Aaah...! - Aaah...! (1982)

Nice minimal synth 7" out of the UK. The band's only release, and it's not very easy to find. Both sides of this one are good. Enjoy!

Track List:

A - Slip Away
B - Duty Calls

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Wrinklemusik - A Move To The Right (1981)

Ultra-rare minimal synth 7" out of the US, of which I know very little about. I believe it's the only release by the artist. This one really has the familiar sound of scarcity that we crave so much. The title track kicks things off nicely, with waves of trippy analog synthesizers and haunting vocal textures. What follows are two icey instrumentals, the first of which is more akin to track one, the last of which is quite strange and spacey... definitely worth checking out! Enjoy!

Track List:

A1 - A Move To The Right
A2 - Bangkok
B1 - Rein

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Car Crash Set - Another Day (1986)

Here's the final 12" released by the very well-known and Car Crash Set, an amazing band that has had a few other tracks posted on various blogs, and released a great LP on Anna Logue records in 2008 (worth buying!). This record keeps in line with the rest of their releases, a collection of outstanding wave tracks that perfectly blend melodic synthesizer with cold guitar. Oh, did I mention it's produced by the legendary John Fryer? I'm fairly certain this hasn't been posted elsewhere, so enjoy this rare gem :-)

Track List:

A1 - Another Day (Extended Mix)
A2 - Talk To Me
B1 - The More You Win
B2 - East To West

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Calling Hearts - Return To Base (1981)

Outstanding minimal synth 7" from the UK. I don't know much about the bands discography, other than the fact that they have another 7" titled "Haunted House" (anyone have mp3s?), and the b-side of this 7" can be found on "East Of Croydon " compilation over at Mutant Sounds. Then there's a loose track I've been able to find called "Cosmology", but I cannot find any information about it. I hope someone out there knows something. It's an outstanding song, perhaps my favorite of theirs... Enjoy!

Track List:

A - Return To Base
B - In The Jungle

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Black Letter Day - The Screaming (1987)

Great & rare synth wave 7" out of Sweden on Platina Records, the same label as my very first post here, as well as another 7" that I would really like to get the b-side track of... that being The Gift's "In A Far Away Kingdom". The track is called "Johnny", anyone out there have it? Anyway, both Black Letter Day tracks are quite good, really gloomy synth wave on the title track, and a nice upbeat synthpop track on the b-side. Enjoy!

Track List:

A - The Screaming
B - So Long

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Session - Unit The Forces (1986)

Absolutely brilliant and highly sought after synthpop 7" out of Sweden. The B-side "Enemy" is well-circulated from various comps, but the title track is quite elusive. Well, until now. It goes without saying that if you're hoping to buy this one (if it ever surfaces), it isn't going to come cheap. Hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Track List:

A - Unit The Forces
B - Enemy

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Ashley Morance - Over The Wall (1982)

Rather unknown US synth wave 7". Fairly certain this is the only release/work by this artist other than playing keys for an obscure punk band called Mourning Noise in 1983, and some other, more recent work under the name "Mike Morance". Not much info beyond that, both tracks are pretty good here. Enjoy!

Track List:

A - Over The Wall
B - I'll Stay Here

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Íncubus - A White Lady (1985)

Super obscure minimal synth / coldwave 7" from Southern France. Dark melodic tunes with heavy synth and bass lines. Private pressing with cover art created by the band's guitarist, Guy Audouard. Enjoy!

Track List:

A - A White Lady
B - Tonight

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Kofe - Discography (84-86)

Finding information on this group was far from easy, as most of it is in Russian, but with a little help from Google translate and my friend zomg, I've gathered a fair amount of info:

Kofe (Кофе), or "Coffee", was formed in 1983 by Edward Nesterenko, Alexander Senin, Stanislaus Tishkov and Gregory Kobeshavidze and almost immediately with the participation of then-novice sound engineer Alexei Cherry recorded his debut album, "Ballet." The band played "new wave", used the texts in the spirit of neo-romanticism that then rock scene was a bit unusual. In 1985, from "Coffee" leaves Kobeshavidze, but joined Igor Kopylov and Igor Petrov - former bassist and guitarist for "TV". The new composition of the group entered into a rock club, gave several successful concerts in the Palace of Youth, and even falling on the "Musical Ring", recorded their second album "Balance". On the fourth rock festival, the group was not related, the rock community remained hostile - antisocial texts and sound too trendy "coffee" and scare away the critics and parties, while at the same time the audience. In 1987, the group ceased to exist.

For a more detailed description, go here.

Now, I want to focus on "Balans" because it is by far the better of the two. In fact, I'm only posting the first album for those who might be interested, but as fair warning it's not even comparable to the great sound of "Balans". The entire album is a synth wave gem, just check out "Put To Zero" and the last/title track. Great choruses and melodies. Enjoy!

Kofe - Balans (1986)

Track List:

01 - Vstuplenie
02 - Monument
03 - Princessa
04 - Put To Zero
05 - Computer
06 - Bagi-Shok
07 - Aristokratka
08 - Oshibka 135
09 - Lomanye Pliaski
10 - Efir 2101
11 - Balans

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Some video for Lomanye Pliaski:




Kofe - Balet (1984)

01 - V Poiskah Zvuka
02 - Sochini Ulybku
03 - Kotoryi Den
04 - Balet 1
05 - Telepat
06 - Baron 2002
07 - Balet 2
08 - Twist
09 - Ver Mne

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Max & Intro - We Design The Future (1985)

This is a somewhat unknown 7" from Yugoslavia, and I'm fairly certain it's the only release by the group (but I'd love to be wrong). I am also going to include three Max & Intro demos (2 from the 7", and 1 other), because they're great. I actually like the "Beogradska Devojka" demo better than the 7" version, and "Los De Jan" demo is great too. Check them out!

Track List:

A - Ostavi Sve
B - Beogradska Devojka

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Max & Intro Demos

Track List:

01 - Ostavi Sve (demo)
02 - Beogradska Devojka (demo)
03 - Los De Jan (demo)

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Phantom Limb - Dance Of The Guilty (1982)

This mini-LP is from the Netherlands on "Sublabel" which is a division of Torso records, and is a post-punk / wave gem. The sound on this record is very much ahead of its time. There are parts of it where I'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference between a modern indie rock/post-punk band. A bit more guitar-based upload this time, after all that synth I've been posting. Enjoy!

Track List:

A1 - Beast Of Eden
A2 - Dance Of The Guilty
B1 - Far Sound Of Laughter
B2 - Numbered Hills
B3 - Deep In Mines

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Supportez Les Mineurs - To Whom It May Belong (1988)

Had to rip this one -- first because I absolutely love it, but also because it seems to be fairly unknown. I hope that will now change. This LP comes from Germany and, unless I'm mistaken, is the only release by this great band. This record shows a masterful command of instrumentation, with brilliant beats and basslines, melodic male & female vocals, all backed with haunting synths that set the mood of each song perfectly. Pretty great all the way through, hard not to love this one. Last track is a masterpiece. See for yourself. ;-)

Track List:

A1 - No More Than A Word
A2 - Why?
A3 - Isn't It Religious?
A4 - Silent Tears
B1 - I Can Even Wait
B2 - The Starvation
B3 - Tortured Soul
B4 - Lovin' In '91

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