synth wave
Night Court – Law & Order [NNF313LP]
The origins of these enigmatic VHS-scrambled prog-techno explorations are so true and tripped they’re worth quoting in full from co-chairman Christopher Hontos: “Night Court was recorded in July two summers ago (’13) in a remote cabin on Lake Namekagan (located on national forest grounds in northern Wisconsin). We usually do these ball-busting weeklong recording sessions up there with a good group of folks and a grip of mushrooms. For this one we had this idea of setting up our synths on the deck and doing a trippy somnabulistic overnight open-air recording sesh that would be called “Night Court.” However when the time came and the crew got together we interpreted the name literally and ended up jamming out an album of legal system-themed tracks. We recorded the entire album in one day every song in one take and with very little post-production. Track after track flowed and we never drifted from the theme nor spent time diverting our focus (with the exception of Farstad being vetoed after trying to start up a footwork-style track). After the session we were all so burnt-out and fried we thought little of the recordings. But as time passed we went back to them and realized we had struck gold. Italics ours – this is rare ore. A freaked fusion vision, flowing cold city collectivist synths interlaid with executioner guitar, ambulance/TV samples, alley haze, and flashing sirens sax. Insane music for insane times. Its meanings are manifold: political (a sweeping overview of the nothing-specific nature of humanity via the American legal system), metaphoric (tongue-in-cheek turns to fist-in-air, and we realize that life imitates fiction less than fiction imitates life), realistic (at the time of recording none of us had ever seen an entire episode Law & Order).”
June – Renate Podcast 016
Silent Em & Ortrotasce – Common Loss [FLEXI014]
Flexi Wave reviels the collaboration between Silent Em aka Jean Lorenzo and Ortrotasce aka Nic Hamersly. The LP is a 11 tracker with 5 solo-tracks and one collaboration track all carefully put together by the artists together.
Nina Belief – Feel The Feast [FLEXI015]
FlexiWave presents a new release from no less then legendary Miami based synth genius, Nina Belief. It has been very quite around Nina but here she is back with two magic synth-punk tunes that will get any lace moving.
Philippe Laurent / Xeno & Oaklander – Exposition 3 [GIR001]
Girouette Records presents tracks selected from the early works of the French Electronic music pioneer Philippe Laurent. “Exposition 3” and “Rapide 1”, these two gems from 1982 are out for the very first time on vinyl, after being remastered from the original tapes by the talented label Minimal Wave. The major cold wave New Yorker duet Xeno & Oaklander brings a second heart to this record, with a wild and breathless cover version of “Exposition 3” taking us with a night driving analogue bass and a surgical eight o’ eight beat to intriguing cinematographic landscapes.
Alessandro Parisi – Phormix Podcast #9
Moral – And Life Is… LP [DE087]
Moral was the trio of Marco Andreis (Guitars, Bass), Hanne Winterberg (Vocals) and Ingolf Brown (Synthesizers, Rhythm Box, Sequencer) from Aarhus, Denmark formed in 1981. They released their debut mini-album ”Dance of the Dolls” on cassette in 1981 and the album ”Whispering Sons” on cassette in 1982. During the summer of 1983, Moral recorded and produced their debut LP, ‘And Life Is’ at Ingolf Browns home studio. It was the first release on Ingolfs label ARP Gramophone in August 1984. Influenced by early 4AD Records, Joy Division, Brian Eno and Wire, the band crafted their own brand of Nordic melancholic Post Punk. The album develops the bands signature sound of airy, glacial synthesizers with crepuscular guitar and serpentine melodies. The main synthesizers used are the primitive Roland TR-606 Drumatix, the percussion side-kick to the TB-303, plus the BOSS DR-55 Dr. Rhythm drum machine. Hannes hauntingly beautiful vocals walk the line between germanic chill of Nico and Alison Statton of Young Marble Giants. Lyrical themes of cold nights and blossoming relationships paint a detailed picture of youthful life in Scandinavia. This deluxe edition contains three bonus tracks that originally appeared on the ‘Somewhere Outside’ compilation.
Van Kaye + Ignit – A Slight Delay [DE083]
Van Kaye + Ignit is the Dutch duo of Ed Van Kasteren (Van Kaye) and Ignatine Bekken (Ignit), who joined forces in the city of Arnhem during early 1980. Self-released in 1981, the album pairs conceptual sophistication with disarming naïveté in a way that has been difficult to replicate since the formative years of ‘bedroom’ electronic music. Both members handle vocals (or non-vocals), and songs feature everything from new wave riffs to slowly shifting oscillator buzzes and eerie electronics over mechanical rhythms. This reissue includes the entire 11-track original c-60 cassette A Slight Delay, as well as all 4 tracks from the “Picassos on the Wall 7” spread across two vinyl discs.
Vercetti Technicolor – Black September [GDLP001]
Vercetti Technicolor’s ficticious soundtrack to the 1972 Munich Massacre, is a bleak, cold and somber work. Partly inspired by the 1999 Documentary by Kevin Macdonald, Vercetti creates a tense and brooding approach to this, the most darkest of subject matter. This is far from dancefloor material, this is doom-electronics at it’s most frightening. Giallo Disco is proud to present our first LP, Vercetti Technicolor’s Black September, closer to minimal wave than moroder and all the better for it. Remixes come from Mexico’s PLAYTONTO and Creme Organisation signing’s Francesco Clemente.
June – Dominion [SUCTION029]
Suction Records is pleased to present “Dominion”, the debut full-length LP by June. June is the solo project of Tsampikos Fronas, originally from Greece, and now based in Berlin, Germany. “Dominion” is focused on June’s synthwave sound, utilizing hardware step sequencers to sync and control his arsenal of classic drum machines and synthesizers including Roland’s SH-101, TR-606 and Juno-60, and the minimal synth percussion staple, the Korg KR-55. The romanticism and elegance of early ’80s synth pop is clearly evident, not only in the production and instrumentation of the music, but in the artwork and song titles. Even more prominent is the influence of modern minimal synth master Sean McBride of Martial Canterel and Xeno & Oaklander, who’s sophisticated classicist sequencer composition looms largely over the material on “Dominion,” minus McBride’s distinctive vocals. Save for the gorgeous and meditative “Queen Of Flowers” cuts that end both sides of the LP, the music on “Dominion” is driving, danceable synthwave that references the past while maintaining a thoroughly modern edge.
Le Cliché – Consumer Behaviour [MR042]
Medical Records presents the debut full-length release of Le Cliche, entitled ‘Consumer Behaviour’. The album consists of 11 songs influenced largely by European synth pop of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. The music might be best described as minimal synth, synth pop, postmodernist, cold assembly line with neo consumerist themes, based on the use of synth sequences and virtual voices. Le Cliche is the synth project of Gerard Ryan, native of Limerick (Ireland). All of the tracks on the album are from the 2012-2014 period except for ‘I woke up this morning (like I always do)’, which is a reimagining of a 1984 demo of the track entitled ‘I dreamt I was dead’. ‘Production Line’, is the mostly instrumental opening track to the album which clearly displays its Kraftwerkian influences. The Le Cliche sound is attained by combining a mix of old and new technologies.
Mixed Feelings – Remnants [MR041]
Medical Records in partnership with Crispy Nuggets Blog present the unreleased recordings of England’s Mixed Feelings. Mixed Feelings grew up in Basildon which was also the home of Depeche Mode. In 1981, Sean Cooper met Martin Gore on holiday (around the time of “New Life”), and they instantly hit it off discussing synthesizers, school, teachers, etc. Martin was inspirational for Sean to follow his dream of making music. They played shows at school and various locations until 1982 when they first entered a studio and recorded “Final Demand”, “Because Of You”, and “Ice Machine”. These tracks received some local airplay, and they continued to play more gigs. A year later, they entered the studio again to record a few more tracks. This LP is a collection of known recordings by Mixed Feelings. It is a brilliant snapshot into the minds and talent of a group of young musicians on a mission. The opening track “Another Place (Like Home)” sets the mood with melodic synth lines and punchy electronic accents. Excellent songwriting and moody atmospheres prevail on this record. 11 tracks in total (including one cover and homage to their inspiration early on…). Other notable tracks include “Because Of You”, “They Told You So”, and “The Captain”.
Bal Pare – Early Recordings [MR040]
Medical Records presents a hand-picked selection of the early recordings of Germany’s Bal Pare. Members were Kirsten Klemm (vocals), Jan T. Krahn (Synthesizer), Matthias Schuster (Synthesizer, Beatbox). and drummer Jurgen Weiss. The first Bal Pare LP “Hamburg-Paris-Catania” was released in 1982 on Konkurrenz Records. Since they had a large fanbase in Sweden, the second release (“Metamorphose”) came out in Stockholm on the Krautrock label. Around this time, a new member, Manfred Asmus , joined on keyboards and programming and Jan T. Krahn and Jergen Weiss had left the band. Much of the material from this selection of tracks were culled from unreleased sessions from the 80s with Manfred Asmus. The opening track “Rien” is a perfect display of what synth pop is modeled after. Rich lead synth textures, male/female interplayed vocals, and electronic percussion. Though the entire record flows with ease and captivates the listener from beginning to end, other standout tracks include “Palais d’Amour”, “Die Idioten”, and “Meilleur Du Monde”.
Black People – Isle Of The Dead [FLEXI012]
Black People is a moniker of Brigthon techno legend Tobias Schmidt (Disko B, Tresor, Scandinavia +++). He has previously appeared on FlexiWave by releasing 7 Brain Wash (Flexi003) and on the much acclaimed cassette 290.625 (Flexi005). Here he strikes again with a 6 tracker of dark melancholic synth/punk wave.
June – Les Yeux Orange #037
The Rattler Proxy – Death Machine [LURID002]
The Rattler Proxy, a sonic duo from Athens, release their second single featuring two original songs – ”Company of Wolves” and ”Death Machine” – along with two remixes of the latter by Antoni Maiovvi and Jokers Of The Scene. The Rattler Proxy explore the realm of urban alienation through intense and claustrophobic soundscapes. Often swapping their pulsating electronic crawl, for digital rockabilly-esque freak-outs, theirs is a world of back alleys and gang laden imagery, a rhythmic decent into a hellish, concrete landscape.
Prostitutes – Ecstasy, Crashing Beats and Fantasy [DIAG015]
There’s a tongue in cheek sensibility and an air of confrontation to much that James Donadio does as Prostitutes which made him more than suited to Diagonal label when the Cleveland artist debuted on the label last year. The curdling acid of “Dollars To DMs” and the faltering bleep electro of “Side Effects Of Living” are particularly potent Prostitutes productions.
Pye Corner Audio – The Black Mist EP [FANDF031]
Pye Corner Audio expands on ‘Black Mist’, taken from ‘The Outer Church’ compilation released by Front & Follow, now backed with new track and a blown-out Old Apparatus remix. The dramatic original is given time and space to let that Dr. Who-style bass riff and soaring synth to take flight across the A-side, whilst the flip brings the funereal slow techno processional, ‘Bulk Erase’, into play beside a roiling, radiant render from Old Apparatus, who also fold in oriental field recordings to abstract and exotic effect.
Cold Colors Live @ Kraftfeld Club (Winterthur, Switzerland) 18.10.2014
The Hipodrome Of Music 