Archive for the minimal Category

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Performance- Performance 12”

Posted in 1980s, 1982, avant-garde, experimental, french, minimal, minimal synth, Performance on February 12, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s one quick little burst of minimal synth to kick off your weekend. Clocking in at ten minutes total, here’s the lone 12” from French band Performance, released in 1982. “Pilotes” is the real winner here, a great midtempo, female fronted synth track. Afterwards, the record hits more experimental territories, with gloomy male vocals and short instrumental bursts. Bringing things full circle, the 12” concludes with some midtempo female fronted synthpop.

Interestingly enough, this 12” was released on Celluloid, the same label responsible for a handful of releases by Material, Tuxedomoon, Can, Yello, and Soft Cell. Quite an eclectic mix, if you check their releases page, and definitely a fitting label for this release. Here’s the info.

Performance- Performance 12”
1. Pilotes
2. Ideal Prison
3. Tapage Nocturne
4. Sécurité
5. Idéal Présent

*download link removed* – new 2 x 7” release of “Pilotes” can be found here, alongside a reworked version of “Sécurité!”

11 Comments »

Psychic Youth- Step In Time 7”

Posted in 1982, 7'', minimal, minimal synth, Psychic Youth, US on February 10, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

For my third and final 7” for today, here’s Psychic Youth’s lone 1982 recording, two tracks of minimal synth bliss. Anna Logue was carrying the final copies of this 7”, unearthed after several years, but now they’re all gone, and all copies seem to be fetching a pretty penny on the internet. Otherwise, this is one of the best minimal synth obscurities around, and one of the few great US synth bands, hailing from Long Island/NY. Hope you enjoy it!

Psychic Youth- Step In Time 7”
1. Step In Time
2. The Future Now

*download it here* (RE-RIPPED 9.10.12)

EDIT: It seems like all copies of this single are a pretty poor quality pressing.  Just obtained a near mint copy over here and re-ripped it and cleaned it up the best I could.   Still not perfect, but hope you enjoy the updated version!

4 Comments »

Svart Klovn- Knust Knekt 7”

Posted in 1980s, 1983, 7'', Kid Death, maskindans, minimal, minimal synth, norweigan, Svart Klovn on February 10, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

Here’s the 1983 debut single from Norweigan minimal synth artist Svart Klovn, otherwise known as Kid Death. The title track was also featured on the 1984 Burning the Midnight Sun compilation and later remastered for the fantastic Maskindans compilation that dropped last year, while the b-side is a fast and furious piece of minimal synth.

The only other Svart Klovn releases are the 1986 Queen Bitch 7” and the Kid D. & the Nightshades LP, both featured over at Crispy Nuggets with some additional information about Kid Death and Svart Klovn. Check it out.

Svart Klovn- Knust Knekt 7”
1. Knust Knekt
2. Macho Manifest

*download it here* (RE-RIPPED 3.3.13)

2 Comments »

Outer Circle- My Mona Lisa 12”

Posted in 1980s, 1984, minimal, minimal synth, new wave, nth, outer circle, post-punk, US on February 2, 2010 by Frankie Teardrop

This particular post comes as a generous donation from band member Brad Bechtel, and features the follow up 12” from Outer Circle, released in 1984. At this point in time, guitarist Cole Coonce joined the band’s lineup, solidifying the band as a six piece. The remaining band members, being Steve Spingola (vocals), Pat Collison (synth), Paul Santos (bass), Lee Howell (drums), and of course Bechtel on lap steel guitar are still intact, returning with more of their distinctive edge.

The 12” features three original tracks and two remixes of “My Mona Lisa,” as done by Gary Otto. Here’s the details:

Outer Circle- My Mona Lisa 12”
1. My Mona Lisa
2. Building Dreams
3. Warm Gun
4. My Mona Lisa (Gary Otto Mix)
5. My Mona Lisa (Instrumental)

*download it here*

In case you missed it, nab the first Outer Circle 12” here!

3 Comments »

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 »

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

————-

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 »

End of Data- Dans Votre Monde LP

Posted in 1980s, 1985, art-rock, coldwave, end of data, french, minimal, post-punk, synth, wave on December 12, 2009 by Frankie Teardrop

Next up, we have the second End of Data LP, finally rescued from poorly-ripped hell. The only copy most folks have of this record in digital format are ripped at a low bitrate from a less than stellar LP copy, so here’s a more crisp, solid copy. This second record is slightly more poppy and new wave-esque than their more abrasive and strange debut, available here, so feel free to compare and contrast, and read up on the band while you’re at it. Otherwise, here’s a more solid and consistent rip of this 1985 classic!

End of Data- Dans Votre Monde LP
1. Dans Votre Monde
2. Movie Drama
3. Quetzalcoatl
4. Symphonie
5. La Rive Asiatique
6. Atttrra (Vers Le Miroir)
7. Venice
8. D.M.C.

*download it here*

5 Comments »

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