Παρασκευή 30 Νοεμβρίου 2012

South Of No North - Rajah (LP, vinyl rip). 1992.

 South Of No North is the most beloved and most inspired among the greek "darkwave" bands. Their story begins back in the early '80's and continues till now.
   Four excellent LP's and a lot of gigs made them a living legend and one of the best European bands in my opinion. For more about them, see this blog.
   This LP is a collection of unreleased tracks recorded between 1985 and 1991 and it was released by Wipe Out records in 1992.
   From the sound of Bauhaus to the sound of Japan there is a lot of space and South of No North are moving in this space with enthusiasm and original inspiration. I believe that this record is one of the best darkwave records ever released in Europe!
   Most of you already have it of course, but for those of you who don't, this is a gift of love!



Tracklist
1. Maximum Protection (1991)
2. Clever Sea (1989)
3. Annabell Lee - version (1985)
4. Fly (1990)
5. 10.000 Eyes - '90's version (1990)
6. Monster (1985)
7. Dependence (1985)
8. November (1990)


Take it here


Δευτέρα 19 Νοεμβρίου 2012

Lydia Lunch - Honeymoon in Red (LP, vinyl rip). 1987.

   This is the legendary collaboration between Lydia Lunch and members of The Birthday Party back in 1982
   There are 2 songs sung by Nick Cave and Lydia Lunch. Rowland Howard plays guitar on the entire album and Tracy Pew is on bass. The other musicians are Thurston Moore guitar (on "So your Heart"), various drummers and Genevieve McGuckin playing piano.
   The original sessions were recorded in 1982 but in 1987 Clint Ruin re-mixed the tracks and the songs were released by Widowspeak records under the title "Honeymoon in Red". Ruin also worked on treatments and added noises in some tracks. 


Tracklist
1. Come fall (L. Lunch - R. Howard)
2. So your heart (Lydia Lunch)
3. Dead River (L. Lunch - R. Howard)
4. Three Kings (L. Lunch - Genevieve McGuckin)
5. Done Dun (L. Lunch - N. Cave)
6. Still Burning (R. Howard)
7. Fields of fire (L. Lunch - R. Howard)
8. Dead in the head (L. Lunch - N. Cave)


Take it here

Δευτέρα 12 Νοεμβρίου 2012

Morrissey and Siouxsie - Interlude (7" single, vinyl rip). 1994.

   This is a majestic '60's lovesong covered by two of the best voices of our time. It was released as a vinyl single in 1994.
   "Interlude was recorded during the recording sessions for Morrissey's "Vauxhall and I" album, and was produced by Morrissey guitarist and musical director Boz Boorer.   The original version of the song was recorded in 1968 by the female singer Timi Yuro as the title track for the film of the same name and it's written by George De La Rue and Hal Shaper.
    Morrissey first contacted Siouxsie in the early 90s with a view to recording a duet with her. In 1993 he sent her a tape with some potential songs he had selected. All were numbers initially sung by female singers like Nancy Sinatra and Dionne Warwick. Siouxsie picked this ballad and Morrissey agreed. 
The sessions went well and Boz Boorer later described his collaboration with Siouxsie as "complete joy".
 "Interlude" was later included on a compilation called "Suedeheaded. The best of Morrissey".  A previously unreleased version of the song, featuring only Morrissey's vocals, is on his 2011 "Very best of" compilation". (from Wikipedia).
  "Two heroes enterwine their voices - Siouxsie's torchily rich, Morrissey's expansively wobbly - for a song about romance that actually doesn't sound doomed." (Spin Magazine).


The artwork in the front sleeve is a vintage photo ("Girl jiving" - 1957) by Roger Mayne and the photo above is the same girl of course - the title is "Girl, Southam Street"(Morrissey has used a lot of his work for concert backdrops, record sleeves and press-adverts).
The record includes two versions of the song. It's ripped from the original vinyl record to wav.

Παρασκευή 9 Νοεμβρίου 2012

28th Day - S/T (LP, vinyl rip). 1985.

   Excellent San Fransisco neo-psychedelic classic from Barbara Manning's first band. Most of the songs are written by Cole Marquis, another popular figure of West Coast's  indie rock scene.

   It's the post-Paisley Underground era and 28th Day gives us one true psychedelic diamond with songs that combine dizzy guitars, melodic vocals and a powerfull rythm base.
Some of the songs here are all time classics. Just listen  to "This Train", "I'm only asking" or "Pages turn" and get lost in the hallucinogenic psychedelic world of 28th Day!

"This is one of those albums that did absolutely nothing upon its release but has developed a certain cult cachet over the years...
songs like the ruminative "Pages Turn" and the swirling, neurotic "25 Pills" suggest that Chico, CA, was the one city in the Northern Hemisphere that was attuned to the Krautrock-inspired art pop of New Zealand's Flying Nun label.
 The album's high point is the tense, strangled "Burnsite," a Manning song that climaxes in one of the most anguished screams this side of Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures". 28th Day broke up shortly after the release of this album." (from allmusic)

This is one of the records i grown up with and it was a great company for many many strange hours...

Take it here

Πέμπτη 1 Νοεμβρίου 2012

Xmal Deutschland - The Peel Sessions (12" EP, vinyl rip). 1985.

   An all girl line up, ghoulish shrieks and dark dance beats surrounded by dreamy keyboards.
   Xmal Deutschland formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1980 and only two years later they opened for The Cocteau Twins in London.
   They gained a large group of enthousiastic followers and they became much more than a cult band. They signed to the 4AD label and gradually they changed their doom rock sound to a lighter but still eerie direction. 
   Their fourth and last LP "Devils" was a disappointment with a mainstream pop sound and this was the end of this band but they will always be remembered for their first three LPs ("Fetisch"- 1983, "Tocsin"- 1984 and "Viva" - 1987), records which were real gifts for the dark music scene of the '80's.


   This EP was recorded for the radio show of the famous dj, producer and journalist John Peel in April 30th 1985 in Radio One - BBC and they are original live in studio recordings made exclusively for this radio show. There is a huge list of bands who recorded for John Peel and they released these songs in vinyl by Strange Fruit records - the famous "The John Peel Sessions". For the catalog take a look here.

Tracklist
1. Polarlicht
2. Der Wind
3. Jahr um Jahr
4. Autumn 
The songs are ripped from the original vinyl in wav


Download here