synth wave
Factory Floor – Factory Floor [DFA2392]
The band drop their highly anticipated album debut on NYC post-punk stalwart DFA. Tracks from both of their singles appear alongside a slew previously unheard synth-wave / EBM gems. A vivid snapshot of a progressive band, still in the ascendant, smashing through yet another ceiling.
VA – Italia Synthetica 1981-1985 [SPITTLE034LP]
This LP + bonus CD features the entire track listing, plus 5 bonus tracks from the Italia New Wave LP. This album represents the musical mutation that occurred after the post-punk hangover gave way to more frigid emotional shores, in-line with the synth-wave moment that was sweeping Europe and the white cliffs of Albion. This scene flourished in Italy between 1981-1985, and the musicians that came out of it are still revered today (particularly in the US). Robotic rhythms and intuitions that, besides sharing common ground with the electronic movements that had come before, also knew how to fill up the dancefloor! Featuring four previously unreleased tracks by Der Blaue Reiter, along with tracks by Modo, Actor’s Studio and La Maison, as well as the still fresh sounding contributions by true pioneers of the genre Neon and Naif Orchestra.
Tevo Howard – Nature of Love Mix
VA – Circuit D’Actes Vol. 3 [LFL008]
The third installation of the Circuit D’Actes series from Belgian-French label La Forme Lente. In keeping with the spirit of its acclaimed predecessors, this new release offers a focus on modern acts (2 tracks each) as much as an overview of all things synth-based. From Position Parallèle (Geoffroy D of Dernière Volonté) and Kline Coma Xero’s dark romanticism to the self-described “No future pop” of Illustration Sonore (feat. members of Dolina, Âme de Boue, Jeunesse Fantôme and Froe Char) and Új Látásmód Fúzió /Post-Festum minimalistic soundscapes or Shiny Black Mater’s (former Le Syndicat Electronique) take on 19th century nursery rhyme, every track is striking evidence of the creative forces within the synth wave scene.
Silent EM – Case Unclear [FLEXI008]
Moody wave by NYC based wave producer Silent Em who been releasing some tunes on different compilations and just did a cassette for the american label Function Operate.
Phantom Love – Phantom Love [MNQ036]
Mannequin Records is simply elated to present the debut 12” EP from Phantom Love, a mysterious Kosmische act from Southern Europe. Emerging from the majestic and fiercely sun-trapped lands of the Old Continent, Phantom Love takes you along a dazing journey through a spectral yet dreamy haze of spacey psychedelia. Drawing inspiration and guidance from the ever-revered mitt European and Mediterranean tradition of Kraut and Cosmic rock, Phantom Lovemanages to encapsulate and transcend the formulas normally associated with these genres. A retro-futuristic feast for the ears, a production that is equally analogue and digital, haunting and exotic, Phantom Love’s debut is a sonic sculpture of obsessive arpeggios and reverb-drenched strings. Against this arcane melodic canvas, tribal and shape-shifting drums structures fight and discipline the liquid interplay and superimposition of cymbals and cowbells delays.
XEX – Change [DE043LP]
XEX were an all-synthesizer band from South River, New Jersey in the late 1970s. The band formed when a trio of high school misfits with funny names (Waw Pierogi, Thumbalina Gugielmo and Alex Zander) teamed up with some friends from Rutgers College. They released their debut album “group: xex” in 1980 which Dark Entries reissued in 2010. “xex:change” takes a leap from where the band left off at the end of 1980. David Anderson left the group making xex a quartet. Recorded during the summer of 1981 and produced with Ziggy Rodberg, xex further developed the aesthetic of the first album. The seven songs here are more complex and hypnotic than the synthpunk outbursts of “group:xex.” Their new synthesizers, a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 and a Minimoog, evoke the high-tech utopia of Patrick Cowley and proto-techno of Afrika Bambaataa. Thumbalina’s vocals have a detached, icy quality. Lyrics revolve around xex’ melange of oeuvres – pop, kitsch and New Jersey mall culture – offering commentary on species-specific adaptations for copulation, technophilia/phobia and the Jersey shore. “xex:change”, a multiple entendre that refers to the evolution of the group since its first album, group interaction in the creative process, and underlying sexual ambiguity. The group did not have the funds to release the album and it sat in obscurity for over 30 years.
Five Times Of Dust – The Dadacomputer [MWQSMP046]
The NY Minimal Wave label present a limited edition reissue of The Dadacomputer cassettes. The Dadacomputer was the first incarnation of what would later become Five Times Of Dust. It was the result of a collaboration between Robert Lawrence and Mark Phillips who came together during the summer of 1981 living between Bristol and Cardiff, UK. They collaborated by sending tapes back and forth through the mail and also worked together in their respective home studios. Later that year, they self-released The Dadacomputer on both MAP tapes and Quick Stab.
June – Golden Era [JUNE003]
A set of minimal synth recordings, captured live with in-studio performance. These pieces are a tribute to the golden era of electronic music that mainly emerged in Europe between 1978-1984 and is often described as minimal electronics, synthpop, synthwave etc. Sinister melodies, shadows and frost making up a haunting, dystopian sonic environment. Drum machines driving step sequencers and mono-synths, hand played polyphonic synthesisers, all enveloped by the industrial sound of the spring reverb.
Alessandro Parisi Live @ Loch (Zürich) 13.04.2013
VA – Dark Matters Too: Tales Of Enlightenment [LSD010]
The superb Light Sounds Dark return with perhaps our favourite release so far in the shape of Dark Matters Too: Tales Of Enlightenment. This 13 track collection was allegedly compiled with the august help and knowledge of Intergalactic Communication Network, a group said to include the following individuals; Rick Strassman (M.D) and Slawek Wojtowicz (M.D), Mutant Beat Dance and Beppe Loda. Whether we believe Light Sounds Dark or not, Dark Matters Too: Tales Of Enlightenment remains a superb compendium of rare and obscure dark wave, primitive electro and cosmic slop with not a artist the Juno review team recognises! The opening two tracks demonstrate the sheer variety here with ramshackle shamanic underworld funk of Dementia Precox followed by ultra-rare vocoder jam of Popsong’s Factory (think a Japanese Felix Kubin). Beyond that CHBB’s “Go Go Go” sounds like the pummeling prototype to the superb recent Streetwalker LP and “Giving Head To Kilian” could be mistaken for White Savage Dance era Karl O Connor.
Alessandro Parisi – Draconia [LXRC012]
New album on Lux Rec. Alessandro Parisi recorded this album just with a Roland TR-707 and a Roland JX-3P. The heritage from his home in the northeast of Italy is clearly present in the music of Parisi. Back in the late seventies and early eighties Pordenone was an industrial city with a vivid underground post punk and wave scene. Cold weather electronics. Fog and darkness surrounds the place to this day and deeply pervades this record: the history of a city called Draconia. Who will do wrong shall not be forgiven.
In Trance 95 – Shapes In A New Geometry [MW043]
Minimal Wave announce the release of a cassette of new music by Greek legends In Trance 95. After last year’s successful Cities Of Steel And Neon album release, In Trance 95 came together once again and have been working diligently in the studio on all kinds of new material. Aside from their recent raved about shows in Europe, this cassette is a taste of what they have been up to at Airdawn Studio in Athens, Greece. Quite dark, industrial and sometimes experimental (with glimpses of smokey dance floor atmosphere), these tracks are stark, heavy and cold.
Sandra Plays Electronics – Her Needs [MW042]
Minimal Wave label presents a 7” release of primitive D.I.Y. electronics by Sandra Plays Electronics, a project founded by Karl O’Connor (Regis) whilst he was a teenager living in Birmingham, England in the 1980s. O’Connor, mostly known for his pioneering work in the techno field (as Regis, Sandwell District, British Murder Boys, Ugandan Methods and various other entities) as well as his Downwards label, began playing and recording his own music when he was 16 years old. He collaborated with friends performing in short-lived bands such as Family Sex and also recorded on his own as Sandra Plays Electronics. He was heavily influenced by D.A.F., Liaisons Dangereuses, Cabaret Voltaire and Soft Cell, to name a few and would eventually collaborate with Robert Görl and also Chrislo Haas in the late 90s. The tracks we are presenting here are two versions of the same song, Her Needs, both recorded in Birmingham, England. The first was recorded in 1988 during soundcheck at the College of Food And Domestic Arts and the second was recorded in 1999 (from the Man Has Responsibilities session) at the Ice House. Pressed on heavy weight 70 gram ultra clear vinyl, the 7” is housed in a matte double sided printed foldover sleeve. Limited to 999 hand-numbered copies.
Belaboris – Once Upon A Time LP [DE041]
Belaboris was born in 1982 as the brainchild of Finnish producer Kimmo Miettinen. He would put together an all-girl band that looked great in photographs but were backed by professional musicians. The first line-up was Vilma Vainikainen on main vocals, Sisko Vainikainen and Rita on back-up plus Jake and Mari who did not sing at all. The backing band behind Belaboris was a local New Wave group called Tyhjät Patterit ( which translates to Empty Batteries). The main songwriter was Esa Ijäs (guitar, synthesizer) along with his bandmates Ari Ijäs (bass) and Martti Jalonen (drums). Belaboris’ debut 12″ single “Kuolleet Peilit” was released in November 1982. “Once Upon A Time” collects songs from all three EP releases and the “Olipa Kerran” mini-LP as well as two unreleased demos never before on vinyl. In Finland the synthetic Futurist/New Romantic pop was simply called “Futu”. Belaboris were in their own peculiar, undefinable no-woman’s-land, in between the Finnish Futu and Gothic scenes. Between 1982 and 1984 Belaboris crafted catchy, melodic synthpop with the occasional guitar. Their lyrics were stylistically “kitchen sink melodramas” with occasional Gothic elements inspired by movies. The name Belaboris, is a combination of the horror actors Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff.
Medio Mutante – Eadem Mutata Resurgo [MR019]
Medical Records present it’s first “modern” release showcasing a full LP compilation of material by American minimal synth band Medio Mutante. The band’s sound is also a mutation of their 1980’s influences, using vintage analog synthesizers and drum machines in creative and unexpected ways. Drawing influence from such acts as El Aviador Dro, Absolute Body Control, Front 242, Duotronic Synterror, Oviformia SCI, Yukihiro Takahashi, Medio Mutante integrated it’s childhood love of late 80s/early 90s Hip Hop, Latin Freestyle, and New Wave into a hybrid concoction that is truly unique. This full LP is composed of the band’s long out of print 6 song limited EP from 2007, their limited 7″ from 2009, and 4 previously unreleased tracks.
Streetwalker – Future Fusion [CITI007]
Chicago duo Streetwalker, comprised of molecular biologist Beau Wanzer and electronic music aesthete Elon Katz, wrote their debut album ‘Future Fusion’ over the course of two years. Through endless experimentation and analog improvisation, they have constructed an entirely new sound showcasing vibrant hand-played synthesizer, vulnerable vocals, and serpentine drum lines. Streetwalker’s distinct song structures are characterized as much by restraint, timing, and subtle shift as by the cyclic abandon of the loop.
NCW & Piss – Golden Lands EP [VIVOD002]
Second 12″ from Ali Renault’s limited boutique imprint, Vivod. Featuring the talents of NCW, this is moody, downbeat synth music.
Umberto – Confrontations [NNF270LP]
Halloween is early this year……fantasy soundtracking returns with his third official full-length, two years after the badass psychodrama of Prophecy of the Black Widow. What instantly distinguishes this new album from the previous two is its ominous, slow-burn compositional model, building its evil temple brick by brick, basking in the tension of each new chiming, Carpenteresque synth line or monkish doom Om for multiple measures before stirring the next substance into the cauldron. This elegant sense of patience gives the tracks a more oozing, operatic aura; these confrontations aren’t hostile showdowns in the woods but the creeping dread of alien-nation body snatchers infiltrating the populace. Death comes slipping.
