Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Metal Urbain

They were heavily influenced by The Clash and The Sex Pistols on one hand, and on the other by an electro approach related to "Metal Machine Music" by Lou Reed. They relied on heavily distorted guitars and replaced the traditional rock rhythm section of bass guitar/drums with a synthesizer and drum machine, a then-unique approach that foreshadowed the experimental possibilities that were explored by later post-punk bands such as Big Black. They were also known for their radical image (the color scheme of albums always being a stark black, white and red), and subversive lyrics sung in French.

They were met with much enthusiasm in England, particularly by John Peel and the Rough Trade label. (Métal Urbain's single "Paris Maquis" was Rough Trade's first release.) They had an enthusiastic but small audience in France, receiving little exposure. The punk rock scene was not as popular in France as it was in England, and they did not interest the French media as English bands like the Sex Pistols did. As a result, the band broke up by 1979, though members scattered to form such groups as Metal Boys, Doctor Mix and the Remix, and Desperados, as well as joining Ashpalt Jungle.

Métal Urbain had focused their efforts on singles, and only produced one album, Les hommes morts sont dangereux, during their first period of activity . However, several compilation records were released, gathering their singles with additional material such as BBC sessions and live recordings.

Their electro approach was very innovative for its time, and the group are a reference point for such groups as The Jesus and Mary Chain, Bérurier Noir, and the producer Steve Albini.



Monday, September 28, 2009

Saturday, September 26, 2009

666



The band that came to be known as 999 first came together towards the end of 1976s when Guy Days and Nick Cash (AKA Gene Carsons AKA Keith Lucas) who had known each other since schooldays, started thinking seriously about getting a group together. Previously Nick Cash had been the guitarist in pub rockers Kilburn & The High Roads who also featured Ian Dury and featured on the album 'Handsome'. But for 999 he claimed to have had to unlearn An advert was placed in the Melody Maker for a bassist. Jon Watson remembers, "I had come back from a year of playing in Germany and I was determined not to end up in a funk/soul band, then I saw this advert in the Melody Maker ...'Bass player required for punk rock group.' Pablo Labrittain (AKA Paul Buck) joined two months later in December after the band had auditioned numerous drummers. Nick and Guy recall: 'We knew what we wanted and we wouldn't settle for anything less.' Others passing through auditions would be the ever hopeful Chrissie Hynde' later of the Pretenders' and John Moss who had also failed the Clash auditions and who would later join London, the Damned & Culture Club. They started serious rehearsals the week before Christmas '76 in the basement of Broomfields Bakery Brixton before making their debut appearance in January supporting Stretch at Northampton Cricket Ground. Drummer Pablo had only been with the band for nine days! Apart from one other show at the Target Club Reading, 999 did not get a chance to play live again for nearly two months. During this period they found that they could not afford to function without taking daytime jobs. Nick worked as a postal clerk. Pablo became a porter, Guy took a job as a general office worker and Jon started painting on a Brixton building site.


Do The Du

No UK act crystallized independent, punk-influenced funk more than Manchester's A Certain Ratio. The original line-up comprised Jeremy Kerr (bass), Simon Topping (vocals/trumpet), Peter Terrell (guitar), Martin Moscrop (guitar/trumpet), Martha Tilson (vocals, ex-Occult Chemistry), who joined a little later, although she had left by 1982, and Donald Johnson (drums) who replaced a drum machine. They signed to Factory Records in 1979 for the cassette release, The Graveyard And The Ballroom. One side was recorded at Graveyard Studios, the other live, supporting Talking Heads at London's Electric Ballroom. After releasing "All Night Party" in May 1979, there was a hiatus before "Flight", a UK Independent Top 10 hit over a year later. In the meantime, the band had teamed up with Factory's European sister company Benelux, for a cover version of Banbarra's mid-70s funk classic "Shack Up", in July 1980. This edgy but rhythmic version offered an excellent snapshot of the band's innovative studio technique. To Each ", the band's official debut album, attracted BBC disc jockey John Peel in 1981, a year that also yielded "Do The Du" (officially intended for release in the USA), and in December "Waterline" also fared well.


Mind Your Own Business

Initially inspired by the success of local heroes the Mekons and Gang of Four, Leeds, England's Delta 5 later emerged as one of the key figures of the feminist new wave. Formed in 1979 by vocalist/guitarist Julz Sale, fretless bassist Ros Allen, and bassist Bethan Peters, the group was begun on a lark, but following the additions of guitarist Alan Briggs and drummer Kelvin Knight, Delta 5 issued their debut single, "Mind Your Own Business," and found themselves thrust to the forefront of the Leeds post-punk community.

Frequently linked to Gang of Four -- in addition to a similarly abrasive funk sound, Delta 5 was also at the vanguard of the Rock Against Racism movement, and Knight even once sat in for Gang drummer Hugo Burnham -- the group's role as political leaders increased in the wake of a notorious street attack on its members by right-wing thugs, culminating in the rise of the Rock Against Communism groundswell. Their unique two-bass rhythm section set them clearly apart from their peers, and with the success of their second single, "You," they mounted a successful U.S. tour.


Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft

D.A.F. is an influential German electropunk/NDW band from Düsseldorf, formed in 1978 featuring Gabriel "Gabi" Delgado-López (vocals), Robert Görl (drums, percussion, electronic instruments), Kurt "Pyrolator" Dahlke (electronic instruments), Michael Kemner (bass-guitar) and Wolfgang Spelmans (guitar). Kurt Dahlke was replaced by Chrislo Haas (electronic instruments, bass-guitar, saxophone) in 1979.

The name Deutsch-Amerikanische Freundschaft – literally, German-American Friendship – is a satirical reference to the DSF, the East German Deutsch-Sowjetische Freundschaft (German-Soviet Friendship Organization).




D.A.F.'s most famous songs are "Kebabträume" and the grimly sarcastic "Der Mussolini" from the album "Alles ist gut", a pulsing dance song featuring the lyrics "Dance the Mussolini, move your behind, clap your hands, and now the Adolf Hitler, and now the Jesus Christ, and now the communism ...". However, the song caused a scandal. There have been rumours that the group's name is really a tribute to the Deutsche Arbeitsfront (a Nazi labour organization); however, D.A.F.'s style is arguably anti-political, possibly even nihilistic, and most of their lyrics concern more physical matters. At best, they are referenced as a punk band advancing into electronic music.


Indochine

Indochine (French for Indochina) was formed in 1978 by two Frenchmen in their early twenties, Nicola Sirkis and Dominique Nicolas, in Paris. They soon added Dimitri Bodianski, the cousin of one of Nicola’s friends.

They gave their first concert at Le Rose Bonbon, a café in Paris on 29 September 1981. This brief performance on stage earned them their first contract with a record company.

They recorded their first single in November 1981. It included two songs, Dizzidence Politik and Françoise, but drew more attention from critics than from the mainstream media and only reached a limited audience.


Friday, September 25, 2009

Inca Babies

Inca Babies are a post punk band from Manchester, England, active between 1982 and 1988, and have reformed in 2007.
The band was formed in Hulme, Manchester by Bill Bonney (bass guitar), Harry Stafford(guitar) Julian Woropay (vocals) and Alan Brown (drums), taking influences from Link Wray, The Cramps, The Gun Club and The Birthday Party[1] Debut single "The Interior" was released in November 1983 on their own Black Lagoon label. Over the next five years they released a further six singles and four albums with a few changes of line-up, 1988's Evil Hour featuring Clint Boon of Inspiral Carpets on keyboards.[1] Alan Brown of bIG fLAME and The Great Leap Forward was also drummer for a time.


The Maggots

Hatched in 1977, The Maggots were a punk band from san francisco, california, formed by drummer/songwriter Jane Weems, and her pals Robert Conner, & Richard Giron...after actually buying real instruments, and learning how to play, richard soon dropped out after recording their first song called F.O.B....a deragatory term meaning "fresh off the boat" and an insult to all philipinos except himself!
They wrote this song in honor of Sid Vicious when he died 2/2/79.


Lucrate Milk

They look like tough punks but make pretty zany weird Zolo music along the lines of Etron Fou Leloublon and the best stuff by Essential Logic. And they are French, if you haven’t noticed.

Stef Petticoat

From London came the queen of cool, miss Stef Petticoat, who released this magnificent jewel in 1980 before she moved to Berlin where she kept running the band for quite some time, and might still be doing it in one way or another today. Apart from this E.P. she appeared on several different compilations as well as other 7inches that are all well worth tracking down.



Gidget Goes To Hell

Suburban Lawns were an American New Wave group from the late 1970s through the early 1980s.
The five members of Suburban Lawns took on stage names that would put smiles on the faces of anyone culturally literate: Su Tissue (Sue McLane), Vex Billingsgate (William Ranson), John Gleur (John McBurney), Frankie Ennui (Richard Whitney) and Chuck Roast (Charles Rodriguez). Su was the usual "front-person" though lead vocal duties switched from song to song with everyone except Chuck Roast singing at least one song.

Despite the regional success of the debut LP, a follow-up was a long time coming. And a long time in the pop-world often leads to turmoil brewing within bands. Shortly after Richard Mazda took on production of the their follow up, Baby (which ended up as an EP), John McBurney departed the fold. Other issues took their toll and Baby was released with little fanfare and less promotion. Soon after it hit the street the band folded. Despite a "fan club" address on the sleeve the Lawns were done.

The various members have continued to work since then. Frankie and Vex even briefly formed a new band called simply The Lawns. Su went on to the Berklee College of Music to study classic piano. She later recorded a solo album of piano and voice called Salon de Musique and played the small but memorable part of Peggy Dillman in Jonathan Demme's Something Wild. Producer EJ Emmons is still active behind the Los Angeles music scene...


1978

The Contortions

One of the original punk jazz groups of the New York No Wave scene, the Contortions were led by saxophonist James Chance, aka James White. Their first recorded appearance, credited solely as the Contortions, was on the 1978 compilation, No New York. The following year, two albums were issued almost simultaneously on the ZE label, Buy the Contortions (an extreme jazz-punk LP) and Off White (a disco/standards hybrid released under the moniker James White and the Blacks, with one side vocals, the other side instrumentals). The same line-up recorded both records, although no one aside from Chance appears or is credited on the jacket of the Buy album. Following Chance and manager Anya Philips' acrimonious break with many of the original Contortions, the line-up changed frequently.

Bush Tetras



Post new wave funk/punk early '80s stars of the New York club scene, the Bush Tetras were one of the most popular and exciting groups of the era. If there's any one song the Bush Tetras are known for, it's 1980's "Too Many Creeps" -- the band's most representative song and also the catchiest, made by the kind of jagged rhythms, slicing guitars, and sniping vocals. Romeo Void guitarist Peter Woods matter-of-factly confessed to being inspired by the sound of Pat Place's guitar.

Love In A Void

Siouxsie and the Banshees were among the longest-lived and most successful acts to emerge from the London punk community; over the course of a career that lasted two decades, they evolved from an abrasive, primitive art punk band into a stylish, sophisticated unit that even notched a left-field U.S. Top 40 hit.

Throughout its numerous lineup changes and textural shifts, the group remained under the leadership of core duo Siouxsie Sioux, born Susan Ballion on May 27, 1957 and Steven Severin, born Steven Bailey 25 September 1955. The Banshees' initial lineup emerged from the Bromley Contingent, a notorious group of rabid Sex Pistols fans. In addition to bassist Steven Severin and guitarist Marco Perroni, the first one-off lineup included drummer John Simon Ritchie, who assumed the name Sid Vicious; they debuted on the 20 September 1976 at the legendary Punk Festival held at London's 100 Club, where their entire set consisted of a savage, 20-minute rendition of The Lords Prayer


Monday, September 21, 2009

Danger Boy Compilation #4 (UK.DIY.Post/Punk.No Wave)

Photobucket


Tracklist :

1.Ludus - My Cherry Is In Sherry
2.Electric Chairs - So Many Ways
3.Metamorphus Nex - Die Idee
4.Mackenzies - Big Jim (There's No Pubs In Heaven)
5.Chrome - New Age
6.The Great Complotto - Mess Paraguay
7.Implog - Holland Tunnel Dive
8.Doppler Effect - Time Is Running Out
9.Partly Cloudy - Lizards
10.The Mighty Lemon Drops - Happy Head
11.Section 25 - Be Brave
12.Futurologischer Kongress - Rote Autos


To Download Danger Boy Compilation #4 Please CLICK HERE

Debbie Harry

From the album 'Koo Koo' (1981) produced & co-written (Debbie Harry/Chris Stein) by Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards of the CHIC Organization. This project can be seen as the first evidence of Nile'n'Nards reputation beyond the disco/R&B community. The album was a disappointment sales wise, but a great artistic achievement, merging punk, pop and funk. Backfired was the first singles release and it didn't fare well (Billboard charts: Pop#43, Black#71, Disco/Club#29). The video graphics concurs with the London Underground banned album cover done by Swiss artist HR Giger.


Scared To Dance?

Having criminally fallen off the critical radar, the Skids haven't received the reappraisal they deserve in the wake of the successes of current media darlings like Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys.


Featuring the Celtic charm, acerbic wit and talismanic vocals of Richard Jobson alongside Stuart Adamson's often-copied frenetic riffing, it remains an electrifying debut from one of punk's more learned acts.

It's difficult to get off to a better start than the seminal 'Into the Valley', a song which Graham Coxon's solo career is largely in debt to, but the qualitymore… rarely falls below its level. 'Charles', Adamson's fantastical tale of a factory worker who becomes part of the machinery he is employed to operate, 'The Saints are Coming', 'Of One Skin' and 'Melancholy Soldiers' provide
the highlights, and are all equal to anything on the Clash’s debut.

Captain Oi has fleshed out the album with various EP tracks and b-sides, the most notable being the live favourite 'TV Stars', which sees Jobson namecheck a host of celebrities before the audience joins in with him shouting ‘Albert Tatlock!’Inside the 16-page booklet is a (much needed!) lyric sheet, sleeve art from releases relevant to the album, and a brief essay.

The sound quality is improved from previous issues, although the album is showing its age and the remastering isn't as solid as I’m sure it could be in the right hands, but it is the best currently available and is unlikely to be bettered anytime soon. Some of the bonus tracks also appear to be sourced from vinyl rather than the master tapes, but this remains the best version available of a classic, forgotten gem.


Saturday, September 12, 2009

Where's me Jumper?

Following a number of line up changes the band came to the attention of the UK and Irish music press, when the humorous pop-punk song "Where's Me Jumper" was released. After several other independently released singles, the band signed to Epic Records, through a deal organised by Rhythm King Records's Martin Heath.

With Epic, the band released their debut album Casual Sex In The Cineplex, and its follow up Teenage Drug. Already a cult hit in the UK, by this time The Sultans Of Ping were also becoming popular in Japan, with many tracks gaining release in that market only.


Decibel

Punk before you were. What made Enrico Ruggeri great, at least in his early moments, was his widely displayed conceit, his haughty attitude, a feeling of being outstanding, and that everybody should have acknowledged that, before having proved anything. A third-rate, polenta-flavoured Lou Reed, sunglasses after dark and dyed hair included; a wannabe John Lydon minus the proletarian background – and the rotten teeth – but plus a job as a literature teacher at a secondary school and a real python which he used to hang around with, together with his friend and bandmate Silvio Capeccia.

Yeah, the boy had nerves. And will. He steered his way into music business with a willingness to change (not to say betray) and a ruthless eagerness to climb success ladder, through launching, joining and remodelling outfits such as Josafat, Trifoglio, the “decadent progressive” Champagne Molotov (mark I) and, eventually, Decibel. The story of this latter band has been told several times, from any given point of view: their beginnings, the 1978 self-titled debut album (which is usually regarded as the first Italian “punk” LP), the synth-driven turn with the single “Indigestione disko” (”disko indigestion”, 1979), their striking and contested participation in the 1980’s Sanremo festival with the song “Contessa” (”countess”), the successful second release Vivo da re (”i live like a king”, 1980), up to the very moment Ruggeri suddenly quit the act and signed with SIF record company to pursue a solo career, with an aftermath of personal conflicts and legal quarrels.


This song is a must if you like this tunes.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Parlez-Vous Schaumburg?

Palais Schaumburg was a new wave band from Hamburg, Germany. The style was classified as Neue Deutsche Welle, and strongly characterized by their avant garde music and dadaistic attitude.

The band was originally formed in 1980, featuring Timo Blunck, Holger Hiller, Thomas Fehlmann, and percussionist F. M. Einheit. The group's name stands for Das Palais Schaumburg in Bonn, the former residence of German chancellor.

Thrust In Me



The Cinema of Transgression is a term coined by Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe a New York City, United States based underground film movement, consisting of a loose-knit group of like-minded artists using shock value and humor in their work. Key players in this movement were Nick Zedd, Kembra Pfahler, Casandra Stark, Beth B, Tommy Turner, Richard Kern and Lydia Lunch, who in the late 1970s and mid 1980s began to make very low budget films using cheap 8 mm cameras.












This is the best 8mm I've ever seen.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Halli Galli

I don't know anything about Deutscher Kaiser and the internet isn't helping, but look how rad: