with typically cheery synthesizer melodies and skewed female vocals, it’s a record that seems far more inspired by the earlier British new wave synth-pop movement than pleasing the clubs of Rome or Rimini. The vocal version is accompanied by a subtly different instrumental, which includes waves of warm synths and offers more prominence to the band’s bubbly electronics, throbbing arpeggio bassline, and delay-laden drum machine hits.
Le Cliché – Consumer Manoeuvres LP [CBR011]
“Consumer Manoeuvres” by Le Cliché is the latest release on Cold Beats Records. Le Cliché is the electronic music project of Gerard Ryan, professor of marketing at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. The music takes a critical view of the malaise of marketing and its effect on our postmodern consumer society. It deals with serious issues as diverse as consumer privacy, identity, fad diets, fast fashion and the hyper-reality of contemporary advertising. Yet it does so always with an optimistic sarcasm and playfulness. This new collection of songs on Cold Beats Records, entitled Consumer Manoeuvres, started out as a remix project but very quickly turned into an all-together different record, a series of collaboration, covers and reimagining’s of the original music. Cold Beats Records presents some of the most influential electronic artists from the underground, minimal synth and coldwave scene from the last 35 years in an all-together darker record Le Cliché’s other records. Collaborators include Mark Lane, Mick Milk, Kline Coma Xero and Spatial Relation (USA), ADN’ Ckrystall (France), Red Fetish, John Costello, This is the Bridge and Jonteknik (UK), KuBO (Ireland) Moss Garten (Sweden) JJ Ibañex of Kremlyn, and Wladyslaw Triejo (Spain) Delayscape (Denmark), Gay Cat Park and Effetto Joule (Italy).These artists have appeared on many of the most influential darkwave, coldwave, italo and minimal synth music on a host of leading labels including Minimal Wave, Mannequin, Medical Records, Peripheral Minimal, Anna Logue, Domestica, Obscure Identities 1980, Vinyl on Demand, La Forme Lente and Kernkrach.
RA.552 Tuff City Kids
VA – Salamanca Issue #5 [SAL005]
Salamanca returns with their fifth release, proud to present two pioneers from the infamous Dutch Westland italo scene: Peet Need and Savino. The duo came up with an excellent remix of Marcia di Kioto, next to their original song called Hypnotized. On the flipside you’ll find haunting synths by SEER on Voltaic break-beats delivered by Afrobot. Last but not least we have included an new wave edit from the mysterious Simulanten.
Sneaker – The Midas Touch EP [FRV022]
Editor extraordinaire, Sneaker welcomes you to marvel at his Midas Touch. Happy disco or chirpy funk edits these ain’t. Instead the Rat Life man unearths three dark obscurities and further blackens their already sinister sounds.’Playground’ by Click Click first came out in 1988. Sneaker maintains the tension, the steady and strained notes as vocals tell a tale of shrouded menace. Ralph Lundsten opens the flip, his 1970 track ‘Through A Landscape of Mirrors’ is bolstered with snapping rhythms, synths are smeared and wrenched as the twisted hand of Dunkeltier takes control. The last instalment, first released on Ant-Zen in 2006, is Geneviève Pasquier’s ‘Fairy Tale.’ A gritty track of reduced industrial essences, the original has been extended and further muddied for ready-made dancefloor corruption.
The Hipodrome Of Music 