Ruth

It’s the early ‘80s, and Thierry Müller, a graphic artist and krautrock fan from Paris, has decided to put his experimental rock group Ilitch on hold and make something, as he puts it, “that people could dance to”. The result is Ruth, a conceptual project that exists for just one album, 1985’s 'Polaroïd/Roman/Photo'. Seven tracks long, it is a remarkable piece of experimental but danceable new-wave, and nowhere more remarkable than the title track -an icy-cold cut of flickering synthesiser, taut guitar and jagged saxophone featuring disconsolate boy-girl vocals and the mechanical click-spool sound of a Polaroid camera. 'Polaroïd/Roman/Photo' is not a success. History has it that the record sells in the region of 50 copies, and before long, Müller’s interest has strayed elsewhere – his next project, recorded 1985, is an EP called 'Pile ou Face', recorded under the name Crash in homage to the JG Ballard novel of the same name. [SOURCE: MINIMAL WAVE RECORDS]