A Certain Ratio's 'Sextet' to be Reissued on Factroy Benelux

Factory Benelux will reissue A Certain Ratio's third album 'Sextet' next month. 'Sextet' was originally released in 1982 and featured the single "Knife Slits Water" and the great title track "Lucinda". This new version of 'Sextet' will include bonus tracks and 12 inch versions and will be released as 2CD Deluxe edition. Official released date is set for November 3rd, 2014. 

Visonia's Debut Album 'Impossible Romannce' out in November

Earlier this year Visonia released their debut EP, a  split with Doppeleffekt entitled 'Die Reisen' both on vinyl and digital. This autumn Nicolas Estany returns with the much anticipated debut album 'Impossible Romance'. The album reveals poetic soundscapes of emotions, feelings, fears and positive expression. It will come as double vinyl format includes the previously available collaboration with Dopplereffekt, alongside an equally striking collaboration with New Wave/Synth Pop artist, Mad Moizel in the form of 'Beat Frequencies' and late addition to the album - the sleek, driving vision of 'Between Lies and Real Looks'.  

Expected release date November 2014. 

Alphaville's 12" and b-sides to be Released on a Compilation.

German based DJs Blank & Jones continue their long-running so80s (SoEighties) series this October with a new release focusing on German synthpop band Alphaville. Best remembered for their 1984 hit singles "Big In Japan" and "Forever Young", Alphaville released three albums on the Warner label in the 1980s but like many eighties pop bands struggled to match the success of the early records in the 90's.

 This new two-CD so80s collection celebrates 30 years of Alphaville and features all 1980′s twelve-inch versions and B-sides, all of which have remastered from the original master tapes. In addition, this comes with a 36-page booklet with rare photos and a track-by-track annotation by the group. Online retailer JPC.de are offering exclusive autographed versions of this new release. so80s presents Alphaville is released on 31 October 2014. 

 www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/soeighties-presents-alphaville
 

Next Wave: Wrangler

Wrangler is the big new thing in analogue and synthetic beat electro. Futuristic, but quite vintage is what the new London trio relies on.The band's members have noted history in music, Stephen Mallinder the founding member of Cabaret Voltaire, Phil Winter has been recording, playing and DJ-ing for a number of years and is a member of folktronica exponents Tunng and Synth collector extraordinaire and producer Benge who is best known for his part in the collaborative project John Foxx & The Maths. They made their debut in 2012 releasing the EP 'Mind Your Own Sequence'. Their brand new album 'La Spark' was released in May this year. 

https://www.facebook.com/weare.wrangler
 

WAW: Sato Sato- Psycho Liar

Here another great new comers of 2014 to rave about. Based in London/Berlin, Sato Sato consists of Alessandro Nieri and Alessio Ippolito who released their debut single in April this year. Meanwhile their first official EP is out entitled "Architecture of Torment". One of the lead tracks of the EP "Psycho Liar" is a real synthetic electro dancefloor killer and dangerously atmospheric. We got on a vid for you as we are watching. 

 Thanks Brigitte for recommending this!

More about the band..
 http://satosato.bandcamp.com
 

Martial Canterel Announces New Album/ Label Change

Sean McBride, aka Martial Canterel who also performs as half of the duo Xeno & Oaklander is back with a brand new album. His new album is entitled 'Gyors, Lassù' and will be released on a new label Dais Records. It is announced that the album marks an important milestone in the evolution of Martial Canterel's music style, "Progressing far beyond the cages of “minimal synth” and embracing the noisier qualities of its sound". The Album is set for release on October 28th and you can hear the preview track below "And I Thought". Sean is currently touring as Xeno & Oaklnder.  

http://daisrecords.com/

   

Label Spot: Visage Musique

There was this wonderful Gold Zebra song I discovered few years back which led me to its mother label. You can see that I'm referring to Visage Musique, one of the finest record labels in Canada. Based in Montreal, the label was probably established in 2010 and since then, it has released material of very distinctive synth driven electronic sound. Best known for Brusque Twins and Gold Zebra who share the history with the label and are there since its launch. Visage Musique certainly is the Face of the Montreal's electronic music scene and I'm sure there are more synth pop artists lined up and waiting to be heard. One of my personal favorite from VM's catalog certainly is Violence who released their debut album this year. 

They will join us for an exclusive interview this month. Stay tuned!

http://www.visagemusique.com

Retrovison: Alison Moyet- All Cried Out

Thirty years ago Alison Moyet released "All Cried Out", one of her biggest hits to date and the best charting hit from her debut album 'Alf'. This album was her first official release after Yazoo disbanded. "All Cried Out" reached #8 in the UK charts. The song was written by Moyet and producers Jolley & Swain. Today, Alison Moyet is still active in music, last year she released her eight studio album 'the minutes' and coming up next month is her new album 'Minutes and Seconds- Live'.

Dark Entries Records Reissue Cult Italo Disco Classics

Celebrating the 30th anniversary. Dark Entries Record presents International Music System's "Dancing Therapy" and Charlie's "Spacer Woman" remastered. Both tracks were produced by Maurizio Cavalieri and released on his own record label Mr Disc Records in 1983/4. "Spacer Woman" has become a cult revival track since its appearance on the legendary I-f mix CD ”Mixed Up In The Hague” in 2001 and has been reissued several time to this date, while for Dancing Therapy this is the first reissue since its original release in 1984. Both release have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley and are available now. For More info follow the link.

www.darkentriesrecords.com/store/product-category/dark-entries

Next Wave: Minuit Machine

Minuit Machine is a Paris based darkwave duo consisting of Hélène de Thoury and Amandine Stioui. Hélène was previously active with her band Phosphor when she decided to quit the band in 2013 and start her own music ventures. She soon met Amandine and together they started recording music as Minuit Machine. Their music is dark, very atmospheric and cold and it reflects all the struggles we encounter one day or another, self-destruction, fear and love. Their debut EP 'Blue Moon' was released in 2013 and this year sees the release of their debut album 'Live and Destroy' which is out on Desire Records.

http://minuitmachine.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/minuit-machine
http://www.desirerecords.com

Jimmy Sommerville's Video and Rarities Compilation Announced

Edsel has announced the release a Jimmy Somerville compilation, 'Dance & Desire • Rarities & Videos' in November. This compilation brings together music and videos from across Somerville’s career beginning with Bronski Beat, moving through the Communards and then Jimmy’s solo career. The story turns full circle with the inclusion of "Smalltown Boy (Reprise 2014)" a new version of the classic track with an accompanying promo film. 'Dance & Desire • Rarities & Videos' includes rare remixes (and videos) not compiled on the previous deluxe reissues, most notably the original twelve-inch versions of 1984 hits "Smalltown Boy" and the full ‘Son Of Gotham City’ mix of "Don’t Leave Me This Way". 'Dance & Desire • Rarities & Videos' will be released on 17 November 2014.

http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/jimmy-somerville-dance-desire-rarities-videos-2cddvd/

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.

Simple Minds' 'Big Music' to be released in early November

Already in May this year, Simple Minds announced the release of a brand new album. We're here just to give quick update on it. This will be their 16th studio album entitled 'Big Music'. The album release was announced with the release of two videos for the songs "Blindfolded" and "Honest Town". The official album release is set for November 3rd. To promote the album they will go on tour next year kicking of in February.

http://simpleminds.tmstor.es/ 

The Wake Release 'Testament'- Best of Compilation

Factory Benelux has released 'Testament', a comprehensive 'best of' collection by influential Glasgow group The Wake. 'Testament' includes tracks recorded for cult labels Factory and Sarah Records. It combines key album tracks with singles including "On Our Honeymoon", "Something Outside", "Talk About the Past", "Of the Matter" and "Crush the Flowers". 

Also included are a previously unreleased 7" edit of 'Pale Spectre' and 2012 studio outtake Clouds Disco. The vinyl edition includes an exclusive 54 minute bonus CD featuring 21 early live and demo recordings from 1981/82, preserved in the tape archive of Joy Division/New Order manager Rob Gretton. Among these priceless lost recordings are 7 songs never before heard even on bootlegs. 

The matt reverse board artwork is based on the artwork for an unreleased cassette edition of 'Here Comes Everybody', designed by Peter Saville. 

Follow the link for the track lists and additional information

www.factorybenelux.com/testament
 

Thomson Twins' 'Remixes and Rarities' out this September

Thirty years ago the Thomson Twins released their most commercial album to date 'Into the Gap'. I somehow feel that they actually never grew old and that they remained as one of the great examples of a typical 80's band with a unique and distinctive image.

To bring up some good memories and even more rare goodness Cherry Red Records announced the release of 'Thompson Twins Remixes & Rarities'. The two-CD set brings together extended remixes of all the classic singles including "Sisters Of Mercy", "In The Name Of Love" and "Love On Your Side", alongside some choice rarities such as the single/AOR version of "The Gap", early B-side "In The Beginning and Fools In Paradise (King For A Day instrumental)". 

Everything is being remasterd from the original tapes and collection will be released this September 2014    

http://www.cherryred.co.uk/finderkeepers-exd.asp?id=4799

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

Retrovision: Barbie Wilde- Phantom Lady

Barbie Wilde known as Canadian-born British actress and writer was also a member of the rock/mime burlesque music group Shock in the early 80's who used to tour with Depeche Mode, Ultravox, Gary Numan and other great artist. Everything she did related to music was somehow connected to Tik & Tok and Shock. This video is small evidence of something she recorded under her own name of course produced by (Burgess, Walters, Wilde). The video was released in 1984 and was directed by David Rose.

 

Next Wave: Tempers

Tempers is a NYC-based post-punk/electronic duo comprised of Jasmine Golestaneh and Eddie Cooper. Jasmine, born in Florida, is of Latvian-Iranian descent, and grew up in Paris and London before moving to New York. She has recorded and performed as musician for most of her life and her visual art, primarily collage, has been shown in galleries throughout New York. Eddie is a NYC native who spent years in Berlin, where he released records on electronic labels like !K7 and Eskimo. The started playing as a band in 2011 and began recording songs almost immediately as part of their songwriting process. They have plans to release a full-length album later this year. Their first single "Eyes Wide Wider" b/w "Hell Hotline" were mixed by Damian Taylor(Trust/Bjork/The Killers).

http://www.tempersmusic.com/ 

https://soundcloud.com/tempersmusic 

WAW: Terror Bird- Waiting for Nothing / The Wrong Way

Nikki Never from Terror Bird has teamed up with Sally Dige for few videos sessions. Nikki in front and Sally behind the camera directing the videos for the songs "Waiting for Nothing" and "The Wrong Way". This would mean two new videos in Sally's video directing series if we include her own from few years back. Both videos express great DIY sense and a good play of shadow and light, vintage TV screens and dope bedroom indie pop. 

Soft Riot's New Album and Video Announced

Jack Duckworth aka Soft Riot has announced the release of a brand new album entitled 'Some More Terror'. His fourth studio album is a collection of instrumental, ambient-influenced synth sounds inspired by films and their soundtracks as much as electronic, post-punk music itself. This recording is intended to flow as an atmospheric backdrop to the surroundings of the bizarre, somewhat dystopian 21st Centuryworld that we all live in. 'Some More Terror' will be released by Sanity Muffin (US) in the Americas and Desire (FR) in Europe. It will be released in a nice, fat C60 cassette format as well as digital. The US and European releases will have slightly different sleeve artwork.

Meanwhile the promotional video for the track “Your Own Private Underworld” has been premiered and is available for viewing online. The video was shot in London by Wild Beast Productions.

Click on fhe following links for news and updates.

http://softriot.com/

John Foxx' The Virgin Years Compilation out now

The brand new John Foxx compilation is out now. It is entitled 'The Virgin Years 1980 – 1985' and the box set features the albums 'Metamatic', 'The Garden', 'The Golden Section' and 'In Mysterious Ways'. Each CD features bonus tracks including B-sides and out-takes with more gathered on a fifth CD, 'Fusion/Fission' (see full track listing below). This set also includes five postcards with various single artwork. The Virgin Years 1980 – 1985 is out on 11 August 2014.

http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/john-foxx-the-virgin-years-1980-85/

Doppeleffekt/ Objekt- Hypnagogia Splt Announced

Leisure System Records have annoinced the release of 'Hypnagogia' split. Born of mutual inspiration, legendary duo Dopplereffekt and sonic adventurer Objekt present Hypnagogia, a split 12″ on Leisure System, with each transmission derived from a shared journey into extrasensory perception and subconscious thought. Hallucinations storm the border between wakefulness and sleep. Accurate perceptions give way to distorted visions, senses torn and split through. Release date is September 1st, 2014. 

 www.leisuresystem.net/lsr012-dopplereffekt-objekt-hypnagogia

Next Wave: Roladex

Here another great band we were really into and following all they did in this year. Roladex was formed in Texas by Tyler Jacobsen and Elyssa Dianne. Tyler Jacobsen holds an MFA in Electronic Art and this becomes apparent as they find lyrical and musical inspiration through the films of David Cronenberg and John Carpenter, the works of authors such as J.G Ballard as well as video artists such as Vito Acconci and Nam June Paik. Using an arsenal of analog instruments, Roladex nostalgically borrows ideas from music of the past to carefully craft a unique brand of futuristic-mechanized pop, with an emphasis on songwriting and layered production. Themes such as nuclear war, cosmology, false memories and technology as the “opiate of the masses” become apparent as the listener plays through the LP. Their debut LP is out on Mediacal Records. 

Source: Medical Records (Edit)

More about the band under the following links:
http://roladex.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/roladex
www.facebook.com/roladexmusic

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

Mad World- A Brand New Oral History of New Wave Out Now

A little bit of something to get back on our 80's track. A brand new New Wave book is out. It is entitled Mad World and it is a highly entertaining oral history that celebrates the New Wave music phenomenon of the 1980s via new interviews with 35 of the most notable artists of the period. Each chapter begins with a discussion of their most popular song but leads to stories of their history and place in the scene, ultimately painting a vivid picture of this colorful, idiosyncratic time. Mixtape suggestions, fashion sidebars, and quotes from famous contemporary admirers help fill out the fun. Participants include members of Duran Duran, New Order, The Smiths, Tears for Fears, Adam Ant, Echo and the Bunnymen, Devo, ABC, Spandau Ballet, A Flock of Seagulls, Thompson Twins, and INXS. Authors are Lori Majewski and Jonathan Bernstein with an foreword by Nick Rhodes and afterword by Moby.

 madworldbook.com

WAW: Keluar- Fractures

Good news for the fans of Linea Aspera because one half of the duo Zoè Zanias  who provided vocals has a new musical project. Not far where Linea Aspera stopped but even more complex and very rhythm orientated. What started as an exchange of material and ideas between Berlin and London gave birth to this new group entitled Keluar now based in Berlin. They released two EPs for Desire records. We're little bit late with this because our time off, but with good music, one is always on time.

      

Best of 1984 - Top 50 Singles List

The growing popularity of Michael Jackson which started in 1983 also set foot in 1984 especially after the video for "Thriller" was released. Even though the content of the video was controversial at that time, it was also groundbreaking and it revolutionized the music industry and the world of pop by breaking down the racial barriers and transforming the music video into a work of art.

Even at the other end of the Atlantic the 1983 started with a small scandal which involved Frankie Goes To Hollywood who got banned by BBC for almost a year due to the explicit lyrics in the and provocative video for their biggest hit "Relax". Despite this fact, the band managed  to have major success around the world with their debut album "Welcome to the Pleasuredome". This was also the first big success for ZTT Records and three times platinum in the UK. Towards the end of the year the Frankie Goes to Hollywood ban was slowly lifted and "Relax" was the ultimate anthem of 1984 introducing the Frankie Says Relax trend. 

With the growing popularity of MTV, in 1984 the first MTV Music Awards were given away at the  Radio City Music Hall in New York. Among the winners were Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Herbie Hancock. Madonna has not been up for awards, but manged to make prominence and shake the pop world with her performance at the VMA's. 

Just ahead of Christmas when 1984 was in the fade out, a group of musicians headed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure got together for a good cause forming Band Aid. This was a group of musicians who recorded a song to raise awareness and funds for the Ethiopian famine in 1983–1985. It included more than 40 musicians and it sold over two million copies around the globe and raised more than $24 million. 

 Towards the end of the year New Gold Dream which could easily be translated as the golden era of new Wave slowly began to vanish and became clear that the new musical term was Pop.

 The following Top 50 represents the result of the 'Best of 1984 - The Album list' from 2014 together with our in-house votes.

 

Updated: 08/2020

01. Bronski Beat- Small Town Boy 

02. Echo & The Bunnymen- The Killing Moon 

03. Talk Talk- It’s My Life 

04. Prince- When Doves Cry 

05. Billy Idol- Eyes Without a Face 

06. Cyndi Lauper- Time After Time  

07. Leonard Cohen- Dance Me to the End of Love  

08. Dead or Alive- You Spin Me Around 

09. Duran Duran- New Moon on Monday 

10. Alphaville - Big in Japan 

11. A-ha- Take on Me

12. Prince and the Revolution- Purple Rain

13. Madonna - Borderline

14. Pet Shop Boys- West End Girls '84

15. Gary Numan- Berserker

16. Siouxsie and The Banshees- Dazzle

17. Eurythmics- Here Comes the Rain Again 

18. Frankie Goes To Hollywood- Two Tribes

19. The Smiths- What Difference Does it Make  

20. The Style Council- Shout to the Top

Reissue: Soma Holiday- Shake Your Molecules

In April this year Minimal Wave released a remastered reissue of Soma Holiday‘s cult classic, "Shake Your Molecules". Soma Holiday was a Franco-American duo consisting of Jean-Marc Vallod (FR) and Jane Honicker (US), based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn back in the early 1980s. They recorded “Shake Your Molecules” along with “Too Many People” and “Art Dimension” in 1984, at Unique Studios in Manhattan. The studio was known for being the first NYC studio with MIDI capabilities. 

 This new remastered 12" edition features four tracks by Soma Holiday, the original “Shake Your Molecules” mix, the unreleased dub version and two other unreleased outtakes of “Too Many People” and “Art Dimension”, all from their 1984 studio recordings at Unique Recording Studios. Soma Holiday’s Shake Your Molecules EP is pressed on 180 gram oxblood vinyl and limited to 999 copies. Full color gloss sleeve with two sided insert featuring photograph of Soma Holiday in front of their home in Brooklyn and full liner notes with text by Jean-Marc Vallod. Release date: April 30th, 2014.

http://minimalwave.com/releases/release/shake-your-molecules