Colin Newman - It Seems (1988)

 Colin Newman was the singer and guitar player for the legendary english punk group The Wire. They were one of the best bands of the first wave of punk, due to their unique, sophisticated, sharp edged punk miniatures. Later they developed their sound, under the influence of pop, neo-psychedelia and electronica. 

When the band temporarily split in 1980, Newman pursued a solo career. His first solo LP, A-Z, was released in 1980 on the Beggar's Banquet label.

"It Seems" is his fifth album, released at 1988, it was his second for Crammed Discs label, after "Commercial Suicide", and it keeps the tradition: beautifull songs with delicate melodies and - something new - wide use of sequencers — something Newman would continue to work with for a number of years. Both Crammed albums featured Malka Spigel, from Israeli dark/ electronic band Minimal Compact.

 It's a post punk masterpiece...

 Download  here

The Creatures - Hybrids (1999)

    The Creatures were a musical act formed in 1981 as a side-project for Siouxsie and the Banshees members Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie. Their music has been described as "adventurous art rock built around Siouxsie's extraordinary voice and drummer Budgie's battery of percussion".

With the dissolution of Siouxsie and the Banshees in 1996, The Creatures graduated from an occasional side project to a full-time concern. They disbanded in 2005.

The duo released four studio albums: Feast  in 1983, Boomerang in 1989, Anima Animous in 1999 and Hai! in 2003. (from Wikipedia).

Hybrids is the remix album released at 1999.   Some of the band's best songs turn to electronic nightmares and the result is a great "dance" album.

Tracklist

1. Prettiest Thing (Hormonal mix)

2. Exterminating  Angel (No Skool mix)

3. Slipping Away (Tik Tok mix)

4. Say (Radio friendly mix)

5. Pinned Down

6. Guillotine (Off with their heads mix)

7. All She Could Ask For (Dope mix)

8. 2nd Floor (Strawberry Coctail mix)

9. Disconnected (Beloved in a void mix)

10. Turn it on (black smoker mix)

11. Say (4x4 mix)

12. Prettiest Thing (waking dream mix)

Take it here

Local Heroes II - A Hitch-Hyke compilation (2003)

 Hitch-Hyke is a greek independent record company founded in 1985, focused in indie rock. Some of the greatest greek rock bands have recorded for Hitch-Hyke (Last Drive, Deus Ex Machina, Bocomolech, Nightstalker, make Believe).

This compilation came out at 2003, together with "Pop+Rock" magazine.

Some great bands and great songs are included here.

The music varies from Punk (Deus Ex machina), Garage (Last Drive), Stoner rock (Nightstalker), indie rock (Make Believe, Bocomolech, This Fluid)....

                                          The official site of Hitch-Hyke records is here

                                                               Download here

Anne Clark - Wordprocessing. The remix project (1997)

Anne Clark (born 14 May 1960 in London), is an excellent poet and songwriter. Her first album, The Sitting Room, was released in 1982, and she has released over a dozen albums since then.

Her experimental music occupies a region bounded roughly by electronic, dance (techno applies on occasion) and possibly avant garde genres, with varying hard as well as romantic and orchestral styles.

Clark is mainly a spoken word artist. Many of her lyrics deal critically with the imperfections of humanity, everyday life, and politics. Especially in her early works she has created a gloomy, melancholy kind of atmosphere. 

This wonderfull album includes some of her best songs remixed by famous names of electronic music like Sven Vaeth, Juno Reactor, Total Eclipse etc. The most tender moments mix with hard electronic beats creating magical soundscapes.

This is a piece of pure art and one the most beautifull albums i've ever heard!

Tracklist

1. Virtuality - Global Youth remix

2. The Healing (Aural Float treatment)

3. Sleeper in Metropolis (Hardfloor 97 version)

4. Letter of thanks to a friend (Radi Mate mix by Mouse on Mars)

5. Nida (Saafi Bros remix)

6. Our Darkness (Hardfloor 97 version)

7. Homecoming (Pascal F.E.O.S. remix)

8. Sleeper in Metropolis (Sleepers Revenge mix by Sven Vaeth and Ralf Hill)

9. Contact (Contact 2017 mix by The Mover)

10. Wallies (Night of the Hunter remix by Juno Reactor)

11. Our Darkness (Total Eclipse remix)

Anne Clark's official site is here

Download this masterpiece here

The futility of a well ordered life - An Alternative Tentacles Compilation (1994)

You All Know Alternative Tentacles and Jello Biafra of course. It's a famous independent record label, originally based in San Franciso California, and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent label, they released records for other bands as well. Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray and vocalist Jello Biafra formed the original Alternative Tentacles partnership, but the label is now run by Biafra, who became the sole owner in the mid-1980s.

This is a compilation - catalogue sampler from 1994, including some great bands. Punk is the key - word here in many of its expressions - hardcore punk, industrial punk, postpunk, punk rock. Only the last song is a hip  hop dynamite by Chill EB.

Alternative Tentacles is still alive and kicking.

  

Here is the official site

Tracklist

1. Lard - Forkboy

2. D.O.A. - Already dead

3. The Hanson Brothers - Jack off

4. Tribe 8 - Manipulate

5. Alice Donut - X Postal Worker

6. God Bullies - How many times

7. Brutal Juice - Galaxy

8. No Means No - The river

9. Tumor Circus - The man with the corkscrew eyes

10. VHK - Porbol Varat Epitek

11. Amebix - Largactyl

12. Zeni Geva - Desire for agony 

13. Neurosis - To crawl under one's skin

14. Jello Biafra with Mojo Nixon - Will the fetus be aborted

15. Hissanol - Angra

16. Grotus - Marginal

17. Chill EB - Menace to Society

Take it here

Front 242 - Rythm of Time. Single (1991)

Front 242 is now a legend! They started at 1981 in Belgium and since then they never stopped bombing the clubs with industrial dance classics! They are the pioneers for EBM and their influence to the younger bands is huge...

Enjoy this classic industrial from 1991! 


Check band's official website here


            

    Download here 

Marquee Moon - Angst + War (1992)

Founded 1984 in Berlin, Marquee Moon soon developed into one of the driving forces behind German gothic.
The band’s name goes back to the title of the classic debut album of the NY band Television, as well as a line from a song of The Damned.

 In the very same year, Marquee Moon's debut single "Don’t Go Out Tonight" was released.The single was followed in 1985 by their first (mini) album "Beyond The Pale", seeing them go on tour with legendary US punk rockers The Ramones.

Later they toured with X-Mal Deutschland and Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and thus managed to increase their fame.

 In 1992, they were present on the first CD compilation of Berlin-based underground label Dossier.

Their contribution, the track "Angst+War" received very positive feedback, which finally led to the band recording this album on Dossier under the same title. It was their fourth LP.

This is excellent punk/darkwave and it may remind you early Christian Death, with Rikk Agnew on guitar and of course Rozz...

                                                

Here is the official site of Marquee Moon.

Download here

Yell - O - Yell. Shoot the truth E.P. (1982)

This is an excellent piece of art from the greek post punk scene back at the '80's. Yell O Yell was one of the best bands and this 7 inch record was the first, both for the band and Creep Records, the most important independent greek label ever!

Yell O Yell created an almost unbearable darkwave/blues sound later (Funtime E.P. at 1983 and Hello Hell LP at 1984), heavily ifluenced by Birthday Party and Nick Cave, but still the personality of the band is alive and kicking, proving that the Birthday Party influence is just the start for a trip into hell combined with great music!

The band (after Creep Records disbanded at 1987) had another LP called "13" at Smash Records (all these records are rare today and very expensive).

More about Yell O Yell here and here

At 1990, the leader and singer of the band, Fill Scars, died and the band passed to history...

But the records stay, to remind this hidden diamond of the greek post punk scene...

Download here

Goblin - Suspiria (1977)

Goblin are an Italian progressive rock band known for their soundtracks for Dario Argento films (including Profondo Rosso (Deep Red) of 1975 and Suspiria of 1977).

They were initially named Cherry Five and were influenced by Genesis and King Crimson. Their early work spawned one eponymous progressive rock record. The band were then called in as replacements for composer Giorgio Gaslini who had left the film Profondo Rosso after a conflict with director Dario Argento. They changed their name to Goblin and rewrote most of the score, including the famous main theme. The film, and the soundtrack album, were huge hits.

A reshuffle in their line-up followed, and they put out an instrumental album Roller, before they got the chance to work with Argento again for Suspiria. The score's nerve-jangling experimental sounds and bizarre vocals have since become legendary. 
Goblin still continue, after A LOT of changes in their line up and they have wrote music for movies like George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Argento's Tenebrae (1982) and Non ho sonno (Sleepless) (2000).

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I'm not a big fan of progressive rock but this soundtrack is a fantastic work of art and a suitable sonic environment for this great film.
                                                              
                                                                   Download here

The Nature Of Mother Dance - A Darkwave compilation (1998)

This is another rare compilation, full of great bands! Some have a straight darkwave sound ( Faith and the Muse, Gitane Demone, Shadow Project), while others are more dark folk (Hagalaz Runedance, Ataraxia, Hekate). Most of the tracks are unreleased and of high quality.

   The best moments here are Gitane Demone's "I lost a friend in heroine", a straight rock song, Shadow Project's "Forever came today" in a live version, much better than the studio one, although Rozz is not here..., Hagalaz Runedance's "When the trees were silenced" (a dark folk masterpiece), and the final track by Trio Noir, a band - side project of Tony Wakeford, who is the man behind Sol Invictus.

The whole booklet is scanned and you can find it inside the file!




                                                        




   Enjoy this fantastic compilation here 

Electronic Unlimited - A MUTE Compilation (1995)

  This fantastic compilation came along with greek music magazine Pop+Rock, back in 1995 and is hard to find today. Mute records is (was) one of the most succesfull independent record companies, although not "independent" anymore. EMI bought Mute.     You better check out their official website because a lot of great artists still play for Mute. 

Daniel Miller founded the company back at 1978 with artists like Fad Gadget and D.A.F. Later came Yazoo, Depeche Mode, Inspiral Carpets, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Moby and the rest is history...

Back at the '70's and 80's the independent record companies were really independent. It means that almost every one had its own distinctive musical style and aesthetic and the whole "business" structure was completely different than the big labels. More human, more friendly to the artists and the buyers. The idea was "art above money"!

Who can forget Factory, Rough Trade, Creation, Flicknife, Mo 'Wax, Postcard and the list goes on...

This is a exquisite compilation including some of the best artists of that time.

                   Track List

1. Barry Adamson - Snowball Effect

2. Nick Cave and Shawn Mc Gowan - Wonderfull World

3. Inspiral Carpets - Two Worlds Collide

4. Balanescu Quartet - The Model

5. Anita Lane - Jesus Almost Got Me

6. Simon Bonney - There Can Only Be One

7. Parallax - Nobody Moves Nobody Dies

8. Diamanda Gallas - Let My People Go

9. Renegade Soundwave - Space Gladiator

10. Moby - Move (Disco Threat Mix)

11. Fortran 5 - Bass Degree Zero

12. Nitzer Ebb - Godhead

                                                 Enjoy here

Girls rewrite rock - A "Voice" magazine compilation. 1997

This compilation came out along with Voice magazine at 1997 and it includes some of the best dark, post punk and independent music bands of Greece during that time, all with female singers or members.This cd is very hard to find and most of the tracks are previously unreleased.

What i like most here is the bands who have a dark sound like Ding An Sich, Forward Music Quintet, Blue Birds Refuse to Fly. But the real gem is Petunia Pig an almost all-girl band from Patra with a unique pop-punk sound. They never had a record but they still are one of the best greek bands ever (in my opinion)! You can see more details about them here




Download the compilation

POPOL VUH - Nosferatu. Original soundtrack (1978)

   Popol Vuh was a German electronic avantgarde band, in the mainstream-media so called Krautrock, founded by pianist and keyboardist Florian Fricke in 1969 together with Holger Trülzsch (percussion) and Frank Fiedler (recording engineer and technical assistance). The band took its name from the Popol Vuh, a manuscript containing the mythology of the Post - Classic Quiché Maya people of highland Guatemala and south east Mexico. The name translates roughly as "meeting place."

 The group evolved to include all kinds of instruments: wind and strings, electric and acoustic alike, combined to convey a mystical aura that made their music spiritual and introspective.

Popol Vuh influenced many other bands from Europe with their uniquely soft but elaborate instrumentation, that took inspiration from Tibet, Africa, and pre-Columbian America. They created dream-like soundscapes along with psychedelic walls of sound, and are regarded as precursors of contemporary world music, as well of new age music and ambient music.

The band contributed soundtracks to the films of Werner Herzog

Florian Fricke died in Munich on December 29, 2001, and the group disbanded.

  Nosferatu is the eleventh album by Popol Vuh and was released as the original motion picture soundtrack of Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht by director Werner Herzog. It was originally released in 1978 on Egg.

It's a dark ambient masterpiece.
    The claustrophobic and deadly aura of the movie is here. It will make you chill!  Bringing together elements from plainsong and renaissance music, with Indian sitar and tabla, piano, synth drones, mellow psychedelic rock jams, and folky acoustic guitar. 
   As well, much of the music is suitably lonely and dark enough to accompany the movements of a 500 year old vampire.
    The killer though, has to be the recurring theme "Mantra", a beautiful and haunting piece that references the Dies Irae played on sitar and electric guitar, with progressing versions on the disc adding chorus. Spooky.

Take it here

Gew Gaw Stereophonic Dodman - A Gew Gaw Compilation (issue #2)

Gew Gaw is a high quality greek psychedelic fanzine. Some issues came out with a cd compilation icluding great bands and great songs, most of them unreleased! Anyway you can see details about the fanzine here. This is the second compilation that came out along with issue #8.
There is a lot of great stuff here! This isn't '60's pop psychedelia. This is heavy tripping stuff full of echoes of garage, darkwave, psychedelia, space rock and Kraut...
I think this is the first time that this compilation is uploaded for everyone to enjoy!

The cover is designed by Iliana Noea. Her amazing work is almost everywhere in greek independent scene, in records (Purple Overdose's third and fourth record), fanzines, posters, everywhere! I wish somebody who know her, write some things about this amazing artist. You can find nothing about her in greek independent music blogs and i think it's a shame!

Download this rare gem here

AMEBIX - Knights of the black sun (E.P., 2011)

No need to say much about this amazing band. I still remember the shock when i first heared their music back in the '80's. Yes, i'm that old! It was like Killing Joke meet Black Sabbath and Crass! They were true punks living in squats full of empty beer cans, rats and mohicans. You can take a slight idea of these years in this video. Amebix were one of the first bands to put heavy metal into punk and darkwave and they made a music that was so ...morbid, so dark and aggresive at the same time!
They were great influence for the crust punk scene and a beloved and legendary name for the greek punk scene of the late '80's and also a major influence for greek crust bands.
Amebix's original run was from 1978 to 1987, during which time they released three EPs and two full-length LPs.

Amebix took inspiration from Motorhead (and to a lesser extent Lemmy-era Hawkwind), Black Sabbath, and combined with an ethos and worldview akin to Crass. They were also influenced by various postpunk and gothic bands, including Public Image Ltd., Bauhaus, Joy Division, and especially Killing Joke.
 The group has reunited as of 2008.

Knights of the Black Sun E.P. was released on June 3, 2011 which also featured the band's first ever music video.Sonic Mass, the band's third album and first full-length in 24 years, was released on September 23, 2011 through the band's own label (Amebix Records).
Band's legend were getting bigger by the time simply because nobody was playing that way! A documentary called "Risen" came out and you can download it here
This E.P. was the first official Amebix release after 24 years! Enjoy it:

Download

ATHAMAY - The Pleasure of Sin

Athamay is an english dark electro band formed in 1995. Their only release untill now (Nightbreed Recordings, 1996) is this fantastic work which became an electro classic and is hard to find today. After this cd they continued as Torture Tekk.
Enjoy this now legendary and hard to find masterpiece

Track list

1. Dreams

2. Eternal torture

3. Kiss the whip

4. Falling

5. Domination

6. She

7. Crucifixion

8. Restrict and obey

9. Caged

10. Hi-Tec Sex

11. Domination (New Alternatives 3 mix)

12. Dreams (Ambient mix)

13. Kiss the whip (Analogue mix)         

Take it here

Dark Ages - A Cyberdelia records compilation (2005).

  This is a rare compilation from 2005 with some of the best greek "darkwave" bands, published with the greek magazine "Rock and Roll" in April 2005. 
   Cyberdelia was a greek independent record company focused in the dark side of the greek rock scene. The label is a creation of Mike Pougounas, leader of the gothic band Flowers of Romance and later Nexus and New Zero God.
  Pougounas created Cyberdelia Records on March 9, 2000, and on May 19, Cyberdelia released Nexus's debut album, entitled 6.

    Cyberdelia Records released albums for popular European bands such as Wayne Hussey’s The Mission. In 2005, both Cyberdelia and Nexus disbanded, and a year later Mike Pougounas formed the post-punk New Zero Go.

The music here moves betwwen ethereal and industrial, gothic rock and experimental.

Tracklist

1. Nexus - Drop the Luv Bomb (atria mix)
2. Genetic Variation - Manic
3. Pulcher Femina - Everywhere was cold
4. Casualty Park - The Judas Tatoo
5. Past Perfect - If
6. Artica 7 - Anni
7. Rag - My master
8. The Mission - Lay your hands on me
9. Min pirovolite ton pianista - Xenihti
10. Into the abyss - La soeur D'Icare
11. Trypanosoma - Catch.U.Ranis in Baghdad
12. Blue Birds Refuse to Fly - Lacrima Di Balena II - The Revenge

Take it here