inner nerd » Minimal Synth

Deux – Decadence LP (2010)

beaker — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:52:58 +0000

Vive La Synth Baguette!!!

The life of an anachronist is no picnic: One’s soul (do robots have souls?) is spread across time like brie on pain chaud. Fortunately for those of us stuck surfing time-space, there is music this good to keep us afloat. Minimal Wave nails it again with another anthology repress, this time by French duo, Deux. Might as well double-up on the vinyl while you’re there buying Futurisk Player Piano LP to save on shipping. If you’re feeling flush, I would pick up the Medio Mutante EP, Inestable single, too.

SCHEMATIC: Not convinced?! Check out the full Deux posting HERE!!!

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Robot Rock du Jour: Severed Heads – Lamborghini/Petrol (1982/1985)

beaker — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:32:52 +0000

I’m HOOKED! Now this is some real Aussie nerdness! Nearly five minutes of minimal synth industrial perfection from legendary Sydney band Severed Heads. Disgustingly rare in its original wax format.

Lamborghini (Live at Metro TV, July 1982)

SCHEMATIC: Recording details, the original studio cut and a later concert version…

There is some confusion regarding the actual name of this track: Is it Lamborghini or Petrol? My hunch is that Lamborghini is actually an early version of Petrol. The earliest example of Lamborghini is off the 1982 French compilation Entrave et Étouffement, whereas Petrol doesn’t show up until 1985 on a 7″. To complicate matters further, although the embedded Live at Metro TV July 1982 clip you already saw is clearly a live performance of Lamborghini, it is tagged on youtube as Petrol.

This next cut of Lamborghini was taken from a compilation CD called Can’t Stop It! II (Australian Post-Punk 1979-84) that was published in 2007. The compilation is just OK, although that track from Centerfold is good, too. Might as well pick it up digitally because Severed Heads early recordings will cost you from $50 – $2,000!

Lamborghini (CD Version)

Petrol (Live at Rock Arena, 1986)

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Robot Rock du Jour: Medio Mutante – Corre Corre (2008)

beaker — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:54:26 +0000

There aren’t too many young, contemporary bands that could fool me into thinking their work was good enough to be recorded 30 years ago. Medio Mutante (translation Average Mutant) is one of them. This naughty triad of vintage audio and video synthesizer maestros is putting out really thick analogue music. BTW, they’re using a Fairlight CVI video synth for the visuals. Nerd Approved!

SCHEMATIC: Cover art, release info, more vids and where to buy…

Medio Mutante’s first release, Inestable, is a 6-track EP published on Cititrax, a Minimal Wave sublabel. They only pressed 600 copes on 160-gram vinyl, which makes it a pretty good buy at $16.00 + s&h.

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Party Time: Saturday Robot Party @ The Idle Hour (Baltimore, MD)

beaker — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:52:53 +0000

VIGR is in the house. 4+ hour rare vinyl set. Need I say more? Hope to see you there! I’ll try to keep track of the setlist…

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Robot Rock du Jour: Deux – Paris / Orly (1985)

beaker — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:23:10 +0000

Hot Girls Singing Over Synths (HGSOS).

This French duo were really onto something with their minimal synths, stripped-down rhythm compositions and suitably cold female lyrics. This prime example of French minimal synth pop was no doubt influenced by their proximity to Germany as the cool synth-laden air traveled down from Les Alpes. Presented here is Paris / Orly the b-side from their Europe 7″ published in 1985 on André Records.

SCHEMATIC: Videos for Felicita and Game and Performance…

That French accent slays me…

Deux – Felicita (1983)

Deux – Game and Performance (1983)

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Robot Rock du Jour: Doris Norton – Personal Computer (1984)

beaker — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:31:32 +0000

OK. Check this out:

Super hot italian chick doubles as an electronic music pioneer, gets sponsored by Apple and Roland in the 1980s and eventually becomes a consultant to IBM. **sigh**

All video clips taken from the 1984 LP Personal Computer on Durium.

SCHEMATIC: Two more videos and high res studio photo…

Doris Norton – Binary Love

Doris Norton – Norton Apple Software

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Keyser Söze Alert: Los Autómatas – Viaje Espacial (1982?)

beaker — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:58:21 +0000

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…

But wait! The plot thickens! I found this video by the Dutch band, Nova for their first single, Aurora from 1981. Same video. Different song. Same band???!!

I tracked down the following picture of Nova performing on TopPop (TV) in April of 1982. The photo features band members Rob Papen and Ruud van Es. Based on this new evidence, the videos clearly feature Nova. But the original questions still remain.

I got in touch with Ignacio, who originally posted the Los Autómatas video. It turns out that he made this video as a joke using his own music that he put together in an hour or two!! The actual song is Systenova – Viaje Espacial. “Systenova” is his pseudonym for Italo-Disco, HiNRG, Spacesynth, Synth-pop, Disco, Acid Techno, etc…

You can find some old unfinished/abandon demos on youtube and myspace.

Once I listened to Viaje Espacial using headphonesm, the digital production value really came through. I was duped. But so what?! I’m happy we now have an ally in Argentina!

Thanks Ignacio!!

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Keyser Söze Alert: Iko – Iko ’83 LP (1982)

beaker — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:31:48 +0000

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…

Presenting neither a robotic dystopia nor a sci-fi fantasy, instead ‘83 reveals our own robotic inclinations and highlights the struggle of the human soul to escape mechanization. The album envelops its listeners in a blanket of meditative synthesis, instructive beats, poignant lyrics and strangely syncopated accents reminiscent of the abstract music created from DNA sequences.

The coldly humanoid vocals are sung in both French and English. Iko must have spent considerable time in Montréal to pick up that distinctive Quebecois accent in both languages. But then again, their speech recognition and simulation circuitry was probably quite advanced.

Thank you DAX (synthesized harmonies & melodies, voice), U-GEN (triggered & synthesized melodies, voice) and ZAO (computed rhytm & bass, voice), whenever you are.

A1) Elevator

A2) Gonadotropic Synthesis

A3) Subway 49

A4) Communication Off

B1) Approach on Tokyo

B2) Digital Delight

B3) Model Type A

B4) Radioactive Mist

*** Military Service (non-album track)

A2

*** Surrender to the Dream (non-album track)

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Keyser Söze Alert: R.E.M. – Computer Communication (1983)

beaker — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:37:19 +0000

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…

Beyond buying a few records to lower the per unit shipping cost or waiting for one to show up in the US, this track was reissued as a high-quality bootleg as the B-side of Automan 11 in 2005 along with Junior Byron’s Dance to the Music and Kazino’s Binary on the A-side. A NM example is currently available in the US for $10 on Discogs Marketplace.

I embedded youtube videos for all three tracks, since they’re all pretty rad. That being said, I do prefer the dub version to Junior Byron’s track, which was used to great effect on DFA label co-owner and LCD Soundstyem frontman James Murphy’s FabricLive.36 compilation.

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Robot Rock du Jour: Logic System – Unit (1981)

beaker — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:06:20 +0000

From the Hideki Matsutake’s album Logic released in 1981. How can you argue with a hot (french) girl singing over smooth robotic beats? Get the Japanese pressing: It is sonically superior and not expensive (yet).

Oh? What’s that? You liked that, did you? Well, there are over 130 more videos on my painstakingly assembled youtube playlist. If you want to journey even deeper, I’ve compiled two related playlists that delve into the history of and equipment used in the production of early electronica.

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