WAQ – Mira Por Donde [12''] (1983, MR)

Waq is one of the forgotten bands of the early 80s, formed in Madrid in 1981 by Miguel Bañuelos (vocals and synthesizers) and Antonio González (guitar, bass, drum machine and vocals). They have been labeled as naif synth-pop, making simple songs with ingenious texts backed with good bases of keyboard and guitars. 

 

In the middle of 1981 Miguel convinces his friend Antonio González to start the band, rehearsing that summer songs like "La Monja", "Smoking Rosa", and "Osa Mayor". On March 1982 they give their first show in Rock-Ola and on the following month they register their first demo in RNE. On June 1982 they recorded the videoclip of '"Ladrones de Juguetes", their most celebrated song, in the TVE show "Pista Libre". The next day Paco Martín, boss of the record label MR, called them to record his first EP.  

 

Antonio is called to the military service, so Miguel asks Guillermo Caso to take care of the guitars. On August they recorded 'Las Cebollas' on Doublewtronics. Miguel is also called to serve the country and in a permit (February 1983) they recorded "Toros Blancos" for a compilation, and another EP, 'Mira Por Donde'. [SOURCE: GRUPOS NACIONALES NUEVA OLA 80]

 

 

Label: MR – MF-600838 

Format: Vinyl, 12" 

Country: Spain 

Released: 1983 

Style: Synth-pop, Minimal 

 

Tracklist:

A1 S. I. 4:33 

A2 Nudo En La Garganta 2:41 

B1 Triturado 2:37 

B2 Lazibones Atravesando El Océano 2:31 

 

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Vagina Dentata Organ – Cold Meat [LP] (1986, WSNS)

 

Vagina Dentata Organ is an art and noise music project by Jordi Valls. Valls is from Catalonia in Spain and cites the influence of the surrealists, especially Salvador Dali on his work. His albums could be classed as especially bleak field recordings, dealing with subject matter such as sex, death, violence, etc. Valls work is also concerned with the fetishism of art in general and record collecting particularly, with his records being pressed in very small numbers. Vagina Dentata Organ have provoked outrage on a number of occasions, firstly with the release of infamous recordings of the last few hours of the Peoples Temple in Jonestown, Guyana. VDO's performance in 1984 on Spanish TV programme "La Edad de Oro" caused a public outcry as it included the destruction of three paintings. A video documentary on the first 3 VDO albums was made by Julian Alvarez and won first prize in the 26th Semana de Cinema in Barcelona. In 1997 Arts and culture magazine "Life Without Sex" dedicated a whole issue to Vagina Dentata Organ. More recently Jordi Valls has concentrated on paintings rather than recording, producing a large number of portraits of supermodels with his own blood. The 'Cold Meat' LP (WSNS 004 33) consists of processed recordings of human orgasms.  

 

Jordi Valls has collaborated with industrial music groups Throbbing Gristle (who he organised an early show for in Barcelona), Psychic TV (starring in their video for "Catalan" which was directed by Derek Jarman) and Whitehouse (performing spoken word duties on their "Psychopathia Sexualis" album). [SOURCE: LAST.FM]

 

 

Label: WSNS – WSNS 004 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Limited Edition, Picture Disc 

Country: UK 

Released: 1986 

Style: Experimental, Musique Concrète

 

Tracklist:

Sex Star I 

A1 Untitled 9:48 

A2 Untitled 7:52 

Sex Star II 

B1 Untitled 4:32 

B2 Untitled 10:53 

 

Notes:

Artwork includes autopsy photos of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. 

Limited edition of 1000 copies pressed. 

 

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UJ3RK5 – UJ3RK5 [12''] (1980, Quintessence Records)

UJ3RK5 (pronounced "you jerk," -the five is silent) was a Vancouver-based band from the late 1970s. Their style was post punk/new wave, but was more art rock than synth pop. UJ3RK5's short-lived local success was influenced by the music industry's infatuation with Martha and the Muffins-styled male-female bands. The band included local artist celebrities Ian Wallace, Jeff Wall and Rodney Graham, as well as Kitty Byrne, Colin Griffiths, Danice McLeod, Frank Ramirez and CBC Radio host David Wisdom. Their eponymous debut album, portraying the pioneers of Vancouver's school of so-called 'photoconceptualism' or 'post-conceptual photography' in a rare moment of unison, sported an unlikely hit single titled "Eisenhower and the Hippies" -a song inspired by a work of American conceptual art proponent Dan Graham. The band was a rather short-lived affair, allowing the members to concentrate on their art careers instead. 

 

 

Label: Quintessence Records – QEP 1207 

Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, EP 

Country: Canada 

Released: 1980 

Style: New Wave, Synth Punk, Post-Punk, Art Punk, Zolo

 

Tracklist:

A1 The Anglican 

A2 The Locator 

B1 Eisenhower & The Hippies 

B2 Booty Dread 

 

Notes:

First pressing on Quintessence Records. 

Reissued in 1980 by Polydor Canada (PEP 301)

 

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Tändstickorshocks – Allan Vogelan Hebban Nestas [7''] (1980, King Kong Records)

 

Tändstickorshocks were a part of the "Red Rock" collective, formed in the Netherlands by four bands: Rondos, Rode Wig, Sovjets and Tändstickorshocks. They did gigs together and shared their equipment and the place where they practice. Rode Wig and Sovjets never released material. 

 

All the tracks of Tändstickorshocks are short, depending on the lyrics and information given sometimes a few seconds. Their style was supposed to be punk, but being fed up with punks who only wanted to jump, destroy and being entertained, their style became more influenced by artists such as Punishment Of Luxury, Lydia Lunch, Teenage Jesus And The Jerks and The Pop Group. Also to irritate the punks who were called Discopunks. But it was mainly because of their inability to play the instruments. [SOURCE: BACTERIA] 

 

 

Label: King Kong Records – 5 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 33 ⅓ RPM, 45 RPM 

Country: Netherlands 

Released: Apr 15, 1980 

Style: Punk, Post-Punk, No Wave

 

Tracklist:

Allan Vogalan Hebban Nestas (45rpm Side) 5:04 

A1 To Hell With Shell 

A2 Religion Part I 

A3 Kill For Peace 

A4 Tradition 

A5 Religion Part II 

A6 School Army Working Dying 

VI Taenkar Anderledes (33rpm Side) 6:30 

B1 Crisis 

B2 VI Taenkar Anderledes 

B3 T Rights 

B4 Song For A Guy 

B5 (Interlude) 

B6 It Stinks 

B7 The Wall 

 

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The Snipers – Three Peace Suite [7''] (1981, Crass Records)

The Snipers formed in late 1979 in Oxfordshire. The band compromised of Russel Bowers on vocals, Dave 'Bungi' Hounslow on guitar, Steve 'Wacker' Harris on bass and Mark Taplin on drums. They were inspired by Crass to start a band, even though none of them could play and none of them had any equipment (what they did find was crap, such as a Colombus bass, homemade guitar, half a drum set and a 15 watt practice amp). They were going to originaly be called The Sinyx, but changed it to The Snipers upon finding out that it had already been taked. Early practices were done at Russel's parents garage.

 
It took at least ten months of writing songs and practicing before they played their first gig at a Christmas party in the Victory Hut, a community centre from Brize Norton (a leftover hut from World War II). The Snipers then recorded their first demo in Bourten, Gloucestershire possible around 1980. They shared it with their friends and sent one to Crass. Crass pulled their track "War Song" for 'Bullshit Detector 1'. A second demo was recorded, three of those tracks ended up on their 1981 7" 'Three Peace Suite' for Crass Records, and the other three on a compilation they were to release later on during 1982. 

 
On 'Three Peace Suite' one can tell The Snipers weren't going for The Exploited / GBH crowd with this single; more avant-garde than punk, the opening track is a slow-building industrial-esque experiment with spoken lyrics while the other two are a little more conventional though still highly abstract, with "3 Piece" playing a jangly indie-ish guitar. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC] 

 

 

Label: Crass Records – 321984/4 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 45 RPM, EP 

Country: UK 

Released: Dec 1981 

Style: Punk, Anarcho-Punk, Post-Punk

 

Tracklist:

A The Parents Of God 

B1 3. Piece 

B2 Nothing New 

 

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Red Transistor – Not Bite / We're Not Crazy [7''] (1990, Ecstatic Peace!)

 

The assaultive New York trio Red Transistor were comprised of guitarist Rudolph Grey, drummer Mark Edmands and VON LMO (in his pre-Strazar days) on guitar, vocals, shortwave and organ. In existence from September 1977 until the following August, they performed at CBGB’s and then spent a period performing Sunday nights at Max’s Kansas City. They were an original blast of shattering, repetitive guitar with unswerving drumming that drove down the centre as the whole shebang was forced over the wall by LMO’s second guitar and/or various electronic accompaniments. 

"We're Not Crazy" is a loud and noisy torrent of punk dishevelment with a hurricane of guitar and over-tracked "organ", which is a series of  louded-out computer-type noises chirping in and out and on top of everything, and the title of the song shouted/screamed until the end as if trying to convince someone otherwise. 

 

"Not Bite" is more thrashing-around punk-noise -but beware of the non-stop repetition of the one-note downstroke guitar and asylum-screamed 'NOT BITE!' by at least two members howling straight through. This will either open up a big grin on your face and have you break down the walls of your own psyche in order to scream along, or you'll get really, really... REALLY angry and dismiss it from knowledge. 

 

This beautiful and extravagant piece of noise-history was recorded in December 1977 at Sorceror Sound, NYC. Originally due to be released in 1978, but shelved due to break-up of the band only a year after its inception. VON LMO went on to record under his own name. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]

 

 

Label: Ecstatic Peace! – E# 7 

Format: Vinyl, 7", 33 ⅓ RPM 

Country: US 

Released: 1990 

Style: Noise, Punk, No Wave, Noise Rock, Post-Punk, Art Punk

 

Tracklist:

A Not Bite 

B We're Not Crazy 

 

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Pink Military – Blood & Lipstick [12''] (1979, Eric's)

 

When Big in Japan disbanded Pink Military Stand Alone were formed around the nuclei of Jayne Casey and Nicky Hillon (Nicky Cool). They recorded the EP 'Buddha Waking Disney Sleeping' under that name, then settled on Pink Military. In the early 1980s the moniker was changed to Pink Industry when Jayne stopped working with Nicky Hillon. The first two tracks of this EP, "Spellbound" and "Blood & Lipstick" work the more dance-oriented side of the Post-Punk aisle. Both sport Krautrock-style grooves topped with gritty angular guitars a la Gang Of Four and are great underground/post-punk club fodder. The last two tracks "Clown Town" and "I Cry" remove the grooves and lean more to the darker experimental sounds of This Heat or Tuxedomoon. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]

 

 

Label: Eric's – ERICS 002, Eric's – Eric's 002 

Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM 

Country: UK 

Released: 1979 

Style: New Wave, Experimental, Post-Punk, Dance-Punk, Synth-pop, Art Punk

 

Tracklist:

A1 Spellbound 

A2 Blood & Lipstick 

B1 Clown Town 

B2 I Cry 

 

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One Plus Two – Once In A Blue Moon [LP] (1986, Homestead Records)

In the early 80's Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was a hotbed of indie pop DIY. One Plus Two was a direct outgrowth of that spirit. They appeared on MTVs Cutting Edge and opened for most of the memorable bands of the era. Most recently included on the Captured Tracks compilation 'Strum and Thrum'. 'Once In A Blue Moon' is more than a decent college radio jangle pop along the lines of early R.E.M. and its progeny. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]

 

 

Label: Homestead Records – HMS050 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: US 

Released: 1986 

Style: Country Rock, Folk, Indie Rock, Jangle Pop, Indie Pop

 

Tracklist:

A1 Late Last Night 

A2 Everything's Alright 

A3 Darkness 

A4 Hey Little Girl 

A5 You Can't Run 

B1 Can't Go Back 

B2 Heaven Up There 

B3 Letters 

B4 Midnight Train 

B5 You'll Be Thinking 

 

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