Makoto Inoue and Yasushi Yamashita’s Inoyama Land project spans nearly four decades, still active to this day. A portmanteau of their family names, the “Land” of Inoyama hovers between imagined mythical space and concrete reality, extending beyond physical releases into installations, site-specific sound design and theatre scores. After their famed Haruomi Hosono-produced 1983 release 'Danzindan-Pojidon', the duo became involved in the budding environmental music business that was taking shape in Tokyo during the development boom of the asset bubble –working directly with figures like Hiroshi Yoshimura (with whom they developed sound design for the International Stadium in Yokohama) and Takashi Sekiguchi (Bamboo from Asia). [SOURCE: LIGHT IN THE ATTIC]
The Headstones were a indie guitar garage rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in the 1980s.
The original line up of the band was formed in 1980 whilst the members were at high school. That line-up consisted of Paul Sheridan (singer), Chris Flynn (guitar/singer), Anthony Schonweld (guitar), Neil McCarthy (drums) who went to school together at Marist Brothers College Rosalie, a Catholic Boys high school in the then working class suburb of Paddington, in Brisbane’s inner west, and Brendan Flynn (bass), who was Chris Flynn’s cousin, and attended Padua College, Brisbane a Catholic Boys College in Kedron.
Chris Flynn, who had also been moonlighting in The Mungabeans, took over lead vocal duties when the members finished high school in 1982. Brendan Kibble (formerly of The Vampire Lovers and later of The Bam Balams and The Navahodads) became friends with Chris Flynn and briefly played guitar with The Headstones in 1983.
The Headstones sound was guitar rock with an emphasis on 60s garage, especially in the Detroit R&B style, as was popular with other bands in Australia at the time like The Screaming Tribesmen (Brisbane), The Hoodoo Gurus (Perth / Sydney), and The Stems (Perth). Their sets were a mixture of originals and covers in this style. Covers included tracks such as "Bo Diddley", "Just Another Name For Rock and Roll" (Roy Orbison) and "Thank The Lord for the Night Time" (Neil Diamond) as well as numbers by Elvis Presley, The Monkees, The Rolling Stones and others.
Extensive gigging, energetic live shows and catchy original songs brought them underground popularity in Brisbane pubs and clubs to the point where their concerts were capacity, even though they hadn’t released a record. The band released a live tape and with their live show popularity they left Brisbane for Sydney (1985).
In a relatively short space of time they were signed to pre-eminent Sydney underground rock label Waterfront which had a roster of garage and guitar rock bands. The band exposure increased as they secured supports for American and British acts on tour such as The Flamin Groovies (1986) and The Cult (1987).
Two singles and a mini album were released which all sold well on the “independent” charts but failed to cross the band into the mainstream.
Though popular on the independent circuit many bands like The Headstones had to rely on word of mouth and touring for popularity with little chance for mainstream success. This was in the days before the underground was channelled into the mainstream through national radio stations like Triple J.
In 1987 Schoenwald left the band and was replaced by another Brisbane-ite, Brian Mann (ex Wildcats)
Despite being touted as the next big thing, and without relinquishing their underground popularity the band broke up in the early 1990s. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
General Strike released only one album -'Danger In Paradise'- in 1984, originally on cassette by Touch in 1984, and the single 'My Body', released on single by Canal Records in 1979. Performers were Steve Beresford (bass, piano, Farfisa organ, Prophet 5, trumpet, flugelhorn, euphonium, percussion, glockenspiel, voice, toy piano, melodica, noises, rhythm tracks, drumkit), David Toop (guitar, prepared guitar, bass, percussion, flute, alto flute, glockenspiel, voice, tapes, noises, rhythm tracks), David Cunningham (tape treatments) with guests Lol Coxhill, Dawn Roberts and Maartje Ten Hoorn.
The atmosphere which General Strike conjures together suits an old-fashioned, Cold War-ish scenario of technology. Their "Interplanetary Music" is the space-pop of George Pal and "The Day The Earth Stood Still", of computers built like Blackpool Tower in order to struggle through simple trigonometry, of "The Jetsons" and I.G.Y. They go no further than Expo '67, the world's last gasp of optimism. And although there are dark and disquieting moods set in this mosaic which their listeners have pieced together, it is made with a humor which is true to the spirit of adventure which those references apply. The sanitation merchants who make up most of the world's record-makers today would forbid our ears from hearing these strangely electric keyboards, earthworked textures, bizarre chatterings of percussion, and voices that seem like puzzled robots. Cataloguing the sound in that way makes it all seem a bit of a joke, but it isn't: laughter is encouraged, but it's serious music, made with a great deal more serious spirit than the great and disheartening mountain of music which today implores you to hear and not listen. [SOURCE: SOUNDOHM]
The Mob is an English anarcho-punk band, formed in Yeovil, Somerset in the late 1970s. The band's initial line-up consisted of Mark Wilson (vocals, guitar), Curtis Youé (bass guitar) and Graham Fallows (drums). Later drummers included Adie Tompkins, Tim Hutton and Joseph Porter. The Mob disbanded in 1983 and reformed in 2011, playing a number of gigs with the original members. The first was on 8 April 2011 at The Fleece in Bristol and later in the year, The Levellers' Beautiful Days Festival in Devon on 20 August. North American shows followed in October 2012, and various European gigs in 2012/13. Their first new release in almost 30 years was the single 'Rise Up!' in August 2013. Further North American/European dates followed in 2014/15. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Often stern, occasionally humorous, sometimes both at once, Dutch post-punk experimentalists Minny Pops formed in Amsterdam in 1978. They made their recorded debut the following year on Plurex, a label operated by band vocalist Wally Van Middendorp. The three-track 7" single contained 'Kojak', on which Van Middendorp impersonated Telly Savalas' TV character of the same name with lines like "If you make more money, you make fewer friends." 'Drastic Measures, Drastic Movement', the band's debut album, followed later in the year, and offered more lean, mechanical sketches and abrasive noise diversions.
After a handful of gigs in support of Joy Division and the release of a live EP, Minny Pops joined the Factory roster and, during 1981 and 1982, bounced between Factory proper and Factory's secondary Benelux division. A re-recording of "Dolphin's Spurt," produced by Martin Hannett and engineered by Chris Nagle, appeared in 1981, while the relatively slicker album 'Sparks in a Dark Room' came the following year. Two more albums, 'Poste Restante' and '4th Floor', were released on Plurex and Prime prior to the band's 1985 dissolution. The band, still led by Van Middendorp, reconvened in 2012 for several gigs, as well as a single recorded by fan Tim Burgess (of The Charlatans). Archival releases and reissues of the band's '70s and '80s output appeared on LTM and Factory Benelux. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Fresh Color was a Swiss group formed circa 1978 in Aarau by guitarist Gutze Gautschi. They started as a punk band featuring Dieter Meier; however, Meier left after two 7" singles, 'Cry For Fame' (released as Dieter Meier) and 'No Chance' (released as Fresh Color). Meier went on to form Yello.
Fresh Color released further singles in punk style, but in the early 80's Gutze Gautschi assembled a new band including drummer Danny Amsler and moved towards new wave. Fresh Color started to include synthesizers and developed a distinct dubby production style. The alias Frische Farbe was created to release songs in German language; the band's debut LP 'Die Stärke im Minimum' (1982) was also credited to Frische Farbe.
In 1984, Fresh Color shrunk to the duo of Gutze Gautschi and Danny Amsler. On the singles 'Disco Nature' and 'Get On Up', the duo merged their new wave background with disco and electro.
When songwriter and vocalist Humphrey Robertson joined the group, they had their biggest success with "Disco Future" and released their second album, 'Nightdreams' in 1985.
Soon after, all of the three went into producing a large number of different projects.
At the end of the nineties, Gautschi tried to revive Fresh Color. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]
Mighty Sphincter are one of the most under-appreciated bands to come out of the Phoenix sands. Formed in 1981 by Greg Hynes (Teds) and Doug Clark (The Brainz), they’d release a handful of records, none of which would sound like the one that came before it, but all of which were quite good. The band’s releases all have the distinction of practically having no to singers the same!
Their first singer was a man named Ron Reckless who dressed up like Satan in drag. He had a penchant for consuming large quantities of narcotics and that would be his undoing. This fellow was the singer on their first single, 'Heathouse'. They eventually kicked him out, then told stories about how he died. These stories were told in the advertisements for their records. Before ousting him, they recorded an EP with him that became half of the 'Ghost Walking' album.
Guitarist/songwriter Doug Clark (or Dominic Royale as he sometimes referred to himself as) would take over the vocal duties for the second side of 'Ghost Walking' and also sing on most of their first “real” full-length titled 'The New Manson Family'. 'Ghost Walking' was billed as a double EP because the plan was to actually have released those as their own records.
The album had the distinction of being “produced by Alice Cooper”. It was Sphincter most angry sounding album but it con a few real gems. This would also mark the end of the sheer demented sound of the band as they were evolving into a more serious act by this point. [SOURCE: THE PUNK VAULT]
E-Man was the first project of Norwegian musician Geir Jenssen (electronics, well-known from being in Bel Canto and especially Biosphere) with guest vocalists Ragnar “Spiss” Larsen and Frank Jensen, and Per Martinsen on additional electronics. They only released one cassette on Likvider in 1984 (LIKV 4025) with tracks recorded in 1983/84. For various reasons one can say that E-Man was the Norwegian twin-brother of Belgian project Twilight Ritual (and its related projects Linear Movement and Autumn). First because of the instrumentation: Geir used a Roland TR-808 with sequencers and second, Geir did not restrict himself to (synth)pop structures but added already much soul and atmosphere into the compositions. Already the first track “The Difference” sounds perfectly like the best synthpop moments of Linear Movement. “De Du Da Da Di” has very clear Kraftwerk and Cybotron (Juan Atkins) influences, too. “The Upland” (parts I to IV) or “Hosono” are Twilight Ritual tracks par excellence. Also featured and finally available is the track “Great Nations” which was already well-known in the minimal electronics circles, a masterpiece of simple electropop, and very very similar to Oppenheimer Analysis. [SOURCE: MINIMAL WAVE FORUM]
One of the odder and more wonderful bands to emerge from the surf music revival, The Mermen race between high-octane surf anthems and spaced-out blasts of psychedelia. Neither their albums nor their live shows follow any sort of expected or ordinary path, and the band has made many sincere attempts to get away from the surf music label. Based in San Francisco, the band has developed a broad cult following, encourages tapers, and has developed a strong relationship with radio, resulting in numerous radio broadcasts, some of which were compiled for 'The Mermen Live at the Haunted House' (1994).
The Mermen came together almost by accident in 1989, when guitarist Thomas was 35. He was working in a San Francisco music store and experimenting with demo recording equipment, although he didn't really consider himself a musician and had never played in a band. Before long he was joined by bassist Allan Whitman and drummer Martyn Jones, neither of whom fit any kind of pre-determined image of surf musicians (both men, like Thomas, were in their mid-30s), helping to propel the band away from its surf guitar roots, despite the first album, 'Krill Slippin' (1989, CD reissue in 1995), being essentially a pastiche of surf music to that date.
Their next album, 'Food for Other Fish' (1994), saw a dramatic shift in the overall Mermen sound, as Thomas allowed himself free reign to improvise and try a variety of different sounds and techniques, aided by a huge rack of effects boxes and a floor full of effects pedals. The wall of sound generated by Thomas, combined with the distinctive work of Whitman and Jones, brought about comparisons with Sonic Youth alongside those to Dick Dale. Both of these descriptions are effectively limiting, however, as The Mermen sound does a good job of defying description -while the band can do the surf music sound as well as anyone, they are even more adept at pushing into sometimes experimental spaces that take in everyone from John Coltrane to Pink Floyd.
Their following continued to grow in the year between the release of 'Food for Other Fish' and the original 1995 release of 'A Glorious Lethal Euphoria', a 72-minute tour de force originally released by Toadaphile Records. The album drew widespread attention, selling out its first runs. The activity drew the attention of Mesa/Bluemoon Records, a division of Atlantic, who proceeded to sign the band, releasing a revised version of 'A Glorious Lethal Euphoria' later in 1995. An EP, 'Songs of the Cows', recorded in three days in the midst of a tour was released in 1996. Besides the "official" CD releases, The Mermen have also released a number of limited-edition cassettes featuring early, live, and radio station performances, as well as 'The Mermen Sing Merry Christmas to You'. Taking some time to craft the official follow-up to 'A Glorious Lethal Euphoria', The Mermen finally returned in 2000 with the full-length 'The Amazing California Health and Happiness Road Show'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Mephisto Walz was formed in 1986 by Barry Galvin (aka Bari-Bari) and John Schuman (Johann), following their departure from the influential deathrock band Christian Death. Bari-Bari had joined Christian Death as bassist while the iconic Rozz Williams was still vocalist (Williams left the band in 1985, with guitarist Valor Kand becoming its lead singer and principal songwriter).
Christian Death's 1985 album 'Atrocities' and the EPs 'The Wind Kissed Pictures' and 'Believers of the Unpure' featured Bari-Bari, Johann (bass), and David Glass (drums), all of whom would feature in one or more incarnation of Mephisto Walz.
Following conflict with Kand, Bari-Bari and Johann departed Christian Death. The first incarnation of Mephisto Walz started in Düsseldorf in February 1986, with original members Bari-Bari (the band's sole songwriter), Johann, and Arndt (drums), plus a German vocalist called Jörge. The name Mephisto Walz was proposed by Johann. They rehearsed songs mainly written by Bari-Bari, but also added soundscapes such as “Aboriginee Requiem”. The band's eponymous debut album was released on Italian label Supporti Fonografici that same year. In 1987 they moved to Los Angeles, without Johann.
In 1988, Bari-Bari started working on tracks with Steven Grey in Hollywood at a studio where the former worked. They regrouped with David Hermon (bass), Mondo (vox) and Nariki Shimooka (guitar). Playing the first EP and some of Bari-Bari's Christian Death material they added new songs that would later be released on 'Crocosmia', 'Terra-Regina' and 'Thalia' albums.
In 1991, Christianna was brought in as vocalist as Bari-Bari felt that male vocals were too similar to Williams and Christian Death. William Faith was added on bass at the same time. An association with Gymnastic Records was started with the compilation 'American Gothic', which featured Mephisto Walz's "Tangia". 'Crocosmia' was then recorded for European release, consisting of new tracks and some older tracks redone with Christianna on vocals.
In 1992, a co-headlined tour with Shadow Project (featuring Williams and Eva O) brought Mephisto Walz back to Germany, where they stayed and recorded 'As Apostles Forget'. Bari-Bari also wrote part of what would be 'Terra-Regina' and 'Thalia', before returning to the U.S.
In Los Angeles, Johann and Glass were available again and replaced Faith and Grey. Work then began with Bari-Bari and Christianna on the next three complete releases -'Eternal Deep', 'Terra-Regina' and 'Thalia', through new label Cleopatra Records.
In 1994-1999, Bari-Bari and Christianna completed cover singles for Cleopatra, as well as 'Early Recordings' and 'Immersion'. The 'Nightingale' EP was recorded by Bari-Bari and Christianna in 2002 for the Fossil Dungeon label, followed by the album 'Insidious' in 2004.
For the next few years, Bari-Bari played and recorded with Scarlet's Remains and recorded bands in his L.A. studio.
In 2011 'IIIrd Incarnation' was recorded with both Bari-Bari and Sara Reid on vocals. A more aggressive guitar style was reintroduced. Two years later, 'New Apostles' was recorded with Bari-Bari and Myriam Galvin now on vocals. It featured Christian Omar Madrigal Izzo on four tracks. 2017's 'Scoundrel' was written and recorded by Bari-Bari and Myriam, with Omar Madrigal Izzo again performing on select songs. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA]
Hack Hack were a post-punk band from Ladbroke Grove, West London, and active circa 1982-1983. Line-up was: Wayne Charlton, singer; Matthew Stokoe, guitar; Mark Whitely, bass and piano; and Al Cole, drums. After disbanding in 1983 little is known of what became of Wayne Charlton. Al Cole went on to play with The Folk Devils with Mark Whitely. Mark is now a criminological researcher and tutor at Cardiff University. Matthew Stokoe is the author of novels "Cows", "High Life" and "Empty Mile".
Formed in Surrey, England, in the summer of 1977, The Members were among the new wave of British bands jumping on the punk bandwagon. The band -composed of Nicky Tesco (vocals), Jean-Marie Carroll (guitar), Gary Baker (guitar), Adrian Lillywhite (drums), and Chris Payne (bass)- was among the first to successfully blend reggae rhythms with punk's attitude and aggression. Stiff Records saw some promise in the band and signed them early in 1978, releasing their first single, 'Solitary Confinement'. The success of the single led to their signing with Virgin Records in 1979. Their Virgin debut single, 'Sound of the Suburbs', made it into the British Top 20 but subsequent singles failed to match its success. After replacing Baker with Nigel Bennett, they recorded their first LP, 'At the Chelsea Nightclub', which also made a brief appearance in the lower reaches of the U.K. charts.
Around this time, the 2-Tone movement was stealing much of their limelight and their popularity began to fade. After one more album for Virgin in 1980, '1980 the Choice Is Yours', they were dropped by the label. After a brief layoff, they returned in 1982 with 'Uprhythm, Downbeat' (released in 1983 in the U.K. as 'Going West'), broadening their sound with horns and a more serious attitude. "Working Girl" from the album became a cult classic in the U.S. through MTV exposure, but mainstream acceptance eluded them on both sides of the Atlantic. The band called it quits the following year. Carroll became a film composer, noted for working with Julien Temple, and in 2008, an incarnation of the band toured around the world, including Glastonbury and the Isle of Wight Festival. The Members also returned to recording, with a lineup that included Carroll, Payne, Bennett, and drummer Nick Cash. Tesco, having bowed out due to health problems, was replaced by The Damned's Rat Scabies. The band recorded two albums, 2012's 'InGrrLand' and 2016's 'One Law'. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Lustmord, the solo project of Welsh artist Brian Williams, is often credited as the creator of the post-industrial genre known as dark ambient. His bleak, disturbing music often utilizes field recordings, deep bass frequencies, and ritualistic instrumentation, such as Tibetan horns. Initially associated with the industrial scene during the early '80s, when he was a member of SPK, he established his signature sound with releases like 1986's 'Paradise Disowned' and 1990's particularly groundbreaking 'Heresy'. Since then, he's collaborated with artists ranging from Robert Rich (on the 1995 classic 'Stalker') to alternative metal groups like the Melvins (2004's 'Pigs of the Roman Empire') and Tool (2006's '10,000 Days'). He also became a prolific sound design artist for Hollywood films and video games, often working with Graeme Revell and Paul Haslinger. He remained active throughout the 2010s, performing semi-regularly and releasing recordings such as 2016's 'Dark Matter'.
Born and raised in North Wales, Williams first performed as Lustmord in 1980 as a series of unannounced "support slots" at larger gigs, with Williams simply leaping on-stage and performing until security became aware of the situation. Though understandably brief, the rock terrorism gained Williams contact with like minds in the proto-industrial scene, including SPK and Throbbing Gristle. He soon began appearing with SPK on tour and in the studio, and in 1981 released a self-titled 'Lustmord' LP, including work by Coil's John Balance and Nocturnal Emissions' Nigel Ayers (who issued the album on his Sterile Records). His second album, 'Paradise Disowned' (released by SPK's Side Effects label in 1986), featured recordings made in a variety of subterranean locales including the crypt at Chartres Cathedral, Dunster Abattoir in Bangor, Wales, and on the ocean floor. By that time, Williams had also taken over running Side Effects.
Though he released no additional Lustmord material during the rest of the '80s, Williams did record (and do sound research) for albums by Current 93, Nurse with Wound, SPK, Chris & Cosey (with whom he collaborated as TGT), and SPK member Graeme Revell's solo LP 'The Insect Musicians'. Lustmord returned in 1990 with 'Heresy (Soleilmoon)' and released a pair of albums for Side Effects, 'The Monstrous Soul' in 1992 and 'Place Where the Black Stars Hang' in 1994. Also during the first half of the '90s, he collaborated with Andrew Lagowski under the name Terror Against Terror, and released solo albums under the monikers Arecibo and Isolrubin BK. Williams moved to California during the '90s after being recruited by Graeme Revell to work on his sound library for the scores of feature films including "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers", "Street Fighter", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", "The Crow", and "Spawn", among others.
Another Williams collaboration, this one with space music pioneer Robert Rich, debuted with the 1995 release of 'Stalker' (inspired by the Andrei Tartovsky film of the same name), recorded for Hearts of Space. One year later, Williams responded to requests from the ambient-techno DJ community for Lustmord material on vinyl by releasing a single for Plug Research. The recording inspired his next project, a collaborative live album titled 'Lustmord vs. Metal Beast' that skirted the edges of dark ambient-techno. The compilation 'Purifying Fire' appeared in summer 2000, but it was his critically acclaimed 'Metavoid' (2001) that raised eyebrows. Lustmord's soundtrack to the psychological horror film "Zoetrope" was released in 2002. Also that year, he collaborated with breakcore artist Hecate (Rachael Kozak) on the 'Law of the Battle of Conquest' EP, released by Hymen Records in late 2002.
The year 2004 saw the release of Lustmord's 'Carbon/Core' album, as well as a collaboration with the Melvins titled 'Pigs of the Roman Empire', which was issued by Mike Patton's Ipecac Records. Williams' ties to the alternative metal world strengthened when he worked on Tool's 2006 album, '10,000 Days', as well as the debut album by Puscifer, a side project of Tool leader Maynard James Keenan. On June 6, 2006, Lustmord performed live for the first time in 25 years during a high mass observance by the Church of Satan. The concert was released by Williams' Vaultworks imprint under the name 'Rising'. Lustmord's 2007 album 'Juggernaut' was released by Isis leader Aaron Turner's Hydra Head Records, and featured guitar and vocals from the Melvins' King Buzzo. Lustmord's second release for the label, 2008's '[Other]', included guest appearances by both Turner and Buzzo. Two discs of extended ambient versions of '[Other]' tracks, '[The Dark Places of the Earth]' and '[Beyond]', appeared on Vaultworks in 2009. Additionally, the dub-focused EPs '[Other Dub]' and '[Transmuted]' (the latter featuring a mix by Justin K. Broadrick) were released that year.
Williams celebrated the 20th anniversary of 'Heresy' with 'Heretic', an album of alternate mixes and early versions, issued in 2010. He then released 'Songs of Gods and Demons', a collection of recordings for movies, video games, and TV shows, in 2011. In 2013, the German label Vinyl-On-Demand released 'Things That Were', a three-LP box set that included a remastered edition of Lustmord's first album, rarities, and unreleased material. Also that year, Blackest Ever Black released Lustmord's studio album 'The Word as Power', which featured guest vocals by Keenan, Jarboe, and others. The live albums 'Kraków' and 'Stockholm' followed on Vaultworks, and in 2015, Lustmord remixed Japanese band Vampillia's song "Sea" on a limited-edition CD EP. Lustmord's solo dark ambient album 'Dark Matter' was released by Touch in 2016. Two recordings of 2011 performances, 'Hobart' and 'Maschinenfest', followed in 2017. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Mecano are really one of new wave's obscure treasures. Hailing from Holland, and with only a few recordings and some live appearances in the late 70s and the early 80s, Mecano are considered today one of new wave's most original and rare bands, whereas the existing copies of their vinyl records are sold at high prices as collectors' items.
After releasing a punk debut single in 1978 for the Dutch indie No fun label ('Face Cover Face / Fools'), Mecano founding member and frontman/leader Dirk Polak found himself moving away from the rapidly forming punk scene of the time and looking forward to explore new territory, inspired by his Marxist background and his tendency to create romantic lyrics.
With Ton Lebbink as a drummer, they set out seeking members –which was easy, as Lebbink knew people and bands at the scene. Soon the lineup was completed with the brothers Tejo and Cor Bolten and Pieter Kooyman.
Debuting live in 1979 and after a long period of composing and rehearsing in late 1979-1980, the band entered studio and an output of vinyls was the result: the 7'' 'Escape the Human Myth / History Landmarked' and the band's first two 12''s, 'Untitled' and 'Subtitled', all released by the Dutch Torso label. In the meantime, the band's eccentric blend of new wave, social lyrics and romanticism began to leave its mark, and their touring increased, along with the demand for more copies of their work.
Hence, in 1981, Torso released 'Entitled' in the United States in collaboration with a local indie label. In the same year, another 7'' reaches the public: 'Robespierre Re-Marx / Room for Two', demonstrating the band's fevered political stance, always in perfect match with beautiful melodies and amazing results.
'Retitled' is a full length re-release of the material included in the previous vinyls from the Divine label. It was released in the spring of 1983 in France, given the band's growing popularity in that country, a fact Dirk Polak confirmed in subsequent retrospective interviews. It was an overall introduction of the band's material to an expanding crowd, and at the same time a summary of some of their greatest songs. Of course, not all of the songs made it, so Divine made another 7'' available as an accompanying single for the vinyl. It was the "synthesized" version of "Robespierre Re-Marx" with the atmospheric, eerie "History Landmarked" as b-side.
Mecano's fate was not to last long. In 1982 the band suffers the first split. They return in 1983 without Pieter Kooyman and Lebbink and record their next studio album, 'Autoportrait', which features Kooyman in two songs. So Mecano became part of history.
A double disc collection from the Greek Lazy Dog label in 1996 and increased interest in the band's rare back catalogue led Dirk Polak to release the band's ultimate collection of material in 2002, the 'Half Inch Universe Years', through the Mutanjasz label. Since then, Polak has been on a tour of retrospective interviews and appearances, amazed at the extent of Mecano's cult status among admirers of the early scene. This is a group that followed its own obsessions and innovations and created music from the heart, sincere, atmospheric, sociopolitical and romantic, always convincing, always excellent. [SOURCE: LAST.FM]
Despite failing to equal the commercial success or cross-cultural impact of their Athens, Georgia, compatriots R.E.M. and The B-52's, Pylon's influence on the city's legendary music scene proved just as pronounced -the group's propulsive, angular jangle pop sound resonated not only within the Athens creative community, but throughout the American pop underground of the '80s, and though more heard-of than actually heard, their role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable. Their first two albums -1980's 'Gyrate' and 1983's 'Chomp'- are both essential documents of the nascent American independent rock era, while 2016's 'Pylon Live' is a fine document of how the band sounded on-stage.
Naming themselves after the ubiquitous orange traffic cones found in most cities, Pylon was founded by guitarist Randy Bewley and bassist Michael Lachowski, University of Georgia art students inspired by the likes of Television, the Ramones, and Talking Heads; the twosome soon sublet practice space in a studio loft rented by local artist Curtis Crowe, who quickly signed on to play drums. After auditioning a series of vocalists, the band finally settled on fellow UGA student Vanessa Briscoe, whose distinctive yelping style ideally complemented the music's jagged guitars and martial rhythms.
The quartet made their live debut in March 1979; that summer, The B-52's became the darlings of the New York scene thanks to their breakthrough hit "Rock Lobster," and their success paved the way for Pylon to make their own N.Y.C. debut, with Philadelphia and Boston appearances following before the school year resumed. Pylon's debut single, 'Cool', appeared on the dB's label in early 1980, earning strong critical notices and emerging as a major underground dance hit; that summer, they issued their debut LP, 'Gyrate', and also opened for The B-52's in New York's Central Park. Pylon toured regularly leading up to -and in the wake of- their sophomore effort, 1983's 'Chomp', but dissatisfied with the finished LP, and also disheartened by an abortive tour in support of U2, the band dissolved.
In the group's absence, Athens emerged as the nexus of the American underground, thanks largely to the snowballing success of R.E.M., who regularly cited Pylon as a major influence on their music; in fact, when in 1987 Rolling Stone named R.E.M. "America's Best Band," drummer Bill Berry argued the honor actually belonged to Pylon, even though the group had disbanded four years earlier. Their posthumous recognition, in tandem with the impending release of dB's 'Hits' compilation, convinced Pylon to re-form in 1988 after the band opened for R.E.M. on their 'Green' tour.
In 1990, they released their third full-length album, 'Chain'. However, with Bewley's decision to leave the lineup, Pylon again called it quits, playing their final show at Athens' famed 40 Watt Club on November 22, 1991. Less than two decades later, the DFA label expanded and reissued 'Gyrate' (as 'Gyrate Plus', 2007) and 'Chomp' (as 'Chomp More', 2009).
Tragically, on February 25, 2009, Bewley died after suffering a heart attack while driving his van. In 2016, the band delivered the archival concert album 'Pylon Live'. Recorded at their final 1983 show at the Mad Hatter in Athens, Georgia, the album was released on what would have been Bewley's 61st birthday. In November 2020, New West Records issued 'Pylon Box', an ambitious collection that included newly remastered editions of 'Gyrate' and 'Chomp', a disc of single sides and rarities, and a previously unreleased 1979 recording of Pylon performing live in their rehearsal space. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC]
Design are a Belgian duo who released two tracks on Belgian vinyl compilations: “Premonition” on the sought after 'Topless Game' LP (1983) and “Sunset Boulevard” on the 'Nuit Blanche' LP (1984). “Premonition” was recorded in September 1982 on 24-track and mixed in Dan Lacksman’s (Telex) SynSound studio in Brussels. During the same session, they recorded the track “Fashion & Seduction”. [SOURCE: CLONE.NL]
