LVRIN – NOED Podcast 06
synth wave
VA – Five Years Of Tears Vol. 1 [PNKMN5Y1]
Pinkman records presents Five Years of Tears: A string of releases dedicated to celebrate the 5th birth year of the label. The first volume features contributions by 3 of the labels usual suspects, as well as newcomer Randstad. Ernestas Sadau’s powerful, raw and menacing cut starts sets the scene for Alessandro Parisi to delve deep into his synthesizer toolkit. What comes out is a highly emotional production, infused with sirens and melodies that may cause tearful mourning on the dancefloors. On the B side Identified Patient provides yet another one of his notoriously slow and filthy underground creepers, while Randstad delivers another burst of energy that celebrates raw percussion, gloomy pads and haunting vocal samples.
Kufuki – Dodome EP [LEJ001EP]
Les Editions Japonais, is a new label to showcase Japanese artists new and old, the first release is by Tokyo based band Kufuki. Kufuki, was formed in 2010 by Ryuichiro Konno (electronics), Motomasa Saito (electronics), Tosimasa Matsumoto (vocals), and Yudai Nobunaga Kogawa (vocals,VJ, electronics), hailing from various musical genres, ranging from techno, rock, blues and hip-hop. Tired of formulaic club music, they set out to create their own electronic ethnic music, firstly taking influences from places they had travelled, but more recently concentrating on electrifying minyo, or traditional Japanese folk music.
DsorDNE – È Un Sole LP [DE206]
DsorDNE (pronounced Disordine) is a project from Torino, Italy that evolved as group out of the electronic experimental post punk project Novostj in 1987. At the core of DsorDNE is Marco Milanesio, musical engineer and co-founder of the HAX record label, joined by a revolving cast of musicians. Their spectrum ranged from experimental to structured electro-poetry and Soundtrack like instrumental electronic music. In 1987 they released their first track on a split-single with The Legendary Pink Dots. Between 1987 and 1994 they released 6 full length albums, 3 split-EPs and appeared on various cassette compilations. Ã Un Sole (Itâs a Sun) was the groupâs only vinyl full length originally released in 1990 on HAX. Itâs 8 tracks of electro-beat poetry and experimentation recorded between July 1989 and January 1990 by Marco Milanesio (music) and Roberta Ongaro (vocals) with guests Claudio Burdese (guitar), Danilo Beltrame (guitar) and Cristiana Bauducco (vocals). The album is broken up into two distinct halves. Side A contains four chunks of hard hitting, percussive patterns and rushing bass sequences. Dark, moody female vocals force their monologues through the machinery in their native Italian tongue. The traditional song structure is carefully avoided by giving lyrics equal opportunities be they recited, half-sung, whispered or spoken. Side B displays moodier moments, less savage attacks and subtler sensuality, veering towards the more melodic and existential.
Eva Geist – Desfan LP [MMLP909]
Andrea Noce aka Eva Geist is back with his second album to date, and what clearly makes for a magical companion to 2016’s comparatively murkier Aquator System cassette. Noce returns via Sascha Mambo’s Macadam Mambo imprint, unleashing a flurry of outsider sonics and no-wave vibes thanks to this new Desfan LP. The nine tracks glide with pace and style, ranging form the docile bleeps and pseudo beats of tunes like “Electronic Tribalism” to relatively more ‘dance-friendly’ tunes like “Prologo” or “Nigredo”. It’s hard to put our finger on what makes Noce’s music so singular, but it must have something to do with the artist’s fascination with the Levant – a distant yet perceptible vibe that seeps through all of these tunes.
Franz Falckenhaus – Tupolev System LP [GDLP008]
Danny Wolfers AKA Legowelt AKA the maestro Franz Falckenhaus presents the next Giallo Disco. The obscure, previously CDR only side project Franz Falckenhaus has stood out for many of us as one of Mr Wolfer’s most accomplished works. Full on VHS grained Cold War paranoia. Like if Fulci directed a Bond movie starring Udo Keir and Edwige Fenech. Shades of Fabio Frizzi, Minimal Synth and Aphex Twin, all combine for this cinematic masterpiece. Culled from the three CDs originally released on Strange Life Records, it is with immense pride that we provide this collection for the first time on vinyl, lovingly remastered with exceptional new art by the one and only Eric A. Lee.
Dormir – In Pursuit [BRXPR001]
Burning Rose and Pelvis Records meet in the middle to dish up Dormir, a two piece machine from Melbourne, Australia featuring Morgan Wright (formerly of Melbourne hardcore act Imprisoned) and Harry Maslen (formerly of Postblue). Two tracks of blacked out vocal electronics originally released on cassette are now brought to the floor with remixes by Leo James (Canyons, Berceuse Heroique) and Cop Envy (Opal Tapes, Templar Sound).
VA – Waves Of The Future [MNQ100]
Mannequin’s 100th – a compilation looking forward featuring an international and serious cast. The modern synthwave scene would be significantly poorer without the keen ear and tireless efforts of the Mannequin label run by Alessandro Adriani. Mannequin continues to go on exploratory missions to find the best and most relevant aspects of genres like acid, industrial, EBM, post-punk, coldwave and still more. Which brings us to Mannequin’s newest project and 100th release overall: the Waves of the Future double LP compilation, which itself is not a conventional retrospective collection. Case in point – none of the artists appearing on this collection have put out their own releases on Mannequin yet, despite acting as Mannequin’s unofficial ambassadors (via DJ sets and other means). This makes the set even more compelling rather than less so, since it shows how Mannequin fits into a larger picture that includes other scene leaders and label owners including Beau Wanzer, Willie Burns, Silent Servant and Ron Morelli.
Borusiade – A Body [COMEME043]
Cómeme starts 2018 by proving again to be a safe haven and a sanctuary for sensitive plants and unique characters devoted to music – just like Miruna Boruzescu aka Borusiade – from Bucharest. This is the first album of Borusiade, in which she takes her music to a new level, finding her very own expression, that is making us first shiver then sweat, then chill and finally melt. Her visions unfold through 8 pieces of music that follow a dreamlike narrative of associations and transformations. Somber synthetic atmospheres, sparse and spatial rhythmical arrangements, strangely seductive melodies and lysergic ally pulsating bass lines lead us away from a dystopian present towards a sensorial experience we long to repeat as soon as it’s over. ‘A Body’ is a deeply poetic work in which again and again you will hear Borusiade’s voice, sometimes dissolving and recreating meanings in mantra-like repetitions, sometimes layering itself to pagan choirs of smooth ecstasy. Then again you will also hear that voice close to you, singing, sharing an experience or a thought. It is always soft, effortless and unpretentious, but always strong, clear and precise, like the voice that speaks to you in an altered state of consciousness. It seems to come from the same person that is holding your hand, when everything else seems to fade into uncertainty while wandering through strange times and places.
Bézier – Parler Musique [DE200]
Dark Entries release the debut album from Bézier titled ‘Parler Musique’. Bézier is Taiwanese-American musician Robert Yang who is also part of the Honey Soundsystem crew. A multi-instrumentalist, Robert grew up in Southern California then planted his roots in San Francisco in 2005. Over the years in SF he has built an impressive analog synth-based studio, which also serves as the creative hub for his riveting live performances. Parler Musique clocks in at over 52 minutes with 8 tracks are spread across four sides for maximum loudness. The album title is a French transliteration on the phrase “Parlor Music” and is evening music for a meeting of minds in a drawing room or a literary salon. To ‘talk about music’, the actual translation of the title, the album is a hotbed of ideas. Different genres are crisscrossed: punk, synthpop, jungle, new romantic, industrial and new wave. Airy melodies, surging arpeggios and symphonic breakdowns counterpoint cold digital drum sounds to convey beauty within inescapable and impending daily processes.
Stallone The Reducer – Always Late [EST.83-08]
Stallone The Reducer is back. He’s always late, but he’s back. Stallone takes you on a one way trip that will make your head rattle, clattle and clank. Indecipherable robot voices guide you, while the busted up drums and industrial strength synths push you back and forth. This one is for the brave.
Das Ding / Dj Overdose – AM / PM [GFEP04]
Go! Finger returns to the vinyl grooves again! And this time showing a more dramatic and darkest side. Holland’s underground legends Das Ding and DJ Overdose, join forces, for the first time, to deliver “AM/PM”. A puzzling split release composed of two pairs of gloomy, sinister and hard to classify gems of the finest west coast electro. A delightful and state of the art chiaoscuro of today’s freshest dark electronics.
Juanpablo – Unmasked Discussion 21
Job Sifre – Bestaan [KH013]
Job Sifre is one of the guys bringing new blood into the Amsterdam scene. This is the follow-up to his recently released debut on the new Artifical Dance label, where he continues his path of solid EBM fueled electronix. The record ends with the gorgeous ‘At Least We Try’, showing of his more tripping, rhythmic side.
Dr. C. Stein – La Bombe Plastique [AD002]
Artificial Dance has returned to the source for release number two. The 12” pays tribute to one of the most influential figures of Amsterdam’s original DIY electronic music scene, Hanjo Erkamp. During the first half of the 1980s, Erkamp had a hand in some of the most experimental and forward-thinking releases on the now legendary cassette label, Trumpett. Famously, he was a member of two of the label’s key bands – industrial outfit Doxa Sinistra and new wave combo Ende Shneafliet – but during the period he also recorded a swathe of solo tracks as C. Stein, most of which only saw the light of day decades later. ‘La Bombe Plastique’, a thrillingly spacey and futurist cut rich in proto-techno rhythms, intergalactic electronic motifs and drowsy choral vocals. For this timely reissue, the superb original version comes accompanied by a fresh re-edit created primarily for DJ use.
VA – Electrified Bodies [BVV03]
Bodyvolt celebrate 10 years with a longplayer and 9 tracks by various artists: Bruta Non Calculant (formerly known through Invasion Planete Records and his project Le Syndicat Electronique), Eleven Pond (legendary 80s New Wave Band), Flying Bodies (Kommando 6), Swesor Bhrater (also coming from the Ex-Invasion Planete circle) Nina Belief (No Emb Blanc Records) TecRoc (Kommando 6), Naive (formerly known as :Codes, Autonom or as Code on Kommando 6), Black Pond (collaboration between Eleven Pond/Jeff Gallea + Beta Evers) and Radikale Analog Fraktion (Kommando 6).
Volta Cab – Rise Again 2LP [BAP106]
Temperatures are dropping and we’re all feeling the effects. Bordello A Parigi is letting the cold winds of the north swirl inside its doors with Russia’s Volta Cab bringing a fresh 2LP to the table. A spread of influences come together for the eleven tracks of Rise Again. Take Emerald’s Phantasy, a piece built on layers of percussion that blends elements of disco with notes of techno. Dark Room is a different affair. Arctic chords are cut with electro and distant vocals for an unsettling treat. Kruger stomps to a terse beat before lush pads bloom in a work that builds to dizzying peaks. Warm blasts balance these colder moments, the rich grooves of Savage Fury, the floor filling funk of Board Scandinavia and the removed romance of Sweet Exorcist all show another shade to the Volta Cab sound and of course there’s more. Rise Again is an audio collection of vibrant colours and hues, tracks pitch from icy blues to autumnal ambers and fiery reds; a musical kaleidoscope that stretches across a spectrum of styles.
La Contra Ola – Synth Wave & Post Punk From Spain 1980-86 [BJR015]
A compilation dedicated to the early 80’s Spanish Synth Wave and Post Punk scene. First to be published outside Spain, this anthology explores the electronic music side of the independent music produced in the days in the Iberian Peninsula: Synthetic pop music with industrial sounds including futurist Art Rock, dance-floor productions and low-fi experiments on cassettes. Classics or true hidden treasures, this selection of nineteen songs is symbolic of the musical dawn that Spain experienced during the decade marked by the return of democracy and by the creative freedom initiated by Punk music. “La Contra Ola” covers the years 1980-1986, and the most striking thing about this LP is the diversity of sounds that these artists were using. Unlike the stale synth wave that swept across the UK in that Neo-romantic sway, the likes of Esplendor Geometrico, Derribos Arias, Linea Vienesa, or Tres, to whom this comp is dedicated to, used their own native influences to express their vision of electronic punk music, and the results can be heard all over this magnificent anthology. It’s a piece of history that we finally have more knowledge of, and we thank the ever-reliable Bongo Joe for it.
The Pulse Projects – Black Catalogue Rituals – 2004-2005 [SUBAPICAL02]
Subapical presents Dutch producer Albert Van Abbe’s The Pulse Projects – Black Catalogue Rituals (2004-2005). The Pulse Projects Black Catalogue Rituals (2004-2005) show Albert Van Abbe’s grittier electro/industrial focused work all recorded in the mid noughties. Here he serves up 4 tracks from the archives.
Solid Space – Space Museum [DE190]
Dark Entries presents the first ever official vinyl reissue of Space Museum by Solid Space. Solid Space was the British duo of Dan Goldstein (keyboards, vocals) and Matthew ‘Maf’ Vosburgh (guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals) formed in 1980. Amongst collectors of post-punk era cassettes, Solid Space’s sole album, 1982’s Space Museum, has long been a sought-after item. While scarce and hard to find, the demand is largely down to the music contained within. Combining bright and spacey synthesizers with cheap drum machines, fuzzy guitars and vocals musing on science fiction and isolation, the British DIY duo created something surprisingly magical and alluring despite its lo-fi creation.
The Hipodrome Of Music 