Das Ding- HSTA
Der Plan- Adrenaline lasst das Blut kochen
Bernard Fervre- Stay on Grey
Bernard Fervre- Misererum
Polysick- Loading
Martin Dupont- Your Passion
Polysick- World Cup
Tom Dissevelt- Fantasy in Orbit
Henrich Dressell- Escape From the Hill
Tangerine Dream- Riccochet (Part One)
Advisory CIrcle- Seasons
July Eighth
Cluster- Dem Wanderer
Dieter Schutz- Centarus
Duet Emmo- Or So it Seems
Dome- Rolling Upon My Day
Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury- Justice One
Geoff Barrow & Ben Salisbury- Justice One
Brian Eno- Spirits Drifting
Bill Vermette- Someday Soon
Somnambulist- Things I Was Due to Forget
Ecama (Space Music- Synth Comp)- Magic Fly
The Bran Flakes- Kitty Takes a Ride
Der Plan- Geri Regi
Demdike Stare- Haxan
Bruce Haack- Rita
Laurie Spiegel- Patchwork
Laurie Spiegel Reissue
This September, we can look forward to a reissue of an album from electronic music pioneer, Laurie Spiegel. The Expanding Universe was an album originally released in 1980 and consisted of four tracks. Along with the original tracks, the reissued album will also include lots of previously unreleased material that has been put together by Spiegel herself and brought out by the label, Unseen Worlds.
Laurie Spiegel was born in Chicago in 1945 and is known for her pioneering work with electronics and computer based music. Spiegel saw the potential of computers for musical expression; a means to provide a broader range of sonic possibilities. Throughout the 70s she worked at Bell Labs and used a computer system called GROOVE, designed by Max Matthews. Her album, the Expanding Universe concentrates on subtle textures and variations in pitch and rhythm. Spiegel was interested in experiencing the “momentary occurrences” found in her pieces, emphasising a focus on process rather than product.
“I automate whatever can be automated to be freer to focus on those aspects of music that can’t be automated. The challenge is to figure out which is which.”- Spiegel
Synthy Goodness!
I can’t get enough of this band! The album ‘On the Screen’ was re-released by Minimal Wave Records in 2008. Linear Movement was a side project of Belgian musician, Peter Bonne (A Split Second, Twilight Ritual, Autumn), along with Peter Koutstaal and Lieve Van Steerteghem.
Throughout this album, Bonne experiments with poppy-er compositions than found in his previous work. Some of the tracks from this album can be found on the ‘Pulse Music’ cassette whereas others are previously unreleased.
Check out the July 1st podcast for another great Linear Movement track called “In My Head.”
July First
Steve Moore- Enhanced Humanoid
Peaking Lights- Cosmic Tides
Orgue Electronique- Wind of Summer
Polysick- Smudge, Hawaii
Polysick- Preda
Nathan Fake- Iceni Strings
Legowelt- Dimension Door
Linear Movement- In My Head
DAF- Kebabtraume
Stereolab- Fuses
Dylan Ettinger- Shandor’s Dream
Planetary Winds
German space-synth band! Pond formed in 1979 in DDR and released their first LP in 1984 on the Amiga label. At the time, pop music was highly regulated and there were many obstacles for musicians- including licensing requirements for live performances and the challenge of acquiring synthesizers and drum machines. Bands were not able to put out albums unless they were sanctioned by the state to do so and there was only one state owned record company.
I came across this lil’ electronic gem after some digging at my local record shop. I first became aware of Pond with the 2010 album ‘Mandarinen Träme: Electronic Escapes from the Deutsche Demokratische Republik 1981-1989.’ It wasn’t until recently that I heard Pond’s Planetenwind in full.
Wolfgang “Paule” Fuchs founded the band and worked with partner Harald Wittkowski. They were both greatly influenced by Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. ‘Planetenwind,’ the title track of their first album was a huge success in East Germany and sold over 100,000 copies.