Best of 1986- Top 50 Singles

In early 1985, the Pet Shop Boys stormed the UK charts with "West End Girls" which would also remain their signature tune and biggest hit. Together with Erasure, they were transforming the synth pop into electro dance giving it a new face. The Communards certainly contributed to this trend as their cover of the disco classic “Don’t Leave Me This Way” was the best selling single of the year. Madonna and George Michael were still among the best selling artists further developing the pop genre and Madonna’s third studio album True Blue was the best selling in the UK.

 The following Top 50 represents the result of the 'Best of 1986 - The Singles list' from 2016 together with our in-house votes

01. The Smiths- There is a Light that Never goes out
02. New Order- Bizarre Love Triangle
03. Desireless- Voyage Voyage
04. Depeche Mode - Stripped

05. The Smiths- Bigmouth Strikes Again
06. The Stranglers- Always The Sun
07. Big Audio Dynmaite- E=MC2
08. a-ha- Hunting High and Low
09. Cyndi Lauper- True Colours
10. David Bowie - Absolute Beginners
11. Madonna - Live to Tell

12. Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush - Don't Give Up

13. Black- Wonderful Life

14. Iggy Pop - Real Wild Child

15. The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian

16. Genesis - Land of Confusion
17. R.E.M. - Fall on Me
18. Kim Wilde- You Keep Me Hangin' On
19. The Pretenders- Don't Get Me Wrong
20. Talk Talk - Living in Another World

Next Wave: Raw Moans

Time for our last Next Wave for this year! We go East with the sound this time and would like to introduce Raw Moans, the project of Joseph Vorachack which also features Michael Thibodeaux (instrumentals, production). 

Before starting his own musical creation, he was member in several music groups including Wavves and his own living room has inspired him to start his own DiY thing. That is how the idea of Raw Moans was born. After he has teamed up with Michael, soon after they released their debut EP 'Safe Sex'. This is a tribute to musicians and who lived and died from complications due to HIV/AIDS. This is reflected through lyric collages, allusions, and re-workings of songs by musicians, such as Arthur Russell, Klaus Nomi, and Eazy-E, over original instrumentals and melodies. 

Please follow the link to explore the sound of Raw Moans.

https://soundcloud.com/raw_moans/sets/safe-sex

WAW: Betsy- Wanted More

Time for the last WAW this year. It comes as a random discovery on Youtube and turned also to be one of the most surprising artists to discover this year. Her name is simply Betsy and I'm sure we will write more about her in 2017. For now as a warm up, here comes here brilliant video for the song "Wanted More". This song has also been released as a single and she also released an EP. We hope for the album next year. More to come!

The Jesus and Mary Chain Announce New Album 'Damage and Joy'

The Jesus and Mary Chain have announced the release of a brand new studio album next year. The album will be entitled 'Damage and Joy' and this will be their first album since 1998. The band is also planning live tour dates around the globe. The first single from the album 'Amputation' has already been revealed and is available on Youtube.

http://thejesusandmarychain.uk.com

WAW: La Femme- Sphynx

La Femme have returned this year with their second album 'Mystère'. One of the leading tracks and the first single is entitled "Sphynx" and it was released earlier this year in March. The super exciting video for this songs was directed by Marlon Magnée and Aymeric Bergada du Cadet. I'm sure this video will make it into the top ten best videos of 2016.

Kate Bush to Release a Brand New Live Album and Single

Following her sold out shows form earlier this year, Kate Bush will release her live Album 'Before the Dawn' this week. The album was recorded during the incredible run of 22 sold-out shows performed by Kate at London's Hammersmith Apollo in 2014 and these were her first shows since 1979. Kate has also released a special piece of film to accompany the release of her new single "And Dream Of Sheep" which is available on Vimeo and Youtube. The album is out this week.

Lisa Stansfield - The Collection Boxset Released

Edsel Records have released the Lisa Stansfield- The Collection 1989-2003, a thirteen-CD and five DVD box set. This set includes of all Lisa’s Arista albums – 'Affection' (1989), 'Real Love' (1991), 'So Natural' (1993), 'Lisa Stansfield' (1997) and 'Face Up' (2001) – as 2CD + DVD casebound book deluxe editions, as well as a remix compilation called People Hold On… The Remix Anthology – a three-CD set that contains over thirty rare and previously unheard full-length mixes. The compilation was released on November 10th 2016. 

Lisa-Stansfield-Collection-1989-2003

Retrovision: Moby- Go

"Go" was the second single release for Moby released 25 years ago. The song was featured on his self titled debut album and released on Instinct label. "Go" samples "Laura Palmer's Theme" from the television series Twin Peaks and the titular vocal from Tones on Tail's song "Go!". The "yeah" vocal which features prominently in the track is actually a sample from soul singer Jocelyn Brown, taken from her 1985 single "Love's Gonna Get You"; this sample remains uncredited. The video was directed by Ondrej Rudavsky.

Next Wave: Colour Theory

Bringing some colours and cheerful and quirky 80's electro sound to bright the rainy Autumn days comes Brain Hazard with his Colour Theory sound machine. He says that the 80's synthpop is in his blood and draws a lot inspiration from the decade especially quoting Depeche Mode as the main inspiring act for his musical creation. It's true that many bands are inspired by Depeche Mode's music, but none of them reflect the emotional side of Martin Gore so much. Career highlights include winning the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Brian is currently working on his ninth full length release which is set for release in the next few months.

To hear more about Colour Theory check the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/colortheory/
https://soundcloud.com/colortheory
https://twitter.com/colortheory

 

Austra Announce their third Studio Album 'Utopia'

The Canadian band Austra have announced the release of their third album. The album will be entitled 'Future Politics' and it will be their third album to be release through Domino Records since 2011. The album will have 11 brand new tracks including "Utopia" for which there is a video available and which will be the lead single from the album. 'Future Politics' is set for release on January 20th.