Archive for the coldwave Category

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Ellysgarden- Demo K7

Posted in 1990s, 1995, coldwave, ellysgarden, france, french, post-punk on October 9, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s another generous donation, this time from Jonathan. Here we have a demo tape from Ellysgarden, recorded in 19881995*.  If you haven’t heard their full length record, 1994’s Echoes, you can grab that here.

For those unfamiliar, the band shares members with Rosa Luxemburg, a band that appears on several classic French compilations.  The band employs a more jangle/dreampop sound than most of their contemporaries, recalling bands like Kitchens of Distinction, House of Love, and Catherine Wheel.   However, this tape leans more towards their post-punk roots and is an absolute must for fans of fans of Sad Lovers and Giants, Lowlife, and Comsat Angels circa My Mind’s Eye (an underrated latter-day classic).

The tape features eight unheard songs that were never recorded again.  No artwork for this one! Including a promo photo instead.

*EDIT: Thanks to Philippe Faraut for filling in the missing gaps!  I can now report that this cassette was meant to be Ellysgarden’s SECOND album, recorded in 1995 and not 1988 as originally posted.   The original master tapes for the pressing were lost in the mail, so all that remains of the album is this demo tape…

Ellysgarden- Demo K7
1. Pretty Accidents
2. Twice
3. Bleed or Shine
4. Reach Out
5. Heroes/High
6. Wrecked Skies
7. Ghardaia
8. Your Shammed Tears

*download it here*

24 Comments »

Masoch- Demo K7

Posted in 1980s, coldwave, france, french, masoch on October 3, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

I promised more rare French coldwave demo cassettes, so here’s another fantastic donation from Stéphane B. of Coldwave.fr. If you haven’t visited his site before, be sure to check in for some rare tracks never before heard, as well as a country-by-country sampling of some of the world’s best obscure guitar tracks!

This cassette was released before their 1984 12”, which you can find over at the always excellent Phoenix Hairpins (check the comments section for more info about this mysterious band).  There’s a bit of overlap between the 12” and this cassette, though the versions on the demo were eventually re-recorded, appearing here in primitive form.

Masoch- Demo K7
1. Petit Valet
2. Strip-Tease
3. Semaine
4. Quand Musclée
5. Des Poils Sur Moi
6. Your Way

*download it here*

2 Comments »

Mémoires d’Automne- Gloria Victis k7, s/t k7, compilation tracks

Posted in 1990s, 1993, 1995, coldwave, france, french, mémoires d'automne, post-punk on September 18, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

I normally prefer to spread things out more these days, but when it rains, it pours. Three great friends have just passed on some incredible coldwave tapes that I’m just itching to share, so the next three posts will feature their generous donations. First up, Stéphane has donated a rip of the two previously unshared Mémoires d’Automne tapes, 1993’s Gloria Victis and 1995’s self-titled cassette.  I’ve also included a series of compilation-only tracks, including some alternate and live versions of the tracks that appear here.  These tracks originally appeared across the Exterieur Nuit, L’Appel De La Muse (volume 5), and Looking For a Life to Lose compilations, and should complete the discography.  1996’s Cliché cassette will not be included here, partially because it has been uploaded elsewhere.  More importantly, a vinyl reissue of this seminal tape will be released in just a few weeks on Meidosem Records.  Click here for a preview and some pre-order details.

For those unfamiliar, Mémoires d’Automne were a three piece band from France, active in the 1990s and continuing the French/Belgian style of guitar-driven, melancholic post-punk.  Of course, any regular here should be well versed in this sound by now, but for any newcomers, this is highly recommended for fans of Nuit D’Octobre, Sombre Septembre, Odessa, Asylum Party, Lucie Cries, Formes Nouvelles, and more well known bands like And Also the Trees & early Cure.

There’s a lot of excellent material here, so best to get to it:

Mémoires d’Automne- Gloria Victis K7 (1993)
1. Le Secret
2. A La Gloire Des Vaincus
3. Fatalité
4. Open Scars
5. L’Impossible Oubli
6. Finalité Absurde

Mémoires d’Automne- Mémoires d’Automne K7 (1995)
1. The Triumph of Time
2. Autumn Day

VA- L’Appel De La Muse, Vol. 5  (1995)
10. Fatalité

VA- Looking For a Life to Lose K7 (1995)
4. L’Impossible Oubli
17. Trauma

VA- Evanescente CD-R (1998)
10. Inmate Song (Early Reflexion – Mix)

VA- Exterieur Nuit (2000)
5. Dance of the Nothing
10. Blurred Pictures (Live Theatre De Roanne, April 1997)

*download it all here*

You can also find an alternate version of ‘Autumn Day’ (titled ‘Time of the End’) on 2007’s Ruines & Vanités compilation, which is still available to order online.  Thanks to Sorrow Vomit from Kentucky Fried Wave for donating the v/a tracks and again to Stéphane for the cassette rips!

9 Comments »

Résistance- Résistance K7

Posted in 1980s, 1985, coldwave, post-punk, resistance on September 7, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Coldwave fans rejoice!  Here we have an incredibly rare and generous donation of the first Résistance release, an extremely limited K7 from 1985- only 200 copies which are known to exist.

The tape predates Between Two Lights by a year and features an exclusive set of recordings. A few of the songs would go on to appear elsewhere- “On Your Body/Clinch” was re-recorded for the excellent Passage Du Trou Marin K7, and both “Out of the Body” and “Chain” appear as part of a live set on the Between Two Lights reissue on Infrastiton.  The CD reissue of 8 also features the Passage tracks as well as “Decline”- recorded as an appendage to both but  which appears here separately.   It seems like they enjoyed revisiting these songs a few times over the years, fleshing them out from their earlier counterparts with heavier percussive sounds and bells.   There’s a fair share of exclusive tracks here too, so hope you enjoy!

Résistance- Résistance K7
1. Between 2 Lights
2. Chain
3. Mainland
4. Studio Du Meix
5. Out Of The Body
6. Clinch T
7. Decline
8. M L

*download it here*

3 Comments »

Neon- A Day In the Land of Lost Horizons 12” + Demo K7

Posted in 12'', 1980s, 1981, coldwave, Dutch, netherlands, post-punk on August 21, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

According to discogs, there are FORTY THREE bands that use the name Neon.  While there are several excellent entries (most notably the Italian darkwave project responsible for “Lobotomy,” “Dark Age,” and “My Blues Is You”), today’s post focuses on the Dutch variant, who released one 12”/mini-LP/whatever you want to call it in 1981.

For those who are unfamiliar with this one, you can expect excellent cold post-punk sounds reminiscent of Flue, Mecano, etc.  The touchstones make absolute sense, as this record was released by Sublabel, a division of Torso, which featured both those bands.  Sublabel also boasts the most excellent Phantom Limb 12”, another underrated genre classic.  I just found a copy kicking around in NYC and cleaned/re-ripped it, so for those familiar with this 12” already, you can expect some nice fidelity here, and for those who haven’t heard this one before, you’re in for a real treat.  As a bonus, I’ve uploaded a demo recording that features four exclusive tracks and another pass on “Standing On the Other Side.”  Enjoy!

Neon- A Day In the Land of Lost Horizons LP
1. A Day In The Land Of Lost Horizons
2. Standing On The Other Side
3. Liquid Gold
4. Icemen
5. Duet

Neon- Demo
1. Muscle Called Heart
2. Over My Head
3. Standing On the Other Side
4. Promised Land
5. Faces

*download both here*

EDIT 8.21.12: there was a slight hum on the 12” rip, which has since been fixed.  Feel free to download again.

6 Comments »

Message- Dernière Nuit 7”

Posted in 1980s, 1988, coldwave, french, message, post-punk on July 1, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Arguably the best French 7”, second only to Coldreams’ classic Morning Rain, previously exhumed here. Like Coldreams, this one has also been posted in the past, but never at the greatest sound quality, as the most rare of records are hard to find in mint condition. Strangely enough, the insert here claims that 2000 of these were pressed, but very few seem to own this one, so I wonder just how many survived the 80s.

This single was released in 1988 on Krezimikroïd, a very DIY French label responsible for some other very-hard-to-find releases. More Message appear on several classic coldwave compilatioms, including the original L’Appel De La Muse (legendary), and the Esom Elion Esmaris K7. Another track appears on the Phantasm Compilation Vol. 1, which is very hard to track down. If anyone out there has this tape, please don’t hesitate to drop a line. Otherwise, here’s a crystal clear rip of this coldwave masterpiece!

Message- Dernière Nuit 7”
1. Dernière Nuit
2. The Crazy Garden

*download it here* (RE-RIPPED 6.4.13)

14 Comments »

Fru Aut- Fru Aut LP

Posted in 1980s, 1988, coldwave, goth, goth-rock, italian, post-punk on May 14, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

This is one of the best LPs I’ve heard in some time, donated by the great bx-59cppw, who posted their 12” in the past as well.  Incredible post-punk from 1988, complete with cold synths, moody melodies, and bleating sax.  Comes off like a darker, female fronted version of Sad Lovers and Giants, if touchstones are necessary.   Others include Look Back In Anger, Xmal, Euroshima, etc.

These guys (or rather, guys and one gal) were Italian, and released another eponymous cassette and the A Sangue Freddo CD release on top of the two vinyl releases.

Fru Aut- Fru Aut LP
1. Prova D’ Orckestra
2. La TV Sensuale
3. Kabul
4. Bla Bla – Discorso Alla Finestra
5. Teso
6. Indastria
7. Berber
8. Segnali
9. Freiherz
10. Superglu

*read this post for downloads*

9 Comments »

Silently Down- SAD CD

Posted in 1980s, 1990s, 1992, coldwave, france, swiss, synth, synthpop with tags on May 5, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Great hybrid of synthpop and coldwave sounds here on this CD from 1992, very much influenced by the Lively Art bands as well as Depeche Mode.   Not much out there about this one man band, as this disc was released without a label.  There’s a Myspace page out there, which pegs the project as hailing from both France and Switzerland, but I’m not sure of the whole story there.  Likely a French-born Swiss transplant, if I had to make a guess.

This is pretty much the entire recorded output of Silently Down.  Another track, “Tired to Life,” appears on the fourth volume of L’Appel De La Muse, but I’ve included it here for you all as well.   There’s also a track recorded with Ursula Nun of The Vyllies on Myspace, but since that site still throttles its quality, you’ll have to listen over there.

Track 2 is my favorite here, but they all tread very similar turf throughout.  Enjoy!

Silently Down- SAD CD
1. Days Go By
2. Reflection
3. Alone
4. La-Haut
5. Strange Times
6. Welcome To A Suicide Day

Bonus Track- ‘Tired To Life’

*download link removed* – Reissue now available via Dead Wax Records!

7 Comments »

Asylum Party- Live in Lyon (November 4th, 1989)

Posted in 1980s, 1989, asylum party, coldwave, french, lively art, post-punk on April 29, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s one I’m pretty damn stoked to post. My very first post on Systems of Romance featured seminal touching pop/coldwave band Asylum Party, whose releases on Lively Art are among the best in any genre. I can’t sing their praises any higher, true stunners.  I’ve covered them many times since, with various compilation appearances over the years.

Here we have a live audience recording from 1989, featuring material from the band’s earlier releases, including Borderline, What Will You Learn?, and Picture One. Obviously, the quality is a bit rough and tumble, complete with a little bit of tape hiss, microphone murkiness, and sound limitations (comparable to the Ausweis tape posted a few entries back), but it’s not terribly distracting, and serves as a fitting snapshot of a band at the peak of its powers.  For those of you who like to collect live recordings, this should definitely be a nice treat!

Asylum Party- Live in Lyon (November 4th, 1989)
1. La Tourmente
2. Before the Smile
3. Better Days Ahead
4. Misfortunes?
5. Julia
6. Play Alone
7. Echoes & Lights
8. La Rivière
9. What Will You Learn (Cut)
10. Winter
11. Love or Madness
12. La Nuit
13. The Sabbath
14. Pictures

*download it here*

12 Comments »

Ausweis- Ausweis K7

Posted in 1980s, cassette, coldwave, goth, k7, post-punk with tags on April 10, 2012 by Frankie Teardrop

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

*download it here*

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!

7 Comments »

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