Reptiles At Dawn – After The Plague [2x7''] (1987, New Rose Records)

 

Released in 1987 by the French label New Rose Records, the double 7-inch 'After The Plague' captured Reptiles At Dawn at a point where the band had fully emerged from the shadow of their earlier incarnation, The Henchmen. Although the musicians were originally from New Zealand, they had relocated to Sydney in search of wider opportunities and adopted the new name after discovering that another Australian group was already using The Henchmen. The lineup revolved around vocalist Tony Collins and guitarist Anthony Norman, both veterans of Auckland's underground scene through The Henchmen and, before that, the influential proto-punk outfit Dum Dum Boys. Their sound carried those roots forward, blending raw garage rock, proto-punk and hard-edged rock with a strong debt to The Stooges and the explosive energy of early Australian bands such as The Saints. 

'After The Plague' followed the band's debut album 'Naked In The Wilderness' and the 'Zenith / Borderline Ring' single, expanding on the heavy, guitar-driven approach they had been developing since leaving New Zealand. Issued as a four-song double EP rather than a conventional single, the release reflected the band's preference for extended, uncompromising material over radio-friendly formats. The songs combined thick, distorted guitars, hypnotic rhythms and Tony Collins' forceful vocals, creating a dark, swaggering sound that sat somewhere between late-'60s Detroit rock and the more aggressive edge of 1980s underground rock. Contemporary reviews compared the band to The Stooges while also noting traces of early Australian punk, highlighting the record's relentless, hypnotic feel. 

The release also marked another step in the band's relationship with New Rose Records, a label that had become an important home for garage rock, punk, roots rock and alternative artists during the 1980s. Founded in Paris in 1980, New Rose built its reputation by issuing records from American and European underground acts alongside reissues of influential rock and punk recordings. For a New Zealand-born band operating out of Sydney, securing a deal with New Rose meant reaching a much larger European audience at a time when independent labels were creating international networks for underground music.

 
The late 1980s were a productive period for Reptiles At Dawn. After 'After The Plague', the group continued working with New Rose and travelled to Europe, eventually recording the album 'Dressed In Flesh' in Paris with French drummer Gurvan Guellec joining the lineup. The band's career took them from Auckland to Sydney, London and continental Europe, reflecting the increasingly international path followed by many independent rock bands of the era as they relied on small labels, touring and word of mouth rather than mainstream commercial exposure. 

 

Label: New Rose Records – NEW 88 

Format: 2 x Vinyl, 7", Gatefold Sleeve 

Country: France 

Released: 1987 

Style: Garage Rock, Goth Rock 

 

Tracklist: 

A Walk Along The Danger 3:32 

B Penetrate The Night 5:05 

C Repulsive Glory 4:24 

D Under My Skin 3:14 

 

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Alain Savouret – L'arbre Et Caetera [LP] (1978, INA-GRM)

There’s something quietly fascinating about 'L’arbre Et Caetera', by Alain Savouret. It’s one of those records that feels less like an “album” and more like a document from a very specific moment when sound itself was being rethought from the ground up. 

Savouret, born in 1942 in Le Mans, belongs to that generation of French composers who came up inside the orbit of experimental institutions rather than traditional bands or orchestras. He worked closely with the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM), a place where composition meant cutting tape, sculpting noise, and exploring how recorded sound could behave once freed from instruments. His work tends to sit somewhere between playful and analytical, often mixing structured forms with a kind of surreal sonic storytelling. 

This album, released in 1978 on INA-GRM, gathers pieces that were actually composed earlier in the 1970–72 period, which already tells you something: this wasn’t about chasing trends, but about archiving and circulating works created in the studio lab environment. The main piece, “L’arbre Et Caetera,” runs over 15 minutes and plays with a rondo-like structure, alternating recurring fragments with more freeform sections. What’s striking is how it uses layers of “concrete” sounds -recordings manipulated on tape-sometimes shifting between mono, stereo, and even early quadraphonic spatial ideas, which was pretty adventurous for the time. 

The label behind it deserves as much attention as the music. INA had absorbed the GRM in 1975, and soon after started putting out records under the INA-GRM imprint. These releases were never mainstream in the usual sense; they were more like dispatches from a research lab. The GRM itself goes back to the late 1940s, when Pierre Schaeffer began experimenting with recorded sound as raw material, essentially inventing musique concrète. By the time Savouret’s LP came out, the studios had evolved into a hub with custom gear, tape machines, and early electronic tools, attracting composers who treated sound like something to dissect and reassemble. 

So when you put on 'L’arbre Et Caetera', you’re not just hearing a composition, you’re hearing a slice of that whole ecosystem. The edits, the abrupt shifts, the almost tactile quality of the sounds all point back to hands-on tape work. It’s experimental, sure, but not in a cold or academic way. There’s a strange sense of humor in how fragments repeat and mutate, like objects being turned around to catch the light differently each time. 

 

Label: INA-GRM – AM 647.07 

Series: Collection GRM 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: France 

Released: 1978 

Style: Musique Concrète, Contemporary, Experimental, Electroacoustic, Modern Classical, Tape Music

 

Tracklist: 

A1 L'arbre Et Caetera 15:42 

Selon 

A2 1er Tiers-Temps Variations 1 À 6 7:00 

B1 1er Tiers-Temps Variation 7 3:00 

B2 2ème Et 3ème Tiers-Temps 18:04 

 

Notes:  

"L'arbre Et Caetera" for tape realized at studio 52 of Groupe de recherches musicales de l'ORTF.

Premiered August 2, 1972 at Cloître des Célestins during the 26th Festival d'Avignon as a tetraphonic work. 

The version of "L'arbre Et Caetera" presented here is the stereophonic reduced version. 

 

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The Tapes – On A Clear Day [LP] (1981, Disc'Az)

The Tapes were a band from Amsterdam, Netherlands, active between 1977 and 1982. Singer / guitarist Rolf Hermsen and guitarist Michiel Brandes met at the Rietveld Academy, and the group started in late 1977 with bassist Igor Roovers and drummer Dick van der Vaart. The influences came from emerging new wave bands like Talking Heads, XTC, Wire and Scritti Politti -especially with Talking Heads, with which the band was often compared. With its short and quirky songs, the debut album 'You Just Can't Sleep' (1978) was well received, and the band attracted interest from record labels, and abroad. The LP 'Party' was recorded on a larger budget, and distributed by Passport / WEA. There was a new drummer (Peter Meuris), and they work at Music Farm Studio in Baambrugge, under the direction of producer Don Willard (Beach Boys, Ron Wood, Steve Marriott). The album received good reviews in the country and abroad in 1980.

 
For this album -and the last one- producer John Leckie (XTC, Magazine, Simple Minds) was cast. The group gained identity, ceasing to be "the Dutch Talking Heads". On this record they received participations from Henk Hofstede and Michiel Peters (Nits), Dennis Duchhart (Minny Pops -who would continue to perform with the band, replacing keyboardist Huba de Graaff), and from the pop and jazz singer Mathilde Santing (all artists who achieved recognition abroad). But The Tapes did not receive financial support to pursue an international career (although the record was released in the USA), and decided to stop.

 

 

Label: Disc'Az – AZ/2 406 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: France, Benelux, US 

Released: 1981 

Style: New Wave, Post-Punk 

 

Tracklist: 

A1 Night After Night 3:45 

A2 Hot Line 2:50 

A3 Concern 2:40 

A4 Next In Line 3:50 

A5 March 2:55 

A6 Mouth Of The World 4:37 

B1 Bits And Pieces 4:08 

B2 Stella 2:26 

B3 Good Riddance 3:10 

B4 Swell 2:30 

B5 Salt Desert 3:18 

B6 Strategy 3:57 

 

Other Versions: 

'On A Clear Day' (LP, Album) WEA [WEAN 58.321] (Benelux, 1981) 

'On A Clear Day' (LP, Album) PVC Records [PVC 8907] (US, 1981) 

'On A Clear Day' (Cassette, Album, DOLBY) PVC Records [PVCC-8907] (US, 1981) 

 

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Tango Lüger – Meurtre À Casablanca [7''] (1982, F.L.V.M.)

 

Tango Lüger (French band from the Chalon-sur-Saône region) were formed by Eric Falce (guitar, vocals), Emmanuel Aigueperse (guitar, vocals), Patrick Daene (bass), Jean-Luc Taccard [aka Lucas Trouble] (keyboards, synthesizer, vocals) and Eric Grandmaison (drums). 'Meurtre à Casablanca' was released in 1980. Lucas Trouble, more commonly known as "the Kaizer", is one of the pioneers of the Post-Punk wave in France. Later played in Garage Punk bands such as Vietnam Veterans and Temple Gates.

Label: F.L.V.M. – FLVM 4544 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single 

Country: France 

Released: 1980 

Style: New Wave, Post-Punk, Coldwave, Surf Punk

 

Tracklist:

A Meurtre À Casablanca 

B Scorpio 

 

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Various – 125 Grammes De 33 1/3 Tours [LP] (1979, Oxygene)

 

Earliest French punk compilation, it's the only release for most of the artists here. In 1978/1979, punk was still quite undefined, so you get a mixed bag of pretty much everything. '125 Grammes De 33 1/3 Tours' was released by Oxygène, a Paris independent label existing 1977 to 1981. Their roster was largely rock and folk bands from the Paris and "Ile De France" region. 

 

The best tracks are the angry rock'n'roll tracks (from Ecoute Maman, Electrochoc -influenced by British punk rock but also by British Pub Rock-, La Came aux Damélias and Le Fracas). Ruth Elleryi -alias of Thierry Müller- is psychedelic post-punk/wave with female vocals; Urgence and Décharge are charmingly bad gutter/garage polka punk; Peinture Fraîche and Strychnine -from Bordeaux- are boring standard boogie rock (the latter did much better later); and A 3 Dans Les WC is weird post-punk with a very obnoxious synth line. Still a pretty fun and varied ride of some totally obscure early French punk. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]

 

Label: Oxygene – OXY 022 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Compilation 

Country: France 

Released: 1979 

Style: New Wave, Punk, Punk Rock, Hard Rock, Post-Punk

 

Tracklist:

A1 Ecoute Maman – Marcher 4:32 

A2 Electrochoc – Chaise Electrique 2:14 

A3 Ruth Ellyeri – Mescalito 3:19 

A4 Urgence – Crache Pas Sur La Table 1:32 

A5 Décharge – La Belle Ceinture De Marylou 4:56 

B1 La Came Aux Damélias – L'Emmerdeur 3:53 

B2 Peinture Fraiche – Urbains Matins 3:57 

B3 Strychnine – Suspect 3:35 

B4 Le Fracas – Nous En Avons Marre 2:00 

B5 A 3 Dans Les Wc – Contagion 4:36 

 

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Michel Chion – La Ronde [LP] (1983, INA-GRM)

 

Michel Chion was born in 1947 in Creil (France). After literary and musical studies, he began in 1970 to work for the ORTF (French Radio and Television Organization) Service De La Recherche, where he was assistant to Pierre Schaeffer at the Paris’ Conservatoire National De Musique, producer of broadcasts for the GRAM, and publications director for the INA-GRM, of which he was a member from 1971 to 1976. It was there that he met Robert Cahen, composer and video artist, and with whom he entered into a long-lasting friendship and collaboration. 

Parallel to these activities, he composed musique concrète works in the studios of the GRAM including 'Requiem' (Grand Prix Du Disque 1978) and several concrète melodramas, a dramatic form which he inaugurated in 1972 with "Le Prisonnier Du Son" ("The Prisoner of Sound") and continued with "Tu" (1977-85), "La Tentation De Saint Antoine" (1984), and "Nuit Noire" (1985). Also worthy of mention are "La Roue, Cycle Du Quotidien" (1972-85), "24 Préludes à La Vie" ("24 Preludes to Life"), "Variations and Sonate" (1989-91), "Crayonnés Ferroviaires" (1992), "Credo Mambo" (1992) -realized at Musiques & Recherches (Ohain, Belgium)-, "Gloria" (1994) … all works for which he developed original compositional techniques. 

He also works as a theoretician in a new area: the systematic study of audio-visual relationships, which he teaches at several centres (notably at Université de Paris III where he is an Associate Professor), and film schools (ESEC, Paris; DAVI, Lausanne) which has developed in a series of five books. Besides the twenty written publications translated into a dozen languages, he has also written on Pierre Henry, François Bayle, Charlie Chaplin, Jacques Tati, David Lynch, diverse subjects on music and film; he has published in French and international journals, and has contributed to numerous dictionaries and encyclopedias. He has also commenced work in film direction and production with the short film "Éponine" (Prix Jean-Vigo, prizes in Clermont-Ferrand, and in Montréal). In 1995, he began an audio-visual piece entitled "Messe De Terre" at the CICV Pierre Schaeffer in Montbéliard (France). 

After having dedicated his "Guide Des Objets Sonores" to the ideas of Schaeffer, he continued with "Le Promeneur Écoutant, Essais d’Acoulogie", (Plume, éditeur, 1993), and finally with "Musique, Médias, Technologies" (Flammarion), a theory of sound based on language. In 1991 he published, with the support of Jérôme Noetinger, "L’Art Des Sons Fixés" in which he proposes, in order to properly designate this music, the return to the term ‘musique concrète’ in its initial non-causal sense. His redefinition insists upon the effects particular to the fixation of sound, a term which he proposes in place of recording.

 

Label: INA-GRM – n° 9114 ch 

Series: Série Gramme 

Format: Vinyl, LP 

Country: France 

Released: 1983 

Style: Electroacoustic, Acousmatic Music, Musique Concrète, Sound Collage

 

Tracklist:

La Ronde (24:08) 

A1 Pensées Du Matin 1:23 

A2 Ariette 1:06 

A3 L'été 2:09 

A4 Playtime 3:15 

A5 La Vierge Folle 3:11 

A6 Les Mots 1:44 

A7 Pour Lucienne 3:42 

A8 Jardins Jadis 1:26 

A9 Prière 3:45 

A10 Pensées Du Soir 1:42 

 

A11 La Machine À Passer Le Temps 5:22 

 

On N'arrête Pas Le Regret (12:47) 

B1 Coup De Soleil Sur Un Vitrail 2:06 

B2 Cris Et Babils 4:23 

B3 Mondnacht 1:07 

B4 Ronde "Notre Dame Du Regret" 1:06 

B5 Cauchemar En Rose 3:40 

 

B6 Tu Mouvement 9 11:50 

 

Notes:

"La Ronde" suite in ten movements composed in 1982. Realized in INA-GRM studios (Summer 1982).

"La Machine à Passer Le Temps" composed in 1972. 

"On N'Arrête Pas Le Regret" composed in 1975. Commissioned by INA-GRM and realized in INA-GRM studios. 

"Tu" (9th Mouvement) composed in 1981. Commissioned by INA-GRM. With vocals by Ghedalia Tazartès. 

"Série gramme: haute précision acoustique en pochette économique" [Serie gramme: high acoustic fidelity packaged in an affordable sleeve]

Other versions: 

'La Ronde' (LP, Reissue, Stereo) INA-GRM 9114 ch (France, 1987) 

 

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Tableau Noir – Correspondances [LP] (1986, Not On Label)

'Correspondances' is the only album, self-released, by French band Tableau Noir, formed by Yasmine (backing vocals), Patrick Ambulante (bass), Thierry Cordier (guitar, vocals), Bernard Mikaélian (keyboards) and David Girardi (vocals, drum programming) and produced by Jacques Pinon and keyboardist Bernard Mikaélian. 'Correspondances' is a rare but great Minimal Synth / New-Wave concept album based on lyrics from Charles Baudelaire's "Fleurs Du Mal", sung in French in a Daniel Darc fragile and captivating vein. Music comes with some Taxi-Girl's 'Seppuku' vibes to more minimal synth tracks. A must in every synth-pop collection. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]

 

 

Label: Not On Label – BAU.86 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: France 

Released: 1986 

Style: New Wave, Synthwave, Minimal, Art Rock, Minimal Synth

 

Tracklist:

A1 Correspondances 

A2 Le Voyage 

A3 Le Reniement De St Pierre 

A4 Lesbos 

B1 L'Albatros 

B2 Sed Non Satiata 

B3 La Mort Des Amants 

B4 Le Serpent Qui Danse 

B5 Les Bijoux 

 

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Eva-Johanna Reichstag – Memorial 78/79 [Cass] (1981, Bain Total)

Since beginning in 1977, French industrial innovators Die Form have built up a staggering body of work, ranging from goth club tracks to neo-classical explorations. Lyrically and visually confrontational, the group's music, videos, performances, and art books have revolved around controversial themes such as eroticism, necrophilia, sadomasochism, and bestiality. The group was founded by audio-visual artist Phillipe Fichot, and model / vocalist Éliane P. joined during the late 1980s. Much of Die Form's material, including dozens of obscure cassettes, has appeared on Fichot's Bain Total label, but releases on labels like Metropolis and Trisol have expanded the group's audience. Die Form's earliest cassette releases, as well as recordings under pseudonyms such as Eva-Johanna Reichstag and Krylon Hertz, were noisy experiments heavily inspired by musique concrète. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]

 

 

Label: Bain Total – K. 06, Bain Total – K 06 

Format: Cassette, Album, C60 

Country: France 

Released: 1981 

Style: Industrial, Experimental, Minimal Synth, Sound Collage

 

Tracklist:

A1 Tanz 

A2 Psycho-Subversia 

A3 Zoophilic Lolita 

A4 Mein Kampf 

A5 Duck Xing 

A6 Goodbye Baby 1 

A7 Immersion 

A8 Taxi (Red) 

A9 I Love You 

A10 Intermède 1 

A11 Goodbye Baby 2 

A12 Johnny Be Bop 

A13 X.Mas 

B1 Pyromanic Tragik 2 

B2 Neue Stadt 

B3 Guitar Party 

B4 Suis-Je Si Malade ? 

B5 Cantate 

B6 Ukraine 

B7 Cristalisation 

B8 Intermède / Bis 

B9 Goodbye Baby / Bis 

B10 Week End 

B11 Traitement 

B12 She's So Heal 

B13 Last Reich (Extract) 

 

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Anechoic Chamber – Untitled [LP] (1988, Krezimikroïd)

Anechoic Chamber is a french coldwave band formed in Strasbourg, France in 1985 formed by Gabriel Di Gregorio (vocals, guitar), Syd Rey (guitar, bass, violin) and Franz (drums). They released records on Lively Art, New Rose and Krezimikroïd. This album was produced by Legendary Pink Dots members Edward Ka-Spel, credited as The Prophet Qa'sepel (tracks: A1 to A3, B3) and Phil Knight, The Silverman (tracks: A4, B1, B2).

 

 

Label: Krezimikroïd – KMP 3163 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo 

Country: France 

Released: 1988 

Style: Coldwave, Post-Punk

 

Tracklist:

Lies Side 

A1 Untitled 4:07 

A2 Song 7 4:16 

A3 Lies 4:49 

A4 Dad Is Dead 4:27 

Dream Side 

B1 Dawning Day 4:03 

B2 Hysteria 6:10 

B3 End Of A Nice Dream 4:29 

 

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Visible – Essor Assuré [7''] (1981, Hawai)

Visible was a synth-pop and minimal wave duo formed in Troyes, France, by Pascal Tritsch (Guitar, Bass, Vocals) and Yves Thibord (Keyboards), that released two 7", 'Essor Assuré' (1981) and 'Indicible Fréquence' (1982) and a 12'', 'A Fine Aim In Life' (1983) all on the Hawai label. In 1982, Yves Thibord produced the EP 'Shangaï Express' by the French band of the same name, and in 1989 he collaborated by adding effects and samplers to the rai album 'Hana Hana' by Chaba Fadela and Cheb Sahraoui. They have appeared on compilations such as 'BIPPP: French Synth-Wave 1979/85' (2006) and 'Des Jeunes Gens Modernes' (2008).

 

 

Label: Hawai – HA 01 

Format: Vinyl, 7" 

Country: France 

Released: 1981 

Style: New Wave, Synth-pop, Minimal, Minimal Wave

 

Tracklist: 

A Essor Assuré 3:18 

B Et Sort Assuré 3:15 

 

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Étant Donnés – Plutôt L'Exil Du Cinq Doré [7''] (1983, Vita Nova)

Etant Donnes is a French duo named after Marcel Duchamp's last major work. The group consists of brothers Marc and Eric Hurtado, born in Morocco and working mainly as performance artists and musicians. Their sound can be described as a mix of field recordings, found sounds and sometimes whispered, sometimes violent vocals. They describe their sounds like this: 'Through Marc and Eric, it is the volume of each word that becomes an object-sculpture, together with the power of their bodies expressing their voices. Each event is a scream -indeed even the glissando- of the strength of the word that sometimes abruptly becomes a rock, a solid surface, not in the least fluvial, as is the narrative of a tale, novel or poetic epic. With both of them, there is no more trace of ancient prosodies, no more trace of the incomprehensible Sainte-Beuve who could claim: 'I have to collect a volume of prose'. The word, the voice, the volume take shape with each other, unveiling a theater that theatre usually ignores, which has given it such things as a Samuel Beckett's "Fin de Partie". Over the years Etant Donnes have collaborated with people like Lydia Lunch, Michael Gira, Alan Vega and Genesis P-Orridge. [SOURCE: FORCED EXPOSURE]

 

 

Label: Vita Nova – Réf. 002 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM 

Country: France 

Released: 1983 

Style: Experimental 

 

Tracklist:
A Plutôt L'Exil Du Cinq Doré 

B1 Monde Et Chair 

B2 Les Fours A Chaux
 

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Orange Disaster – Something's Got To Give [7''] (1981, Vogue)

Orange Disaster was the first incarnation of The Perfect Disaster, with Phil Parfitt joined by Ken Renny (bass), and Alison Pate (guitar). This line-up released this seven-inch on French Vogue Records -an international label founded in France in 1947-, with different songs on the B-side that in the 7" 'Something's Got To Give' released 1980 in Neuter Records, Catalogue Number OD 01. After this they changed their name to The Architects of Disaster. Parfitt and Pate were then joined by Tony Pettitt (bass), Nod Wright (drums) and Paul Wright (guitar). This line-up disbanded, having released one single. Nod Wright and Tony Pettit then left to form Fields of the Nephilim with Parfitt recruiting Grant Davidson (bass) and later John Saltwell (bass), Dan Cross (guitar), and Malcolm Catto (drums). They returned in 1984 as The Perfect Disaster. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]

 

 

Label: Vogue – 101517 

Format: Vinyl, 7", Single, 45 RPM 

Country: France 

Released: 1981 

Style: New Wave, Pop Rock, Indie Rock, Post-Punk

 

Tracklist:

A Something's Got To Give 3:47 

B Keys Open Doors 5:10 

 

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PGR – Cyclone Par L'Immobile Habité [LP] (1988, Permis De Construire)

PGR started life as an industrial group in mid '80s under the Poison Gas Research moniker. Their studio was in a rough area in Oakland. To deter dubious people they affixed a sign with "Poison Gas Research" written on it at the front door. After self publishing several cassettes under this name, the group name was shortened to PGR. Kim Cascone was also ahead of the game on the whole ambient drone vibe, sometimes even with slight World music overtones. Don't let that scare you away though, as this is certainly far from room filler. With friends like Das (Big City Orchestra) and AMK (Anthony Michael King, American experimental musician who was active since the early 80s and created his own label Banned Production) on board, this early LP runs with all the above and more. Highlight would have to be the three part "Time" trilogy. In the haunting "Only Hell Burns Brighter' samples of Stravinsky's "Sacre du Printemps" are used. Very enjoyable. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC] 

 

Label: Permis De Construire – PER 011 

Format: Vinyl, LP 

Country: France 

Released: 1988 

Style: Experimental, Ambient, Drone

 

Tracklist: 

A1 An Elbow Of Crosslight 

A2 Only Hell Burns Brighter 

B1 Time 

B2 Bee Wings Beat 

B3 Alice In Wondertime 

B4 Time Reprise 

B5 For Kat Dancing 

 

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84 Flesh – Salted City / D-Section [7''] (1978, Skydog)

 

84 Flesh was a French punk band from Paris, previously known as 1984 and formed by Henry Flesh, Frederick Goddard and Pierre Goddard. Both tracks on this single were compiled on KBD, and shows an angry, hard-hitting and dirty 70s punk rockers. The A-side is faster, the B-side is more melodic, but both are good. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC] 

 

Label: Skydog – SGH 15 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, Single 

Country: France 

Released: 1978 

Style: Punk, Punk Rock

 

Tracklist: 

A Salted City 2:40 

B D-Section 2:20 

 

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Various – Vita Nova International [Cass] (1984, Vita Nova)

Vita Nova was a French Industrial / Experimental / Electronic label of the 80's that issued this compilation in 1984, comprising artists such Savage Republic, Étant Donnés, Nurse With Wound, Bruno Cossano, Deviation Social, Die Tödliche Doris, Victor Nubla and Angst. 

 

Hailing from the Los Angeles underground of the 1980s, Savage Republic forged an astonishing reputation for themselves with their legendary performances. Their brand of ritualistically tribal exhibitions blurred the boundaries of Post-Punk and Industrial music. Their music incorporates minimalist bass rumbles, exotic and/or militaristic drumming, Arabic melodies, primal chants and even a bit of surf guitar. 

 

Étant Donnés is an experimental/industrial duo formed in Grenoble in 1980 by brothers Eric Hurtado (born in 1959) and Marc Hurtado (born in 1962), who were originally from Rabat, Morocco. Étant Donnés have collaborated with with Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Alan Vega, Michael Gira, Mark Cunningham, Lydia Lunch and Christophe. 

 

Nurse With Wound, often stylised as NWW, is a British experimental music project, formed in 1978 by Steven Stapleton, John Fothergill and Heman Pathak. In 1979 Heman left the group, and in 1981 it effectively became a solo project of Steven Stapleton, with a variety of assisting musicians over the years. Focusing on aesthetic ideas and philosophies that began with the Surrealist movement, Stapleton has referred to the project as a contemporary extension of Surrealism and the project has been referred to as 'purveyors of sinister whimsy to the wretched.' 

 

Deviation Social was a multi-media Industrial/Experimental 'group' that was active from 1981-1986. Monte Cazazza was an unofficial member, assisting in the two San Francisco performances. 

 

Die Tödliche Doris ("The Lethal Doris"; a pun on "tödliche Dosis" meaning lethal dose) was a performance art and music group based in West Berlin from 1980 to 1987. Founded by band members Wolfgang Müller (born 1957) and Nikolaus Utermöhlen (1958–1996) and later joined by Käthe Kruse (born 1958), Chris Dreier, Dagmar Dimitroff, and Tabea Blumenschein, the group was known for their anarchic performances and constantly changing sound, willfully attempting to move away from notions of organised music into something akin to what the Deconstructionist philosophical movement had done with writing and text. After band member Wolfgang Müller published the book "Geniale Dilletanten" ("Ingenious Dilletantes", mind the dilettante spelling) for the MERVE publishing house, which focused on French and German postmodernist/post-structuralist philosophy, critics began to apply that title to the band (along with similar artists like Frieder Butzmann, Einstürzende Neubauten, and Malaria!). 

 

Victor Nubla (Barcelona, 28 de julio de 1956-Ib., 31 de marzo de 2020) was one of the original members of the laboratory group MACROMASSA, founded in 1976, experimenting with electronic modifications of the wind instruments and voice through the advanced or unknown ways of rock, jazz, industrial music, noise or minimal. More than 40 recordings and hundreds of concerts are the product of those years. His solo work started in 1980, founding the Laboratorio de Musica Desconocida ("Unknown Music Laboratory") and working in improvisation, electronic experiments, soundscape, installations and music for cinema, video, theatre and contemporary dance. Wrote the book "La Nueva Música, Del Industrial al Tecno-Pop" with the alias of Adolfo Marín, published in 1984 by Editorial Teorema.

Angst is Erik Vloeberghs, a Belgian artist (lyrics, synthesizer) who was active in several nihilistic experimental music bands in the 80's. His writings have been extensively published in Force Mental, a magazine published by Club Moral (an Antwerp venue where numerous exhibitions, performances, concerts, lectures and film-shows were organised. Also linked with the noise band Club Moral) and which deals with 'excesses of all kinds'. He continues to work as a civil servant, responsible for the website and digital newsletter of the Belgian National Institute of Statistics. 

 

Label: Vita Nova – VN 003 

Format: Cassette, Compilation 

Country: France 

Released: 1984 

Style: Abstract, Industrial, Experimental, Noise

 

Tracklist:

A1 Savage Republic – Assembly Of The Dead 

A2 Étant Donnés – Le Sens Positif 

A3 Nurse With Wound – Cottonwood Hill 

A4 Bruno Cossano – Le Grand Supplice 

B1 Deviation Social – We Declare War 

B2 Die Tödliche Doris – 1 Kästchen - 1 Schnürchen 

B3 Victor Nubla – Tequila Mariachi 

B4 Victor Nubla – Confidencia 

B5 Victor Nubla – Tormenta 

B6 Victor Nubla – Musica Para Un Bar (2) 

B7 Angst – De Wereld Zinkt In De Afval 

B8 Angst – De Nieuwe Pastoor 

 

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Die Form / Asmus Tietchens – Face To Face Vol. 1 [LP] (1988, Odd Size)

Die Form is the primary project of the French electronic musician and multimedia artist Philippe Fichot. He began his own record label, Bain Total, in 1977 and began recording a number of experimental cassette releases as Die Form, starting with 'Die Form 1' in 1977, with the first Die Form vinyl release ('Die Puppe') appearing in 1982. Whilst the project was still in its infancy, the underlying concepts were still evident -a combination of esoteric electronic experiments with an underlying theme of erotism, death and other 'taboo' subjects, apparent in both the music and the album artwork, which Philippe also produces.

 
Active since the mid-'60s, synthesizer experimentalist and musique concrète producer Asmus Tietchens has been a major influence on several generations of avant-garde electronic musicians and sound artists. Heavily inspired by Karlheinz Stockhausen, he has pursued "absolute music" through rigid formal exercises. His music is often harsh, alien, and abstract, but he's also recorded several albums of strangely playful material, including a handful of early-'80s Sky Records releases as well as later works as Hematic Sunsets. In addition to releasing over 100 recordings (including collaborations with Merzbow, Vidna Obmana, and Thomas Köner), Tietchens has taught acoustics at Hamburg universities since 1990, and he has written liner notes for dozens of albums released by the Bureau B label, particularly reissues of Cluster-related albums. 

 
In this 'Face To Face Vol. 1' Die Form's piece is an erratic, yet nicely structured piece of experimental electronic. Tietchens offers up a reliably industrial, ambient piece worthy of his better output. The album was released in 1988 in Odd Size, a French label specialising in experimental and industrial music, run by Laurent Perrier from his Paris Record shop from 1987 to 1997. [SOURCES: WIKIPEDIA - ALLMUSIC - RATE YOUR MUSIC] 

 

 

Label: Odd Size – OS 04 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Limited Edition 

Country: France 

Released: 1988 

Style: Electro, Ambient, Industrial, Dark Ambient

 

Tracklist:

Animal Instinct (Total Version) 

A1 Die Form – Untitled 

A2 Die Form – Untitled 

A3 Die Form – Untitled 

A4 Die Form – Untitled 

Mysterien Des Hafens 

B1 Asmus Tietchens – Bubendey Notturno 

B2 Asmus Tietchens – Ritual Auf Der Halde 

 

Notes:

Die Form: Recorded at B.T.D.F. Studio. Direct recording to master from samplers and micro composers. 

Le morceau intégral a été exécuté par l'action F/29, au Rex Club à Paris, sur le film Animal Instinct, qui depuis a été coupé et remonté en plusieurs unités. 

Asmus Tietchens: Aufgenommen in den Audiplex Studios, Hamburg. Limited 

Edition of 500. 

 

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Un Département – Un Département [12''] (1981, Un Département Production)

 

Un Département was a French Minimal Wave and Experimental Rock trio formed in 1980 in Orléans and disbanded in 1985. Members were Marcel Kanche (saxophone, vocals), Phil Gaz (bass, drums, guitar, and keyboards) and Bruno Tollard. They released one 7” and one 12” 1981, one tape in 1984 and one LP in 1985 (‘Le Album’). After Un Département disbanded Marcel Kanche was in various punk bands that allowed him share stage with, among others, Les Rita Mitsouko, Pere Ubu, Alan Vega or The Cure. 

 

Label: Un Département Production – 028 101 

Format: Vinyl, 12" 

Country: France 

Released: 1981 

Style: Experimental, Minimal, Minimal Wave

 

Tracklist:

A1 Marie Galante 

A2 Marguerite Mendoza 

A3 Elisabeth Stresa 

B1 Sonia Lowhen 

B2 Lys Zunmia 

B3 Magalie Nolang 

 

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Jeanne Folly, J.L Hennig, VXZ 375, Hektor Zazou, Bazooka – La Perversita [LP] (1979, Invisible Records, S.C.O.P.A)

 

Born of a French father and Spanish mother in pre-independence Algeria, Hector Zazou first recorded in the mid-'70s under the name ZNR, as one half of a duo with Joseph Racaille. This early work is light but engaging French chamber jazz, lyrical and quirky, with Zazou playing keyboards and violin. The music has long since lost any radical edge, and the sparse instrumentation gives most of the pieces more the sound of musical sketches than fully realized compositions, but in ZNR, Zazou begins to demonstrate his interest in unusual instrumental timbres and colors, as well as his eclectic musical imagination. Throughout the rest of the 1970s and into the early '80s, Zazou's musical efforts (whatever they might have been), are not represented by any readily available recordings, but some experiments in musical erotica were conducted under the name 'La Perversita', a rare great LP with artwork made by Kiki Picasso, and a production of the famous Bazooka group, a French, Paris based (punk) artists collective formed by Kiki Picasso, Loulou Picasso, Lulu Larsen, Olivia Clavel, Jean Rouzaud, Bernard Vidal and also Philippe Bailly, active during late 70s and early 80s. They collaborated with French newspaper Libération and other magazines like Actuel. They also edited their own magazine "Le Regard Moderne" and several others. 

 

In this release Hector Zazou collaborates with journalist and writers Jeanne Folly, J.L. Henning, and VXZ 375 (Bruno Taravant). This album is post-punk that's very, very sparse when it's not all atonal and chaotic, treading into legit minimalism territory on tracks like the eleven and a half minute "I Love You S..." (which at times sounds so similar to what would become post-rock that it's eerie) while still managing to have a slight-but-noticeable funk/groove angle. Both cover tracks, "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Satisfaction", are completely deranged nonsense, Henry Kaiser shows up outta nowhere to do two minutes of No Wave guitar splutterings for "On Dine", and "La Soupeuse" is an eleven minute "this is clearly French" rewrite of Iggy Pop's "Mass Production", but with even less interest in melody and a steady backbone of guitar feedback and hypnotic drumming. It's a mess, but it's one of them wildly intriguing messes that definitely worth a listen. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC] 

 

Label: Invisible Records – SCOPA 10 005, S.C.O.P.A. – SCOPA 10 005 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: France 

Released: 1979
Style: Experimental, New Wave, Leftfield, Minimal Techno, Minimal Wave, No Wave

 

Tracklist:

Face Pile 

A1 Strawberry Fields For Ever 3:49 

A2 5'... Et Quelque De Bonheur... 5:43 

A3 I Love You S... 11:54 

Face Face 

B1 Satisfaction 2:29 

B2 Para Bokassa 4:16 

B3 On Dine 1:55 

B4 La Soupeuse 10:33 

B5 Untitled 0:26 

 

Notes:

Including the revue called PERVERS n°1 by Bazooka (two black and white posters: 58 x 27,5 cm, with artworks, texts, and a select from the lyrics printed on both sides, generally each poster is folded into four 29 x 29cm squares) 

Track B5 is not listed on the cover or label; it contains a brief reprise snippet from "Satisfaction". 

 

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