Back catalogue: Coldwave/Synth

Review: Six tracks by some of the less conspicuous names in 1980s Italo disco scene get pressed to a singular unifying 12" here. Commemorating Cruisin' Records' 40th anniversary (1983-2023), 'Takes Over' is a delightful compilation scouring the exclusive vaults of its back catalogue, with label mainstay Nello Jay handling curation duties. Largely centring on the year 1985, two cuts from, 'Japanese Girl' and 'Lady Fantasy', come courtesy of Max Him, while the likes of 'For Your Sweet Information' by PJ Marcus, 'In Your Eyes' by Roxana', and 'Heigh Ho' by Fabian Nesti all stomp, gyrate, and whoop away, indulging the very same escapist fantasies as those involved in the scene back then.

Review: Golden Lion Sounds is the label attached to the legendary pub in Todmorden that has hosted everyone from Andrew Weatherall and ALFOS to synth wizard Richard Norris. It is he who is behind this latest 7" alongside Rude Audio. 'This Song's For You' (feat Findlay Brown) is fusion of indie, cold wave and synth with dreamy vocals drifting over typically lush chords and silky drums from Norris. It's a perfect soundtrack to a lazy afternoon in the sun. On the flip, Rude Audio's 'The Grinning' has a more psychedelic sound with loopy synth arps spiraling up to the stars and back again in colourful fashion.

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: Middlesborough musician Rees impressed with his last outing on the Bordello A Parigi label: 'Three Eyes' was a real dancefloor gem which he now follows up with three more gems that showcase the artist's eclectic style and versatile skills. 'Dream Wave' is a bright, busy, intense cut with glistening synths front and centre, dancing about a crunchy and rigid rhythm while 'The New Beat' ups the ante with eerie arps leading the way as more metallic drum sounds clatter away below. Last of all is 'Electric Body' which is awash with more incisive synths and guitar lines, all with a hypotonic lead synth and new wave techno drums powering it along.

Review: "Hope is not passive. Hope is not blah blah blah. Hope is telling the truth." So said the world's most visible climate activist Greta Thunberg in her pre-COP26 speech in Milan, blasting world leaders for inadequate (or near-non-existent) responses to the environmental crisis. Given we're 12 months down the line and the vast majority of promises made at said 2021 climate summit have not been actioned, with emissions continuing to climb, it's unsurprising direct action has turned much more direct and disruptive this year, and people are now sampling the young orator to amplify her message through music.

If that sounds like it may lack subtlety, fear not. Renude19 have managed to achieve something pretty difficult - a protest dancefloor track that doesn't ram things down your throat and works very well without you knowing that context. Essentially a dystopian-vibed broken beat synth workout with electro-pop vocals and occasional "Blah blah blah" hook, it's timely and well executed.

Review: Following up a great release on Gerd Janson's Running Back last year, Keinemusik's Andreas Richter (Reznik) pairs up with longtime friend and kindred spirit Michael Schiedt aka Good Guy Mikesh for the One More EP. The Berlin-based duo have gone down a fabulous dark disco route on this one, featuring Mikesh's brilliant vocals on the title track, plus there's the late night noir antics of B-side offering 'Read The Room'.

Review: Two years ago, Demi Riquisimo invited friends and like-minded producers to rework tracks he'd released on his own Semi Delicious label. Now he's decided to repeat the exercise on a belated, if welcome, sequel. Bristol-based Manami steps up first, brilliantly re-imagining 'Mirage Over' as a trippy, mind-mangling, sun-fresh slab of progressive techno goodness rich in bubbly electronics, all-action bass and deep space chords, before Gallegos re-frames 'Point 1'as an acid-fired, cowbell-powered fusion of kaleidoscopic nu-disco, slick house and Italo-disco revivalism. Over on the flip, Gina Breeze delivers a throbbing, trance-inducing tweak of 'Sanitise', while Asa Tate reaches for synthesised pan pipes, dream house piano stabs and sunrise electronics on a pulsating, glassy-eyed take on 'Anxious Elephants'.

Review: Robert Rental is an artist as influential as he is overlooked. An anchor of the early British DIY and post-punk scene, his name is most frequently uttered alongside illustrious collaborators such as Thomas Leer and Daniel Miller. Dark Entries and Optimo ally to illuminate some of Rental's early solo works with an expanded reissue of his debut 7" Paralysis /A.C.C.. Both labels have previously excavated Rental's catalog; we reissued the collaborative LP with Glenn Wallis in 2017, and Optimo released a collection of demos in 2018.

Review: Big week for Dutch imprint Gooiland Elektro who bring on the maximum possible bleakness; first with Radko and now with the foreboding hydra that is Roberto Auser and Melting Dogma. Auser aka Derk Reneman on side A contributes the typically Dutch greyscale electro snarl of 'Man With Dead Leg' followed by a mental slow techno cut 'Imperative'. On the flip, Melting Dogmas, a side project of 4cantons, continues to go at it full force with the hypnotic 303 tunnel vision of 'Wanting To Be With' followed by the body bashing IDM fury of 'Indistinguishable Indications'.

Review: Orange Tree Edits are back once again with more of that super fruity dance floor juiciness. Jimmy Rouge is the man at the controls this time and he wastes no time in heading off to the stars with the cosmic disco workout that is 'Bay Leaf' and its stiff retro arps. 'Rounders' sinks into a more laid-back vibe, with late night chords and gently tumbling drum breaks perfect for seaside dancing. 'Night Train' is a real cosmic chugger with spangled synths spiraling round the mix and 'Fever Dream' then locks you into a lush late-night reverie with lo-fi boogie bass.

Review: Back in the early-to-mid 1990s, Robert Fripp collaborated with numerous ambient house-era electronic artists, including the Orb (see the largely forgotten FFWD>> album) and The Grid, who invited the long-time Brian Eno collaborator to recording sessions back in 1992. While some of the latter material made it onto their '90s albums, much of Fripp's work - dreamy guitar textures, drone works and other electronic experiments -was left in their archive. Leviathan is based around these unissued recordings, with Dave Ball and Richard Norris adding their own new sounds to create a string of beautiful, meditative, and picturesque ambient compositions that sit somewhere between their own ambient works, Norris's recent modular electronic explorations, and the forementioned FFWD>> project.

Review: Space Oddities (1972 - 1982) are the results of Frenchman Georges Achille Teperino aka Nino Nardini, fellow countryman Roger Roger and German Eddie Warner's collaborations over ten years at Ganaro recording studio. Given some underground recognition in the late nineties by the likes of Barry 7 of Add N to (X) (with his Connectors series) or UK electronica legend Luke Vibert, they can now add Alexis Le-Tan (Les Edits Du Golem) and Jess as devotees, who made the effort of compiling the release. As Born Bad stated quite succinctly, the trio used their "strange instruments to sketch out the beginnings of something that resembled the future of music. This collection presents some of the highlights from their light-hearted, electronic pop sessions."

Review: 2014 was a tumultuous period for Polachek as she and her band grew apart; She wanted to create an aesthetic world, make the band dress better and invest in visuals. Needless to say, the 2010s indie band Chairlift wasn't entirely on board. Polachek was creatively parched and set about a production career, producing 'Arcadia' on her laptop whilst on tour using only MIDI instruments, laptop microphone and field recordings (like on the atmospheric 'Hissing Pipes at Dawn'). This period continued with Polachek beginning to perform in small venues in New York under different names, donning a blonde fringed wig and creating an expansive, yet quaint universe that would unquestionably influence the creating of her breakout solo debut 'Pang' 5 years later. Arcadia spans from ambient medieval-esque wind sections to zany strings that conjure up gusts billowing through green pastures with blue skies overhead. 'Dominic' has stood the test of time as the most popular of the tracks, a relationship that's a 'perfect disaster'. Highlights are the organ-led 'Backwards & Upwards' on purging infatuation, stepping backwards to move upwards as Polachek puts it, and 'Lady's Got Gills' with its whistles and what may be a blend of harp, yangqin and guzheng that backs a story of a woman contained. Arcadia is lo-fi cinematic, in a sentence, and a must listen to Polachek fans.

Review: A Lou Rebecca full length has been on the cards for a while and now it lands a year after her breakout and self-titled "Lou" EP. The Austin-based Parisian synth-pop singer makes music that is nuanced with romanticism and driven by soft but decisive drum patterns that make you want to bop. There are vibrant songs with contemporary sensibilities, rich pop nuggets and darker tacks like "Break It Apart" but it is when Lou is at her most happy and outgoing that she sounds best for our money. Check the lovely, harmonically smooth ditty that is "Desire" for proof.

Review: Red Axes have always operated in their own little niche within underground electronic music. The Israeli duo has plenty of genuine guitar-playing skills which they bring to a fine grasp of synth work and a love of acid, wonky grooves and psychedelic colours on labels like Disco Halal and K7. Now they step up to fabric with a new album that also post-punk and new wave flourishes to tracks recorded as live jams in their home studio. It's packed with energy and mischief and is another superbly singular offering from the duo.

Review: Following on from their compilation EP of last year, Music From Memory return with another six tracks from Dutch musician Hubertus Baars aka Richenel. A somewhat illustrious figure in Dutch pop history with his flamboyant appearance, La Diferencia is a repackaged version of the original cassette release. It's a zeitgeist of the heady punk and squatter scene of Amsterdam in 1982, set against a backdrop of drugs and social unrest. It reflects a unique mix of punk aesthetics, with a synthesized bedroom funkiness. As well as having one of the more exceptional male voices to come out of the country, Richenel would go on to become a successful recording artist in the Netherlands before moving to Spain later in his career.

Review: Twenty nine years ago (can you believe it) Alexander Robotnick released his first album, Ce N'Est Q'Un Debut, featuring what's arguably his most defining track "Problemes D'amour" with the Harajuku-cute vocals of Martine Michellod. It's this album that has influenced countless French synth pop acts and a horde of old school electro lovers, and all this time later it's been repressed (again) by the label that first released it, Medical. Keeping the sacredness of this LP firmly intact by sticking with the keyboard-head artwork, Ce N'Est Q'Un Debut - along with Man Parish's 1982 self-titled debut - should be in all of our record collections.

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: Lithuanian DJ/producer Liudas Lazauskas aka Roe Deers first appeared on a radar several years back with some impressive releases on Nein and Sulk Magic. Since then, the Opium Club resident has appeared on Throne Of Blood and Turbo, leading up to his much anticipated debut album. Salt Town Boy is a leftfield collection of wild sonic tales filled with dusky moods and punk attitude and the first LP to be released on Good Skills - which he co-runs with Titas Motuzas. There's many collaborations throughout the album, like on the low-slung and off-kilter attitude of 'Trident' featuring C.A.R., the slo-mo deep chug of 'Late Night Story' featuring Israel's Niv Ast, as well as the playful indie-dance of 'Theme' (feat. Order89) and the druggy drums of 'Walking Down The Streets' (feat. Aquarius Heaven).

Review: Jameszoo and Niels Broos are Rolrolrol and Music is their first album. They describe it as "a puttylike exercise in pop, modern jazz and electronica" and it builds on many years of working together on the likes of Brainfeeder and Alpha Pup. The whole thing is doused in vivid and vivacious synth work that brings life and colour to every groove, whether a broken beat or a future hip-hop workout, an experimental cosmic house cut or an infectious bit of boogie. Amongst the magnificent melodies are guests like Jamie Woon who bring real soul to 'Surprise', and it all makes for a playful but triumphant record of brain-cleansing electronic sound.

Review: On his first album since signing with Ninja Tune offshoot Counter Records (his fourth in total), Roosevelt has tweaked both his working methods and the specifics of his songs and music. Embrace was recorded "on the road", with the Cologne-raised artist setting up his portable studio in a variety of cities, while the music itself combines a greater reliance on "80s disco basslines" (Gwen Guthrie's work with Sly and Robbie being an obvious touch point) and surprisingly honest lyrics that detail his feelings of alienation. In truth, it's not a huge departure - his glossy, wide-eyed take on electronic pop has always included nods to electrofunk, vintage synth-pop, nu-disco and contemporary dance-pop - but given the alluring nature of his sound, that's no bad thing.

Review: Repressed to vinyl for the first time since its initial 1991 release, An Eye For The Main Chance was the iconic debut album from homegrown gothic rock new wavers Rosetta Stone. Landing on very appropriate purple vinyl to compliment its iconic artwork, the LP sways with the reverberated, frosted jangling guitar work that served as staple of the late 80s scene, yet evokes a sultry sinister air that would pave the way for their darker, industrial-tinged coldwave experiments. Melancholic, hypnotic and playful in equal measure, this quintessential slice of coldwave goth rock is a classic forgotten to time, and now that vacant, pining spot on your shelf can be fulfilled without taking out a mortgage for an original pressing flipped to high heaven. Be warned, however, act fast or copies of this long overdue repress will suffer a similar fate.

Review: Royksopp declared their 2014 album The Inevitable End to be the last time they would release a traditional album, and after eight years they lived up to that promise this year with a new audio-visual approach titled Profound Mysteries. The first instalment appeared in April, while the second volume landed in late summer, and now they're underlining the project with this appropriately epic conclusion. Drawing on collaborators such as Alison Goldfrapp, Susanne Sundfor and Jamie Irrepressible, we get another 10 slices of glittering, melodious synth pop magic from one of the finest duos to do it.

Review: "As human beings, what we don't know vastly overshadows what we do know. As teenagers, we would discuss our own fascination and preoccupation with the infinite and the impossible - the most profound mysteries of life." Svein Berge & Torbjorn Brundtland
Royksopp unveil Profound Mysteries, an expanded creative universe and a prodigious conceptual project, on numbered gatefold vinyl for the first time. Profound Mysteries is as mystifying as the title suggests, much like Danny L Harle's 'Harlecore' the house cuts and hardcore dance tracks of 'This Time, This Place...' and 'Breathe' are broken up with echoing ambience sprinkled with the heavenly vocals of Susanne Sundfor on 'The Mourning Sun' or the sinister 'Press R', reminiscent of Anamanaguchi's 'USA' with its text-to-speech warning messages.

Review: Royksopp declared their 2014 album The Inevitable End to be the last time they would release a traditional album, and after eight years they lived up to that promise this year with a new audio-visual approach titled Profound Mysteries. The first instalment appeared in April, while the second volume landed in late summer, and now coinciding with the appropriately epic conclusion to the series, the true believers can cop the entire collection as a six-LP box set which comes embellished with a 32-page booklet designed by Jonathan Zawada, featuring every part of the series and encased in a die-cut rigid slipcase. If you're a Royksopp devotee, this is the definitive edition you need in your life.

Review: Electronic pop trailblazers, Royksopp, announce the second part to their expansive Profound Mysteries project, Profound Mysteries II. They declared their 2014 album The Inevitable End to be the last time they would release a traditional album, and after eight years they lived up to that promise this year with a new audio-visual approach titled Profound Mysteries. This second instalment of three is the andante-minuet of said electro-symphony, in which the band unveil a gargantuan selection of self-generated tunes, in contrast to the totally collaborative third part).

Review: Dutch 'West Coast' sound pioneer Ruud Lekx has been serving up suitably dark, throbbing and wayward dancefloor jams since the mid 1990s, most frequently under the name familiar Rude 66 alias. On his latest full-length excursion - the long-serving producer's first for six years - the clandestine melodies, weirdo analogue synth sounds and horror movie soundtrack textures have been dialled up to eleven. That's no bad thing, because Lekx does it far better than most. For proof, check atmospheric chugger 'Magick Angels' Invocations', the acid-laced early morning beauty of 'Interpreting The Cards', the slow motion dark-Italo pulse of 'Victim Of Illusion', the swirling ambient darkness of 'The Demiurge and his Arcons', and the sub-bass-propelled headiness of 'The Chariot'.