From Mannequin Records:
Mannequin has the dual and parallel aim to unearth hidden or unpublished gems, running along a road that starts from the period of reference for this kind of music (late 70s – mid 80s) and comes to nowdays, with a vision deeply influenced by Factory Records / 4AD labels.
Catching the same spirit of such great labels, we asked to the Italian synth wave princess Mushy to create a compilation starting from a tabula rasa. The mission was hard. Following her tastes and heart, she had to select a dozen of new bands from all over the world with unreleased and unique for this project tracks, picking up the title and realizing the graphic design and artwork. The full process of “The End Of Civilization” took almost 1 year but the result was touching us deep into our soul.
Mushy began her career crafting noise bursts and aggressive oblique instrumentals before, in her newest form, blooming into a beautiful, epic and heart-heavy icy synth sound, having both “Faded Heart” (2011) and “Breathless” (2012) as album of the week at Rough Trade. “The End Of Civilization” perfectly represents her double sided synth-wave / kraut-psychedelic soul. Every track she selected for us is an absolute highlight, moving from the analog minimal / cold wave sounds of Police Des Moeurs, ASSS, The Circa Tapes, TEEEL and Rosemary to the tempestuous post punk and psychedelia of Deathday, The Murder Act, Phosphor and The Strange Forces, ending with spectral cold folk of Tablets and The Long Wives.
LP / Digital Album
It’s quite unusual for an Italian band to get attention before its first full-length even comes to life. Ancien Régime from Rome might just be the exception to this rule. In fact, the band sole release before 2012 had been the quickly sold out limited edition split EP (Mannequin), released together with Brooklyn-based cold wave heroes Led Er Est.
Since then, Ancien Régime have been playing all over Italy along with outstanding bands such as Two Door Cinema Club, Is Tropical, The Soft Moon, Clan of Xymox, A Place to Bury Strangers and many others.
Their first album “The Position” evokes new wave and synth-pop memories, delivering epic vintage sounds and wrapping them all with catchy riffs and melodies. Still, despite this fascination with the past, the band’s work stands out as a distinctive, highly personal take on the genre.
The album is opened by the single “Negative”, with its dark gloomy vocals and war-like drumming. “Negative” is, in fact, the quintessential Ancien Régime composition: wave, biting snare, interweaving synths and guitars, reverbs, delays.
“The Position” was recorded and mixed by Alessandro Gavazzi of “Hell Smell” – Rome, and co-produced by Alessandro Adriani from Mannequin Records and Ancien Régime.
Ancien Regime – The Position – 01 Brief Encounter
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Limited to 400 hand numbered copies with screenprinted artwork, Torment is the long awaited first full length album from Makina Girgir that just came out on La Forme Lente.
Makina Girgir, also known as AratkiLo, is a solo project from Toulouse, France. In 2007, the debut EP The Spell was released on Das Drehmoment and other tracks also appeared on various compilations like Dance With Us! and Synthesize Me in 2007, Circuit d’Actes 2 in 2011 and The Future Echo Tapes in 2012.
Faithful to the original spirit, every song is mixing cold and spacey sounds with warm and haunting melodies. Often urging you to dance, robotic rhythms and piercing synth riffs are contrasting in sweet and seducing harmonies. Mechanical sequences are arranged with deep and spacious soundscapes in a way that won’t leave anyone indifferent.
Female spoken words, processed through icy effects, are also making this record even more slick and sexy.
Definitely getting off the beaten paths, Torment has a modern edge that I found original and refreshing. Every listening got me totally absorbed with the head in the clouds, ironically taking me away from life’s torments…
Makina Girgir – Torment
The second album of Florence Foster Fan Club aka FFFC entitled “Asymmetric” is released on Wave Records with ten original tracks and two remixes by Sumerian Fleet and Downward Path.
Similar to the first album, FFFC on ‘Asymmetric’ remain consistent with the social issues and themes.
The sound of “Asymmetric” is a diverse pattern of electronic music styles, ranging from hard beats and fierce bass lines to a more melodic synth-pop. Old skool with a modern and personal touch.
Repression, censorship, paranoia, media control, frustration, conspiracy theories and secret societies..sounds like a description of Phil K. Dick novels or perhaps it has something to do with Ray Bradbury? No, this is our present time and we are more or less aware of all this. For that reason it’s easier for us to deal with such challenges and be proactive.
Florence Foster Fan Club – Asymmetric
A selection of parasite pop, unborn hits and obscure synth wave punk, carefully selected for your pleasure by Disco Kaos.
Toilettes Publiques 1
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