Review: Kraftwerk are as well known for their albums as they are their singles and the iconic 'Autobahn' is of course the name of both. It is a rather groundbreaking electronic gem originally released in 1974 and soon revolutionised music with its hypnotic synth melodies, driving rhythms and pioneering use of vocoders. The track - celebrating its 50th anniversary and here on 7" - alongside an album picture disc and new Dolby Atmos mix on CD, which seal the birthday celebrations - captured the essence of modern travel by blending motorik beats with atmospheric soundscapes to create a real electronic journey and sense of movement. It still sounds as futuristic now as ever, a record that truly changed the course of modern music forever.
Review: South London's potent indie auteur Heartworms unveils her highly anticipated debut album here on Speedy Wunderground. It has been produced by longtime collaborator Dan Carey and fuses the driving, motorik energy of Depeche Mode with PJ Harvey's sharp lyrical prowess, and is finished off with the offbeat rhythms of dance-punk favourites LCD Soundsystem. The result is a dark, intense sonic assault that is unmistakably Heartworms in the way it blends gothic post-punk with unashamed emotion and relentless momentum. It once again proves why Heartworms is one of the most exciting new voices in alternative music.
Review: French cold wave act Corps Diplomatique are the latest to join the famous ranks of the Dark Entries family. Dans Ta Nuit is a compilation of tracks that were recorded between 1984-1987 after the band was formed in Marseille by Olivier Aubin, Marie-Eve Bensussan, Patrick Loubet and Nicolas Pelissie. They have remained enigmatic over the years and released just one 7" single in the form of 1988's 'Paradis I', while they also appeared on the La Muse Venale compilation. this super overview of their sound offers nine tracks, seven of which land on wax for the first time, and all of them are raw yet charged with tension. Tracks like 'Sin of Flesh' and 'Eros Phobia' are essential coldwave sounds full of both despondency and hope. A great introduction to an essential act.
Review: This gatefold green vinyl record captures a rare and electrifying live performance from the pioneering electronic music legends. Recorded at their 1997 Tribal Gathering festival headline, it's a showcase of the band's iconic sound that blends groundbreaking synth-driven melodies with hypnotic rhythms and futuristic themes. Performing classics like 'Autobahn,' 'The Robots' and 'Computer World,' Kraftwerk delivered a spellbinding experience that bridged their innovative past and continued influence on modern music all set against the historic backdrop of Luton Hoo Estate. It features plenty of their classics from the time, as well as - shockingly - a new track, titled 'Tribal Gathering' (and also sometimes referred to as 'Luton') that was written especially for the gig, never recorded in the studio and only ever played a handful of times. A great nostalgic trip.
Review: Sacred Bones Records has a real coup here as they serve up yet another pressing of the debut album of Belarussian post-punk and synth pop trio Molchat Doma. Originally dropping in 2018 on Berlin label Detroit Records, it was an instant hit online and had more than a million YouTube views in no time at all. The band remains low-key back home but have toured Europe and six successive pressings of this record have all disappeared in quick fashion. With Egor Shkutko on vocals, Roman Komogortsev on guitar, synths and drum machine and Pavel Kozlov on bass and synths, the collective cook-up inviting fusions of new wave, synth pop and post-punk that is dark but alluring, danceable yet thoughtful.
The Horse He's Sick - "Projectile Fascination" (2:15)
M Nomized - "Nitsed" (4:20)
John J Lafia - "Life Is Short" (3:57)
Interaccion - "Newton" (3:16)
Die Mysteriosen - "Spurhund" (3:42)
Homage A Brinkmann - "Franzosisch" (4:05)
Solanaceae Tau - "Tekno Pop" (1:29)
Ob Ovo + Sha 261 - "The CIA, It Dances" (5:27)
Collectionism - "We Are All Children Of God" (4:20)
UPM - "Anstalt" (3:55)
Wolfgang Wiggers - "Slightly Mental" (3:56)
Review: "Rich-poor divide widens. Unemployment soars. The East and West eyeball each other on the brink. 2022 isn't too far off the 1980s. Contort Yourself know this." A second collection of distortion soaked didactics from across the globe, all created specifically and exclusively to express wanton abandonment; marginalisatioan and alientation via tiny tape runs, but lovingly rustled up into a 21 track gem of a compilation. Rusted guitar strings, cobbled drum machines and fire in the belly - a soundtrack of despondent despair, a lament of languid lechery, an anthem of what was then and still is now.
Review: Music For Dreams label head Kenneth Badger was so inspired by the Tangerine Dream soundtrack to the classic Michael Mann film The Thief that he and Tolga Bo0.95yu0.95k from the Turkish band islandman decided to write their own soundtrack to an imaginary movie. They managed to write 10 tracks within 24 hours while imagining a film that told a story about two people stuck on the arctic ice cap where one tries to fool the other. Influences from Vangelis, John Carpenter, and Tangerine Dream all feature in what is a superb and escapist listen.
Review: Harlem, the Stockholm-based duo, return with an eight-track exploration of dark, pulsating electronics. Drawing on influences ranging from King Tubby's dub to Robert Hood's minimal techno, they craft a sound that defies easy categorisation. Echoing the no wave dissonance of early ESG and the industrial edge of Cabaret Voltaire, they fuse these disparate elements into a potent sonic cocktail. 'Shut Your Body' opens with a muscular intensity reminiscent of Nitzer Ebb, its driving rhythms and gritty textures setting the stage. 'Fantasy Scan' picks up the pace, a dancefloor-ready jam that recalls Underground Resistance's hypnotic grooves. 'Blow By Blow' channels a nihilistic energy, its sparse arrangement and spoken-word vocals evoking the cold wave sounds of Kas Product. The B-side continues the sonic exploration with 'Dummy Up', a track that evokes the frenetic energy of a cult gathering, its electro and body influences recalling the darker side of the 80s underground. 'Sleuth' takes a more introspective turn, its repetitive grind suggesting a relentless search for the unknown. 'Contact High' brings back the seductive energy, its dancefloor-ready rhythms and infectious melodies reminiscent of early Detroit techno. The album closes with 'Wiggle Walker', a melancholic track that suggests a journey into the unknown. Harlem's music is a thrilling ride through a landscape of sonic extremes, a sonic experience that is both exhilarating and unsettling. Visceral but thought-provoking, this is a potent blend of genres and influences that defies expectations.
Review: Are there more consonants in this EP title than any other you will see this year? Probably. Does that make it even more essential? Definitely, because musically it is packed with goodness as Schlammpeitziger explores a world of loose but engaging rhythms. These subversive sounds play with exotic vocals, dubby hi-hats, new-age flutes, motorik grooves and spoken word samples. It's experimental but never forgets the magic of melody and rhythm to hypnotise, all with a twist of pop fun.
Review: John Foxx's Metamatic (45th Anniversary Edition) is a striking landmark in British electronic pop, a product of the late 70s sonic revolution. Recorded at Pathway Studios, the album emerged from a gritty eight-track cupboard in Islington. With Gareth Jones at the helm, Foxx distanced himself from conventional rock, diving deep into electronic sounds inspired by the dystopian visions of J.G. Ballard. The result is a minimalist yet provocative collection that paved the way for future genres. Metamatic remains an essential listen for any music aficionado.
Review: Buffalo, New York born artist Patrick Cowley is well known as one of the most revolutionary and influential figures in electronic dance music of the seventies and eighties. He studied it in San Fran at the City College of San Francisco then mastered it in the studio over the ensuing decades. Megatron Man was his second studio album , released in 1981, and is a standout of the era thanks to the gliding and funky main tune 'Get A Little' with its great use of vocoder. The rest of the record in true Cowley fashion takes in hi-nrg disco, slow cosmic, electronic funk and boogie all with an erotic and libidinous overtone.
Review: Fans of Stranger Things take note - The Midnight have made the best soundtrack for the retro Netflix smash that isn't actually a soundtrack to the retro Netflix smash. More than living up to its name from the off, if there's a better pastiche of 1980s synthdom and keyboard-oriented rock then we really want someone to show it us. Arpeggios and riffs for days, as a few might say, perhaps the best thing about this is it actually doesn't feel like an homage to an era that so many people try to recreate.
Instead, it packs authenticity to the point where this could have been released 40 years ago, rather than 12 months back. Perhaps it's the rather wonderful cover of 'Because the Night', featuring Nikki Flores. Maybe, it's opening track 'The Stranger', which could be taken straight from a John Carpenter score. In reality, it could be any one of 12 reasons, at least, so let's not split hairs and just enjoy it.
Review: There's something unavoidably magnetic about the intersection between ambition and self-awareness and this release, by Charonne, Nemo Vachez, Umberto and T Oceans, knows exactly how to tap into that tension. With each track, there's an undeniable undercurrent of both vulnerability and swaggeriproducers twisting minimal beats into something far deeper, dragging you through shadows with a mix of melancholy and movement. You feel the weight of their collective sound but also their defiant lightness, straddling the line between introspective and dancefloor-driven music. It's a textured, driving release with an ever-present air of mystery.
Review: 7FO's Ryu no Nukegara (meaning "dragon's husk") is a warm, inviting trip through ambient, dub and chill-out soundscapes. The Osaka-based producer blends sparse electronic percussion with dub-style synth bass and pentatonic melodies, while also using steel pan tones that bring an Okinawan or Southeast Asian touch. Fans of Haruomi Hosono and Equiknoxx will find much to love in this record's trans-oceanic textures with sparkling dub processing and thoughtful mixing throughout. A magical record that embodies strength, fluidity and meditative depth.
Review: This version of Chris & Cosey's Musik Fantastique! is a reissue of their original 1992 album, which features a mix of new wave, post-punk, and electronic influences to produce a slick slew of dreamy melody and threnody. Chris & Cosey's sharp, often confrontational lyrics explore themes of love, politics, and society, on what is otherwise a more centre-field and dreamy album in the pair's overall brutal discography; it's a cherished part of their synthpop / dream pop era from the early 90s.
Transistor Jet - "Master Of The Universe (BW's F-W)" (6:28)
Patrick Cowley - "Love Me Hot" (feat Paul Parker) (5:14)
Polar Praxis - "(I Want) To Be Different" (3:03)
Nightmoves - "Nightdrive" (4:38)
Megamen - "Designed For Living" (3:24)
Bachelors Anonymous - "A Stranger's Bed" (4:05)
Review: The peerless Dark Entries is back with another comprehensive new collection, Deep Entries: Gay Electronic Excursions 1979-1985, which is a well curated collection of ten rare queer synth tracks that explore the hidden corners of gay musical history. They span a pivotal period of six years and the songs range from sultry to angsty to camp with plenty of lovely 808 snares and textural analogue synths. This period in particular saw the gay community having to deal with the onset of the HIV/AIDS crisis and these tracks capture the era's mix of love and longing. Patrick Cowley's music is always going to stand out wherever you hear it and that is the case here on 'Love Me Hot,' while Megamen's proto-electroclash 'Designed for Living' and Paula Villagra's techno-pop anthem 'Happy Song' are also real gems.
Euph (Feelings In Finite) (Bvdubs' Re-Entries) (11:32)
Complete Nonsense (Calm & Chaos) (10:30)
Helix (Radiate In Red) (7:51)
Phosphorous (Elements Of Endlessness) (10:56)
Mars Rain (Freeze & Fall) (6:23)
Lost In It (Life In Lucidity) (10:29)
FM (Frequencies Of Forgiveness) (3:49)
Odyssey (Gazing Into Galaxies) (10:31)
Genetic Experiment (Symbols & Secrets) (2:24)
Review: James Bernard's 1994 ambient masterpiece Atmospherics is now 30 years old. To mark its anniversary the landmark record has been meticulously remastered and paired with a brand-new, track-by-track reinterpretation by Bernard's longtime friend and collaborator, bvdub. Together, these works span four slabs of wax and offer a profound exploration of ambient soundscapes that honour the original while also presenting some fresh, emotive perspectives. A must-have work for your ambient section.
Review: Suicide AFTR 7 comes alive as a sonic meeting point between Neud Photo and Antic, binding New York's underground pulse with London's shadowy cool. Lead track 'Soft Geometry' carves its own hypnotic groove with low-slung bass and a mist of crystalline synth chords, a perfect primer for the EP's darker allure. Meanwhile, 'Interplay' stands out, balancing distant, echoed lyrics with snappy snares, luring listeners deeper into its bass-throbbing spell. The release reaches a pinnacle with 'Last Word,' a tense 808-driven workout that underscores the EP's raw, fog-drenched aesthetic.
Review: This superb recording of a Live FM Broadcast captures the wonderful Depeche Mode at their dynamic peak during the Songs of Faith and Devotion tour. Recorded in San Francisco, this live set detailed their evolution as they blended dark synth-pop with raw, rock-infused energy. Classics like 'Rush' and 'World In My Eyes' shine alongside then-newer, grittier tracks that showcased Dave Gahan's electrifying vocals and Martin Gore's emotive songwriting. The high-quality audio helps immerse you in the band's onstage charisma while offering a nostalgic yet timeless revisit to a wonderful period in the band's history.
Review: Music On Vinyl are our new best friends. With a wide range of music being reissued as of late, Yello's 1987 One Second is just spoiling us. Never being fully acclaimed when it was originally released, this is one album which really spans the full circle in terms of artistic ideas sonic experimentations. While being tagged primarily as a pop work, it's really more of a lesson in synth manipulations and nutty beat-making. "The Rhythm Divine" has to be out top track but do check the whole thing, it's magnificent...
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: The guys over at Stones Throw did us a massive favour this year by compiling these long-forgotten experimental pieces form the 80s and 90s. This is the second chapter and we couldn't have expected any better from Peanut Butter Wolf's imprint. There's plenty of rarities and gems here, starting with with the opener by Hard Cops, "Dirty" an italo-influenced electro stomper with an unmistakable 80s edge to it. Philippe Laurent's "Distortion" is another massive track, with those wavering lyrics falling apart over the grinding beat beneath it; "HSTA" by Das Ding is also unmissable and worthy of any collectors shelf. To be honest, there isn't a single average piece here and if you haven't got this compilation already, you're making a huge mistake...
Review: Marie Davidson's latest single 'Y.A.A.M.' is a poignant critique of power dynamics in the music industry - favouring authenticity and passion in a world that thrives on branding and transactional relationships - out of which the Canadian artist finds fuel to fan the driving flames of existential industrial electro-techno. The track opens with a juddering, in-between-4x4-and-2-step electro beat, which lasts for over a minute before Davidson takes up the mic: "do you follow me?". What ensues is an imperfect list of music industry quibbles, which flow over the monstrously huge backing - "entrepreneurs, influencers, producers, managers / nothing for you and me" - in stark but gallows-comedic contrast to the plea to relocate our arses to the dancefloor. In Davidson's own words, the track was inspired by a haughty, lecturing email from a music industry insider: "I took the opportunity to write down how I felt about the words," she recalls, "and the overall tone of arrogance of what I had just been sent quickly, I found myself having a bit too much fun."
Review: Veronica Vasicka's Minimal Wave label turn their attention to European wave sounds once more with Earlier / Later, a retrospective look at the music of Belgian group Polyphonic Size. Headed by the bespectacled Roger-Marc Vande Voorde, the Brussels based outfit emerged in 1979 and built up quite a discography, releasing three albums and numerous 7? and 12?s over a 11 year period. One of mainland Europe's more enigmatic purveyors of primitive synth pop, Polyphonic Size were partial to singing vocals in numerous languages, forever changing line-ups and had the majority of their lyrics penned by Dominique Buxin, a band member who never appeared during performances or featured on any of their record sleeves. However, it's the band's working relationship with Stranglers bassist JJ Burnel that commands the most intrigue, and this collection offers a contrast between the early days of Polyphonic Size and how their sound evolved after the more rock based production input of Burnel.
Review: You still won't find a more perfect electro album than Kraftwerk's Computer World, and it was the album that pretty much invented the style. That much is clear from this fresh 2020 reissue, which presents the iconic 1981 set on translucent yellow vinyl, accompanied by a slick booklet of fitting Kraftwerkian imagery. While 'Computer World', 'Pocket Calculator' and 'Computer Love' are near perfect electro-pop songs, it's the sheer heaviness and funkiness of the B-boy friendly beats on 'Home Computer', 'It's More Fun To Compute' and, most famously, 'Numbers' that make it such an essential. Put simply, Computer World still sounds like the future.
Review: Nobody could accuse Spanish producer JASSS of being backwards and coming forwards on this, her Ostgut Ton debut. The Berlin-based label, Berghain's recorded outlet, usually conjures sonic images in line with the stereotypical soundtrack of the club's main hall, but anyone who has spent a reasonable amount of time in the imprint's back catalogue will know that's a reductive assumption. The crew regularly veer into all kinds of leftfield electronic avenues.
Even so, JASSS' arrival marks one of the wildest rides this platform has ever offered listeners. From the resoundingly emotional and joyous opening wide bands of synth, 'Birds You Can Name', to the euphoric industrialism of 'Busto' and the operatic, neo-tropical pop of 'A World of Service', this is benchmark-setting curveball stuff we cannot get enough of.
Review: A world of brutal beats and hard edge techno rhythms beckons on this new min album, vocals often obstructed by brushing synths and comprised textural sounds, tortured leads and fizzing apocalyptic energies that make it perfect for gritty warehouse raves. Opener 'The Brain Plays With Me' sets a powerful tone from the off, while 'Claroscuro' slips into a slower but just as caustic world of sound. 'Don't Trust In The First Whispers' is a paranoid chamber of reflected vocals and crashing hits that has you looking over your shoulder and 'Melted Doubts' is doom laden drone from the end of the world.
Review: Elektronik Body Girl is the musical alter-ego of Shelbatra Jashari featuring production assistance from Brussels's soFa. The Belgo-Albanian postpunk pair cooked up sounds that accompany an imagined dystopian industrial wasteland with tons of improv and lots of raw, jagged rhythm. Dealing with the "empowering feminine" and its representation were key to the vision of Jashari as well as abrasive textures and stark atmospheres. Her vocals touch on her roots in Belgium and Kosovo from an outsider's position and label associate Toulouse Low Trax cooks up a brilliant beatdown mix to seal the deal.
Review: The Midnight's latest Heroes is a stark display of the musical evolution of the New York duo. A band that started as a synth heavy proposition, extensive touring across the globe (including a headline at London's Brixton Academy) and the desire not to repeat themselves in creative terms has led to the bigger vision and wider appeal of what their label calls "fully-realised, arena-worthy songs".
Heroes is the final part in a trilogy of albums that started with 2018's Kids, followed in 2020 by Monsters. "For me, Kids is self-knowledge, Monsters is self-love, and then Heroes is empathy," said singer Tyler Lyle. "I got into depth psychology and this idea of aetiology, the way a human forms. The world doesn't get better but we do. We grow into ourselves. We grow into our voice."
Still, Heroes remains definitely more a case of evolution than revolution - there's still more than a hint of the gorgeous synth sounds in evidence, but with a lyrical maturity and smartness that gives even its most pop moments an unexpected twist.
Review: San Francisco's Dark Entries label does a good line in reissuing obscure, long-forgotten, left-of-centre gems (their excellent collection of Patrick Cowley's little-known soundtrack work for gay porn films, School Daze, was arguably one of the compilations of 2013). Here, they've unearthed another overlooked gem - Art Fine's previously rare-as-hen's-teeth dark Italo-disco gem 'Dark Silence'. It's pretty much a straight copy of the New Wave-inclined original, with the sparser, looser 'Long Version' joining the dense 'Art Fine Version'.
Review: Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti are busy reissuing remastered versions of their most classic albums. Pagan Tango originally came in 1991 and was described at the time by Melody Maker as "perfection." This is the first time the album has been available on vinyl since it was originally put out and it comes on limited red vinyl with a printed inner sleeve of archival photos making it a real collector's special. Tracks like 'Ecstasy' reference the trendy drug of the day, there is taut EBM on 'Take Control' and more sultry tunes on 'Face to Face'.
Review: Electronic pioneers and former Throbbing Gristle alumni Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti are held in high regard amongst those who know, and their records have always been in high demand. Right now they are being reissued in remastered form with a printed inner sleeve of archival photos and nice coloured vinyl. Techno Primitiv came came first back in 1985 on Rough Trade during the iconic duo's icy synth and minimal period. This one is the latest in the reissue series which started back in March with Elemental 7, Muzik Fantastique! and Feral Vapours Of The Silver Ether.
Review: Former Throbbing Gristle alumni Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti are in the middle of remastering and reissuing their superb studio albums. The electronic pioneers were known for their perfect melodies and compelling rhythms and 1989's Trust is no different. It's a superb selection of electro-pop sounds skewed through their own erotic lens. Despite the signature coldest of their sounds, these tracks somehow exude plenty of warmth. Form the deep-frozen synths of 'Watching You' and the glacial aesthetics of 'Deep Velvet' this is early and essential tacker from these enduring pioneers.
Review: 70s space disco and laser-rock outfit Rockets started out life in Paris as Crystal. They later renamed and had singles such as 'Future Woman' and debut album 'Rockets' which helped establish them and win them a wider fan base. 1980 saw them record their Live album and offer up a cross section of their tracks in all their synth and futuristic glory. The aforementioned 'Future Woman' features along with the heavy sounds of 'Drum Solo' and Kerouac-referring 'On The Road Again' which is a jaunty disco groove with vocoder vocals.
Review: Lake Haze's third album on Shall Not Fade is another triumph with his signature shimmering melodies strung out over lush beats. Drawing on house, disco, garage and broken beat it is a rich affair with a strong UK vibe. There is elegance and symphony to opener 'Xyleac' that immediately gets your head amongst the stars. 'Diluspth' keeps up the majestic synth while 'Bbyncole' is double-speed techno with balmy celestial synths and hurried bass that locks you in. Tender ambient pieces like 'Shores Of Eternal Life' reset the mood and then the second half is a series of shorter sketches packed with electronic soul.
Review: Linea Aspera is the London duo of Ryan Ambridge (Synths/Programming) and Alison Lewis (Vocals/Synths). They began the project in November 2011, technically drawing inspiration from electronic music from the early 1980s. Within the duo, Alison writes and performs all vocal elements, while Ryan is responsible for the writing and performing of the electronics, as well as recording and mixing of the final recordings. For their debut album they utilized small, simple analog synthesizer set up: Roland SH-09, Roland Juno 6, Vermona DRM MKiii, Korg Poly 800 and Analogue Solutions Semblance. Linea Aspera's sound includes clear influences from early electronic body music, classic synth-pop and, in some instances, industrial and noise. Lyrically the band incorporates the sciences of osteology, neuroscience, and anthropology weaving a new medical language around themes of desire, despair and renewal. Linea Aspera serve up an icebox of dark doom riding on Alison's powerful vocals with a soft but sharp touch.
Why Did I Say Goodbye (feat Tommy '86 - bonus track) (6:09)
Holiday (bonus track) (5:05)
Fading Away (6:54)
Review: Sally Shapiro are actually a duo, and the name is actually a pseudonym. Besides, they are essentially in the business of blowing every other synthpop act out of the park by this point. Packed with emotion and swelling refrains, 'Sad Cities' is a universal lamentation for failed metropoli the world over. Opener 'Forget About You' sets the tone for the pair's home-recorded masterpiece, on which the lead singer's voice takes raspy centre stage. Regret seems to be the central theme, peronalising our collective suffering:
Review: Kraftwerk's 1975 performance at Fairfield Hall in Croydon is the stuff of legend. Finally it is available as a high quality audio pressing that allows you to relive all its glorious futurism. The show was broadcast on radio as part of a short tour of the UK that came after the release of the German computer music pioneer's hugely popular Autobahn. It features tracks from that album as well as 'Die Sonne, Der Mond, Die Sterne' and 'Showroom Dummies.' A real piece of electronic music history that will spice up any collection.
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