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 request for Getting the Fear’s lone single, 1984’s Last Salute. Many folks may already be familiar with these guys via Southern Death Cult, as the majority of members formed this band after Ian Astbury disbanded SDC in favor of Death Cult with Billy Duffy. This was the band’s lone release, and soon after, Bee (Paul Hampshire) and Barry Jepson formed Into a Circle, who should need no introduction. The title track of Into a Circle’s debut 12” was also written by Getting the Fear and appears on a collection of practice demos and rehearsal tapes, previously uploaded here and here. Otherwise, here’s the entirety of Getting the Fear’s official discography, including both the 12” and 7” mix of the title track, a true synth/post-punk smash…
Getting the Fear- Last Salute 12”
1. Last Salute (Extended Mix)
2. Last Salute (Instrumental)
3. We Struggle
Getting the Fear- Last Salute 7”
1. Last Salute
2. We Struggle*
*same as the 12” version, so spared the duplicate mp3.
In stark contrast to yesterday’s guitar-heavy cassette, here’s an incredibly rare minimal synth LP from Greece, released in 1985. A mix of churning synths, psychedelic dirges, and experimental rhythms make up this release, a must hear for fans of Solid Space, Tranquil Eyes, Transparent Illusion, and bands of that caliber. There’s even a club-minded synthpop track (‘Morroco’) and a cut reminiscent of Damon Edge’s solo material (‘This is a Point’) hidden among the otherwise experimental set, so this should have something for everyone interested in the synth spectrum.
This is their only release, issued by Engima Records, an underground Greek label also responsible for Magic De Spell’s discography. Not a lot of info out there about this one, so let the music speak for itself:
Μάκης Πρέκας (Makis Prekkas)- Recording Is An Art LP
1. T 244
2. Control Room
3. That’s The Way Out
4. Kashmir
5. Morroco
6. Guitar
7. This Is A Point
8. Beki
This one’s an especially rare treat for fans of bootlegs and live material. Fans of the French cold wave should already be familiar with Ausweis, who released several hard-hitting singles, a split, and a full length LP in the mid-80s. Seems as if they were the French answer to Killing Joke, with the pounding rhythms and arpeggiating synths, best displayed on tracks like “Jours De Haine” and “Pas Demain.” Despite the comparisons, I’ve always found the band to be especially vicious, having just as much in common with the first wave of synthpunk, including their country’s own Métal Urbain and co.
Either way, the band is an absolute staple as far as the French are concerned, and this tape compiles several live recordings from the band’s tenure. There’s no date assigned to it, but the tape was produced by the V.I.S.A. label, responsible for releases from Vox Populi, Clair Obscur, Die Bunker and the Pas Demain 7”, just to name a few. I’m guessing the tape is from 85, given that most of the live performances hail from that era. You can expect some of the same Ausweis classics to appear here, as well as several unreleased tracks exclusive to the band’s live set at the time. Obviously, the quality is hit or miss, given the source recordings, but I hope you’ll all agree that it’s a fitting snapshot of a vicious band in their natural habitat.
Ausweis- Ausweis K7
1. Mecanik
2. Doktor Diktature
3. Berlin
4. 1984
5. Exhibition
6. Ella Choice
7. Je N’Aime Plus Les Filles De Chez Dior
8. Eva
9. Dieu Est Mort
10. Phase Fatale
11. Red And Black (Spizzenergi cover)
12. Gangsters United
13. Murnau
For more info on the tape, including specific info on the performances each track was pulled from, check out the discogs page for more details!
If you’ve found your way here, welcome to phase two of Systems of Romance. As you can see, all the content from Blogger has been imported to this site, with all the posts and the comments from phase one still intact. [Most of] the backlogs have been reuploaded to Rapidshare for now, pending any new options that may present themselves in the future. Expect some improvements on several of the previous posts, as I’ve revisited a handful of the wav files that survived a hard drive crash to remove pops and clean up some of the mess wherever possible. More importantly, we will be moving forward with gusto, so expect plenty of new posts to follow.
Many thanks to Hi-Fi Hillary for getting this website off the ground both functionally and aesthetically, and thanks to everyone for the constant support over the past few weeks. It has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. Onwards and upwards, folks!
Still continuing to drop the posts I had lined up while figuring out what, if anything, to do about the past. Looks like Rapidshare is the way to go for now, but who knows how long they’ll be off-the-radar, as they’ve apparently slowed DL rates to discourage illegal content. Too much in flux to really pin down a proper solution.
That said, here’s a gift from Bx-59cppw that I’ve been meaning to post for some time. Here we have the debut album from Mecanica Popular, a Spanish industrial/experimental duo. Originally released in 1994, this LP also saw a repressing in 1990, while their second LP was originally released in 1987 and appeared again in 2010.
A must hear for fans of Factrix, Dome, Throbbing Gristle, The Elephant Table LP, and other things that go bump and scrape in the night. There’s some nice grooves here and there that should also be right at home for fans of minimal synth and kosmiche music.
Mecanica Popular- ¿Que Sucede Con El Tiempo? LP
1. Impresionistas I
2. La Edad del Bronce
3. Impresionistas II
4. Quiero Irme
5. Siempre Tu
6. Impresionistas III
7. Estado Sólido
8. Galilea: Centro de Datos
9. Daguerrotipo
10. Ambrotipo
11. Plenilunio
12. Máquinas y Procedimientos
13. Impresionistas IV
For those fluent in Spanish, you can read more about the band here.
I think the internet police have spoken and it’s time to call it a day here at Systems of Romance. I’ve been pretty zen about the whole thing thus far, as it’s been five years and over 500 posts- certainly nothing to balk at. However, I do have a few more posts I’d like to share with you all before wrapping up here. Please pardon the sudden change in file sharing sites. Hopefully these links last long enough for everyone to enjoy them!
Here we have two incredibly rare 7”s for the price of one (hah). Both of these records have been in my wantlist for ages, and it’s taken me some time to track them both down properly. Patience has never been my strongest suit, but it certainly paid off here, as both of these 7”s were worth the thrill of the hunt and have quickly become two of my most cherished records in my entire collection.
Some of you may recall the Jus Dorange a-side from an early VA compilation. Many thanks to Sean McBride, AKA Martial Canterel, for cluing me into that track a few years ago via Youtube, as it’s haunted my dreams ever since. As expected, the flip is just as stellar, sitting nicely alongside Lè Travo, The Names, Aimless Device, & Siglo XX at the top of the Belgian coldwave crop. Two perfectly vicious tracks that demand repeat listening. It’s worthwhile to note that Dries Decocker was also active in The Misz, who released several cassette tapes and have been compiled on the excellent Underground Belgian Wave Vol. 2 compilation on Walhalla Records.
The second single is a more recent, but no less rare obsession. Red Rain Coat were from Switzerland, and while they were more well known for their early 90s foray into more guitar-pop turf, their first 7” is another cold masterpiece of its era. Their story parallels Eskimos & Egypt, whose debut 7”, while having little in common with their other releases, is a bona-fide classic.
Jus Dorange- At Night 7” (1983)
1. At Night
2. Watching
*download it here* (RE-RIPPED 6.5.13)
Red Rain Coat- In Between the Fronts 7” (1987)
1. Small Town
2. Distinguished Ball
*download it here* (RE-RIPPED 6.5.13)
I have at least two more posts in the works, so please do check back over the next week or two for the grand finale!
Looks like mediafire suspended my account thanks to a few flagged files. Awesome!
While it’s possible that my account will be unfrozen in due time, it looks like we’ll be winding down here very soon. I’m aware that there are plenty of other options out there and that file sharing will never truly die, however after nearly five years and roughly 500 posts, I’m afraid I just don’t have the time or energy to reupload everything for the third time during this blog’s tenure. Some things must come to an end I’m afraid, and unless the account bounces back, I’ll try and get the last things I had queued up out there to you all before closing the doors here.
Keeping with the cassette theme, here’s a demo from a new band from Adelaide, Australia, who were gracious enough to send me the tape and their blessing to post the mp3s for you all to enjoy. This one is so fresh, it’s barely three months old!
There seems to be a very modern interest in the deathrock/batcave sound, with all the young bands cropping up with strong demos and limited releases. While the sound seemed to creep back in as early as the turn of the century thanks to the folks at Drop Dead, it’s taken this long for it to finally break out into more public consciousness, and there seem to be dozens of new bands (Anasazi, Winter Severity Index, Population, Bellicose Minds, Pleasure Leftists, etc.) eager to inherit the throne. It makes me yearn for a forgotten era, having been in a deathrock band many moons ago, wishing for a few more peers out there in the ether. Sadly, many of the bands from that time period have long since faded away, with the exception of Entertainment, who are gearing up to release a new LP on Disaro sometime this year.
Ok, so I got on a little bittersweet tangent there, sorry about that. Back to the post at hand.
Taking their name from either a classic Death In June album, a guideline for photography, OR a basic military strategy (all three invoke some excellent imagery) Rule of Thirds explore the classic deathrock sound a la Skeletal Family, Christian Death, Corpus Delecti, Move, Dance Macabre, and others in that vein. A mix of incisive guitars and a confident and smoldering female vocal are the ingredients for success here, and the organ-esque synths (a must for me when it comes to this style of music) stand out with a sense of melody and the rhythm section is top notch, hitting that perfect blend of composure and rawness that works best in this style. A little taste of early Siouxsie can be heard on “Northanger Abbey,” which invokes “Playground Twist” with it’s unified grooves and gloomy atmosphere. My favorite track is the leadoff “No More Moon,” which adds some male vocals to the mix and is ripe for guitar-driven club nights. Really great stuff here, both a mix of uptempo and slow burn tracks, so thanks to Celeste and the band for sending it my way! Hope you all enjoy it!
Rule of Thirds- Demo K7
1. No More Moon
2. Total Disappointment
3. Mother/Master
4. Stuck
5. Northanger Abbey
While the band has graciously offered the mp3s here for free, you can get a copy of the tape via Major Crimes Records.