Pop & Rock News

Essential recordings by this minimal synth master of our age. Deluxe re-issue edition of Martial Canterel's debut album from 2004. Originally released on cassette only, now on vinyl for the first time.

With the staccato surge and somber vocalizing of DAF, the distorted synthetic soundscapes of Dirk Ivens' eeriest work, and the industrial strength of The Young Gods, Martial Canterel's earliest outings are a bleak intellectual exercise in the dark and danceable. His music creates a cold atmosphere, and has an ominous melancholy feel to it. The emotional, and sometimes dark feel of the album is everything electronic new wave music should be. it's futuristic, robotic, and at the same time, nostalgic.

In 2002 Sean McBride began performing at bars, clubs and private parties in Brooklyn, NY, functioning singlehandedly as the pioneer and instigator of what would become a new movement of minimal electronic bands in the United States. Inspired both by the first wave of relatively unknown minimal electronic bands in Northern Europe (a musical genre also often referred to as 'minimal synth') and the seminal industrial noise bands such as Throbbing Gristle, SPK, and Cabaret Voltaire.

Since then, McBride's bleak intellectual exercises in the dark and danceable have flooded North America and Europe through the frosty fairwaves paved by Pieter Schoolwerth's Wierd Records. With an inimitable minimal style merging bright, urgent melodies ornamented and punctuated by the noises of industry and McBride's sonorous, stern vocals, Martial Canterel's earlier releases (You Today, Austerton) have garnered both critical acclaim and a rapidly growing rabid fan base. Sean is also one half of the duo Xeno & Oaklander together with Miss Liz Wendelbo.

Tranceonic is the duo of Carlos Perón and Boris Blank of Yello who met in 1971 in their hometown of Zürich, Switzerland. At this time Carlos studied Free Jazz while Boris listened to bands like Pink Floyd and Queen. The two bonded over a conversation about The Mahavishnu Orchestra album 'The Inner Mounting Flame' and became musical friends. From 1973 to 1976 they played in the New Wave group Urland. After the split of the group Perón founded the Tranceonic studio with his equipment in his private flat. Carlos invited Boris over to his studio and a concentrated work began. The idea was to make experimental new music with the hopes of having a hit in the United States. Everybody at this time was into punk, but Tranceonic loved industrial and electronic sounds. Their foresight and innovation created new ideas. Perón and Blank made electronic avant-garde music informed by the Berlin and Cologne schools. By 1978 the two had enough material to record an album and made a trip to San Francisco to visit Ralph Records. The Residents promised to release the music if the duo removed all the tape hiss, which never materialized.

'New Crime' is the first ever vinyl compilation of material produced, recorded, performed and mixed at Tranceonic Studio between 1976-1979. The equipment set up at the studio included a Farfisa Synth Orchestra, WERSI string ensemble, ARP Odyssey with Sequencer, ARP Quadra, Roland SH 3A, CR-78, Space Echo and Korg Minipops 120P and many effect boxes normally used for guitars. Samples were self-recorded using a Revox cassette deck and turntables. Blank and Perón experimented with manipulated tape loops, echo effects and snippets of found sounds. Blank also explored foreign near-equator exotics playing Arabesque percussion and a homemade bamboo flute. Perón experimented with CV triggering and dubbing super 8 film effects from vinyl. Both members took turns singing Carlos' lyrics. Stylistically the songs anticipate the feeling of Yello's 'Solid Pleasure' album and included here is the first instrumental mix of Bostich'. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Cover artwork features a photo of Carlos in Los Angeles taken by Boris in 1978 and design by Maycec. Each copy includes an insert featuring photos and liner notes by Carlos Perón.

Limited European edition of 50 copies numbered.

"The Portland based trio of Alexander Wolfe (Vocals), Wolfgang Williams (Guitar), and Tim Iserman (Synth/Programming) cater to all your death disco needs, as Ritual Veil are well versed in the pleasures of synth & sin.

There's some serious nods to Depeche Mode embedded in their DNA, especially in the blackened sex appeal of Wolfe's rich Gahan-sian vocal styling, all while the arrangement bristles with taut energy.
Favorite Toy' is pure sexbeat of the highest order, as Williams and Iserman lay a fitting bed of club ready goth pop for Wolfe to vocally gyrate over.

Ritual Veil know their way around a perfect pop gem, one that pulls from sultry mechanics and dancefloor urgency, while deploying such gothly weapons as an echoed beat, pulsing synths, and cooled vocal exuberance..." Screaming For Years

Das gefeierte, zweite Album des Female-Electro-Pop-Erfolgsduos Marsheaux erscheint als limitiertes lila Doppel-Vinyl (3 Seiten Musik, eine Seite mit edler Zier-Ätzung) im edlen Gatefold Sleeve.

Galten die beiden Griechinnen Sophie und Marianthi mit ihrem Debüt-Album - E-Bay Queen noch als Geheimtipp, so etablierten sie sich spätestens mit - Peek A Boo zu einer nicht mehr wegzudenkenden Größe der elektronischen Popmusik und zu einer der populärsten Bands des Female-Electro-Subgenres. Luftige Melodien, der Minimalismus der frühen Achtziger, sowie eine gehörige Portion Girlie-Charme wird von den beiden mit einer druckvollen, modernen Produktion zu kleinen Club-tauglichen Song-Juwelen vermischt, denen man sich nur schwer entziehen kann. Nun erscheint dieser moderne Klassiker endlich auf Vinyl!

Mit - Lumineux Noir findet nun endlich auch das dritte Album des Female-Electro-Pop-Duos Marsheaux seinen Weg auf Vinyl. Das Album erscheint als limitiertes, blaues Doppel-Vinyl (3 Seiten Musik, 1 Seite mit einer edlen Zier-Ätzung) im edlen Klappcover.

Mit Hits, wie - Breakthrough , - Ghosts und - Summer und ihrem, von Presse und Fans gleichermaßen gefeierten, dritten Album sicherten sich Marsheaux endgültig ihren festen Platz im Electro-Pop-Olymp. Straffe Beats, geradliniger Minimalismus, starke und doch verspielte Melodien und die bezaubernden Gesangsduette von Sophie und Marianthi geben den charmanten Pop-Songs des Duos ihre unverwechselbare und unwiderstehliche Note. Durch die starken Frühachtziger-Anklänge fühlt sich die Musik von Marsheaux auch wie geschaffen an, für das - schwarze Gold . Nun kann man den elektronischen Wohlklang der Band auch endlich auf Vinyl genießen.

Paul Weller releases a limited 12' vinyl of One Tear' remixes in November...

mitra mitra was formed in Vienna in late 2014 by Violet Candide and Mahk Rumbae.

Originally from New Zealand, Violet Candide is a founding member of the Crazy Hospital DJ collective, and one of the organisers of the legendary Future Echo club night in Vienna, and is one half of Anesthetic Hairpins.

British musician Mahk Rumbae is known for his work as a member of the industrial/experimental project Konstruktivists, Oppenheimer MkII (with Andy Oppenheimer of Oppenheimer Analysis) and his solo techno project Codex Empire.

After working together on one of Violet's solo songs, Heat, the pair decided to continue working together as mitra mitra, with the aim of writing electronic songs not tied to any particular influence or style.

mitra mitra have so far released a limited 7" single on Polytechnic Youth and a self-titled debut album on their own label Micromort Music - both of which sold out almost immediately.

For their new EP, released in conjunction with Peripheral Minimal, they present four new songs, including live favourites The Flood and One Universe, as well as Snakes and Phantom Flats. Rounding off the 6 track EP are two special remixes from LowSea, who remix Snakes, and IV/AN who remixes Blender (from the debut LP).

Bay Area veteran ANDY HUMAN has been a mainstay in the DIY punk community over the past few years. An accomplished and extremely productive musician, Andy Human has sharpened his pop-chops as a member of critically acclaimed bands such as THE WORLD, RAZZ, BEATNIKS, THE CUTZ, THE TIME FLYS and LENZ. THE REPTOIDS provide Andy the space to excel within a KBD-punk framework, with his vibrant take on R'n'R, (with a little bit of weird thrown in to keep you on your toes). Recent Andy Human and the Reptoids singles have appeared, (this year), on the acclaimed punk labels Goodbye Boozy and Total Punk. Emotional Response is excited and proud to release this dazzling 7-inch. Reverse board print, limited 500 with download and postcard. Alternative

The UT reissue series. The band is reissuing its remastered catalogue on Out Records through Forte Distribution in 2017 and 2018. The UT reissue campaign starts with the Ut EP and the Confidential EP, remastered by Dominique Brethes at Wolf Studios and repackaged as a double 12' (both cut at 45rpm for maximum sound fidelity) and a CD version. The double 12' has both 12''s in a PVC outer bag (with DL code), and the CD is a 3-fold digifile. There will be 500 only of the double-pack 12' set. Ut is a radical rock group founded by Nina Canal, Jacqui Ham and Sally Young in NYC in Dec 1978. Originating in the downtown No Wave scene and inheritors of the collision between rock, free jazz and the avant-garde, Ut exploded the rigidity of conventional rock, constructing songs through collective improvisation, swapping instruments and rotating the role of singer/director.
Migrating to London in 1981, Ut played with bands like The Fall and The Birthday Party and released music on their own label, Out Records. Ut became a favorite of BBC's John Peel and recorded sessions for his show. Joining forces in 1987 with the label Blast First, they released the critically acclaimed In Gut's House in 1988 and made the NME 'Top 50 Albums' that year. As The Washington Post exclaimed, With In Gut's House, Ut has scraped and droned one of the finest underground rock albums of the year... The tightly interwoven, firmly focused sound... is rich, spooky, urgent and quite unexpectedly beautiful.'
The album Griller followed in 1989, engineered by label mate Steve Albini, who shared Ut's raw aesthetic and captured the band's intensity. Ut disbanded in 1990 and began performing again in 2010. They have since toured the US, UK, Ireland and Europe.
The raw power and sheer drive of Ut is quite straightforward and unmistakable. This is a true threatening guitar band.' - N.Y. Rocker
I swear I have never seen a band play harder, I have never seen musicians put so much into their instruments, I have never seen such concentration on stage, in short, I have never seen people make rock 'n' roll so much their own, using the normal tools to create a singular, bone-shaking form of expression.' - The Village Voice

The first full length LP for this collaborative project between Jon Brooks (The Advisory Circle) and Jim Juapp (Belbury Poly). John Foxx features on vocals and syanth on two tracks, Trees and Forgotten Towns, reprising his appearance on The Belbury Circle's debut EP, Empty Avenues in 2013.

Brooks and Jupp go back to their musical roots with this release, but there's no weird children's TV or haunted soundtracks here. It's a joyfully re-imagined soundworld that draws heavily on late 70s and early 80s synth pop and library music. An exciting transitional era that first saw the pair taking up synths as kids. With interlocking analogue sequencers, driving rhythms, soaring lead lines, primitive sampling, and its themes of travel and return, the album evokes the eve of the digital era, when "Tomorrow's World" was still an exciting possibility.

One off German studio project with spoken word and electronics. More info to follow!

35 years later, the band formed from the ashes of the Sex Pistols by Paul Cook and Steve Jones is back. Revitalised, re-energised and reinvigorated. What In The World bristles with conviction and finds The Professionals on electrifying form, delivering some of the most ballsy, honest and downright brilliant songs of their career. We're not breaking any musical boundaries - we're doing what we do best. From the heart with energy and integrity.' Paul Cook and Paul Myers were reunited on stage touring with Vic Goddard's Subway Sect. There the idea sprang to revisit The Professionals. New frontman and guitar player Tom Spencer was invited to come to rehearsals, to sing and play guitar while Steve Jones was being lured back to the UK to join. As it became obvious Steve wouldn't be heading over, and with rehearsals feeling better and better - the new line up was born. The Professionals are also joined by a stellar cast of guest guitar players including original member Steve Jones (who plays on three tracks). Duff McKagen, Mick Jones , Phil Collen , Marco Pirroni , Chris McCormack (3 Colours Red) and Billy Duffy also join the party. In the studio we put the songs down as a three piece but what was needed was a second guitarist's mind, to come from another angle. Cookie dusted off his punk rock address book and made a few calls. All the guests added their own unique magic.' This energetic album features 10 finely crafted songs, full of rock'n'roll attitude - including a tribute to Lemmy and Bowie, 'Going, Going, Gone'. Before closing with the Darwinian pop at world leaders 'Monkeys'. All the basic tracks were put down at Zak Starkeys studio, just outside London and were finished at Tower Studios in Pershore. While the guests recorded in various studios, both here and in the US. What In The World was produced by Dave Draper with Paul Cook and Tom Spencer there to co-produce. The album is an aural treat, with no calculated image or reliance on nostalgia. To celebrate the release of What In The World The Professionals play a special headline show at London's Garage on October 28th. The Professionals have created a truly honest album and it is the sound of a band at the top of their game, which is an all too rare commodity in today's world, so put it on loud!

'Verloren' is like a late night pink Dutch sky after a long day of heavy rain, a sign that a warm summer's day is just ahead. It will make you sweat tonight. This long awaited follow up 7", will be released in the same form as the first: a beautifully designed disco sleeve with cardboard artwork. The vinyl will feature perfect-not-perfect, melancholic yet very danceable tracks. The machines in here take you back to the 80's, but sound very contemporary nevertheless.

The Fall returned to Rough Trade in 1983 to release a pair of singles ("The Man Whose Head Expanded" and "Kicker Conspiracy") and Perverted By Language, their sixth proper studio album. Perverted By Language hints at the band's shift towards a distinctly pop approach, one that they would perfect via their Beggars Banquet output that immediately followed. Yet again, the force and panic of their initial Rough Trade recordings remains the foundation for much of the album. A transitional recording in the absolute best sense, Perverted By Language is The Fall both as they were and as they would become.

The emergence of Brix Smith is often cited as the impetus for The Fall's move toward outward pop, and she first makes her first appearance with the band on Perverted By Language. Nowhere is her presence felt more than on "Hotel Blöedel," where she handles lead vocal duties alongside Mark E. Smith whose mangled violin accompaniment roots the song's cold romanticism in his unmistakable brand of strange. "Garden" provides a new take on The Fall's stretched-out tendencies - using ringing, clean guitars to build a nearly 10-minute epic more subtly than ever before. The opener, "Eat Y'self Fitter," is wholly classic Fall: a playfully circular bass line drives the album's strongest vocal spout, complete with emphatic breaks where Mark E. Smith issues the song's spiteful decree with equal parts glee and scorn.

Fresh ambient / synth / wave compilation centering the man who brought us Absent Music / The Misz / June11. Introvert gold!'

'Break at Home' is the collected recordings of the mysterious group '2 Katara' which was formed in Athens, Greece in 1978 by George Theodorakis (keyboards, percussion, vocals) with his close friend Dimitris Papangelidis (bass, guitars, percussion, vocals). TIP!
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This musical-duo recorded quietly over a decade between Theodorakis' family idyllic home studio in the Philopappou hill of Athens and the nearby studios Theta and SR. For some part, the tracks seem like adventurous experiments or even unfinished samplers or riffs the band starts to develop, but at the same time there are productions that are clearly meant to be the backbone of an album that never came out.

Into the light proudly presents 14 sun-soaked productions from the above-mentioned sterling material from 1981 until 1991 where the band split. This sixth installment is meant to be enjoyed as a journey from proggy pop to TR-909 drum driving compositions to Mediterranean disco-not-disco and further futuristic synth-scapes.

The many elements from the Greek traditional folk music - especially in 'I Can Not' which is an ambient take on a folk lament song from Epirus area and the reverse play recording of a Greek orthodox priest chant on their last ever recorded epic 17min track 'Greek lady' -, the unusual but clever combinations of colorful styles and the intense improvisation put the group in the first line of Athens' best kept secrets

Last few copies of this refreshing concoction of dark pop songs, from bands that played at the Palais Chalet nights in Brussels in 2012. Showcasing a lively cross-section of new wave, synth-pop, hard beat, and quirky electronic experimentation.

Colour by Numbers was Culture Club's most successful album, and can even be considered as one of the most popular albums from the 80s in general. Scoring no less than five hit singles, this set of songs dominated the charts for a full year, both in the US and in Europe.

With its infectious songs, videos all over MTV, and Boy George as a charismatic appearance, the band was a media magnet back in 1983. The vocals sounded as warm and soulful as ever, resulting in both the burning down the house churner Church Of The Poison Mind' and the irresistibly catchy Karma Chameleon'.

In the 80s music was, in many cases, flamboyant, fun, sexy, soulful, colourful, androgynous, and carefree, and this album captured that spirit perfectly. A must for any collector of 80s music, and the artistic and commercial pinnacle of a band that still attracted new fans years later.

Extraordinary new LP from a group comprising Carla dal Forno (Tarcar), Samuel Karmel and Tarquin Manek (Tarcar, LST). Deeply drugged, synth-daubed death-folk and DIY electronics: acutely psychedelic, inscrutable but emotional, sunken but prone to soaring, with flashes of horror too. Beautifully conjures the mirth and murk of childhood summers...a relatable surburban gothic...grazed knees, hide-and-seek, nettle-stings. Trampled flowerbeds and failing light. Ghouls in your neighbour's garden. Think Nico meets Dome or Alison Statton wandering The Pickle Factory after dark...If you dream you die, you die.

The Best of the B-52's: Dance This Mess Around is an excellent summation of the group's late-'70s/early-'80s heyday, featuring such staples as 'Wig', 'Give Me Back My Man', 'Song For A Future Generation', '52 Girls', 'Private Idaho', 'Strobe Light', 'Devil in My Car', 'Planet Claire' and 'Rock Lobster'.

It is arguably the best compilation of the group's work. Dance This Mess Around is a first-rate survey of the band's best (and most groundbreaking) years.

For our 55th release we are launching a special series called Dark Entries Editions, dedicated to 12" singles made for the dance floor. The first release in this series is Victrola, the duo of Antonio "Eze" Cuscinà and Carlo Smeriglio from Italy. The band formed in Messina, but later relocated to Florence to join the rich musical scene there with Neon, Pankow, Alexander Robotnick and Diaframma. Beginning as a 4-piece combo (two guitarists, bassist, drummer) in 1979, they slimmed down to a synthesizer and guitar-based duo a few years later. Their sole release was the "Maritime Tatami"/"A Game Of Despair" EP, from 1983. Using an array of now-classic Roland synthesizers (TR 606, TR 303 Bassline, Juno 6) plus a Korg Polysix and Fender Stratocaster, they crafted two darkwave ballads. "Maritime Tatami" engulfs the listener with trance-inducing synth lines and melancholic vocals over its epic 8 minutes. Oblique minor-key bass lines provide an anchor while snappy, brittle 606 rhythms propel the track along. The lyrics tell the story of Tatami, a boy from a fishing town who yearns for a new life in the big city. "A Game of Despair", on the flipside, is a haunting crawl through the eyes of a woman left by her lover. An angular guitar riff repeats hypnotically, as fragile icy synth lines chime emptily above it. Each song has been carefully remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in an exact replication of the original jacket, and includes an insert with lyrics and never-before-seen photos. Victrola's only release is a truly singular and timeless masterpiece—it's from a dimension of its own

+++ CD
+++ Eye Patch (Augenbinde)

New York City techno mastermind Oliver Chesler aka "The Horrorist" returns in 2013 with his 4th full length album released on his very own label Things To Come Records. He goes back to his roots with 11 completely evil, wild, sex filled tracks. This is really dark, sick twisted material. Techno heads will love it, EBM fanatics too. Electronic torture never sounded so good ! The horror show returns ! Awesome album.

Delving further into the Brenda Ray/Naffi multiverse, following Em's releases of Brenda Ray's Walatta and her work with Naffi on D'ya Hear Me!: Naffi Years, here is

Hoochie Pooch/Space Alligator. This release focuses on contributions from Freddie Viaduct to the delightfully strange world of the variously named Naffi Sandwich/Naffi, the former being the earlier incarnation of the group as a trio, the latter a duo. Less vocal driven than the poppier D'Ya Hear Me! tracks, these mainly instrumental pieces emphasize the group's spontaneity, allied with the creative freedoms offered by the band's ever growing mastery of their Naffi HQ recording studio. The influence of funk plus Jamaican roots music is clearly felt in Viaduct's forceful and spacious bass playing, reverb, echo and effects. Captain Catchpole's drums and Ray's multi-instrumental work fill out the trio sound, resulting in a vast aural territory, with the aforementioned elements blending with

Euro-improv, free jazz and post punk viruses to create a subtly mind-bending, rhythmically compelling, and texturally varied DIY hybrid. Originally released on cassette and vinyl and extremely rare, the tracks have been compiled here, along with two previously unissued full-length versions as Hoochie Pooch/Space Alligator and are presented with two extra tracks on the CD.

Happy Alec ! Clubby Empire ! Somethnig he wouldn't have done 10 years ago... Style exercise about the hate and the freedom... Alec Ampire, de pire en Pire ! Enjoy the 'too mutch' electro insud mix... or the Breakbeat one...

Following their acclaimed debut album ‘Visions Of Ultraflex’, the Norwegian-Icelandic electro-duo serves up a mouthwatering extended remix 12" with two of Norways most distinctivly renowned underground producers and DJs. Telephones twists ‘Work Out Tonight’ into a bubbly Balearic Pop block-party, fusing the vibe of NYC Peech Boys, Quincy Jones' 80s productions and Larry Levan's infamous take on Nami Shimada/Soichi Terada, all rounded off with a decadent beatless ambient acid outro mix. On the flip, the norse force that is DJ Sotofett, heavy-handedly rubs ‘Secret Lover’ into an uncompromising chunk of Cosmic Electro, with growling vocoders, rugged drums and stratospheric synths, progressively evolving into a tripped out dub-disco electro-mutant. Each side clocking in at approx. 12 minutes.. do not miss!

Dabei Hat Jeder Einzelne Produzent Seinen Ganz Eigenen Bezug Zu Daf. So Erinnert Sich Gabi Delgado, Dass Er Früher Beim Ausgehen Immer Zu "i Feel Love" Getanzt Hat, Westbam Hatte Einen Seiner Ersten Bühnenauftritte Mit Daf Und Dj Hell Und Robert Görl Veröffentlichten Beide Auf Dem Münchner Kultlabel Disko B, Aus Dem Später Dj Hells International Deejay Gigolo Records Als Ableger Hervorging. Mit Dem Grandiosen Remix Von Boys Noize Und Dem Etwas Experimentelleren Ansatz Von Lor (aka Gregory Fergusson) Nimmt Sich Dann Die Nächste Generation Die Legendären Klassiker Vor. Natürlich Kommen Auch Die Beiden Herren Zu Wort Und Reinterpretieren Ihre Eigenen Stücke Auf Eine Ganz Neue Art.

Trouser Tricks was the unreleased debut album by West London punk band Ack Ack, formed in the Twickenham/Isleworth area in l977. The album was recorded in l98O at TW Music Studio, a small studio tucked away on Fulham Palace Road, capturing the raw, unfiltered energy that defined the band’s sound. Despite initial interest from several record labels, including some major ones, the album was never officially released due to the economic recession and the growing belief that punk had run its course. These tracks provide a rare glimpse into a pivotal time in the local punk scene. Experience the lost sounds of Trouser Tricks today!

Finally back in print! ACTORS' debut record, now available on splatter vinyl! One of the most exciting bands to come out of Canada recently, ACTORS delivers their debut album on Artoffact Records! The term "post-punk", like many terms with a similar prefix, is firmly planted in a time in history, and signifies an added precision and experimentation to a thrilling genre that has echoed forward in both style and attitude. The Jason Corbett-led outfit ACTORS are standing on the shoulders of titans with their brand of the style, and could almost be referred to as "post-post-punk".

Trailblazing post-punk Welsh three-piece Adwaith are BACK! Back with the first single from their eagerly anticipated second album and follow up to ‘Melyn’, the winner of the Welsh
Music Prize in 2019.

Alan Vega’s name is synonymous with unfettered, tireless creativity. Beginning in the late 1950s, when he was a fine art student at Brooklyn College, through his years playing in Suicide, and all the way up until his death in 2016, Vega was constantly creating. That

process naturally led to a wealth of material that didn’t see the light of day immediately when it was recorded, which came to be known as the Vega Vault. Mutator is the first in a series of archival releases from the Vault that will come out on Sacred Bones Records.

Mutator was recorded alongside Vega’s longtime collaborator Liz Lamere at his NYC studio from 1995-1996, and it serves as a document of a particularly fertile time in his creative life. He had 11 full-length solo albums come out during the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s - plus numerous collaborations, and Suicide records A Way of Life and Why Be Blue. Mutator wasn’t shelved intentionally, but Vega’s back-to-thegrindstone M.O. meant that he had moved on to making his next record before this one was finished. Lamere and Vega’s friend and confidante Jared Artaud (The Vacant Lots) rediscovered the raw, unmixed recordings from the Mutator sessions in the Vault in 2019. Soon after, they mixed and produced them into the visionary album that was lurking within those tapes.

“Our primary purpose for going into the studio was to experiment with sound, not to ‘make records,’” Lamere recalls. “I was playing the machines with Alan manipulating sounds. I played riffs while Alan morphed the sounds being channeled through the machines.”

At the time of the Mutator sessions, Vega was massively inspired by what was happening in the streets of New York - not only the hip hop scenes that were exploding throughout the outer boroughs, but also the literal sounds of the streets, the traffic noise and industrial ambience of city living. That influence trickled into the sounds he and Lamere captured in those sessions. That sensibility, paired with Vega’s unmistakable voice and force of personality, is what made it the great album it is now. The final piece was the production job, completed by Lamere and Artaud 25 years after the songs were first captured.

Alan Vega’s name is synonymous with unfettered, tireless creativity. Beginning in the late 1950s, when he was a fine art student at Brooklyn College, through his years playing in Suicide, and all the way up until his death in 2016, Vega was constantly creating. That

process naturally led to a wealth of material that didn’t see the light of day immediately when it was recorded, which came to be known as the Vega Vault. Mutator is the first in a series of archival releases from the Vault that will come out on Sacred Bones Records.

Mutator was recorded alongside Vega’s longtime collaborator Liz Lamere at his NYC studio from 1995-1996, and it serves as a document of a particularly fertile time in his creative life. He had 11 full-length solo albums come out during the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s - plus numerous collaborations, and Suicide records A Way of Life and Why Be Blue. Mutator wasn’t shelved intentionally, but Vega’s back-to-thegrindstone M.O. meant that he had moved on to making his next record before this one was finished. Lamere and Vega’s friend and confidante Jared Artaud (The Vacant Lots) rediscovered the raw, unmixed recordings from the Mutator sessions in the Vault in 2019. Soon after, they mixed and produced them into the visionary album that was lurking within those tapes.

“Our primary purpose for going into the studio was to experiment with sound, not to ‘make records,’” Lamere recalls. “I was playing the machines with Alan manipulating sounds. I played riffs while Alan morphed the sounds being channeled through the machines.”

At the time of the Mutator sessions, Vega was massively inspired by what was happening in the streets of New York - not only the hip hop scenes that were exploding throughout the outer boroughs, but also the literal sounds of the streets, the traffic noise and industrial ambience of city living. That influence trickled into the sounds he and Lamere captured in those sessions. That sensibility, paired with Vega’s unmistakable voice and force of personality, is what made it the great album it is now. The final piece was the production job, completed by Lamere and Artaud 25 years after the songs were first captured.

Futurismo are proud to present a first time reissue of the killer 1985 album: Just A Million Dreams by the uncompromising Alan Vega.

The remastered version of this LP comes with two unreleased bonus tracks produced by Liz Lamere and Jared Artaud of The Vacant Lots. It is packaged in a gloss laminated sleeve with a huge fold-out poster and contains new liner notes by Henry Rollins.

Presented in a remastered deluxe vinyl package, Just A Million Dreams, produced by Ric Ocasek and Chris Lord-Alge, takes Vega on an expedition into new territory. As an artist Vega had a crucial drive, but having a hit record was never a motive, neither was pandering to expectations, which is why Just a Million Dreams is perhaps a perfect statement for that moment, bettering the then bastions of MTV rock without even trying, an exercise in subversion that still has Vega’s unique artistry at its core. Would you expect anything less from one half of NYC legends Suicide? Perhaps not, but the hows and whys to Vega landing himself in such a mainstream position are perhaps just as fascinating as the record itself.

Here Alan Vega’s vocals sound better than ever, full of emotion and brooding honesty. Lyrics painting images of dystopian love might be a sideways move away from the intense nihilism of his past, but it’s still the real deal. Alan Vega could not be anything else. Listen to tracks like ‘Creation’ and you still get that raw emotion he spent his career honing. Set against the grandeur of mid 80’s production: big processed drums, runaway guitar solos, we get a rare peak into what Vega would sound like if he was allowed to be a rock star drenched in the sonic excesses of the era. It was a brave and unfairly misunderstood move, but the components come together to form an incredible anti-commercial, commercial album. Just A Million Dreams is the sound of Alan Vega taking on the 1980’s and winning.

With help of the official Vega Vault, two never before heard tracks have been unearthed from the 1985 JAMD recording sessions and brought to life by long time collaborator Liz Lamere and Jared Artaud of The Vacant Lots, adding a new insight to the recordings. Henry Rollins also lends a new written perspective, making this release a vital addition to the collections of Alan Vega and Suicide fans. It has been said that Alan Vega is forever, his unwavering artistic approach can be witnessed throughout his career, whether as part of Suicide or as a solo songwriter, poet or sculptor. Just a Million Dreams is just another example

Yet another chapter in the ongoing Alexander Robotnick saga. Electronic wizard Maurizio Dami licensed his second single in 1983 on Materiali Sonori ‘club series’ Fuzz Dance. After the surprising and astonishing success of the debut - Problèmes D'Amour – Robotnick became a sort of cult figure even in the United States and soon was labeled as a forerunner of the electro movement.

Bumps Per Minute is a full-throttle reinvention of the traditional fairground dodgems, from Mercury Award-shortlisted composer, producer and musician Anna Meredith. The music is part of the DODGE installation, which can be experienced until 22nd August at Somerset House.

For Bumps Per Minute, Meredith has collaborated with BAFTA-winning sound artist Nick Ryan to design a bespoke tracking technology so that every thump, bump and swerve of the 18 dodgems around the track can trigger a separate composition. This results in a kind of ultimate shuffle where high octane music and ideas compete for airtime and each performance is unique. The installation will occur approximately every hour at DODGE through the day/evening.

The idea for Bumps Per Minute came about when the composer was thinking about what might be a more pandemic friendly replacement for the ice rink at Somerset House where she has her studio. The idea grew from there and now this summer DODGE is taking over the main courtyard at Somerset House, featuring a full smorgasbord of Yinka Ilori designs, DJs, food, drink and of course, dodgem rides.

Today, Meredith announces that she will be releasing a special extended cut of her material via Moshi Moshi out on the 15th July 2021. Bumps Per Minute: 18 Studies for Dodgems will feature full-length individual musical identities of all 18 dodgems – each one a bold and distinct musical track in its own right as well an intro and outro track (voiced by comedian Rob Broderick).

The key to both the dodgems themselves and the release is a user ‘driven’ triggering and shuffling of the material. Meredith encourages the listener to ‘take the driving seat’ and jump from one track to another, mirroring the real dodgem ride, shuffling and curating their own listening experience via the virtual interactive dodgems page or their preferred listening platform.

Bumps Per Minute: 18 Studies for Dodgems explodes out of the starting gate with Meredith’s uncategorisable sound and signature energy, combining fairground wildness with a healthy dose of the nostalgic electronics of old school gaming.

We are thrilled to present the historical rescue of the only existing recording of Antihéroes, yet another mystery of the Argentine musical underground scene of the 80s, now available on vinyl for the first time. This obscure post punk band show their harshness and darkness in these only two songs they recorded, back in 1985, and which were distributed on a cassette that has today achieved cult status. This release is the result of the collaborative work between Twistin' Bones (Costa Rica) and Munster Records