Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Instant Hit: Clan of Xymox- Stumble and Fall

'Stumble and Fall' was a third track from Clan of Xymox' s/t debut album which was released in 1985 on 4AD. There was another 4AD release which featured the remix version of the single "A Day" as well as the remix version of the song "Stranger". Wish I premiered it back in the day.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Propaganda

Propaganda was a German New Wave group from Düsseldorf which was formed in 1982. During 1984 and 1985 they released three singles and one album. Beside Kraftwerk, Aplhaville and Nena they are one of the few German New Wave groups that have gained commercial success outside Germany.

Propaganda was formed in Düsseldorf in the early 80’s by a former Krupps member Ralf Dörper. He decided to go on with new musical ventures and left his group. Ralf’s new project also involved new musical partners, Andreas Thein, a part- time DJ and their mutual friend Suzanne Freytag who was recruited as a vocalist. Propaganda was born and as a trio they began recording music. Their first musical venture was the cover of a song “Disziplin” which was originally performed by Throbbing Gristle which also gave them a TV airing. “Disciplin”, tough was never released as a single because Gristle refused to allow it.
Following the whole “Disziplin” project the band took new members, musician and composer Michael Mertnes and 19 year old vocalist Claudia Brücken. The band moved to UK and it was signed to ZTT records label. The new Propaganda line up was marketed as a twisted hellish version of Abba leaving Mertens in the background as the invisible fifth member. "Dr.Mabuse" was released in 1984 and short time after Thein left the group not satisfied with the record company which delayed the release of the Propaganda material.

1985 saw the release of Propaganda’s most successful single “Duel” which reached no 21 in the UK charts as well as the release of their debut album “A Secret Wish”. After their second appearance on ‘The Tube’ things went quiet for Propaganda, Claudia Brücken left the group in 1986 and the remaining members of the group took ZTT to court to release them from their contract.

In 1988 a new Propaganda line up gathered and began recording new material. Alongside Michael Mertens were the new line-up vocalist Betsi Miller, bassist Derek Forbes and drummer Brian McGee. The result was a new contract with Virgin and a new album release. The album ‘1234’was released in 1990 as well as the single “Heaven Give Me Words” which actually sounded more like Wilson Phillips than the old Propaganda material. It did not get much airplay either.
 
The original line-up of Propaganda met once more in 1998 with a new deal to record a new album which was never released until some songs from the album leaked via file sharing networks. In 2005 Mertens and Freytag resurrected the name Propaganda again while Claudia Brücken teamed up with Paul Humphreys of OMD for the Onetwo musical project.

Bat For Lashes- Two Suns

Bat For Lashes will release a new album on 6 April 2009. This will be the follow up to her Mercury Music Prize nominated album Fur and Gold. According to the press release, Two Suns is bringing reflection about the philosophy of the self and duality. The album features collaborations with Scott Walker and Yeasayer.The first single from the album is called "Daniel" and it is released on 1 March 2009.

Spandau Ballet Reformation

One the most successful and influential British bands of all time return this year. All five original members of the seminal 1980s band Spandau Ballet got together for the first time in 20 years today to announce the first dates of a world tour, taking in UK and Irish arenas from October.
From their synth pop and dance pioneering early singles "To Cut A Long Story Short "and "Chant No. 1 (I Don’t Need This Pressure On)", to the globe trotting smashes "True" and "Gold", Spandau will be playing the hits once again. With 25 million record sales, 6 multi platinum albums and 23 hit singles to choose from, this is one of the most eagerly awaited REFORMATIONs of the decade.

More info:
http://www.spandauballet.com

Monday, March 23, 2009

Röyksopp - Junior

'Junior' is the third studio album release by the Norwegian group Röyksopp. The album was released today March 23, 2009, on Astralwerks and features collaborations with Robyn, Lykke Li, Karin Dreijer Andersson and Anneli Drecker. The sound on the album is a combination of Synthpop, Downtempo and Electropop. The first single taken from the album is "Happy Up Here".

http://royksopp.com

Saturday, March 21, 2009

The Mary Onettes- 'Dare' EP

According to their official Myspace page, the Mary Onettes are going to release a three track EP 'Dare'. Two of the three tracks have been uploaded to their Myspace where you can listen to them. The first track "Dare" was partly recorded in in a small church nearby their hometown. The other two tracks "Kicks" and "God Knows I Had Plans" are as they say "pretty much leftovers" and something they didn't record before.

www.myspace.com/themaryonettes

Friday, March 20, 2009

Pet Shop Boys- Yes

'Yes' is the tenth studio album by Pet Shop Boys.The album was recorded throughout 2008 and is produced by Pet Shop Boys with Brian Higgins and his production team Xenomania. The UK release date has been confirmed to be 23 March 2009. The lead single, "Love etc.", was released a week earlier, on 16 March 2009.The U.S. release date is 21 April 2009.Limited edition bonus disc "Etc' also include a duet with Philip Oakey from the Human League in the song "This Used to Be the Future"

Listen to the new single:
www.petshopboys.co.uk



Thursday, March 19, 2009

D.A.F.- Das Beste Von DAF

Mute Records is about to release a best of for DAF (Deutsch Amerikanischen Freundschaft), simply titled "Das Beste Von DAF – 20 Lieder der Deutsch Amerikanischen Freundschaft". The release coincides with the band's "Der 30-jährige Krieg - als wär's das letzte Mal" Tour. The tour dates will feature the classic line up of Robert Görl and Gabi Delgado-Lopez. This new Best Of compilation album will be released on The Grey Area of Mute and out on 30th March 2009.

More info:
http://www.side-line.com


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