Category: Lost gems

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Thomas Leer – ‘4 Movements’ UK 12″ EP (Cherry Red, 12 Cherry 28, 1981)

‘4 Movements’ is a four track 12″ EP from 1981 on Cherry Red records, the second solo release by Thomas, following some time after his initial self-released debut 7″ single, ‘Private Plane / International’ and after his joint LP recorded with Robert Rental, ‘The Bridge’.

Thomas Leer - 'Four Movements' UK 12" EP - front sleeve design
^ Thomas Leer – ‘Four Movements’ UK 12″ EP – front sleeve design

The ‘4 Movements’ 12″ EP had been my entry point into all things Thomas Leer – specifically, the track ‘‘Tight As A Drum’, which I had heard played on the BBC Radio 1 John Peel show one night, August 1981 (I think). It sounded amazing – such a busy, unique sound and structure, its no surprise that that track in particular has had something of a renaissance by its inclusion on various post-punk compilations over the years. The sound has movement alright – like it’s been plugged into the voltage and animated into life as some form of echoing dub that is both coming and going at the same time. Continue reading “Thomas Leer – ‘4 Movements’ UK 12″ EP (Cherry Red, 12 Cherry 28, 1981)”

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Drinking Electricity ‘Subliminal’ / ‘Random Particles’ UK 7″ double-A side single (Survival, SUR001, 1981)

Once more a post on the mysterious Drinking Electricity. Their first few single releases were on the Pop:Aural label, (including the previously featured ‘Cruising Missiles’ and ‘Shake Some Action’) but by the time of this – their fourth 7” single – the band had parted company with Bob Last and Hilary Morrison’s label and with this release would debut their very own label, Survival Records.

Drinking Electricity 'Subliminal' / 'Random Particles' UK 7" double-A side single - 'Subliminal' side
^ Drinking Electricity ‘Subliminal’ / ‘Random Particles’ UK 7″ double-A side single – ‘Subliminal’ side

Continue reading “Drinking Electricity ‘Subliminal’ / ‘Random Particles’ UK 7″ double-A side single (Survival, SUR001, 1981)”

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Side by side: The Sun And The Moon ‘Alive Not Dead’ French/UK EP (Midnight Music DONG 44 / DONG 44CD, 1989)

The last release by the short-lived The Sun And The Moon while they remained a working entity, ‘Alive: Not Dead’ is a wonderful four track EP that pointed in a positive direction for the quality of the band’s future work, only for that future to fail.

The Sun And The Moon - 'Alive: Not Dead' 12" EP and CD front cover designs
^ The Sun And The Moon – ‘Alive: Not Dead’ 12″ EP and CD front cover designs

By this stage of the band’s arc they had left the Geffen label and found a home for this EP on the indie label Midnight Music, licensed from Glass Pyramid. Released in 12” and CD single formats, four quality tracks, one of which is the band’s spirited take on Alice Cooper’s ‘Elected’, complete with short dialogue snippet from an episode of ‘The Prisoner’ television series. Continue reading “Side by side: The Sun And The Moon ‘Alive Not Dead’ French/UK EP (Midnight Music DONG 44 / DONG 44CD, 1989)”

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New Musik – ‘The Planet Doesn’t Mind’ version craziness

After discovering Gary Numan in 1979 and John Foxx and Ultravox in 1980, New Musik were also one of the earliest electronic bands I really liked, but while they had some initial hits, I always felt they got a raw deal and their arc of acclaim was cut all too short. Because sonically – and lyrically, as the world we inhabit pans out in ever more alarming ways – New Musik were well ahead of the curve and you can hear echoes of the sound that they were mining, particularly on the ‘Warp’ album, in the likes of the dusky, shimmering sonic heaven of the wonderful Ulrich Schnauss in more contemporary times, for example.

New Musik - ‘The Planet Doesn’t Mind’ UK 7” single (promo version)
^ New Musik – ‘The Planet Doesn’t Mind’ UK 7” single (promo version)

Continue reading “New Musik – ‘The Planet Doesn’t Mind’ version craziness”

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Robert Fripp – ‘1999 (Soundscapes – Live In Argentina)’ UK CD (Discipline Global Mobile, DGM 9402 2, 1994)

‘1999 (Soundscapes – Live In Argentina)’ is a selection of recordings documenting Robert Fripp’s return to active service (after an 11 year gap) of performing live, improvisational, sonically challenging yet ultimately rewarding instrumental pieces that evolve and build over the construction of initial loops. This technique of Fripp’s that had been used and documented on earlier live performances (and releases) went by the name of ‘Frippertronics’. From this release onwards, they would use the new description of ‘Soundscapes’, acknowledging the advance in the sonic capabilities that the new technical set up these pieces were structured with would afford.

Robert Fripp '1999 (Soundscapes - Live In Argentina)' UK CD front cover design
^ Robert Fripp ‘1999 (Soundscapes – Live In Argentina)’ UK CD front cover design

When I say sonically challenging, I mean it. Over the next few years and beyond, a steady series of ‘soundscapes’ releases would appear, some are gentler and contemplative mood, some foreboding, unsettling, bleak, some veering off into digital signal processing dial twiddling randomness. ‘1999’ (both the album as a whole and title track in particular) started off in an abrasive and dark a manner as any of those to follow – pieces may begin in an almost silent, minimal fashion but gradually build and loop into a towering aural embodiment of turmoil brought to life. Continue reading “Robert Fripp – ‘1999 (Soundscapes – Live In Argentina)’ UK CD (Discipline Global Mobile, DGM 9402 2, 1994)”