Bitch Magnet

Part of the extended Squirrel Bait family tree, Bitch Magnet was one of two bands that guitarist David Grubbs joined in the wake of his departure. Unlike the other one, Bastro, Grubbs wasn't a charter member of Bitch Magnet, nor was he the leader; that duty fell to bassist/vocalist Sooyoung Park. Much like Bastro, however, Bitch Magnet played a blistering and intellectual brand of post-hardcore punk, which often drew comparisons to Steve Albini's Big Black; they were also grouped with a more direct Squirrel Bait descendant, Slint, albeit more relentless and somewhat less nuanced. 

Sooyoung Park founded Bitch Magnet in 1986 while a student at Oberlin College in Ohio, joining with guitarist Jon Fine and drummer Orestes Delatorre (aka Orestes Morfin); despite their Oberlin roots, the trio was actually based in Chapel Hill, NC. Bitch Magnet signed with the indie label Communion and debuted in 1988 with the 'Star Booty' 12" EP, which was produced by Steve Albini himself and earned the band some notice on the underground rock scene. For the follow-up, 1989's full-length 'Umber', they added second guitarist David Galt (a later CD issue appended 'Star Booty' as well). Galt's place was taken by David Grubbs later in 1989, and Grubbs toured with the group in between commitments with Bastro. Grubbs appeared on the EP 'Valmead' and on Bitch Magnet's final album, 'Ben Hur', both issued in 1990. After Bitch Magnet's breakup late that year, all four members went on to other projects: Park formed the acclaimed Seam; Grubbs returned to Bastro, which evolved into the seminal Gastr del Sol; Fine played with Vineland and Don Caballero; and Orestes Morfin resurfaced in Walt Mink. In 2011, the band's entire catalog was remastered and reissued by Temporary Residence, and the band -Park, Fine, and Morfin- accompanied the release with live dates in Europe, Asia, and during 2012, North America. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

X-Quadrat

X-Quadrat was an NDW band from Hagen in the early 1980s. The group formed after nightly visits at the Ratinger Hof in Düsseldorf. The singer Volker Britz was at the time DJ in the Hagener Punk and Wave-Disco "New Home" in Hagen. X-Quadrat combined minimal synthesizer sounds with drifting drum rhythms and oblique electric guitar sounds. The vocals of the 18-year-old singer Volker Britz reminds of the early DAF. In 1981, "Hagen Information" was released on the Tornträger 58 Hagen label compilation 'Alles Aus Hagen' by former Extrabreit manager Jörg A. Hoppe. In 1982 X-Quadrat released the mini-LP 'X-Quadrat' with a total of 4 songs. X-Quadrat was often played at this time by John Peel on BFBS. Several live performances ensured a respectable popularity in the Ruhr area. Volker Britz played the drums in the rock band The Riffs from 1983 onwards. [SOURCE: MUSIC.WIKIA.COM] 

The Wake

Glasgow, Scotland's The Wake was never terribly prolific, but with a recording career that spanned a dozen years, they were one of the longest-lasting bands on the British indie pop scene. Formed in 1981, the original lineup was singer/guitarist Gerard "Caesar" McInulty (who had briefly played in a pre-stardom Altered Images), keyboardist Carolyn Allen, drummer Steven Allen, and bassist Robert Gillespie. Yes, as in Bobby Gillespie, the irrepressible hipster who later played the Moe Tucker-style drums on the first Jesus and Mary Chain album and then led Primal Scream through a fruitful career of bandwagon-jumping. 

Illustrating their initially dark, almost gloomy post-punk style, The Wake's debut single, "On Our Honeymoon", came out on their own Scan Records in January 1982. Though it didn't chart, press reaction was favorable enough that the quartet signed to the era's leading British indie, Manchester's Factory Records, and released their first album, 'Harmony', in October of the same year. Briefly shunted to the label's equivalent of the minor leagues, the Belgian subsidiary Factory Benelux, the original lineup released their last single together, "Something Outside", in October 1983. Gillespie departed shortly thereafter. 

With Alex MacPherson replacing him on bass, the reconstituted Wake released two more singles on Factory, 'Talk About the Past' and "Of the Matter", in April 1984 and October 1985. In November 1985, their second album, 'Here Comes Everybody', was released to positive critical notice. Besides confirming that the band named itself in honor of James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake" (the phrase "Here Comes Everybody" is a repeated motif in that novel), the album introduced a new level of low-key lyricism to the band's sound, leavening the post-punk tension with gracefully jangly acoustic guitars and melodies more wistful than doomy. This lighter tone would stay consistent throughout the rest of the band's career. 

MacPherson left the band after that triumph; rather than replace him, McInulty simply added bass to his studio duties and the band drafted stand-ins for their infrequent live gigs. It was almost exactly two years after the release of 'Here Comes Everybody' that the band released a new single, "Pale Spectre", with an EP, 'Something That No One Else Could Bring', following the next month. It sold poorly, and as their increasingly winsome and guitar-based brand of indie pop was no longer welcome on Factory's dance-oriented release lists, the band was dropped shortly thereafter. In most cases, that would be that, but The Wake had a surprising comeback in 1989. Matt Haynes and Clare Wadd of Sarah Records, the legendary bedroom label that spearheaded the twee pop movement of the late '80s and early '90s, were longtime Wake fans and asked the group to join their roster of otherwise young and unknown bands. The October 1989 release of "Crush the Flowers" was followed a little over a year later by The Wake's third album, the ironically titled 'Make It Loud'. Later in 1991, the trio released what was possibly their finest record ever, the 7" single "Major John", the ultra-melodic A-side of which was backed with the snarky "Lousy Pop Group", a names-named screed against the current state of mainstream British pop music. 

Typically, the band went on another extended break after that career high point before returning almost three years later with their fourth album, 'Tidal Wave of Hype', which was every bit as wonderful as the earlier 'Here Comes Everybody', with an even more delicate and melancholy air. The Wake even followed its release with an increased slate of live shows, with the help of Matthew Drummond and James Moody of Sarah labelmates The Orchids on guitar and bass. Unfortunately, Sarah Records wound down its operations in 1995, and The Wake fell out of the public eye for some time shortly thereafter. 

It wasn't until 2009 that McInulty and Allen regrouped to work on The Wake once more. The band played a concert that year in Brussels with A Certain Ratio, and began making sporadic appearances thereafter. An album of brand new material called 'A Light Far Out' was slated for release in early 2012. Also in 2012, Brooklyn indie label Captured Tracks issued a box set packaging together 'Here Comes Everybody' with the band's singles from 1982-1987. In celebration of Record Store Day that year, the label also released separate reissues of the 'Crush the Flowers' and 'On Our Honeymoon' 7"s, as well as 'Gruesome Flowers: A Tribute to the Wake', a 7" featuring covers of Wake songs by Brooklyn illuminati Beach Fossils and Wild Nothing. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Lavabos Iturriaga

This Bilbao band emerged in 1981, before the Radical Basque Rock era. It was formed by Ana Jiménez (voice and polyphonic synthesizer), Oscar Amezaga (guitar), Javi González "Koketo" (synthesized guitar), Paco Marcilla (bass) and Roge Blasco (synthesizer). Their live appeareances showed them in white makeup and strange uniforms halfway between The Residents and Kraftwerk. Hypnotic melodies, instrumental songs, Japanese settings, songs in invented languages, collaborations with the singer of Itoiz... They were among the few who recorded videos produced for the newborn Basque television. In 1982 they recorded in the Du-Manoir Studios (France), for Discos Suicidas, the single 'China/Guasimira/Nichos'. The following year, they were included in the LP compilation 'Sintonía Independiente', together with groups like In Extremis, Los Santos and Rufus. 

Having spent two years since the recording of their first single, in 1984 they recorded the EP 'Imágenes del Ruido/Instantánea' para Discos Suicidas, but this time without Ana. The band at that time was formed by "Koketo" (voice, guitar and drum machine), Paco Marcilla (bass), Roge Blasco (monophonic synthesizer), Oscar Amezaga (polyphonic synthesizer) and Juan Carlos Pérez collaborating on vocals. Already in 1989, and again for Discos Suicidas, they recorded a self-titled Mini Album. In this last album the band again undergoes changes in their formation, being configured with Paco Marcilla (bass), Javi González (guitar and vocals) and Oscar Amezaga (synthesizer). It contained the songs "Somos el Resultado de las Fuerzas Ocultas de Alta Intensidad", "Kilometros de Rebanadas", "Brujula (Sur)", "Linea de Flotación", "Humo de Ilusionismo" and '"El Otro Rostro de la Tse-Tse". [SOURCE: GRUPOS NACIONALES NUEVA OLA 80] 

Van Kaye & Ignit

Van Kaye + Ignit is the Dutch duo of Ed Van Kasteren (Van Kaye) and Ignatine Bekken (Ignit), who joined forces in the city of Arnhem during early 1980. While at university, Van Kaye was the singer of The MoNoMeN, a local new wave band. By the end of 1979 he had become more interested in the use of electronics and rhythmic industrial patterns. In April 1980 he released a demo cassette with 30 minutes of his own work titled 'A Slight Delay'. While experimenting with synthesizers and developing extreme sounds, he met Ignit, who had previously worked in the fields of art and performance. Together they recorded their first 4 songs with guest musician Williem Wisselink (Wizzkopf) in the summer of 1981, and released the 'Picassos on the Wall' 7“ later that year on their own Ding Dong label. Van Kaye + Ignit then began work on their debut 60 minute cassette album, 'A Slight Delay'. Like the 7”, all songs were recorded and mixed by Van Kaye at his home studio on a TEAC A-3440 four-track recorder. Self-released in 1981, the album pairs conceptual sophistication with disarming naïveté in a way that has been difficult to replicate since the formative years of ‘bedroom’ electronic music. Both members handle vocals (or non-vocals), and songs feature everything from new wave riffs to slowly shifting oscillator buzzes and eerie electronics over mechanical rhythms. [SOURCE: DARK ENTRIES RECORDS] 

Última Emoción

In 1982, shortly after the splitting of Glamour, Jose Luis Macías (keyboardist of the Valencian band) joined Europa -integrated by Julio 'Nexus' Pastor (synthesizers), Alfonso Aguado (voice, guitar and lyrics) and Lino Oviaño (programming and chorus). That trio had already released 100 copies in Valencia of a cassette through DAI (División Avanzada Independiente) and their own distribution, but with the arrival of Macías change their name to Última Emoción to see edited their songs in format of Mini-Lp by the Madrid label MR. The album, titled 'Dos Minutos de Odio', was released in 1983 and featured 6 cuts of pure dark synth-pop, including "Sentir Tu Cuerpo", "Otra Realidad", "Dos Minutos de Odio" or "El Misterio de los Tomates Eléctricos" (song signed by Macias as a clear allusion to a mythical and ill-bred synth-pop band of Valencia with which he had collaborated). That same year, MR publishes two compilation discs with groups of his team (V2 Berlin, Waq, Mermelada, Episodio, Los Modelos, Pistones, Farenheit 451) in which they can not miss Ultima Emoción: "Sentir Tu Cuerpo" in 'I Love MR', and "Las Reglas del Juego" in '4473910'. The musical result is at times close to the complexity (saving the distances) of Ultravox, selling quite well and allowing the band to turn around Spain including the musical temple of the time, the legendary Rock-Ola from Madrid. 

In 1984, they recorded a cassette for DAI, which was distributed mainly by the city of Valencia. The songs were: "Alguien Quiere", "Máquinas Romanticas", "Detrás de tu Sonrisa", "La Última Fiesta", "Hombre Modelo", "Nadie Te Comprenderá", "Nada Cambiará" y "La Espuma de los Dias". That same year they participated in the III Student anda Radio Big Party, in a multitudinous concert in the Palace of the Sports of Madrid where 52 groups of different ages and styles participated. But shortly after, Alfonso Aguado decided to dedicate all his time to a band that had already created shortly before, Los Inhumanos. Also, Julio Pastor decided to leave the project and turned into experimentation, forming years later Megabeat, an innovative musical formation quite distanced to the pop approaches. Meanwhile, José Luis Macías, begins designing Comité Cisne along with Lino Oviaño and Carlos Goñi (formerly of Garage) embarking on a remarkable record career since 1986. The synth-pop proposal of Ultima Emocion seemed more serious and more committed than those of other Valencian groups much more commercial (Betty Troupe, Video) but finally crashed, perhaps, due to the musical dispersion of its components. Aguado's later musical adventures confirm this theory. In 2010 appears the remastering of old recordings of the group (the ones of the demo of the 84) that gather in the album 'Máquinas Románticas', a LP that sees the light through the seal Synth Pop Spain Records and including as a bonus-track a remixed version of "Sentir tu cuerpo". [SOURCE: GRUPOS NACIONALES NUEVA OLA 80] 

Talk Talk

With the exception of a handful of common threads -chief among them the plaintive vocals and haunting lyrics of frontman Mark Hollis- there is little to suggest that the five studio LPs that make up the Talk Talk oeuvre are indeed the work of the same band throughout. After beginning their career with records virtually epitomizing the new wave era that spawned them, the British group never looked back, making significant strides with each successive album on its way to discovering a wholly unique and uncategorizable sound informed by elements of jazz, classical, and ambient music; their masterful final recordings, while neglected commercially, possess a timelessness rare among music of any genre, and in retrospect they seem the clear starting point for the post-rock movement of the 1990s. 

The story of Talk Talk begins with singer/songwriter Hollis, the younger brother of Ed Hollis, a disc jockey and producer who went on to manage such punk-era bands as Eddie & the Hot Rods. Mark originally planned to become a child psychologist, but in 1975, he left university to relocate to London, eventually forming a band called The Reaction; Ed Hollis called in a few favors, and in 1977, The Reaction recorded a demo tape for Island Records. Among the tracks was a Hollis original titled "Talk Talk", which later surfaced on the Beggars Banquet punk compilation 'Streets'. After just one single, 1978's "I Can't Resist", The Reaction disbanded, and through his brother, Hollis was first introduced to bassist Paul Webb, drummer Lee Harris, and keyboardist Simon Brenner, with whom he formed Talk Talk in 1981. 

After recording a number of demos with producer Jimmy Miller, Talk Talk signed to EMI, who assigned Duran Duran producer Colin Thurston to helm their first two singles, "Mirror Man" and "Talk Talk". Clearly, EMI's intent was to mold the band in the spirit of the new romantic movement, and toward that end, they also tapped Talk Talk as the opener on Duran Duran's 1982 U.K. tour. Their debut LP, 'The Party's Over', was indeed a product of its times, defined by contemporary synth pop sensibilities but with an honesty and lyrical depth absent from most other records of the moment. In 1983, Talk Talk resurfaced with the single "My Foolish Friend", which in itself marked a major leap from the first record with its denser and more mature sound; the subsequent dismissal of Brenner made it plain that the band's days of relying on synthesizers were over for good. 

The remainder of 1983 was spent writing and recording 'It's My Life', Talk Talk's breakthrough recording. The turning point was the arrival of producer and multi-instrumentalist Tim Friese-Greene, who was to remain an unofficial fourth member of the band for the remainder of its existence. In Friese-Greene, Hollis found the ideal partner to realize his ambitions; 'It's My Life' made major strides away from 'The Party's Over', rejecting the debut's new wave trappings in favor of richer, more natural textures. The gambit worked, with the title track becoming a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Released in 1986, 'The Colour of Spring' continued the trend, and on the strength of the smashes "Life's What You Make It" and "Give It Up", it became Talk Talk's best-selling album to date. A major world tour followed, with EMI allotting an enormous budget for the group's next effort. 

In 1987, Talk Talk settled into an abandoned Suffolk church to begin working on their fourth LP. EMI executives eagerly awaited the finished product, and they were to continue waiting, as the group worked far past its deadline, seemingly with no end in sight. Already well over budget, Hollis refused to allow label heads any advance tapes, and informed EMI that not only would there be no singles from the record, but that the group would be unable to re-create the complex arrangements on-stage and, as a consequence, would perform no live dates in support of the disc's release. Finally, after some 14 months in the studio, 'Spirit of Eden' was issued to thunderous critical acclaim, albeit little commercial interest; an intricate, meditative work, it bore little resemblance to standard pop music, with its lengthy songs and spacious, organic arrangements perhaps closest in theme and texture to jazz. 

With relations between EMI and Talk Talk at a breaking point, the label issued an edited single version of the 'Spirit of Eden' track "I Believe in You" without the band's consent. Talk Talk eventually split from EMI, but not without resistance from the label, which subsequently sued the band for making an anti-commercial album (the case was thrown out) and released a pair of compilations, 'Natural History' and 'History Revisited', without the band's involvement. 

Talk Talk then signed to Polydor; Paul Webb subsequently left, and the masterful 'Laughing Stock' was recorded primarily with guest musicians. Issued in 1991, the LP marked a complete break from convention, adopting an almost free-form aesthetic; however, it was also Talk Talk's final work -in 1992, Webb and Harris reunited in 'O'Rang, while Hollis disappeared from view, finally issuing his self-titled solo debut in early 1998. A live Talk Talk release, 'London 1986', appeared in 1999. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Salem 66

Just a little ahead of their time, if Salem 66 were at their peak today they would be no doubt be big news. Instead, they are the influential older sisters of many current women-led rock bands and are fondly remembered by those of us living there at the time as one of the best bands of mid-'80s Boston. Judy Grunwald and Beth Kaplan (guitar and bass, respectively) were Salem 66's brain trust, and despite their off-kilter melodies and clashing, not-always-melodic singing, they created a churning, idiosyncratic pop sound that was loaded with smarts and enthusiasm, even when their technical limitations were apparent. But like other technically limited performers both male and female, that never prevented Salem 66 from stretching out and wailing full-on. After a tentative EP debut in 1984, the band hit its stride with the release of the accurately titled 'A Ripping Spin' the following year. With a popularity in the then-alternative rock press that went outside the Boston, Salem 66 were becoming one of the hippest bands on ex-Bostonian Gerard Cosloy's painfully hip indie label Homestead. But their momentum peaked quickly and soon Salem 66, not helped by increasingly patchy recorded work, were old news. Too bad, since they were a great live band, and their best recorded moments hinted at something beyond wonderful. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Rat At Rat R

Rat at Rat R was a band formed in 1981 by guitarist Victor Poison-Tete. The music of Rat at Rat R can best be described as no wave guitar-oriented noise music. Originally hailing from Philadelphia, the band soon relocated to New York City's Lower East Side and became one of the highlights of the NYC noise-rock scene. With Sonic Youth, Live Skull and Swans among their contemporaries. Rat at Rat R has strong links to New York City's avant-garde composer Glenn Branca. Branca's cousin, Sonda Andersson played bass until 1988, when she left to play bass in Live Skull. Andersson was replaced by Walter Sipser. John Myers, guitarist for Rat at Rat R, is Glenn Branca's conductor. Their self-titled album was produced by Barkmarket singer/guitarist David Sardy. David Howard played drums on the 1991 release, replacing David Rat, temporarily. Their debut album was reissued on Finland´s Ektro Records in 2012. [SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA] 

P.D.

"In January 1980 I founded with 2 friends my first group ever. the secret name of the group was Progressive Disco, abbreviated P.D. Influences came from free music, punk, experimental and psychedelic rock as well as from new classical music, industrial and disco, which were melted into an own style, using tapes as well as conventional rock instrumentation. P.D. suffered from permanent personnel changes. At the end of 1980 it was clear that I was the only member who was to stay continuously. So I decided to change the name of the group in a way that showed continuation as well as discontinuity. Therefore the name was "doubled" by adding the number of the letters (P being the 16th, D the fourth letter of the alphabet). One of the members that time was Achim Szepanski, who left after a few months because he had to follow his studies. Meanwhile he has founded the succesful technolabel Mille Plateaux." (Ralf Wehowsky) 

At the last performance by P.D. in December 1980, they split into two groups: PD and PiDi. Those playing as PD continued on as P16.D4, the other group became Permutative Distorsion. Ralf Wehowsky played in both groups. [SOURCE: DISCOGS]