I updated the webshop with two re-issues of obscure 80’s stuff… one is the Neue Krankenscheine 7″… which was originally released on tape in 1984… this one for fans of the classic sounds (pre-sets) of the Casio VL-Tone… and rather punk and DIY… below is one of the crazy tracks from this record…
Even more happy I am with the record by Schatten Unter Eis… in 2006 there was a vinyl on the legendary WSDP label… and now there is another vinyl release… 99% based on the tape released back in 1983… this band is also very much in the punk/DIY tradition… also lo-fi and also playful… below is a track not from the recently released album but from the one which came out in 2006… but this one is such a classic!
I wrote before on Lend Me Your Underbelly… a Dutch one man band in love with psychedelic music… most of his work until now is with electric guitar with lots of effects and electronics… but there is a new album coming up with a more acoustic focus…
The title is quite fitting as this new album will be called “Campfire Ballads”… the songs are all quite long with a prominent acoustic guitar and some other acoustic instruments and electronics and effects on the side… so not 100% campfire tunes… only for the better in my opinion!
You could describe the sound of the album as lo-fi ambient folk but basically this psychedelic music… to keep it simple…
Below is a preview of one full track… the album will be out on the 22nd of February…
Recently quite some records found its way to me I am enjoying a lot… and I do not want to keep these to myself… like I do sometimes…
First of all the Huren split 12″ EP released by Noiztank is a true must have for fans of industrial and (harsh) techno alike… the other side is by Kareem… nice too but not as mind blowing as the Huren tracks… a perfect blending of industrial and techno… and even though this is a trend nowadays these tracks stands out in between the bunch of releases in this style… well here is one of the two tracks… what else can I say… you better listen for yourself…
Then there was this nice surprise by Group A… they released their vinyl debut on Mecanica… known for their shop in Mexico City but since some time also a label from Poland… this record triggered me as in a way it fits in with the still going on minimal synth trend but it is different… more adventurous… rougher… edgy… more industrial… here is the stand out track from the album… dancefloor orientated minimal synth with a raw side to it…
More poppy is Kim Ki O… a band I do not need to introduce here… I hope… with several collaborations on Enfant Terrible this Turkish duo is not a new name around… what is new is the re-release of both their first self released cd-r’s from 2007 and 2008… and these are now released on tape by Sea State… the quite new label run by Antlers Mulm… these old tracks by Kim Ki O have lost nothing of their charm and quality… you simply got to love these lo-fi electronic post-punk/new wave tunes… here is the band performing one of these older pieces live…
Then today arrived the debut 7 inch by Anesthetic… super nice synth/elektro-pop tunes released by Kernkrach and already among my favourite synth pop records from this year… the two tracks on the 7 inch are real catchy and could go for demo takes by Ladytron… and I mean this in the most positive way possible… really cool! Too bad I cannot find a full track yet on the internet…
All of these releases are available in small numbers in my webshop… for the real freaks and fans and lovers…
Since some years a part of my focus for Enfant Terrible is on contemporary Dutch music… the true starting point of this was of course the “Kamp Holland” 2LP compilation… and ever since then I am on the look out for more interesting new stuff from my own country which also fits my musical taste and styles for ET…
Recently I came across Lend Me Your Underbelly… a project from Utrecht… the city I started Enfant Terrible and I lived for a long time… Lend Me Your Underbelly is a true DIY project… releasing his own music on his own label Epigenetic Records… a second album is on its way but for now there is a 7″ and a 2LP… both dating from 2013…
The 2LP “Giant Tadpoles Among Us” is a must have for fans of lo-fi psychedelic pop music… if you like stuff from Fonal, Morc and Vrystaete this is for you… the music is mostly based on guitar tunes added with electronics… in a way the recordings sound like rehearsal recordings… but I mean this in a positive way… the intimate sound and feeling of these recordings make up for a super nice listening experience…
And for the locals… Lend Me Your Underbelly will perform live at Radio Resistencia on the 17th of May… for now you can order the album here… and here is my absolute favourite piece form the album…
Etch Wear is the label run by my friend from Europ Europ… since 1994 the world is not safe from his incidental actions… always fresh and surprising and never fitting into speficic genre styles or trends or whatever… 1994… that is a long time… 10 years longer even as my own label…
Some of the recent highlights for me are the vinyls by Epilektrician and Fräulein Luftwaffe… and very recently there came out a 3″ cd-r (one of my favourite formats ever) by Psykopharmaka… they released a tape on Etch Wear in 1994 and were the reason to start the label… now twenty years later a 3″ cd-r is released with an amazing over 20 minutes version of the track released twenty years ago… starting out as a lo-fi electronic ambient track but after about 7 and a half minute an bass guitar kicks in… resulting in strange and weird music/muzak… like in-between Fonal stuff and Lynch like dark jazz and ambient… simply amazing…
As second track a new version of the original track is added… sounding somewhere in-between Einstürzende Neubauten and Tuxedo Moon… what else do you need?!
Here is another piece by Psykopharmaka… sit back and enjoy the trip…
Ever since I came across Dirty Beaches I have been listening to his records a lot… late last year the latest record “Stateless” was released… and on his website the musician announced this will also be the last ever record under this alias…
With “Stateless” one could argue Dirty Beaches has come full circle so to speak… the musician himself says he has developed into a different direction and thus it is time for something new… still in a way “Stateless” is not very different from the first cd-r album “Old Blood” (2008)…
“Old Blood” features lo-fi ambient music but all moulded into songs more or less… after this Dirty Beaches gradually evolved his music into something more pulsating and rocking… resulting in his first major album “Badlands” (2011)… this records is like Elvis doing his thing together with Suicide…
Absolute highlight in his oeuvre is the double LP “Drifters / Love Is The Devil”… while “Drifters” continues a bit in the style of “Badlands” but a bit more synth driven at times it also has another side to it… the music reminds me of the adventurous and wild side of Novy Svet… it is more the attitude towards music and the energy floating in it as anything else… but in a strange way it does feel like that…
“Love Is The Devil” is more of an ambient record with minimal music and jazz touches to it… totally different from “Drifters” in style… maybe… maybe not… depends on how you listen to the music I guess…
“Stateless” is a logical next step after this with it is long ambient pieces… beautiful moody soundscapes to dream away on… the saxophone gives it a sort of (cool) jazz feeling at times… but it also is reminiscent of these first lo-fi ambient pieces from “Old Blood” but stretched and produced and recorded in a different way so it does not sounds anymore like home recordings as the early stuff did…
I am sure I will enjoy the music by Dirty Beaches for a long time to come and I am very curious to hear what will be next by this musician… here is the last piece from “Stateless”…
