Archive for the 1984 Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Jyl- Jyl LP

Posted in 1980s, 1984, angela werner, jyl, minimal synth, new wave, synth, synthpop on September 21, 2016 by Frankie Teardrop

aa6302a5a7c84f7c8d4bc666ec46fad1

Here’s one I’m sure you’ve all heard before but is due for a fresh rip at 320 for all you audiophiles out there! After years of playing most of these tracks out at the Wierd Party alongside some of my fellow DJs, I finally shelled out for my very own copy of this rare minimal/synthpop masterpiece from 1984. For those who don’t know it already, every track here is an absolute winner, hard-hitting, sexually charged, slinky synthpop just the way I like it. Not that I need to sell you on this any further, but for those who are unfamiliar, think Soma Holiday, Hard Corps, Propaganda, Six Sed Red, Silvia, etc.

Lots of great hands on this one from across the ocean. Fronted by Jyl Porch (pronounced Jill, naturally) from the US, this project featured additional lyrical and vocal contributions from fellow synthpop oddball Angela Werner, as well as electronics by Angela’s husband Ingo. Rounded out by Christoph Haberer on electronic percussion, this record also features impeccably glossy production from the legendary Klaus Schulze of Tangerine Dream/Ash Ra Temple. Plenty of other folks lent guitar and backing vocal contributions to the LP, so check here for the full list.

Assuming you haven’t already skipped straight to the download link, here’s the rundown:

Jyl- Jyl LP
1. Mechanic Ballerina
2. Universe
3. Computer Love
4. Positions
5. Dance and Death
6. The Computer Generation
7. Animation
8. Silicon Valley
9. Electric Lady
10. I’m a Machine

*DOWNLOAD LINK REMOVED- pre-order a re-issue of this LP via Minimal Wave*

Can’t remember the last time we had a video up in here, so please enjoy this excellent (if but unembeddable) promo clip for “Mechanic Ballerina,” featuring lots of pectorals and body paint:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFV15M8Agiw

6 Comments »

The Lucy Show- Extended Play 12”

Posted in 12'', 1980s, 1984, canadian, new wave, post-punk, the lucy show on August 26, 2016 by Frankie Teardrop

I’ve covered The Lucy Show here a few times before, and even after all these years, they remain an absolute favorite of the era, a band whose records I cherish deeply and would never leave home without. They’ve never been the rarest band on these pages, with most of their releases in mass production and easily found in used bins across the states, but it’s never really about the rareness, is it? Note for note, The Lucy Show deliver, and this EP is of no exception, featuring three exclusive tracks and what appears to be a slightly different and darker version of the “Resistance,” one of many highlights from their debut album Undone.

It’s hard to tell without exact release dates, but this EP appears to predate both the Electric Dreams 7” as well as their first LP, which might explain the more club-friendly sound from Leonardo Da Vinci still intact here. The lead-off track is a forever favorite, and appears in nearly all my post-punk focused DJ sets these days, though it’s always hard to pick just one from this band.

The Lucy Show- Extended Play 12”
1. The Price of Love
2. Resistance
3. See It Goes
4. Is It

*download it here*

3 Comments »

Breathless- Waterland 7”

Posted in 1980s, 1984, breathless, dreampop, post-punk, uk on October 9, 2015 by Frankie Teardrop

We’ve discussed UK post-punk band Breathless here before in the past, and I can’t overstate their importance enough. They are, by and far, one of my all-time favorite bands- such beauty, brilliant songs, and one of the best male vocalists of all time. Also, unlike most of our artists here, they are still active, releasing the incredible Green to Blue LP in 2012.

Most of their catalog has since been reissued digitally for download/streaming. That said, a few of their earliest singles have yet to be compiled, perhaps a tape sourcing issue or oversight. Most absent from their digital catalog (outside of the cathartic “Bad Blood”) is their debut 7”, Waterland from 1984. With that in mind, I’ve finally picked up a copy and made a passable rip for you all to enjoy. A few words of warning- the pressing on this 7” was a bit dodgy, but a little cleanup went a long way with this one. More importantly, while the ingredients that make them such a compelling band are still on display here, these two tracks are more primitive- darker, heavier, much more intense than some of the material that would follow. There is heavy dub-inspired bass and buzzy synths on the excellent “Second Heaven”- the real standout for me on this single, though the powerful ending of “Waterland” is nothing to shake a stick at either. Either way, perfect sounds to kick off your Autumn. Enjoy!

Breathless- Waterland 7”
1. Waterland
2. Second Heaven

*download it here*

PS- be sure to check out the lyrics for these tracks on the Tenor Vossa website!

4 Comments »

Bangah- Bangah 12”

Posted in 1980s, 1984, baltimore, indie, new wave, US on June 4, 2015 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s an excellent four song 12” from US band Bangah, released in 1984. The band, like most US bands featured here, were from Baltimore, which was apparently THE town for underground wave music in the States, so it seems… As for sound, Bangah employ a great mix of new wave and indie/jangle pop, with a slight Factory Records influence thrown in for good measure. My favorite here is “It Means Very Little” which reminds me of a mid-period Wake song with a more vibrant singer (think Ultravox) and excellent, icy synths. In general, the band remind me quite a bit of underrated UK bands The Icicle Works and Wild Swans.

Vocalist Eric Snyder was also active in the Ultra Violets, whose record I’ve seen in a few bins over the years but haven’t checked out yet…

Bangah- Bangah 12”
1. Every Wave
2. Trapped/Hide & Seek
3. It Means Very Little
4. Pale Fire

*download it here*

The band also appeared on Baltimore dance program Shakedown, performing an unreleased song. The audio isn’t great here, but definitely a decent look at the band in their prime:

2 Comments »

Shark Vegas- You Hurt Me 12”

Posted in 1980s, 1984, 1986, die ubekannten, factory, new order, shark vegas on June 16, 2014 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s one on the synthpop side of things, a mild obscurity on the otherwise popular Factory imprint.  Some may be familiar with this tune via the club circuit, where it enjoyed massive success in The States and Berlin, despite a relatively cool reception in the UK.

Shark Vegas was a German supergroup of sorts, featuring ex-Die Unbekannten members Mark Reeder on synths/tapes/guitar and Alistair Gray on vocals with two other members of pop band Soif de la Vie.  The original version of this 12” was recorded in 1984 and released on Totenkopf Records (Abwärts, Die Toten Hosen).  After a tour with New Order in 1984, the band decided to rerecord and remix the single with Bernard Summer in to assist on the decks (a very common practice at the time, if you consider New Order’s involvement with Section 25, Thick Pigeon/Stanton Miranda, etc.).  Sumner would also play guitar at the end of the track, while co-producer Donald Johnson (A Certain Ratio) sang backup.  A real family affair!  The Factory version of the 12” (complete with an iconic message on the cover) became a dance club hit overseas.

These two singles would make up the majority of Shark Vegas’ discography, though the band would contribute a handful of tracks to soundtracks and compilations, most notably the track “Pretenders of Love,” which appears on Young, Popular, and Sexy (1987) and was reissued on the FAC.DANCE compilation in 2011.  I just now discovered “Love Habit” on Youtube, and it continues to push the band’s slightly ironic sound to the extreme, with some rather of-the-time synth lines…  If anyone has an mp3 of that one that isn’t sourced from YouTube, feel free to send it my way.  I’m also interested in hearing “11th March”- which apparently hails from an independent film called The Party.  With that in mind, here’s both versions of this excellent 12” for your listening pleasure.

Shark Vegas- You Hurt Me 12” (1984)
1. You Hurt Me
2. You Hurt Me For the First Time
3. You Hurt Me For the Last Time

Shark Vegas- You Hurt Me 12” (1986)
1. You Hurt Me
2. You Hurt Me Version
3. But Now Your Flesh Lies Rotting In Hell

*download both here*

…and here’s some rare footage of the band performing the track in Berlin in the mid-1980s!  Enjoy!

7 Comments »

Hymn- Coming Home & Too Many Lies K7s

Posted in 1980s, 1983, 1984, coldwave, hymn, minimal, minimal synth, post-punk on April 2, 2014 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s a generous donation of two rare cassette releases from Hymn, a French coldwave band who released a more well known 12” on Nova Express in 1984.  These two cassettes were recorded shortly before that record, the first of which was self-released in 1983, while the other appeared on Autoproduit a few months before the 12”.  While the band’s trademark Joy Division influence can still be heard here, the instrumentation is more on the minimal synth side of the spectrum, with the classic TR606 providing the backbone to the gloomy, Ian Curtis-esque vocals.  I believe the band was originally a trio, and added a drummer just before recording the 12”.

That said, don’t let the sparse instrumentation and the shorter track length fool you, these tracks are still as cold as ever, and there are just enough guitars in the mix to make things interesting.  Without any further adieu, here’s the info for these two gems:

hymn--coming-home

Hymn- Coming Home K7 (1983)
1. Danger
2. Die For You
3. I Guess
4. I Am The Absolute
5. Shock Of The Dates
6. Comin’ Home
7. Nos Pieds et Nos Têtes

hymn--too-many-lies

Hymn- Too Many Lies K7 (1984)
1. Never Show Me
2. Too Many Lies
3. I Can
4. Give Me
5. Like In My Dreams
6. Surch Me
7. Hymn
8. Hope I Dream
9. Lost World

*download both tapes here*

10 Comments »

Inbase- Christine 12”/7”

Posted in 1980s, 1984, die toten hosen, german, inbase, minimal, minimal synth, new wave, synthpop on January 28, 2014 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s another minimal synth classic that I believe has disappeared from the blogosphere, but also wasn’t ever shared in its complete form, as far as I can recall.  You can still hear this track at various clubs across the globe, and it was certainly in regular rotation in my own sets over the years. It also begs the question- who the hell is Christine and why does she have so many songs written about her?

Inbase was a studio project between three German musicians, Andreas Von Holst, Stefan Telegdy, and Herbert Böhme. They recorded this classic single in 1984, chock full of stabby guitar liness, driving electronic drums, and synth hooks at every turn (fans of Xoris Perideraio’s “48 Siopes” or Cinema 90’s “In Ultra Violet” should love this one, too). The single did fairly well at the time, garnering a pantomimed appearance on a German television show (linked below), but I don’t believe the trio ever performed live or recorded any further material together. Böhme would go on to record under several different monikers into the 90s, while I believe Von Holst is still active in Die Toten Hosen (under the name Kuddel), a punk band he joined in 1983.

There are three versions of “Christine” spread across various formats. I’ve included both 12” versions as well as the 7” single mix. I don’t happen to have the 7” instrumental edit, but if I come across it, I’ll be sure to include it in an update. That begs the question however- does anyone truly crave instrumental b-sides? It’s generally an italo phenomenon but I’ve seen it a few other times. I generally don’t listen to them myself, but I’ve always been tempted to make minimal synth/italo karaoke files with the handful of straightforward instrumental mixes I’ve acquired over the years… Any New Yorkers up for this? Anyway, I digress. Here come the downloads:

Inbase- Christine 12”
1. Christine
2. Christine (Instrumental)

bonus- Christine (7” Mix)

*download it here*

As promised, here’s an edited TV appearance of the track:

5 Comments »

Sally Patience- The Triangle Man 7”

Posted in 1980s, 1984, electro, electronic, minimal, minimal synth, new wave, sally patience, synth, synthpop, uk on January 15, 2014 by Frankie Teardrop

Before we get started on new posts for 2014, may I please direct your attention to the following re-rips and reuploads:

B-Movie- Singles (new rips of Nowhere Girl, Remembrance Day, Marilyn Dreams, & the addition of A Letter From Afar 12”)
Signal Aout 42- Pleasure and Crime (new rip)
U-Bahn X- Young Hearts of Europe (new rip, new 7”’ rip, + digitally inserting Jabba the Hutt on side B)

Otherwise, sorry for slacking!  I have a bunch of new, unheard posts in the works, a new various artists compilation, as well as a few re-rips of classics from my own personal collection to keep us busy for the first part of the year.  So with that in mind, let’s kick the year off with a minimal synth classic that I believe was posted before by the great BX, but has disappeared since.  I came across a cheap, sleeveless copy of this one in a dollar bin here in NYC, played it once or twice at WIERD, and promptly forgot that I had it until recently, when reorganizing and digitizing my 7”’ collection.  This one is a tried and true killer, a bizarre electronic romp from 1984 with thick synth bass, disco strings, and eerie female vocals.  The best analogy I can think of is dystopian disco- the kind of dance music that you’d dance to in Blade Runner or Logan’s Run, for example…  The chorus is especially killer, and pays off in spades (human is so humorless- love that line).  Fans of JYL/Angela Werner should also love this one.  The b-side is equally stunning, a more unsettling synth track with a flamenco flair and backwards masked vocal samples.

This is the only single Sally Patience released, and no one knows what happened to her afterwards…  Just a brief moment, as some of the best gems tend to be.

Sally Patience- The Triangle Man 7”
1. The Triangle Man
2. Buried In My Boots

*download it here*

7 Comments »

The Beloved- Demos & Peel Sessions 1983-85

Posted in 1980s, 1983, 1984, 1985, post-punk, synth, the beloved on August 28, 2013 by Frankie Teardrop

I’m pretty new to The Beloved, having been turned on to their early singles/Where It Is compilation LP late last year. I had originally heard their later material, generally more dance/club friendly affair in the vein of Cause & Effect, Anything Box, etc. While the UK band (now a duo) has enjoyed tons of success since embracing the electronic club scene, the Cure-loving post-punk kid in me was very surprised and excited to hear that the band’s earliest material had more in common with B-Movie, The Chameleons, Modern Eon, and other emotive post-punk bands from the turn of the decade. Sure, there were still synths around every corner, but the keyboards were more focused on mood and atmosphere, leaving the sparse hooks to the vocals, guitars, and bass. Songs like ‘Saints Become Us,’ ‘In Trouble and Shame,’ and ‘Slow Drowning’ (oh god, ESPECIALLY ‘Slow Drowning‘) quickly became all-time favorites, and moody Wierd barn-burners in the last few months of the party’s existence.

These tracks here predate even the earliest singles, and employ the same early post-punk vibes heard on the singles that followed two years later. The demos were recorded in 1983/1984, and the peel sessions were recorded in 1985, just before the release of their first singles.  Only two tracks from the Peel Sessions would appear on various singles, the aforementioned ‘Trouble and Shame’ and the excellent ‘A Hundred Words.’  ‘The Flame’ appears as both a Peel cut as well as a demo, while the rest of these tracks are new- two of which were recorded as The Journey Through, as the band was known until guitarist Guy Gausden joined.  My favorite of the entire lot is easily ‘Privacy (Sometimes),’ which features the same sort of arpeggiated gloom explored in ‘Slow Drowning’– perhaps the track evolved from this early demo, but either way, I love that song so much it’s great to hear something that lives in the same world… 

All of these tracks (and more spanning the band’s career) were originally made available on The Beloved’s website, where you can also hear newer material and read up on the band over the years. So with that in mind, please excuse the bitrate. I normally handle my own rips and give you guys the best quality possible these days, but in light of what’s available, I feel these tracks deserve to be heard regardless, so I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

the beloved

The Beloved- Demos 1983-1984
1. The Flame
2. A Search
3. The Last Detail
4. Privacy (Sometimes)

*tracks 1-2 recorded as The Journey Through (though I have them tagged here as The Beloved for easy organisation)

The Beloved- Peel Session Jan. 1985
1. The Flame
2. A Hundred Words
3. Idyll
4. A Beautiful Waste of Time

The Beloved- Peel Session Oct. 1985
1. So Seldom Solemn
2. In Trouble and Shame
3. Jospehine
4. Up A Tree

*download everything here*

6 Comments »

Psi Com- Worktape 1 and Demos

Posted in 1980s, 1984, alternative, deathrock, goth, goth-rock, jane's addiction, LA, los angeles, mazzy star, perry farrell, post-punk, psi com, red temple spirits, US on August 12, 2013 by Frankie Teardrop

psi com group 2

Before there was Jane’s Addiction, there was Psi Com, a post-punk/deathrock band fronted by Perry Farrell.  The band released one demo tape and one 12” (re-released on CD and 10” in the mid-90s) in 1985.  The band began in 1983, when Perry answered an ad from guitarist Vince Duran looking for a drummer, as his fledgling band was primarily using a drum machine.  Instead, Farrell took over as vocalist, adding Rich Evac on bass, Aaron Sherer on drums, and Mariska Lassius on keyboards.  This was the lineup for their demo tape that was eventually sold at shows in 1984 with elaborate packaging reminiscent of Independent Project Records releases.  The photo above depics the lineup for these recordings.  Soon after the demo was released, Lassius and Evac left the band, replaced by bassist Kelly Wheeler for their 12” sessions.

Based heavily in the psychedelic roots of Pink Floyd as well as the UK post-punk movement, Psi Com’s sound was much more in line with Savage Republic, The Ex, and Bauhaus than the horror punk sound that was developing on the West Coast.   If anything, Psi Com was a vessel for the Red Temple Spirits sound moreso than the hedonistic excesses of Jane’s Addiction, though both bands continued exploring their psychedelic influences and alternative leanings.  Even Perry Farrell’s trademark wail is downplayed on these recordings, though there’s no mistaking it during certain key passages.

Psi Com broke up suddenly in 1985, after gaining a heavy local following.  Legend has it that Eric Avery, bassist for Jane’s Addiction, was drafted as a new bassist for Psi Com, changing direction as Stephen Perkins and Dave Navarro joined.  Bassist Kelly Wheeler played briefly with Dino Paredes of Red Temple Spirits, and Aaron Sherer eventually retired from music after playing drums on several tracks from Mazzy Star’s excellent Among My Swan LP.

Here we have a fan circulated collection of demos and additional tracks, including the debut Worktape cassette as well a series of studio recordings and instrumentals that originally appeared on a Jane’s Addiction bootleg CD from 1991.  While the 12” has received a fair amount of attention as Farrell’s pre-Jane’s vessel, these demos are still rather obscure, and definitely worth hearing even if you’re not a fan of what came next. 

psi com worktape art

Psi Com- Worktape 1 and Demos
1. Hopeful
2. Them
3. Psi Com Theme
4. 14th Floor
5. Cat
6. Karuna
7. 14th Floor (Instrumental)
8. Cat (Instrumental)
9. Karuna (Instrumental)

*download it here*

5 Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »