Back catalogue: Coldwave/Synth

Review: Talk about unearthing forgotten gems, or indeed gems that were never really known in the first place. Back in 1983 Soren Fauli - then 19 years old, now an established Danish artist - decided to step away from the punk bands he'd been playing with and indulge his inner autobahn. Daily Fauli was the one-time project result, with this raw, mechanical but intimate record, which has as much in common with Kraftwerk as it does Powell, the only product. While there's a rough and ready (and charming) aesthetic to the record, despite his age at the time, and the fact he had very little idea what to do with the Casios in hand, it's incredibly accomplished stuff. The playful, shuffling warbler 'Bus' representing the lighter end of a spectrum that runs as fast as the edgy arpeggiations of 'Speed' and the pared back, proto-punk runaway train of 'Hard Kogt'. A fantastic album and an interesting talking point.

Review: Minimal Wave have done the right thing here and repressed HSTA by Das Ding, undoubtedly one of the most popular heavyweight reissues of their reign thus far. Das Ding is of course Dutchman Danny Bosten, active in the mid 1980s from his Southern Holland base releasing his pioneering brand of electro as well as his friends' music via his own Tear Apart Tapes cassette label. HSTA refers to the Highly Sophisticated Technological Achievement tape Bosten released on the STUM label from which Minimal Wave also took several tracks including the title jam, which you're likely to hear Funkineven dropping these days. It's worth investing in this for "Take Me Away" alone, which sounds likes its been beamed down from the future despite its three decade vintage (Weatherall's a big fan of this one) and the remaining six tracks are just as thrilling.

Review: For Missing Tapes, Minimal Wave has managed to unearth a wealth of previously unheard gems from Dutch electro trailblazer Danny Bosten. Dark electro diggers may be aware of Bosten's early 1980s work, which was initially self-released on cassette, but has also been re-issued since by Minimal Wave and others. The material here was recorded in the same period and rediscovered some years back by the producer. It's similar in style, as you'd expect, with Bosten variously exploring otherworldly electro, sci-fi leaning Italo-disco, stylish, new wave synth workouts, and throbbing proto-techno. What impresses most, though, is the seeming freshness of the material; it might be 35 years old, but it still sounds formidably futuristic.

Review: France proves to be rich pickings once more for the Minimal Wave label with this absolutely superb collection of "ritualistic minimal electronics" from French duo DZ Lectric + Anthon Shield. Crossing paths in Paris in the early 80s, Christian Dezert (DZ Lectric ) and Michel Lecamp (Anthon Shield) bonded over a mutual appreciation of The Stooges, Throbbing Gristle and Suicide and went on to record numerous albums together over a five year period. The focus of Minimal Wave's attentions on the Lickin' LP is the cassette Confessions D'Un Masque the pair released in 1985, with eight tracks lifted and remastered from the original reel to reel tapes. DZ Lectric + Anthon Shield's sparse yet manic approach, described as "challenging and hypnotic" by Minimal Wave, will appeal to fans of CHBB.

Review: Minimal Wave is honored to present a reissue of Jyl's self-titled full-length album from 1984, originally released on Klaus Schulze's Inteam label. Born and raised in California, Jyl travelled to Europe in her twenties to dance and met several talented and like-minded collaborators along the way. She ended up in Germany, and worked with Ingo Werner, Angela Werner, and Klaus Schulze, on what would become one of the most important and forward thinking electronic albums of the time. Shortly after its release, the song "Computer Love" became a mini-hit along with the album's opening track "Mechanic Ballerina". The lyrics of "Silicon Valley" and "Computer Generation" are reflective of the times and have become even more relevant now, 36 years later. The production and song arrangement on the album is immaculate. The synthesizers, drum programming and vocal contributions complement Jyl's voice perfectly. The album contains an incredible depth beyond a regular dance album likely due to the spirit of the people behind it - the list of contributors add to its significance and near-mythological mystery.

Review: On The Screen: an LP from the Belgian band Linear Movement originally slated for release in 1983. Linear Movement is mastermind Peter Bonne (A Split-Second, Twilight Ritual, Autumn) joined by Peter Koutstaal, and Lieve Van Steerteghem on vocals for several tracks. Some tracks appear on the exquisite Pulse Music cassette while the rest are previously unreleased. Linear Movement was featured on V/A The Lost Tapes compilation LP with their highly acclaimed The Game, described as an "unstoppable pop song". Linear Movement have been called "a more primitive, cold wave Visage", and have been compared to the Human League. Peter differentiated LM from his other projects TR and Aut by the distinct sound of the compositions: they were poppier.

Review: "Hello. My name is Ohama, and I live on a potato farm in Western Canada" went the memorably deadpan opening to "The Drum", Ohama's contribution to Minimal Wave Tapes Vol 2 earlier this year, and it's also the opening track on this full length exploration of the Canadian producer's work from Minimal Wave. What's most striking about The Potato Farm Tapes however is the sense of paranoia and detachment that Ohama clearly felt recording these tracks from his studio basement beneath his parents' potato farm in Rainier, Alberta, during the latter stages of The Cold War. Intriguingly, Ohama's lyrics are heavily focused on technophobia and the subversive power of television and mass media which stands in stark contrast to the techno centric nature - with keyboards, drum machines, vocoders and analogue reel tape all utilised to create complex productions that blended found sounds with audio lifted from TV. Some of Ohama's earliest recordings from his first cassette only release Midnite News form the basis of The Potato Farm Tapes along with rare tracks that previously appeared on compilations. Furthermore, the label have printed a must read interview between Ohama and Brandon Hocura on the inner sleeve that offers some brilliant insight into this collection.

Review: Over the last two or three years, New York's Minimal Wave outpost has focussed on releasing plenty of new music that fits in line with their unashamedly 'cold-wave' approach, and this has opened them to a whole variety of listeners and DJs. However, in our opinion, where they truly shine is in providing the underground masses with compilations such as this latest The Bedroom Tapes: A Compilation Of Minimal Wave From Around The World 1980-1991, a glorious snapshot of all the very best slices of lo-fi that has largely gone unnoticed to the modern eye. Of course, the majority of these tunes are now expensive in their original formats, but we're taking about a small crew of Discogs sharks who are upping the prices. Here, you're able to properly - and peacefully - enjoy some of the very best minimal machine-drum soul from peeps like Karen Marks, Vorgruppe, Perfect Mother and Aural Indifference, among others. This truly is a feast for the modern digger. Excellent.