Electro Vinyl 245 Items

Damaged label (plain, no text)

Writing on cover

Sought-after Belgian minimal synth finally reissued.

They were interesting times, the early eighties. Against a backdrop of cold war and economic crises, the DIY attitude of the earlier punk movement had spawned near countless new genres where artists and bands broke the three-chord guitar mould and experimented with new content matter, singular song structures and – in many cases – new instruments. Synthesizers became affordable and were no longer the sole privilege of rock millionaires. All around the globe, musical creativity boomed as never before, and Belgium was no exception: Digital Dance, Snowy Red, The Names, Pseudocode, Marine, 1000 Ohm, De Kommeniste, M.Bryo & D.M.T., De Brassers, Struggler, Siglo XX are but a few legendary names of bands and artists who started making a name for themselves.

In Leuven, things were happening as well. Until then, the music scene in this rather provincial town had been dominated by straightforward rock and blues acts. Not for much longer, though: in places like Arno'z and (later) The Gladhouse, where young budding artists met with kindred spirits, bands were often formed on the spot and, more importantly, started to make ripples.

Ludo Camberlin and Karel 'Bam' Saelemaekers already had a certain track record in Leuven's burgeoning music microcosm. But what they shared would become the cornerstone of A Blaze Colour (Against The Dark Trees Beyond): a fascination for new forms and instruments, a penchant for sonic adventure and a profound love for gripping songs. The full band name, by the way, was inspired by a phrase from the Irish-American novelist J.P. Donleavy, a writer who belongs in the definitely-worth-checking-out section.

Moody Oxford post-punk quintet Exit 13 became Aerial FX at the dawning of the 1980s, the promise of their minimal sound, with its prominent synthesizers, yielding a publishing deal with Island Records and an early single released by the label. Debut album Watching The Dance has shades of dark synth pop and Goth, with future Radiohead manager/producer Chris Hufford firmly in the spotlight throughout. The influence of acts like Van Der Graaf Generator, Modern Eon and others lurk beneath this hidden Cold Wave gem.

Moody Oxford post-punk quintet Exit 13 became Aerial FX at the dawning of the 1980s, the promise of their minimal sound, with its prominent synthesizers, yielding a publishing deal with Island Records and an early single released by the label. Debut album Watching The Dance has shades of dark synth pop and Goth, with future Radiohead manager/producer Chris Hufford firmly in the spotlight throughout. The influence of acts like Van Der Graaf Generator, Modern Eon and others lurk beneath this hidden Cold Wave gem.

Price tag.

Raised from the ashes of eighties new wave (when Materiali Sonori debuted the Fuzz Dance series), Problemes D’Amour soon began a disco and electro classic all over the place. Florence born producer and musician Maurizio Dami - with co-conspirators Giampiero Bigazzi, Arlo Bigazzi and Marzio Benelli – created a mysterious character, a so called “modular structure born out a soviet calculator and promptly runaway". He was singing in french and was supported by primordial digital machine, using at the same time the more classical electric guitars, sax and sensual female voices. A handful of evergreen are still played all over the world by many international deejays, while “Problemes d’Amour” was even featured on influential Strut compilation Disco Not Disco 2. American label Sire (home of Talking Heads and a young Madonna) published a Fuzz Dance Ep in 1985 with the Robotnick masterpiece and several contribution from Mya & The Mirror, Gina & The Flexix and Naïf Orchestra. Maurizio Dami is still performing worldwide as a dj and is still composing new music. After 40 years Spittle Records in joint venture with Materiali Sonori re-issues the mini album and the 12” with its original artwork. "Once I was in Chicago, it was around 2010, I was just finishing my set and went outside the club to light a cigarette. Suddenly a police car stops nearby. I thought the policeman was here to fine me (I was more than 20 meters outside the venue), but he just lifted a poster of mine and asked to sign it. Then I realized that "Problèmes d’Amour" has been for a longtime the opening theme for a popular radio broadcast well-known between the black community (hence the policeman was black)”. Maurizio Dami

Fully remastered and licensed, ltd to 500 copies on clear vinyl Yet another chapter in the ongoing Alexander Robotnick saga. Electronic wizard Maurizio Dami licensed his second single in 1983 on Materiali Sonori ‘club series’ Fuzz Dance. After the surprising and astonishing success of the debut - Problèmes D'Amour – Robotnick became a sort of cult figure even in the United States and soon was labeled as a forerunner of the electro movement.

Small sticker on cover.

Second release on the new Rawax East Coast Edition comes again from The Arabian Prince And The Sheiks! It's the 1986 hit "Situation Hot". The re-mastered black vinyl edition will be out in Novembver 2021. Highly recommemded!

We are proud to present the first ever vinyl release of “No Message” by Art P, a still lesser known and lost masterpiece from the P.A.P. archives. Art P (initially Art Programming) was an electronic music duo consisting of Jens-Markus Wegener and Frank Grotelüschen. On “No Message”, originally released in 1985, we hear the band’s most profound work, a detailed and unique mixture in between of Electro and the synth-laden edge of New Wave.

The two artists from Bremen, the second largest city in Northern Germany after Hamburg, initially met in early 1982 due to a small add in a local newspaper when Grotelüschen was selling his Roland 101 synthesizer. Wegener became the new owner of the machine, the two kept in touch and soon became friends. When Grotelüschen was on holiday for a while he was nice enough to borrow his TR 808 drum machine as well as his Jupiter 4 synth to Wegener. During those six weeks he composed about 6 to 7 tunes that amazed his newly found partner, so that they decided to work together. Art Programming was born and from then on the two electronic music enthusiasts combined forces and released music on various projects. On their first album, the self titled “Art Programming” (1983), they worked with instruments like the Korg Mono/Poly which they mainly used for their bass sounds, a Roland Tb-303 as well as a Fricke sequencer. Later, newer synths like the Yamaha Dx-9 came into play.

We initially discovered Art P on the tape compilation “berlincassette 2-85” a couple of years ago. Their contribution, the title track from their second and last album “No Message”, blew us right away: punchy drum machines, heavy synths and cool female vocals delivering a serious, yet slightly ironic view on the meaninglessness in pop music having “no message”. A couple of months later, when we finally were lucky to get hold of an original full length tape (which is pretty hard to come by!), we couldn’t ask for more: powerful apocalyptic Synth Wave on “A Place To Fear”, thrilling vocoder Electro Funk on “Polaroid”, uptempo New Wave Synth Pop on “Sounds of the City”, dreamy and melodic Electro on “Without Jackets”, and other well produced tracks. It was an absolute necessity for us to get in touch with Art P and ask for permission to re-release their music on vinyl.

“No Message” was remastered from the absolute best original tape source and sounds incredibly well. The release is limited to 300 copies and will be pressed on blue vinyl. It contains an insert with lyrics and additional art. We think it is save to say, that this should not be missed!

Brilliant comet of the Italian New Wave scene. Real deal. TIP!

Atelier du Mal were formed in Florence in 1983 by Lapo Pistelli (synths, electronic drums), Iacopo Ficai Veltroni (bass, synth) and Ignazio Matteini
(drum programming, percussions). Recorded in 1984, 'Noblesse Oblige' was the first and subsequently the only demo tape by the group, self-released using classic gear like Korg Ms-20, Roland Tr-606, Roland Tr-808, Roland Juno 60, Roland TB-303.

In 1989 RaHen composed, programmed and mixed the song ‘You’. The song was sung by the great singer Mark Jefferis, who already had a huge success with TXT. Frank Poulton wrote the text. The audio engineer of this song was the incredible Tommy Schmidt / Cream Studios. This production was completely realized in Frankfurt am Main / Germany and is considered another milestone of the Sound Of Frankfurt.

Japanese pressing with OBI and insert. Cover close to NM

First time vinyl reissue since the original 1980 version. Original remastered album plus second LP with unreleased extra tracks from 'Some Deaths Take Forever' recording sessions.

Includes original inner sleeve.

Vinyl close to VG+. Generic label cover

Vinyl with a couple of light scuffs. Cover with ring wear

Damaged labels

Cover with sticker

Repress.

Metroplex continues its run of reissues with two more seminal releases from the label's golden back catalog. First off is Catalog number M003, aka late 80's Metroplex electro staple Channel One, a Juan Atkins joint with Doug Craig (Carl Craig's cousin) on vocals. Futuristic and playful techno from the late 80s which soundwise evolves from Cybotron and the obvious Kraftwerk influences. Juan Atkins said about the release in a 2005 interview that "it was more fun than politically driven, just about the colors and combination spread from colors". An important release in the history of Techno from both a cultural and creative perspective. Channel One's technicolor has been carefully remastered from the original tapes. Truly timeless stuff!

Small sticker on cover.
Record is close to NM.

Vinyl with a couple of light scuffs, close to VG+

Vinyl with scuffs and hairlines

Originally released in 1987, « Metropolitan Jungle » by German synth-pop band Cold End is reissued by Swiss label Proxima. Cold End is the second musical project of Katrin A. Kunze, Jürgen Grah and Markus Kammann. Musically, the sound of Cold End was something special back in the time, as a successful fusion of electronic and soul. Dynamic percussions, synth textures and enchanting vocals. Includes an aerial rework by Audrey Danza. All four tracks are freshly remastered!

12inch release of highly sought after Colored Music edits by Tokyo's, Chee Chimizu (Organic Music). The two cuts originally featured on the the bands seminal self titled album (from 1981) that remained a cult DJ secret weapon, for many years, all over the world. This heavy EP includes an alternative version of 'Heartbeat' that featured on the Japan only "Individual Beauty" LP of 2018 (also compiled by Chimizu)

Japanese pressing. With OBI. tiny wear and few paper scuffs.

Out of any classification of musical genre, “Confusional Quartet” is a distillation of the creativity and freedom of expression that in 1977 put Bologna at the center of the international cultural scene. This record places the Confusional Quartet in the history of Italian alternative music.