Saturday, January 24, 2009

Tuxedomoon - divine (1982)



Tuxedomoon's soundtrack to Maurice Bejart's ballet
Divine is even more ambitious and austere than previous releases. Basically herein Tuxedomoon invented a new form of futurism, one that worships the machine but also draws heavily on past classicism. Or to put it another way, the numerous classical and traditional references in Divine almost hang in suspended animation, ready to be manipulated by these industrial new-wave elitists.

Check how "Grand Hotel" is a European traditional string-dance based on an electronic vocal loop, or "Ninotchka"'s constant movement between the strings/ vocals (borrowing from Russian folklore) and electronics, the romantic psychological soundscapes of "Queen Christina" and "Camille", the slow-motion tension of "Mata Hari", and the feverish hallucinations of "Anna Christie" and "Freudlose Gasse".

Get it here.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Bush Tetras - rituals (1981)



Bush Tetras concocted one of the most groovy sounds of the new-wave era, and Rituals is probably their peak. Theoretically originating from the no-wave movement (Pat Place was a guitarist in the Contortions), Bush Tetras have actually more to do with punk-funksters Α Certain Ratio and Gang Οf Four.

The hyperactive bass and airy percussion/ guitar in "You Can't be Funky" underlines a superb groove and tight melody; the remix "Funky" displays brass and synthesizers; "Cowboys in Africa" is an excellent fusion of punk, blues and funk, while "Rituals" adds psychedelia and dark-punk to the recipe.

It's just a shame that the Bush Tetras never got to release a full album back then. Get it here.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Prolapse - backsaturday (1995)



Backsaturday
was another impressive entry in the Prolapse discography. "Mein Minefield, Mine Landmine" introduced their angular kraut/ post-punk, which was enhanced with a glittering pop sheen and tempo-changes in "TCR". The eight-minute bass/ drums/ atmospherics cylinder-engine "Framen Fr. Cesar" hinted at a more subtle menace, but went into overdrive in "Every Night I'm Mentally Crucified", only for "Zen Nun Deb" to rise like a ghostly entity. The frenzied ethnic-folk dance "Irritating Radiator" reverted to a frenetic groove, but Linda Steelyard and Mick Derrick saved their most impressive vocal partnership for the fifteen-minute tour-de-force of "Flex": Steelyard's dream-pop lushness crossed spectacularly with Derrick's obsessive drunken rant, in a roller-coaster ride of a song.

Get it here.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Kommunity FK - the vision and the voice (1983)



Kommunity FK presented a magma of death-rock, punk, garage and heavy-metal in The Vision And The Voice, as typified in "Restrictions". The recipe was able to establish several chemical bonds, like the claustrophobic, droning dark-punk buzz of "Bullets", or the suffocating environment created by the frenetic beat and ambient-effects in "Incompatible Disposition". At times their sound is even flirting with the intensity of hardcore ("Fuck The Kommunity"), achieving an almost symphonic, anthemic quality in "To Blame", or a cold-wave paralysis in "No Fear", and finally a call-to-arms in the gurgling gothic-garage "We Will Not Fall".

Get it here.