Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Mad World- A Brand New Oral History of New Wave Out Now

A little bit of something to get back on our 80's track. A brand new New Wave book is out. It is entitled Mad World and it is a highly entertaining oral history that celebrates the New Wave music phenomenon of the 1980s via new interviews with 35 of the most notable artists of the period. Each chapter begins with a discussion of their most popular song but leads to stories of their history and place in the scene, ultimately painting a vivid picture of this colorful, idiosyncratic time. Mixtape suggestions, fashion sidebars, and quotes from famous contemporary admirers help fill out the fun. Participants include members of Duran Duran, New Order, The Smiths, Tears for Fears, Adam Ant, Echo and the Bunnymen, Devo, ABC, Spandau Ballet, A Flock of Seagulls, Thompson Twins, and INXS. Authors are Lori Majewski and Jonathan Bernstein with an foreword by Nick Rhodes and afterword by Moby.

 madworldbook.com


Thursday, July 31, 2014

WAW: Keluar- Fractures

Good news for the fans of Linea Aspera because one half of the duo Zoè Zanias  who provided vocals has a new musical project. Not far where Linea Aspera stopped but even more complex and very rhythm orientated. What started as an exchange of material and ideas between Berlin and London gave birth to this new group entitled Keluar now based in Berlin. They released two EPs for Desire records. We're little bit late with this because our time off, but with good music, one is always on time.


      

Best of 1984 - Top 50 Singles List

The growing popularity of Michael Jackson which started in 1983 also set foot in 1984 especially after the video for "Thriller" was released. Even though the content of the video was controversial at that time, it was also groundbreaking and it revolutionized the music industry and the world of pop by breaking down the racial barriers and transforming the music video into a work of art.
Even at the other end of the Atlantic the 1983 started with a small scandal which involved Frankie Goes To Hollywood who got banned by BBC for almost a year due to the explicit lyrics in the and provocative video for their biggest hit "Relax". Despite this fact, the band managed  to have major success around the world with their debut album "Welcome to the Pleasuredome". This was also the first big success for ZTT Records and three times platinum in the UK. Towards the end of the year the Frankie Goes to Hollywood ban was slowly lifted and "Relax" was the ultimate anthem of 1984 introducing the Frankie Says Relax trend. 
With the growing popularity of MTV, in 1984 the first MTV Music Awards were given away at the  Radio City Music Hall in New York. Among the winners were Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Herbie Hancock. Madonna has not been up for awards, but manged to make prominence and shake the pop world with her performance at the VMA's. 
Just ahead of Christmas when 1984 was in the fade out, a group of musicians headed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure got together for a good cause forming Band Aid. This was a group of musicians who recorded a song to raise awareness and funds for the Ethiopian famine in 1983–1985. It included more than 40 musicians and it sold over two million copies around the globe and raised more than $24 million. 
 Towards the end of the year New Gold Dream which could easily be translated as the golden era of new Wave slowly began to vanish and became clear that the new musical term was Pop.

 The following Top 50 represents the result of the 'Best of 1984 - The Album list' from 2014 together with our in-house votes.
 
Updated: 08/2020


01. Bronski Beat- Small Town Boy 
02. Echo & The Bunnymen- The Killing Moon 
03. Talk Talk- It’s My Life 
04. Prince- When Doves Cry 
05. Billy Idol- Eyes Without a Face 
06. Cyndi Lauper- Time After Time  
07. Leonard Cohen- Dance Me to the End of Love  
08. Dead or Alive- You Spin Me Around 
09. Duran Duran- New Moon on Monday 
10. Alphaville - Big in Japan 
11. A-ha- Take on Me
12. Prince and the Revolution- Purple Rain
13. Madonna - Borderline
14. Pet Shop Boys- West End Girls '84
15. Gary Numan- Berserker
16. Siouxsie and The Banshees- Dazzle
17. Eurythmics- Here Comes the Rain Again 
18. Frankie Goes To Hollywood- Two Tribes
19. The Smiths- What Difference Does it Make  
20. The Style Council- Shout to the Top

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Reissue: Soma Holiday- Shake Your Molecules

In April this year Minimal Wave released a remastered reissue of Soma Holiday‘s cult classic, "Shake Your Molecules". Soma Holiday was a Franco-American duo consisting of Jean-Marc Vallod (FR) and Jane Honicker (US), based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn back in the early 1980s. They recorded “Shake Your Molecules” along with “Too Many People” and “Art Dimension” in 1984, at Unique Studios in Manhattan. The studio was known for being the first NYC studio with MIDI capabilities. 
 This new remastered 12" edition features four tracks by Soma Holiday, the original “Shake Your Molecules” mix, the unreleased dub version and two other unreleased outtakes of “Too Many People” and “Art Dimension”, all from their 1984 studio recordings at Unique Recording Studios. Soma Holiday’s Shake Your Molecules EP is pressed on 180 gram oxblood vinyl and limited to 999 copies. Full color gloss sleeve with two sided insert featuring photograph of Soma Holiday in front of their home in Brooklyn and full liner notes with text by Jean-Marc Vallod. Release date: April 30th, 2014.

http://minimalwave.com/releases/release/shake-your-molecules

Monday, July 28, 2014

Retrovision: The Chills- Pink Frost

Thirty years ago The Chills released the haunting and atmospheric "Pink Frost". One somewhere said "Creepy beauty from the far south" and I think this is the right sentence to describe this lo-fi, post-punk, goth feel tune. Their biggest and probably most essential hit was recorded in 1982 and this is also where it belongs. This might be the song that defines the band and gives the absolute high water mark in New Zealand's jangle pop history.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Next Wave: People At Parties

People at Parties is a self produced bi-costal trio based out of brooklyn ny and San Fransisco California and is made up of LK Naps (Vocals) Kelly Harris (drums) and Becky Kupersmith (synths). They have been creating their brand of 80's synth-low-fi for over 2 years now. They first made waves in the underground dance scene with melodic synth-pop Flexi-Disc EP on Project Infinity Records featuring sing-along-drum heavy anthem ”Say” that resonated with new listeners who appreciated the cross-genre influences the band evokes.
 The bands first official full length self titled release came out November 22nd 2013 in digital form with official vinyl to be pressed in February 2014. The LP was a self release, offered to fans on a sliding scale donation basis. The record was preceded by a remix by producer/performer André Obin. The bands decision to put the album on a sliding scale basis is part of their goal to promote creativity get closer to fans and create a community of people that will gain access to more than just the music, but items the band finds inspiring.
You can buy the album now on gumroad or through the website http://peopleatparties.net/ on a sliding scale basis The band's website and facebook has new music, news, and press photos.you can find the website at:

http://peopleatparties.net
https://www.facebook.com/peopleatparties


Sunday, February 2, 2014

Best of 1984- The Album List

The growing popularity of Michael Jackson which started in 1983 also set foot in 1984 especially after the video for "Thriller" was released. Even though the content of the video was controversial at that time, it was also groundbreaking and it revolutionized the music industry and the world of pop by breaking down the racial barriers and transforming the music video into a work of art.
Even at the other end of the Atlantic the 1983 started with a small scandal which involved Frankie Goes To Hollywood who got banned by BBC for almost a year due to the explicit lyrics in the and provocative video for their biggest hit "Relax". Despite this fact, the band managed to have major success around the world with their debut album Welcome to the Pleasuredome. This was also the first big success for ZTT Records and three times platinum in the UK. Towards the end of the year the Frankie Goes to Hollywood ban was slowly lifted and "Relax" was the ultimate anthem of 1984 introducing the Frankie Says Relax trend. 
With the growing popularity of MTV, in 1984 the first MTV Music Awards were given away at the  Radio City Music Hall in New York. Among the winners were Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Herbie Hancock. Madonna was not up for awards, but manged to make prominence and shake the pop world with her performance at the VMA's. 
Just ahead of Christmas when 1984 was in the fade out, a group of musicians headed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure got together for a good cause forming Band Aid. This was a group of musicians who recorded a song to raise awareness and funds for the Ethiopian famine in 1983–1985. It included more than 40 musicians and it sold over two million copies around the globe and raised more than $24 million. 
Towards the end of the year New Gold Dream which could easily be translated as the golden era of new Wave slowly began to vanish and became clear that the new musical term was Pop.

 

Next Wave: Eternal Death

From one of the finest indie pop factories in Europe, Labrador Music from Sweden, comes a rather unusual act called Eternal Death. The band, project, artist which hides under this moniker only gives us a quick view on his theory about life and death. Expressed through their music, it is a dream with no end, white and grey noise and electropop waves lighten up by angelic vocals. Their debut single is out now!


http://labrador.se
https://www.facebook.com/Eternaldeathmusic





Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Thirty Years of Camouflage on Ten CD Box Set

The German synth-pop group Camouflage have released a limited edition Box Se. This compilation include Camouflage's complete work from 1983 to 2013, 10 CDs, a picture book and a booklet with all song lyrics. This release is available as pre-order and it will be shipped on February 10th, 2014. More information through band's official page.

http://www.camouflage-music.com/index.php


The content includes: ·
Voices & Images (newly remastered) · Methods Of Silence (newly remastered) · Meanwhile (newly remastered) · Bodega Bohemia (newly remastered) · Spice Crackers (newly remastered) · Sensor (newly remastered) · Relocated (newly remastered) · Areu Areu (newly remastered) · Archive #2 – Live Recordings · Archive #3 – The Early Tapes 1983 – 1988

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