[engl] Formed in Sydney in 1976, VOIGT/465 was a truly unique band from the exciting days of the Australian post–punk scene. Heavily influenced by such luminaries as the Velvets, Stooges, Syd Barrett, Pere Ubu, Can, Faust, Henry Cow, Slapp Happy and Eno’s Roxy Music, they created an abrasive sound in which Krautrock, DIY, avant–garage, post–punk, psych, art–rock and free improv–noise combined to form a sound unlike any other. In 1978 Voigt/465 released one of the first DIY 45s from Australia, "State" / "A Secret West", which showed their "pop–psych" side and was played by John Peel in the UK. The following year, their bass player Lindsay O’Meara decided to leave the band and join Crime & The City Solution in Melboune. Before parting ways, Voigt/465 decided to record one last album as a testament. "Slights Spoken", saw the light in 1979 and it’s without doubt one of the most fascinating albums from the post–punk /DIY era. Here it is including the two tracks from their first 45 as bonus tracks. It comes with free download coupon, featuring the complete album plus five studio / live bonus tracks from ’78–79, including killer covers of Faust, Can and Roxy Music.

[engl] "Big, groovy, polytoxikoman, psychedelic, punk rock nightmare debut long player by Berlins' unpredictable, multi-dysfunctional, multinational boy group. As majestic, tragic, delirious and powerful as...well, a sick horse. Buy it." Sig Vishnu (Heavy Metal) "Sick horse play loud. Sick horse play hard. Sick horse play tight. And if you don't like the songs it doesn't fuckin matter cos they've been up for two days and they didn't miss a beat." Daryl Sulfate (Diät)

[engl] The real, great rock 'n' roll swindle? Don't look for it in the Pistols, well, in Mac Laren' movie The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle... you'd better search Belgium, and more specifically somewhere near Lou Deprijck and Yvan Lacomblez, two born-and-bred “Brusselians[1] ”. If their names don't ring a bell at first glance, you've most likely already wiggled to the interplanetary hit which brought them fortune (in every way): “Ça plane pour moi”! Oh yeah, France already had Antoine's “Élucubrations”, a mildly transgressive hit in its own way... and an unprecedented landslide in Gallic memory. But this time, another category was tackled! “Ca plane pour moi”? A moronic song by a crappy singer... The prank swept through the world and within a few months, no less than one million 45s were sold just in France. And the incredible part is that it was to spawn a mass-produced bunch of cover versions, finally becoming – how ironic – a universal punk anthem: think what you will, it IS the hold-up of the century! Of course, such a cash cow would arouse envy and create quite a few vocations among our fellow countrymen. The song's trademark derision was finally about to bridge the missing link between original punk – too violent, too dirty – and the general public eager to enjoy a little Saturday-night pogo. Once more, humor became the magic bullet to conquer a frightened audience: even though the French aren't exactly fond of rock'n'roll, they've always loved a good laugh. The formula had already proved successful. Remember the arrival of rock'n'roll in France (1957) through Boris Vian, Henri Salvador and Michel Legrand. Their famous, jokey “Rock and Roll-Mops” already laid the foundations for the same equation (refer to Born Bad's Rock Rock Rock comp for a deeper look): joke + rock'n'roll + derision = success. The big labels sure did try to produce punk bands in France – Polydor, the most daring one, signed up the Stinky Toys and the Guilty Razors in a row – but only to result in huge commercial failures which ended up discouraging the entire profession. But in the face of Mr. Bertrand's huge success, those big labels thought they got how it works. Very soon, music publishers and majors all wanted a punk hit. From Barclay to RCA to Polydor, all discovered a passion for punk and wanted their own “Ça plane pour moi”. So A&R executives from big labels and publishers brought all of their seasoned producers, composers and lyricists into the stampede: eccentric arrangements, daft and stereotyped lyrics – one-upmanship was the rule. Anything served as a pretext to be punker than punk – who cares if grotesqueness and ridiculousness were constantly flirted with, what we want is good laugh (and a shitload of cash!). An unprecedented bunch of punk-novelty records followed. Even André Verchuren had his own unbridled accordion cover version of “Ça plane pour moi” – that's saying something! Sure, most of these punk hoaxes are real lousy, real shitty but one must admit that some numbers stand out of the crowd. While they didn't reach the success of “Ça plane pour moi”, some, here and there, were really inspired and – let's be punk – even more creative than the songs they hijacked and mimicked. So, as would say Pierô who opens the comp: “Hey guys, got your guitars out of tune? let's play PUNK today! and start up the infernal machine. Ein, Zwei, Drei quattro...”

[engl] The long awaited new album from Belfast, Irelands Punkrockers PROTEX.

[engl] The Teamsters haven't released anything since September 2014, with the exception of a demo on a compilation tape released over in Chicago. Their line-up of drummers changed drastically over the last 18 months, with the likes of Bruce Brand stepping in before leaving in March of this year. That's not to say that the group haven't been recording and writing profusely, they never stop in fact. They declare that they enough for 2 LPs, but their refusal to compromise on the sound they strive for has left them re-recording and mixing dozens of tracks. Intent on making a truly great record. In the meantime they were happy enough to release a couple of tracks for a single on Bachelor Records. The songs are co written by the bands guitarist and bass player Tom and Dan, and we were happy enough to put them out. It marks a departure from their earlier ramshackle days as a trash punk outfit and into the finer details. 'Sharp Suited S.O.A.G' is a mocking portrayal on a man who focuses his life on clothes, where money is no object. The B side 'Why Do You Wanna Do That?' is your standard song of heartbreak, nothing much to elaborate on there, but its new and its exciting. This release is limited to 500 copies, housed in a cardboard disco sleeve (two holes). Artwork done by Tom H. Wing.

[engl] It’s been quiet for some time for MISS CHAIN ND THE BROKEN HEELS, the extensive touring after their second album (The Dawn, released by Burger, Bachelor and Tre Accordi), band members went their own way to persue solo careers, starting a booking agency, buidling a studio, and just taking a breath, italian style. After few months things started to get together again, they did some shows in the spring of 2016 and baboom: Here is their new classic two song single, fresh and new, as if there hasnt been some kind of hiatus. You can easily hear it exactly 1 second after you let the needle drop on the Side A track, after few chords Miss Chain and the gang ooozes a warm feeling into your head and heart! Hell, they are back, with all the goodtime melodies enriched with their typical melancholy vibe. While the first track is a classic uptempo powerpop tune, the flipside presents a slower hipshaker, and although the velocity has been taken out this one is still a fine, mellow mood maker that leaves you hungry for more!

[engl] CHECK OUT is designed as a collection of readymade exhibition sounds and images, published as a hardcover fine-art photobook and marketed (also) as a LP record. It includes one hand numbered 10” vinyl from a limited edition pressing of 500 copies, whose tracks have been composed for / executed with a single guitar and recorded in one take during night, in the corridors of a school in Nowa Huta (Krakow, PL). CHECK OUT is divided into sections (chapters / tracks) and has three main granularities, i.e. excess, exposure, and death. Excess as an event of exceedance that stretches time and sight. Exposure like in Latin’s ex·ponere, “to pose oneself out”, implicitly meaning interruption, abandon. Death: “Amen, CHECK OUT”. It is possible to die of exposure, i.e. dying of not being in the own Place of Nature…

[engl] La femme is a conundrum. A resounding expression. An episodic band with various faces. La Femme shows up and it’s all of her grimy spleen that stains the city’s grey pavement, in a synthetic rain beamed by livid burstings. La femme was born during the X years in Biarritz, when Sasha and Marlon started composing on their guitars music they recorded on Garage Band. Together they ride surfboards, pianos and synthetiseur as they gave a try to various styles, from 60s yéyé French pop to Californian surf music. Marlon moved to Paris, and there he met Sam, who played bass. Together they formed SOS Mademoiselle along with Olivier Peynot, and played vintage French rock, as Sasha was practising his scales in reverb feed surf band « Les redoutables! » After getting his grade, Sasha joined his friends in Paris, where they discovered French cold wave and synth pop, Marie & Les Garcons being one of their favourite. They polished a style that could be described as one of these following : Surf wave, Bizarre wave, strange wave, weird witch wave, silly mental wave or Psycho tropical Berlin ». In fact anything you want as long as it ends with « wave ». And the boys created LA FEMME. La Femme has no frontier, neither in her style nor in her voice. She’s always on a quest for new sounds, images and sensations. Joined in 2010 by drummer Noé and female singer Clémence, La femme formed its first live roster in few days after French rider and artist Pandora Decoster asks them to play on stage for a big surf contest in Biarritz. From her hazy and changing background, La femme takes shape and release that same year its first anthem « Sur la Planche », a song that was made to be hummed and whistled while ridding a board. La femme uncovers, boys, girls, plenty of option, a bit of mystery, loads of energy. Later she released her second EP, Paris 2012. In the music video she produced for this song, she blows down the effeil tower as a symbol, it’s time to go ans see something else. After swilling Paris bars, La femme goes for a tour in USA, en mode journey, and come back in France with improved reputation where they play for various festival. Soon joined by fancy rhythm drummer Nunez Ritter Von Merguez aka « La Sauterelle » and gorgeous singer Clara Luciani, La femme takes for a ride around Europe : from beyond the grave to Berlin, by London, Bruxelles and Roubaix. Cryptic and Mysterious, La femme is in perpetual motion and the band, based around full time and up-to-date boys (Sasha, Marlon, Sam), invites over the course of its wish and needs in studio a whole cast of female singer : Clémence, Clara, Marilu, Jeanne… Sooner this year, La femme released a self titled EP, that went by along with a 11 minutes long psychedelic music video, an epic and baroque short film for tracks « La femme, Hypsoline », preceding the release of her first album in April : « Psycho Tropical Berlin »: It’s the story of a couple who slipped chaos and survives by watching each other. Le Danger est partout - Peril is all around as written in the booklet. Rock and pop, rococo bahaus, fed from multiples influences (Krafwerk, Elli & Jacno) La Femme just want to please you. Generous and welcoming, she stretches you her white hand in the dark, if you grasp it, it could be the shiver of you life.

[engl] The best lo-fi garage album from South America? Ahead of its time raw & homemade Sixties garage, jangly pop and basement psych sounds from Paraguay! Originally released in 1971 as a private pressing, “Pops de Vanguardia” by JODI contains tracks mostly written and recorded in 1969 (with some dating back to 1966) by brothers Joern and Dirk Wenger at their homemade “Jodi Experimental Studio” in Paraguay. Joern and Dirk, born in Paraguay but of German origin, started playing in beat / psychedelic band The Rabbits, who released a very rare EP in 1969. After the group split, Joern and Dirk travelled to Germany, were they studied arts and received musical lessons from none other than Stockhausen. The two brothers had built their own homemade studio and they spent hours and hours recording songs and experimenting to create their own sound effects (echo, reverb, etc). They called their music “Spontaneous Pop”. “Pops De Vanguardia” was recorded at their own rudimentary studio with two tape recorders. Joern plays guitar, organ and he was the lead vocalist, while Dirk plays drums and percussions. From ultra-catchy garage-pop to killer instrumental Farfisa numbers and proto-psychedelic sounds. JODI could be seen as precursors of the indie-pop and lo-fi garage which would appear some decades later.

[engl] Breezy Sunshine-Pop / Soft-Rock / Psych-Pop from California, 1970, featuring Peter Clark a.k.a Chet DeMilo. Crystal clear recording, awesome vocal harmonies, superb musicianship, bossa & blue-eyed-soul-jazz touches,folk-rock moves… In 1969 Chet Demilo was appearing at Donkin's Inn, Marina Del Rey, where he met Arnie Marcus and Ray Hames, who together were to become part of an incredible slice of history. Donkin's became the hottest and most famous destination in Southern California for the next seven years, and Chet was the magnet that started the new singles scene in Los Angeles with Marina Del Rey as ground zero. Arnie sat in on bongos with Chet from time to time, and Ray, who was managing an apartment complex that housed 200 flight attendants, just happened to have a unit available!! Chet moved in, and he and Ray started working on songs together. Chet suggested forming a vocal group with Arnie and SST was born. For three months they practiced the intricate vocal harmonies and in early 1970 cut the album, "Soft Soul Transition". A thousand records were pressed, and an album release party was held at Donkins where SST gave their one and only performance that night! There was interest in the project at Burt Bacharach's Blue Seas Music, but it was not to be and SST faded away...until more than 20 years later when the SST album was discovered by a new generation of DJs and collectors looking for cool and groovy sounds from the 60s-70s.

[engl] Previously unreleased recordings by Peanut Butter Conspiracy’s mainman Alan Lee Brackett, mostly written and recorded in 1967, when PBC were at their fame peak. Here, Alan explores a number of different styles, encompassing fuzzed out garage numbers, sunshine pop, folk rock and full blown psychedelia. Including ahead of its time garage–psychedelic DIY homemade recordings on which Alan plays all instruments by himself plus pro–sounding studio cuts. Featuring collaborations with songwriter Knox Henderson of Mouse and the Traps fame.

[engl] Originally issued in 1971 by Nepentha Records – presided over by Kinks/Troggs manager Larry Page – Into Your Ears is the sole full–length offering from Honeybus founder member Pete Dello (assisted by a coterie of close friends).The album is a wonderful, timeless work of incisive, plaintive folk–pop balladry and buoyant, idiosyncratic creations, led along by Dello’s honeyed voice (which eases effortlessly into falsetto) and expertly executed arrangements featuring minor orchestrations. Into Your Ears represents the zenith of Dello’s songwriting, comprised primarily of tunes written specifically for this project (supplemented by a few tracks intended for Honeybus which were re–cut for the occasion). The songwriting reflects a jovial playfulness, but also feelings of intense lovelorn longing, hope, wistfulness and moments that could serve as a great soundtrack to a break–up (with the brightness of delivery never making them ache with depression). Everything on Into Your Ears comes from personal life experiences, even if twisted through a unique prism, with the deep emotions, whimsical moments and orchestration that never clutters the arrangements all achieving perfect balance. But, above all, the songs resonate with a pure dedication to "pop" and beckon you to listen in repetition, until they’re at one with your very existence. There’s something present, timeless and at times nearly indescribable about this very special set of songs that can’t be pinpointed by simple equation. Widely regarded by Honeybus fans, ’60s–’70s collectors and anyone who’s happened into its beatific orbit, Into Your Ears is a lost classic deserving of further exposure. RIYL: Ray Brooks, Duncan Browne, John Cale’s Paris 1919, Ray Davies (The Kinks), Bill Fay, Nick Garrie, the early careers of Ralph McTell and Clifford T. Ward, etc.

[engl] Turkish ancient melodies get an 80s electro–funk treatment on this obscure album, originally released on the Diskotür label in 1985. Probably the work of an "ad–hoc" studio band (nothing is known about the musicians), this is a delirious mix of exotic melodies and lots of analog synths, cheap Atari–styled electronic effects, distorted guitar and 80s beatboxes.

[engl] 'Cologne Curiosities' collects, for the first time on vinyl, all the otherwise unpublished/un-reissued material that firstly appeared on the three "Unknown Deutschland - The Krautrock Archive" CDs released on Virgin during 1996. These CD only releases were originally compiled by Trevor Manwaring (Paratactile, Impetus, Virgin, Harmonia Mundi) from tapes supplied to him by Toby Robinson. Toby - aka The Mad Twiddler, aka Genius P. Orridge - is well-known to Krautrock collectors as one of a number of engineers working at Stockhausen’s WDR and Dierks Studio in Cologne in the mid-1970's, where he assisted on recordings by many famous Kraut bands such as Can, Birth Control, Mythos or Dzyan. The recordings included here were made between 1972 and 1976 using studios in and around Cologne, produced by Toby Robinson for his own amusement, just having fun on the studio. Bands would come in for practice sessions, to record demo's, and during slack periods impromptu jams would happen. Most of these sessions were recorded by Toby, and they feature Toby himself plus a revolving cast of friends and musicians (some of them apparently big Kraut names under pseudonym). Including lost-in-time bands / studio projects like Astral Army, Fuerrote, Spirulina and Baal among others, the music here ranges from killer proto-New Wave Kraut psych to wild space rock, proto-ambient electronic, dark psychedelia and raw Kosmische sounds with lot of analog synths / Moog. It was during that time in Cologne, that Toby, along with Fluxus artist Robin Page, gave birth to the mysterious and controversial Pyramid label, for which these tracks were originally made for.