The Noyes Brothers were Steve Miro and Steve Solamar, and 'Sheep From Goats' was their double and only LP from 1980, released on the Object Music label. This is all fairly uncategorizable stuff, harnessing the vitriol of new wave guitar and angular, Dick Dastardly-alike vocals and the 'brothers' unique take on electronics. The twenty-five minute drum machine overdose "It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time" is a particular standout and a decent example of the duo's strangeness. Wildly detuned oscillations flail around the mix while piano noodlings take up space, all to the dogged accompaniment of coarse drum machine patterns. The appeal of the piece stems from just how bizarre and unnecessary it all seems. It has to be one of the least essential, yet most intriguing twenty-five minutes in all of electronic music. Interesting electroacoustic experiments arise on the second disc, with the like of "Pneumonia Bridge" making a link between Doctor Who-style Radiophonics and more conventional concrete sounds. Possibly weirdest of all, songwriting normalcy is in effect on the slightly hippyish sounding pseudo psych balladry of "It Must Be Vibration", or the driving post-punk of "Pointless" (both of which are fronted by vocalist Jae Boyer). [SOURCE: BOOMKAT]
Meat Whiplash was an alternative rock band from East Kilbride, Scotland, that were amongst the first to be signed to Creation Records.
The line-up was Paul McDermott (vox), Stephen McLean (guitar), Edward Connelly (bass guitar) and Michael Kerr (drums). They took their name from a B-side track by The Fire Engines. They then became The Motorcycle Boy when female singer Alex Taylor (of The Shop Assistants) joined the group in 1987.
They only had one record released, 'Don't Slip Up', which spent 19 weeks in the UK's independent music chart, where it reached the No. 3 position following its release on 14 September 1985 as a 7" single, (which had a sleeve featuring actor Robert Vaughn, printed up by Bobby Gillespie and hand-folded by their record label's owner, Alan McGee). They are notorious for being the opening band at The Jesus and Mary Chain's infamous "riot gig" at the North London Polytechnic on 15 March 1985, where they threw a wine bottle into the crowd and were, according to The Jasmine Minks, the next band set to play, then beaten-up on-stage by members of the audience who later rioted when the controversial main act performed. They also had a session in the Maida Vale studios for John Peel's show on BBC Radio 1 on 15 October that same year. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Look Blue Go Purple was an alternative pop / rock band from Dunedin, New Zealand, together from 1983 to 1987, recognised as part of the Dunedin sound. Their first official show was at The Broome Valley Festival on March 5, 1983. It was formed by members: Kathy Bull (bass), Norma O'Malley (keyboards, flute),
Lesley Paris (drums), Denise Roughan (guitar), and
Kath Webster (guitar).
After the band split up, Bull went on to Cyclops, and has since recorded a solo album, 'Some From the Sky', under her new name Francisca Griffin. Lesley Paris went on to Olla, and now works as station manager for community radio station Otago Access Radio in Dunedin. Denise Roughan went on to play with The 3Ds and Ghost Club. Norma O'Malley was a founding member of Chug. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Australian rockers the Kryptonics were a band that brought together two common threads of Aussie rock -the garage-influenced sounds of such acts as the Hoodoo Gurus, The Triffids, and The Scientists, and the harder, Detroit-centric approach of bands like Radio Birdman and The Celibate Rifles. The Kryptonics were the brainchild of Ian Underwood, who was a high school student in Perth when he assembled the first lineup of the group. Underwood (no relation to the one-time Frank Zappa keyboardist of the same name) had previously appeared in three memorably named but short-lived bands (Satanic Menswear, Puddle, and Froot Loops), and the Kryptonics was his first project to play more than three shows.
In 1984, Underwood, still learning to play guitar, joined forces with school chums Cathy Webb on bass and Michael Reynolds on lead vocals to form the Kryptonics; drummer Shakir Pichler was recruited through an ad in a local music paper. After months of rehearsals, the Kryptonics played their first gig opening for The Stems in August 1985, and soon developed a devoted local following. The Perth-based indie label Cherrytop Records issued the Kryptonics' first single, 'Baby b/w Plastic Imitation', in January 1986, but the record release show for the disc also proved to be the last show with the original lineup. Four months later, a new version of the Kryptonics surfaced, with Underwood taking over on lead vocals from the departing Reynolds, drummer Brett Ford replacing Pichler (who joined The Bamboos), and new lead guitarist Peter Hartley. After extensive local live work, the second lineup cut a single, 'The Land That Time Forgot b/w She's Got Germs', which appeared on Easter Records in early 1987. A successful tour of the Australian East Coast followed, but after a disastrous return to Sydney some months later, Ford and Hartley left the Kryptonics to form Lubricated Goat, and Webb quit music after receiving a degree in physical therapy.
Undaunted, Underwood's next version of the Kryptonics was up and running three months later, making their debut in December 1987; joining Underwood were guitarist Greg Hitchcock (who had been in The Bamboos with Pichler), drummer Russell Hopkinson, and bassist Jeff Halley. This edition recorded the band's first full-length album, '69', but they failed to click with fans as a live act, and splintered in July 1988; Hitchcock later worked with The Neptunes and The New Christs, Hopkinson would drum for Cremator and the reunited Radio Birdman, and both were members of You Am I. Underwood and Halley recruited guitarist Tony Rushan and drummer Andrew Robinson for the Kryptonics 4.0; after recording a few tracks for a compilation album, Robinson bailed just a month after joining, and Peter Kostic was behind the drums for the belated tour supporting '69'.
The group's fifth lineup cut a single, 'Oedpius Complex b/w When It's Over', which sold well, but when a tour was scheduled for late 1989, bassist Halley was unable to join them and quit the act; he would later join The Chevelles. Ken Bland replaced Halley for the end of 1989 tour, but didn't get on with his bandmates, and in January 1990, Greg Brennan became the Kryptonics' bassist, who in typical fashion left due to personal reasons in April. Richard Corey, who had been in Front End Loader with Kostic, became the new bassist for the group, and it proved to be the Kryptonics' most stable lineup, lasting over two years.
In the summer of 1990, the Kryptonics left Perth to set up shop in Sydney, and soon cut another 7", 'Bad September', which had to be mastered at 33 instead of 45 due to its six-minute length. A five-song EP, 'Tonka Tuff', was released by Zero Hour Records in 1991, but the group had failed to win the larger audience they'd hoped for in Sydney, and when Kostic announced his decision to leave the group, Underwood decided to dissolve the Kryptonics and booked a stretch of final shows, a few of which were billed in tongue-in-cheek fashion as performances by "69," Australia's leading Kryptonics tribute band. The Kryptonics played their final shows in June 1992, though in 1995, Underwood formed Challenger 7, which featured three former Kryptonics in the lineup, Hitchcock, Corey, and Kostic. In 2008, Memorandum Records released 'Rejectionville', a complete collection of the band's recordings. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Weltklang was the first electronic project of the communist Germany (DDR) and was formed in Schwerin in 1980. Current members are Thomas Voburka and René Steuns. Thomas Voburka is also the founder of the Berlin based electronic music label Exil-System, one of the first DIY-Labels of NDW, also known as Neue Deutsche Welle (German New Wave). Inspired by the fast rise of NWD and by the Punk subculture's DIY attitude Weltklang's main principle was to remove all dispensable ornamentation and polish from their music, and to use the simplest and most minimalist structures. Weltklang is particularly noted for the innovatively sparse and yet classic Minimal wave track "VEB Heimat", which was originally released in 1980. Not hugely successful at first, the unique and futuristic sound of Weltklang managed to equal an international cult status over the following years, particularly within the Minimal wave and Electro music scene. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]
Berlin-based drummer Wolfgang Seidel left influential '70s German band Ton Steine Scherben after becoming disillusioned with rock & roll. He collaborated with Conrad Schnitzler at his Zodiak Free Arts Lab, and sought out musicians who were similarly interested in a free approach to creating music. The group, dubbed Populäre Mechanik, took inspiration from new wave bands such as Devo and XTC, and weren't interested in punk's aggressiveness. Instead, they created abstract post-punk heavily influenced by jazz and dub reggae, and released two cassettes and a 7" single in the early '80s. The group's material finally saw widespread CD and vinyl release in 2015, when Bureau B released 'Kollektion 03', a compilation of the group's material chosen by Holger Hiller of Palais Schaumburg. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
P1/E were an early Neue Deutsche Welle outfit from the heart of Berlin. Though the band has very little recorded output (a handful of songs, a few assorted remixes, and some live recordings at best), the songs they constructed were catchy, influential, and memorable in an emerging synth-scene.
Most well known of the band’s contributors is Alexander von Borsig, an avant garde musician most reknowned for his work in avant-industrial act Einsturzende Neubauten under the name Alexander Hacke. Other projects of Borsig’s include early solo cassette recordings (which will more than likely be featured here in the future), work with Crime and the City Solution, material recorded under the name Sentimentale Jugend, with famed heroin-addict cum-superstar Christine F, and most recently a stage production with dark-humored English trio The Tiger Lillies.
P1/E were an ephemeral band and after disbanding in 1981, many of the other members joined various other outfits, none of which managed to make as much of an impact as P1/E (Hacke excluded, naturally). [SOURCE: SYSTEMS OF ROMANCE]
Formed in December 1980 in Berlin as a solo project by Kiddy Citny, who credited himself in the early years as Inri Intrigo. Later the project evolved and included several other people as well. Sprung Aus Den Wolken was part of the "Geniale Dilletanten"-movement in the early 80's along with Einstürzende Neubauten. They made a couple of records on their own Faux Pas and Les Disques Du Soleil Et De L'Acier. Their song "Pas Attendre" was used on Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire" movie and became some kind of underground hit. Founder Kiddy Citny is also a painter. His paintings on the Berlin Wall have been exhibited through the world and are now in private collections in the USA, France, and Japan. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
The Fast was an American glam / punk band formed in New York City in the mid 1970s by brothers Paul Zone, Miki Zone, and Mandy Zone.
In 1975, The Fast was an integral / influential part of the Max's Kansas City / CBGB scene alongside Blondie and the Ramones, with their blend of power pop and garage punk. As the New York punk rock scene was in its infancy, The Fast were a headline act at Max's Kansas City and CBGB in New York City.
The Fast's first single, "Boys Will Be Boys" (CBS Records) was released in 1976 and was produced by Peter Crowley. The Fast's sound and style was developed with 1960s mod pop elements and the use of synthesizers just before the instrument became a staple of the new wave genre.
Their second single "It's Like Love" (Ram Records) was released in 1977 and produced by Richard Gottehrer (Blondie / Go-Go's / Strangeloves / Raveonettes). "It's Like Love" was a blending of electronic synth sounds and bubblegum pop. The B-side was "Kids Just Wanna Dance".
In 1978 / 1979, The Fast toured the United States. Ric Ocasek brought them on a stadium tour with The Cars. Ocasek produced half of their first LP 'The Fast For Sale' (Recca Records), which was released in 1980. Mandy Zone left the band in 1978 to form Ozone.
In 1981, their second LP, 'Leather Boys From The Asphalt Jungle', (Recca Records) was released. This would be the last time Paul and Miki Zone recorded with a live band. In 1982, The Fast went electronic, Paul and Miki tour the U.S. East Coast with two back-up keyboard players. In 1983, they began performing as a duo at New York City's Harrah, S.N.A.F.U., The Pyramid Club, and The Mudd Club, using keyboards, electronics and backing tapes. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Christiane Vera Felscherinow (born 20 May 1962) is a German actress and musician who is best known for her contribution to the 1978 autobiographical book "Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo" ["We Children of Bahnhof Zoo"], and the film based on the book, in which her teenage drug use is documented. In the early 1980s, Felscherinow's boyfriend was Alexander Hacke, from the German industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten, and together they released music under the moniker Sentimentale Jugend, including a cover version of The Rolling Stones song "Satisfaction", on the Das Cassetten Combinat label. They also appeared together in the 1983 German film "Decoder", which also featured William S. Burroughs and Genesis P-Orridge. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
