Mixed Feelings - Another Place (1982-1984)

Tonight's post is the kind that doesn't happen often, and I'm very excited to be sharing this with all of you. I hope you'll enjoy the contents as much as I have.

If you've been following the Crispy Nuggets compilations, you'll probably remember one of the standout bands from Vol. 1, Mixed Feelings, and their instantly catchy minimal synth diamond "Another Place (Like Home)". Well, I've had the pleasure of meeting the song-writer of the band, Mr. Sean Cooper, and he's been kind enough to make the band's other recordings available.

Aside from the fact that I really think these songs are great, I'm most impressed by how young they were at the time (which you can see clearly in the photos). The band was from Basildon, which if you think hard enough might bring another synthpop band to mind... I'm going to quote Sean directly here, because he tells it better than I ever could:

"We started in the band in 1981 whilst still at school, Nicholas Comprehensive in Basildon which is the same school that the Mode boys went to...i recall seeing their first gig at our school disco ( i hassled martin about his synth after the "gig") and quite often we would watch them rehearse in one of the school classrooms. I had wanted to be a synth player in a band for some time cos as a young kid i was into early League, Numan, Kraftwerk and had "auditioned" with a couple of "new romantic" and even a rockabilly band (armed with only a cheap electric organ), but it wasn't until a childhood friend said "lets start a band" that I really took the idea seriously....so we asked a couple of other mates to join, saved up some money, bought a couple of cheap synths and a drum machine and off we went...

We were (and i still am!) heavily influenced by Mode. And yeah I got to meet them numerous times, I would often bump into Martin and he was always interested to see how the band was going (somehow he knew that i had been expelled from school...)...we also knocked on Daves front door one night and invited him to a gig we were doing just down the road from him..."

photo taken on the same street where Fletch lived

As a huge DM fan myself, I found that story to be absolutely amazing. If you like this blog, you probably like DM too, which will come in handy as a few of these songs are DM covers :-)

Most of these tracks were recorded in 1982 under the main core group, but roles varied out through '84. Sean Cooper always on the task of song-writer and synths, Mark Robinson was the vocalist, but unfortunately suffered a voice break later on. Pete Reynolds and Alan Stone also took on synth duties, while Geoff Conner manned the drum machine. Last and certainly not least is Lorraine Olson, who provided guest vocals on tracks 01, 05, 06, and 08.


I can honestly say there isn't a song here I don't like, this is a prime example of pure DIY minimal synth, at it's best. I hope you'll feel the same. Enjoy!


Track List:

01 - Another Place (Like Home)
02 - Because Of You
03 - Fate
04 - Final Demand
05 - Fun
06 - The Captain
07 - Told You So
08 - Stand Up High
09 - Holding On
10 - Ice Machine (Cover)
11 - Photographic (Cover)

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The Valley Forge - Fit To Fall (1986)

The first of two 12" records released by this UK band. The 2nd record was posted by bX here, but since MegaUpload is now sleeping with the fishes, I've re-uploaded it for you here. Details on both records can be found in the reviews on their Discogs pages, presumably left by a former band member. Enjoy!

Track List:

A1 - Fit To Fall (The Mix)
B1 - Escape
B2 - Hope

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Various - Incontinence (1984)

Easily one of the scarcest items to surface on this blog. This French cassette was limited to only 100 copies. Despite featuring the likes of well-known bands like Deux, this tape has gone mostly unnoticed. That should change quickly, as this one's rather impressive throughout. The best contributions are that of Collision Expérimentale and the Bauhaus-esque Avant Post, but every band here adds a little something... for everyone. Enjoy!

Track List:

A1 - Dada Neuf - Au Pays Du Coup De Soleil

A2 - Dada Neuf - Tuillage Évolutif

A3 - Deux - Game And Performance

A4 - Deux - Felicita

A5 - Collision Expérimentale - Dans Laid Couloirs

A6 - Collision Expérimentale - Fidêle-Castrè

A7 - Avant Post - The Squealing-Call

A8 - Avant Post - Pongs And Death

B1 - Leda Atomica - No Woman's Land

B2 - Leda Atomica - Etude Du "Houlala"!!!

B3 - Leda Atomica - Jailhouse-Rock

B4 - The Grief - The Torment

B5 - The Grief - Dirty Dance

B6 - Vision Baroque - Leslie

B7 - Vision Baroque - The Death ***

B8 - A Joyce Concept - Voices And Crys ***

*** One mp3, as the tracks run together

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Joy Before The Storm - Silence Ever After (1985)

This LP has got to be one of the best US minimal synth obscurities. The album art represents the sound rather accurately, like looking through the window of a sad loner, just him and his analog instruments. Hah. The best track is most definitely "We're All Alone", but there are a few other gems littered in there as well. It's been extremely difficult to find any useful information regarding this record, I found some miscellaneous info on another US band by the same name, but there's no evidence they are linked. Info always appreciated. Enjoy!

Track List:

A1 - Attic Window
A2 - We're All Alone
A3 - These Things Happen
A4 - We Should Be Closer
A5 - Cheerleader
B1 - Shadow Of A Radio Tower
B2 - Walking On Air
B3 - Quiet Past
B4 - Westchester Siren

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Mosfets - The Great War (1982)

Here's a 7" from none other than, you guessed it, the UK. Plucked from the ranks of the very best obscure minimal synth acts, to be sure. It doesn't show up often, and when it does it won't come cheap. "But Crispy, I have bills to pay, and I just spent my last paycheck on Obscure Identities releases, including the Aspect Ratio tape! I can't afford this record!" Not to worry, my friend! Just click the download link below and have a listen -- for free! Enjoy.

Track List:

A - The Great War
B - Power Games

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Radio Berlin Re-Uploaded

Had a few requests to re-up the dead link for Radio Berlin. Sorry it took me so long, but you can get it again now, here.

Let me know if you encounter any other dead links. Thanks!

NU-FX - I Believed You (198x)

Today we have a 7" from the UK that should satisfy all lovers of minimal synthpop. For me this record easily joins the ranks of the best. Great sound and DIY aesthetic, what more could you ask for? Well, I suppose a bit more information wouldn't hurt. This self-release is rather cryptic, listing no release year (although seemingly in the 81-85 range). The 2 member names "Latin Cogan" and "Marc Nufx" aren't too telling, either. As always, further information is welcome, if anyone has something to add. Enjoy!

Track List:

A - I Believed You

B - Power & Unity

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Yön - I Dream (1987)

Here we have a 7" that I consider to be one of the 'holy grails' of US minimal synth/wave. I know that term gets thrown around a lot, but this dark-tinged gem sure seems to qualify. It's extremely rare and I'm not sure too many people are aware of its existence yet. There's no cover sleeve version that I'm aware of, and the band members are listed as "Mr. M/Britain", which for me wasn't very telling. The record was released on Tekno-Wave Records in Texas, which has also been a dead end in my search for further info. I've been quite curious about this one so if anyone out there knows anything please speak up! I'll let the sound speak for itself here, instant winners on both sides. Enjoy!

Track List:

A - I Dream
B - Knowledge

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Leidenschaft - Leidenschaft (1986)

If I'm honest about it, this is perhaps one of my favorite discoveries to date. Every aspect of this obscure tape leaps out and tugs on each of my musical heartstrings. Leidenschaft were a short-lived but highly undervalued duo from France. I don't know very much about the members, other than their first names: Thierry and Denis. I'm completely unsure if either of them ever were involved in any other projects, but they certainly contributed 3 gems here. The best way I can describe this is if you took the best aspects of Xymox and Echo, then added a drop of French coldwave in the mix. That comparison is best noticed in "The Cities Of The Red Night", an immediately club-ready jam. It's tough, but the hit for me has to be "Who Cares?", which thankfully has a video to go along with it (see below). The last track settles down into a slower but quite beautiful ballad. You're going to love this one. Enjoy!

Track List:

A1 - Who Cares?
A2 - The Cities Of The Red Night
B1 - A Long Way

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Chanson Deux - Hinter Den Dingen (1986)

Here we have a long sought-after LP from Germany. It contains the well-circulated track "Der Staat" and, not surprisingly, a few other gems. Unfortunately this isn't the best rip, but I tweaked it as well as I could... so it'll have to do for now. Other faves from this one would be "Où", "To Je Pravda", "Je Suis Seule", and "Masse Mensch". I've gotta run for now, have a nice Sunday, everyone. Enjoy!

Track List:

A1 - Masse Mensch
A2 - To Je Pravda
A3 - Der Staat
A4 - Mirrors
B1 - Je Suis Seule
B2 - Play For Love
B3 - Où
B4 - Hinter Den Dingen

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Picture Book - Laughing In My Hand (1984)

Ok, so it's been kind of a while. I've had a few different requests lately. Everything from, "Hey, can you post the b-side of Picture Book?"... to... "Hey, where the hell did you go? Post more shit, asshole!". Yes, I admit, I've been absent for a long time. Sorry about that. The personal life has kept me quite busy, but I should also mention that hidden 80s gems, although plentiful, have for the most part been uncovered. Very few diamonds left to uncover, I wager. Not to suggest there's nothing left to find. There is. I just have much less time on my hands to hunt them down. What's more, I've wanted to keep the quality of this blog's posts at (what I consider) a very high level. I never intended this to be endless. A new post every week just for the sake of posting. So that you can download it, skip through it, yawn and/or roll your eyes, and never listen again. There are a lot of blogs out there that can serve that need. I will probably never shut down this blog altogether, but posts will be much more sporadic and random. I do have a completely badass tape from France planned at some point in the not too distant future. You'll love it. Ok, enough out of me, I've wasted enough time.

You've heard the title track of this 7-inch on CN4 but as I said above, the b-side has been requested... so here it is! Pretty slick record and extremely rare, that's for sure. There happens to be a copy of it up on eBay at the moment, so bring your A-game if you plan to be the new owner. By A-game, I mean a lot of money. Anyway, Picture Book were a UK trio: Steve A, Lesley, and Steve B. They appear on the excellent Subtle Hints compilation, as well as another compilation called "Against The Tide". I haven't heard the song featured there, but I surely would like to. It's called "Scarlet Everywhere", so if anyone out there can help, please do! The band has a Facebook and are very friendly, go give them a like and say hello. Enjoy!

Track List:

A - Laughing In My Hand
AA - Reflex Action

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P.S. You can here an alternative version of the song, here.

All Fall Down - Arecibo (1983)

Here we have yet another hidden wave gem from the UK. This one was instantly catchy from the second I dropped the needle. After a couple rounds of chorus I assumed I'd gotten everything the song had to offer, but then it dropped a bit of female vox into the mix -- a pleasant surprise. The b-side isn't as upbeat, but a quality track indeed. Enjoy!

Track List:

A - Arecibo
B - A Changing Face

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