Dark Entries US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Detroit-based Code Industry, for those who know, were a highly regarded and influential EBM-techno outfit. The always reliable Dark Entries has been digging in their vaults to serve up this vital reissue of their Structure EP. The quartet of Rob Myers, E.N. Sevy, Kyl Crys, and William Keith formed in 1989 having previously worked as Code Assault and were rare black artists working in the world of EBM and industrial. They were socially and politically minded so issues of racism, the media, and the hypocrisy of patriotism all comes up in their music which is denied by taught synths and dark vocal whispers that echo the work of acts like Front 242 and Nitzer Ebb. Add in high tech grooves and you have s fantastic EP that was originally released in 1991 on the Antler-Subway label.

Review: Dark Entries label regulars De-Bons-en-Pierre are back with more of their scuzzy delights in the form of their Card Short of a Full Deck EP. It's drenched in textbook sludginess as is often the way with Beau Wanzer and Maoupa Mazzochetti ever since they came together in 2016. These tunes were all originally written back in 2019 for live performances and really find the pair pushing at the boundaries of accepted social norms. The absurd sounds pair skipping rhythms with dark and freaky basslines and plenty of eerie rave chords to make for an all-new kind of dance floor energy.

Review: Dark Entries are masters of Italo reissues and they have a number of them dropping at the moment. This one is of Garland's 'Heartbeat' which comes original from 1986. It is a true dancefloor gem that bares all the hallmarks of the era that still remain so loved today. Claudio Corradini produced it with Massimo Filippi and Art Deco singer and songwriter Claudio Valenti used this project for his more club ready sounds. 'Heartbeat' (song version) is a mid tempo tune with sleek staccato bass and a sing-along-worthy chorus that echoes Bronski Beat. The Dance Version is extended for DJs. A postcard with lyrics and liner notes is also included.

Review: The members of Munich's Instant Music have all done their fair share of wonderful things throughout the 80s post-wave scene, but their one-off LP as Instant Music is the one that still gets all the praise, both from listeners and second-hand sharks, so it's only natural that the mythical Dark Entries have gone on to reissue it in all its glory. The 1981 album is a stand-out piece of work, managing to merge the very best of post-punk, synth-wave and, yes, even a little bit of proto-techno. The latter is heard mainly through its arrangements and bass tones, perfectly formed for dancefloor action...and domination. All of it is, of course, guided by the wonderfully subtle and minimalistic vocals of Marion Siekmann, who then went on to do great things with Ski Und Der Rest. Recommended!

Review: Baby Buddha is the experimental new wave duo of Charles Hornaday (vocals, guitar, electronics, drums) and David Javelosa (vocals, electronics, clarinet). Born from late night improvisations of San Francisco synth-punks Los Microwaves with a rotating cast of musicians. Live shows would include music, projections, dance and performance art in both clubs and gallery spaces. In 1980, Howie Klein's 415 Records released their first single of Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man". In 1981, 'Music For Teenage Sex' was their first full length album released via Poshboy Records. It featured Los Microwaves' Meg Brazill, Poshboy boss Robbie Fields, and Kathy Peck as "Tammy Why-not", who later went on to found H.E.A.R (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers). In January 1983 Kathy, Charles and David went into the studio with a couple of Kathy's original "country" songs and began working on a sophomore album. They also incorporated songs from a live multi-track recording of a concert at the Graffiti Club on June 6th 1984. The album titled 'Everyone Is My Age' sat unreleased until 1987 due to relocation to Los Angeles and eventually found a home on David's Hyperspace Communications, the original label for the first Los Microwaves singles. For this first time reissue we've added a previously unreleased bonus song "What's Going On," a Kathy Peck original. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in the original jacket featuring a collage by David Javelosa and includes an insert with lyrics, photos and liner notes.

Review: New York cold wave pair Mixx Mann formed in 1981 and was made up of songwriter and vocalist Frank Oldham Jr and producer Paul Hamman. This is their debut album form the same year and it provides a real insight into the life of gay people at the times. Musically it is a slick and adventurous album with urgent beats, cold wave synths and neat guitar riffs all finished off with the involving vocals of Oldham Jr. For this first reissue, Dark Entries have added two bonus instrumental cuts alongside the original which makes it an essential addition to the ranks of any new wave lover's shelves.

Review: Just the one reissue this month from Dark Entries, but it's a real synthpop gem with Opera Multisteel's self titled debut from 1984 is granted a new edition. Aside from a cassette release in 1987, this is the first proper reissue and it presents the chance to get your hands on a truly rare, weird and wonderful piece of music. The vocals might be a tad conspicuous on first listen, but if you give them a chance to sink in you'll realise how quirky and special they really are. Each track stems form the same seed, a fast-paced, drum machine-led chant about life, love and loss.

Review: Polaroid were an Italian post-punk/new wave band, formed in Turin in 1981. The original lineup of the band consisted of Marcello Zavatto (voice, guitar), Massimo Vagnarelli (bass, drum-machine), Evandro Fornasier (guitar), Claudio Vagnarelli (synthersizer) and Marco Farano (Drums). Polaroid made their debut with the cassette 6-track EP 'Senza Respiro', self-released in 1984. Influenced by Bauhaus, Joy Division, The Cure, Pere Ubu as well as Chic and Talking Heads. The music was dark and cold, but also melodic especially with regards to guitars and voices. At the end of 1984 the band added vocalist Michele Cantoblundo while drummer Marco left and was replaced by a Roland TR-909. With Michele began a period of very dark and poetic music, influenced also by bands like Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and The Sisters of Mercy. The band peacefully broke-up in 1987. This vinyl re-issue of 'Senza Respiro' contains all 6 original songs with 4 bonus tracks from the band's later period. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The record is housed in custom jacket designed by Eloise Leigh and includes 4 polaroid sized postcards with photos notes and lyrics.

Review: Dark Entries joins forces with Papi Juice Records for No Jack Swing, a new and fantastic solo electronic debut from Oakland-based Brontez Purnell. The Southern-raised musician centres his queerness and Blackness in his work, most notably his Gravy Train and Younger Lovers projects as well as with award-winning books 100 Boyfriends and Since I Laid My Burden Down. Here he focuses on the amen-break of the 808 and on that foundation uses a collage of found sound materials to build a vibe. Bedroom instrumentals, poems from boys in France and childhood gospel tapes are all drawn upon to make for a lived-up, autobiographical sound produced by Nightfeelings.

Review: Raw formed during the summer of 1990 in Athens, Greece when keyboardist Giannis Papaioannou and percussionist Makis Faros started composing music for imaginary waiting rooms. They combined the traditional cut-up technique of tape-loops, the industrial timbres of musique concrete with the harmonics of world music, all filtered through digital sampling and computer programming. Their first recordings generated an 8 track demo, which was freely distributed among friends and the local underground press. After 6 months of work and several sessions with guest musicians on acoustic and electric instruments, Raw self-released their first album 'Land' in December 1991 on Elfish Records. In 1992 they recruited the band's sound engineer, Coti K., as a third member, both on stage and studio sessions. 'City' was their second album fully inspired by the mechanisms of their home town. Presenting a different electronic face of Raw, manipulating rhythms with analogue synthesizers and harsh sampling to evoke the atmosphere of Athens.

Review: It's clear that Naive founder Ines Borges Coutinho put a lot of thought into "Bed Of Roses", her debut album under the now familiar Violet alias. According to the label releasing it, Dark Entries, Coutinho approached the production process with the idea of creating songs that would together form "a sort of childhood-teenage memories diary". While it's largely instrumental, it's certainly true that the album touches on a variety of moods and retro-futurist sounds, galloping between dark ambient, ear-catching electronic melancholia, angry dancefloor intensity, dreamy happiness, good-natured post synth-pop grooves, luscious slow jams and the kind of glassy-eyed, loved-up fare that has always been a significant part of her growing body of work. In other words, it's a wonderfully produced, paced and deeply personal set.

Review: Wisdom Wita Z aka LaShonda Corder hooks up with Dark Entries for a rare Detroit-adroit arsenal of new 90s-style house bangers. 'It's Me' was produced by DJ Maestro and DJ 001, both influential figures in the Detroit techno scene. The B-side, meanwhile, hears a retake from the adjacent DJ Resurgence. An anthem for owning and loving oneself, direct comparisons could be made to the diva vibes of Crystal Waters or CeCe Peniston, but Wita Z brings an entirely new character to the genre, with the production bringing a moodiness to the sound and giving neat contrast to her up-front vocals.