Quick request this weekend for Incandescent Luminaire’s lone 7” from 1982. Excellent minimal synth from the UK, featuring Mark White (formerly of ABC and Vice Versa). Nice duality on both sides- the a-side is a nice slice of minimal electronic pop, while the second is a more experimental affair, complete with rickety synth lines aggressive guitar textures. Perfect for fans of Testcard F, The Actor, and bands of that ilk.
Incandescent Luminaire- Famous Names 7”
1. Famous Names
2. The Warning
You may have seen this one over at Vinyl Obscurity in the past, but I’ve been playing this one out at the Wierd party for several years now with extremely positive results, so here’s a fresh rip from my own copy. Speaking of which- for those who live nearby, be sure to check in at Home Sweet Home tomorrow night (4.18) for the US debut of UV Pop! I’ll be on the decks with Caleb of Sacred Bones & Alessandro from Mannequin—-surely a night to remember!
An incredibly affordable synth/wave 12” from 1984, recorded and released here in New York. The clear winner here is the title track, a dark and fast paced synth number with short stabs of guitar, a sinister refrain, and several references to London town. The British references also carry over to the album cover, which depicts a photo of Shaftesbury Ave., the heart of London’s theatre district. Perhaps the dustcollector is a player on the stage?
The flip is a more care-free pop tune with some shamelessly soulful female vocals in the background. Not really my cup of tea but your mileage may vary. However, the A-side more than does the trick for me, as this 12” never leaves my record bag.
Jarvon Jol- The Dustcollector 12”
1. The Dustcollector
2. It’s Time
*download it here* (RE-RIPPED 1.27.18)
Here’s a fresh high quality rip of a top shelf post-punk LP from 1982 that you may or may not already be familiar with. Hailing from the UK, there’s some excellent guitar and synth work here, highly energetic and vital. Reminds me a lot of The Sound atimes, really emotive and passionate vocals (with a sly sense of humor) mixed with buzzing synths, sax, and the incisive guitars we all know and love. Released on the same label as Naughtiest Girl Was a Monitor, Kan Kan, and Normil Hawaiians, to name a few.
This is one of three releases from the band, my favorite being the Livin For Now 12” (an alternate version of the title track appears on this LP as well). Standouts here include the hard-hitting “Ideals” and “On the Inside,” a proper post-punk rave-up. Through and through, a great album that really takes a few listens to click, but well worth the effort!
New Age- All The Monkeys Aren’t In The Zoo, Maryloo LP
1 Sense
2 Acception
3. On The Inside
4. At The End Of The Day
5. Ideals
6. Progression
7. Moving The Mountains
8. Living For Now
9. Talking Heads
I’ve been hearing some rumblings about Mediafire as well, and though various articles claim that Mediafire won’t be changing its service plan, I’ve heard some contradictory reports and have seen some accounts deleted over the past few days. So with that in mind, I’m going to post a few things over the next few days to get them off my chest just in case something goes down between now and then. Call me paranoid, but why hoard this stuff!
Here we have two post-punk records from Baltimore, Maryland.
First up, we have an immaculate rip of Immortal’s Paradigm 12” from 1988, previously featured on the always excellent Return to the East blog. Very Danse Society/Killing Joke-esque tribal post-punk here, with plenty of ghosty hooks that make it an essential listen. Not to be confused with the Dutch band of the same name.
Immortal- Paradigm 12” (1988)
1. Scale
2. Solvent
3. Print
4. Morning
Secondly, here’s an LP that’s flown under the radar over the years, and is still rather affordable for those interested in acquiring a copy. I recently included the title track from this LP on Systems of Romance vol. 5, plucked from the 8 Essential Attitudes compilation, but I’ve since tracked down the LP of the same name, and it’s more impressive than I expected. Almost a more new wave/pop take on Bauhaus, or if that analogy doesn’t work for you, a harder-hitting version of the VHF album. You can get their first LP here, if the link is still up and running. Not to be confused with the post-Sisters of Mercy band of the same name! Apparently, the band changed its name to When Thunder Comes to avoid confusion with those guys, and are still active to date, with a more heavy sound. You can read more about that here.
Mission- When Thunder Comes LP (1986)
1. When Thunder Comes
2. Broken Promises
3. Underground
4. River
5. Long Way Back
6. Lost Religion
7. The Bell Tolls
8. We Were There
9. This Train
10. Make The Man
Stay tuned for more over the next few days!
Well, with megaupload’s recent demise, it’s no shock that the blog world is currently reeling. My condolences to those whose hard work was flushed down the drain in one fell swoop. Not sure if mediafire, my preferred hosting of choice, will be targeted in the near future, but with this in mind, I’d say now’s a good time to catch up on the archives of this blog and others, while the getting’s good! Also, lemme know if any of the zshare archives are outdated, and I’ll reupload as I can. I’d like to keep a tight ship here for as long as possible.
That said, I’m sure you’ve all noticed that there’s been some overlap posts here as of late. While I’m still dead set on unearthing long lost gems, the wantlist dwindles by the day. With that in mind, I’ve been acquiring copies of some all time favorites for the DJ bag and re-ripping them at solid bitrates and de-popping them as best as I can before playing them out. I’ve also passed a few clean rips over to A Viable Commercial (1, 2, and 3) and more shall be appearing throughout the blogosphere. I’ve also been revisiting some of my own posts from the past, the most recent being the first Sanity Plexus 12”, which I’ve cleaned up to the best of my ability (it’s still a rather poor pressing, so there’s only so much one can do). I’ll update at the end of new posts with any archival developments in lieu of making a new post. Don’t get me wrong, new and unheard material will still appear here as I get my hands on it, but I hope you guys enjoy the higher fidelity posts as well.
Ok, so all that aside, here’s another record that’s been shared before, though it appears to be offline at the moment. Here we have an elusive comp from 1983, featuring artists the Philadelphia area. Fantod’s original post hints at a poor quality pressing of this record, and while I had in my hands what appeared to be a near-mint copy, the same flaws existed. There’s a long-standing crackle throughout the entire record, very difficult to remove through standard means. I tried noise removal as per usual, but I was left with little audio to work with on the second track, even at lower settings, so I kept an even hand and did my best. I did go through and attempt a click-by-click removal, but I was only able to remove the major and isolated offenses before losing my mind completely. Also, it seems like some of the tracks were poorly recorded to begin with, most noticeable on the Sensory Fix track, which sounds foggy right off the needle.
Despite these flaws, this record is still surprisingly rare and worth checking out, as it features early and exclusive contributions from some of Philly’s finest. Pretty Poison appears here, in their earlier and more abrasive incarnation, and offer one of the best tracks on the comp. There’s also a transitional Book of Love track about dye, recorded soon after their stint as Head Cheese. It’s a curious track, nowhere near the synthpop smash of their debut LP, but more in line with the no wave-influenced Jungle Jam tracks. Another standout is Bunnydrums, the psychedelic post-punk band that’s been covered many times in the past, and who I believe are still active to date. While “Sleeping” also appeared on the PKD LP (same version for both releases), it’s one of their finest tracks. We also have a cut from Executive Slacks, who I presume need no introduction.
As with any compilation, there are a few tracks that aren’t too interesting to me, but your mileage may vary. For me, the real diamond on this comp. is the smoldering Girls Downstairs cut, an unsuspectingly nightmarish track with female vocals and steady percussion. Sadly, it appears to be the only thing they ever recorded. Story of my life.
I feel like I had more to say about this one, but since this is likely my longest post to date (tl;dr), I’ll end it here and offer up the tunes for anyone still with me. Here’s the info for this comp:
Various Artists- I’d Rather Be In Philadelphia LP
1. Bunnydrums- Sleeping
2. Pretty Poison- Secrets
3. Sensory Fix- Last Match
4. Impossible Years- Flower Girl
5. Mother May I- When Children Play
6. Book of Love- Henna
7. Red Buckets- Something Else Again
8. Stickmen- Duraflame Dog
9. Girls Downstairs- Steam Rises Off the Jungle Floor
10. Executive Slacks- Sexual Witchcraft
*download it here* (re-ripped 3.17.17)
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
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!
This will likely be my last post until after the holidays, so why not end this year (my fifth) with an extremely rare and extremely top shelf 7” from Japan!
I first discovered this Japanese duo through a Youtube clip, and have been playing their tracks almost nonstop at the weekly Wierd records party ever since. This particular 7” dates back to 1989 and was released on Puppets records, a private press label that was also home to Sect Commune, co-producer of this gem. High school friends Yoshio Fukumitsu and Katsuya Shoman took turns singing on these tracks (Fukumitsu sang and contributed lyrics to the A-side, while Shoman wrote the music to both tracks and is responsible for the vocals and lyrics of the flip). Both played synths, with Fukumitsu also contributing bass and Shoman on piano.
Fans of Xymox, Depeche Mode, OMD, and various darkwave legends both big and small will find lots to love on this record. Many thanks to Katsuya Shoman for the extra info and generous permission to upload these for you all to enjoy!
Diastereomer- Mothersun 7”
1. Mothersun
2. Place
*DOWNLOAD LINK REMOVED* – check out the new Ignition Advancer LP, which collects these tracks as well as a few unreleased gems from the band, via Bitter Lake Recordings.
While I’m here, I just wanted to thank everyone for the wave of support over the years. This blog wouldn’t exist without the camaraderie and interaction of friends, fans, and the musicians who have chimed in with their support and kindness. See you all in 2012!
Here’s a very rare cassette from Glenn Winter, courtesy of the ever-stellar Sean McBride. I was only familiar with this fantastic Swedish minimal synth artist via “Herrens Svar,” which appears on the near flawless Orgelvärk compilation, an absolute must-hear for any self-respecting minimal synth fan. This particular tape hails from 1986 and features several tracks in the same vein. Tor Sigvardson of 18:e Oktober (a similarly amazing project) plays bass on track 6. Definitely don’t pass on this one, folks!
Glenn Winter- Bruna Hundars Död K7
1. Prins Reimon
2. Vägg
3. 23:49
4. Beat
5. Slow-Sleep
6. En Diskussion
7. Bruna Hundars Död
8. Around And Around
9. Born To Loose
10. Fields
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).
Here’s one that’s been kicking around in some form or another for some time, but never complete, or never at tremendously great quality. You may be familiar with this band via the Crispy Nuggets VA compilations, one which featured a loose track from this LP and another the b-side off the band’s debut 7”. I’ve been playing this LP out a lot lately at the Wierd party, so for those who have been asking about this one, here it is!
Released in 1991, here we have the debut LP from The Trial, a six piece (!) Czechoslovakian synth band. Fans of the heavy synthpop sound of the late 80s (Depeche Mode, Camouflage, Xymox’s “Obsession”) should find lots and lots to love on this LP. A few of the songs haven’t aged so well, but the majority of this LP (especially side B) is phenomenal and I can’t stop listening to it. Don’t take my word for it though, see for yourself!
The Trial- Pictures LP
1. The Bodies Of Evenings
2. Terrible Scream
3. Television Liar
4. Make-up
5. Shut Up!
6. Yourself
7. Sky Of Secrets
8. Anybody
9. In The Fiction Press
10. My Bed
11. What Do You Say?
If you’d like to read more about the band, click HERE for a page run by a devoted fan. Unfortunately, the main history of the band has yet to be translated to English, but still plenty of info to be had. Be sure to click here to check a few video clips of the band, all three which hail from the band’s pre-LP era. Lots of photos here!