Various - Cold Waves And Minimal Electronics Vol. 1

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5...according to our Ant on Wed 17 Mar, 2010.

Attention those that have been busting moves to 'The Minimal Wave Tapes' compilation on Stones Throw. Angular Recordings have a super smart collection out that digs up a load of old 80's gear in a similar vein. You may well be familiar with a few of the names on here like Absolute Body Control and The Neon Judgement. Oh yeah I'm totally digging this. Somehow I still find this music futuristic. The tracks have been compiled by Weird Records founder Pieter Schoolwerth and Angular's Joe Daniel and trust me, they know their shit. Anyone into Italo, EBM, New Beat and all that great early to mid-eighties European electronic/synth music may or may not be aware of the cold/minimal wave scene as it's really remained more obscure and underground than the previous scenes mentioned but it's fantastic stuff. Features tracks from Nine Circles, Linear Movement, End Of Data, Ruth, The Actor, Stereo, Days Of Sorrow, Eleven Pond and loads more. Phwoar! Some lush synth noises on here.

A definitive compilation put together by New York’s
Wierd Records founder Pieter Schoolwerth and Angular’s Joe Daniel.

‘Cold Waves & Minimal Electronics Vol 1’ chronicles the secret
underground cult genres of cold wave and minimal wave, which originated
in continental Europe between the years 1981-1985.

Active largely in small towns and isolated, non-metropolitan areas of
France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, and The Netherlands, the first wave of
minimal electronic groups successfully combined the sounds of the German
electronic bands of the 60s and 70's (Amon Duul, Neu, Faust, Can) with
the seminal early industrial bands largely active in the UK (Throbbing
Gristle, SPK, Cabaret Voltaire) to produce a new form of electropop
that went on to be crucially influential on European and American pop and
dance music of the late 80s and early 90s (Italo, New Beat, EBM).

Angular made it their mission to search high and low to unearth the
greatest gems of this synth sound in order to make a definitive
retrospective artefact of the lost genre of music known as cold
wave. And so between two people, two years of solid research and love of
an exceptional, underground scene, this unique collection was born.

Lavishly packaged, with extensive sleeve notes and photographs,
the compilation contains songs that have only been available up to now on
ultra rare 7”s, lost radio sessions and cassette tapes, and is finally
here to teach us all a thing or two about the history of electronic music the
world over.

Available on digital download, gatefold double vinyl and digipak
CD.

Tracklisting:

1. Absolute Body Control - Figures
2. Nine Circles - Twinkling Stars
3. Linear Movement - Night in June
4. Opera Multi Steel - Ills S'eloigent
5. Bal Paré - Palais d'Amour
6. Eleven Pond - Watching Trees
7. The Vyllies - Babylon
8. End of Data - Dans Votre Monde
9. The Actor - Lights
10. Ausgang Verboten - Consumer
11. Jeunesse d'Ivoire - A Gift of Tears
12. OTO - Anyway
13. Ruth - Polaroïd/Roman/Photo
14. Stereo - Somewhere in the Night
15. The Neon Judgement - The Fashion Party
16. Land of Giants - Cannibal Dolls
17. Days of Sorrow - Travel