Saturday, December 20, 2008

Best of 2008- The Album List

The big year of Australian electropop, indietronica and alternative dance. What else was hot, see in the list below...


01.Radiohead- In Rainbows [XL]
02.John Maus- Love is Real [Upset The Rhythm]
03.Fleet Foxes- s/t [Bella Union]
04. MGMT- Oracular Spectacular [Columbia]
05.The Foxglove Hunt - Stop Heartbeat [Common Wall]
06.Blondfire- My Someday
07.Black Kids- Party Traumatic [Almost Gold]
08.Ladyhawke- s/t [Modular]
09.Brian Eno & David Byrne- Everything That Happens Will Happen Today [Happen Today]

Best of 2008- The Singles List

The big year of Australian electropop, indietronica and alternative dance. What else was hot, see in the list below...


01.MGMT- Time to Pretend
02.Radiohead- All I Need
03.Portishead- The Rip
04.Kleerup-Longing for Lullabies
05.M83- Kim and Jessie
06.Fleet Foxes- He Doesn't Know Why
07.The Last Shadow Puppets- Standing Next to Me
08.Brian Eno & David Byrne- Strange Overtones
09.Empire of the Sun- We Are the People
10.MGMT- Electric Feel

Monday, December 8, 2008

WAW: The Teenagers- Homecoming

Instant Hit: Chrisma- Black Silk Stocking

Chrisma released "Black Silk Stocking" in 1977 as b-side single of "Lola" for Polydor. Both songs were featured on the the album Chinese Restaurant released in the same year. The band was originally from Italy but recorded mostly in English. Their name was a combination of their initials, namely Mauricio Arcieri and Christina Moser. Mauricio sadly passed away last year.


Tuesday, November 25, 2008

The Killers- Day and Age

The American rock group the Killers have released their third album entitled 'Day & Age'. The album had several different release dates in different countries including the official date for UK, Canada and US November 24, 2008. The first single "Human" has already been released in September. The album is considered as the "continuation" of Sam's Town.


Thursday, November 20, 2008

Next Wave: Geneva Jacuzzi

Geneva Garvin (aka Geneva Jacuzzi) is a songwriter, visual and recording artist from Los Angeles. From 2004 to 2007 she fronted the tongue-in-cheek goth band Bubonic Plague. Her music has used styles that range from darkwave, goth, psychedelic and breakbeat and is similar to the artists which were featured on the compilation Italian's Do It Better.

Love Caboose Video
http://www.myspace.com/zombieshark

Photo courtesy of Heather Gildroy

Friday, November 14, 2008

Heaven 17- Naked and Advertised

‘Naked as advertised’ is a newly recorded album by Heaven 17. Featuring Tracks derived from their live set as well as a few real collectors items of oddities and rarities..There is even one brand new, never heard before Heaven 17 song, ‘Don’t Fall’. Some of these tracks reach back into the very earliest days of Heaven 17. Re-visited and re-worked they sound as fresh today as they ever did. A beautiful version of the Associates' ‘Party Fears Two’ originally performed at the Billy Mackenzie memorial concert makes you take a second look at this classic and beautiful song.

Follow the link for more info and the song stream
http://www.myspace.com/heaven17

Lost Videos: This Island Earth- See That Glow

Monday, November 10, 2008

Instant Hit: SS-Say- Care

"Care" was the b-side of the only single "Fusion" which was released by the Danish group in 1984/85. The record which was originally planned to become an album was produced by Martin Hall and it was issued on SAM records. The song also appeared on Return Of Flexi-Pop Vol. 5 compilation. Short after this Martin Hall started his solo career.


Saturday, November 8, 2008

Peter Godwin

Peter Godwin was a German musician who was musically active from the late 70's till the mid 80's. His breaktrough hit was the song "Images of Heaven" released in 1981/82. After his last single release somewhere in 1983 he has written for other musicians and produced music. He produced Ronny's "To Have and Have Not" and Tik & Tok's version of "Summer in the City"

Peter Godwin has previously been a member of a less known group Metro which was active in the seventies. Metro recorded its self-titled debut in 1976 which was originally available in Germany only but they split after their second LP release 'Future Imperfect' in 1980. Later, "Criminal World" was covered by David Bowie on the album 'Let's Dance'. After the split of the Metro, Godwin went solo and had his first hit with "Images of Heaven". The song was produced by Georg Kajanus and it was released twice, in 1981 and a year later again. There were also two videos made for this song. Th first one was an adult interpretation of the lyrics and it was deemed not suitable for television, the second one featured a girl in a cereal box that Peter was looking at coming to life.

In 1998, several songs from the Metro era and his underground hits were released on a best of compilation entitled 'Images of Heaven: The Best of Peter Godwin'. The record was released on Oglio Records. It also included his: "Rendezvous", "Torch Song for The Heroine""Emotional Disguise" among others.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Ultravox' Return To Eden

Ultravox will reunite for the first time since their performance at Live Aid 1985. Warren Cann, Chris Cross, Billy Currie and Midge Ure - all four members of the 1980s Ultravox lineup will reunite for the UK tour in 2009 entitled 'Return to Eden'. The tour will kick off on April 10th for 14 dates.


Monday, November 3, 2008

Grace Jones- Hurricane

Grace Jones has released her first album after over 19 years. Her latest release is entitled 'Hurricane' and today (Nov 3, 2008) it has been released around Europe and it is scheduled to be released in America on Dec 16, 2008. The album features several collaborations including Brian Eno, Tricky and Wendy and Lisa. You might notice some Laurie Anderson and Massive attack connections.


Corporate Cannibal Video

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Next Wave- Heartbreak

Heartbreak is a british synth-pop duo who released their first album Lies a month ago. The term "Metallo" is often used to describe their music which is a marriage of Italo disco and Metal, dark energy combined with melodic drama. The record features ten tracks and it was released through Lex Records.

www.myspace.com/heartbreak

Monday, October 27, 2008

Martin Dupont - Lost and Late

"Lost and Late" is the latest release by the French group Martin Dupont who were formed in the early 80's and released several albums and singles during the decade. The album contains a selection of songs which were released between 1981 and 1985. The release is a limited edition pressed on 180 gram vinyl, accompanied by an insert printed with old band photographs by Michel Bresson.

www.minimal-wave.org/site

Sunday, October 12, 2008

The Dears- Missiles

"Missiles" is the fourth studio album by the Canadian group the Dears. The album is scheduled to be released on October 20, 2008. The album was marked by creative tensions within the band. By the time the recording process was complete, most of the supporting musicians had left, leaving only core members Murray Lightburn and Natalia Yanchak.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Instant Hit: Kim Wilde- Sparks

"Sparks" was one of the outstanding tracks from the album Catch as Catch Can from the year 1983 which despite the very atmospheric and melodic sound was never released as a single. It was on the crossroads slowly transforming Wilde's sound from New Wave to Hi-Nrg and Pop which was dominant in mid and late 80's. 


Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Instant Hit: Heaven17- We're Going to Live for a Very Long Time

"We're Going To Live For A Very Long Time" was the closing track on the "Penthouse" side of Heaven 17's seminal album "Penthouse and Pavement," released in 1981. While it was never released as a single, it remains a timeless piece that continues to endure through the years.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

OMD: 78/08 The Souvenirs

One of my favorite New wave bands is turning 30 this year. Back in 1978, they had their debut performance at Eric's club in Liverpool. Since then they have had numerous hits at both sides of Atlantic, they were innovative, futuristic, experimental, they have been formed and reformed and in October they celebrate their 30th anniversary. These are the most significant moments and facts in the OMD's musical history.


1. Liverpool
In 2001 the Guinness Book of Records declared Liverpool 'City of Pop' due to the many number one records to have emerged from the city. The most famous band to have come from Liverpool is The Beatles, who played many of their early gigs at the Cavern Club. During the late 70's and early 80's many great bands emerged including OMD who were formed in the second half of the 70's out of the ashes of few local bands who used to experiment with electronic and guitar driven music.


2. German Electronics
The founders of the group Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys both shared their love for early electronic music produced by Kraftwerk and Neu!. These two bands made a great impact on their early records. Even their side project was named after a valve from the diagram on the back cover of Kraftwerk's Radio- Activity album.


3. Eric's Club
Eric's club was a music club in Liverpool which opened in 1976 in a building basement on Mathew Street. It became notable for hosting early performances by many punk and post-punk bands including Elvis Costello, Buzzcocks, The Clash, Joy Division, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Slits, The Stranglers, Ultravox, Wire, XTC and many other contemporary acts of that time. OMD had their debut performance in this club in October 1978.


4. "Enola Gay"

"Enola Gay" was one of the best selling singles released by OMD in the European countries. It reached number one in France, Portugal and Spain. The song appeared on OMD's second album 'Organisation' which was released for Virgin in 1980. The song also caused some contraversary as it was named after a plane which dropped the first atomic bomb in an act of War on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 to bring an end to the Second World War.The song was also released during a major controversy surrounding then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's decision to allow US nuclear missiles to be stationed in Britain.


5. Artwork

The key figure of the artwork design of OMD's record sleeves was Peter Saville. The legendary cover of the New Order single "Blue Monday" (1983) and for example, the sleeve of the Joy Division album 'Unknown Pleasures' (1979) were to bring the Manchester graphic designer worldwide renown. Using a reduced, Modernist style Peter Saville has made key innovations in the field of visual communications, and in recent times he has had a profound effect on the interplay between art, design and advertising. He created the visual design for all OMD's record releases.


6. The Architecture of Sound
In 1981 OMD released their third album entitled 'Architecture and Morality'. It's considered as the group's landmark album which sold over 3 million copies and reached No.3 in the UK and No.1 in Belgium and Holland. The album is gloomy, synth-driven and it struggles with new techniques in sound. Two of OMD's best selling singles were taken from the album including their most successful single in the UK "Souvenir", the first song to feature Paul Humphreys on vocals, as well as "Maid of Orleans" which was their biggest hit in Germany.
The album was reissued last year in May(2007) and it includes a remastered CD and DVD.


7. OMD's Musique Concrete
1983 saw the release of OMD's fourth album 'Dazzle Ships' whose title and cover art alluded to a painting by vorticist artist Edward Wadsworth based on dazzle camouflage. Dazzle Ships was OMD's musical experiment which took them to a whole new level of musical creation. The album contains sound collages, shortwave radio recordings, the sound effects of ships and submarines, speaking clocks and eastern bloc themes. "Genetic Engineering" and "Telegraph" are the only songs that were released as singles.
The album was reissued on 3rd March 2008. The new release featured remastered tracks, bonus tracks and sleeve notes along with new sleeve art which recreates the original 1983 vinyl sleeve.


8. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Pink

In 1984 OMD released their fifth album 'Junk Culture' which marked their return to a poppier sound. They adopted of a classic verse-chorus-verse-chorus structure again and their songs were returning to the charts in UK and they had their first hits in America. The single "So In Love" entered the American Top 40 establishing the group success in the US. In 1985 the band wrote the song "If You Leave" for the John Hughes movie 'Pretty in Pink'. The song was featured on the soundtrack and was a major hit, notably in the US and Canada where it reached the Top 5.
During 1988 the band appeared poised to consolidate their US success. But despite a support slot at Pasadena Rose Bowl with Depeche Mode, a top 20 US hit with "Dreaming" and a successful "Best of" album, OMD split.


9. The New 90's Line Up
While Humphreys, Cooper, and Holmes left OMD to form The Listening Pool, McCluskey recruited Liverpool musicians Lloyd Massett and Stuart Kershaw and continued under the OMD moniker. Initially successful with hits like "Sailing on the Seven Seas" and "Pandora's Box" from their critically acclaimed 'Sugar Tax' LP in 1991, the new line up would release Liberator (1993), Universal (1996), before splitting up in 1996, due to lack of public interest. After the definite split in 1996 the band members were involved in different music projects including songwriting, management and recording with other bands.


10. Reformation

On January 1 2006, Andy McCluskey announced plans to reform OMD with the McCluskey, Humphreys, Holmes and Cooper line up. The original plan was to tour the album 'Architecture & Morality' and other pre-1983 material, then record a new album.
The band released the remastered 'Architecture and Morality' CD with a DVD featuring the Drury Lane concert from 1981 that had previously been available on VHS and 'Dazzle Ships' album's 25th anniversary was celebrated.
The original line up is currently on tour celebrating 30 years of Orchestral Manoevrues in The Dark.




Tuesday, September 30, 2008

'Red Carpet Massacre' Latin American Tour

Duran Duran will kick their 'Red Carpet Massacre' Latin American Tour in November 2008. This will be their most comprehensive run through the Continent in many years. The tour dates has been announced on their website.


* November 4, 2008: Explanada Del Monumental Lima, Peru
* November 7, 2008: GEBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
* November 9, 2008: Arena Santiago, Santiago, Chile
* November 12, 2008: Coliseo el Campin, Bogotá, Colombia
* November 15, 2008: CAMPO DE FÚTBOL USB, Caracas, Venezuela
* November 18, 2008: Figali Convention Center Outdoors, Panama City, Panama
* November 28, 2008: Sports Palace, Mexico City, Mexico
* November 29, 2008: Arena VFG, Guadalajara, Mexico

of Montreal- Sleketal Lamping

'Skeletal Lamping' is the title of the ninth studio album by Athens, Georgia-based band Of Montreal. The album is scheduled to be released on October 21, 2008. Lats track of the album has previosly been released as a single on September 9, 2008. It's entitled "Id Engager". The title 'Skeletal Lamping' is the name of a rather dreadful hunting technique where, hunters go into the forest at night, flood an area in light, then shoot, or capture, the animals as they panic and run from their hiding places.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

The Pretenders- Break Up The Concrete

The Pretenders will release their new album 'Break Up The Concrete' on October 7, 2008 through Shangri-La Music. This is the first studio album in 6 years and one of the best yet as they say. The album is already avaialable as a digital download on amazon.com. Some of their songs will be available on their official Myspace page.
www.myspace.com/thepretenders



Friday, September 26, 2008

Soft Cell 'Heat: The Remixes'

One of the first duos of electro pop Soft Cell have released a remix album entitled ‘Heat : The Remixes’ through Universal/Some Bizzare on September 15th 2008. The 25 track double album includes brand new interpretations of many classic Soft Cell tracks including the Top 5 singles ‘Bedsitter’, ‘Torch’, ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’ and the worldwide hit single ‘Tainted Love’, which reached Number One in seventeen countries in 1981. The album also includes updated versions of key Soft Cell album tracks, B-sides and rarities. All the remixes featured on the album have been reworked by genuine fans of the band, resulting in the respectful updating of a seminal electronic era.

More info and few remix tracks streams:
www.myspace.com/softcellremixalbumofficial


Tuesday, September 23, 2008

OMD's Messages

Any OMD activity always brings good news. This is the photo from their recent rehearsals which was published on the official OMD Myspace. You can also find more interesting items and info on their excellent Myspace page. They will also be going on tour this fall.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Instant Hit: The Room- New Dreams For Old

"New Dreams For Old" was the last single release for the English group from Liverpool, before they disbanded in 1985. They released three albums and five singles. Most of their music was released on Red Flame label including the 7" and the 12" inch versions of this song.

Friday, September 19, 2008

David Byrne & Brian Eno- Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

David Byrne and Brian Eno have recently finished their first collaboration in about 30 years. The name of the new record is ‘Everything That Happens Will Happen Today’. For the most part, Brian did the music while Byrne wrote some tunes, words and sang.
You can stream all of the songs for free and purchase it in a variety of digital and physical formats, including a limited edition Deluxe Package designed by Sagmeister Inc. All formats can be downloaded immediately and physical CDs will be shipped in the Fall.
The album was released on August 18, 2008. The first single off the album, "Strange Overtones", was released on August 4, 2008 as a free digital download only through the album's website.


Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Šizike (Shizike)

Šizike (Shizike)was a female trio, a band from Begrade, Serbia which was formed in the early 80's. In 1984 they released their only album 'In The Wonderland' from which the single "Don't Stop" was taken. The album was released on PGP RTB and it was produced by Zoran Jeftic. Their sound was combination of early Bananarama and Tom Tom Club, minimal synth with breakbeats, scratching and vocoder inputs.The songs were mostly sung in Serbian


Friday, September 12, 2008

Retrovision: Intaferon- Get Out of London

Instant Hit: Gruppo Sportivo- Disco Really Made It

"Disco Really Made It" was a hit for the Hague based Dutch group back in 1979. The band name was inspired by a poster the they once saw and it was referring to the band as a team. Not really much disco sound here, more a story line, they provided a nice New wave gem at the crossroads between two decades. This was one of the first releases for Gruppo Sportivo on Ariola Benelux record label and the song also appeared on several single compilations during the 90's.


Wednesday, September 10, 2008

TV on The Radio- Dear Science

'Dear Science', is the third studio album from New York's group TV on the Radio. It is due to be released on September 22, 2008 in most countries. The album will be released on Interscope Records, with 4AD taking the worldwide distribution. The album has been produced by David Andrew Sitek.
On August 19 the track "Golden Age" became available for streaming on the band's official website.


Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Franz Ferdinand- Lucid Dreams

"Lucid Dreams" is an expected song, not single, from the Scottish band Franz Ferdinand's as-yet untitled and unreleased third album which is scheduled to be released in January 2009. The song currently streaming on the group's website for the price of an e-mail address.

Franz Ferdinand - Lucid Dreams

www.franzferdinand.co.uk/lucid-dreams

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Voice Farm

Voice Farm was a San Francisco electronic music band in the Synthpunk genre formed in 1981. The duo consisted of vocalists/keyboard players Myke Reilly and Charly Brown. They released two independent singles and 3 albums. The group earned national attention in 1990 as the opening act on Depeche Mode's U.S. concert tour.

The history of Voice Farm can be traced back to the chance meeting of Charly Brown, an artist and musician from Portland, Ore and Myke Reilly who served a three month prison sentence in Berlin for experimenting with pirate television there. The circle was complete when former baseball player Ken Weller was added. Their first singles "Double Garage" and “Modern Things” were released in 1981, one year before the release of their debut album ‘The World We Live In’. The album was released on Optional/Systematic label and it was produced by David Kahne. The record featured mostly synthesizer driven sound with some ominous bass tones.

As a duo they released their self titled album ‘Voice Farm’ in 1987 which was radically different than the previous one. They added guitars and backing vocals to their danceable sound and combined dance beats with synthesized effects, found sounds. In 1991, they added Ken Weller to the group and released "Bigger Cooler Weirder" on Morgan Creek Records. They had some dance chart success with the songs "Free Love" & "Seeing Is Believing" but the label didn't take advantage of the momentum and let the band die even after landing a spot opening for Depeche Mode during their "Violator" tour and playing at Madison Square Garden and the Cow Palace. One of the last releases from the band was an independent release in 1995 called "The Love Experiment". Myke and Charly later found success in the music business: they produce music for television commercials.


Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Instant Hit: Boytronic- Luna Square

"Luna Square" was the second track on Boytonic's first album The Working Model, released in 1983 on Mercury records. This song also appeared on The Working Model (Reverse) which was released 20 years later and which featured 17 tracks. Pity, it was never released as a single as the is considered one of Boytronic's best tunes and the ultimate hi-Nrg German synth-pop classic.

Monday, August 25, 2008

WAW: Crystal Castles- Courtship Dating

The Cure- '4:13 Dream'

The long awaited Cure album whose release date has been delayed few times is set to be released on October 13th, 2008. The album is entitled '4:13 Dream' and four singles were already released during the year and two of them were featured here.Here is a little reminder of the beautiful artwork.





Sunday, August 24, 2008

The Verve- Forth

'Forth' is the upcoming fourth album by English alternative rock band The Verve and will be released on August 25, 2008. It is the band's first album of new material since Urban Hymns was released in 1997, excluding two unreleased tracks on the singles compilation album This Is Music: The Singles 92-98.The album's first single, "Love Is Noise", received its first airplay by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on June 23, 2008. The band also released a non-album track, "Mover", as a free digital download a week later.


Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Gang of Four's Second Life

The new line up of Gang of Four has released a new song after 13 years. Earlier this year the band announced that they will go separate ways and that singer Jon King and guitar-player Andy Gill would continue as Gang of Four then. This is the first result of their writing and recording together, the new song "Second Life"(released in June) which is available digitally via itunes and as a 7" vinyl from Rough Trade.
Gang Of Four - Second Life



Monday, August 11, 2008

Instant Hit: The Tapes- Blue Thighs

"Blue Thighs" was the first single released by the Dutch group The Tapes which was considered as Holland's answer to Talking Heads. This song was released in 1980 and it appeared on their second album Party. During their career they released three LP's.

Next Wave: Silvery

Here another great British group to watch for. The groups is called Silvery and has released their debut album 'Thunderer and Excelsior' which contains 14 tracks including the previously released single "Horrors/Orders". Their music style is very eccentric, organ-led and under great musical influences like David Bowie, Sparks, XTC and Blur.'Thunderer & Excelsior'will be BBC 6music's album of the day! Tue 12th August.


Friday, August 8, 2008

B- Movie

B-Movie formed in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire during 1978 from the ashes of local punk band The Aborted. The band consisted of Steve Hovington (vocals/bass), Paul Statham (guitar) & Graham Boffey (drums). They quickly changed their name to B-Movie following Steve's discovery in an art book of the Andy Warhol painting of the same name.

After they recorded the first four songs, they used to play the first demo gigs including The Cornhill Vaults in Lincoln where they played several times. In order to develop their sound they recruited the keyboard player Rick Holiday. This brought the whole new dimension to their sound and they moved form three minutes New wave songs to much more grander outfits. B-Movie released their first EP, 'The Take Three EP' on July 1980 which also included the first ever recording “Remembrance Day”. The next chapter in B-Movie history was marked through the meeting with Stevo, the local DJ who would eventually sign B-Movie to his own record label 'Some Bizzare'.There was also a plan for a compilation album which would take the same name.Twelve acts were assembled and they each sent in one track. The B-Movie offering was a newly recorded song called “Moles” which had become a live favorite. It was by far the rockiest track on the album and had very little in common with the other acts except maybe a willingness to experiment. The Some Bizarre Album was scheduled for release in February 1981 and would feature the vinyl debuts of Depeche Mode, The The, Soft Cell & Blancmange. All of these acts went on to considerable success so the album could be viewed as the musical equivalent of the Dead Sea Scrolls!

In 1981 they had their biggest UK commercial success when their single “Remembrance Day” reached 61 in the UK charts narrowly missing out on a crucial Top Of The Pops TV appearance. The single was receiving unanimously good reviews but was being ignored by daytime radio - it seemed that the record company did not have a strategy to get the record into the upper reaches of the chart. The follow up single 'Marilyn Dreams' failed to chart. In 1982 they released "Nowhere Girl" which made the Top 10 in many European countries and reached 68 in the United Kingdom, but there was no follow up and no sign of an album.

Keyboard player Rick Holliday left in 1983 to form Six Sed Red with Soft Cell associate Cindy Ecstasy. The rest of the band re-surfaced in 1984 with the single “A letter From Afar” produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez but this failed to chart. Towards the end of 1985 they finally released an album with Sire Records called 'Forever Running' containing re-recorded versions of the two hits but both it and the single "Switch On Switch Off" were flops despite a tour to promote them.

The band broke up soon after. The members of B-Movie were involved in different solo projects more or less successful and after a long hiatus, in March, 2006 B-Movie performed at the club The Metro in London. The videos of these live performances were already featured in this blog.

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