Another well selected wavey release on In The Dark Again, with tracks from Kline Coma Zero, Lvrin, June and Dmitry Distant & Igors Vorobjovs.
synth wave
Dmx Krew – The New Age Travellers [EKS009]
This record can easily be classified as Library. Listening to these tracks moves your senses back and forth through time, from 80’s sci-fi back to Raymond Scott’s early 50’s experiments. The perfect soundtrack for bedrooms, late night dinners and greenhouses Ed Dmx contributes to a tradition in musical history, a richly vivid trail in which composers influence each other’s harmonies and ways of writing tunes, like an endless ping-pong game between minds and individuals but at the same time between continents and places throughout the world. Unlike many of Ed Dmx’ electro- oriented productions, ‘TheNew Age Travellers’ shows a more intimate side of his work. A story told through short synthesized conversations and electric piano improvisations is reminding us to cry, dream, remember, feel, live … and love.
In Æternam Vale – Pink Flamingos [DM3D013]
In Æternam Vale, long the best-kept secret of the french synth punk scene, has been revealed many times now. This is about writing a new chapter of that 33+ years story, that begun in Lyon in 1983 as a band, whose leader Laurent Prot – an electronics pioneer and maniac – took over as a solo act since 1985. This new album explores another side of ‘IAV’, that echoes how Laurent sounds now – a ferocious take on techno, post-punk rhythmic elements and drone soundscapes, planted with unrestrained improvisation, and getting closure with a song time after time. This record is not a compilation of tracks that would stick to a particular time period or subgenre. On the contrary ; there is a definite common thread, that had been found while losing oneself in the intensity of his spectacular live performances lately. Being carried away by his drone improvisations and smothering bass bins, and hearing him play his music, both old and new, there is a singular feeling of both freedom and transcendence that emanates from his music. Some of his lives have lead audiences to become completely silent, and taken away by hypnosis, some other have caused a riot, leading the audience to ultimate excitement. IAV stands for a whole-hearted involvement in the making of his music, and despite the cold and electronic textures, there is a sense of intimacy that we’ve tried to reflect through the choice of the closing song “La Pluie”.
Vinilette – Beyond The Meridian
Cold Colors & Xiu – Loneliness [OR0082015]
Facit – Mandag Mon Amour [WH010]
Hailing from Goteborg, Sweden, Facit is the project of Joakim Karlsson. For almost a decade, he has been producing tearful synthesizer music under various aliases, often teaming up with compatriot Mai Nestor on vocals. Smartly drawing a line between Swedish chanson and minimal synth, ‘Måndag Mon Amour’ is Facit’s second EP. Picture two passengers with paralyzing hemophobia, riding a sad carriage and smiling with tranquil melancholy, endlessy playing early 80s analog gear through some spring reverb. It doesn’t take long to remember « notre amour était dans un igloo » and never forgetting it.
Effetto Joule – Mechanic Soldier [MR059]
Medical Records in collaboration with Crispy Nuggets returns to Italy for it’s 59th release. Hailing from Bologna, Italy in the late 80s, Effetto Joule were brothers Flavio and Valero Biagi , Massimo Chericoni and Valerio Tassinari. Drawing on influences of the early 80s new wave and synth pop scene and armed with an arsenal of synthesizers (Korg Poly-800, Roland alpha juno-1 and juno-2, etc) from the mid 80s, Effetto Joule crafted their own sound. With the exception of the few of the tracks, almost all were home recorded during the years of 1988-1990. Effetto Joule self released a couple of cassettes entitled Ultraviolet A and B as well as one 12″ single in 1989 on Top Sound Record (recently reissued by Mannequin Records with bonus material). The rest of their music has been unreleased demos from which thee tracks were hand selected. The tunes can best be described as densely new romantic with unquestionably catchy hooks and lovely vocals to boot. Standout tracks include Active Ray and Stars Your Memory.
VA – Der Zeltweg – Italian Tapes Industrial Music 1982-1984 Volume 2 [MNQ081]
Second volume of ‘Der Zeltweg – Italian Tapes Industrial Music 1982-1984’, the legendary Musumeci’s tape label existed for some few years in the early 80’s. Edition of 500 copies on 160 gram black vinyl. Coloured Vinyl. While the A-side is filling all the music produced by some of their side projects (Errata-S-Corrige, Gasdehyde and Herpes-Z) that we already introduced in the first volume, plus an unreleased Musumeci very early studio track ‘Apologia/Musumeci’, the B-side is presenting for the first time the full reissue of ‘The Psychophatic Blossom – Il Fantasma della Libertà’ tape (Der Zeltweg 002), an unexpected guitar-bass-noises experimental album, permeated by philosophical declamations in Italian language and short pulsating rhythmic compositions.
Alessandro Adriani – Montagne Trasparenti [MF111LP]
Alessandro Adriani has become a trusted source for all kinds of beyond-the-grave coldwave delights, from Maoupa Mazzochetti to The Neon Judgement. Aside from his work in releasing forgotten gems and up to the minute synth incantations, Adriani has also been quietly issuing out his own music as well. Primarily this has taken the shape of Newclear Waves, having surfaced on split tapes and 7″s on Mannequin as well as an album on Desire back in 2012. Under his own name, production has been less forthcoming, although Adriani did pop up on Nico Fidenco’s 2015 album Zombi Holocaust with a remix of the track “The Magic Is In The Process”. Now though it’s time for the Mannequin boss to delve back into the long player game with Montagne Trasparenti, which is scheduled to land on Monofonus Press in late March. Adriani in fact collaborated with Willie Burns as Interbrain and delivered a track to the IXTAB compilation on the Austin, Texas-based label last year, but now he returns with nine tracks that further expand on his own interpretation of ghoulish body music. According to the label, the album was recorded between Adriani’s native Rome and adopted Berlin, “in various years of travelling, composing, fighting with cables and machines.”
Adriani & Ventura / State Of Art – Changing / Venice (Remix) [BAP060]
Two generations of Italian music history come together on this split 7inch. Milan meets Rome, Fred Ventura meets Alessandro Adriani. For this occasion Adriani and Ventura covered the 1982 evergreen ‘Changing’ by Bill Bruce. The perfect combination to pay homage to this monumental piece of music. On the flip side Fred’s early 80’s new wave band State Of Art got the remix treatment by Alessandro’s moniker Newclear Waves. Another unique match of these two key figures preserving the 80’s underground sound of Italy.
Hyboid – Terror Of The Universe [AS006]
”Terror of the Universe” is Hyboid´s third long player on his label Astro Chicken. Blending influences from 70s Kraut and Cosmic music with 80s Synth Pop and Soundtracks from Movies, TV Shows and Video Games, Hyboid creates his very own out-of-time style. Recorded entirely with vintage synthesizers and vintage effects, ”Terrör of the Üniverse” is a high-voltage Space Opera!
Momentform – Lapse [EE008RTM]
Momentform is the musical project of Ianis Lallemand, a multitalented artist from Paris. After three cassettes and two twelve inches, Momentform has landed on the Electronic Emergencies platform. “Lapse” is a four track 12 inch that is best described as a dark and melodic piece of neo synth wave. The sound is unmistakably analogue. The atmosphere is emotionally charged, haunting and dreamy.
Drvg Cvltvre – Into The Endless Night [PNKMNLP001]
Toeing the line between divinity and profanity, blurring beauty and debasement, is Drvg Cvltvre. Following Offender Status and Gauwvuur is an eight track album: Into the Endless Night. From the guttural emotion of “Where Embers Die” to the bleak ferocity of “Brakes are Death”, a complex and hardened array is on display. Buried angst is never far away. “There Were Rumours” flexes with embittered bars before the unrefined purity of “Jericho Flats.” Respite from this whirring carnival is a rarity, relief from the seesawing serration of “Shock Corridor” or rollicking jeer of “Charge of the Haploids.” But there is reprieve, radiance breaks through. “Into the Endless Night” pulses with brightening hope, one which is reflected in the gritty finale of “Winnerden Flats.” Heartening warmth piercing the hail. Balancing on the precipice, an album of scared and soulful sounds from this darkeyed light in modern electronic music.
Alessandro Parisi – Naonian City Nights [CHAR008]
Alessandro Parisi is casting off for his debut on Charlois. The Italian is setting out his stall with a five tracker. Honeyed bars are cut by sharp percussion as the brooding “Meduna Waves” opens. Space soaked synthlines coil around a pulsing drum for the slow burning “Cosmica 1999.” The flip sees a wave edge enter. Cascading chords and a bolstered beats form the pain streaked beauty of “Fear and Money Never Had.” “Exhibition of Love” is brimming with meaty snares biting into thick strings combined in a power filled piece. Parisi illustrates his enviable talent throughout, a talent that comes to the fore with the arpeggiated intensity of “Virtualand.”
Schaltkreis Wassermann – SKW [369.032]
Schaltkreis Wassermann returning with a 2LP album including all their 1980’s minimal synth and soundtrack productions from around the recording sessions of their debut album Psychotron. The bands captured the impressions from the LSD dimension, converted them into synthetic sounds and bringing them to the listeners mind with their music releases. An unique form of art, expecially exciting if you are minding they are from the inner circle of group around Albert Hofmann (the explorer and designer of the substance LSD which changed the world in 1960s). Stella and PJ lived in Albert Hofmans house, on weekends they done their LSD research sessions in their studio, experimenting with their ARP2600 synthesizer. Some tracks made it on their debut album Psychotron, the rest is available now on their 2nd album „SKW“.
Three Of You / MM – Drum Electronic Sound [RHYTHMZ-DEL]
Back to basics with two heavy rhythm edits/tools. A-side features label boss Paul du Lac’s edit of T.O.Y.’s ‘Drum Electronic Sound’, a dark and menacing mid-eighties instrumental italo/electro track, B-side features a simple yet highly effective and relentless minimal drum cut by herr Mick Wills.
VA – So Low [VF170]
Optimo’s prolific DJ/producer/label boss JD Twitch aka Keith McIvor has curated a compilation of early ‘80s synth, industrial and cold wave classics and undiscovered gems in collaboration with The Vinyl Factory, titled So Low. The 16-track collection had its genesis in McIvor’s irregular club night of the same name in his hometown of Glasgow. “So Low is an occasional night at The Poetry Club in Glasgow where I play some of the music I played when I first started DJing back in 1987,” McIvor explains. “At that time the audience I played to mostly loathed what I was playing and rarely danced but then shortly after, when House music arrived I found a different audience who actually liked to dance. In response to my wife’s deep love of this music and requests from some friends who were too young to hear it in a club at the time, or indeed were not even born when most of this music was made, I was persuaded to revisit a lot of records I still loved but rarely played out, and So Low was born. It has an extremely enthusiastic audience, a joyous atmosphere and is the antithesis of what a club in Scotland playing this music nearly 30 years ago would have been like.”
H ø R D - Focus On Light [GDLP004]
Here at Giallo HQ we first noticed H ø R D whilst searching for tracks for the fictitious Wild In Blue Ost, and his music has gone on to be some of the best we’ve ever heard, so much so that we jumped at the chance to release the debut album by this incredible artist. Eight Reverb-Soaked Urban-Gothic Melancholic songs, between synth-shoegaze and violent EBM, Focus On Light is a beautiful heartbreaking LP that will resonate strongly with fans of Pornography-era The Cure, Joy Division and classic Nine Inch Nails.
VA – Amateur Collecteur Vol.1 [AMAV001]
Five track vinyl compilation on Amateur with different tracks from Duyster, Fairmont, Gisberto, Sigward and Mattheis.
Dynamite Winter Palace – The Catechism Of A Revolutionary [KAP001]
Blood is thicker than water and eventually long time friends Bordello A Parigi and Knekelhuis pageant a solid piece of music together. Alessandro Parisi also known as Hesperius Draco from Portenone – Italy – and London based Timothy J Fairplay found themselves in the middle of an ice cold world, opening their wintery project with the “Romance” soundtrack. The warm synth lines will single handedly set Moscow’s frozen red square on fire. The Italian soundtrack synthesisers will touch the trans-siberian world and end with a slow burner named “What Is To Be Done”.
The Hipodrome Of Music 