Archive for the minimal synth Category

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Kym Amps- You Don’t Know My Name 7”

Posted in 1980s, kym amps, minimal, minimal synth, wierd records, xeno and oaklander on January 26, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

Minimal synth has been getting an awful lot of press these days, and it’s rather refreshing to see. The latest efforts by Led Er Est and Xeno and Oaklander are eating up the blogosphere, while both Wierd Records and Minimal Wave have been thriving with a series of new releases. Up next, via Wierd Records is the Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics compilation, which will be released on Angular Records on February 22nd. The compilation is a perfect starting point for new enthusiasts, and includes classic tracks by The Neon Judgement, End of Data, Absolute Body Control, and many more. Additionally, Pieter Schoolwerth has chosen ten of his very favorite releases for Dusted Magazine Online, records which essentially sparked the creation of Wierd Records. Peep it here.

Also, Veronika Vasicka has just curated an equally excellent compilation entitled Minimal Wave Tapes Vol. 1, which collects several of the classic releases reissued by Veronica’s label, including tracks by Ohama, Tara Cross, Das Ding, and many more. You can pick up a copy here, and view Veronica’s top 20 minimal wave recordings here.

Which brings us to my next post. Astute readers may have spotted several of Pieter and Veronica’s favorites here on these back pages, including Nagamatzu, Oppenheimer Analysis, End of Data, Borghesia, and tons more. With that in mind, I’ve uploaded one of the few I was previously unfamiliar with, a one off 7” by Kym Amps. Not much information about the release, so let’s let Veronica’s blurb on the record speak for itself:

This one is a melancholy minimal synth track with female vocals. It’s dark and mysterious, and pretty much sounds like what the cover looks like. The bassline is simple and solid, and the melodies create a nice atmospheric mood for the vocals, “You don’t know my name (but I know you)”. It’s a sad love song about loneliness and obsession. There’s a 120bpm TR808 kick drum through out the track, and never a snare or hi hat. That sparse rhythm section creates a nice build-up of tension.

Here’s the info:

Kym Amps- You Don’t Know My Name 7”
1. You Don’t Know My Name (But I Know You)
2. You Love Me

*download it here*

Expect more goodies to come, but don’t forget to support both of these incredible labels as often as possible!

6 Comments »

Calculated X- Four Windows 12”

Posted in 1980s, 1982, american, Calculated X, darkwave, minimal synth, new wave, post-punk, US on January 23, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

Not much is known about Calculated X, aside from their American (Tennessee) origins, and contributions by the late Bobby Bowie (no relation to David, I’m afraid). That said, this particular 12”, released in 1982, is one of the very best dark synth records of all time. All three tracks are pure class, especially the driving “Dream Affair,” one of my favorite tracks to spin here in New York.

It seems as if the band has also released a full length record, but I can’t seem to find much information on it. That all said, if anyone’s able to fill in the gaps and tell more of the Calculated X story, feel free. Otherwise, here’s the info for this killer 12”.

Calculated X- Four Windows 12”
1. Four Windows
2. Girl Like You
3. Dream Affair

*download it here*

17 Comments »

Nagamatzu- 1986-1988 CD-R

Posted in 1980s, 1986, coldwave, minimal, minimal synth, Nagamatzu, uk on January 15, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

Today’s post contains a handful of selected tracks by British darkwave act Nagamatzu, essentially a two piece featuring Andrew Lagowski (Legion, Terror Against Terror) on synths, guitar, and drum machines and Stephen Jarvis (aka Terraform) on bass, synth, and projections. Andrew Fleck also contributed keyboards from 1982-1983.

A good portion of these tracks appear on the band’s debut cassette release, 1986’s Sacred Islands of the Mad, a true minimal synth classic. In fact, all of the tracks are represented here, except “Lift Off,” the first track on the cassette. To make up for it, this collection contains three other tracks, including “Crackle Black,” “Op-Dead Post A,” and “Shroud,” only one whose origin is known. All tracks sound nice and crisp, as loud and clear as can be.

Without any further ado, here’s the info:

Nagamatzu- 1986-1998 CD-R
1. 150 Murderous Passions
2. Carmine
3. Crackle Black
4. Der Gute Kamerad
5. Ioneso
6. Magic
7. Op-Dead Post A
8. Roma Distruta
9. Schlaggefahr
10. Shakedown
11. Shroud
12. Taraiky
13. Watch + Waste

Tracks 1, 2, 4-6, 8-10, 12, and 13 from Sacred Islands of the Mad K7
Track 7 from Total Recess 3 comp.

*download removed by request*

You can also nab the killer Space Shuttle Shuffle 12” (which also features the missing K7 tape) as high quality AIFF files via The Nagmatazu Archive, a collection of free tracks Lagowski made available online. Here’s direct links to the tracks (which are about 70-80mb each), for your downloading pleasure! Just right click and “save as.”

1. The Sunlight Home
2. Lift Off
3. Schlaggefahr

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ATTENTION, dear readers- you can now get a remastered copy Sacred Islands of the Mad via the always excellent DARK ENTRIES label, an awesome reissue label based out of the west coast. Click here for more info!

5 Comments »

Various Artists- SNX (4LP + 7”)

Posted in 1985, compilations, experimental, minimal, minimal synth, SNX on December 24, 2009 by Frankie Teardrop

Happy Holidays, dear readers! As a gift for the holidays and to close this year of Systems of Romance, I’ve freshly ripped the elusive SNX boxset, a four LP and one 7” epic collection of experimental music and minimal synth released on French label Hawaii in 1985. All sorts of gems on this one, from more familiar names (Ohama, Mark Lane, Stratis, Twice a Man), and tons of extremely rare and extremely obscure goodies.

For your downloading pleasure, I’ve uploaded it as one large zip file via zshare. There’s lots of info regarding the release, so let’s cut this short and get right to the nitty gritty. Again, happy holidays, ladies and gents, and see you all in 2010!

Various Artists- SNX: The Entomology of Tomorrow’s Popular Music

LP 1
1 The Tom & Marty Band- Algiers
2. Metropakt- Neuen Strassen
3. Marina La Palma- Hong-Kong Shoes
4. Influenza Prods.- Pretty City
5. Oksana Linde- Mariposas Acuaticas
6. Kastrierte Philosophen- Gun Beat Babes I
7. Short Term Memory- Go Home
8. Unknowmix- Ronnie Boy
9. Club Dada- Emprisioned Flesh
10. Danny Alias- Civil Defense: The War Dance
11. Les Objets Insolites- To Separate…

Tracks 1-5: FACE ABRUPTE
Tracks 6-11: FACE BAIONETTE

LP 2
1. Hans Hendrickx- Berlin Johnson
2. Albert Ret’s Police Rip- Lonely Vigils At The Morgue
3. Space Negroes- The Eight Sea
4. Asmus Tietchens- Deformhaus
5. Walls Of Genius- House Of Horrors
6. Ampzilla’s Delight- Landscape III
7. La 1919- Nervi
8. Zarfati Bund- Moyde Ani
9. Tara Cross/Unovidual- Touch Me Here, Touch Me There
10. Frieder Butzmann- N’GA
11. Human Flesh- First Aid (38th Human Attempt)
12. Renaldo & The Loaf- Here’s To The Oblong Boys
13. Rainer Linz- Colour TV Song

Tracks 1-7: FACE CATHOLIQUE
Tracks 8-13: FACE DEPRESSIVE

LP 3
1. Suyama Kumiko- Dance
2. Twipi Twipa- Bad Dream
3. Wadya Want- Snapshot
4. Kid Montana- Rico Apollo
5. Stabat Stable- Bubble
6. Hypnobeat- Can God Rewind? Close The Fridge! (Part 2/Remix)
7. Autopsia- Lebensherrgabe
8. BP. Service- Enervated Tiny Dranghts
9. Primitive Products- Don’t Do That
10. Pekka Airaksinen- Kashyapa
11. Randy-Raine Reusch- Pelan Pelan
12. Strafe Fur Rebellion- Kamerun

Tracks 1-6: FACE ERUPTIVE
Tracks 7-12: FACE FINALE

LP 4
1. 3 Musketeers- New Brass
2. Gheneral Thi Et Les Fourmis- Prima Dona
3. Twice A Man- Happy Life
4. The Pool- Burn The Bride
5. Peter Kaminski- Compudrive
6. Bill Rhea- Incarna
7. Denis Mpunga & Paul K.- Fuanyaka
8. 96 Eyes- Schneepalast
9. Ohama- The Drum
10. Carlos R. Arcaute- Psique

Tracks 1-5: FACE GLYCOSE
Tracks 6-10: FACE HETEROCLITE

7”
1. Mark Lane- Pushing And Pulling
2. Stratis- Herzlos
3. Vo Ese- Rike’s Birthday

*download it ALL here!*

18 Comments »

Various Artists- First Relation LP

Posted in 1983, Aus Decline, Dark Tales, F.A.R., italian, KKD, Lisfrank, Mask Productions, Militia, minimal, minimal synth, Take For Fun, Tanzen's Fields, V.U.D. on December 12, 2009 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s a rare compilation from Mask Productions, dating back to 1983. All Italian minimal synth/post-punk. Some bands (such as Lisfrank and V.U.D.) should be familiar to some, while others are far more obscure. All cuts on this LP are killer, though, so be sure to check this one out!

Otherwise, this is one of three releases from the Mask Productions label, the other two being a release by Lisfrank and a 12” by Le Masque.

Various Artists- First Relation LP
1. Aus Decline- Five Years Life
2. Militia- Limbo
3. Lisfrank- Man Without Limits
4. F.A.R.- Lights in the Deep
5. KKD- House TV
6. KKD- And Your Mind
7. V.U.D.- Look!
8. Take For Fun- Please Me
9. Tanzen’s Fields- Sally Song
10. Dark Tales- Dismals

*download it here* (re-ripped/reuploaded  6.18.12)

12 Comments »

Silvia- Silvia LP

Posted in 1982, german, minimal, minimal synth, Silvia, Tommi Stumpff on December 12, 2009 by Frankie Teardrop


Here’s a German minimal synth pleasure for you, dear readers. This upload contains 9 succinct tracks by Silvia, an otherwise unknown German singer. Released in 1982, this is the only record out under her name, but she does also lend her vocals to the Silvi Und Die Awac’s LP, entitled Ich Bin Wie Du.

Astute readers may also be familiar with Tommi Stumpff, underrated German electronics wizard, who performs all of the music on this LP. Perhaps I’ll upload some of his classic material, but in the interim, let’s get to this particular record.

Silvia- Silvia LP
1. Zuerst Ich
2. Ich Bin Nicht Die
3. Mata Hari
4. Mörderinnen Küsst Man Nicht
5. Das Ende Vom Traum
6. Sauf Und Stirb
7. Stammtisch
8. Wintergarten
9. Sex Im Aquarium

*DOWNLOAD LINK REMOVED*—-> Visit Genetic to purchase a CD reissue!

9 Comments »

Cortex- Souvenir/Souvenirs K7

Posted in 1984, alain neffe, Belgian, cortex, experimental, minimal synth, synth on November 9, 2009 by Frankie Teardrop

For my second post of the day, I’ve tracked down a request from a few weeks ago. This particular post contains a rare cassette from Belgian experimental band Cortex, collecting their output from 1975-1982. The cassette was released on two different labels in 1984, and essentially contains electronic experiments with French poetry spoken over top.

Cortex is also one of many projects featuring contributions from experimental mastermind Alain Neffe, also active in Bene Gesserit, Human Flesh, and Pseudo Code. Vocalist Nadine Bal also worked with Neffe in Bene Gesserit, who formed after the Cortex project came to its end.

Without any further ado, the particulars:

Cortex- Souvenir/Souvenirs cassette
1. Cortex E
2. Cortex F
3. Cortex G
4. Cortex H
5. Cortex I
6. Cortex J
7. Cortex K
8. Cortex L
9. Cortex M
10. Cortex N
11. [Unidentified]
12. Cortex O

*download it here*

Though it’s not mentioned on either discogs listing, my particular rip of the cassette features an extra, unnamed track before the final 20+ minute piece. Not sure if it belongs there or not, but I’ve included it for your listening pleasure.

As for the remainder of their discography, Cortex have contributed many more tracks to various compilations over their tenure, most with similar alphabetical titles. Haven’t been able to track ’em down, but I will post them if I ever do!

5 Comments »

The Passage- Degenerates LP (Reissue)

Posted in 1982, experimental, minimal synth, post-punk, synthpop, the Fall, The Passage, uk on October 29, 2009 by Frankie Teardrop

I just had the pleasure of being turned on to this record at this week’s local Wierd Records party, and I’ve already spun it twice this morning. Why not upload it, n’est-ce pas?

The band in question is The Passage, a UK-based experimental synthpop band that formed in 1978. The band’s first two records are truly dark, minimal records, but for their third, 1982’s Degenerates, the band added a more polished synth shine to their shuffling experimental backdrop, a perfect marriage of both the catchy and the challenging. Some tracks remind me of Public Image Limited or latter-day Scott Walker (which makes sense, given that Tony Friel, founding member of The Fall, was a member), while other tracks are true synthpop masterpieces.

Though Degenerates was originally released by Cherry Red, this particular upload features several 7” bonus tracks added to the limited CD re-release, which dropped via LTM Publishing in 2003. I believe the CD version is also out of print.

There’s more to the Passage story kicking around online, so click here to check out an extensive tribute page to the band, complete with a full discography, lush bio, and a slew of goodies. Otherwise without any further ado, let’s get to the details.

The Passage- Degenerates CD
1. XOYO
2. Fleck
3. Revelation
4. Love Is As
5. Born Every Minute
6. (Ourselves)
7. Go To Seed
8. Armour
9. Time Will Tell
10. Empty Words
11. XOYO (7″)
12. Animal In Me
13. Born Every Minute (Flexi)
14. Taboos
15. Taboodub

*download it here*

Otherwise, I still have a few requests and donations to tackle, sorry for the delay! Otherwise, in case I don’t check back in beforehand, happy Halloween to those who celebrate!

11 Comments »

Zwischenfall- Gestern Und Heute CD

Posted in 1980s, 1990s, 1995, german, italo disco, minimal synth, synthpop, Zwischenfall on October 16, 2009 by Frankie Teardrop

As promised, here’s a CD compilation of German new wave/minimal band Zwischenfall, who wrote some of the most underrated tracks of the ’80s. Several of the cuts on this collection are dance floor destroyers, especially “Sandy Eyes” (more of an italo cut), “Sacred Time,” “Atemlos,” and two versions of “Flucht.”

From what I gather, the Gestern Und Heute CD collects the band’s entire discography, including a rather ’90s sounding remix of “Flucht.” The collection was released in 1995, and fetches a rather high price, even for a CD. I can’t seem to find anything concrete on the band aside from the band members involved (Martin Urban, Michael Sass, & Stephan Kraemer), but Google tells me that a prominent European club takes their name from the band.

Perhaps their legacy (like most of the bands featured here) is stronger overseas. On that note, let’s get to the music.

Zwischenfall- Gestern Und Heute CD
1. Atemlos
2. Heimatlose
3. Millionen
4. Flucht ’82 (German Version)
5. Sandy Eyes
6. Flucht ’84 (English Version)
7. Polar Magazine
8. Sacred Time
9. Katastrophe
10. Tausend Jahre
11. Atemlos (Remix ’93)
12. Flucht (Remix ’94)

*download it here*

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ATTENTION, dear readers- you can now get a remastered copy of Zwischenfall’s debut 12” via the always excellent DARK ENTRIES label, an awesome reissue label based out of the west coast. Click here for more info!

12 Comments »

Teenage Brain Surgeon- Fatal Day 7”

Posted in 1980s, 1988, ebm, german, minimal synth, Teenage Brain Surgeon on October 13, 2009 by Frankie Teardrop

I don’t tend to buy into the whole “holy grail” aspect of the minimal synth genre, but I’m tempted to make an exception for today’s post. In short, I was first clued in to Teenage Brain Surgeon‘sexistence by fantastic fashion guru and DJ Jeralyn, who runs I’ll Wear Any Color as Long as It’s Black. We were only able to track down 2/3rds of their sparse discography, but I was fortunate enough to stumble upon the final, elusive track in my late-night travels. Huzzah!

There’s virtually no information available about this German band, as this is their lone release. The limited edition 7” (1,000 copies are said to be in existence) was self-released in 1988. Extremely rare, but extremely solid, all three of these tracks are ripe for the dance floor, chock full of infectious electronics and a stomping beat- very EBM friendly if that’s you’re thing. The title track is especially choice, and never fails me in a DJ set.

If anyone out there has any information whatsoever regarding this band, feel free to chime in! Otherwise, let’s get to the good stuff, shall we?

Teenage Brain Surgeon- Fatal Day 7”
1. Fatal Day
2. Years Gone By
3. Cold

*download it here*

Next up, we have a rare compilation of Zwischenfall as well as another generous donation from Jeff! Stay tuned for more over the next few days.

18 Comments »

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