Cerebral Hemorrhage: Back in 1984 EP

       Astonishingly and inexplicably, this is a record that has flown under the radar of pretty much every minimal synth collector out there - aside from a popsike entry from a few years ago and a couple other mentions of its existence, info on this record is nonexistant. At a recent record fair, the dealer selling this 12" saw me looking it up on discogs on my phone, and told me "unfortunatly that won't help - I made that entry". And since his copy was sealed, he hadn't even been able to hear it firsthand.
Still, it had the signature of an interesting record:
Cool band name (Cerebral Hemorrhage)
Promising title (Back in 1984)
Great label name (Illusion Records)
Intriguing song titles (Let's Modulate, Night Music)
And a strange icon of a stoic face with the caption "Big Brother is watching YOU"
       How could anyone resist that? I certainly couldn't - and when I put the needle on the record and heard 20 seconds of tinny drum machine plink-plonks before falling into a steady stream of pulsating synths, I was immensely satisfied. Through a bit of research I pieced together a few potentially-incorrect factoids about the record and band. It was ostensibly a one-man project by a guy named Dennis Hurley. This record was the third put out under the Cerebral Hemorrhage moniker. Two preceeding albums - an EP from 1981 and a double-LP from 1983 - appear to be almost as scarce than this one. (there might be a fourth record that came out around the same time as Back in 1984 too, but I'm not sure) However, whereas those records apparently incorporated lots of guitar and sound more like Hawkwind-style prog, there is nary a guitar to be found on this record, which appears to be re-recorded all-synth versions of songs from the earlier records.
       The two sides of the record are different animals - the second side is largely ambient and instrumental, and much more experimental. It comes across as highly influenced by Cluster and other 70s-era Krautrock bands. They're good songs, and they have interesting titles, but are not nearly as sonically wonderful as the A-side.
       The two tracks on the first side of the record pack a great one-two punch of electronics and lyrics of Cold War fear. After a minute and a half of synths and drums, the vocals suddenly kick in, singing about 1984's (the year, not the book) alternate history, in which after Reagan's re-election the US descended into nuclear war with the Soviets. The lyrics repeat "where were you?" at the moment world was annihilated. It's a great track that ends with a gurgle of synths before being interrupted by a nuclear explosion, and suddenly the second track begins. Where the first track asked "where were you?" at the world's end, the second track is a repetitive litany of memories from before the destruction: "there were buildings / there were faces / there were cities / there were towers / there was sunlight"... you get the gist. Both tracks are absolutely great for synth nerds, coming across like a crossbreed of League of Nations-ish minimal synth and the bedroom lonerisms of John Bender or Kevin Lazar.
       If anyone has Cerebral Hemorrhage's previous two records  I would love to hear them. Even if they're more prog-rock, I'm interested in seeing the progression toward this undiscovered minimal synth gem. I'd be surprised if this one doesn't end up on quite a few wantlists in the coming years. If anything, this one proves that there are still some diamonds out there - maybe they're just hidden in plain white sleeves with minimal information.

Cerebral Hemorrhage: Back in 1984 12"
1984, Illusion Records
Tracks:
A1 Back In 1984
A2 I Remember
B1 Let's Modulate
B2 The Chilly Dance
B3 Night Music

Click here to listen!

Julie Jumper: Rhythm Radar 7"

Here is a 7” from 1982 that’s ostensibly a one-woman vanity project by a Richmond, VA based girl named Julie Jumper. I think the best way to describe it is “outsider electro”. On the A side, Rhythm Radar, she sings in a super-poppy 60s girl-group style over gurgling, pulsating, screeching, and beeping electronics. It’s endearingly amateur, and also quite subversive in its earworm-like catchiness, especially as she exclaims “no-one wants to vegetate so GYRATE! GYRATE!”. If you’ve ever wanted to hear, I don’t know... Liaisons Dangereuses fronted by Cyndi Lauper, this is probably the closest you’re ever going to get.

The B side, Male Rites, is a decidedly feminist argument for stronger male roles in sex and reproductive responsibility. If I heard this on the radio or on a podcast, I would just assume it was a Le Tigre or Chicks on Speed song from about 10 years ago. The song is certainly a bit snotty (in a punk sort of way) and quite clever in its adamant political stance. It alternates between noodling electronics and full-on synthpop when the intermittent rhythm machine kicks in. My copy has a weird “haze” sort of defect on it that causes crackling on the B side. I cleaned it up a bit, but it’s still present, mainly at the beginning.

After she released this 7”, Julie went on to form a similar group called O.Boy with two other girls (two rhythm boxes, a synth, and vocals), who are still quite legendary in the local Richmond scene. While they recorded some tracks together, I don’t know if they ever actually released anything. I'd be interested if anyone has any info or songs from them, though.

Julie Jumper: Rhythm Radar 7”

1982, Restless Records

A: Rhythm Radar

B: Male Rites

Click here to listen!

Vono: Dinner Fur 2 LP

This album takes a love-it-or-hate-it approach to synth music. It is basically the essence of "minimal synth". Two Germans - one on vocals and one behind a Jupiter 8 - released this record on the verneable Sky label in 1982. It's certainly one of the oddest releases on a label more known for its progressive and cosmic Krautrock output. The often arhythmic music is as cold as it is sparse. It sometimes sounds like the duo's first time every playing with a synthesizer as they hit different keys wondering "what does THIS do?"

And yet, in Vono's cave of ice, in which everything is synthesized and tuned to the key of bleep, there is often beauty. Short melodies and instrumental refrains often poke up from the austerity, even if the vocals sound like they're about to detach from the songs and fall off the face of the earth. Songs like Mauertanz 1, Tief Im Dschungel, and the all-too-brief Bitte Wenden could almost be described as "pretty".

A few songs fall into actual structures. Lover Werner and the aforementioned Tief Im Dschungel have many wonderful pop elements. Mit Mir Zum Siege sounds very much like a stripped-down Liaisons Dangereuses song. the first comparisons I drew when listening to this album were to NDW bands like Der Plan and Die Todliche Doris. But this record manages to be less goofy and more focused than either of those bands. It still sounds influenced by those (and several other) NDW groups, but is also redolent of early Kraftwerk or the late Klaus Schultz. The record's minimal and cold nature give it an air of sterility, but its amatuerishness and experimentation give it a human element that endears it more than many of the band's contemporaries.

Vono: Dinner Fur 2 LP

1982, Sky Records

A1 Dinner Für 2

A2 Tanzstunde

A3 Im Schein Des Neon

A4 Lottozahlen

A5 Lover Werner

A6 Mit Mir Zum Siege

A7 Mauertanz 1

A8 Bitte Wenden

B1 Tief Im Dschungel

B2 Hirnregister

B3 Der Zauberer

B4 Nimm Alles Mit

B5 Leben In Irland

B6 Mauertanz 2

B7 Hitze

Click here to listen!

Modern Science: S/T 7”

I vaguely remember hearing a couple of these songs streaming online a while ago, but until now I have never seen it ripped for download. So when I found a cheap copy recently, I decided to remedy that. First of all, despite the cool and slightly creepy cover image, this is not a darkwave or goth record. It is pure, unapologetic synthpop. It uses 100% analog electronics, with simple drum machines and stabs and washes of synths. Before they were Modern Science, the band was known as The Odds, who apparently released a synthpunk single. I’d be interested in hearing that…

This record is definitely catchy as hell. I’m Not in Love is my favorite; it’s a straightforward two-minute synthpop burst. No One’s On the Street Tonight decent, although it has a somewhat ill-advised synth solo that betrays its nearly 30-year vintage.

If there was ever a minimal synth version of cheesy 80s movie montage music, Got to Be 1^st would be it. Try listening to it and NOT envisioning a lost John Hughes movie in which a young, wimpy John Cusack runs laps and works out with unrelenting determination in an effort to win the heart of a girl who’s in love with the school track team champion (who’s a complete jackass to Cusack, of course).

Modern Science 7”

1982, S&M Records

A1.		I'm Not In Love	2:03
A2.		No One's On The Street Tonight	2:45
B		Gotta Be 1st Click here to listen!

ANDROID: In Tune With Tomorrow LP

Do you remember those 50s movies that took place in the future, with pod cars, cylindrical buildings, and jet packs everywhere? In retrospect, those films seem quaint and silly, but at the time I'm sure their directors thought they were visionary. Well, Android is the muscial equivalent of that sci-fi glimpse of the not-too-distant future. With shaved heads, surrounded by synthesizers and knobs and keys and pads, with vocoders galore, this band looks and sounds like they want to be Kraftwerk circa 2125. There are songs about the future, songs about space, and even songs about the comfort that a synthesizer provides.
The record was pressed on clear blue vinyl, with a blue silkscreened poster insert and blue, white, and silver artwork. the entire presentation is an amazing and beautifully made homage to a stripped-down, monochromatic, otherworldly, robotic future. They self-released this in 1982 on their Alternative Music Productions label.
Judging by the photos on the back and on the insert, it appears that they set up a custom-made room somewhere (Los Angeles, presumably) to play their shows. I also wager to guess that this record was only sold at those shows. Of course, I could be wrong, and would love to hear from anyone in the bend or who saw the band!
The music, of course, is key on any blog dedicateed to old obscure records. Yes, it gets cheesy. VERY cheesy, in a lo-fi vocodered Tangerine Dream-meets coldwave sort of style that has not aged particularly well. But when the band gets it right, they create some beautiful 100% synthetic masterpieces, such as the beautiful, dreamlike My Love Is Like a Shooting Star, the tinny electro of Standing in the Line of Fire, or the cold futurist bliss of my personal favorite, Perpetual Motion. I uploaded this many years ago to a new wave bulletin board and it still seems to be completely unknown... Hopefully this post will rectify that.

Click here to download this record!

Android: In Tune With Tomorrow LP
1982, AMP Records
A1 Luminary
A2 Images
A3 Sometimes My Love is Like a Shooting Star
A4 Standing in the Line of Fire
A5 ThemeSong
B1 Ahead of Your Time
B2 Listen to the Sky
B3 Perpetual motion
B4 exerpt from Tentative Conclusion
B5 ElectroSynphonia

KOZMONAUT: Flieg LP

I like mysteries and secrets. I love finding an obscure record and then finding out as much as I can about it. The Eleven Pond / Pond / Red Violet trifecta (with their shared members and similar sounds) is a perfect example of a mysterious puzzle unfolding and being solved through research, tips, phone calls, and emails. Finding the frontman of Short Wave Mystery five years ago with only the first names on the back of the record cover was another high achievement in my hobby as a musical gumshoe. I would apply to become a record detective, but I don't think that job exists.
Sometimes, though, I'll discover a record that piuques my curiosity... and which completely frustrates me with its utter lack of information. Here is one such record, forwarded to me by Josh from Dark Entries (whose friend found it in a thrift store). I don't often share records I don't own, but I'm making an exception here.
This is a self-released LP, ostensibly from a German band in 1986. Ahhh, if only it was that easy. Josh's friend is German, and pointed out all the misspellings (most noticeably where it says "side swei" (even I know it's "zwei"!). OK, that's... interesting. So what? Well, there is also no GEMA copyright on the record or sleeve (although since it is DIY with silkscreened sleeves, who knows if one would have been necessary). After a bit of sleuthing myself, I located this record on an archive of US copyrights. So, perhaps this is a US-based band masquerading as a Germans? Moreover, this was found in a bin full of San Francisco new wave records - perhaps this record was released in my very own backyard, under my nose and the collective noses of the entire Bay Area?
Or are we just completely deluded in our suspicions about this release - after all, there are plenty of Americans who can't spell, so why can't there be poor-spelling Krauts? It's questions like these that drive me to find out more, more, MORE! Of course, there are no inserts. There are no personnel credits (not even on the sleeves). So, I'm sharing this record because A) it is an excellent album that's a cross between synthpop, experimental electronics, industrial, and darkwave, and B) perhaps somebody, somewhere can shed some light on this obscure, unknown release.

UPDATE:
It's been solved already, by the very person who found this in the thrift store!

He looked further into the US copyright site at http://cocatalog.loc.gov.

He found a tape release from the band, which credits "Hans Schiller".

"I looked for Hans Schiller on Discogs - he's behind all the Kode IV stuff (industrial music).
Now check out the artwork of their first self released cassette: You see the exact same lines and airplanes, and the black & white font. The lines that I thought resembled a swastika are actually the number "4". Duhhhhh. Well, the bad news is that Hans Schiller died in 1994 according to the Discogs website. His partner's name is "Peter Ziegelmeier" (another German name). It looks like he runs "Ceiba Records" on Haight Street, which I am not familar with. I guess he'd be the one to talk to... Definitely Bay Area!!!"

So, I tip my hat to a record detective who is better than I. Great work, and maybe next time I pass Cieba Records on the way up to Amoeba, I'll bug Peter Ziegelmeier!

Kozmonaut: Fleig LP
1986, Vier Productions
A1 The Mann (English Version)
A2 Flieg
A3 Tidal Meditation
B1 Die Stimme Aus Dem Universum
B2 Arabisch Nacht
B3 Einer Kleiner Walzer
B4 Lieben Ist
B5 Parademarsch

Click here to download this LP!

Help us solve this mystery!

Can't you take a hint?

Several years ago, Mutant Sounds posted the excellent electro-pop/minimal synth compilation Subtle Hints In the past few years, with the growing popularity of this genre, this LP has gone more-or-less under the radar. It's time for it to be rediscovered. Every song is electronic-based. There are several classics on this album, from the dark synthpop of the ridiculously named Squid Diddly to the experimental electronics of Art Interface to the charming lo-fi synthpop of the wonderfully-named New Vices for the Jaded to the darkwave of My Pierrot Dolls. Download this if you don't yet have it. Enjoy.

Barbi and the Kens: Mini LP

This is perhaps the first and only 7" to be called a "mini LP". This is the only release by Barbi and the Kens (aside from another 7" with only two of the four songs found here). It was
released on Bobby Orlando's "O" Records. The record starts with an irreverent new wave number, Pay My Bills, followed by the bratty, punky Uptown Downtown Cruising. More similar quirky new wave starts off side two with Just a Gigolo. These three songs sound like a mix of early B-52s and Blondie - weird, silly, fun, and highly infectious, with male and female vocals. The final song, Steppin Stone (yes, a cover of the song made famous by The Monkees), is pure danceable minimalist electronic bliss - totally repetitive (think DAF or Robert Gorl, but less industrial and more electro), with thumping synthesized drums and basslines, and completely monotone female vocals. To me, it is the standout track (but even without that song, this 7" is quite solid!).

Barbi & the Kens: Mini-LP

1980, "O" Records

A1 Pay My Bills

A2 Uptown Downtown Cruising

B1 Just A Gigolo

B2 I´m Not Your Stepping Stone

Download the record here!

GT MODELL: Selftitled mLP

I can't believe it, but it's been 2 years and 100 posts since I first started this blog. How time flies and life changes! But at least music remains constant. This week, I have 3 very different records, starting with this one: the selftitled mini-LP from Dutch minimal synth duo GT Modell. Not a lot of info can be found about these guys, not the least reason for which is because they only go by "G" and "T". Both members sang and played synths and rhythmbox, as well as handclaps and razorblades (?). This sometimes veers into sort of poppy territory, but overally it's quite good. Side one is studio recordings, and side two are all live songs (but excellent soundboard quality). I don't think these guys ever released anything else.

GT Modell: Selftitled mLP
1983, Modulation Records
A1 - We Won't Let You Down
A2 - A Name
B1 - Turn On The Lights
B2 - Children Of The Future
B3 - We Are The Pioneers
B4 - Don't Close Your Eyes

Click here to download this mLP!

Fred A & Le Travo: Works 1 mLP

This record is actually sort of a request by my girlfriend, who is unfortunately several hundred miles away for another month. I told her that I found this LP over the past weekend, and I ripped it after she said she was very interested in hearing it. I normally don't mix my private life with my public blog, but I figured that since she can't possibly be the only one who will enjoy this excellent album, I would share it!
Without further delay, let me introduce this record - it is a pretty rare split mini-LP from two wonderful Belgian bands, Fred A and Le Travo. It was released in 1984 on the Himalaya label (the same label as the Noh Mask LP I posted earlier in the year), and is one of the more obscure releases on the label. Fred A is very dark minimal wave with synths, sparse drum machines, piano, and somber singing. It actually reminds me quite a bit of the Esquisses LP that Phoenix Hairpins shared several years back. Fred is better known as Fred Angst, one of the two core members of minimalist/postpunk/avant garde band Aroma Di Amore. As good as Fred A is, Le Travo are the stars here, though - they contribute some amazing synth-heavy coldwave songs similar to Weimar Gesang or Opera Multi Steel. This is one of the only two or three records they made an appearance on. This is highly recommended - download this one immediately (you have my permission even if you're NOT my girlfriend)!

Fred A & Le Travo: Works 1 mLP
1984, Himalaya Records
A1 Fred A - De Donkere Dans (4:16)
A2 Fred A - November (4:30)
A3 Fred A. - Blauw Blauw (4:00)
B1 Lè Travo - Caterwaul (4:57)
B2 Lè Travo - Glow Of Gnome (5:13)
B3 Lè Travo - Chiaroscuro (2:45)


Click here to download this record!

GLOBAL INFANTILISTS: Selftitled LP

Global INtantilists were a goth/new wave band from Sweden that only released two records in their brief life. This selftitled album is their debut. One of the primary members was Mare Kandre, a writer who ultimately decided to dissolve this band in 1984 to concentrate on her literary craft. At 22, she released her first book, I ett annat land, which resulted in her being hailed as a genius; she would release several more books, many influenced by gothic fiction. Sadly, she died at age 43; it is largely believed to be suicide.
This group is where Kandre honed her writing - the lyrics are dark and gloomy, and the vocals are full of melodramatic shrieks and cries, sounding like Siouxsie Sioux if she was a drama geek. Apparently the band's second album is more straight-ahead synthpop, but this album is the perfect mix of doom and gloom and guitars and artiness and synths. This is the UK Abstract Records release, which had an extra track that the original issue did not have.

Global Infantalists: Selftitled LP
1983, Abstract Records
A1 This Music
A2 Passing
A3 Leaving
A4 Remain Untouched
B1 Crystal Ship
B2 An Inch Of Nothing
B3 The Flight
B4 The Garden

Click here to download this album!

Paul Nova: Trees Without Leaves LP, Fantasy & Feeling 12", Julie Ann 7"

Since it's been a while since I posted, and since this may be my only post for June, I'll include a nice "bonus" upload here. I think that a lot of people are very curious about this mysterious UK solo act, after seeing his stuff fetch hundreds on eBay. I know I was, and finally got these songs from a very generous member of minimal-wave.org. As one-half of the underground synth duo Bizarre Unit, Paul Nova was making minimal electro-pop for his entire short career. His later singles (especially Fantasy and Feeling) had a more commercial synthpop sound, but were still excellent releases. This is basically his entire discography (he had a 7" with Famous Boys/Trees Without Leaves, but both those songs appear on his LP.) If anybody has the Bizarre Unit stuff to share, I would be very happy!

Paul Nova: Julie Ann 7"
1982, Echibit One Records
A Julie-Ann
B Video Age

Paul Nova: Trees Without Leaves LP
1984, Exhibit One Records
A1 Lovers In Paris
A2 You Could Be Good
A3 Home Sweet Home
A4 Trees Without Leaves
B1 You Are
B2 Famous Boys
B3 Love You Madly
B4 Broken Rose

Paul Nova: Fantasy and Feeling 12" EP
1985, Exhibit One Records
A1 Fantasy
A2 Letter Of Love
B1 The Feeling
B2 Summer Breeze

Download everything here!

RIP SCHREDDER'S TECHNO PRIMITIVISM 7"

If you like your synths pushed to the very brink of sounding like they are going to fall apart, here is a treat for you. A guy from Florida by the name of Rip Schredder's recorded this 7" called "Techno Primitivism" in extremely small quantities. He also had Milo from the punk band Gay Cowboys in Bondage do backup vocals. The name of this record doesn't lie: This is truly primitive. It's not exactly "techno" as we know it (I don't even think that term was really used in the manner it is today, anyway) - it's pure noisy analog synth banging, knob twiddling, tinny synth percussion, and angsty talk-singing. This record is so amateur it makes Transparent Illusion sound like a night at the opera...

Rip Schredder's Techno Primitivism 7"
198?, self-released
A: Gut Reagan
B: Information Nightmare

Click here to download this 7"!

VARIOUS ARTISTS: Nuit Blanche LP + ASHES: Saturn is Black 7"

I suppose that most people are familiar with this excellent compilation, Nuit Blanche. The LP features groups likie Diseno Corbusier (whose debut EP Perfido Encanto I shared last year)., Design (who also had a track on the Topless Game comp and a 7" on Anna Logue Records... the track here has yet to be reissued), The Ashes (who also had a 7" on KPs Records, the label that released Topless Game and Nuit Blanche), and unknown bands like the excellent Paris-Brule-T-Il?. This is a highly sought-after and very recommended LP with loads of killer songs. Most of the songs are in the synthpop/minimal wave/post punk vein, although there is a suprisingly pleasant classical guitar instrumental to end the record.

Also shared here is the aforementioned Ashes "Saturn is Black" 7", about which I can find absolutely no mention on the internet. It was released in 1984 on KPs Records... does anybody know if this label released anything else?

Various Artists: Nuit Blanche LP
1984, KPs Records

A1 Design Sunset Boulevard
A2 Halloween (2) Tomorrow
A3 Ashes, The Delay
A4 Chrome 17 Etcetera
A5 Diseño Corbusier Chiquillo
B1 Faits Divers This Is A Romance
B2 Duty Free (2) Burning Passion
B3 Paris-Brule-T-Il? La Logeuse
B4 Croth Daily News
B5 Central Park (5) Anas De Lin

Click here to download the record!


Ashes: Saturn is Black 7"
1984, KPs Records

A1 Saturn is Black
B1 Run Away of Love

Click here to download the 7".

Perfect Vision: Tongues Out mLP

Okay, I just want to say this right away: If anyone has anything else from Perfect Vision (especially their demo tape release), I would be eternally grateful if you would share it. Now that that's out of the way, I just want to give a quick intro to this UK band. They were one of the many excellent bands on the Backs label (Venus in Furs, Testcard F, Gee Mr Tracy, Gothic Girls, etc). They played bouncy, somewhat dark electro - in my mind, a perfect mix of electronics and guitar-based post punk. Some of these songs are truly ahead of their time, and this record has aged better than 99% of records from the mid-80s. Hole in the Soul is a great danceable guitar-based track, and the next song Scratch & Howl comes out of the gates with an immediate electro beat that gets darker and darker. THe throbbing electronic "Engines" should please the minimal synth fans, and "Kick" has one hell of a great danceable synth line... Just download this one already!

Perfect Vision: Tongues Out mLP

1985, Backs Records

Tracks:

A1 Hole In The Soul

A2 Scratch & Howl

A3 Engines

B1 Kick

B2 Impossible Blue

B3 Damnation

B4 ...Like Engines

Click here to download this mLP!

Various Artists: Second Strike LP

By request from a couple people, here is the rare "Second Strike" LP from Turnabout Tapes. True to its name, this was mainly a tape label, but they released a couple records, including this rarity. It's the follow-up to a tape called The First Strike, which was the first release the label put out. This record was released in 1988 and limited to 867 copies (because 868 copies would have been simply too many). The music ranges from experimental to new wave, electronic, minimal wave, and industrial. The Oltre La Morte and Gundel tracks are my favorite songs here. This is very much in the vein of records that get posted to the Mutant Sounds blog, so if you're a fan of the music they share, you should appreciate this too.

Various Artists: Second Strike LP
1988, Turnabout Tapes

A1 Children Hospital Research Foundation - High Altitude Low Opening (Methodith Epithcopal God Damned Ith)
A2 Spalanzanis Töchter - Ass-ass-in
A3 Oltre La Morte - Aria Azure
A4 Seventh Day - New Wave 4'30
A5 Dino Oon - Grutinas' Ricecake
A6 Eiterschlangen - Ulmer Höh'
B1 Konrad Kraft - Don't Walk On The 5th Avenue It Could Be A Hamburger
B2 Work-Shy Brothers - In The Eye Of A Hurricane
B3 Gundel - Warum Ein Herz Zerbricht
B4 Phase Pervers - Hingabe (Janina T.)
B5 Alimentaire S.A. - Daily Dependence
B6 Temps Perdu? - Seele Spricht
B7 Spalanzanis Töchter - Ihr Kopf

Click here to download this record!

Sky's Above: Only I 12"

Here is an obscure and rare 12" from a Danish band called Sky's Above. I acquired this in a trade several years ago and forgot I had it until recently. There are two synthpop/minimal wave songs here. Both are very melodic, although brevity was obviously not this band's strong point, as each song is 8+ minutes. Still, I suppose you get your money's worth that way.

Sky's Above: Only I 12"
1985, Not Just for Dancing Records

1. Only I
2. Heart Touch

Click here to download the record!

Evening in Torpor LP

Here is the only LP released by the minimal synth band Evening in Torpor. It was released in 1988 but was actually recorded in 1981 by several college students, including Matalie Merchant and Rob Buck from 10,000 Maniacs. Don't let that sway you from checking this album out - it actually has some truly excellent minimal electronic and new wave songs on it! Because I'm lazy, I'm just going to paste the Wikipedia entry:

"Evening in Torpor was a student-project that Natalie Merchant and Rob Buck from the band 10,000 Maniacs were involved with around the time that 10,000 Maniacs was beginning. All of the songs were written by Albert Garzon. Natalie contributed vocals to "Daffodils," "Mother's Family Ring," "Crumble Down," and "Bathroom Tile Dance," while Rob contributed guitar to "Rectangles," "Daffodils," "Mother's Family Ring," The Playground," Crumble Down," and "Bathroom Tile Dance." The other tracks on the album ("les Cendriers" and "Defense Rap Trip") included no future Maniacs. The song "les Cendriers," which translates from French as "ashtrays" is the only reference to the name of the makeshift band.

The record was released by Community 3, or simply Comm3, in 1988 and taken off the market under a paid agreement with 10,000 Maniacs."

Evening In Torpor LP, 1988, Comm3 Records
Tracks:

1. "Rectangles"
2. "Daffodils"
3. "les Cendriers"
4. "Mother's Family Ring"
5. "The Playground"
6. "Crumble Down"
7. "Defense Rap Trip"
8. "Bathroom Tile Dance"

Download the album here!

Gregory Jones & Roy Sablosky: No Imagination LP

Here is a rare LP from Roy Sablosky and the late Gregory Jones. Hailing from San Francisco, Gregory Jones was a producer and underground electronic music pioneer in the early 80s. He was the producer (and essentially the fourth member) of SF EBM/electro band Infant Bonds of Joy, whose sole LP I previously posted here. This LP is a collaboration of Jones and another musician named Roy Sablosky, about whom I know nothing. The music here is pure experimental electronic noise. It was released in 1980 on Vinyl Records (creative, no?); the only other release on that label that I know of was the Standard of Living mLP.

Gregory Jones & Roy Sablosky - No Imagination LP
1980, Vinyl Records

A1		No Moon No Mirror
A2		Intro (Summer Names)
B1		Diverted To Frankfurt (For Twelve Pulse Generators)
B2		Forced

Click here to download the record!

Foreign Legion: Indefinites LP

If you're like me, you scour the blogs of obscure, undiscovered music in hopes of finding a new treasure to listen to or put on your wantlist. I don't know if this one will quite be your "new favorite", but it's certainly one of those undiscovered, hopelessly obscure minimal electronic records. Released in 1984 on "Aqua Records", this contains bass, noises, effects, sax, and a whole slew of electronics. The sax brings some of the songs into jazz territory, but the processed drums and synths and cold vocals should combine well enough to please fans of minimal wave. The closest thing I can think of to compare this to would be the "Hmm..." LP by Friz Be. There are several standout tracks for me: "Who's To Say" comes somewhat close to League of Nations-esque electronics, "Who Were They" combines lots of live and syntheized percussion with some excellent synth lines, and "Suddenly Know" combines analog synth noises with a truly bizarre but somehow catchy-as-hell big band/swing sax line. No joke. Just download and listen for yourself.

Foreign Legion: Indefinites LP
1984, Aqua Records
1. Who's To Say
2. What Do You Want?
3. Suddenly Know
4. No Pictures, No Regrets
5. Who Were They?
6. Why Don't You?
7. Whatever Happens
8. Everyone Who Loves You
9. Trains

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