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Elektric Music ‘TV’ German MiniDisc (SPV 076-92678, 1993)

An odd little item this, from Elektric Music – Karl Bartos’ initial post-Kraftwerk creative outlet, along with former Rheingold member, Lothar Manteuffel. 1993 saw the release of their debut album; ‘Esperanto’ and ‘TV’ was a highy catchy single released prior the album. In their native Germany, it came on 12″, 12″ picture disc, very limited promo-only 10″, CD single and this mini-disc edition. The mini-disc being somewhat desirable because in addition to the standard ‘TV’ track it also contained the longer re-take that is ‘TV 2’ in digital format – all other formats for ‘TV 2’ were vinyl – for whatever reason, it never appeared on the CD single variants – they instead had another take on the track, ‘Television’. As well as these two versions of ‘TV’, the mini-disc also contained two tracks from Elektric Music’s first single, ‘Crosstalk’, released in Germany at the tail end of the previous year. (‘Intercomix’ being a variant of ‘Crosstalk’ itself.)

Elektric Music 'TV' minidisc - front case design
^ Elektric Music ‘TV’ minidisc – front case design

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Brian Eno – David Byrne, ‘My Life In The Bush of Ghosts’ UK LP (EG Records, EGLP48, 1981)

There’s nothing new I can bring to the subject of this album, such is the level to which it has been, depending on your point of view, celebrated, name-checked, referenced, over-hyped, over-analysed and generally been given more than its fair share of attention since release. Whether you think it is some seminal piece of work that more or less single-handedly ushered in the era of sampling or is some over-trumpeted slice of faux-ethnic cultural imperialism, it is what it is and if you’ve not already heard it I urge you to approach with fresh ears and give it a spin.

What I can add though is some version craziness. Well, perhaps not craziness. But enough to pen something on. I’m not going to touch upon the pre-history of the album and the bootleg version – much, but not all, of that surfaced officially with the 2006 re-release of the album in the shape of bonus tracks. What didn’t appear though was one of the tracks that was part of the original album release, ‘Qu’Ran’. Another thing that has gone AWOL over the years is the good taste of the original Peter Saville sleeve design, which I attempt to capture in some small part in the accompanying photos here.

Brian Eno - David Byrne, 'My Life In The Bush of Ghosts' UK LP front cover design
^ Brian Eno – David Byrne, ‘My Life In The Bush of Ghosts’ UK LP front cover design

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Xmal Deutschland: ‘Incubus Succubus II’ Japanese 12″ EP (4AD/Nexus International, K15P-518, 1983)

Some while back, I covered the original West German release of Xmal Deutschland’s second single, ‘Incubus Succubus’ – read more here. Easily one of their most vital pieces, having signed to 4AD records the band saw fit to re-record it in 1983 and release a new version, this time produced by 4AD label head Ivo along with John Fryer. Released in the UK on 7″ and 12″ pressings, the version was not radically different from the first take, but even so it somehow managed to acquire a unique number to differentiate it. Something of an archetypal Xmal gothic, lupine howl, it appealed a great deal and was my initial entry into all things Xmal in the autumn of 1983. The bass-propelled, tomtom-heavy ‘Vito’ on the flip side was equally exciting – and fighting above the jagged guitars, the gothic organ tones of the Casio MT30 keyboard – small but deadly!

Xmal Deutschland: 'Incubus Succubus 2' Japanese 12 inch EP
^ Xmal Deutschland: ‘Incubus Succubus 2’ Japanese 12 inch EP

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Button badge goodness: Xmal Deutschland

Another helping of vintage button badge goodness to bring a dash of post-punk style to any jacket/bag badge mount of choice – this time around courtesy of blog semi-regulars, Xmal Deutschland. Spanning various eras, 4AD and beyond, these were all bought back in the day – I managed to see Xmal play live a couple of times, in support of the Stranglers and headlining when promoting the ‘Viva’ tour, and damn fine they were too.

Xmal Deutschland badge design - grey/red 'Matador' era
^ Xmal Deutschland badge design – grey/red ‘Matador’ era

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Dif Juz – ‘Who Says So?’ UK Mini-Album (Red Flame, RFM 24, 1983)

Dif Juz are one of these acts who I have a few works by, but never really got to know too much about. Being on 4AD and hailing from the early ‘80s, they pretty much had my name written on it in their appeal, but for whatever reason they never quite got the recognition they were deserving of and that lack of profile tended to hamper my following of their work. I saw them live once, in support of the Cocteau Twins, late 1984 and they were quite something on the night. Although aware of their two earlier 4AD EP releases, the one that is the subject of this post had passed me by, so despite being a 1983 release, it was the start of 1985 before I came across it.

Dif Juz - 'Who Says So?' mini-album front cover design
^ Dif Juz – ‘Who Says So?’ mini-album front cover design

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