X-Ray Pop

X-Ray Pop are the synth-pop duo of Doc Pilot and Zouka Dzaza from Tours, France. They got their start in the no wave art group Bocal 5 in 1981 and split off in 1984 to focus on their own brand of quirky synthesized electronics. Influenced by Erik Satie, Brigitte Bardot, Suicide and Young Marble Giants, they call their music “minimum naive new wave.” Armed with a Casio PT-20 keyboard and a rudimentary Yamaha MR10 drum machine they recorded their demo cassette and first 7″ 'Eurasienne/La Machine à Rêver' in 1984. Upgrading their synthesizers and adding some saxophone and guitar, they recorded the 'Alcool/Amazone' 7″ in 1985 and the 'D-S/El Gato' 7″ in 1986.

Between 1986 and 2001 X-Ray Pop released many albums on record labels such as Sound Of Pig, EastWest and RRR: 'Poems From France' (1986), 'Welcome To My Guinea Pig’s Box' (1987), 'Dirty Love' (1987), 'Psychedelik Dolls' (1987), 'Cosmofuzz Balroom' (1988), 'Musky Muscle' (1989), 'Zouka Land' (1998) 'Absolutely Nice' (1999) or 'Surrealistic Pilot' (2001). Their songs are short, concise and well structured; richly textured, moving at a quick speed with hardly a pause. The demos show a sense of humor, vitality and carefree playfulness. Zouka’s pouting, tongue-in-cheek vocals (sung in French) come together for a catchy, sensuous, danceable, eccentric psychedelic ride. Reminiscent of the Mo-dettes, early OMD or Algebra Suicide, X-Ray Pop could be the missing link to Stereolab. [SOURCE: DARK ENTRIES RECORDS]