Minimal Wave Records

hi,

some releases that i recommend that you might not know about:

Asmus Tietchens “Biotop”
http://www.discogs.com/release/464461

i have this on vinyl - it was released in 1981 on Sky Records. but forget about what you can usually expect from Asmus Tietchens or Sky… this is weird minimal synth music—CR-78 drums and strange synth sounds, lots of ring modulation - mostly instrumental… it was re-released on CD not too long ago by Die Stadt… closest comparison would be early Cabs but it actually sounds like nothing else. i strongly reccommend checking this out… also some of the other recent Asmus reissues (the first 4) are pretty good too but check Biotop first.

Judah “Cool Crap”
http://www.discogs.com/release/344431

this release has a terrible name and terrible song titles, but it’s a pretty cool sounding release that is clearly making a hommage to Suicide. it came out recently and you wouldn’t mistake it for an old release—production is a bit more modern, a bit like Panasonic/Sahko or maybe Butterfly by Haus Arafna.

Naked Lunch “Rabies”
http://www.discogs.com/release/360935

this is the band from the Some Bizzare comp, and i think this 7” doesn’t go for a lot of $. it’s from ‘81. ASide sucks IMO, but i think the BSide “Slipping Again” is a big hit… maybe it’s not exactly minimal, but a great synth pop track, that also has some really great funky live percussion. i usually hate funky love percussion but in this track it creates that cool postpunk/funk vibe, like A Certain Ratio for example. i often DJ this track and people are always asking me what it is

Anemie S. & Erve. / Lem
http://www.discogs.com/release/180615

an obscure Belgian 7” from a couple of years ago. i’m not sure if these guys are trying to sound like minimal wave, but to me it sounds like they are… really interesting lo-fi analog tracks, very primitive. side A instrumental, side B french vox… i prefer the A side but both are cool.

bye

jason / solvent

thanks.

Regarding Naked Lunch, the track from Some Bizzare album is just way too long… It definitely has its daring synth moment but the promising parts are just being sacrificed for that irritating Ultravox-alike ‘guitar’ sliding sounds…

: )

The Naked Lunch 7” is good though, so I’m looking forward to checking out the others - which I didn’t know.

-So thanks for posting!

[quote author=“Solist”]Regarding Naked Lunch, the track from Some Bizzare album is just way too long… It definitely has its daring synth moment but the promising parts are just being sacrificed for that irritating Ultravox-alike ‘guitar’ sliding sounds…

: )

i agree exactly with what you say… the way that Naked Lunch track on the comp starts off - WOW! but then it gets really OTT with the ridiculous dramatic vocals and that prog-rock-like synth… still i have a soft spot for this track, since this Some Bizarre comp was a real revelation for me when i discovered it in the late ‘80s…......

anyway, the 7” sounds nothing like this SB track, you can barely even tell that it’s the same band. in fact, this Bside track is very restrained, which is the opposite of the SB track

an interesting fact: Stevo spent some time after the SB comp trying to decide what his best career move would be: “should i manage Soft Cell, or Naked Lunch?”—i think he made the right decision!

Sorry, actually not right, since he had to decide between Soft Cell and
Fast Set. After the latter had send in such a weak remake version of “King of the…” he decision fell easy on Mark and Dave.

Check the v/a LP TERPSICHORE from 1981 where you´ll find another cool track by Naked Lunch “Horror Shock Horror”. It´s even better than their RABIES single;-)

Thanks for the recommendation of Asmus Tietschen.

Speaking of old krauts like Asmus Tietschen making Minimal Wave-like music:

The Conrad Schnitzler re-issues “Con”, “Con 2+” and “Con 3” on Captain Trip are highly recommended.

When I first heard the BZLP1 naked lunch track I couldn’t stand its screeching lead line, but now I kind of like it, though it is a bit extreme. The track’s noise shot rhythm is beautiful!!!

Agileo, has the Terpsichore comp been re-released? Also can you or anyone send me an mp3 of ‘Horror Shock Horror’, I’m quite interested in hearing it.

Thanks

Hello,
as far as I know the TERPSICHORE hasn´t been re-released yet.
Since it´s an 1981 EMI compilation it´s very easy to find 2nd hand
at very reasonnable prices <15$.

Sorry, I don´t have a mp3 of it. You won´t regret buying it!

Thanks for the info!