Archive for October, 2010

Quadrascope- Baby Won’t Phone 7”

Posted in 1980s, 7'', france, minimal synth, new wave, Quadrascope, synth, synthpop on October 12, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

Last but not least, thanks to a generous donation, we have a killer synthpop/minimal 7” from Quadrascope, an obscure French band. Not much to be said about this 1983 release, as there’s not a lot of information available, so the music will have to speak for itself. While the a-side is a catchy wave number in its own right, the b-side is truly the gem here. Those handclaps slay me every time! I’ll let you decide for yourselves:

Quadrascope- Baby Won’t Phone 7”
1. Baby Won’t Phone
2. Love Times Love

*download it here*

Steven Grandell- Animal Angst LP

Posted in 1980s, 1984, experimental, minimal, minimal synth, synth, US on October 12, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

You may have seen this one over at Mutant Sounds in the past, but here’s a rather clean and fresh rip of this classic minimal synth LP by Steven Grandell, self-releaed in 1984. A little more experimental than most minimal synth recordings, complete with jerky rhythms, strange instrumentation (violins, xylophones, etc.), and detached vocals, but still quite catchy in the end.

A few copies of the LP were once sale via Venus DeMars, but I do believe they’ve since sold out. Currently, the artist is releasing music as Venus DeMars and All the Pretty Horses, which you can check out here. Here’s the info for this LP:

Steven Grandell- Animal Angst LP
1. Burn My Eyes
2. There’s Got To Be Something
3. Confession Of An Innocent
4. Lead
5. Fear
6. Isn’t It Time
7. Flight At The End
8. Great Big Earth
9. I Am Human
10. Radio Sleep

*download it here*

Krisma- Cathode Mamma/Nothing to Do With the Dog LPs

Posted in 1970s, 1980s, Chrisma, italian, Krisma, minimal synth, synth, synthpop, synthpunk on October 12, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

I have a pretty huge backlog of things I’ve been meaning to post, so I’m going to chip away at them over the next few days, so bear with me, folks! To kick things off, I’ve had several requests to post some more tracks by Chrisma/Krisma, so here’s my two favorite LPs from this Italian synthpop outfit. Contained within this zip file are 1980’s Cathode Mamma (the band’s debut after switching from a ‘Ch’ to a ‘K’) and 1983’s Nothing to Do With the Dog (aka Fido on some releases), their third LP. There are still three more out there, but these two should keep you satiated for now! Here’s the info:

Krisma- Cathode Mamma LP (1980)
1. Cathode Mamma (Neue Version)
2. Many Kisses
3. Peggy Guggenheim
4. Rrock
5. Rien Ne Va Plus
6. Cathode Mamma
7. Telegram
8. White Knife
9. Last Chance to See Man

Krisma- Nothing To Do With the Dog LP (1983)
1. Nothing To Do With the Dog
2. I’m Not In Love (10cc cover)
3. I Must Know Your Name
4. Girls Drumming
5. Eye to Eye
6. Boys Drumming
7. Carefully
8. Find a Friend
9. Heroes of the Sea
10. Everybody Drumming

*download both LPs here*

For your viewing pleasure, here’s the official video for “Nothing To Do With the Dog,” one of the band’s biggest singles and an international breakthrough at the time.

Colour Moves- Trees 7”

Posted in 1980s, 1986, Colour Moves, post-punk on October 8, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s a generous donation of a rare Italian 7” by Colour Moves. This is their only major release, though it seems as if a few loose tracks were released on compilations up until 1990. This particular 7” hails from 1986.

Fun fact- the label responsible for this 7”, Supporti Fonografici, is also home to some of the best and rarest Italian synth records, many of which have been posted here before. This 7” joins the ranks of Chromagain, Weimar Gesang, Faded Image, and XNO, to name a few! Not too shabby!

I dig both of these gloomy, romantic post-punk tracks quite a bit, but the real standout here is the b-side, which is a little more driving and catchy! Here’s the details:

Colour Moves- Trees 7”
1. Trees
2. Over Falling Skies

*download it here*

Cathedral of Tears- Cathedral of Tears 12”

Posted in 1980s, 1984, cathedral of tears, darkwave, enigma records, Jack Grisham, new wave, post-punk, TSOL, US on October 6, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

Moving right along, here we have a 12” by Cathedral of Tears, a US-based darkwave band with a danceable edge. This is the band’s only record, released in 1984 on Enigma Records, which was generally known for dark, sleazy punk (The Cramps, Dead Milkmen, TSOL etc.).

Though the record does flirt around with a more new wave sound, the project was primarily an outlet for Jack Grisham, of TSOL, which explains the ‘odd man out’ style of this record. Either way, expect some good darkwave grooves here.

Also, I believe there were several muscians involved with the project, including Mike Patton (Adolescents/Middle Class) on bass. I’ve stumbled upon some choice words about this 12” from Jack himself:

“This is one of those mistakes you make that you can’t take back. My dad died, I was going through a lot of shit…I stole the tapes. We had a record…we wrote a bunch of new songs, went in the studio & I stole the tapes. Our record company had said, ‘There’s no song here that will get radio play,’ & I was like ‘Bullshit, there is.’ So I stole the tapes from the record company, took it to the radio station, & they were playing our song (Black Emotion) while I was driving away. (laughs) & it turned out to be the number four requested song on the station that year. With no record out. & then Enigma finally put it out. They finally put it out, but it was too late. I had already done the damage by the time it came out.”

Neat, though I must disagree that this record is a mistake! Don’t take my word for it, though- here’s the info for 12”.

Cathedral of Tears- Cathedral of Tears 12”
1. Trap
2. A Situation Of…
3. Calm Storm
4. Black Emotion
5. Ballet
6. Whisper From The Deadland

*download it here*

Various Artists- Systems of Romance vol. 2

Posted in 1980s, coldwave, compilations, minimal, minimal synth, NDW, post-punk, systems of romance on October 5, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

Ok, I lied- had a little extra time today to put the finishing touches on the second Systems of Romance compilation, so here it is as promised! Same as the first, this collection features several loose tracks I’ve had kicking around and have been enjoying for some time. These tracks generally comprise DJ sets of mine around here in NYC, but are also perfect for everyday enjoyment.

Since the first volume seems to be so popular (thanks for the kind words and comments, guys!), I may have enough tracks to make a third installment, so stay tuned for that in the near future. Without any further ado, here’s the breakdown for this compilation:

VA- Systems of Romance Vol. 2
1. At Night- Jus Dorange
2. We Make Love- Puppets of Mankind
3. Een Ding- Toni Valen
4. Man Must Klavier Spiele Konnen- Menrwert
5. Bozsky Klid- OK Band
6. Kianzu- Boda De Rubias
7. Exposure of My Senses- Gravity Pirates
8. No Surprise- VHF
9. Hold On You- Bert Barten
10. Heaven Is In You- Jamie Wild
11. Tree Soldiers- Twelfth Night
12. Hemispheres Divide- Tek Noir
13. Siguelo- Tiempo 555
14. Galaxy- Antimation
15. Ice- Seeing Red*
16. Harmony- Calvin Twilight
17. Teenage Iceage- Suzy Andrews**
18. Entrer Dans L’Amour- The Graphic
19. Do You Read Me- Alastair Riddell
20. Outcast- The Factory***

*download it here!*

*This track, and it’s moodier b-side, will soon appear on iTunes. Keep your eyes peeled for a proper digital file!
**The background melody should sound familiar.
***You can get this band’s 12” and 7” over at Pheonix Hairpins. Different rip here!

Movement- Perfect Day 7”

Posted in 1980s, 1983, coldwave, contorsion, french, movement, post-punk on October 5, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

I know I promised the Systems of Romance vol. 2 compilation, and that will definitely be coming later in the week, possibly as soon as tomorrow, so stay tuned for that! For now, I’d like to kick off my favorite month with a 7” I’ve been meaning to post for some time. Contained within we have the debut single by French coldwave act Movement, released in 1983.

Generally a three piece band (with rotating members until their split in 1987), Movement released two full length LPs, a cassette, and two 7” records before their demise. You can get their first untitled record on Contorsion (Baroque Bordello, Bonaparte’s, Opera Multi Steel) over at Dreams and Voices. You can expect more of the same synth-driven guitar wave tracks as the full length, a familiar treat for fans of that Coldwave sound! Here’s the info:

Movement- Perfect Day 7”
1. Perfect Day
2. Disfiguration

*download it here!*