Depósito Dental were a duo from Madrid formed in 1983 by Rosa Galindo (vocals) and Pedro Garhel (keyboards).
With a musical concept that moved between experimental dark sounds where the synthesizer electronics predominated, they were essentially characterized by a vision of what they intended to offer with their music as a global multimedia show in which they also had videos, literary texts, slides, stage recreation, etc.
It includes all the sound that emerges in all their plastic experience, expressing the emotions and personal experiences, ignoring their story. They use the voice as an instrument that becomes their own language. They create sounds that go far beyond words. They analyze conceptually the origin-influence that the evolution of music has had on them.
Their "Performances Música" stand out for the creation of a live atmosphere. In their performances they merge different media, the installation, or intervention in a given space, the use of video as an intrinsic relationship between recording and action, body presence, movement or dance. A whole atmosphere or climate that enhances sound sensations, complementing and offering the total work.
They recorded an only album in 1986 for Grabaciones Accidentales with the same title produced by Juan Alberto Arteche.
In parallel to the project, Pedro ran the small venue known as Espacio P very close to Madrid's Plaza de Santa Ana, which remained active well into the 1990s. On the top floor there were exhibitions, and the basement was used for shows, which was more unusual than any other.
Depósito Dental did several performances in Madrid during the 80's, of course in the Espacio P and the Sala Universal, even, already in 1996 they visited the Centro de Bellas Artes to show their show.
In 2005 Pedro Garhel died. [SOURCE: GRUPOS NACIONALES NUEVA OLA 80]
Chromagain was one of the greatest italian synth-wave group from Turin, Italy, from 1982-1986.
The band is celebrated as one of the best minimal wave bands of the old italian wave. They made a lot of gigs with audiovisual supports, playing with important wave bands like Litfiba, Carmody and Denovo.
In 2011 the labels Mannequin Records and Anna Logue have published their anthologic production taking the tracks by the only official acts. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]
Box Of Fish were one of the first Aussie bands to incorporate grunge into their music in the early '80s and they were also responsible for giving some high profile talent their starts in the early days as support acts at their shows, including Died Pretty and The Scientists. [SOURCE: METHOD RECORDS AND MUSIC]
Eternal long-haired losers who also have some of the best tunes this semi-legendary band has only released six albums in its long existence but each of them is a bonafide classic. The Astronauts second album ‘It's All Done By Mirrors’ judged by those who heard it as among the best albums of all time was a stunning collection of explosive pop songs and traditional folk ballads recorded at a time when all their gigs were with anarchist punk bands. Their fifth album ’In Defence Of Compassion’ experimented with ambient house music years before other conventional bands even thought of doing so.
Inspired by the UK punk explosion Mark Astronaut formed the band with a few friends in 1977 and began playing local gigs in their hometown of Welwyn Garden City. By 1979 The Astronauts were regularly appearing at free festivals and gigs in London organised by a hippy collective known as Fuck Off Records and from these began a close friendship with then London based punk bands Zounds and The Mob. That year the first AstronautsEP was released on local label Bugle Records and musically it reflected the hippie drug culture combined with the energy of punk. The record established The Astronauts on the local gig scene among the non mainstram hippie/punk/biker crowd. Also in 1979 an EP was released under the assumed name of Restricted Hours on the Stevenage Rock Against Racism label.
By 1980 gigs throughout England with Zounds had won over an army of fans and the ‘Pranksters In Revolt’ EP sold all its copies within weeks. Musically the four songs were not as adventurous as the first EP although the lyrics were as incisive as ever. Like many great bands from the postpunk era The Astronauts were completely ignored by the UK music press which then as now was only interested in anything trendy, fashionable or middle class. Local fanzine Zero began to champion the band as did the local newspapers.
‘Peter Pan Hits The Suburbs’ album was released in 1981 to widespread acclaim. Incredibly it received great reviews in virtually all the UK music press. The typical Astronauts audience at the time was largely hardcore punks attracted by the energetic gigs and a handful of hippies so the album was something of a surprise. Full of heartfelt folk ballads and featuring legendary jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill the album was not what fans had expected but appealed to a different audience. The contradiction of heavy chaotic punk performances and structured melodic alternative pop/folk/ambient songs continues to this day.
Throughout 1982-1985 there were hundreds of gigs with the many anarcho punk bands of the era and ‘It's All Done By Mirrors’ was arguably the finest album to date. The ‘Soon’ album featured great songs but was let down by lifeless production while the ‘The Seedy Side Of...’ album combined a scathing indictment of the 1980s attitudes of greed with some truly wonderful songs. By 1986 Mark was fed up with constant gigs and decided to slow down. Astronauts songs were always socially aware and ‘In Defence Of Compassion’ album had the usual great tunes but was also very bleak. By contrast the ‘Constitution / Please Don’t Come Around Tonight’ 7″ was an upbeat pop punk gem.
In 1991-92 The Astronauts recorded their finest album for Acid Stings. For once it captured the heaviness of their live sound but due to instability within the band and lack of cash the album has yet to be released. Despite this The Astronauts can still be found playing gigs in forgotten parts of London and Welwyn Garden City. [SOURCE: KILL YOUR PET PUPPY]
On cold autumn evenings of Milan in 1981 met for the first time Nino La Loggia and Giacomo Spazio. Both were regulars of the Bar Concordia, one of the few meeting places for the post punk generation. Nino with Mark Philopat (now established writer) had given birth to the HCN, one of the pioneering punk bands of the peninsula. Giacomo instead was a performance artist, interested in graphics and was looking for a new form of painting that was innovative and provocative. When the two met sparked. The two had the same passion for music: Kraftwerk, Joy Division, DAF and the whole new scene of proto-electronic wave and together they decided to start the musical project called 2 + 2 = 5, a tribute to Orwellian dystopia. The two split the roles immediately, Nino continued to pursuit the sound to the limit of experimentation and Giacomo wrote texts. The band made their début at the "Cinema-Music Non-Stop" at the Cinema Porpora of Milan in May 1982. Shortly after entered the band Cha Cha Hagiwara, already a keyboard player in Jeunesse d'Ivoire, enriching the band's raw sound with sonority which we can now define analog. After several dates among Milan, Turin and Switzerland, the trio entered the studio to record their first LP titled 'Into The Future' which was to be published towards the end of the year 1983. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
At the end of the 1970s, Gilles Riberolles and Eric Weber, high school friends, shared a house in Saint Mande near the Bois de Vincennes on the outskirts of Paris. The cellar was soon transformed into a rehearsal studio. Didier Esteban, the brother of Michel Esteban, the boss of the concept store "Harry Cover" in Les Halles and co-founder of the New York label ZE Records, and Philippe Chany, who would later compose the hit "C'est la Ouate" for Caroline Loeb, joined them in the first formula of a group that was to become Casino Music. The group was then managed by Alain Wais, music critic for the newspaper Le Monde, who released a first single 'Burger City / Viol AF015' in 1978 on Vid Ordur, the label of Alain Maneval, a Parisian radio host.
Michel Esteban convinced the band to sign on ZE Records, resulting in a recording in New York at the mythical Blank Tapes Studios, with Chris Stein of Blondie in production, with whom Riberolles has become friends in the meantime. Casino was then composed of Gilles Riberolles on guitar and vocals, Eric Weber on bass, Jean Michel Lemeur on drums and Anatole Mundi on keyboards. The four Frenchmen were joined by the New Yorkers Allen Wentz on synths, Chris Stein did some guitar solos, Tom Malone -The Blues Brothers trombone-, and Ron Rogers on piano and percussion. The chorus will be provided by Aural Exciters members Christine Wilshire, Mary Seymour and Gina Tharps.
Cristina will come to do a cameo, while Gilles will return the favour on "La Poupée Qui Fait Non" produced by August Darnelll.
The album will be mixed at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas by Island records boss Chris Blackwell, whom Esteban managed to convince. Steven Stanley, sound engineer of Lizzy Mercier Descloux's 'Mambau Nassau' and future member of Tom Tom Club is behind the console.
For the cover Esteban brought in one of his acquaintances, Richard Brenstein, who is responsible for all the covers of Andy Warhol "Interview" magazine. The album was released in 1979 in French version 'Amour Sauvage' and English version 'Jungle Love'.
In spite of a very good critical reception of the album distributed throughout Europe and Japan and of the Parisian concerts of the group with Blondie or The B-52's at the Palace, sales were disappointing.
In 1981 Esteban will produce a last single with Casino Music 'Go Go Word / The Beat Goes On' (an excellent cover of Sonny and Cher's hit " The Beat Goes On ").
In 2010 ZE Records will re-release in Japan distributed by P.Vines Records the album 'Jungle Love' with all the French and English versions of the first album as well as all the versions of the last single and unreleased tracks recorded at Compass Point Studios.
[SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
The Gravedigger Five –often shown as Gravedigger V– was a garage rock revival band formed in 1984 in San Diego, California. The band was part of the Paisley Underground, a musical movement centered on Los Angeles, California, which referenced 1960s West Coast pop and garage rock. The band's lineup consisted of Leighton Koizumi on vocals and sound effects, Ted Friedman on lead guitar, John Hanrattie on rhythm guitar and backup vocals, Dave "The Animal" Anderson on drums and percussion, and originally Chris Gast, who was replaced on bass and backing vocals by Tom Ward. When the Gravedigger Five broke up, members of the band went on to form The Morlocks and Manual Scan.
The members of The Gravedigger Five began playing together around 1983, practicing under the name The Shamen in bassist Chris Gast's garage. The group began writing songs together while its members were still teenagers; lead singer Leighton Koizumi was only sixteen years old when the band began to perform. When the band eventually went on to play the Whiskey A Go Go, the band members had to wait outside between sets, as the members were too young to be in the club. The name The Shamen was abandoned after the group discovered that the name was already in use by another band, and so after a night of brainstorming, purportedly at a local Bob's Big Boy, the group renamed their band The Gravedigger Five, a take-off on the old "Monster Mash" backing group The Cryptkicker V.
After only a few performances the group caught the interest of Voxx Records owner Greg Shaw, who signed the band to his imprint in January, 1984. The band recorded their first LP the same year, sleeping together in a car in an alley adjacent to the studio while not recording. Their first LP, 'All Black and Hairy', was released towards the end of 1984, but even before its release original bassist Chris Gast was ejected from the band as a result of his substance abuse problems. Shortly after Gast's dismissal the rest of the band fell apart and the group disbanded. The band released its entire catalogue posthumously. Following the breakup of the band, Voxx released the band's first LP in 1984.
In 1987, three years after the breakup of the band, Voxx Records released a second Gravedigger Five LP. Under the title 'The Mirror Cracked', Voxx packaged a number of unreleased 'All Black and Hairy' session tracks, backed with eight crudely recorded live tracks recorded in 1984. The Gravedigger Five's second release contained a number of cover songs, including two Stoics songs, "Enough of What I Need" and "Be a Caveman." The LP also contained a version of "No Good Woman," with fellow Paisley Underground alum Paula Pierce of The Pandoras on backing vocals. Lead singer Koizumi took offense to the mediocre way the album was assembled.
After The Gravedigger Five disbanded, Koizumi and Friedman moved to the Bay Area where they founded The Morlocks, another Paisley Underground garage rock revival band which continued the Gravedigger Five sound. Dave Anderson and Tom Ward continued on together in the band Manual Scan, and afterwards Anderson went on to perform with The Trebles, The Answers, The Crawdaddies and Skid Roper. The band reunited for one final show playing CAVESTOMP '99 at the Westbeth Theater Center, 151 Bank Street, NYC on 5 November 1999. The lineup for this show featured original members Leighton Koizumi on lead vocals, Ted Friedman on lead guitar and backing vocals, Chris Gast on rhythm guitar with Kory Cook on drums and percussion and Phillip Plyler on bass guitar and backing vocals. Original member Chris Gast died in Austin TX in 2000. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Vitor Hublot is originally from the Soignies town of Hainaut in Belgium.
Guy Clerbois and Guy Delhalle knew each other since childhood. Delhalle already played in many groups for recreation and by chance suggested to Clerbois that they try to do something together.
They wear their hearts on the name of Victor Hublot blew their friend, but at a concert given as part of the opening of an exhibition, a typo slipped on the poster. The designer omitted the letter "c" and the boys find themselves unwittingly baptised Vitor Hublot. Amused by this error, they decided to keep the name.
The two boys have very different musical worlds. Delhalle cultivates a real taste for melodies, while Clerbois, a big fan of The Residents and Magma, is more interested in the range of sounds and sonic wanderings.
Their first single 'Aller Simple' is self-produced in 1983 on the Brussels label Psoria Discs and reflects the dual influences of the two boys. Their friend Chantal Talbot lended her voice to the song "Aller Simple".
Following this first release of 500 copies, Delhalle left the band, leaving Clerbois alone to decide the fate of the group.
The latter published almost simultaneously in 1985 two singles 'Piron n'veut nin dance / Vive L'Amour' and 'La P'tite Gayole', the music of which is even more cold and dissonant, contrasting with the texts. Guy Clerbois then leaves a final album '185 Millions De Francophones Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi...' composed of covers and title tracks of the two singles. Following this album, Clerbois released 'La Dernière Tentation Du Disque' (1993), a playful and visionary project consisting exclusively of the samples.
[SOURCE: LAST.FM]
With their crisp melodies, Pete Shelley's biting lyrics, and Shelley's and Steve Diggle's driving guitars, Buzzcocks were one of most influential bands to emerge in the initial wave of punk rock. Buzzcocks were inspired by The Sex Pistols' energy, but they didn't copy the Pistols' angry political stance. Instead, they brought that intense, brilliant energy to the three-minute pop song. Kicking off with the 'Spiral Scratch' single -made when Howard Devoto was their lead singer- their initial run of singles were powered by Shelley's alternately funny and anguished lyrics about adolescence and love backed by melodies and hooks that were concise and memorable. They released two albums in 1978 ('Another Music in a Different Kitchen' and 'Love Bites') that tightened up and refined their pop-punk sound, then the more experimental 'A Different Kind of Tension' in 1979 before the fast pace of their career and problems with their record label led the band to break up in 1981. When the band re-formed in 1989, it began a long string of tours and albums that exhibited the same spirit the band had shown from the start, including a self-titled record for Merge in 2003 and 'The Way' in 2014, which turned out to be Shelley's last album with the band before his 2018 death. The group's powerful punk-pop proved to be enormously influential and timeless, with echoes of their music being apparent in bands like Hüsker Dü, Nirvana, and The Exploding Hearts, along with almost every band who ever attempted to blend the hooks of pop with the energy of punk.
Before Buzzcocks, the teenaged Pete Shelley had played guitar in various heavy metal bands. In 1975, he enrolled in the Bolton Institute of Technology. While he was at school, Shelley joined an electronic music society, which is where he met Howard Devoto, who had enrolled at BIT in 1972. Both Shelley and Devoto shared an affection for The Velvet Underground, and Devoto was also fascinated by The Stooges. While they were still in school, Shelley and Devoto began rehearsing with a drummer, covering everything from The Stooges to Brian Eno. The trio never performed live and soon fell apart. Shelley and Devoto remained friends and several months after their initial musical venture dissolved, the pair read the first live review of The Sex Pistols in NME and decided to see the band in London. After witnessing the show twice in February 1976, the pair decided to form their own band, with the intent of replicating the Pistols' London impact in Manchester.
Both musicians decided to change their last names -Peter McNeish became Pete Shelley and Howard Traford became Howard Devoto- and took their group's name from a review of Rock Follies, which ended with the quotation "get a buzz, cock." Buzzcocks began rehearsing, picking up local drummer and bassist Garth Smith. Shortly after their formation, Shelley and Devoto booked a local club, the Lesser Free Trade Hall, with the intent of persuading The Sex Pistols to play in Manchester. They succeeded, but the Buzzcocks had to pull out of their own gig when both the bassist and drummer left the group before the concert. At the Pistols show, Shelley and Devoto met Steve Diggle, who joined Buzzcocks as their bassist, and the group found their drummer John Maher through an advertisement in Melody Maker. Within a few months, the band played its first concert, opening for the second Sex Pistols show at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in July of 1976. By the end of the year, Buzzcocks had played a handful of gigs and helped establish Manchester as the second biggest punk rock city in England, ranking just behind London.
In October of 1976, Buzzcocks recorded their first demo tape, which remained unreleased. At the end of 1976, the group joined The Sex Pistols on their Anarchy Tour. After the tour was completed, Shelley borrowed a couple hundred pounds from his father and the band used the money to record their debut EP, 'Spiral Scratch'. The record was the first D.I.Y., independently released record of the punk era. 'Spiral Scratch' appeared on the band's New Hormones record label in January 1977; there were initially only 1,000 copies pressed. Shortly after the release of the EP, Devoto quit the group and returned to college; later in the year, he formed Magazine. Following Devoto's departure, Pete Shelley assumed the role as lead vocalist, Steve Diggle moved to guitar, and Garth Smith became the band's bassist. By June of 1977, Buzzcocks were attracting the attention of major record labels. By September, they had signed with United Artists Records, which gave the band complete artistic control.
Buzzcocks certainly tested the limits of that artistic control with their debut single, "Orgasm Addict." Released in October of 1977, the single didn't become a hit because its subject matter was too explicit for BBC radio, but it generated good word of mouth. Following its release, Garth Smith was kicked out of the group and was replaced by Steve Garvey. Buzzcocks' second single, "What Do I Get?," became their first charting single, scraping the bottom of the Top 40. In March, the band released its first album, 'Another Music in a Different Kitchen'. In September of 1978, Buzzcocks released their second full-length record, 'Love Bites'.
The rapid pace of the band's recording and performing schedules quickly had an effect on the group. Not only were the concerts and recordings wearing the band down, the members were consuming alcohol and drugs in high numbers. Early in 1979 they recorded their third album, 'A Different Kind of Tension', which displayed some signs of wear and tear. Following the album's release in August, they embarked on their first American tour and later in 1979, the singles collection 'Singles Going Steady' was there.
All of the inner and outer tensions afflicting the band culminated in 1980, when they drastically cut back their performance schedule, but they persevered with recording, cutting the EP 'Parts 1, 2, 3', which was released as three separate singles over the course of the year. During 1980, United Artists was bought out by EMI, which cut back support of Buzzcocks. The group began working on its fourth album in early 1981, but was prevented from recording by EMI. The label wanted to release 'Singles Going Steady' in the U.K. before the band delivered its fourth album. Buzzcocks refused. Consequently, EMI didn't give the band an advance to cover the recording costs of the fourth album. Shelley decided to break up the band instead of fight the label, and they split in 1981.
Immediately afterward, Shelley pursued a solo career that initially produced the hit single "Homosapien" and saw the singer experimenting with electronic pop. Steve Diggle formed Flag of Convenience with John Maher, who quit the band shortly after its formation. Steve Garvey moved to New York, where he played with Motivation for a few years. In 1989, Buzzcocks re-formed and toured the United States. The following year, Maher left and former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce joined the band on tour. By 1990, the reunion had become permanent; after Joyce's brief tenure with the band, the lineup of the reunited Buzzcocks featured Shelley,Diggle, bassist Tony Barber, and drummer Phil Barker. The new version of the band released its first album, 'Trade Test Transmissions', in 1993. After its release, the band toured frequently. In spring of 1996, Buzzcocks released their fifth studio album, 'All Set'. 'Modern' followed three years later, and a self-titled record for Merge appeared in 2003. 'Flat-Pack Philosophy' arrived in 2006 on the Cooking Vinyl label. An anniversary set simply called '30' was released in 2008 on Cooking Vinyl. In 2014, yet another new lineup -Shelley, Diggle, bassist Chris Remington, and drummer Danny Farrant- emerged with a new studio album, 'The Way', which was supported by an extensive North American tour in addition to their usual roadwork in the U.K. and Europe. On December 6, 2018, Pete Shelley's family and management announced that the singer and guitarist had died in his home that morning of a suspected heart attack; he was 63 years old. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Marie Möör is a French singer and songwriter. Collaborated with Barney Wilen on some new wave 45s during the 1980s. Together they founded the label 4As a.k.a. AAAA. She released 'Pretty Day' in 1983 on 4As, 'Falling in love again / Illusions' in 1984 on 4As, on Polydor 'Prends-Moi, Prends-Moi' in 1988 and 'Aigre-Douce' for Alpha Records (Japan) in 1992. In 1998 Jean-Louis Murat wrote & produced an unreleased album for her. In 2001 she wrote two songs for Christophe on his album 'Comme Si La Terre Penchait'. Founded Rose Et Noire with plastician artist Laurent Chambert in 2001. A first album released in 2003, 'Rose Et Noire', after a six-track mini-album entitled 'Quelque Chose de Nouveau'. A second album released in 2006, 'Tracé Dans Le Bleu'. Rose Et Noire evolved in The Other Colors in 2007. A first album in 2008, '361'. They brought out a third album in 2012, 'Up Up Up' and a fourth in 2013, 'O.R' with LAC Records. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
