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    • CommentAuthorUmfw
    • CommentTimeNov 30th 2012
     permalink

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/electrobeat/wasp.jpg

    Optimo Electrobeat Mix

    Here's the fifth in a brief series of mixes where we present something a little different. Unlike the previous four mixes, this mix is actually mixed, but the mixing is purely functional as a way to join the songs together with each song appearing in its entirety.

    This mix is called 'Electrobeat' as that's what my friends and I called this stuff back in the day (although I think this must have been an Edinburgh only thing), but this music from the 80's is probably better known as synth pop, electro pop, minimal synth, or darkwave. Stylistically the songs included come from quite different places but there is a thread that unites them together. Synth pop / electro pop was thee chart sound of the early 80's but none of these artists had a whiff of chart success except for John Foxx who just scraped into the top 40 in 1980. There were some great records that did chart but as with any genre, there was a lot of dross and the best stuff was often the records that flew under the radar. All of these records have been played at Optimo at one time or another and indeed, our love for these types of records probably helped us get lumped in with the electroclash movement; something we never felt at all comfortable with.

    This mix is just under 45 minutes long and is around 40mb. There is a bit of blurb about each track below.

    The tracklisting is -

    Front 242 - Kampfbereit (1983)
    Chris Carter - Moonlight (1984)
    Riz Ortolani - Il Corpo Di Linda (1977)
    The Knife - Silent Shout (2006)
    Chris and Cosey - October Love Song (12" dance mix) (1982)
    Severed Heads - Petrol (1985)
    John Foxx - Underpass (1980)
    TV Babies - Corporate Clock (1982)
    Dark Day - No, Nothing, Never (1980)
    No More - Suicide Commando (1981)

    Front 242 - Kampfbereit (1983)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/electrobeat/frnt242-kamperfeit.jpg

    The biggest electronic band ever to come out of Belgium and the inventors of the term EBM (electronic body music). This track however dates from before their rhythms became all muscular and dancefloor orientated and is instead all moody and portentous. One of my favourite Front songs.981. Most of this EP (though not this track) is available on cd from Dirk Iven's Daft Records. Dirk's band The Klinik appear later in the mix.

    Chris Carter - Moonlight (1984)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/electrobeat/chris-carter-mondo.jpg

    Chris Carter is a god. The musical part of the Throbbing Gristle equation and half of the mighty Chris & Cosey. This is some melancholic synth gorgeousness from his 'Mondo Beat' solo album.

    Riz Ortolani - Il Corpo Di Linda (1977)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/electrobeat/riz.jpg

    (I can't find the sleeve to my copy of this, so here's the film poster.)

    Mr. Ortolani is a prolific Italian film composer and this track sounds nothing like the rest of his work. Instead we have what sounds like a prototype for Throbbing Gristle's 'Hot on the heels of love' - all primitive drum machine beats and arpeggios.

    The Knife - Silent Shout (2006)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/electrobeat/knife-silent-shout.jpg

    Yes, The Knife, from 2006. For some reason I had previously dismissed this lot. Then I heard this song and the outrageously good album it's from and was completely smitten. In fact, this is probably my favourite electronic record of 2006. 'Silent Shout' manages to look back to this era while still being thoroughly modern (a feat very few can pull off) and fits perfectly into this mix despite being 20+ years younger than anything else here.

    Chris and Cosey - October Love Song (12" dance mix) (1982)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/electrobeat/chris-cosey.jpg

    The 7" version of this should have been a chart hit, but for whatever reason it wasn't and it was their friends The Eurythmics who went on to global success. Perhaps C&C's reputation as being 'the Sonny and Cher of the suicide set' didn't help, but they were (and still are) responsible for some of the best, loveliest and most original electro pop ever made. This is the more freaked out / dubbed out 12" version.

    Severed Heads - Petrol (1985)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/electrobeat/severed-heads-petrol.jpg

    The best band ever to come out of Australia (ok, along with AC / DC), Severed Heads were technologically so far ahead of their time it was ridiculous. Like C&C, they should have been huge, but their name, their refusal to compromise and the acquired taste of Tom Ellard's vocals probably conspired to prevent this. Nevertheless, they were remarkably popular at home in Australia and in North America. Also along with C&C, they had far more of an impact on me than say New Order or Kraftwerk ever did. This is them in classic pop mode with some of the most awesome drum machine ever committed to vinyl.

    John Foxx - Underpass (1980)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/electrobeat/foxx.jpg

    Former Ultravox singer goes solo and records the astonishing 'Metamatic' album from which this single came. 'Click, click....drone'.

    TV Babies - Corporate Clock (1982)

    (There is no sleeve for this one)

    I know absolutely nothing about this lot except that they were probably from New York and this appears to have been their only release. If anyone has any more info, please let me know.

    Dark Day - No, Nothing, Never (1980)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/electrobeat/darkday.jpg

    After leaving No Wave heroes DNA, Robin Crutchfield made a handful of wonderful electronic records that are much sought after to this day. This is my favourite and is more or less a blueprint for what became known as Darkwave. Robin is still active in music. Hopefully this will appear on an official Optimo mix cd one day.

    No More - Suicide Commando (1981)

    http://www.optimo.co.uk/images/goodies/electrobeat/commando.jpg

    A song that refuses to die. A couple of years after these Germans recorded this it spread like a virus to become a cult classic. The virus is still spreading to this day.

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