Post-Punk/ 80's Pop selections

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Basic Channel/Chain Reaction

Recently bought a bunch of classic Basic Channel and Chain Reaction vinyl:

Mixtapes

Found some old mixtapes I made when I was in high school. I decided to upload them in their original form... tape hiss, warble and all. I'm pretty sure I made the first one late in 97. I would have been 16. The first side is mostly music I still listen to, some of which was hugely influential to my musical tastes. The second side is full of songs that I'd completely forgotten about... many of which I honestly have no idea what the song is called or who the artist is. I remember right around this time I started to go through my older brother's collection and make mix tapes from his music. This tape is one of those mixes.

1997? Side A

1997? Side B

I made this other tape in early 98, I think. It's more of a teenage emotional mix, as you might be able to tell from the title.

She Is Dancing (Side A)

She Is Dancing (Side B)

Streaming of these mixes and all my other mixes are now available here:

http://fairtilizer.com/users/germsspace

Techno Origins

You could go further back to the origins of theremin music, synthesized music, or early

computer made music, but here a few songs that show what techno really evolved from.

The first is an early "industrial dance" track from Liasons Dangereuses.

This video gives an impression of the sort of thunderous warehouse sound that seems

to have remained strong in German techno scenes.

Next is one of my favorite "Italo Disco" tracks. Charlie's "Spacer Woman" demonstrates

themes of future, robots, and space featured heavily in the Italo Disco scene.

These Sci-fi themes remained strong and became synonymous with Techno.

I could have put any Kraftwerk song here. Their influence on Techno is undeniable.

"Tour de France" is simply my favorite song by them, and I think it shows a continuum of the

disco/techno relation.

Lastly, "Sharevari". Some claim it as the first Detroit Techno record.

This video is from a local broadcast of a show called "The Scene".

I feel like it gives a good sense of the vibe of the time.

There were obviously a whole lot of other factors and influences, culturally and musically.

American Funk music was a big influence, as was some European synth-pop.

Culturally, urban poverty and inequity were certainly factors.

Anyways, this is some of the stuff Techno was made of.

Layout issues...

I've been trying to fix an issue with the way text overlaps. I tried to redesign everything...not sure I like the new design...still having issues with text. I'm tired of messing with it. Sorry this blog looks so ugly.

Haunting Vocals

More on the quality of vocals... these voices haunt out some uncertain nerve, evoking a feeling that is distinct, yet somehow inexplicable.

Folk Selections

I think it's the honesty in their voices that keeps me coming back to these artists.

Static Surfacing

Here's a mix I made this week. It's basically built around this one Colin Potter track that I've always loved.

I usually make mixes with some sort of direction in mind.

This one I just allowed to go wherever and I like the results.

I'd say this mix gives a good impression of my mind's wanderings lately.

Static Surfacing

Melodic Acid-Inspired Oddities

Lately I've been really into the old acid sounds from the late 80's and early 90's.

Here are a few standout acid tracks that put melody in the spotlight and are really worth a listen:

The first track is a great Acid House track by 808 State called Flow Coma.

I find this track particularly nice because of how it veers into more abstract territory than most

Acid House with its engaging melody.

Next up is a track by Plastikman. I really could have put up any of his tracks.

It's hard to pick favorites with him, but I think this track does well to show what sets Plastikman's

sound apart from others with its dark, bending, and evolving melody.

Lastly, a track by Hieroglyphic Being. This man makes more music than one can keep up with.

This track shows his purposefully unpolished sound. It's outsider Acid for the adventurous listener.

The electrified pan flute sounding melody has me coming back to this track again and again...so good!

Electro-Punk/Synth-Pop

Last week I posted some minimal wave tracks. This week I am posting 3 tracks that could be seen as

predecessors to that sound. It could be said that the 70's punk movement was partly pushed into motion by

a decrease in the cost of music equipment at that time. With

prices down, suddenly there was a whole

crowd of people who had access to this equipment, but had no musical training. They set up bands and

created a gritty,unpolished new sound.

In the early 80's a similar thing happened with synthesizers.

The punk aesthetic was still in fashion, and as a result, some

early synth experimental bands had a strong

punk flavor.

Suicide Commando by a band called No More, was recorded

in 1981. This song is an example of a punk

band introducing synthesizers into their gear. Vitalic recently

covered the song in an updated electo-clash

style, which you could also find on youtube:

The next song is a really catchy track that I simply can't get enough of. I guess the Severed Heads could be seen as the predecessors of the post industrial groups like Skinny Puppy or Nine Inch Nails... This song from 1984, Dead Eyes Opened, shows a merging of an industrial sound with synth-pop:

Lastly one of my favorite tracks from Chris And Cosey called Walking Through Heaven. When Throbbing Gristle disbanded each of it's members went on to different side projects. Genesis created Psychic TV, an experimental psychedelic pop band. Sleazy went on to form Coil, an electronic experimental, pagan sort of project. Chris and Cosey grouped together and created an experimental synth pop sound that was unique and influential for techno and all sorts of electronic based music. The two of them have started a new project called Carter Tutti, which is a more electronic/folk/ambient project focusing on Cosey's beautiful vocals. This track from the album Songs Of Love & Lust (originally released in 1984) is simply great...it's like a warm synth blanket of sound:

Minimal Wave

I've decided to post some of my favorite tracks up on here. I'll try to post a few every week. This week it's all about the new "minimal wave" sound that's creeping it's way into your local hipster venues. Normally, I'm reluctant to go along with such trends, but this sound is clearly rooted in the experimental synth-pop of the early 80's which I'm a fan of. It reminds me quite a bit of some of the work Chris & Cosey were doing. Though retro in flavor, it's really quite fresh and exciting to hear. I say get on it now before the hipsters turn it into some bland fashion pop. The first track is by Oppenheimer Analysis. This is one of the lost gems from the 80's that served as a source of inspiration for the new minimal wave sound. Oppenheimer Analysis is featured on the recently released The Minimal Wave Tapes Volume One along with some other great artists from that era that have found a renewed interest lately.

Next up is a track by Medio Mutante, a group I've only just discovered. I'm expecting great things from this group based on their first ep, Inestable.

I can't get enough of this track!

Lastly, a track by Xeno And Oaklander.

It would seem that they are quickly becoming the stars of the minimal wave sound.

Their 2009 album Sentinelle is probably my favorite

release of this style of music.

Inspiring Sounds

I'm not sure why, but I've sort of abandoned the original purpose of this blog for more of a mix series style blog. Well I like to make mixes, and I'll continue to do so, but I'd like to get back to updating this blog with more spur of the moment thoughts, rants, and raves about newly discovered releases worth mentioning and so on.

With so much music out there and a constantly growing library, it's easy to come to these moments of bleh, as I like to call them. Times when everything just sounds uninspired, unoriginal, inauthentic...in other words: boring. Often it's more about my mindstate then it is about the state of music being made, but while I'm on that I would like to say some things about the music world these days.

Let's face it, the world is being flooded by music. Too much music. Most of it sucks. Sometimes an artist comes up with a sound that is unique and it's exciting for a short while....then everyone tries to copy that sound and live off the temporary success of this "new sound". The truth is, these days there is just so much music being made that no "new sound" can stay new for more than just a few weeks. Music technology makes it easy for beginners to duplicate the sound of their favorite new artists, and soon everything just sounds watered down, and completely removed from any sort of authentic creative meaning. So the revelation for me in all of this is to embrace with more caution the "new" and to focus more on the authentic.

I recently came to the discovery of an artist who has been around for quite a while now: Move D. I had heard the work he'd done with Benjamin Brunn called "Songs From The Beehive" a little while back, and while I enjoyed a few of the tracks at the time, I didn't really detect anything too special about it. The tracks were too long and repetitive to remain memorable individually, and yet the album as a whole was not cohesive enough to be a memorable listen from start to finish. That is what I thought of it at the time. I came back to Move D recently because I kept hearing the name from bloggers who I respect like those at mnml ssgs. So I youtubed him, and came across the massive amount of work he's done with Pete Namlook, another person whose work I've only been mildly impressed by. The youtube clip I heard was promising, I was instantly intrigued.

Now I've heard almost everything Move D / Namlook have released together, and I feel like they have really taken me out of a period of disinterested music listening. I'm looking forward to seeking out more of this sort of thoughtful ambient avant-techno/whateverthefuck sound. It reminds me of what Steve Roach might sound like if he grew up in the techno era instead of the hippy era. There are times when it gets kind of new-agey, and borders on corny, but it always seems to stay interesting through it all. It sounds familiar and strange at the same time. Last year they released "The Evolution Of Move D • Namlook", a CD that compresses all of their collaborations together into one continous mix. It's an excellent introduction to their work. Here is a sample of what they sound like together:

Some Japanese Psychedelia

A mix of some mostly lo-fi Japanese psychedelic sound. Japan is adventurous with music of any genre. This mix is about the raw fuzz and buzz of electric guitars from the 70's to the present day. These tracks remind me of times I spent wandering aimlessly through Shibuya from one record store to the next, which is a great way to experience that area. I miss Japan.

Japan

Daylight

It's been awhile since I've posted anything here. I've been working on a lot of mixes but many of them I just havn't been able to finalize. I started many of them a long while ago, while I was working evening shifts and staying up all night making mixes. Now I'm working morning shifts, and finding daylight to be less inspiring creatively. I think the time of day really influences the style of music that speaks to me. So while I gave up on many deep listening mixes I was making while I was up all hours of the night, I've changed gear a bit and allowed the sun through. This mix was formulated over the course of the first week of working morning shifts. Working from 5 am to 1 pm, I often come home happy about being able to see the sun again, but too exhausted to do anything so i just stay in. Oh well, a sun-lit house is almost as good as being outside sometimes. Bright House