SYNTH ME UP

lesser-known electronic goodness, most from the late 70s and early 80s

[esoteric-synth]

Der Plan -- “Renate” -- from Normalette Surprise, 1981, on Ata Tak.

Der Plan is considered one of the pioneers of German new wave, or Neue Deutsche Welle. The group formed in 1979, and has included multiple members of D.A.F.

[esoteric-synth]

Voigt/465 -- “State” -- from Slights Still Unspoken, the Mental Experience reissue of 1978′s Slights Unspoken.

Voigt/465 was an avant-garde Australian post-punk band active between 1976 and 1979, whose frantic style also had a noticeable krautrock influence.  Slights Unspoken was their only LP.

[esoteric-synth]

Joel Graham -- “Night” -- originally from the self-released cassette Under Terracotta of 1984, then put out as a 12″ single on the label Music From Memory in 2015.

Joel Graham was from San Francisco.  He released one other cassette in 1985.

[esoteric-synth]

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Tony More D.J -- “Tonight” -- 12″ single originally released in 1985 on Sensation Records.

This single was written and recorded by Marzio Benelli and Andrea Venturoli, Italo Disco musicians from Firenze, Italy who began collaborating in 1984.  It was the debut for vocalist Tony More, whose name was incorrectly spelled “Moore” on the album cover. When Dark Entries Records reissued the release in 2017, they kept the original album art, but noted the misspelling in their promotional materials.

[esoteric-synth]

A. F. Moebius -- “Erika” -- from Magnetband: Experimenteller Elektronik-Underground DDR 1984-1989, a compilation album released by Bureau B Records in February 2017.

Most of the recordings included in this compilation were originally released on cassettes and distributed through the DIY punk/post-punk scene in 1980s Germany.

[esoteric-synth]

Eleven Pond -- “Watching Trees” -- from Bas Relief, 1986, originally on Game Hen Records, then reissued by Dark Entries Records.

The group was formed by New York art school students in 1986 but fell apart shortly after.  Bas Relief was their only LP, though they recorded the material for a second, which Dark Entries compiled and released in 2013.

[esoteric-synth]

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Absolute Body Control – “Total Control” – from the compilation CD Lost/Found released in 2005 on Tarantula Productions (tracks originally from 1979-1984)

Absolute Body Control was a Belgian EBM project consisting of Dirk Ivens and Eric Van Wonterghem. The duo released a number of cassettes between 1979 and 1984, but only one 7″ single (1981′s “Is There an Exit?”) and no studio albums. They reformed in 2006, rerecorded much of the material they had put out in the early 80s, and are still active in 2017.