Archive for the ‘Keyser Söze’ Category
Keyser Söze Alert : Oviformia Sci – Fashion Magazines (1982?)
Oh, hell yes.
This is some super-fine minimal jamón synth in the Aviador Dro vein, complete with original, highly conceptual music videos. As far as I can tell, this stuff wasn’t pressed on vinyl. If anyone has a beat on this wax, I’m buying. Peep the Korg MS-20 BTW.
SCHEMATIC: Another outrageously cool video from Oviformia Sci and links to more music…
Keyser Söze Alert: Decadance – On and On (Fears Keep On) (1983)
Dark, italo alchemy at its finest!
Although somewhat of a false alarm since Decadance members Franco Rago and Gigi Farina were also responsible for ‘Lectric Workers’ tasty italo-biscuit Robot is Systematic, this is the one and only Decadance experiment. The twisted lyrics are a perfect match for the track’s underground, synthy goodness.
SCHEMATIC: Album cover and record label scans…
Keyser Söze Alert: Magnifique – Magnifique (1979)
There is absolutely no fronting on this straight-up funky disco track from Canada (Ontario, I think)! The video, which features clips from the terrible 1979 flick Roller Boogie, is a stroke of genius. Now, the first three minutes of this song may not do much for you, but when the breakdown begins, the song deconstructs into some pretty trippy disco.
Keyser Söze Alert: Clay Pedrini – New Dream (1984)
This may be the single greatest manifestation of Italo every pressed. Who the hell is this guy?! Claudio (Clay) Pedrini Came out of nowhere, cooked up this tasty Italo biscuit and then went back into the night kitchen forever. Even when you can find it, be prepared to dish out upwards of $500 for an excellent copy. Fortunately for vinyl nerds hit by the recession, this has been officially repressed by I.D. Limited, complete with reinterpreted cover artwork. You’ll have to pay shipping from Europe, tho.
SCHEMATIC: A short music video clip and cover artwork…
Keyser Söze Alert: Trophy – Slow Flight (1982)
This unstoppable Italo electro-disco jam from 1982 spawned the fabled Fuzz Dance label. Italo master Maurizio Dami (aka Alexander Robotnick) was heavily involved with this label as both a producer and remixer. Does anyone out there know if he produced this track, too?
Here’s the spacey instrumental version ripped from my vinyl copy.
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SCHEMATIC: Record scans and Alexander Robotnick dropping some disco knowledge… Read the rest of this entry »
Keyser Söze Alert: Gay Cat Park – I’m a Vocoder (1982)
Wait…Who? Don’t let the peculiar name distract you from the raw genius of this track. This masterpiece marked the genesis of Italo thoroughbred label Il Discotto Productions in 1982. By the way, you can learn a ton about vintage vocoders by watching our vocoder youtube playlist or checking out our friends over at Matrixsynth.
SCHEMATIC: More vocoder intel…
Keyser Söze Alert: Los Autómatas – Viaje Espacial (1982?)
100% addicted to this song. Which is a serious problem, because other than this single, solitary video, I can find no trace of the band’s existence. Anywhere. Are vinyl pressings gathering dust somewhere in Argentina? A handsome reward for any information leading to my successful capture of this track on wax.
SCHEMATIC: The real story…
Keyser Söze Alert: Iko – Iko ’83 LP (1982)
Virtually Nothing is known about this Montréal (?) group, but I’ve deduced what is going on here:
Iko was an android trio from the future that traveled back in time to 1982 in order to learn what it meant to be human in the decades just preceding the merger of man and machine. Archetypal and powerful nerd music.
Only 500 copies of this LP sold. So if you account for DJ/radio promos, maybe 1,000 were even pressed, making this gem truly obscure. The $100+ price tag for this album is one of the deals of the century.
’83 is presented here in its entirety, ripped from my mint copy at 24bit/96kHz and converted to MP3 at 196 kbps for optimal sound quality. I also found and posted two unreleased tracks (9 & 10) for posterity.
SCHEMATIC: MP3s, album review and cover artwork…
Keyser Söze Alert: Fric – Erreur Erotique (1982)
A synthy, robo-erotic slow jam created by two guys that look (and sound) like perverted middle school math teachers. Sung in Québecois French and vocoded to perfection. Need I say more? Pretty robo-heady lyrics, so check out the SCHEMATIC section for the original French and English translations.
Here is their (not so) live performance on Musi-Video from the early 1980s.
SCHEMATIC: Hot cover art, original record scans, Montréal distributor’s sticker and LYRICS… Read the rest of this entry »
Keyser Söze Alert: R.E.M. – Computer Communication (1983)
No, Michael Stipe and did not dabble in Italo. Actaually, Computer Communication was the second of four releases to appear on the short-lived Xanadu label from Italy in 1983. This is a readily available and largely underrated Italo classic 12″ that you can still buy in excellent condition for around $20. They’re pretty tough to find for sale in the US, so you’ll probably have to pay international air postage from Italy if you’re dying for the track.
SCHEMATIC: Automan 11 bootleg reissue…