The Sound - Iron Years (E.P. 12", vinyl rip). 1987.

The Sound formed in South London in 1979. It was only by misfortune that the band didn't have the success of Echo and the Bunnymen or Cure. 

   Their music was genius. Depth and variation, tensions, atmoshperes and unstrained melodies was the perfect environment for the existensial lyrics.

  No need to write more about this unforgettable band.

  Only that Adrian Borland, the genius songwriter and singer of the band put an end to his life around this time, on 26 April 1999... 

  
 This is their last release. The darkness of the first records is still here. "Iron years" (could have easily been a part of "Shock of daylight") was included in their last LP "Thunder Up" (1987) but the true diamonds here are the two songs on the b side.

          

        Tracklist

        1. Iron Years (remix)

        2. Such a difference

        3. Fall of Europe

       We are living in the iron years

Stress - Athen's Burning I and II (Two 7" E.P's, vinyl rip). 1982-1985 recordings. 2011.

   Stress is a legendary greek punk band - one of the first and the best! Still active in ground shaking gigs, with only one record, " O Ihos tis anasfalias", in 1985 (self released, only 300 copies). 

   I had this record! I lost it somewhere and i'm never gonna forgive myself! 

   (Later Wipe-Out records re-released the LP.)

   And there was somenthing special about this record, if anyone is interested to understand what was happening in Greece in the '80's. 

   The song "Genoktonia" ("Genocide") - an anti-military anthem - it is not listed on the record label or the lyric sheet. On the back sleeve it is mentioned that this track was removed due to censorship. The record plays only a few seconds of the intro, followed by about 2 minutes of silence, and then the last few seconds of the outro!

    "Stress might very well have been the one & only greek band with a high-paced punk '77/KBD sound, in a scene full of post-punk (& later on hardcore) bands.

    As far as their (sociopolitical in nature) lyrics go, they seem to encapsulate all the events & agonies of their generation; tracks such as "Leros" (name of an aegean island whose mental institution has one of the worst records on human rights violations in europe) , are indicative of the band's leanings. ...." (from band's site above).

   Last year B-other side records collected some old recordings (1982-1985), not included in the LP and released these two beautifull 7" E.P's called "Athen's Burning" I and II (vinyl only, 500 copies).  

   The file contains the two E.P's (9 songs) and all the artwork.

Download  here

Wipers - Land of the lost (LP, vinyl rip). 1986.

   "Side one of "Land Of The Lost" displays a new side of The Wipers - a mean hard rock/blooze/metal-punk side ... 

   

The guitar tone is gritty, the mix is trebly, and the songs are pissed-off as a bee! But don't worry: side two is a return to typical Wipers emotion/drama...

  

   If you enjoy guitar tones filthy and scuzzy this album will excite the dick out of your ear. The most formidable example is the title track, which as written is simply a cliche'd blues riff with new lyrics (it's the same riff AC/DC used in "Badlands"). By all rights it should be a miserable embarrassing failure, but the guitar tone is so menacing and street-evil that the song doesn't just work -- it excels."

(from markprindle.com) 

                                  One of my most favourite albums ever!

                                                       Download  here

Thurston Moore - Trees outside the academy (LP, vinyl rip). 2007.

   Thurston Moore is the singer, guitarist and songwriter of Sonic Youth. 

   "Trees outside the academy" is his second solo work released by his own record label Ecstatic Peace.

 Don't expect the chaos of Sonic Youth here. 

   Slower rythms, psychedelic tunes, acoustic guitars, violins and wonferful melodies create a special atmosphere in this record. It reminded me some of the work of Syd Barret! Only "Wonderful Witches" is a speedy rock song following the tradition of Sonic Youth.

    

J. Mascis, the guitarist of Dinosaur Jr, has a distinctive role here as well as the violinist Samara Lubelski.

   This is fascinating music from a really creative artist.

   I ordered this vinyl from the record company and i got it by mail. I'm very proud for this, because it was released basically in cd but the Ecstatic Peace released a vinyl edition in limited number of copies.

 Download  here

Β-23. Fragmenta 1 & 2 (7" EP's, vinyl rip). 1990.

This is a part of history!

 "Stis Skies tou B-23" was one of the best greek fanzines back in the 80's and '90's. Some issues were released with vinyl records  (compilations with some of the best greek undergound bands of that time) under the name "Fragmenta". 

The greek reading friends can find some informations about this legendary zine in fanzines.gr

Here are the first two records, both of them in 7" vinyl disc with 4 bands each.

Fragmenta I

1. Anti - Nekri Pleiopsifia

2. Panx Romana - Synagermos

3. Viridian Green - Nihta

4. R.R. Hearse -  Endless Sleep

Anti was a now legendary synth - punk group while Panx Romana is a straight punk rock band still active with many followers all these years. This song here is one of their best.

Viridian Green is a project by Stefanos Glaufx and they had an experimental dark electro sound. R.R. Hearse was one of the protagonists of the underground scene of the '80's, doing experimental noise stuff, and this is his only vinyl release.

                                 

                                                      Fragmenta II

                                                   1. Sarka - Trella

                                            2. Petunia Pig - A dream so grey

                                                   3.Erevos - Erevos

                                            4. Lost Bodies - Stretch Reflex

   Sarka is a punk (kind of!) band and you can visit their website here. Petunia Pig was an almost all girl pop punk band from Patra (check also this post).
   Erevos was a dark wave band active during the '90's and Lost Bodies is a now legendary duo with a unique punk/experimental sound. This is their first appearance in vinyl but since then they've done a lot of records and gigs becoming one of the most beloved greek bands.

                        The file contains the two records and all the artwork.

                                                        Download  here 

Ορα Μηδέν - Μόνα Λίζα (7" EP, vinyl rip). 1988.

    This is the legendary 7" single by Ora Miden, a greek punk group from Patra. It was released with Rollin' Under fanzine and it was band's only record.

   The file contains the three songs and a scanned interview by the band, taken from "Junk" fanzine (issue #2, January 1990). I was the publisher of this fanzine
(together with my good friend Efi) and i sent some questions to the band by mail (not e- mail, there were no pc's back then -at least in my neighbourhood!) and the band sent me back a letter with the replies! Cool huh?

 The drawing above is made by a friend of mine (George Rouf) based on a photo sent to us by the band. The photo is lost.
                          This is excellent greek punk from the '80's. 

                                                Download  here

The Fall - Perverted By Language (LP, vinyl rip). 1983.

   This is ...what? Proletarian art? Cheap punk? The drunken monologues of a loser who happens to be a genious? Joy Division meet Captain Beefheart for a trip into space? Is this Kraut rock?

   Is this even art?

   In any case this is one of the masterpieces of the '80's. It's the 7th album by The Fall (and the first to feature Brix Smith, then wife of Mark E. Smith, who performs lead vocals on "Hotel Blöedel"), ripped from the original vinyl record (there have been reissues with 5 extra tracks).

                         
          Tracklist
 
          1. Eat Y'self Fitter
          2. Neighbourhood Of Infinity
          3. Garden
          4. Hotel Bloedel
          5. Smile
          6. I Feel Voxish
          7. Tempo House
          8. Hexen Definitive / Strife Knot                                                   
                                                          

                 Download here

Au Pairs - Diet / It's Obvious (7" single, vinyl rip). 1980.

  Blasting into the post-punk consciousness with a tremendous debut album ("Playing with a different sex"), the Au Pairs, fronted by lesbian-feminist Lesley Woods, played brittle, guitar-based rock that shared political and musical kinship with the Mekons and (especially) the Gang of Four. 

   The music was danceable, imbued with an almost petulant irony. The Au Pairs wrote excellent songs celebrating sexuality from a woman's perspective. 

 Also, they took swipes at the conservative political climate sweeping England after Margaret Thatcher's election as Prime Minister (from Allmusic (almost!)).

  After a desultory live album in 1983 (Live in Berlin), the band split up, and Woods and her bandmates have maintained a low profile. 

This is their second single. "Diet" is about the everyday reality of a middle class woman.

                 

                   "He works the car - she the sink,

                    She's not here to think,

                    Sits with the papers - discuss the news,

                    She doesn't have political views - she doesn't have any views..."

                                The file contains the two songs (ripped from the original vinyl to wav) and the artwork
Follow the dance  here