Instant Hit: Brain- D.I.X.O

For all of those that the future is still kept in some of the most obscure and brilliant 80's tracks, should check this one out. Futuristic and experimental and a lot of forward thinking with the musical arrangement and design. There is not much info about the band itself and this is their only release from 1982. According to some sources on the internet, this single was reissued by Private Records from Berlin.

Sixth June to Release 'Virgo Rising' in February

Sixth June have announced the release of a brand new studio album titled 'Virgo Rising'. This will be their first album in four years and a follow up to their debut 'Everytime' released in 2010. As for now only the lead track "Night Before" is available for listening. Nice to hear some Sax mixing with the usual Sixth June arrangement. The album will be released through Aufnahme + Wiedergabe and is already available on pre-order.

http://aufnahmeundwiedergabe.bigcartel.com/

WAW: Baustelle- Amanda Lear

The Italian band Baustelle have announced the release of a brand new album 'L’amore e la violenza'. We were very excited to discover this "Amanda Lear" tune which we believe will be the first single from the album and to lead us into another great synth pop year. 

The video for the song was directed by Barbara Guieu.

Drab Majesty Release their second album 'Demonstration'

In 2016, we had a huge crush with their song "The Heiress" and this is where the story with Drab Majesty begins for us. Happy to see that they have released a new album. The new album will be entitled 'Demonstration' and for those who never listened to them, Drab Majesty blend goth with 80's synths and art post-punk sound and visuals, recalling Clan of Xymox and the Cure. The band will also embark on an extensive tour which will include Europe as well. The first single from the album entitled "39 by Design" is already available on Youtube.

Transfigure Release Debut Album Translation

First head up for this year is the news that Transfigure finally have released their debut album. Following their EP releases from 2014 and from last year, comes their first long player. The album will be entitled 'Translation' and it will contain 8 tracks, out of which the lead track "Fields" was already featured on their EP from last year.

Hailing from Newcastle, the duo reflects the city club feel in some songs while on the other hand they also tend to be emotional and introspective. Musically they collect and end echo the best from the late's and and early 90's electro forms from the likes of New Order, Pet Shop Boys and St Etienne.

Stream and buy here.

Next Wave: Raw Moans

Time for our last Next Wave for this year! We go East with the sound this time and would like to introduce Raw Moans, the project of Joseph Vorachack which also features Michael Thibodeaux (instrumentals, production). 

Before starting his own musical creation, he was member in several music groups including Wavves and his own living room has inspired him to start his own DiY thing. That is how the idea of Raw Moans was born. After he has teamed up with Michael, soon after they released their debut EP 'Safe Sex'. This is a tribute to musicians and who lived and died from complications due to HIV/AIDS. This is reflected through lyric collages, allusions, and re-workings of songs by musicians, such as Arthur Russell, Klaus Nomi, and Eazy-E, over original instrumentals and melodies. 

Please follow the link to explore the sound of Raw Moans.

https://soundcloud.com/raw_moans/sets/safe-sex

WAW: La Femme- Sphynx

La Femme have returned this year with their second album 'Mystère'. One of the leading tracks and the first single is entitled "Sphynx" and it was released earlier this year in March. The super exciting video for this songs was directed by Marlon Magnée and Aymeric Bergada du Cadet. I'm sure this video will make it into the top ten best videos of 2016.

Next Wave: Colour Theory

Bringing some colours and cheerful and quirky 80's electro sound to bright the rainy Autumn days comes Brain Hazard with his Colour Theory sound machine. He says that the 80's synthpop is in his blood and draws a lot inspiration from the decade especially quoting Depeche Mode as the main inspiring act for his musical creation. It's true that many bands are inspired by Depeche Mode's music, but none of them reflect the emotional side of Martin Gore so much. Career highlights include winning the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Brian is currently working on his ninth full length release which is set for release in the next few months.

To hear more about Colour Theory check the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/colortheory/
https://soundcloud.com/colortheory
https://twitter.com/colortheory

 

Liste Noire Release their Debut Album

Liste Noire have released their debut album 'Brace' last month. The band formerly know as Velvet Condom, debuted last year with their brilliant EP 'Afire Afire' which was one of the best EPs for us in 2015. The new album features nine new tracks and it was recorded and produced by the band in Berlin. The album was officially released on April 26th.

https://listenoire.bandcamp.com/album/brace

In Conversation: October Dance

It was October 2012 when we first got in to the music of October Dance. It was a lovely autumn electro dance affair of "Houses Falling" that caught our attention back then....and yes it happened in October somehow! It still remains as one of the most memorable songs for this year. Soon after, band's universe started to grow. They secured the first record deal, released first EPs and their fanbase has been growing since that. It hard to describe their music in one genre; it has its roots in art pop and it is dance music inspired by variety and diversity of 70's disco, 80's sytnh-pop and 90's house-pop. This year, they have also been performing on the Roskilde festival for the first time and got big plans for the future. Find out more about October Dance's early influence, music video releases and much more.

Very Special Thanks to Tobias Kiel Lauesen!

Daybed Release their Debut Album 'Weird Sailing' this Month

Daybed have released their debut album 'Weird Sailing' this month on Beläten. Following on from their 12” EP 'Preludes' from 2010, Daybed offer a diverse collection of songs set against analogue synthesizer landscapes. The album playfully jumps between the upbeat and pop-inspired to the reflective and lyrical and consists of ten original tracks as well as a special cover of KKD’s minimal synth gem “And Your Mind”. The album was released through Gothenburg-based Beläten Records.

 https://belaten.bandcamp.com/album/weird-sailing
 

WAW: East India Youth- Carousel

"Carausel" is one of the lead singles for East India Youth, from the upcoming album 'Culture of Volume'. The album is out this month on XL Recordings and the video for this hauntingly magnificent song 'Carousel' was directed by Andy Inglis and produced by Cherise Payne.

 

Next Wave: Liste Noire

Liste Noire is a brand new incarnation of the art wave project Velvet Condom. Alice Gift and Obers T are joined by a new member Kalle on guitar and keyboards and they are playing what they call Disco Noir. Their debut EP 'Afire Afire' is expected to be released this spring and it is available as a free downloaded on their page. Two of the songs from the new EP have already been revealed on Youtube, "Afire Afire" and "Mother". 

WAW: Nedelle Torrisi - Double Horizon

Nedelle Torrisi is back with a brand new single "Double Horizon" which is taken from the album 'Advice From Paradise' which was released on February 17th and produced by Kenneth Gilmore. The video for this lead single was directed by Robert Schober and edited by Whitney Weir. As you can see some parts of the video are very much influenced by "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper and Grease a bit. 

Boys Say Go- Easy to Move Compilation

Dead Wax Records have released "Easy to Move" a compilation of previously unreleased material by Boys Say Go. During the 80's deaced the band recorded a whole array of new wave songs of which only two were released as singles. This new compliation will include ten songs including a great cover of Sylverster's "Do You Wanna Funk?". 

More info:
http://www.deadwaxrecords.es/band_boysaygo.php

Next Wave: X Priest X

X priest X is musical project of vocalist Madeline Priest and producers Chandler Strang and David Kazyk from Florida. The group was formed in 2013 when they revealed their first song "Dark Sun" as a demo. Eraly spring of 2014 then saw the release of their debut EP 'Samurai' on emotion Records. There is a certain enigma and mystery about a band name that certainly attract attention. Samurai songs reveal prefectrly structured pop songs where Madeline's innocent vocals flow on dreamy synth lines. The band was featured this year on 'When the Gramophone Rings'' 51 bands of 2014 and on NME's Radar Report. We hope to see more of them even in 2015. 

www.xpriestx.com

WAW: White Hex- Paradise

White Hex are back after two years break with another interesting release. As they say, on the second album 'Gold Nights' they explore more italo disco, minimalist techno and the more primitive end of 1980’s German underground and it is more sophisticated then their debut release. Here is the outstanding track from 'Gold Nights' and their first single 'Paradise'. The video for it was directed by Devin De Araujo.

Oto's 'Purge an Urge' Reissued on Desire Records

Formed in the early 80's in Lorraine in France it took the band few years to finally release some recording material. This happened in 1984 with their debut "Anyway" which I discovered on an 80's compilation. After this release, a three-piece band, played a few gigs before entering the studio to record their one and only album 'Purge An Urge'. Produced by Vincent Hachet from French industrial duo Geinst Naït, 'Purge An Urge' was supposed to contain 9 tracks but the final release saw only 6 tracks. Cécile from fellow Nancy’s band Candidate even did some backing vocals. The record was originally released in 1986 on Divine and it has been reissued for a very first time through Desire. For more info check the link below. 

http://www.desirerecords.com/release/dsr097

Andy Oppeinheimer's Touching The Void New EP out now

Andy Oppenheimer of Oppenheimer Analysis fame and Mark Warner from Rosetti's Compass have joined forces for a new musical project Touching The Void. Band's second EP 'Obsession/ In this Together' is out now and the song "In this Together" is a tribute to Martin Lloyd who passed away last year and with whom Andy Oppenheimer formed Oppenheimer Analysis in the early 80's. Beside the two title songs, the EP also contain two remix versions of these songs. Their debut album 'Love, Longing and Loss' is set for release by the end of 2014.

https://www.facebook.com/norwegiansubculture

Thirty Years of Camouflage on Ten CD Box Set

The German synth-pop group Camouflage have released a limited edition Box Se. This compilation include Camouflage's complete work from 1983 to 2013, 10 CDs, a picture book and a booklet with all song lyrics. This release is available as pre-order and it will be shipped on February 10th, 2014. More information through band's official page.

http://www.camouflage-music.com/index.php

The content includes: ·
Voices & Images (newly remastered) · Methods Of Silence (newly remastered) · Meanwhile (newly remastered) · Bodega Bohemia (newly remastered) · Spice Crackers (newly remastered) · Sensor (newly remastered) · Relocated (newly remastered) · Areu Areu (newly remastered) · Archive #2 – Live Recordings · Archive #3 – The Early Tapes 1983 – 1988