Android:

A couple months ago I shared the wonderful analog electronic masterpiece "In Tune With Tomorrow" by the Los Angeles robo-trio Android. Here is their debut 7", self-released in 1981, a year before their album. This contains two very different versions of songs from their album. While the LP features very well-produced and almost lush electro-wave sounds, the 7" versions are completely stripped-down versions.

Minimal synth fans will freak out at the version of Ahead of Your Time here, with its stop-start tinny drum programs, bare-bones electronics, and vocodered vocals. It is an absolute lo-fi masterpiece, even better than the LP version. I'd love to find out if these guys ever released anything else. They seemed to have dreams of becoming big Futurist heroes (especially on their LP), but they completely disappeared, leaving precious few copies of their records for minimal synth nerds to salivate over. Big thanks to Christian, who also provided the Kozmonaut LP, for this rip!

Android: A 21st Century Band 7"

1981, AMP Productions

A: Ahead of Your Time

B: Images

Listen to both here!

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

THE SHRIEK: Sex Sells EP

Here is a bit of an oddball record. It is the only release by Canadian electropunk band The Shriek, which was a duo consisting of Blair Petrie and Ben Gaylie, who later collaborated on a very underrated electropop/experimental album that you can find on Mutant Sounds. Before they delved into the realm of pure electronics, though, this duo made some very harsh, lo-fi, amateurish music as The Shriek... It starts out with the two most punk songs I have ever posted to this blog, All Fucked Up and Fuck Up. Judging by the names, you can guess how they sound, as well as their maturity level. But they are both great songs, and things get more artsy with "1980", a one-chord art punk spazout that sounds like Wire channeling NYC no wave. Side two is where the synths go into overtime, with "Lost Control", an amazing electro-punk song that reminds me of one of my all-time favorite bands, Lost Sounds. Kids is like a one-chord Wire song. The most bizarre song is Intermission, a sprawling electronic song that shifts from synths and vocoder to repetitive droney chanting from the point-of-view of aliens. And from the 2:35 point, you'd swear you were listening to a Transparent Illusion song (with loads of vocal effects, though). Overall, this is a very recommended record. I wasn't too impressed at first, but it slowly grew on me, especially side two. If there was ever a Canadian version of the Messthetics comps, this duo would be on it!

The Shriek: Sex Sells EP
1980, Rude Records
A1 - All Fucked Up
A2 - Fuck Up
A3 - 1980
B1 - Lost Control
B2 - Kids
B3 - Intermission

Click here to download this EP!

POPSONG'S FACTORY 7"

Here is an obscure 7" from a Japanese band called Popsong's Factory. Not much is known about this record. I've seen it mentioned that it was released in 1981, but I have no proof that it actually was (no date anywhere on the record oof sleeves...) Both songs use synths and drum machines. Side A is an electropop song very much in the vein of the early Drinking Electricity singles (except sung in Japanese). Side B is a tripped-out minimal wave song with a simple, repetitive drumbeat, synth noises, dark-sounding sax melodies, and absolute vocoder overload. It takes a few listens to appreciate, but it's such a great art-damaged track that soon becomes endearing.

Here's the info:

Popsong's Factory
198?, Pillbox Records (PX 100000000)
A: My Pops
B: D'Ameja

Click here to download it.