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Various Artists- Unexpected Silenzio 12”

Posted in 12'', 1980s, 1986, ambient, canadian, compilations, dark ambient, moonlight society, odds, post-punk, silent sound on August 8, 2016 by Frankie Teardrop

I picked up this particular 12” on a more recent carpet bombing of a NYC shop, and I’ve been meaning to share it for some time. Released in Canada on Bad Zoo Records in 1986, this collection features three vastly different bands and two styles that don’t seem to go together on paper, but make for a very enjoyable compilation EP.

I’m particularly wild about the first track, “People Walk on By” from Moonlight Society, a band who dominates the a-side with their Chameleons-inspired post-punk. Lots of guitar interplay with some chirpy synths for good measure across both tracks. I really wish they had more songs out there, because I’m a sucker for this kind of sound, through and through. Meanwhile, the flip features two dark ambient tracks by two separate bands, both of which are sprawling in comparison to the a-side’s immediacy. Both are excellent, however, and like the flip, neither band was heard from again, though Silent Sound features a synth credit from David Kristian, who joined Psyche a few years later…

All in all, an excellent, if unknown little compilation that’s still rather cheap to pick up (for the time being, ha ha!). Hope you enjoy!

Various Artists- Unexpected Silenzio 12”
1. Moonlight Society- People Walk On By
2. Moonlight Society- I’ll Live
3. Silent Sound- Skin of Sorrow, Soul Without End
4. Odds- Hyaloide Hypercycle

*download it here*

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Various Artists- Unreleased III CD

Posted in 1990, ambient, asylum party, classical, coldwave, compilations, darkwave, little nemo, unreleased, various artists on February 15, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s one for the romantics. Contained within we have the final installment of the Unreleased series, a strictly coldwave compilation from Présage records with many repeat offenders providing exclusive tracks. You can get volume I here and my own rip of volume II here. The only release outside of these compilations is the first Little Nemo 12”. Strange that the label didn’t do much else outside of these four releases, but hey.

This installment of the unreleased series from 1990 is the most curious of the lot, as the tracks are (mostly) instrumental. In fact, the entire disc is very classical and baroque influenced, with myriads of piano and strings making up the majority of the instrumentation. Some modern sounding synths and the occasional drum machine & bass romp kick in, but for the most part, it’s a relaxing and atmospheric affair.

A few of the artists that appear here aren’t much of a surprise, especially In the Nursery, who have always flirted with a more modern darkwave take on classical music in their later incarnations. Curiously absent is Collection D’Arnell~Andrea, but this is definitely a must for fans of that sort of sound. There’s a short piano contribution from Little Nemo founder Vincent Legallo and an exclusive Asylum Party track as well as several cuts from No Words and Rise And Fall Of A Decade, who comprise the majority of this collection. This one may not be for everyone, but it’s definitely one I enjoy very much.

Various Artists- Unreleased III CD
1. No Words- Futile Research
2. Vincent Legallo- Helioneiros N° 1
3. No Words- Silent Call
4. Asylum Party- Wet Button
5. Rise and Fall of a Decade- Unity Mitford
6. Trees Dance- Fracture
7. Rise and Fall of a Decade- Theme Kurland
8. No Words- Classical Side
9. In The Nursery- Seraphic
10. Trees Dance- Lust In Holy Dust
11. Rise and Fall of a Decade- Galdhöppigen Glittertind
12. Trees Dance- No Access
13. Vincent Legallo- Orgues Allemands
14. No Words- Prémonition
15. No Words- Hommage A Gaétan Blondeau

*download it here* (RE-RIPPED 8.29.17)

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Kevin O’Neill- Omega 8 & A Hostage to Fortune CD-Rs

Posted in 1980s, 1990s, ambient, dark ambient, kevin o'neill, remote viewing, synth, uk on January 18, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s some goodies from the Remote Viewing files. Here we have two CD-Rs from Kevin O’Neill, one of the more prolific artists from the compilation. Kevin was also the man behind Network 23, the label who released both volumes of Remote Viewing. I’ll let John Costello’s own words tell a bit of Kevin’s story:

“Kevin founded N23 and as well as creating his own music he worked hard to promote independent electronic music in the UK. He played live at the UK Electronica in London in 1988 and organised this successful concert in his home city on March 18th the following year. The full billing was Kevin, Steve & Linda Hillman, myself and Greg Truckell. I’ll always be grateful to Kevin for liking my music enough to include it, as it’s a bit different from most synthambient and sequencer/progressive N23 artists.”

Fans of the Remote Viewing cassette, Costello, and various synth-heavy ambient acts (Deca, Tangerine Dream, Carl Matthews, Black Tape For a Blue Girl, Klaus Schulze, Coil etc.) will certainly find lots and lots to love on these two CD-Rs, which were graciously donated by Kevin. Omega 8 is a collection of tracks from the 1988 Omega cassette, with the final two tracks missing. A bonus track, “Islands Suite” appears in its stead. “Islands Suite” originally appeared on the Islands K7, while an edited version appears on Remote Viewing Volume 1, released in 1986. The second CD-R collects all tracks from 1993’s A Hostage of Fortune K7, though the title track appears in edited form from its cassette counterpart.

All in all, there’s roughly an hour and a half’s worth of incredible ambient music contained within! Here’s the info:

Kevin O’Neill- Omega 8 CD-R
1. Another Morning
2. Eye Of The Storm
3. Guernica
4. Blodwen (The White Rose)
5. Speaker
6. Prometheus
7. Islands Suite

Kevin O’Neill- A Hostage to Fortune CD-R
1. Indefinite Divisibility
2. P-M H
3. Piano No. 4
4. Flutecho
5. Tetapi Itu Kesenian (For Leif & Rukmini)
6. Reminiscence (For Michael Neil)
7. Ghosts
8. The Massing Of The Shades (For Norman Jope)
9. A Hostage To Fortune Pts 3-6

*download both here*

Many thanks to Kevin for his blessing in posting these! I’ll leave you with some amazing video footage of Kevin’s performance of “Island Sweet,” sourced from the infamous Network 23 concert in Cardiff, 1989. Enjoy!

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Carl Matthews- Old & New K7

Posted in 1980s, 1988, ambient, carl matthews, synth on August 19, 2011 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s a fantastic dark ambient tape from Carl Matthews, a compilation of earlier and unreleased material from 1988. Fans of the Remote Viewing and John Costello releases should love this one.

You can read a brief, but informative history on Matthews on his official website, which doesn’t appear to have been updated in some time. There were talks of CD reissues of his old cassettes via Sandpiper Records, but the site is no longer available. That said, I do believe Matthews is still active to date, with two releases last year.

Here’s the info for this killer cassette:

Carl Matthews- Old & New K7
1. Image I
2. Aksu II
3. All One World
4. Image II
5. Kingdom Of Souls
6. Elemental Moon
7. Iridescence
8. Autumn
9. Harmless Thought
10. Day Of Forgiveness
11. Valley
12. Image III
13. Holo-Rhythm

Tracks 1, 4, 8, 12 and 13 were previously unreleased.
Track 2 from Aksu.
Track 3 from Reflections I (compilation).
Tracks 5 and 11 from Call for World Saviours.
Tracks 6, 7 and 10 from Iridescence.
Track 9 from Integration (compilation).

*download it here*

7 Comments »

V/A- Adaptations From the Moon: Tuxedomooning the World

Posted in 2007, abstract, ambient, covers, darkwave, experimental, john costello, minimal, minimal synth, tuxedomoon, tuxedomooning on August 1, 2011 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s a recent compilation sent my way by John Costello, a name that should already be familiar from previous posts. Here we have a CD release of Tuxedomoon interpretations from 2007, as recorded by several members of a prominent TM message board. This CD exists as a non-for-profit venture via the site Tuxedomooning.com and while it isn’t available for sale, though there may be some copies available for those wishing to market the disc.

Fans of Tuxedomoon should find a fair mix of selections from the band’s career, done with care and finesse by several prominent underground artists. Cult With No Name also appear here, and Costello contributes TWO tracks. Allow me to expand on this post with some info and behind the scenes from Costello himself:

“[The compilation] grew out of the TM yahoo group forum started by Erik Stein (he’s also half of lounge electro duo Cult With No Name). Amid the renewed hustle of TM activity, French label Optical Sound released a covers cd in 2006, Next To Nothing, with artists including Simon Fisher Turner and Scanner. Oliver Schupp (of German band Festspielhaus), proposed a forum members covers cd and, when he found enough takers, took it forward from there. It was sanctioned by TM as a not-for-profit venture of 300 cds, with copies bought by the contributors to distribute how they wished and the rest sold by Oliver to forum members or interested parties at cost until they ran out.

I agonised for a long time over which track to choose, as there were so many candidates. Right up to the last minute I was going to do “No Tears” but I finally chose “Everything You Want,” in a rawer rocked-up style closer to the live version on Ten Years In One Night than the early Subterranean Modern Ralph Records compilation album version.

I record with my good friend and producer Geoff Pinckney at his Alien 6 studio in Sussex. Geoff is in electro outift Tenek with Pete Steer, and ex-of Glasshouse who supported Gary Numan on a couple of tours in the late 80s/early 90s. My method of working is to record and mix each track in as close to a day as possible, but I gave EYW three to make sure it would pass muster – it’s quite daunting doing something as an amateur that will be a tribute to a band you’ve loved most of your life, and you want to do it right. The session went smoothly, unbelievably so in fact, and I finished in two days – so for the hell of it I decided to do another. I chose “Egypt” because I knew I could do a minimal version fast, and it took just six hours to record and mix. I tried to do both in the spirit of TM and worked in a few motifs from other tracks; also, the bass on “Egypt” is a sample of “The Waltz,” from Holy Wars. I had no idea if Oliver would find it surplus to requirements but he loved it and included it on the cd.

The reaction was very positive. The band issued congratulations on the forum for a job well done.”

Since there’s not much more I can add to that, let’s get to the info!

Various Artists- Adaptations From The Moon: Tuxedomooning The World
1. John Costello– Everything You Want
2. Phlitman & Kangaroo– Ninotchka
3. Festspielhaus– In The Name Of Talent (Italian Western 2)
4. Gosane– Where Interests Lie
5. Cabaret Of Complexity– Blind
6. John Costello– Egypt
7. Another– What Use?
8. !!– In The Name Of Terror (Iraqi Western 2)
9. Cult With No Name– Some Guise
10. Gosane– Everything You Want / The Stranger
11. Duke Sexton– East
12. Dry Monopole– Time To Lose
13. MistakeMistake– (Special Treatment For The) Family Man
14. Willem Schipper– The Unknown Fan

*download it here*

Thanks again to John Costello for all the info, wisdom, and of course, the music! Please support him and check out more of his recent work here!

Otherwise, August is looking to be a busy month for me, so I may be sparse as the month progresses. That said, I am still expecting some goodies to come my way over the next few weeks, so I will post them as I can! That said, if you need a fix faster than I can provide one, be sure to sift through the back archives or many of the excellent blogs linked to the right. Great things being posted around every corner!

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John Costello- Halflife K7

Posted in 1980s, 1989, ambient, cassette, john costello, k7, minimal, minimal synth, network 23, remote viewing, remote viewing vol. 2 on April 19, 2011 by Frankie Teardrop

I have a few posts in line that go hand in hand with the Remote Viewing cassette posted a few weeks back. The first of such posts is the second tape from John Costello, one of the standouts from that compilation. His track “Gormenghast,” which was recorded live in Cardiff, also appears on the b-side to this cassette, alongside two other performances from that particular show. The a-side features lengthy tributes to popular horror scores. Either way, you can expect the same great synth work and haunting atmosphere on both sides. Here’s the information:

John Costello- Halflife K7
1. Halloween Suite
2. Texas Chainsaw
3. Flame Patterns
4. Surface Tension
5. Gormenghast

*download it here*

John Costello is still making a plethora of music, spanning several electronic styles. You can check out some of his current work via Myspace.

Also, for those interested, there are some great live videos from the infamous Cardiff concert (March 18th, 1989) available via Costello’s YouTube channel. Click here to check ’em out (scroll down the upload list to view the performances), and expect some more goodies from the Network 23 crew to follow. I’d also like to thank both John Costello and label head Kevin O’Neill for all the info, support, and generosity over the past few weeks!

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Various Artists- Remote Viewing Vol. 2 K7

Posted in 1980s, 1989, ambient, cassette, experimental, industrial, k7, minimal, minimal synth, remote viewing, remote viewing vol. 2 on March 21, 2011 by Frankie Teardrop

This particular cassette comes on generous loan from Sean Mcbride, sole member of Martial Canterel and half of Xeno and Oaklander, two of the current synth scene’s most crucial players. For those who are unaware, the latest Martial Canterel record, You Today, has dropped via Wierd Records, and is quite the stunning piece of work. A modern classic, through and through. Pick up a copy here, if you haven’t already!

This cassette, upon hearing it, has quickly become an all time favorite. Released in 1989 on Network 23 (the first installment appeared three years prior, and has yet to be shared to my knowledge), this tape features an hour and a half of instrumental ambient and industrial works from several obscure artists. It’s a murky, unsettling, and highly atmospheric ride, without a single dud among the bunch. Many of the artists here appear exclusively among the series, while others have a few more scattered releases from around the same time. The standout for me is John Costello’s “Gormen Ghast,” which lifts off into minimal synth/dance territory after nearly three minutes of haunting atmosphere. There’s also an exclusive track by Colin Potter and a solid gem by Steve Hillman, to name a few. This is highly recommended for fans of Tangerine Dream, Coil, and John Carpenter’s film scores, but there’s a handful of great minimal synth gems sprinkled within. Dig it!

Various Artists- Remote Viewing Vol. 2 K7
1. Howard Ingram- Sacrestone 72
2. Michael Hines- The Spirit Of Radio
3. Greg Truckell- Mesh
4. Mangenta Mirror- NX-X1-11
5. R. N. Andrews- Chinese Dentist Time
6. Steve Hillman- Citadel Parts 1 And 2
7. Colin Potter- Malton
8. Kevin O’Neill- Lik Mai
9. John Costello- Gormen Ghast
10. What It Is- Rearing Pigs
11. Martin Coles & Rick Wernham- Object Detection
12. Rancid Poultry- Controlled Exposure
13. Peter Tedstone- Mystic Sequence
14. Tim Stebbing- Star City

*download it here*

15 Comments »

Richard Bone- The Real Swing 12”

Posted in 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, ambient, currently active, disco, experimental, new wave, richard bone, shox lumania, synthpop on July 20, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s a classic early Richard Bone 12” for your listening pleasure. Born in 1952, Bone is considered an influential figure in the New York music scene in the early 1980s, a huge pioneer of electronic music. He began exploring the early art of the synthesizer, driven by the works of Brian Eno and Harold Budd, before moving into more poppier territory. He was also a member of experimental electronic band Shox Lumania in 1981.

A good portion of Richard’s early singles were on Survival Records, the same label that brought you Drinking Electricty, Faith Global, Hard Corps, and Play, to name a few.

Though he ceased to make pop records as of the 1990s, he still creates ambient music to this day. This particular 12” hails from 1984, just a few years into his solo career. Here’s the information.

Richard Bone- The Real Swing 12”
1. The Real Swing (Extended 12″ Re-Mix)
2. The Real Swing (7″ Edit)
3. Heartache History

*download it here*

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Chris Carter- The Space Between Cassette

Posted in 1980, 1980s, ambient, chris + cosey, chris carter, industrial, minimal, minimal synth on April 28, 2009 by Frankie Teardrop

Today’s artist should need no introduction, as he’s a member of several pioneering electronic acts including the likes of Throbbing Gristle and Chris and Cosey/Carter Tutti. Though Chris Carter lent his skills primarily to these outfits, the English musician recorded several of his own more electronic and less abrasive pieces on the side.

This particular release, Carter’s first solo outing, consists of several synth/wave instrumental recordings made in the legendary Throbbing Gristle studio. Though it’s been re-released several times over (never on vinyl), The Space Between originally appeared in cassette form, with little information and no tracklisting. The original pressing was released on TG’s Industrial Records, while subsequent CD reissues appeared on Elektra and The Grey Area.

Without any further ado, here’s the information for the record, and the link for your perusal:

Chris Carter- The Space Between Cassette
1. Beat
2. Outreach
3. Electrodub 1
4. Clouds
5. Reprise
6. Electrodub 2
7. Poptone
8. Slomo
9. Walkabout
10. Maybe
11. Falling
12. Solidit
13. Snap
14. Interloop
15. Resonance

*download it here*

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Les Joyaux De La Princesse- Aux Petits Enfants De France cassette

Posted in 1980s, 1989, 1990s, 2000s, ambient, death in june, experimental, france, industrial, les joyaux de la princesse on December 12, 2008 by Frankie Teardrop

Les Joyaux De La Princesse are a most recent obsession of mine, and I am pleased to offer up a record that’s been buzzing in my ears for a week straight. In short, Les Joyaux De La Princesse is a one man project from the heart of France. Les Joyaux De La Princesse has dabbled in several styles over the course of countless collaborations, generally circling around the industrial/noise/dark ambient realm.

The project began as far back as 1986, but the first recorded work, the cassette uploaded below, appeared in 1989. Since then, Les Joyaux De La Princesse has released countless limited edition records, each acting as a brief audio document of French history dating back as far as the 1930s. Les Joyaux De La Princesse has also collaborated with several key players in the scene, including the likes of Death in June, Muslimgauze, and Blood Axis. As of 2008, the man behind Les Joyaux De La Princesse records additional material as La Voix Des Nôtres.

Records indicate that the debut uploaded below hails from an extremely limited cassette recording. A limited edition of 49, I reckon this 1989 record would fetch a pretty penny if uncovered in its original form. It was re-released on CD in 1993. Without any further ado, the detials:

Les Joyaux De La Princess- Aux Petits Enfants De France Cassette
1. Exode
2. Témoignage
3. Jours Sombre
4. Automne 1941
5. Le Tambours Des Orphelins
6. L’Hommage À L. Fouquet (Le Drapeu)
7. Le Petit Garçon
8. Dernier Editorial (Lesage)

*download it here*

For more information, including scattered discography, images, interviews, and other goodies, please direct your attention to the following sites:

Myspace
Chronoglide dot come

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