STEVE LAKE "Running Away" 12'' single, (UK, 1987)

"Life Of Riley" is probably the best song he wrote in his solo period after the split of his legendary Zounds. It passed nearly unnoticed though, as Steve Lake didn't included it in any of his two solo albums ("Murder Violence Sex Divorce" and "So Cruel"), like he did with his other single-tracks, but he prefered to hide it on the b-side of this 12'' single. The gems sometimes choose to travel subtly..

Running Away 12''

  

DATBLYGU "Hwgr-Grawth-Og", 7'' (UK, 1986)

Datblygu [datˈbləɡi  = develop] is considered one of the first and most emblematic welsh-spoken bands grown up in postpunk era - perhaps the most important.Vehicle of talented welsh musician and poet Dave R. Edwards, Datblygu were formed in Cardigan, Wales in 1982 with T. Wyn Davies in the initial line-up. The third core member, instrumentalist Patricia Morgan, joined in 1984, while Davies left in 1990.

Between 1982-1985 Datblygu released four cassettes. Their vinyl debut, the 4-track 7'' single "Hwgr-Grawth-Og" ( Anrhefn, 1986) attracted the attention of John Peel and was followed by several peel sessions  and three full albums, the last of which released in 1993.

Datblygu's music is influenced by post-punk, synth-pop, indie and experimental rock but the idiosyncratic songwriting of Dave Edwards coupled with the use of weird welsh language, gives it a unique character.

  

After a long inactive period Datblygu seem to show some action again. Recent works of theirs are two 7'' singles, released in 2008 and 2012.

Listen to "Hwgr-Grawth-Og"


Datblygu - dymuniadau da (from "Pyst", 1990)

More Datblygu:
"1985-1995", (CD, Ankstmusik, 1999 -singles, compilation tracks, rarities etc.)
"Wyau / Pyst / Libertino" (2xCD, Ankstmusik, 2004 -the three albums)
"Peel Sessions 1987-93" (CD, Ankstmusik, 2008 -the five BBC recordings)

RAEO "Words Are Worms", single, (1997)

RAEO is the collaboration of ex no-wave man Mark Cunningham (Mars, Don King, a.o..) with Catalan underground musician Gat, (also co-founder of G3G Records). The two late '70s - early '80s veterans formed this outfit in 1990 in search of new musical directions. The duo, based in Barcelona, spread its action thoughout 90's making two singles,  the cd albums "Adios Jupiter" (G3G, 1994) and  "Body Loops" (G3G/Amanita,  1999), giving also concerts and live audio-visual shows... Their 2-track 7'' single "Words Are Worms" was out on french label Amanita in 1997.

Raeo's explorations lie on a fusional jazz-post dance-ambient-world area, where each artist's prehistory is present, updated though and enriched with new references and perspectives. Basslines, electronic rhythms, prog guitars, samples, effects and (Cunningham's) brass create the diverse and yet cohesive soundscapes of  RAEO. A lyrical, abstract, structured and improvised invasion.

RAEO 

V.A. In His Own Sweet Way, A tribute to Dave Brubeck (Japan, 2000)

Fourteen Downtown (or Downtown-related) avantgardists celebrate the work of the famous jazzman, pianist, composer Dave Brubeck (who passed away just recently -December 2012). The artists not only leave the clear mark of their own idiosyncracy on the compositions but in many occasions their imaginative approach creates a surprisingly big distance from the originals. Nevertheless this "unfaithfulness" seems to work fine! The music is amusing and very eclectic; the overall result gives true honours to the innovative side of the legendary artist, revealing as well the deep influence of Brubeck's spirit in some of the most forward-acting musicians of the recent times. Released on John Zorn's Avant label in 2000.

01 Dave Slusser Blue Shadows In The Street
02 Uri Caine Far More Blues
03 Pachora  In Your Own Sweet Way
04 Bill Frisel Summer Song
05 Ruins Blue Rondo A La Turk
06 Medeski, Martin &Wood Tokyo Traffic
07 Antony Coleman The Duke
08 Eyvind Kang Calcutta Blues
09 Slowpoke Sixth Sense
10 Erik Friedlander Winter Ballad
11 Sex Mob Jumping
12 Dave Douglas Nomad
13 Joey Baron Three To Get Ready
14 David Krakauer Golden Horn

In His Own Sweet Way

Spun Out Of Time: 80s-90s Italian Psych

Artifacts from the 80s and 90s italian garage revival & psychedelic scene. A LFDJ compilation including -as usual- some rare or obscure stuff.

01 Acid Flowers Sancho Panza
(from "Lucifer's Friends", v/a, 1987)
02 Peter Sellers & The Hollywood Party apples & oranges
("Peter Sellers & The Hollywood Party", 1987)
03 Effervescent Elephants something to say
("Something To Say", 1987)
04 Birdmen Of Alkatraz dreamin' demon
("Glidin' Off", 1987)
05 Head & The Hares i think i'm going insane
("Head & The Hares", 1993)
06 King Holiday & The Shadowmen the king is back
("Lucifer's Friends", v/a, 1987)
07 The Backwards portrait (of an unbalanced mind)
("Eerie Thoughts Collection", 1990)
08 Not Moving baron samedi
("Strange dolls", 7'', 1982)
09 Birdmen Of Alkatraz sea of shadows
("From The Birdcage", 1989)
10 Peter Sellers & The Hollywood Party too much time
("To Make A Romance Out Of Swiftness", 1989)
11 Head & The Hares one against the world
("Autumn Songbook", 1998)
12 The Backwards she stared at her own feet
("Eerie Thoughts Collection", 1990)
13 Kim Squad & Dinah Shore Zeekapers macaibo
("Young Bastards", 1987)
14 No Strange scopro le carte
("L'Universo", 1987)
15 Gli Avvoltoi giardino dei fiori
("Il Nostro E Solo Un Mondo Beat", 1988)
16 Steeplejack and you walked away
("Pow Wow", 1988)
17 Peter Sellers & The Hollywood Party peter sellers
("Swiftness EP", 1989 )

compiled by LaFolieDuJour

Listen here

Repost: NYAM NYAM "Hope of Heaven" (UK, 1984)

Perhaps they are mostly remembered nowadays for the single "Fate/Hate" they cut for the famous Factory (Benelux) label in 1984, Nyam Nyam`s though best argument against oblivion is the great LP "Hope of heaven" they released in same year on Beggars Banquet indie branch Situation Two.
Nyam Nyam`s melodic post punk knows here some fine piano driven acoustic moments, others tracks though have an experimental approach, especially the closing song "The Resolution" which moves, unexpectedly, their new wave romantism toward a haunted folkish land.

Nyam Nyam had one more Situation Two release: the EP "The Architect "(1985). After that they probably disappeared.

Update 2012: "Hope Of Heaven" (+ singles) has been reissued! 

Nico's Last Concert - Fata Morgana (1988)

Fata Morgana - Desert Sounds In The Planetarium

"Fata Morgana" is, as fate wanted, Nico's final work. A live performance, or rather an audio-visual show at planetarium Wilhelm-Foerster-Sternwatre that happened, as part of the festival activities for "Berlin - Cultural European Capital", in early summer of 1988, just few weeks only before Nico's sudden passing away.

The theme of "Fata Morgana" is the moon deserts. Nico sings and plays (indian) organ, the rest instruments played by the band Faction (see also Nico/Faction collaboration on 1985 "Camera Obscura" album).

All compositions are written specifically for the needs of this event, apart from the ending "You Forget To Answer" which bridges the past with the berlin sky of that night absolutely shiveringly.

    

Nico's Last Concert was released initially on cd in 1994 and reissued recently (2011).

Lutz Ulbrich, organisator and producer of that performance writes about "Fata Morgana":

"In 1987 Martina Marx and i had the idea to organize 'fata morgana - desert sounds in the planetarium' for the festival year 'berlin - kulturstadt europas 1988'.

We at once thought of nico, who i had known for years since we had worked and lived together in the 70s. She had often told me how impressed she had been by the Death Valley, where she hung out with Jim Morisson and where she had been working on the film 'la cicatrice interieure' by Philippe Garrel, which they filmed at locations like Death Valley, Iceland and the Sahara, a picture of which you can see on the cover of 'Desertshore'. When i called her in Manchester to ask her to compose "music for a desert", she spontaneously proposed the stone desert of the moon as a theme. It was obvious, that her magical aura would enable her to turn the whole planetarium into a moon desert and become the highlight of the festival.

Nico arrived on the 4th of June together with her musicians the Faction and during the two days of rehearsal every listener became enthusiastic about the creative, dynamic and intense way in which Nico & the Faction were working.

Dr. Werner Celnic, director of the planetarium, who operated the optical effects and who completed the music with wonderful pictures and films of the moon, seemed to be in his element. To add to this we had installed 360° sound system which treated a unique sound event.

The  6th of June 1988 Nico gave a magnificent double concert in a sold out planetarium, from which this is the mix: Nico's last concert."

The Cheepskates "Remember" (1987)

For New Jersey's "backward boys" The Cheepskates, it was this third album which made things much clearer. A band, melodically gifted, with a great sense of true, unforced fast-short songcrafting, was ready now to lead its very own path from the faded summers of the previous decades towards the 80's garage-revival lands. And as their east/west-coast breezes perfumed the psych gardens again, refreshing shadows creeped on the power-pop earth.

The started here cooperation with euro-psych label Music Maniac spred them perhaps a little further,  The Cheepskates though, after all, they didn't get the attention they deserved.

Few relatively ears witnessed and much less appreciated. But then... that's why, i guess, you have to Remember.

   
"Remember" line up:
Shane Faubert vocals, guitars, keyboards, composition
Jeremy Lee drums, percussion, background vocals, composition
Tony Low bass, guitar, backing vocals, composition

Remember (vinyl rip)

GIANLUIGI TROVESI "Les Boites A Musique" (1988)

"Les Boites A Musique" is the discographic document of the homonymous Gianluigi Trovesi's solo project from a period when the top italian saxophonist, clarinetist and composer, performing live over pre-recorded material and computer processings, extends his jazz explorations towards italian folk and renaissance music, avant-garde, electronics...
This really unique album was created with the help of Tiziano Tononi on percussions and Luciano Mirto on computer operation. Trovesi played soprano & alto saxes, baritone clarinet and piccolo flute. Recorded at Milano in March 28-30, 1988, and released on legendary italian jazz label Splasc(h) Records.

Les Boites A Musique

Red Flame - Ink Records

Activated quite ambitiously in the field of 80's indie music, Red Flame and Ink Records, the two associated London based labels, presented an eclectic gamut of works (ranging from new wave and synth pop to post punk, industrial, experimental...) created mainly by british and australian artists. A sampler with representative selections from Red Flame / Ink Records catalogues you can listen here:

Red Flame - Ink Records
01 Dif Juz roy's tray
(from "Who Says So?", ep, RFM24, 1983)
02 Shiny Two Shiny grey
("Halfway Across The Rainbow", lp, RFM16, 1982)
03 Artery afterwards
("Oceans", ep, RFM4, 1982)
04 Decorators absent friends
("Tablets", lp, RF1, 1982)
05 Blurt arthur
("Blurt", lp, RF6, 1982)
06 The Nightingales insurance
("Hysterics", lp, INK001, 1983)
07 Philip Boa don't pull my whole life away
("Aristocracie", lp, RF52, 1986)
08 Camberwell Now green lantern
("The Ghost Trade", lp, INK19, 1986)
09 Moodists she cackles
("The Disciples Know", single, RF721, 1983)
10 Tactics hard hat nine iron
("Blue &White Future Whale", lp, RF58, 1988)
11 The Room Naive
("Jackpot Jack E.P.", ep, RF1242, 1985)
12 Severed Heads army
("Come Visit The Big Bigot", lp, INK22, 1986)
13 Pinkie Maclure different world
("Unman", lp, MINK21, 1986)
14 Patrik Fitzgerald domestication
("Drifting Towards Violence", lp, 1983)
15 Ruby Blue wintery day
("Glances Askances", lp, RF53, 1987)
16 Carmel track of my tears
("Carmel", mlp, RFM9, 1982)
17 C Cat Trance miss manners
("Khamu", lp, INK006, 1985)

compiled by LaFolieDuJour

link   

Louis Tillett & Charlie Owen "The Ugly Truth" (1993)

A CD release on the german limited-edition series Return To Sender, (sub-label of Normal Records and distributed via mail only), "The Ugly Truth" can work, for newcomers, as a very good and finely performed introduction to the lyrical, bluesy world of Louis Tillett. Oldcomers though, or ones who have missed some earlier episodes will find here interesting new material along with refreshing alternate versions of tracks from his first works.

The album was recorded in Australia in 1993 with Louis on piano, hammond, voice, percussion and Charlie  Owen (guitarist in Beasts Of Burbon, New Christs and others) on production, guitar and percussion. Tillett is a little known, perhaps, in Greece, Germany and, i guess, Australia, but the ugly truth is he generally remains an unjustly neglected  artist.

The Ugly Truth

Louis Tillett - An Ancient Song (live, 1999)
(from "Live @ The Basement", Return To Sender, 2001)

The Geography Of Sound

A musical journey through the paths of Ethno-Jazz and World music.

BADAWI a voice from six corners (from "The Heretic Of Ether", 1999, U.S.A.) 

YASUAKI SHIMIZU  Utukushiki tennen ("Kakashi", 1982, Japan)

LOWZYL/TIMANSKI/ KLEBBA/CHANDRAN afrodyzjak ("Nisani", 1999, Poland)

RENAUD GARCIA-FONS Fui piedra ("Navigatore", 2001, France)

CARLO ACTIS DATO QUARTET Bossa di mafia ("Fes Montuno", 2000, Italy)

UNE ANCHE PASSE Chanson du feu follet ("Serpent d' Etoiles", 1997, France)

FREY/TIEPOLD/THIERFELDER Tabasheer ("Ziyada", 1979, Germany)

FLORIDIS/SKOPELITIS/TEMIZ pitch ("Our Trip So Far", 2001, Greece)

MARCO ZURZOLO Chi e...n' aggie capito... chi e ("Pulcinella", 2002, Italy)

LA KUMPANIA ZELWER C'est pas tous les jours shabbat ("Daissa", 2003, France)

ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ Cuando vuelvo a tu lado ("Cuba Linda", 1996, Cuba)

MIRTHA POZZI ceci-cela ("Acadacoual", 1996, Uruguay)

MEGADRUMS (REINHARD FLATISCHLER) Mahakal ("Layers Of Time", 1996, Austria)

FODAY MUSA SUSO spring waterfall ("Jali Kunda: Griots Of West Africa..", 1996)

MALHERBE/ELHRICH  Caspienne blues ("Hadouk", 1999, France)

compiled by LaFolieDuJour

Listen (approx. 68 min.)