Dark Entries is proud to announce our final releases of 2011! Thank you for all the support this year
DE-017 Vita Noctis - Against The Rule 2xLP
Dark Entries and Minimal Maximal have joined forces to re-issue the complete discography of Vita Noctis on a double vinyl LP. Previously these songs were restricted to limited self-released cassettes, compilation appearances and a sole 12” Mini LP. Beware, this is abrasive, primal music made by irritated teenagers full of angst!
Vita Noctis were a trio from Vilvoorde, Belgium in the Flemish Region. Inspired by the post-punk movement twin brothers Kris and Jos Kips convinced Kris’ girlfriend Martine Genijn to start a band in 1981.They recorded their earliest songs onto a 2-track tape deck in their bedroom studio using second-hand equipment they could afford: Roland TR-808 drum machine, Casiotone MT-31, Ibanez bass guitar and a Korg MS-20 keyboard. Their first album “In The Face Of…DEATH” was self-released on cassette only in 1984 followed by the “Much Money Good Boy, No Money Good-Bye” cassette in 1985. In February 1986 the band recorded five songs at Studio Care in Gent, Belgium later released as the self-titled 12” Mini-LP on Mad In Belgium Records. Their final recording session was November 1986 returning to the band’s bedroom studio, resulting in the song “She Likes Me” which appeared on the “Climax Productions Presents” LP.
“More “arthouse” than “goth”, Vita Noctis blend the sneering attitude of punk with the spartan structures of minimal electronics. The band had more in common with the early electronic Sheffield scene of Cabaret Voltaire, Vice Versa or early Human League than their Belgian contemporaries. Urgent vocals go from a whisper to a scream in seconds and sound restless, bored and irritated all at once. Fuzzy guitar, simple baselines and crude electronics take turns accompanying the dynamic vocal stylings. While lyrics tackle weighty topics like death and religion, the landscape they paint is as playfully bratty as it is grim.
All songs have been remastered from the restored 1/4” reel to reel tapes by George Horn at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley California. Each double LP comes in a deluxe gatefold jacket with cover art by original designer Stephan Barbery and never before seen band photos and lyrics for each song. Spanning three years and four recording sessions “Against The Rule” is the soundtrack to Armageddon, very fitting in the contemporary climate of dissatisfaction and social upheaval. Sound clips HERE
$25
DE-021 The Danse Society - Demos Vol. 1 LP
Dark Entries digs deep into the UK Goth underground to unearth The Danse Society “Demos Vol. 1.” The band formed in Barnsley, England in 1980 from the remnants of local post-punk bands Y? and Lips-X. Between 1980 and 1982 the band released a handful of 7” and 12” EPs and the debut album “Seduction” on their own independent label, Society Records. The band also recorded several sessions for Radio 1, including a John Peel session, and topped the Independent Charts with the single “Somewhere.” Their commercial debut, “Heaven Is Waiting” was released in February 1984. They released two further singles and the album “Looking Through” before breaking up in 1986. After 24 years three original band members reunited to record the new album “Change of Skin,” released in July 2011.
1983 was The Danse Society’s year. Playing sold out tours and the success of “Seduction” won them a recording contract with Arista Records. Spending their advance on new equipment the band recorded an album’s worth of demos in one day at Greenhouse Studios, London in May 1983. The line-up for this session was Steve Rawlings (vocals), Paul Nash (guitar), Lyndon Scarfe (keyboards), Tim Wright (bass) and Paul Gilmartin (drums). Doom laden guitar riffs, swirling synthesizers, crushing drums, driving and disembodied vocals, characterize the distinctive Society sound. “Demos Vol. 1” is the closest you’ll get to The Danse Society live experience. You can almost taste the dry ice, feel the power coming through the monitors, and become entranced by the strobe-induced madness this album embodies. The Danse Society operate in a raw, atmospheric realm less campy than many of their Goth Rock peers, unconcerned with pop charts or commercial appeal. These aren’t songs, they are commands.
This 11 track collection includes an early version of the single “Wake Up,” 5 demos that would make the cut for “Heaven Is Waiting,“3 songs that would later become B-sides and 2 unreleased instrumentals. All songs have been remastered from the original tapes for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. Each LP includes a fold-out, double-sided newsprint poster with photos, lyrics and liner notes by original drummer Paul Gilmartin and music journalist Mick Mercer. 28 years later these demos capture a band at the height of their confident, powerful and haunting glory.
Sound clips HERE
$18
ALL RELEASES ARE AVAILABLE IN OUR SHOP: http://www.darkentriesrecords.com/?page_id=47/
The first two releases of 2012 will be:
DE-022 Buzz - See You Sioux LP
DE-023 Sic - Thought Noises LP
and then
Magic Dragon, Smersh, Fall of Saigon, Data-Bank-A, Los Microwaves, Stress, The Product, Lives of Angels, Vocoder, Kitchen & The Plastic Spoons ,ADN’ Ckrystall, Lavabos Iturriaga, Q4U and MORE!