Electronic & Dance 425 Items

Originally released in 1982, including tracks written for Crosstalk (a science fiction thriller film made in Australia) and other electronic themes, it was written, performed and recorded by Chris Neal in his home studio, using Roland System 700 and Roland MC8.
In 1982 there were only a few System 700s ever produced and Roland was more interested in promoting their more commercial System 100M (that's why it was credited on the 1982 original cover to give them a plug). The System 700 was developed by Taro Kakahashi and his team in Japan as a direct challenger to the Moog modular system.
The ORBEATIZE remastered reissue also includes a special bonus track remixed and produced in 2017 by Jolly Mare.

A seminal figure in the history of 20th century avant-garde, yet sinfully overlooked, Wolf Vostell unleashed ideas - those running wild through his debut LP "Dé-coll/age Musik", which remain a slap to the face, more than half a century after they were set into play. A founding member of Fluxus, an early instigator of Happenings, an innovator of video art, Vostell was equally one of the most radical and irreverent practitioners in sound that the world has ever known.

First released in 1982, "Dé-coll/age Musik" draws from material dating between the late 1950’s and early 80’s - the results of Vostell’s application of décollage, the near perfect inversion of collage. Rather than gathered and assembled sounds - as with Musique Concrète, these are the result of subtractions from a former whole - the death of one, giving life to the next.

Swelling from the past, Vostell’s efforts pull the rug from beneath the common history of structured sound. A singular body with no loyalty, producing shocking results. A grinding confrontation - an intoxicating immersion in sound - as brutal as it is ecstatic - an exercise in joy. "Dé-coll/age Musik" assembles the essence of a creative spirit which is rarely known. Each work as radical and fresh today as the moment it was made.

The Land of Look Behind soundtrack returns to vinyl in a remastered and expanded edition that includes a download of three previously unheard and unreleased tracks from the original sessions. Alan Greenberg, who wrote and directed this film documenting the funeral of Bob Marley, provided K. Leimer with location tapes which were used to originate many of the rhythmic patterns for Land of Look Behind. Loops of the monologues and phrases that exhibited more distinctive cadences and pacing, the words, glottal stops, clicks and coughs of witnesses were used as cues for the percussion instruments. In effect, speech became the organizing principle of the musical score. By eliminating the accuracy of click tracks, musicians were prompted to rove through the inconsistent intervals of the voice-derived patterns. Also included is a four-page insert featuring an essay by Paul Dickow.

K. Leimer founded Palace of Lights in 1979. Leimer’s early work has recently been reissued by Autumn and RVNG, and his early cassette work is in the critically acclaimed VOD box set American Cassette Culture. Leimer has been actively producing music since the mid 1970s — his current catalog includes seventeen albums plus two collaborative albums with Marc Barreca.

Leimer’s work is included in the collection of The British Library.

A vinyl reissue of the third album (originally from 1982) by the kraut/electronic musician who was inspired by a.o. late '70s Tangerine Dream. This title is relevant for anyone into the sounds of the Berlin School.

Originally recorded in Detroit, 1982 by the late Danan Potts a.k.a. Superlife. At that time Danan was hanging around the Recording Institute of Detroit where Juan Atkins was training in production. Danan was interested in Atkin's style of dance music and quickly recorded "Go Bananas". Bananas was released locally on Southern Sun Records in hyper limited quantity, it is today one of the most sought after underground detroit techno recordings of all time.

Planam very proudly presents you "Die singende Sternlaterne / Folklore des Weltalls 1982" by Die Welttraumforscher. This record includes the first time LP edition of the mysterious swiss electro-dada artist's second cassette as well as previously unreleased material. Issued in conjunction with Christian Pfluger first comprehensive retrospective "Ein Sommer in der Wirklichkeit" (i.e. "A Summer in Reality") at Kunsthaus Langenthal and the corresponding monograph "Songs, Signs, Explorations" presenting drawings, music, lyrics, films and other rare material. When Die Welttraumforscher set out on 14 July 1981 no one could have realized that their journey would not be over soon. For more than thirty years now, Swiss Christian Pfluger has been working on drawings, texts, films and songs for the fascinating universe of the imaginary trio, which is well populated with figures like Leguan Rätselmann or Kip Eulenmeister and his astronauts of the spirit. In the course of that journey, among other things, over 35 music cassettes, LPs and CDs have been released, presenting minimal songs that the Welttraumforscher themselves call "Bretzelberg Pop" and "Space Folklore". After the now sold out "Herzschlag Erde / Verdunkelt die Sinne" PLANAM and A Tree in a Field Records have now re-issued the Welttraumforschers' second cassette, including the previously unreleased album "Folklore des Weltalls 1982" (not to be confused with the 1989 "Folklore des Weltalls" which is a different story). Translator's note: The expression "Welttraum" in "Die Welttraumfroscher" is a play on the words "Weltraum" (Universe), "Welt" (world) and "Traum" (dream). "Die Welttraumforscher" can both be read as "The Explorers of the Universe" as well as "The Explorers of the Dream of the World". Edition limited to 350 copies.

180g pressing!

Another classic Roedelius Album, back on Bureau B!

Much appreciated reissue of R.N.A. Organism’s ‘R.N.A.O Meets P.O.P.O’ (first released by legendary Osaka label Vanity Records in 1980). A key document of the late ’70s experimental music scene in Kansai, Japan, R.N.A.O Meets P.O.P.O is a hallucinatory trip of dubby bass, churning guitars, sputtering rhythm boxes, twisted vocals and unidentifiable sound effects.

Carefully remastered by Stephan Mathieu from the original tapes, cut by Josh Bonati, pressed by RTI, and housed in a hefty Stoughton tip-on sleeve. This oedition also includes an expanded insert with an illuminating essay by R.N.A. Organism producer Kaoru Sato.

With the demise of the group Wire in 1980, founder members Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis joined forces to create Dome. With the assistance of engineer Eric Radcliffe and his Blackwing Studio Dome took the ethic of »using the studio as a compositional tool« and recorded and released three Dome albums on their own label in the space of 12 months: »Dome« (July 1980), »Dome 2« (October 1980) and »Dome 3« (October 1981). A final fourth album, »Will You Speak this World: Dome 3« was released on the Norwegian Uniton label in May 1983.

These albums represent some of the most beautifuly stark and above all timeless exercises in studio experimentation from early 1980s alternative music scene.

With the demise of the group Wire in 1980, founder members Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis joined forces to create Dome. With the assistance of engineer Eric Radcliffe and his Blackwing Studio Dome took the ethic of »using the studio as a compositional tool« and recorded and released three Dome albums on their own label in the space of 12 months: »Dome« (July 1980), »Dome 2« (October 1980) and »Dome 3« (October 1981). A final fourth album, »Will You Speak this World: Dome 3« was released on the Norwegian Uniton label in May 1983.

These albums represent some of the most beautifuly stark and above all timeless exercises in studio experimentation from early 1980s alternative music scene.

While she was still a member of Nasmak, one of the leading bands of the Dutch ultra-movement, Truus de Groot started Plus Instruments in 1978 with herself as the sole member. When the project evolved, she found a wide range of rotating collaborators like Michel Waisvisz, Lee Ranaldo and James Sclavunos. Plus Instruments was about freedom and the live performances were largely improvised. The sound minimal but captivating. The music always came from within, but De Groot was also triggered by bands like Red Crayola, Suicide, DAF, Wire, Per Ubu, Devo and the No Wave scene in NY. She was always experimenting with primitive multi-track recording and whatever crappy gadgets she could find. Always looking for a gritty, dirty sound and bizarre overtones.

At a young age she travelled to New York and began to immerse herself in the nightlife of the city that never sleeps. Here she found true creativity, passion and expression. The club scene was alive but highly competitive, so this fearless Dutch girl would just knock on promoter’s doors to get gigs booked at places like CBGB’s, Peppermint Lounge, Underground and the Pyramid. De Groot eventually settled in the United States and never stopped experimenting with sound. In recent years she reinvented Plus Instruments and led the group into new territory.

The recordings for this LP were made by De Groot at home and the music is experimental, minimal, industrial but also playful, sounding nothing like most of the later material. 14 tracks in total of which 7 are taken from the elusive and impossible to find self-released debut cassette as ‘Truss Plus Instruments’ which was sparingly distributed by Nigel Jacklin and his legendary Alien Brains fanzine in 1980. The remaining 7 tracks are from the same period (1979-1980) and were carefully selected from the vast archive of De Groot. We are glad to present this anthology that serves as a long overdue testimony to the formative phase of a unique female pioneer of electronic music.

200 copies on black vinyl with insert.

Welcome to library breaks *chopped 'n screwed*! Slow (Motion And Movement), originally released on Sonoton in 1980, is super-sought-after and full of crazy dubby, super SLLLLLOOOOWWWWW and super HEAVVVVVY library breaks. It's also home to blinding new age/synthy tracks that are equally great. It's really varied throughout, but all absolutely fantastic.

Slow features KPM/Bruton/Sonoton-legend John Fiddy, the mighty Sonoton founder and composer, arranger and conductor Gerhard Narholz in 2 of his best-loved guises - Sammy Burdson and Norman Candler (get it?) - as well as a couple of fine offerings from Antonio Campo.

Heavy opener "Slow Business 1" is veeeerrrrrrryyyyyy slooooooooow with the phased drums so beloved of Narholz but this time delivered by Campo, with a proud, deliberate piano melody and great bassline adorning the creeping rhythm. "Slow Business 2" is equally as slooooooow but without any melodic decoration. Just pure phased drums, folks! Get sampling. "Moody You" is Narholz's first track on the record and what a beauty it is. A languorous, insouciant, slo-mo guitar soul track with warm synths, electric piano and heavy drums. It sounds a wee bit like an erotic film score, and all the better for it. "Slow Groovement" is Campo's final contribution and it's definitely his best. It's an ace, moody-yet-melodic crime/blaxploitation track with gorgeous percussive elements, mellifluous Rhodes and twinkling piano over a fantastic bassline and drums with some great electric guitar soloing halfway through.

"Slow Reactor 1" is Narholz again, under his Burdson pseudonym, and it's him all the way, now, joined by John Fiddy for half the tracks. This one is a tense, phased, slo-mo thriller with mysterious percussive elements and ominous strings. "Threat To Research" contains mysterious, dramatic sounds and heaps of string-assisted tension whilst "Ion Exchanger" is replete with repetitive, strange accents and sounds; all half-tumbling drums and dead tense, again. Truly, a taut experience and ideal for adventurous sample-based beat-heads. "Wave Motions" is a real highlight and the first to feature John Fiddy. It's a beatless ambient banger with slowly changing sound waves. It sounds like Angelo Badalamenti would if he were crafting strung-out teutonic library madness in 1980. The A-Side closes with "Slow Motion Link" which is over waaaay too soon but just simply needs looping. Trust us. Phenomenally dope!

Flip over for "Scenic Vision 1" for here, ladies and gentlemen, we go sublime. It's an absolutely stunning ambient wonder, with slowly changing textures and colours that create a peaceful, gliding, tranquil atmosphere of sheer bliss. You will not want it to end. Whilst "Scenic Vision 2" adds a bass melody, "Scenic Vision 3" uses the same melody but renders it isolated and lonely in the background. Haunting, hypnotic and hyper-beautiful. "Study In Brown" is s a lengthier number, with room to stretch out, and features Fiddy back in the game. Again, a slow, isolated melody gradually segues - by way of Fiddy's mournful electric guitar solo - into a slow heavy rhythm with rumbling, groovy bass and stratospheric drums.

"Deja Vu 1" weaves swirling, disorientating magic. It's described on the original sleeve simply as "indefinite arpeggios inexplicable vision" and we can't put it any better ourselves. "Deja Vu 2" sounds like you've heard it before, it's "as above with melodic line" and really is fun. "Glistening Surface" sounds exactly as you'd expect, all frisson-inducing movements, slow waves and generally peaceful scenic sounds. This remarkable library record closes with "Laser Fight", blasting "utopian percussive sounds" that totally get under your skin like fireworks through your veins. A neat trick!

Established in Munich in 1965 by Gerard and Rotheide Narholz, Sonoton introduced library music to Germany. Initially intended to cater to the country's new TV market, the library also provided an avenue for Gerhard Narholz's astonishing musical prolificacy, and soon became a haven for a wide range of European composers and musicians. In 1969, Sonoton struck a deal with the British label Berry Music for international publishing rights, exposing its catalog to a worldwide audience; when Berry was bought out by EMI in 1973, Sonoton transitioned into a full-fledged international label, with successes in the library and commercial fields and many innovations to its credit. Now a worldwide operation with hundreds of producers and composers under its employ, Sonoton nonetheless remains an independently run business still helmed by its founders - a remarkable achievement in an era when nearly every other major library has been absorbed by a multinational conglomerate.

The audio for Slow (Motion And Movement) has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

Futurismo have the privilege to be the first label to ever reissue one of the most sort out and revered electronic albums of the early 1980’s: Digital Stimulation by Units.

Inspired by punk in ideology, though not necessarily in sound, San Francisco’s Units were a young breed of dystopic visionaries art space prodigies and trash culture futurists set on reshaping sound for a new age. Leading the charge, along with only a couple of others such as Screamers and Chrome, they lit the touch-paper for a new sound, a new scene. A new approach. Equally as influenced by experimental cinema, performance art and Brechtian street theatre as they were the music of Suicide and Devo, Units offered a glorious glimpse into how and what pop music could be. Their influence has stretching all the way through synth punk and new wave pop into the most contemporary electro musicians.

Originally released in 1980, Digital Stimulation was Units true calling card and masterpiece. Containing the now famous opener ‘High Pressure Days’, this is a time capsule brought up from the dawn of the digi-age; all metronomical rhythms, wry lines and ice-cold delivery…part of a lineage that includes Neu!, Tubeway Army, ‘Being Boiled’-era Human League and Cabaret Voltaire, making this a vital recording for anyone interested in electronic music at all – past or present, with original copies selling at extortionate prices this is a release long overdue.

The remastered version of this out of print 1980 LP is presented here in a choice of ltd edition Colored Vinyl, alongside a CD of the album completely remixed in 2020 by Scott Ryser. This deluxe release also contains a 12pg art booklet containing rare imagery and new liner notes.

By 1980 James Brown did one album for Henry Stone's T.K. While this doesn't have Brown bubbling over with innovation, he still provided a more substantial alternative to disco. On this album, we have a sublime sped-up version of "The Payback," which rocks like nobody's business. Or on the remake of "Mashed Potatoes", Brown is reuniting with Bobby Byrd. Shortly afterward they both go through a travelogue of cities and states like it's "Night Train" all over again. Soul Syndrome has Brown still full of ideas. The inane "Funky Men" has a killer reggae/funk guitar riff and a fantastic Latin horn arrangement...In the end, it makes it a nice album that counts in the rich carrer of the master of Funk !

Edition Hawara’s fifth release is a raw funk gem by a little-known Austrian pop band called Magic Sound. Edition Hawara’s second 7“release features one of the more obscure Austrian bands from the 1980s. Little is known about Magic Sound. The cover suggests that their label wanted them to be Austria’s Village People, though their sound is much rawer and funkier. One thing we know for sure is that the group included Andy Töfferl, who was also a member of the famous Austrian pop ensemble EAV (Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung). And we know that they went to the studio to record a whole album after touring Sweden in 1980. Only these two songs survived, and they are worth listening to over and over again. Enjoy in fancy dress, or dressed down. With or without a moustache.

Basking in the golden glow of an Indian Summer, Basso brings us a much needed reissue of one of his most treasured musical discoveries, Guy Maxwell’s ‘Outside My Window’. A long time favourite in the Growing Bin, this mellow masterpiece originally crept out in 1980 with no backing from its label, the soon to burst Bubble. Now resequenced and redressed to the exacting standards of Mssr. Maxwell, ‘Outside My Window’ is ready to warm the hearts and cheer the ears of a whole new audience. Born in Bordeaux under a wandering star, Guy spent the 70s on the road, freewheelin’ from Paris to Rome, guitar in tow, before settling in Switzerland at the end of the decade.