Cerebral Hemorrhage: Back in 1984 EP

       Astonishingly and inexplicably, this is a record that has flown under the radar of pretty much every minimal synth collector out there - aside from a popsike entry from a few years ago and a couple other mentions of its existence, info on this record is nonexistant. At a recent record fair, the dealer selling this 12" saw me looking it up on discogs on my phone, and told me "unfortunatly that won't help - I made that entry". And since his copy was sealed, he hadn't even been able to hear it firsthand.
Still, it had the signature of an interesting record:
Cool band name (Cerebral Hemorrhage)
Promising title (Back in 1984)
Great label name (Illusion Records)
Intriguing song titles (Let's Modulate, Night Music)
And a strange icon of a stoic face with the caption "Big Brother is watching YOU"
       How could anyone resist that? I certainly couldn't - and when I put the needle on the record and heard 20 seconds of tinny drum machine plink-plonks before falling into a steady stream of pulsating synths, I was immensely satisfied. Through a bit of research I pieced together a few potentially-incorrect factoids about the record and band. It was ostensibly a one-man project by a guy named Dennis Hurley. This record was the third put out under the Cerebral Hemorrhage moniker. Two preceeding albums - an EP from 1981 and a double-LP from 1983 - appear to be almost as scarce than this one. (there might be a fourth record that came out around the same time as Back in 1984 too, but I'm not sure) However, whereas those records apparently incorporated lots of guitar and sound more like Hawkwind-style prog, there is nary a guitar to be found on this record, which appears to be re-recorded all-synth versions of songs from the earlier records.
       The two sides of the record are different animals - the second side is largely ambient and instrumental, and much more experimental. It comes across as highly influenced by Cluster and other 70s-era Krautrock bands. They're good songs, and they have interesting titles, but are not nearly as sonically wonderful as the A-side.
       The two tracks on the first side of the record pack a great one-two punch of electronics and lyrics of Cold War fear. After a minute and a half of synths and drums, the vocals suddenly kick in, singing about 1984's (the year, not the book) alternate history, in which after Reagan's re-election the US descended into nuclear war with the Soviets. The lyrics repeat "where were you?" at the moment world was annihilated. It's a great track that ends with a gurgle of synths before being interrupted by a nuclear explosion, and suddenly the second track begins. Where the first track asked "where were you?" at the world's end, the second track is a repetitive litany of memories from before the destruction: "there were buildings / there were faces / there were cities / there were towers / there was sunlight"... you get the gist. Both tracks are absolutely great for synth nerds, coming across like a crossbreed of League of Nations-ish minimal synth and the bedroom lonerisms of John Bender or Kevin Lazar.
       If anyone has Cerebral Hemorrhage's previous two records  I would love to hear them. Even if they're more prog-rock, I'm interested in seeing the progression toward this undiscovered minimal synth gem. I'd be surprised if this one doesn't end up on quite a few wantlists in the coming years. If anything, this one proves that there are still some diamonds out there - maybe they're just hidden in plain white sleeves with minimal information.

Cerebral Hemorrhage: Back in 1984 12"
1984, Illusion Records
Tracks:
A1 Back In 1984
A2 I Remember
B1 Let's Modulate
B2 The Chilly Dance
B3 Night Music

Click here to listen!

Boys Say Go: 7" and 12"

There's an old cliche that says you mustn't judge a book by its cover. Likewise, you often shouldn't judge a band by their name. This, however, is NOT one of those cases. Boys Say Go sound exactly like a band named after an early DM song should sound like. Their music is bouncy electro-pop that is infectious as hell, if sometimes a bit cheesy. You may remember them from the Hit The Floor comp I posted a few years back.
 Their 1984 debut 7", Joey and Maria, is almost impossible to find (I have seen only one copy for sale in about 12 years). The A-side reminds me of Tone Set's "Living in Another Land", both stylistically and thematically. Love is Dangerous is a perfect counterpart to the A-side, with its gurgling synths and imminently catchy songwriting.
Their 12", Humanity, is from the following year, by which time they had adopted a more well-produced electro sound. Despite being their last release, it sounds a bit more dated than their 7", but that might just be a result of my preference for the more lo-fi sound of their debut. Still, Humanity is a fun track, and Holy War is actually a great synthpop dancefloor smash with just a touch of With Sympathy-era Ministry funkiness. The band faded into obscurity after the 12", with their records slowly trickling into the hands of synthpop fans like myself. If you want a perfect dose of well-crafted, fun synthpop, you could certainly do worse than Boys Say Go. Listen and enjoy.

Joey and Maria 7"
1984, Gender Records
A Joey and Maria
B Love is Dangerous

Humanity 12"
1985, Gender Records
A Humanity
B Holy Way (D-D-Dance Mix)

Listen to both here!

Various Artists: Hit the Floor LP

By request, here is the rare US compilation LP called Hit the Floor. This record was released back in 1984 on the Gender Records label, and contains eight tracks by four bands, all very much in the new wave/synthpop genre.

Alpha Bettys is the least synth-based of the bands; both songs combine female vocals with guitars or horns in a fashion that's a bit similar to Essential Logic. Their material is the least interesting to me on this LP, but the songs aren't bad at all, just not outstanding. Minks is a bubbly female-fronted synthetic pop band. Their sound is very minimalist but still unapologetically pop, but their songs (especially Surprised) are incredibly endearing.

Boys Say Go released a highly sought-after DIY 7" and a 12" in addition to their two songs here. Their two songs are well-produced, full-frontal synthpop. Their sound is commercial but still underground (if only because they're pretty much unknown), and the song "Do You Wanna Funk" demands repeated listens despite the obligatory cheesy guitar solo toward the end.

Of course, the real star here is Doppler Effect, who later released a 12" before evolving into the industrial dance band Workforce. There is absolutely no doubt that minimal synth and electro fans will go nuts over both of their songs here. Prisoner is a fast-based analog killer, with the electronics pushed to overdrive - wonderful danceable drum programs, gurgling synth lines and throbbing electronic basslines combine with the back-and-forth vocals to make a true electro-pop classic. By the time the end of the song comes up and all the elements mesh together, you wish the song would keep going for another couple minutes. The second song, Time Is Running Out, is complete synthpunk. It's bouncy and snarling and silly and has some of the greatest spastic punk-ish synth lines this side of a Units song.

So, this LP is completely recommended, in case you didn't catch that from the above description. Do yourself a favor and download this and lose yourself in new wave nostalgia.

V/A Hit the Floor LP

1984, Gender Records

A1 Minks - Dangerous

A2 Alpha Bettys - Symbol Of Love

A3 Doppler Effect - Prisoner

A4 Boys Say Go - Serious Cat

B1 Boys Say Go - Do You Wanna Funk?

B2 Alpha Bettys - Stare In Style

B3 Minks - Surprised

B4 Doppler Effect - Time Is Running Out

Click here to listen to this record!

Various Artists: 1994 LP

Well, it is the start of a new year, and what better time than now to come back and start sharing some music again? I have now relocated to New York, and finally have time to resume my blog. I have quite a few records that I ripped over the summer and fall, and although a few of them have been shared in the interim (which I may still post anyway, just to get the music out there to more peoples' ears) there may be a few unknown or underappreciated gems. Starting with this nice little compilation, simply titled "1994", released in 1984 on Etiquette Records in Belgium.

You can find songs by some more well-known bands like Linear Movement (who showcase a decidedly lo-fi synthpop song here) and Die Fabriek, as well as a whole array of unknown minimal synth, new wave, and post-punk bands.

While I like this comp quite a bit, there doesn't seem to be that one KILLER song that many of these private-press compilations have (ie, The Enter's song on the Youngblood compilation, the Curcuit 7 songs of Offering of Isca, the Life song on the Music Biz Showcase compilation, or the Glass Actors song on the Sing As We Go collection). Still, it's consistent in its decent quality, and has that amateurish and DIY aesthetic to it - both musically and graphically - that we all love so much.

PS, I just realized track 4 is mislabelled on the mp3, so you may want to change that...

Various Artists: 1994

1984, Etiquette Records

A1 Linear Movement - The Other Way Around

A2 Harbor City - Y En A Marre

A3 French Painter Dead - The Danger Form

A4 Pink Fungus - Entekaam

A5 Masai, The - Guys And Guys

B1 Day After - Political Games

B2 Low Class - The Alienation Ballade

B3 W - Movin' Up

B4 General Fears - Feel Love

B5 De Fabriek - Future Discover

Click here to download this record!

Frederick M: Following Directions mLP

I remember when I used to see this EP quite a bit, usually in the dollar bin. In the past few years, it has become more and more scarce, only coming up once in a while on eBay. I figured that some people would probably be interested in hearing it. It's a wonderful and melodic synthpop mini-LP. Almost every song here is a gem. Time and Pain and Following Directions are both upbeat and catchy without being too commercial, and my favorite song, We Go In Threes, is slightly dark and melodic and makes this record a must-have, even if it is a bit cheesy at times. If you like Rational Youth, Scarlet Architect, early Depeche Mode, Starter, etc, you should appreciate this. I cannot find any information on this Frederick M from Virginia, although the songs are all credited to an F. M. Quayle... And a search for "Frederick M Quayle" turns up a 72-year-old Republican senator from Virginia. Is there any chance that these two people are one and the same? Could Frederick M really have been the hippest 47-year-old Republican Senator-to-be when he released this in 1984? All emails to Frederick M Quayle have gone unanswered...

Frederick M: Following Directions mLP
1984, Oak Springs Records
A1 Time and Pain
A2 Following Directions
A3 They Don't Know
B1 We Go In Threes
B2 Nothing to Fear
B3 Bolero

Click here to download this record!

Foreign Legion: Indefinites LP

If you're like me, you scour the blogs of obscure, undiscovered music in hopes of finding a new treasure to listen to or put on your wantlist. I don't know if this one will quite be your "new favorite", but it's certainly one of those undiscovered, hopelessly obscure minimal electronic records. Released in 1984 on "Aqua Records", this contains bass, noises, effects, sax, and a whole slew of electronics. The sax brings some of the songs into jazz territory, but the processed drums and synths and cold vocals should combine well enough to please fans of minimal wave. The closest thing I can think of to compare this to would be the "Hmm..." LP by Friz Be. There are several standout tracks for me: "Who's To Say" comes somewhat close to League of Nations-esque electronics, "Who Were They" combines lots of live and syntheized percussion with some excellent synth lines, and "Suddenly Know" combines analog synth noises with a truly bizarre but somehow catchy-as-hell big band/swing sax line. No joke. Just download and listen for yourself.

Foreign Legion: Indefinites LP
1984, Aqua Records
1. Who's To Say
2. What Do You Want?
3. Suddenly Know
4. No Pictures, No Regrets
5. Who Were They?
6. Why Don't You?
7. Whatever Happens
8. Everyone Who Loves You
9. Trains

Click here to download the LP!