Channel Pressure

Ford & Lopatin - Emergency RoomMy new favorite record this week is Ford & Lopatin's Channel Pressure. Formerly known as Games, Joel Ford & Daniel Lopatin have created the '80s record of your dreams. They've taken all of the sounds that were so revolutionary back in the early '80s and made one hell of a groovy pop record for the oughties. I hear echoes of so many good things - Scritti Politti, Junior Boys, Jan Hammer's Miami Vice soundtracks, Harold Faltermeyer's electro themes, and even a bit of Neon Indian's chill wave-y goodness. There are straight up pop songs, abstract instrumentals, loads of funk and plenty of vocal trickery. It gleams and glistens in all the right ways. LOVE. And while it is a love letter to the sounds of the '80s it holds up as very well as the sound of Summer 2011 too!

Channel Pressure by Ford & Lopatin

My '80s Remastered - Pigbag

Born from jam sessions in the aftermath of punk, Pigbag gathered steam after convincing Simon Underwood to join the fun following his departure from The Pop Group. The band signed to Dick O’Dell’s Y Records. Their first single was 1981's instrumental classic called “Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag”, a stonking tight groove with skronky horns and a title that gave a "wink, wink" to James Brown. It stormed the charts, getting to #3 in the UK. I lived in the UK at the time, and became an instant fan - that's my copy of the 45 in the picture above. They continued to record but were never quite able to match the success of their debut single. Now Fire Records has compiled a two-disc set called "Pigbag Volume One and Pigbag Volume Two" that combines their debut album Dr. Heckle & Mr. Jive with a second disc or 12" versions, b-sides and live takes. It has been remastered and the result is fab, mixing punk, funk, jazz, ska, reggae and afrobeat into a heady, edgy brew. It is amazing to hear how well this stuff holds up today!

Pigbag - Papas Got A Brand New Pigbag (7" version)

My '80s Remastered - Disintegration

Among the stack of new releases this week is the deluxe 3 disc edition of The Cure's Disintegration. Curated by Robert Smith, the original album has been remastered, and the result is impressive - the overall sound much punchier and cleaner. The second disc is of demos and previously unreleased tracks and the third disc is Entreat, a live concert performance of the album, expanded to include a few extra tracks and resequenced to mirror the original album's track list.

Originally released in 1989, Disintegration came hot on the heels of the band's most successful forays into the realm of pop, 1985's The Head On The Door and 1987's Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. Where they were eclectic and poptastic, Disintegration bent back inward, all gloomy introspection - Robert's attempt at creating something "autumnal". It was a personal reaction to success, and one that was aided by Robert's use of hallucinogens. I must admit that at the time it came out I was unimpressed by it. I considered it a step backwards - I loved it's two predecessors so much because they moved the band into a new direction, and here they were getting all gloomy again. I never bought it. I heard it a lot - friends played it and, despite it's dour moodiness, radio embraced it. The singles were huge - Lovesong, Fascination Street and Lullaby - and the record a major success, the band's biggest seller ever. This remaster has been a delightful rediscovery for me - in my old age I am much more impressed by it than I was at the time! This set is probably not for the casual fan - most of them won't want to hear the demo stuff - but those of you who are big fans will enjoy seeing the progression of these songs from demo to the stage.
________

The Cure - Lovesong (Demo)
The Cure - Lovesong
The Cure - Lovesong (Live)
_____

BUY IT NOW

Song Of The Day

Chin Chin are an NYC party band. They are signed to Def Jux. Their new single is a cover of one of my favorite '80s classics - The Power Station's Some Like It Hot. Where the original was all thundering gated snares and twitchy funk rock, Chin Chin smoooove it out and make it into a much more relaxed beast, a nice and spacy bit of g-funk.
Chin Chin - Some Like It Hot

_____________________

MORE '80s 4U
Got a hankering for some bad '80s music video? Check out the HUGE library at 80's Music Videos, all nicely alphabetized for ease of use. Fantastic. Thanks to D'Ruffalo for the link.

HONORARY AUSTRALIAN
The Australian music, marketing and social media blog Way Cool Jnr has compiled a list of the top 25 Australian music blogs. To my pleasant surprise SIART is listed at #6! I am honored to be listed, and now consider myself an honorary Aussie. Don't worry, I promise - no jokes about shrimps on the barbie...

Random - Shuffle Play

Loose Ends - Hangin' On A String (Contemplating)
Some random shuffling of iTunes this weekend led to this song. I've posted it before. It is a classic bit of of '80s Brit-funk. I really love it. You know what really blows me away about this tune? The fact that it is 24 years old. Wow. I am old. And it has aged well.

My '80s Remastered - New Order

Factory Records' flagship band New Order have finally gotten the remastered reissue treatment. The two disc Collector's Edition sets of the first five records ('Movement,' 'Power, Corruption & Lies,' 'Low-Life,' 'Brotherhood' and 'Technique') arrived in the UK in September & October and were released in the US on November 11th. Hardcore fans the world over rejoiced, myself included - some of these early records I've only ever owned on vinyl. These same fans soon started to complain about the sound quality of the tracks on the bonus discs. Turns out they had good reason to, because it has since been disclosed that the bonus disc material (remixes, instrumentals, 7" & 12" versions) on these reissues were sourced from commercially available vinyl recordings instead of the original master tapes.

Wow. It is amazing to me that the catalog of a band as big a New Order would get such shoddy treatment. You would think that quality control would be an important issue here, and Rhino is usually pretty good with these deluxe editions. It is also surprising than nobody in the music press picked up on it in their reviews.

Peter Hook had this to say on his Myspace;

This is a very difficult one , we are aware of the problems and because we did not have finished product to listen to? It has, shall we say……. slipped through the net?? My great friend claude flowers has taken it on himself to sort this mess out personally, but please be aware , that after the fact it is going to be very difficult, unfortunately because many of you have purchased them already ( a great compliment in itself) we are doing all we can to try and get fresh masters made and available , somehow ? to try and remedy the situation, so please bear with us.
I have said before how difficult it is compiling this stuff, the masters steve and I listened to, were all basically from people's collections, so it was then left to someone? In the library department to compile, as much as possible from original masters, this is where it seems to have gone wrong , unfortunately it is industry standard these days to not have production masters of the cd's or the sleeves, much to pete saville's amazement, but that's just the way it is , hopefully they might resurrect the process after this. Here's hoping, hooky."

On November 20th, 2008 Rhino Records announced that they plan to reissue the reissues and will allow fans to exchange their dodgy CDs for good ones. They issued this statement;

"Warner Bros. UK, Rhino and New Order regret that the initial pressings of the Collector Editions of 'Movement,' 'Power, Corruption & Lies,' 'Low-Life,' 'Brotherhood' and 'Technique' contain some minor audio problems on the bonus discs."

"We are now in the process of correcting the problems, but it should be noted that due to the age and condition of some of the original source tapes, the sound quality may vary. A further statement will be issued once the corrected product is available. At that time, the procedure for exchanging CD's will be announced. Thank you for your patience while we resolve this situation."

Wow again. A costly and somewhat embarrassing mistake for the labels. Thankfully it will end up working out for us fans - I've got 5 of them that will need to be exchanged!

Today's selections come from the band's last live gig in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in November of 2006. The show was taped from a radio broadcast so there are a few radio station IDs included.

Ceremony (Live)
Your Silent Face (Live)
Blue Monday (Live)

By Special Request/ Win

Win - You've Got The Power (Chocolate Thrills Mix)
1985
Originally posted 3/23/2006

Random/ Stormtrooper In Drag

Paul Gardiner - Stromtrooper In Drag
Featuring Gary Numan on vocals
1981

My '80s Remastered - "Boy"

Island Records has finally gotten around to giving the first 3 U2 albums (Boy/October/War) the 2 disc "deluxe edition" treatment. You get the remastered original album, overseen by The Edge, and you get a bonus disc of nuggets, including live and unreleased stuff. I was a fan of the band from the first time I heard the opening riff of I Will Follow. They followed this with the remarkably assured debut album Boy. I spent hours listening to it. I loved how it didn't really sound like anyone else - hell, some of it doesn't even sound like U2 yet! It was spiky post-punk, full of energetic riffs and thundering drums and plenty of swagger. It rocked. It began a long, rocky relationship with the band. I loved them, bought the records and saw them live at the old Wembley Arena (The Unforgettable Fire tour, with The Waterboys opening). Then, after the overkill of The Joshua Tree and Rattle & Hum I was done. I returned to the fold a few years later, but for me nothing they have done has ever matched their first 3 records. Boy still impresses me with it's energy and charisma, and sounds as good to me now as it did when I was 16.
U2 - I Will Follow
U2 - Into The Heart
U2 - 11 O'Clock Tick Tock (Live at The Marquee, London)
_________________________
I've written a couple of posts for ickmusicdiy.com so be sure to visit on your travels through these interwebs. Check out LEGO album cover tributes, what Barack Barama has on his iPod, nab some Cristina mp3s and watch the great new Grace Jones video.

The Lesson(s)

Steinski - What Does It All Mean? 1983-2006 Retrospective
(Illegal Art)
How a nice Jewish boy from the suburbs became one of the most influential producers in hiphop, sampling, and cut & paste.

Worked as an advertising copywriter for 6 years - Polaroid, Volkswagen, Atari, etc. Taught copywriting at The School Of Visual Arts. Spent all disposable income on records. Promoted and DJ'ed dances in Brooklyn, hung out at early downtown Manhattan hiphop clubs; Negril, the Roxy. Quit advertising.

With partner Double Dee (Douglas DiFranco; a prince), co-produced the series of records known as The Lessons: The Lesson (The Payoff Mix), Lesson 2 (The James Brown Mix), Lesson 3 (The History Of Hiphop) for the Tommy Boy label. The first lesson won a nationwide remix contest by Tommy Boy Records that was judged by Afrika Bambaataa, Shep Pettibone, Jellybean Benitez and Arthur Baker, and subsequently became a Top 10 request on urban radio nationwide. These analog tape cut-and-paste collages, still widely bootlegged (and wildly illegal), are generally acknowledged as three of the most influential works in the world of hiphop and dance music production. Cited as definitive influences by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, who recorded their own series of Lessons.

As a solo producer, crafted “The Motorcade Sped On” turning historic broadcasts of the Kennedy assasination into a hiphop record. The NME gave away a quarter-million copies of the song as a Flexidisc stapled to the cover of the magazine.

Solo productions for Ninjatune include “It's Up To You” and “I'm Wild About That Thing” a satire on sex licensed to Pretty Polly Bras (UK) for TV advertising campaign. Go figure.

Reunited with Double Dee (a prince) after 10 years to produce “Jazz” for Tommy Boy's 10th Anniversary. Also illegal, also bootlegged.

Other recordings include:

Numerous 12" remixes and collages,

Remix of “Relax” (Frankie Goes To Hollywood) for the film Zoolander,

Burning Out Of Control, an album length mix of the Sugarhill Records catalogue for the Antidote label (UK)

12" collage “Ain't No Thing” for the Stone's Throw release of The Third Unheard (Connecticut Rap) compilation.

Nothing To Fear, a mix CD reviewed extensively and favorably by Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, URB, Salon.com, Metro, The Wire and Hiphop Connection.

Featured in the documentary film Scratch.
______________

This is a two CD set, with 14 retrospective tracks on disc 1, and the 28-track Nothing To Fear on disc 2. The second disc (along with The Lessons) is perhaps the most obvious precursor to Girl Talk's Night Ripper and was described by Salon as “The closest thing to a [mashup] masterpiece the genre has yet produced.” Packaging includes a 20-page booklet featuring liner notes by Hua Hsu (The Wire, New York Times, Village Voice, Slate, etc.) and Steinski himself.

Lesson 1 (The Payoff Mix)
Lesson 2 (James Brown Mix)
Lesson 3 (History of Hip Hop)

Original Simple Minds Lineup Hitting The Studio

This item comes from simpleminds.com ...

The original members of Simple Minds are due to work together for the first time in 27 years when they enter a recording studio in the middle of June '08. In an event that many never thought would happen again, Brian McGee, Derek Forbes, Mick McNeil, Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, have set their aim on producing at least two new tracks that could be released later this year. Regarded by both Jim and Charlie as a 'nice experiment', particularly as it falls within their 30 year anniversary, the week-long reformation is being viewed as one of many 'let's see what happens' ideas that they look forward to working on over the course of the next year.

Jim Kerr said 'Of course I am excited with the prospect of working with the original line - up once more. I had always believed that the day would come when we would get the opportunity to do so. The last time we worked together was on our "Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call" album, featuring songs like "The American", "Themes for Great Cities", "Love Song" etc, and it is still considered by many as among our best ever work. We have a lot to live up to, but we intend to have some fun attempting to do just that.'

Woo-hoo! That last part about Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call certainly pertains to me. It remains my favorite record(s) of theirs today, and still gets played a fair amount (in it's nifty remastered reissue form). I gave up on the Minds in the late '80s - '89's Street Fighting Years was the last record of theirs I bought, and haven't really paid them much mind since. They got a bit too bloated for my liking. This news is pretty exciting, and I look forward to hearing what they come up with. Here are some prime examples of this classic lineup's post-punk-slash-prog abilities...

I Travel
This Fear Of Gods
Empires And Dance
Love Song
Theme For Great Cities
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call

My '80s Remastered - Night Time

Love Like Blood
Eighties (Kid Jensen Session)
The second wave of Killing Joke remasters hit stores back in February. Their 1985 breakthrough album Night Time has always been one of my favorites. This record saw them embracing slicker production values and a lot more keyboards, and saw them have a sizable hit with Eighties. It also displayed a new side to lead singer Jaz Coleman, one that had him actually singing instead of his gruff screaming. Turns out he has a lovely voice. Don't get me wrong here - there are still plenty of the hardcore riffs, tribal beats and chunky bass that KJ fans love, it is just presented a bit more subtly. I love it's mix of moody atmospherics, punk riffs and a dash of art rock. The remaster more than doubles the original's length with an extra nine songs; 4 Kid Jensen session tracks, non-album single New Day and it's b-side, and 3 remixes. A fine album on it's own, and even better remastered!
________________
This item from www.killingjoke.com will also be of interest to fans...

ORIGINAL LINE UP RETURN!!! JAZ, GEORDIE, YOUTH AND BIG PAUL WORLD TOUR

Finally, after numerous line-up changes through the years, all original Killing Joke members reunite for new album and world tour.

Drummer, Paul Ferguson, rejoins the line up for the first time since 1987 enabling a whole new generation of fans to see Killing Joke’s legendary original formation. Diehard fans have been waiting for this moment for two decades!

Bassist, Martin ‘Youth’ Glover also steps back into the live arena after a near 15 hiatus, having not played live with Killing Joke since 1994’s Pandemonium tour.

The tour will see Killing Joke take up a two night residency in most venues offering a different set on each evening. On the first night, they will play their first two albums in their entirety, 1980’s self-titled album followed by the album ‘What’s This…For!’. Their
second performance in each city will treat fans to 1994’s Pandemonium and the Island Records singles of’79 to ’80.

Godfathers of post-punk, Killing Joke return with their eagerly anticipated new album to coincide with their world tour. Album release date TBC.

A Handful Of Covers - New Wave

"Nouvelle Vague Presents New Wave : When Post-Punk Met Pop Culture"
From the known to the relatively unknown, this two disc set of new wave cover songs has something for everybody. I finally found a copy a couple of weeks ago and have been in heaven ever since. The selections offered today are a few of my personal faves; Snakefinger (long time friend and collaborator of The Residents) brings glorious guitar to Kraftwerk. Steve Strange's android vocals and Midge Ure's production show Visage's future as New Romantic pioneers. The Flying Lizards are, well, The Flying Lizards - quirky and irreverent, and OMD bring the OMD to a Lou Reed classic. Lots of fun!

Snakefinger - The Model
(Kraftwerk)
Visage - In The Year 2525
(Zager & Evans)
The Flying Lizards - Move On Up
(Curtis Mayfield)
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Waiting For The Man
(The Velvet Underground)

My '80s Remastered - Steve McQueen

Prefab Sprout's second album Steve McQueen would probably make it onto a list of my top 25 favorite records of all time. Originally released in 1985 and produced by Thomas Dolby, it has been remastered (by Dolby) and paired with a second disc of newly recorded acoustic versions. The reason I checked out this album in the first place was because of Dolby's participation, and I remain glad that I did. It is a lush, dreamy album of pop songs detailing love and heartbreak. Singer/songwriter Paddy McAloon's influences range from Broadway show tunes to the '60s pop of the Brill Building writers to Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello. You get the idea - sharp, literary and musically complex. According to the liner notes this is really Dolby's album; "I gave him a huge collection of songs (some dating back as far as 1976), and almost all of the ones he picked were written in 1979, long before Swoon (the band's debut). I had no opportunity to test out any of my ideas about layers of sound. I had to get somebody who knew about that, someone on the technical side who was also a good keyboard player." Dolby fits the bill to a T, with his trademark synth sounds and production suiting the melancholy of the songs perfectly. And what songs! Bonny, Appetite, When Love Breaks Down, Goodbye Lucille #1, filled with sharp emotion and even sharper melodies, the kind of songs that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and you arms gooseflesh-y. My brother and I once had a discussion about this album and we determined that it's first 6 songs (side A of the vinyl version of the album) make it one of the best "sides" ever produced in pop music. I still think this true.

When Dolby was working on the remaster last year he wrote on his blog "I am in Los Angeles remastering Prefab Sprout’s second album ‘Steve McQueen’ which I produced for them in 1985. It sounds INSANELY good. Many writers and music afficionados list this among their top LPs of all time, and listening to it for the first time years, I have to agree. Even if I was objective, I would agree. It’s a stunner! The fact it was never successful in America is one of the greatest crimes in living memory. Paddy McAloon’s voice; those chunky guitar lines interweaving with soaring piano; Neil Conti’s tastful drum grooves; Martin’s melodic, inside-out bass; and Wendy Smith’s breathy bittersweet harmonies, all combined in a magic formula that was at once soulful and challenging. If you never heard this album, I urge you to seek it out. You won’t regret it. And, if you like my music, please know that you don’t have a complete overview unless you own this album and 1990’s ‘Jordan: The Comeback’–because these two works are as close to my heart as anything I’ve ever put out under my own name."

Dolby's remaster suits the record well and was a great choice for the project. His familiarity with the material makes it easy for him to preserve the vision of the original. The accompanying disc of acoustic remakes strips all of the production, focusing on the songs themselves, and some of the versions are arranged quite differently. I love these songs, and its cool to hear the difference, but I think I will always prefer the album versions. Today I share two of the most swooningly gorgeous songs ever, and I heartily recommend that you go out and pick up this remaster for yourself!
Bonny
Bonny (Acoustic)
Appetite
Appetite (Acoustic)

Funky Friday - New York Latin Hustle!

Soul Jazz Records brings the hotness again with this smoking 2 disc set of NuYorican tastiness. Covering "The Sound Of New York" from the Latin POV, it's tracks range from the '60s to the '80s. It covers all the bases, with authentic rhythms bumping up against jazz, funk and disco. The big names are here; Tito Puente, Willie Colon, Eddie Palmieri and Ray Barretto all represent. There are lots of lesser known gems too, including a great cover of "Ain't no Stopping Us Now" by La Charanga 76. There are a few other covers of "Tighten Up" and "Soul Makossa", and a classic bit of lost disco greatness by J Walter Negro And The Loose Jointz. There is no chronological order to the comp, and I'm sure they missed a bunch of stuff, but when the end result is a good as this who am I to argue? A fantastic selection of funkiness to get you grooving today...
Nature Zone - Porcupine
Louie Ramirez - Do It Anyway You Wanna
Jose Mangual - Mai Kinshasa
J Walter Negro And The Loose Jointz - Shoot The Pump

Look for more Latin hotness on The Hype Machine and elbo.ws.

New Music Tuesday - Big Science

This is the time. And this is the record of the time.
Today brings the release of the re-mastered 25th anniversary edition of Laurie Anderson's debut LP Big Science. I lived in the UK when this came out and I can remember how amazed I was that O Superman almost topped the UK charts (it got to #2) - all 8 minutes (!) of it, with it's bizarre repetition and vocodered vocal samples and sounds. It remains one of those rare moments when a performance art piece reached out and crossed over into popular culture, and it's hit status still amazes me today.

In the early 1980s Laurie rose to prominence as a conceptual artist and composer in the Lower Manhattan music-visual avant garde art-performance scene that Philip Glass and David Byrne emerged from. At the time of its original release, the NME wrote of Big Science, “There’s a dream-like, subconscious quality about her song which helps them work at deeper, secret levels of the psyche.” With instrumentation ranging from tape loops to found sounds to bag pipes to sampling, Big Science anticipated much of the contemporary electronic and dance music that followed over the past 25 years. Most of the songs were adapted from United States, her seven-hour performance art/theater piece. She was able to articulate the social/political anxiety she perceived in American society as well as a longing for safety and emotional connection. Big Science includes images of planes falling out of the sky (From the Air), the comforting yet sinister embrace of technology (O Superman), and the failure of men and women to speak in the same language (The It Tango). This reissue includes liner notes written by Anderson, and is enhanced to include the classic video for O Superman, and an mp3 of it's original B-side track Walk the Dog. Despite it's age it sounds remarkably good today. This is the beginning of a bit of a media blitz for Anderson; next year Nonesuch Records will release her new album Homeland, and she will then be touring extensively.

Check out the Big Science micro site at laurieanderson.com for some very interesting interview footage about the making of/history of/imagery of the record, as well as song lyrics. There is also a great clip over on YouTube of a new song called Only An Expert/Maybe If I Fall, where she tackles the state of the world's environment and the current US policy towards Iraq. As always she is right on the money. Here are the last two songs from Big Science - they run into each other so let them play together and enjoy the gently undulating rhythms of Let X=X and It Tango.

My '80s Remastered - Concert Edition

Tonight the wife and I are going to see this trio of geezers from the '80s who have recently reformed, The Police. You may have heard of them before - they were "the shit" for a while there. They conquered the pop charts of the world over the span of five albums before their pompous git of a lead singer/songwriter left to pursue jazz-lite, yoga and tantric sex. As much as I am not a fan of Sting, I am a fan of The Police. I love the punk-ish energy of their debut Outlandos d'Amour, the reggae grooves of Regatta de Blanc. and the world dominating pop of Zenyatta Mondatta. Yes, I enjoy the other two records, just not to the degree that I like the first 3. I feel a tad bit guilty about forking over my hard earned $$$ to Stink - like he needs it - but I never saw them back in the day, and I loved 'em so, so there you go. As you would imagine, I have spent the last week listening to my remasters from 2003. Here are three songs from those early records, and bring on the geezers rocking!Next To You
Walking On The Moon
When The World Is Running Down

My '80s Remastered - Learning To Crawl

The second round of Pretenders reissues hit US shelves last week. Last year brought the first two albums, and this round brings Learning To Crawl and Get Close. The original records have been remastered, and each has a bunch of bonus material. Learning To Crawl is the beginning of Pretenders v2.0. After the tragic deaths of James Honeyman Scott and Pete Farndon, Chrissie regrouped with Martin Chambers on drums, Robbie McIntosh on guitar and Malcolm Foster on bass. The original sound more or less intact, it is an album chock full of classic Chrissie songs and quite a few hits. She had been knocked down hard, but with this album Chrissie proved she could get right back up again, and with songs as memorable as those that came before. There are some rock classic moments here too - Middle Of The Road, 2000 Miles, Show Me, and the two I offer today. Back On The Chain Gang is pure pop heaven, all chiming guitars and that lovely voice. On the previously unreleased tip you get a smokin' version of one of Chrissie's greatest songs, My City Was Gone (Live). A great LP finally given the long overdue remastered treatment.

Back On The Chain Gang
My City Was Gone (Live)

Funky Friday Electro Mixtape

I've been slack at posting this week so today I make it up to you with a mixtape of songs largely inspired by '80s electro. There are some original old school classics, a bunch of new school up and comers and a couple of bits and bobs that sort of just fit in. This should get you in a fine frame of mind for the weekend!

D-Train - Music (12" Version)
One of the old school classics. A shimmering synthfest from '83, this still sounds great. A nice mix of futuristic synths and soulful r'n'b.

Calvin Harris - Certified
Calvin Harris - Disco Heat
From the forthcoming album I Created Disco which is chock full of some seriously jammming recreations of '80s electro funk.

Chromeo - 100%
These funky white boys from Canada love all things eighties - always have. This is a perfect example, right down to the sax solo. Fab breakdown at the end too.

Paul Haig - Heaven Sent
Another gem from '83, this is from the former Josef K singer's solo debut Rhythm Of Life. Gone are the scrappy post punk guitars, replaced by all things electronic and sleek. A favorite of mine.

Joakim - Drumtrax
French musician and remixer whose production work on last year's Poni Hoax album really got my attention. Also produced a lot of Panico's great Subliminal Kill. His own record is a startling blend of electronics, rock, new wave and ambient weirdness. This is a stompin' electro tune with a wacky slo-mo breakdown.

Paul Hartnoll - Patchwork Guilt
One half of the now defunct Orbital on the solo tip. A very orchestral LP, with lots of strings and Robert Smith from the Cure singing on one track. And also very reminiscent of his old band.

Roxy Music - The Main Thing (Rub N Tug's Proton Saga)
A lovely old song updated with a bit more oomph. Actually, quite a lot of oomph. Delicious.

The System - You Are In My System
This is a stone cold classic from 1982, later covered (to great effect) by Robert Palmer. Slick and sleek and soulful.

Architecture In Helsinki - Heart It Races (Yacht's I Should Coco Remix)
Brand new AIH tastiness, from a CD single of remixes and remakes of this song. Loopy steel drum and Tom Tom Club moments, sprinkled with a dash of M.I.A.

Fancy - Whats Your Name Again (Busy P Remix)
French robot rock featuring a remix by the owner of Ed Banger Records.

An Eighties Obscurity

Fashiøn - Move On (12" Version)
From their second LP Fabrique, released in 1982. Fashiøn were a British band who had a slick look and an even slicker sound. They were British white boys playing the funk, a blend of electro, disco, jazz, new wave and some r'n'b all given a glossy, club friendly sheen by producer Zeus B. Held. All style and no substance is a pretty accurate description for these guys, but for a while there I enjoyed them anyway. Eventually I sold all my Fashiøn records, and of course have regretted it ever since. I came across this 12" in a used bin a while ago and picked it up. It is definitely of its era, but holds up better than some of its peers.