Kinetic Ideals was a Canadian new wave band from Mississauga, Ontario. They released one single and three EPs on the Mannequin record label, formed by Paul Abrahams, manager of the new romantic group Spoons. Their combination of compelling music, improved production and visual design garnered the band critical acclaim. Mike Rullman (vocals), Jean-Claude Chambers (guitars), Alan Murrell (bass) and Jon Davies (drums) found themselves opening for visiting bands including Teardrop Explodes, The Stranglers and Gang of Four.
Their final release was the EP 'A Personal View' in 1983. Pressed on white vinyl this included "Me And The Sky", "Together" and "In A Second", songs that were more contemplative and less angry than earlier exercises in tension. The band's use of the Oberheim DMX drum machine is distinctive.
This recording was produced by Brett Wickens and engineered by Greg Roberts at Grant Avenue Studios, home of Daniel Lanois and various Brian Eno recordings. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Like the albums of Ned Sublette and Laurie Anderson, this disc presents only the songs that make up part of the material for her extended and inventive performance pieces. Jill Kroesen, a performer as intense as Diamanda Galas and Lydia Lunch but more flexible, has made stage works, including a ballet The Lou and Walter Story, that reduce historical and social icons, like Alexander the Great and even The History of the World as an icon in itself, to the personal and emotional, thereby stripping away much of the pomposity and abstraction that often accompanies the cant of the historical imperative -one European fan said to her "You try to make everything so simple whereas we try to make everything complex." These songs with a beat also make use of electronic and acoustic noise, free-style brass playing, bizarre percussion and mixing, and a totally new approach to the idea of pitched/non-pitched singing. Some of the pieces are "I'm Sorry I'm Such a Weenie," "I Am Not Seeing That You Are Here," "I'm Just a Human Being" ("I'm just a human being who can hardly keep her own house clean. And I lie in bed and think how the president is just a human being and it scares me to think about the life he leads"), "Alexander the Great" ("...I want to travel all around and get lost conquering everybody's ground. And send plunder to my mother and kill my threatening brother, I'm Alexander and I'm pretty and I ain't in no hurry to get home"), and the legendary "Fay Shism Blues." [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
The 'Dub' tape (1988) turns In Aeternam Vale´s minimalism into a sonorous nightmare. It is at least the case in the first songs of the tape. There only remain shouts, a warlike rhythm´n box and no longer any sign of melody. Prot starts to use the sampling, opening his music to new horizons closer to industrial music than to techno-pop. The second part of the tape is more sophisticated, we no longer feel the punk-rock spectrum, and explores slow rhythms sometimes similar to the New Beat of the time, but still very cold, not reassuring but playful. [SOURCE: MINIMAL WAVE RECORDS]
H.N.A.S. (Hirsche Nicht Aufs Sofa) was founded by Achim P. Li Khan and Christoph Heemann in 1983. H.N.A.S.'s sound experimentation started in 1984 with a series of limited cassettes made for demonstration purpose or personal use. Their first LP release was 'Abwassermusik' in 1985 (together with german experimental band Mieses Gegonge). The group then recorded 'Melchior' with Steven Stapleton, released on the United Dairies label the following year. Subsequent H.N.A.S. releases were mainly on their own Dom label. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
Label:
Dom Elchklang – DOM EK 008, Dom Elchklang – DOM EK 007
Format:
CD, Compilation, Limited Edition
Country:
Germany
Released:
1994
Genre:
Electronic, Rock
Style:
Avantgarde, Experimental
Tracklist:
1 Nachts Träumte Er Von Enormer Lautstärke 5:49
2 Welt Der Getränke (Erste Und Zweite Studie Für Dudelsack) 9:39
3 Leckere Krapfen (Die Republik Steht Kopf) 9:37
4 Paradies Der Flotten Sünderinnen 5:04
5 Quietschend, Laut Und Ungestüm 7:00
6 Wie Ein Bock Am Michelstag 4:51
7 Im Tal Der Möhre (Einst Kommt Die Nacht - Eine Gutgeschmückte Yukka - Gib Mir Mein Poesialbum Zurück - Rock - Wer Schwimmt Da) 19:19
Ghost Dance came into being when guitarist Gary Marx left The Sisters of Mercy in 1985, having composed much of the material on their debut album, 'First and Last and Always'. He quickly recruited singer Anne-Marie Hurst from fellow goths Skeletal Family and guitarist Etch. The initial sessions consisted of odd cover versions and Sisters-inspired material, even to the point of using a drum machine, dubbed "Pandora." A few more members came and went, including ex-Red Lorry Yellow Lorry guitarist Steve Smith, before the lineup was finalized, consisting of Hurst, Marx, Etch, guitarist Richard Steel, and drummer John Grant. After a handful of singles and EPs mostly released on the U.K. indie label Karbon, Ghost Dance was signed to Chrysalis in 1988. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Label:
Karbon – KAR608T
Format:
Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, Single
Country:
UK
Released:
10 Aug 1987
Genre:
Rock
Style:
Goth Rock
Tracklist:
A1 When I Call 3:30
A2 Fools Gold 4:56
B1 Cruel Light 3:10
B2 Holding On 3:50
Notes:
Remixed versions of A1 and B1 can be found on the 'Slaughtered' compilation
Five or Six appeared at the turn of two eras of rock music when everybody was searching for new forms and new means in rock; everyone from new romantics to punks were exploring new territories and widening musical frontiers. As for the more arty musicians as the ones that organised Five or Six there was a vast fallow ground lying ahead of them. And 'A Thriving and Happy Land' is a brilliant and creatively successful endeavour to plough this field and cultivate on it new artful fruits in music. The album is delicate, inventive and innovative blend of post-punk, jazz and progressive rock. This was recorded at the end of 1981 and released in 1982. The B-side's on a thin, gorgeous line between Eno's 'Ambient 1 & 2' and what would become post-rock. That closer's a hell of a thing for 82. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]
Label:
Frizz Bee – Frizzbee 2
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album
Country:
Netherlands
Released:
1982
Genre:
Electronic, Rock
Style:
Post-Punk, Industrial, Experimental
Tracklist:
A1 Exhibit A
A2 In Construction
A3 22 Hours
A4 An Occurance At Hand
B1 Dave's Song
B2 Anchors
B3 Consider This
Notes:
Recorded in London, England and Tilburg, Holland - November/December 1981
Etat Brut is a pioneer industrial / noise band from Brussels that operated from 1979 until 1983. The duo (Phillippe x and Philippe X, today academic scientists) released a dozen of cassettes, various flyers and xeroxed booklets. Cassettes like 'Emissions 1' (1981) or 'Géométrie D'un Assassinat' (1982) were released on their own label. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]
Comprised of members Donna Savage (vocals), Biddy Leyland (keyboards), Wendy Kjestrup (guitar), Jenny Renals (bass), and Frances Gant (drums), '80s alt-rockers Dead Famous People hailed from New Zealand. The group built a following in their homeland with independent releases and eventually decided to relocate to the U.K. Despite fast-turning heads in London due to their live shows, the group split up in 1990, with Leyland and Savage embarking on solo careers. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Mesmerizing D-I-Y electronic music from Cumbria, UK. Influenced by the Berlin School but, even more, by Tim Blake. Carl Matthews is by no means immune to the maelstrom of geocaching notebooks. Krautrock, guerrilla D-I-Y cassette-era artist, underrated UK electronic composer. Man with a beard, surrounded by synths. Best of all, he was once described as the Edgar Froese of Cumbria. The Tangerine Dream legend needs no introduction here, but the Cumbrian question deserves further scrutiny. Indeed, in spite of the irresistible urge felt by many a chronicler of electronica to claim Carl Matthews for the Berlin School, this is unquestionably an artist who wrote, recorded and released music far from the madding krautrock crowd. Instead, he worked in isolation, splendid or otherwise. [SOURCE: SOUNDCLOUD]
