Edition Hawara Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Austrian musician and producer Chris Duchatschek had an interesting career during the 1980s, moving from membership of anarchist band Drahdiwaberl (Falco was also a member) to manning the mixing desk on a string of now largely forgotten European pop hits. He also found time to release a handful of singles of his own, 'San Francisco Night' - which Edition Hawara has wisely chosen to reissue - being the best of them. It's a fantastic slab of spacey, star-gazing Balearic synth-pop - the track's White Isle credentials are assured by the seemingly random acoustic guitar jangle sitting in the background - featuring vocal daydreaming about Californian evenings. The flip-side instrumental take is, if anything, even better.

Review: First released in Austria way back in 1986, Miss D's sole single, 'Moving', has long been an in-demand item on the dusty-fingered 'selector' scene. Listening to this much-needed reissue, it's easy to see why. In its' A-side 'driver mix' form, the track sees the mysterious Miss D deliver rhythmical spoken word verses over a rubbery electro-funk beat, killer synth bass and some Balearic-leaning melodies. Throw in a catchy (male) chorus, and you have a genuine winner. The flip side 'Move It Again' mix' is a dub mix-style affair that dispels with most of the vocals and instead focuses on the killer groove, mid-80s sample cut-ups, scratching sounds and some suitably spaced-out effects.