Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Angela was the studio project of husband/wife duo Angela and Ingo Werner formed in 1981 in Russelsheim, Germany. Ingo had classical training in bassoon and piano at the Akademie fur Tonkunst in Darmstadt from 1966-70. He joined Krautrock band My Solid Ground in 1971 before going on to form his own project Baba Yaga in 1974. In the late 70s he formed the ensemble AIR with Armin Stowe and Reinhard Karwatky. The project debuted with a a concert at ARS Electronica Competition in Linz, Austria 1980, which they won. Klaus Schulze was on the jury with Wendy Carlos and Robert Moog - but more importantly, Angela was in the audience. Two days later, Ingo told the band he needed a singer, so they asked Angela, and recorded two albums for RCA between 1981-82 before being dropped. Ingo wanted to work on a new project that involved dancers and live video. They recruited American performance artist Jyl Porch, who was living in Munich, to assist with choreography with her friend Kirsten McKenley. Jyl ended up recording her own album first, which gained interest from Klaus Schulze, who helped them secure a deal with EMI in 1983. Later that year, the trio recorded 4 songs that would be released on Angela 'Fantasy' single on 7" and 12" formats in 1984.
The music on 'Fantasy' was completely created with computer software of Ingo's own design. The concept of a polyrhythmic, polyphonic, and polydynamic sequencer was realized by Ingo after a visit to Wolfgang Palm in Hamburg. He paired his sequencer with Palm's legendary PPG Wave Computer System, allowing for more dynamic and nuanced programming. Angela programmed the music, sang, and wrote the lyrics to "Painted Love", while Ingo arranged and played all electronics and keyboards. Jyl wrote the lyrics for "Fantasy" and the slow and sleazy, electronic disco B-side "I Gotta Little Love", where she also sings background vocals and the "hot little flame" rap. The original B-side to the 7" version was a cover of the 1967 Hal Hackady and Lee Pockriss song "Kites", made famous by Simon Dupree and the Big Sound. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The EP features the original 1984 cover artwork with a striking photo of Angela styled by Jyl in severe Neue Deutsche Welle fashion, and includes an insert with lyrics and and photos designed by Maycec..

Review: Analogue synthesizer enthusiast Bezier first surfaced on Dark Entries in 2012, delivering the hard-wired retro-futurist fantasy Ensconced. Two years on, he's finally ready to release the follow-up, the similarly sharp and sci-fi themed Telemores. As with his previous output, the influences are obvious - think Radiophonic Workshop, electro, minimal, new wave and Italo-disco - but he smartly steers clear of pastiche and empty revivalism. Instead, we're treated to a range of dancefloor-friendly instrumental cuts, cyborg jams, and intoxicating robot rinse-outs. Closer "Fukushima", in which he doffs a cap to the synthesized horror-disco of John Carpenter, is particularly potent.

Review: Stupendously rare Italo gem from the criminally under-prolific Trieste-based Big Ben Tribe, this quirky poplet first came our way in 1984 on Gong. Last spotted changing hands for hundreds on auction sites, Dark Entries have done the disco world a favour and licensed a reissue. Untouched and naked in all its 80s glory, the synth patterns, abstract lyrics and arrangement were way ahead of their time and clearly influenced many electronic pop and Balearic bands who followed. Vocals just a bit too much for you? No worries, just flip for the instrumental. Tarzan loves summer nights, and we love Dark Entries for unearthing this utter classic.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***


Stupendously rare Italo gem from the criminally under-prolific Trieste-based Big Ben Tribe, this quirky poplet first came our way in 1984 on Gong. Last spotted changing hands for hundreds on auction sites, Dark Entries have done the disco world a favour and licensed a reissue. Untouched and naked in all its 80s glory, the synth patterns, abstract lyrics and arrangement were way ahead of their time and clearly influenced many electronic pop and Balearic bands who followed. Vocals just a bit too much for you? No worries, just flip for the instrumental. Tarzan loves summer nights, and we love Dark Entries for unearthing this utter classic.

Review: As per usual, those fiendish folks over at Dark Entries have amazed us once again with yet another barrel of 1980s gold from the depths of the underground. This time it's German new wave band Boytronic who see a reissue, and the EP in question is 1988's "Byllyant", which features the magnificent Plus 8 mix - a shot to the head made up of warm bass tones and hard-hitting drum machine patterns - and also the US mix, which literally sounds like it was made yesterday; for being an '80s EP, Boytronic steered well clear of cheesy and to be honest, they give New Order a proper run for their money. The 1984 mix of "Trigger Track" is a wonderful electro stormer, stamping its fast beats over eerie pads and growling basslines. This would be silly not to recommend! For the diggers.

Review: If you've ever wanted some straight-up italo disco but then wondered where to find it, where to start, who to ask, then Dark Entries have sorted you right out. As usual, the label come through strong, and this time they reissue an italo disco classic by Brand Image (T.Scarfone and M.Scarabelli) originally released in 19983, and representing the genre with flying colours. "Are You Loving?" contains the 1980's in every sense of the word: quirky, melancholic vocals riding over a grainy drum machine beat, and accompanied by massive synth stabs and an inimitable sort of groove - simply lovely. There's an instrumental on the flip just in case you love the sounds but are slightly scared by the power of the vocals...

Review: It would be fair to say that Charlie's "Spacer Woman" is one of the better-known Italo-disco anthems, which makes it all the more surprising that Dark Entries has chosen to reissue it. This is not a criticism, though; they've given Maurice Cavalieri and Giorgio Stefani's original the remaster treatment, and it sounds even more alien, exciting and oddball as it did back in 1983. The original vocal version - all woozy synths, throbbing arpeggios, wonky beats and typically eccentric vocals - is backed by the Instrumental version, which is the preferred mix of choice for many Italo DJs. If it's not in your collection already, it should be.

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: Codek is the brainchild of Jean-Marie Salaun who grew up in Paris influenced by the folklore of the inner city. In 1978 he joined art rock group SpionS alongside Gregory Davidow and recorded two singles. Diving into the Paris post punk scene he met Claude Arto and designed the artwork for Claude's single on Celluloid "Kwai Systeme / Betty Boop." Robin Scott (M "Pop Music") had produced the SpionS first single and wanted to collaborate further. With Claude, Jean-Marie wrote "Me Me Me", intended for a choir, for M. Then SpionS split and Robin was off to Switzerland to record an album to follow-up his hit single. That left Jean-Marie alone in London, where he began working as Codek, a play on the brand name Kodak The "Me Me Me" single was released by MCA Records in 1980. Back in Paris, now with some studio experience, Celluloid Records hired Jean-Marie to produce records for Artefact and Les Orphelins. Over the next 2 years he began working on ideas for the next Codek single "Closer / "Tam Tam".

Review: Many should already know Codek's "Tam Tam" (sometimes known as "Tim Toum"), a peerless Afro-cosmic classic from 1981 that fused minimalist tribal drums with spaced-out female vocals and sparse, intergalactic electronics. Here it gets the remix treatment for the very first time. Fittingly, it's cosmic disco stalwarts Daniele Baldelli and Marco Dionigi who kick things off with two tasty interpretations: a percussive and hypnotic take that successfully throws some acid-funk guitars into the mix ("Remix A"), and a more spacey, synth-laden affair rich in analogue electronics ("Remix B"). Over on side B, New York duo Whatever/Whatever re-imagine it as a fuzzy slab of coldwave/house fusion, before offering up an extended, club-ready re-edit of the original version.

Review: Cold Beat is a San Francisco-based quartet fronted by Hannah Lew (synths, vocals) with Kyle King (synths, guitar), Luciano Talpini Aita (synths) and Sean Monaghan (guitar). Formed in 2013 the band has released three albums and two EPs. 'A Simple Reflection' is a 7-song collection of Eurythmics covers, yet feels just as personal as any of their original material. While digging through a collection of 12?s for her record shop Contact Records, Lew stumbled across the earliest Eurythmics B-sides and was floored. This lead to the discovery of their debut album 'In The Garden'. Annie Lennox's abstract and poetic lyrics really struck a chord with Hannah. What had started out as a single cover quickly snowballed into a full blown obsession. The synth and drum programming resonated with her songwriting process, so reimagining them was very creatively fulfilling. The covers on this EP are simultaneously dynamic and atmospheric post-punk that plays to Lew's ethereal vocals and King's crystalline guitar. All songs have been mixed by Mikey Young (Total Control) and mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The record is housed in a jacket designed by Eloise Leigh, which features pink and purple clouds that evoke a dreamy softness and DIY playfulness and photos Lew in her best Lennox-inspired drag. Each copy includes a postcard with photos and notes. "Sometimes a song seems to sing just for you, as if someone knows your most inner thoughts and feelings and has found a way to describe them effortlessly" - Hannah Lew

Review: The latest previously unheard Patrick Cowley material to get the Dark Entries treatment was recorded between 1972 and 1975, and made in collaboration with budding actress - and later feminist pornography icon - Candida Royalle. It was apparently intended for experimental theatre productions, and contains some of Cowley's most enthralling, out-there electronic experiments. Royalle's freestyle vocals take pride of place on the spacey, otherworldly opener "Candida Cosmica", before weaving in and out of Cowley's sparse, alien electronics on 12-minute B-side cut "Shimmering (Where Am I)?". Perhaps the most inspired track of the lot - and that's saying something - is the proto-ambient weirdness of "Elementals", which makes great use of fuzzy radio records and curious modular noises.

Review: Post-punk aficionados may already by familiar with Crash Course In Science, a Philadelphia-based band who released two acclaimed singles between 1979 and '81, before going their separate ways. Here, one of the band's previously unheard 1981 demos gets mixed and released for the first time. "Jump Over Barrels" is a song about overcoming adversity, and in newly mixed form sounds like a lost post-punk classic. It's accompanied by a couple of demos - their initial 1981 recording, and an earlier, deliciously skeletal and heavy rehearsal version - and a fresh remix from Tadd Mullinix under his now familiar Charles Manier alias. The Ann Arbor-based producer does a good job of toughening up the track for modern dancefloors, whilst retaining the free-spirited essence of Crash Course In Science's original.

Review: After a fairly overwhelming 2013 of archival releases that was topped off with that excellent Patrick Cowley compilation, Dark Entries seemingly are maintaining that momentum this year with a clutch of new projects. The first is this reissue of the classic Signals From Pier Thirteen EP by Crash Course In Science, which is a name that should be instantly recognisable to fans of minimal wave thanks to "Flying Turns". The track featured on the Minimal Wave Tapes Vol. 1 compilation curated by Peanut Butter Wolf and Veronica Vasicka and has been reworked by Jamal Moss, J Rocc and Ricky Villalobos in recent years. "Flying Turns" of course features on this EP, and this Dark Entries issue is the first time Signals From Pier Thirteen has been reissued on vinyl since the early '80s and is a must for anyone who likes crude electronics and synthesised beats.

Review: The Dark Entries label continue their impressive run of form with another killer reissue LP, this time by The Prefects member Joe Crow. Compulsion was Crow's first solo work from the early '80s and has been a digger's favourite for a long time, its itchy drum machine beats and disjointed guitar riffs being utterly singular at the time of the album's initial release. "Compulsion" itself is a mid-tempo beat jam containing Crow's own dreary vocals and beautiful synthesized keys. "Absent Friends" is slower, full of languish and life at the same time, while on the B-side, "Each To His Own" is the winner thanks to its punky aesthetic surrounded by that early 80's electronic oddity. A masterclass piece of music and an essential collector's item.

Review: Having spent much of the last 12 months furiously re-issuing classic Italo-disco bombs, Dark Entries has finally got round to releasing some more contemporary cuts. The man behind this EP is Victor Lenis AKA Cute Heels, a Barcelona-based Colombian who last appeared on the imprint in 2014. As usual, the two new productions showcased here see him explore a range of vintage electronic music influences, presenting them in a typically stylish and authentic way. "Third Skin" melds the muscular sweatiness of EBM to the jackin' energy of Chicago acid, while "Lipstick Information" offers a master-class in dark Italo-disco and early Detroit techno fusion. Steffi and The Hacker both give the title track a thorough going over, with the former's deliciously hypnotic, psychedelic take being particularly potent.

Review: Dark Entries has truly become a sensational imprint over the last few years, and they are showing no signs of stopping. In fact, they've just gotten better and better with each new release. We have a special one on our hands this time and, although the label have reissued a whole heap of glorious material, this is NEW music from the very best out there. Chicago industrial-tech-goth Beau Wanzer teams up with Unknown Precept's Maoupa Mazzocchetti, and the dup get on like a house on fire under their new De-Bons-En-Pierre moniker. Crepes is a gnarly little EP, blurring the lines between techno, EBM and industrial, but doing so in a way that makes the three genres sound like they should never ever be apart from one another. "Whole Body Irradiator", for instance, has all the beat elements of techno and yet the sounds are drenched in a punky, fuck-you kinda style that would make the Berghain faithful run for their lives, while we could easily imagine the torn, glitchy beats of "Francine" residing on some long-lost post-punk 7 inch from the likes of Pete Shelley. This is some mad gear - don't miss it.

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: Dario Dell'aere cut his teeth in obscure Italian synth-pop outfits Ice Eyes and Fockewulf 90, before attempting to launch a solo career in 1985. While that didn't go all that swimmingly, his lone solo single, Eagles In The Night, has long been considered a hard-to-find Italo-disco classic. Here, it gets the re-issue treatment from Dark Entries, who as usual replicate the original track listing and artwork. Slower and more atmospheric than many Italo-disco tracks of the time, Eagles In The Night draws influence from eyeliner-clad new wave pop of the period, with Dell'aere's unusual English vocals stretching out over chiming melodies, bubbling synth lines and dreamy chords. The potency of the original production is confirmed by the superior Instrumental version lurking on the flip.

Review: To accompany their re-release of East Wall's superb 1991 debut album, Silence, Dark Entries has decided to put out the Italian band's forgotten debut release, 1985 single "Eye of Glass". Tending towards the darker end of the Italo-disco spectrum, but blessed with typically cheery synthesizer melodies and skewed female vocals, it's a record that seems far more inspired by the earlier British new wave synth-pop movement than pleasing the clubs of Rome or Rimini. The vocal version is accompanied by a subtly different instrumental, which includes waves of warm synths and offers more prominence to the band's bubbly electronics, throbbing arpeggio bassline, and delay-laden drum machine hits.

Review: Dark Entries has always been rather canny when it comes to their Italo-disco reissues, often unearthing obscurities from one-shot artists who disappeared just as quickly as they arrived. Ghibli was one such artist. He only ever released one single, I'm Looking For You, back in 1985. That it still sounds fresh, despite its' obvious period features - bubbling, Bobby Orlando style synthesizer sequences, bold chords and a heavily accented Italian vocals - is testament to the skill of the record's original producer, Alfredo Baraldi. As with the original pressing, this Dark Entries edition comes back with the superior Instrumental version.

Review: Hassan Ideddir's 1989 single "Atfalouna" sees an expanded repress courtesy of Dark Entries. Born to Berber parents in Morocco, Ideddir began making music at the age of 10 after being discovered singing in the stairwell by his school's headmaster. Encouraged by his peers, he began playing concerts, and his status grew. In 1987, he played a string of sold-out concerts in Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakesh, in support of a children's charity. The success of these concerts secured him a record deal, and he went to Paris to record his debut single "Atfalouna" in 1988.

Review: Ah, a real gem of the NYC No Wave era is the focus of Dark Entries attentions here as the stunning Holland Tunnel Dive by ImpLOG is given a more than timely reissue. For the uninitiated out there, ImpLOG were formed by The Contortions band members Don Christensen and Jody Harris under the name ImpLOG, after the former left the iconic No Wave act in 1979, and released just the two records together. The story goes that Christensen's recorded experiments with found sounds, and an array of instruments such as a Univox drum machine and Casio keyboards impressed Lust/Unlust Records founder Charles Ball sufficiently enough to issue two tracks from the submitted demo tape as the Holland Tunnel Dive 12? in 1980. It's remained a highly prized record ever since and this lovingly recreated edition from Dark Entries is a must!

Review: San Francisco trio INHALT burst onto the scene back at the turn of the decade, going on to release a trio of well-regarded EPs on [Emotional] Especial and Dark Entries. Here they return to the latter label with their first 12" for almost four years. As usual, their music is stylish, dark and clandestine, with wild-eyed German vocals riding brooding, John Carpenter-influenced arpeggio lines, creepy chords and bustling drum machine grooves. Our pick of the bunch is probably the up-tempo, triple time hustle of "Commerce", though the more polished and atmospheric opener "Alles" and EBM-minded bubbler "Schwarz" are also mighty fine.

Review: In eleven years of deep digging, Dark Entries has uncovered many curiosities, lone exemplars of the scarsest breeds. They are lurking in Croatia, on the streets of New York, maybe in the back of your own dusty closet - these odd-ball Italo and synth-wave monsters are too rare to live, too divine to die. Once-lost creatures now have a home with Dark Entries' new Endangered Species series. The inaugural edition features five specimens previously deemed extinct, only mentioned passingly in lore and speculation, but now safely preserved on vinyl.

Review: If you have a serious interest in Italo-disco, you should already be aware of Kirlian Camera. For the uninitiated, Angelo Bergamini's band was founded in 1980, and has been a constant presence on the Italian music scene ever since. "Helden Platz" was originally released in 1987, and is one of the standout moments in their bulging discography. Full of Cold War-era paranoia, the A-side extended version is dark, gothic and stylish, with impassioned female vocals riding body-popping machine drums, moody chords and a mind-altering arpeggio bassline. On the flip you'll find the notably different 7" version, and the gripping dark ambient of "Burial".

Review: Damn! Dark Entries are on a roll! Their latest reissue is of Scotland's Thomas Leer, an early 80's independent artist who recorded "Private Plane" in his bedroom using an extremely limited set-up...the prototypical '80s experimental kid! The tune is dreary, funky and on the abstract side all at the same time, but our favourite is actually "International" thanks to its wonky groove, driving percussion stabs and bursts of distorted jazz flute. On the B-side there's also "Saving Grace", a more poppy affair in that inimitable 80's Karate Kid flair...highly recommended, a 12" worthy of a reissue.

Review: Lhasa is the brainchild of Alain Raes from Siegen, Germany. As a teenager he was inspired by Tubeway Army's "Are Friends Electric" and Art Of Noise's "Beatbox". In 1985 he began collecting analog equipment (Prophet-5; Oberheim OB-X; Linn LM-1) as digital synthesizers had started to become more popular. In 1986, New Beat was born in Belgium. Dancers tapped into the darker side of synth pop, and DJs would play 45 rpm records at 33 with the pitch control set to +8. Alain was playing in New Wave bands and had started production work and synth programming for other acts.

In 1988 he self-released the debut Lhasa single 'Acetabularia' / 'Acetatechno', with help from Kris Tremmery on vocals and concept. The record combined the icy melodies of Gary Numan and John Foxx with with the mechanical rhythms of Detroit techno and EBM. Thematically, both tracks revolve around the end of life on Earth, and include samples from 'Dr. Strangelove'. For this first time reissue, we've added 4 bonus tracks rescued from a 1990 recording session DAT tape. These demos show further development of the Lhasa sound with updated instruments (Roland D-20, Yamaha TX16W, Korg 707), faster tempos, and menacing proto-rave energy. All songs have been mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each copy includes an 11x11 poster with photos and liner notes by Alain.

Review: The ever-popular and always innovative Dark Entries welcomes Lust Pattern for more deviant electro explorations here and i isn't the first time the artists has graced the label in such fashion: Ryan Armbridge has previously done so as Linea Aspera many times before, exploring coldwave revivalist sounds alongside Zoe Zanias. With this alias, though, he looks to post-punk and electro-funk for inspiration. Opener 'Forming Lines' is redolent of Drexciyan squelch with plenty of live drumming powering it on. 'Choreography' has a similarly aquatic feel but with faster drums and more urgent funk and 'It's Right There In Front Of You' then slows to a predatory and menacing crawl. 'No Floor' is a motorik workout with the squelchiest of mutant synth sounds and rickety rhythms.

Review: Despite being active for just seven years during the 1980s, Dutch new wave band Mekanik Kommando released a wealth of raw, off-kilter and intergalactic material. 1982's "Dancing Elephants" EP, which here gets the reissue treatment from Dark Entries, remains one of their finest moments, largely because it fuses crunchy, electro-influenced beats and Kraftwerk style computer bleeps with sassy new wave vocals, nods to synth-pop and the low-slung basslines and fuzzy guitars of post-punk rock. Our picks include the alien post-punk pop of "Beauty Of Language", the out-there, delay-laden, extra-terrestrial weirdness of "Miss B" and the new wave electro-pop perfection of "Stop & Play".

Review: It's been some six years since Caroline "Miss Kittin" Herve and Michel "The Hacker" Amato last delivered fresh material together. While we await further news of their long-mooted comeback, there's this tasty EP of previously unheard archive material to enjoy. Made up of tracks recorded between 1997 and '99 - when their production partnership was in its' infancy - The Lost Tracks Volume 1 contains a number of fuzzy, stylish, floor-friendly bangers, from the S&M-themed madness of opener "Leather Forever" and stripped-back electro gem "Nightlife" (a tribute to Berlin clubs of the period, apparently), to the high-tempo acid-loaded freakishness of "Loving The Alien". Top-notch sleaze.

Review: Well done to Dark Entries who have managed to pull another crucial Italo jam out of the bag here. This one is Alex Molo's 'Look At Me' which was released in 1986 on Rainbow Records. Claudio Corradini produced it and Mauro Spagnolo and Steven Stefani are on vocals on a tune that has everything you need from a classic Italo jam of the late-era. The basslines are powerful, the chords are massive and the hits are doused in reverb. A Dance Mix is perfect for dancefloors and the Radio Mix is detailed with extra synth work. An original of this will cost a pretty penny so scoop this one up while you can.

Review: Nitzer Ebb and Mute aside, if you're looking for some high-class EBM-style music then The Neon Judment should be your first port of call. Davo Da Davo and TB Frank made some utterly timeless music back in the 80s and early 90s, but what we really love about their style is that they effortlessly glided between synth-pop and odd, inimitably obscure strains of industrial tones. Cockerill-Sombre was originally released in 1983 and, of course, Dark Entries are here to reissue the gem in the finest of styles. The opener "Please Release Me, Let Me Go-Go" is the best post-punk nugget that's been reissued thus far in 2017; the tune is a bizarre blend of hip-hop vocalism rapped through a fuzzy, electro-like filter that has been playing on our turntable since Monday morning, while "Too Cold To Breathe" sprays a shuddery sequence of vocals over a nervy techno, 4/4 drum machine. "The Fashion Party" bubbles its wavy bassline over incessant analogue drums, and makes for a fine proto-techno joint, leaving "1 Jump Ahead" to provide us with a fast, tribal post-punk bullet that leaves us yearning for more TNJ material.

Review: A seminal 81/83 record that epitomised so many sounds and melting pots: synth wave, Italo, New Romantic, electro, proto house... The list of worlds this groundbreaking song traversed is remarkable. Here Dark Entries compile the four versions that were cut during its two key release phases on GC Recordings in 1981 and 1983 in all their remastered glory. Smouldering, moody and still relevant to so much going on musically, this is true piece of history.

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: Chris Garner, Jorg Burckhardt, Matthias Elvers, and Regina Petersen didn't release more than handful of EPs under the Peppermint guise, but what they did put out was as foundational and inspirational as more known electronic bands of the 80s like Liaisons Dangereuses. Dark Entries is responsible for this reissue, of course, a repress of an original going for near 100 bucks on the second-hand market, and this 1983 bomb has that rare characteristic of sounding retro and utterly fresh all at the same time. There's two mixes to the wonderfully wavy "Perfect High", and they both serve their own purpose; the radio edit, as you'd expect, is the one that gets the heads turning, its ominous bass charging menacingly amid the sweeter melodies and classic, new-romantic vocals, while the instrumental makes for the perfect beat companion to any serious cold wave DJ set.

Review: Dark Entries know their stuff when it comes to '80s synth pop reissues, and this latest reissue of Carlos Peron's Dirty Songs single is a sign of just how deep into the crates these guys get. Originally out over thirty years ago, these instrumentals are still total killers and will go down a storm in most DJ sets which venture out of the 4/4 formula. "Nothing Is True; Everything Is Permitted" and "Breakin' Indistortion" are particularly fresh and must have truly cut the edge back then: metallic drum machine beats and sparse melodies ring away into the cavernous ambience created by Peron. Wonderful and highly recommended.

Review: Crete's Lena Platonos is a Goddess of the piano, and her illustrious career spans over thirty years. Having reissued the excellent Platonos album Galop last year, Dark Entries return with another dose of Lena goodness, transforming her gentle harmonics into dancefloor bliss. The culprits are Tel Aviv's Red Axes, who start their thrashing by moulding "Witches" into a deep, sleek, and masterfully contained groove featuring the artiste's vocals at the helm - perfectly detuned and distorted. "No9" is a broken shred of steely drums and bass, while "And We Hear I Love You" goes for an industrial approach, and "Liqueur Ruby" for the lo-fi and mystical. Warmly recommended.

Review: Last year, Dark Entries reissued Lena Platonos' 1986 album "Lepidoptera", a beautiful, minimalistic set forged out of picturesque piano motifs and the composer's own surrealist Greek poetry. Now the lauded San Francisco label presents a quartet of new reworks of tracks from that album. There's a more dancefloor-centric feel throughout, with the standout revisions - in our eyes at least - coming from Anatolian Weapons, whose take on "Cyaniris" is a throbbing, dark synth-pop treat, and Pasiphae. Her version of "Araschnia Levana" brilliantly re-casts the track as a heavy, all-action dark electro workout tailor made for dark basements in The Hague.

Review: Patrick Keel started his career as a drummer with various unsuccessful bands, before buying a synthesizer in 1980 and forming "one-man-band" The Pool. While he released numerous albums and singles over a five-year period, it's 1983 single "Dance It Down" that has stood the test of time. This Dark Entries reissue features the punchy, electro-influenced new-wave original and spacey Dub from the U.S 12", plus the lesser-known European Mix (closer in style to Italo-disco, though actually made by a Belgian). Arguably even better is flipside "Jamaica Running", where glistening melodies cluster themselves around a proto-dancehall rhythm, and its' stoned, pitched-down alternative mix, "Jamaica Resting".

Review: San Francisco label Dark Entries keep up the tireless pace of releases, focusing here on the acid house phase of Psychic TV, the long running and hugely prolific music project of Genesis P-Orridge and a cast of contributing musicians. Characterised by some spectral didgeridoo playing, "Alien Be-In" first appeared in original format on Psychic TV's 1990 LP Towards Thee Infinite Beat and it's license for reissue by Dark Entries is complemented by some fine remixes. The band's own Fred Giannelli turns in a mono mix "sourced from the Emax floppy discs" but the real coup comes from the pair of B-side remixes involving the ever-excellent Silent Servant. One, in collaboration with John Tejada, is gripping techno whilst the other solo effort is redolent of Juan Mendez's recent Cititrax outings. Another must have from the DE crew!

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: There's much to admire on this latest 12" excursion from hard-working Israeli duo Red Axes. On the A-side you'll find two brand new collaborations, the most notable of which is "NYX Tape" - a clandestine, mind-altering chunk of minimal wave drug-chug featuring the distinctive spoken word vocals of original no wave star Gina X (she of "No GDM" fame). Chloe Raunet AKA C.A.R lends her similarly stylish spoken word vocals to the EP's other original production, the acid-fired electro filthiness that is "5 Min". On the flipside you'll find two tasty re-edits of tracks from the Dark Entries catalogue: a dub-tinged, dancefloor-friendly take on Solid Moon's spacey "Destination Moon" and a rolling, club-ready tweak of X-Ray Pop's quirky electronic bubbler "La Machine a Rever".