Formed in Lytham, Lancashire, Divert Off Centre were the self-styled pioneers of alternative dance beat. The band was associated with the "Blackpool Rox" scene of the early eighties, however, their camped up performances and overblown lyrics set them apart from their punky/oi contemporaries.
Released a picture flexi disc in the spring of 1982 followed by the inclusion of one song on the Lightbeat Records' compilation, 'A Drop In The Ocean'.
After a couple of years of inactivity Divert Off Centre evolved into The October Group, moved to Amsterdam in '86 and put out a 12" single, '(first)' aka 'Colours'. "Colours" was favourably reviewed in the NME who described it as, "Compelling for it's subversive undertones." Although the band split up a year later their songs have turned up on the Messthetics compilations, and continue to receive airplay on alternative radio shows both in Europe and The States. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]
Nord is a Japanese noise project, originally formed in 1979 by Satoshi Katayama and Hiroshi Oikawa. This lineup released a self-titled LP on Pinakotheca in 1980. The duo split in 1983 and both members continued to use the name Nord. The group's name was derived from Louis-Ferdinand Céline's 1960 novel "Nord".Oikawa put out several releases on his L∴S∴D∴ Records, but didn't play live. He ceased activities in the late 80s.
'L∴S∴D∴' was issued in a limited edition of 200 copies. The ambiguity of the cover (is it "LSD" by Nord or "Nord" by LSD?) had a profound effect on Japanoise. A young Masonna purchased this album thinking it was a German psych rock band called LSD, so you can imagine that the shock of expecting a traditional album only added to the profound effect it would have on him. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label: L∴S∴D∴ Records – LSDL-01
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Limited Edition
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Style: Noise, Industrial, Drone
Tracklist:
A1 序曲
- Jokyoku (Overture)
A2 L S D
B1 L S D
B2 ザ・ゴースト・サウンズ
- Za Gōsuto Saunzu (The Ghost Sounds)
Funk / Post Punk band formed in 1985 in Athens, Greece. After the band Berlin 45 split, its members went on to form Moist Device and Black Balloon. Members of Moist Device participated also in Libido Blume, Χωρίς Περιδέραιο (Horis Peridereo), Venericna Bolest and Γενιά Του Χάους (Genia Tou Haous).
On 22 and 23/10/1984 they performed live at Hima Club (Athens) along with Femmes Fatales and Anti Troppau Council. Members: Giannis Kostovasilis (guitar, vocals), Giorgos Pipinis (bass, vocals), Giorgos Drakopoulos (keyboards), Tasos Katsaris (saxophone) and Stefanos Larentzakis (drums).
Landscape of Sound was an American post-punk / synth-pop band formed
in Los Angeles by Adam Elesh (guitar, keyboards), Brett Smith (bass) and Jessie Rodriguez (vocals). They only realeased this single before splitting.
Adam Elesh and Brett Smith formed Drowning Pool afterwards, an avant-rock ensemble that released extraordinary collections of eccentric songs: the double album 'Satori' (Nate Starkman and Son, 1987), the EP 'Nierika' (Viva Records, 1988) and the album 'Aphonia' (Nate Starkman and Son, 1989). Their music straddled the line between new wave, psychedelia, world-music, ambient and industrial. They changed name to Mumbles in 1990 and released the album 'Two Clouds' on Viva Records out of Italy.
In 1996 original vocalist Andrew Crane released the album 'Sustenance' under the name Acorn and fellow Drowning Pool members Adam Elesh and Brett Smith appeared on various tracks as guest musicians.
In 2011 Adam and Brett Smith formed a new project called KinderCrowdControl and released the album 'Selah' on Bruce Licher's Independent Project Records label.
Gifted with a rhythm section that sounded like a garbage truck's exhaust backfiring and a guitarist who rarely felt the need to play chords, Australia's King Snake Roost played the kind of noise rock that let them easily fit into the roster of Amphetamine Reptile Records. They also confirmed Australia as a hotbed of blues-punk -yes, the influence of the blues can easily be discerned beneath all the garbage truck backfiring and dearth of guitar chords, and their vocalist did his best Delta-blues-scorched-black growl. Can't really claim these guys as some unjustly obscure geniuses; after all, their path had already been pretty well-trod before them (question: is Nick Cave an Australian "national hero" like Springsteen is in the States? Just wondering). Still, when you want some down n' dirty, defiantly art-free noise rock, they're a damn fine cup o' disease. Inspirational lyric (from "Trogman's Buried"): "He showed my mom his circumcision scars / Then he drowned in his own blood." [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label: Aberrant Records – 1THING
Format:
Vinyl, LP
Country: Australia
Released: Jan 25, 1989
Style: Alternative Rock, Noise, Noise Rock, Punk Blues, Grunge
Jonestown was an American noise rock band from Minneapolis originally consisting of Dan Gannon, Eric Miklasevics, Geoffrey Trelstad, Joe Trelstad and Tom Greenwood. They released one album and several singles in the early 90's.
John Peel played a track from their debut single, 'Genetics For Your Future', on his radio programme in the spring of 1990. He would play further material from the group until 1992 on his radio programmes and mentioned on his 15 July 1991 (Radio Bremen) show that he would love to see the band perform. [SOURCE: JOHN PEEL WIKI]
Label: Skidmark Records – none
Format:
Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM
Country: US
Released: 1990
Style: Alternative Rock, Punk, Indie Rock, Noise Rock
The Instant Automatons were leading figures in the largely cassette-based U.K. Bad Music scene (a British DIY movement whose adherents made their music available on cassette, for free) of the late '70s. Between 1977 and 1982 , using a bedroom full of homemade gear plus some conventional instrumentation, core members Protag (later of Alternative TV, Blyth Power and Zounds) and Mark Lancaster (“somewhere between Cooper Clarke and Mark E. Smith”) forged a warped hybrid of traditional songcraft and lo-fi primitive post punk. Although cassettes were the band's native medium, they also appeared on several vinyl releases, including their own EP and various compilations featuring similar weirdos.
The Instant Automatons mixed the experimental and the conventional, with relatively traditional song structures often lurking beneath the surface weirdness -unlike some of their post-punk contemporaries who deconstructed the concept of "the song" itself. Again, Lancaster attributes some of this to practical considerations: "We were only just learning to play our instruments and our equipment was deficient, so even our best efforts to play 'properly' sometimes turned out quite bizarre." The band was never short of skewed rock and pop oddities. [SOURCE: BFE RECORDS BANDCAMP]
Hit Parade was basically a one man anarchist band, the brainchild of P. Checkoff (aka Rik O’che) a member of the Anarchist Collective in Belfast. Being a left-wing socialist Checkoff’s songs were highly political by nature and concentrated on life in Northern Ireland. Subject matter ranged from the evils of television to H Blocks; the RUC to housing problems, and of course unemployment. “I wanted to make people aware that there’s more than a tribal sectarian war here, there are a lot of problems. It’s a multi-problematic place" stated Checkoff shortly after the release of the 'Nick Nack Paddy Wack' album in 1986.
Unsurprisingly, Hit Parade signed to the Crass label. Hit Parade produced electronic music made up of samples, loops and noises and were helped out in the studio by the likes of Eve Libertine, Penny Rimbaud, Jane Gregory and Flux Of Pink Indians and a host of other musicians, Checkoff said at the time “All the structure of the songs is done by me here in Belfast. But when I go into the studio in London it becomes more of a collected effort with different people putting in ideas.” The first release was the 'Bad News' EP in ‘83. This was followed by the 'Plastic Culture' 12” single in ‘84 and finally by the 'Nick Nack Paddy Wack' album. The album was recorded in ‘84 but due to the financial crisis Crass were in at that time, it wasn’t released until ‘86. Penny Rimbaud and Paul Ellis produced the album.
Upon the release of the E.P. 'Bad News', an electro-rap rant on such evils as television, H Blocks, the RUC and so on the Crass label in 1982, copies were seized by Special Branch at retail outlets, along with everything else on the Crass independent label, it managed to reach No.4 in the independent charts.
Before the album was released, Channel 4 produced and screened a TV documentary on the health of women in Northern Ireland. The documentary was called "Under The Health Surface" and the programmes soundtrack featured the music of Hit Parade, which can be found on the 'Nick Nack' LP in slightly different forms. [SOURCE: SPIT RECORDS]
Games were a pioneering three-piece synth-pop outfit, formed in 1980 and consisting of Brendan Coyle (synthesisers, percussion, vocals), Colin Hughes (synthesisers, percussion, organ, vocals) and Steve Knott (synthesisers, guitar, vocals), from Wirral, UK. The same year, they self-released their first 7" single 'Childsplay' followed by a contribution of the two tracks "Unrest In The Real World" and "The Song" to the 'Street To Street Volume Two' LP compilation on Liverpool's Open Eye Records in 1981. Then the band fell apart with Steve moving on under the Games moniker including new band members. Their 7" single 'Dance This Way/Love Canal' still saw its release in 1981. Brendan and Colin moved on as Zephyr In The Swamp, Brendan also played in Some Detergents, and Colin in Sense Of Vision.
Games were truly ahead of their time and quite unique in that they played credible well-crafted pop songs in a purely electronic style. They did not ride the wave of synth-pop, they were the early creators. The stories of the band waiting outside Hessy’s famous music store in Liverpool waiting for their orders of the Roland SH-09 to be delivered, emphasised that they were the zealots of the synthesiser phenomenon which was to change pop music forever.
Looking back their commitment enthusiasm and industry was truly remarkable. Ironically the songs were not dry and mechanical. The crude monophonic synths and very early Dr. Rhythm drum machine were used creatively to produce memorable, dramatic and emotional pop songs. Games truly were visionaries and pioneers. They never got the credit they deserved because they were not in the right place at the right time and lacked the contacts good management could have provided.
This single was recorded at Open Eye Studio, Liverpool in 1981 and released the same year. The tracks were recorded by Dave Hutchman and Steve Knott on a Studer A80 8-track machine. Wayne Hussey played guitar; Brian Rawling played drums; Dave Hutchman played trumpet on "Love Canal"; and Steve Knott played synthesisers, sang, and wrote the songs (published by BMG-Chrysalis). The tracks were produced and mixed by the band, and the single was mastered by Tim Young at CBS in London. The label graphic and typesetting were done by Alex Plain and the sleeve graphic was drawn by Steve Knott (based on dance notation). The Games logo is based on the Omni typeface. The track "Love Canal" is an edited version, the full version contains an extra verse (unreleased). [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
Label: Open Eye Records – OE 007
Format:
Vinyl, 7"
Country: UK
Released: 1982
Style: New Wave, Synth-pop, Minimal, Minimal Wave, Minimal Synth
The first Faith No More demo, released under the stylized name of 'Faith. No More.'. The A-side features a recording of their first concert on October 11th of 1983 at On Broadway in San Francisco, California. The B-side features the first song that the band ever wrote and recorded after Mike Morris, vocalist and guitarist in Faith. No Man., was out of the picture. The songs featured on the A-side were written after the song featured on the B-side. This demo tape is believed to be limited to about 200 copies, though an exact amount is unknown as the copies were photocopied and dubbed by the band as needed. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
Label: Not On Label (Faith No More Self-released) – none
Format:
Cassette
Country: US
Released: 1983
Style: Alternative Rock, New Wave, Post-Punk
Tracklist:
A1 Intro 2:10
A2 The Jungle 3:07
A3 Why Do You Bother? 5:01
A4 FST 5:53
A5 Spirit 4:51
B New Love, Same Neuroses; New Hairstyles, Same Minds 20:51