resuscitating underground 80's music
- 3 New Releases for May plus a repressing!
Dark Entries Records is back with not one, not two, but three new releases for May 8th. First up is the debut EP from contemporary band INHALT, a synthesizer trio from the San Francisco Bay Area. Then our 25th release the debut album from no wave pioneer Robin Crutchfield’s Dark Day – “Exterminating Angel” and finally a 4 song maxi EP from Spain’s New Wave/Tecno Pop legends Vocoder!We have spent extra care restoring and no-noising the tapes for these releases to create the highest quality vinyl editions. Prepare to dance into the summer!
DE-024 INHALT - Vehicle EP
Dark Entries is proud to release the debut EP “Vehicle” from San Francisco based synth trio INHALT. Consisting of European and East Coast natives– Matia Simovich, Bryan Gibbs, and Philip Winiger– INHALT’s core operative strategy is of sonic fidelity and integrity rather than nostalgia. Having experienced the downfall of the music industry and professional studio system while working at Asphodel Records/Recombinant Media Labs, INHALT needed to create their own creative working environment. Thus, they designed and built The Bunker Studio, developed around an integrative ideology and employing the best of vintage and modern technologies and techniques. Here, they’ve honed their sound–sometimes referential to the raw electronics of Kraftwerk or the drive of Moroder disco–but ultimately their own interpretation of the border between the past and the present. What started with the split 12″ for Andy Blakes’ World Unknown imprint now continues with the “Vehicle” EP, where the brutality of the analogue transistor rhythm section meets the sincerity of the human voice.
All tracks were written, produced and mixed by the band at The Bunker Studio, San Francisco, California between 2009 and 2011. Everything was recorded to a 24 track 2 inch reel to reel tape machine and mixed down to a 2 track 1/4 inch tape. The tracks were then mastered by Paul Lavigne in London, England at Walls of Sound Mastering. All songs have been EQed for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. Each LP includes a special two-sided tabbed cardstock insert.
Sound clips HERE: http://soundcloud.com/darkentriesrecords/sets/inhalt-vehicle-ep/
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DE-025 Dark Day - Exterminating Angel LP
Dark Entries is working in reverse order to re-issue Dark Day’s first album “Exterminating Angel” originally released in 1980 onLust/Unlust. Dark Day is the minimal electronics brainchild of Robin Crutchfield following his separation with no wave band DNA. Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Crutchfield was fascinated with both performance art and the most esoteric edges of pop music. After making his escape to New York City in the mid-seventies, he was inspired by Yoko Ono’s Plastic Ono Band and Lydia Lunch’s Teenage Jesus & The Jerks. He made the transition into the new music of downtown Manhattan and formed the “no wave” band DNAwith Arto Lindsay and Ikue Mori in 1977.
In 1979 Crutchfield left DNA to pursue a series of musical projects under the name Dark Day. His first album, “Exterminating Angel” is named after the Luis Bunuel film of the same name. On this album the band is Robin on synthesizers and vocals, Phil Kline on guitar/bass, Barry Friar on drums and guest Steven Brown of Tuxedomoon on saxophone. All 13 songs on “Exterminating Angel” use cheap synthesizers to create cyclical, machine-like keyboard riffs as a foundation for the moody, Teutonic music. Crutchfield sings like a lost member of Kraftwerk with a dry detachment creating a starker and chillier atmosphere. Lyrics were derived from cut-up methods similar to those used by the surrealists, fluxus artists, and William Burroughs and Bryon Gysin and pit the subjected against their torments and tormentors.
All songs on “Exterminating Angel” were originally recorded at Sorcerer Sound, NYC. 1979 and produced by Charles Ball. This re-issue has been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. Each LP includes a two-sided fold out poster containing lyrics, photos and lyrical explanations by Robin Crutchfield. Dark Day continue to inspire the current wave of stark, eerie, processional synthesizer music more than 30 years later.
Sound clips HERE: http://soundcloud.com/darkentriesrecords/sets/dark-day-exterminating-angel-1/
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DE- 026 Vocoder - Cuadro Sinóptico EP
Dark Entries is thrilled to present a 4-song compilation from one of the finest groups of the Spanish New Wave/Tecno-Pop scene of the 1980s. Vocoder were a quartet from Zaragoza, Spain formed in 1981. Keyboardists Antonio Laval and Alfonso Olarte attended the same university and fell in love with a Korg MS-20 synthesizer in a music shop window. They met keyboardist Antonio Tenas at a local radio station and were later joined by vocalist Pilar Pellicer. They recorded several demos with synthesizers, sequencers and drum machines, creating a soundtrack for the clubs and dance floors. Inspired by the “Movida Madrileña,” they sent demos to various record companies. The band signed a deal with Aviador Dro’s sublabel Neón Danza and released two EPs, “What Happens Now”/”Radio” in 1984, “Mindanao”/”Amor de Robot” in 1985 and a self-titled LP which was produced by Michel Huygen (Neuronium) in 1987. Vocoder also appeared on the TV program “La Bola De Cristal”, presenting their music video for “What Happens Now”, in which the band danced in a supermarket with a shopping cart full of synthesizers. The group mutually disbanded in 1988 and continued to organize concerts for other groups touring in Spain.
“Cuadro Sinóptico” compiles both 2-song 12″ maxi singles as one 4-song EP. All four songs were recorded during 1984-85 at Doublewtronics Studios in Madrid, Spain, using the most advanced and sophisticated techniques of time in digital recording and Direct Metal Mastering (DMM). The band utilized many professional synthesizers of the time: Roland Juno 60, Prophet V, Korg Poly 61, Yamaha DX-7, Roland TR-909 and the Linn Drum, which was used by most Italo Disco artists. These songs were recorded in the highest fidelity with disc jockeys in mind. Genuinely catchy, Vocoder combined soaring melodies with cybernetic coldness. A futuristic sound for the modern age topped with Pilar’s charismatic vocals. Lyrically they address robotic love, disco dancing, and the tropical island of Mindanao, and sing in Spanish, English and French.
All songs on “Cuadro Sinóptico” have been remastered from the original reel to reel master tapes for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. Each LP includes a double-sided insert with photos, lyrics and liner notes by Flemming Dalum, a Danish DJ who introduced much of the world to Vocoder in 2008 on his “French Spanish Italo Connection” mix. Vocoder want you to barricade yourself in the discotheques and dance away the depression.
Sound clips HERE: http://soundcloud.com/darkentriesrecords/sets/vocoder-cuadro-sin-ptico-ep/
$12We’ve also decided to repress some of titles that are out of print, starting with
DE-006 Dark Day - Window LP
Dark Day was the brainchild of Robin Crutchfield formed after leaving New York’s seminal No Wave band, DNA. Following the first few incarnations and various lineups, 1981 saw the direction of the project morphed into an electronic keyboard duo where Robin was joined by Bill Sack. Together they recorded an album of nine songs entitled Window that was released on Plexus Records. Lyrics were inspired by various sources including occult texts by Colin Wilson and art by Leger, Bruegel, Malevich, Man Ray, Duchamp and Jean Cocteau. The mechanized sound of Window is less one of the man machine robots in charge of Kraftwerk than man at the mercy of his machines. The infectiously-engaging toy-like instruments captured the ears of fans worldwide with popcorn drum rhythms. A Synare borrowed from Jeff and Jane Hudson lent a “Bette Davis Eyes” crack to the percussion on the percolating tracks. The instant polaroid images, an homage to Japanese recording artist Susan of “The Girl Can’t Help It,” adorned the album sleeve in two stark headshots of musicians at work, haunted by the unseen. The front cover, a Crutchfield-designed collage in two tones of salmon flesh and Mediterranean watery blue show a string of rickety children in diaper togs, forced much like the children of “Cat In The Hat” to spend a dreary day indoors. The look on the children’s faces asks you to determine whether they are needing to be rescued from their enclosure, or inviting you to join and play. Is the window something you look out, or in? You must answer that question.
Carefully remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley and limited to 500 hand-numbered copies. This re-issue also includes a 24-page newsprint zine “Darker Days As I Recall Them” by Robin Crutchfield and an 8×11 lyrics sheet with song meanings and reflections from Robin Crutchfield and Bill Sack on the making of Window.
Sound clips HERE: http://soundcloud.com/darkentriesrecords/sets/dark-day-window/
$16Our next three releases will be ready in late July:
DE-027 Stress - Conspiracy Theory LP
DE-028 Linea Aspera - 12″ EP
DE-029 X-Ray Pop - La Machine à Rêver LPThanks for your support!
- An interview with SIC
Last month we re-issued a compilation of songs from 80s Belgian band SIC. This month we asked them some questions and here is what they had to say:
Dark Entries: What part of Belgium are you from? What was it like growing up there and what music did you listen to as a teenager?
We are from Charleroi, south of Brussels, in the francophone part of Belgium. Charleroi was an industrial city with many factories and coal mines and this is where we used to live, in the middle of smoke and noise from these industries. There were many bands, mainly rock, blues and jazz. They all knew each other and they would go see each other in concert. Some musicians used to play in several of these bands. Francis used to play with Kosmose – along with Guy-Marc Hinant and Alain Neffe – a band that improvised music inspired by Krautrock. In the late seventies, Francis co-founded a house of migrant musicians from Morocco, Turkey and Congo-Zaire, called Interculture. Many musicians would get together in a place called Coup de Fusil, a concert place where SIC played live. But SIC, a new-wave style band felt lonely in Charleroi. There used to be a good small music shop in Charleroi, but the owner was not too connected to what was up and coming. To listen to new wave music, see live bands and buy their vinyls, we had to go to Brussels.How did you decide to form the band and choose the name “SIC”?
I met Francis Pourcel in 1977. He was looking for a singer for his punk band, SIC with Alain Neffe and Mario Berchicci. The band had already had its name. The name “SIC” was chosen because it is both an English and French adverb, allowing more exposure of the band. It was a loud punk band with Stooges’s influences. The punk band broke-up in 1979. In the late seventies, new sounds arrived with affordable synthetizers like the Korg MS-20. It was very fun to explore it and make new music with it. We were very curious of these new sounds and Francis wanted to write real songs to incorporate the melodies and motifs within the minimalist wave.
How did you decide who would sing lead vocals and play each instrument?
In 1979, we started a trio: Mario Berchicci was playing drums, Francis was playing guitar and I played keyboards and I sang. It was very fun for me to explore sounds and possibilities with a rhythmic base. We made 7′ Voltage Control with this line-up and equipment, but it ended up never being distributed. The rhythm boxes brought new possibilities and new rhythms that we couldn’t play ourselves. Francis and I continued to explore these new possibilities on our own and the result was Cover Girls Smile/Between. We played for the first time as a duo in a school-hall. Francis switched on the rhythm box, I sang and played bass, Francis played guitar with keyboard background. It was complicated and no longer funny. This is why we formed a real band, with at first three members, then five.Do you remember the set up and equipment for recording your earliest songs?
With the Korg M-S20 we had to explore the diverses combinations of sounds. The most difficult was to reproduce the same sound. We also had a Roland String organ RS-09 and a rhythm box Korg KR 55 that helped us with recordings. Francis played on a Gibson L6-S and a Rickenbaker bass.
5. Did the evolution of the synthesizer have an effect on your sound? Le
The Korg MS-20 had certainly given a particular sound to our two first 7′. The same happened with the rhythm boxes, that added an eighties sound. Later on, in 1983, we played with a Yamaha DX-7, another famous synthesizer.
The bass playing on all the songs is chord based and “watery” and reminds me of Krautrock and Jazz. What was the bassists influences?
On our two first 7′, Francis played bass. He wrote his bass lines to escape usual practice. In Kosmose, Francis played a music inspired by Krautrock, which certainly influenced his playing. He was also interested by disco bass line. Starting with our third 7′, Wilhelm Dunker was our bassist. He was also playing with jazz groups and his idol was Jaco Pastorius, which could be heard in his music.What were some inspirations for your lyrics over the years?
The majority of lyrics are autobiographical. Others tell what happened all around. Free Radio Stations talk about the spread of free radio stations in Belgium and in Europe. They were all over. Towards the end of the seventies, many people bought materials needed to broadcast from home. It was crazy! Radio Free Europe was an international station that broadcasted on behalf of the Eastern European countries, which whom we could not communicate freely.
Who were your musical contemporaries at the time in Belgium or around the world
In Belgium, there were so many exciting and creative bands at the time, how could I mention all of them? Jo Lemaire+Flouze, Allez-Allez, Arbeit Adelt, The Names, Front 242, TC Matic, and later our friends à; Grumh…and of course there was XTC, David Bowie, Joy Divison, the Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Human League, Kraftwerk, Pere Ubu, Devo, Siouxee and the Banshees, Eurythmics, the Feelies, Peter Gabriel and others.So much creative and diverse music came out of Belgium in the 1980s, what do you think caused this rich and talented culture?
I’ll attempt to explain. Belgium is a geographical and cultural crossroad in Europe. Its capital, Brussels is very easy to be reached from all parts of Europe. Trends would reach Brussels very fast. In alternative rock, the imported vinyls were selling very well. In the 70s and 80s, Germany produced a significant quantity of new music, including european jazz, rock related genres, electronics, minimalists, disco and dance music. Some of these German groups, such as Can, DAF and Kraftwerk succeeded to have a long lasting influence for the musicians from the 80s. Generally speaking, many Belgian artists were looking to find out what was created abroad to come up with new creations. This is my feeling.I first heard your song “Between” on youtube and Micheline’s vocals got stuck in my head for days! How did you create your unique “sound”?
Wow! Thanks! My voice was loved and hated at the same time. I didn’t really like it at that time.
Many of the songs from your first three singles have been played in dance clubs around the world. Did you write music to make people dance?
Not really. We explored the possibilities from the rhythm box to create something different. We found the habanera rhythm for Cover Girls Smile. The result was pretty cool, even though we didn’t like the sound of latin music.Can you describe your most memorable/favorite live gig?
I remember the first gig in Charleroi for the release of Cover Girls Smile/Between with Wilhelm Dunker playing the bass. It took place at the Coup de Fusil in Charleroi. It was in October 1980, during the last week of concerts, before the closure of the place. It was a series of concerts that gathered friends and many musicians. A vinyl compilation was released at that time. Starting with this concert, Etienne Tordoir, a journalist-photographer student began an extraordinary work to promote our 7′ . This 7′was sold in London and in Italy. Cover Girls Smile was played at the John Peel’s BBC broadcast and received many reviews. In Brussels, Cover Girls Smile was released on a cassette compilation by Stefan Barbery with other Belgian bands. Back in time, the cassette was the alternative support for music.
How do you feel about the renewed interest in your music and newer bands that look to SIC for inspiration?
It was a surprise! We’re happy about it, of course! We feel great to have played and created in a such turbulent and creative period between 1977 and 1983.SIC broke up in 1983, correct? What happened next? What are your future plans
The 7′ Free Radios Stations/Absence haven’t had any success. We continued with another line-up and played live 5 or 6 times. In 1983, SIC’s composition was: Christian Hance on drums, Claude Martin, Christian Martin on guitars and keyboards, Henri Krutzen on saxophone, Wilhelm Dunker on bass, and myself. During our last live concert, we invited african percussionists to play with us on scene. It was fantastic, but out of control! SIC broke up in 1983. After that, Francis continued to experience with Interculture ‘s arab, Turkish and Congo musicians. It was a sort of World-Music. We continued to write minimalist songs in French, we met musicians and played just for fun. One night in the eighties, when we were in a Titicaca Connection Evening’s Philippe Genion (à; Grumh), Philippe introduced us to Arbeit Adelt band and I got up on scene to improvise with them. I don’t remember if the result was good because I’ve never heard it, but it was a great moment and I loved to do that! Today, Francis and I don’t create music, but many of musicians with whom we played continue to create or produce music or bands. Have we got plans? To make music, meet musicians and get on scene is very exciting and we’d love that, but it’s not really possible for us at this time.
In any case, we have cool memories. And I just want to mention that it is difficult to name people without forgetting a few of them. Thank you, Josh!“Thought Noises” is out now on Dark Entries Records, available in our SHOP:
www.darkentriesrecords.com/?page_id=47
- New Year, New Releases!
Dark Entries Records is back with a full plate of releases lined up for 2012. Our first two come from Europe, Belgium (SIC) and France (BUZZ) to be exact. We have spent extra care restoring and no-noising the tapes for these releases to create the highest quality vinyl editions. All 7 songs from BUZZ’s “See You Sioux” cassette and the 6 SIC demos have never appeared on vinyl before until today!
DE-023 SIC - Thought Noises LP
Dark Entries is proud to shed light on underground Belgian New Wave pioneers, SIC, with the career-spanning release “Thought Noises.” SIC were a post-punk band from the industrial city of Charleroi in the francophone part of Belgium. They were formed by Francis Pourcel, Alain Neffe (Bene Gesserit), Micheline Dufert, and Mario Berchicci in 1977. Francis and Alain had previously played with Krautrock band Kosmose in the mid 70s. In 1978 Alain left the group to launch the cassette label Insane Music. The new trio released their debut 7” “Voltage Control” in 1979 on Artibano Records. By 1980 Mario left and was replaced by a Korg KR-55 drum machine. As a duo, SIC self-released the “Cover Girls Smile”/ “Between” 7” in 1980, which was played by John Peel on Radio 1 in London. Unable to replicate the studio sounds for live concerts, the duo recruited three additional musicians, Wilhelm Dunker (bass), Henry Krutzen (saxophone) and Danièle Daoust (synthesizer). In 1981 their final 7” single, “Free Radio Stations” was self-released and the band recorded a demo tape to help secure live gigs. SIC continued to play live over the next two year but eventually broke up in 1983.
SIC stray from more conventional post-punk, mixing the affordable Korg MS-20 and Roland RS-09 synthesizers with jazz and funk elements. All three 7”s and demos are united by strong, watery Rickenbacker bass chords reminiscent of American jazz legend Jaco Pastorius and UK bassist Mick Karn (Japan). A heavy reliance on rhythm and Micheline’s strong, insistent voice give SIC its own moody personality. More of a European group than a Belgian one, SIC take cues from Magazine, “Live At The Witch Trials”-era The Fall, Delta 5, The Raincoats and Kleenex. Their lyrics are original and autobiographical, documenting commercialism, technology and communication as we enter the 1980s.“Thought Noises” compiles all three SIC 7″ singles released from 1979-1981 plus 6 unreleased demos from a 1981 recording session. All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each LP includes a lyric sheet insert. More than 30 years later, SIC are a document of a mutant strain of new wave ripe for discovery.
Sound clips HERE: http://soundcloud.com/darkentriesrecords/sets/sic-thought-noises/
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DE-022 Buzz - See You Sioux LP
Dark Entries is honored to present the “See You Sioux” cassette by BUZZ for the first time ever on vinyl. BUZZ began as the brainchild of J-C Van Thienen in Lille, northern France, ten miles from the Belgian border. He released one album in 1985, the highly limited demo cassette See You Sioux. In the late 70s and early 80s J-C witnessed the punk explosion while studying and working abroad in England. He regularly attended concerts by Adam and the Antz, The Sound, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Ski Patrol, Spizzenergi, The Cure, interviewing the bands for a fanzine. Returning to France, and feeling inspired, J-C bought a Soundmaster drum machine and two second-hand synthesizers in 1983. He started composing songs applying the DIY punk ethos akin to Cabaret Voltaire and Fad Gadget, who like him were eccentrics in a pop-rock world.
Borrowing a 4-track Portastudio from a friend, J-C recorded 7 songs that would become the skeletons for the “See You Sioux” album. The local radio station provided studio time for free so BUZZ enlisted help from the guitarist (Vincent) and drummer (Franck) of The Figurines. His neighbor, Béatrice, added backing vocals. The result was the entirely self-produced See You Sioux cassette, recorded in one take. BUZZ combined new wave dancefloor appeal with the abrasive textures and irreverent attitude of post-punk. Lyrically, they addressed topics such as the Cold War, post-World War II tension in Berlin, the assassination of Kennedy, Pablo Picasso’s minimalism – all in a manner that was as sarcastic as it was politically-charged. The overall sound of “See You Sioux” fits nicely beside their French contemporaries: Opera Multi Steel, Norma Loy, Little Nemo, Taxi Girl, but is more aligned with their Belgian neighbors the Neon Judgement and Trisomie 21.
Artwork for the cassette jacket was all done by J-C using letrasets, scissors, glue, coloring with markers and hand-numbered in an edition of 250 photocopies. Over the years, BUZZ’s demo cassette travelled from bedrooms to dancefloors around the world, and even into the purse of Anne Clark around the time BUZZ supported her in Ghent and Paris. The success of See You Sioux landed BUZZ a deal with Danceteria Records, who would release four maxi 12” singles from 1986-1989. Around 1990 BUZZ took a break, eventually restarting in 2005 with the release of a career spanning compilation and remix album. J-C continues to write and release music today with his project Vuduvox.All songs on “See You Sioux” have been remastered from the original C-60 metal master tape for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. Each LP includes a fold-out, double-sided insert with photos, lyrics and liner notes by Anne Clark. 27 years later these demos provide a glimpse of the bleak post-industrial European wasteland as seen from the bedroom window during the French coldwave scene.
Sound clips HERE: http://soundcloud.com/darkentriesrecords/sets/buzz-see-you-sioux/
$16ALL RELEASES ARE AVAILABLE IN OUR SHOP:
http://www.darkentriesrecords.com/?page_id=47/We also have added many titles to our Distribution catalog, so make sure to scroll down and save on shipping!
If you are interested in a wholesale quantity send me an EMAIL requesting exact quantity and shipping location
Our next two releases will be ready in early April:
DE-024 INHALT - Vehicle EP
DE-025 Dark Day - Exterminating Angel LPThanks for your support!
- Eleven Pond reunion show this Thursday February 16 in Brooklyn, NY
ELEVEN POND return to the stage on February 16, 2012 to play their first live show in 23 years!
Original vocalist James Tabbi and main songwriter Jeff Gallea are reuniting for one unique performance of playing songs from their debut album Bas Relief. Joining them are Barret from Revel Hotel on electro percussion and Abby from Dream Affair on synths and violin.
Bas Relief was originally released in 1986 on Game Hen Records in Rochester, NY and the very first re-issue on Dark Entries in July of 2009. It spawned the highly addictive song “Watching Trees” that was included on’Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics Vol.1‘:: OPENING ACTS ::
++ FRANK (JUST FRANK) ++
Wierd Records recording artists Frank(just Frank) are from Paris, France. Their debut album, The Brutal Wave, was released in 2010. “The Brutal Wave draws from many rich traditions of US and UK guitar driven wave, minimal synth, early black metal and new indie rock from Brooklyn respectively – layering lush washes of atmospheric anglophilic guitars above a warmly orchestral analogue synth and drum machine fueled minimal electronic backdrop. Equally of disparate origins are the band members themselves, Chris was born in New Jersey and grew up with half-Indian Kirti in the South of France, although both were schooled in London. Despite such varied influences and backgrounds, Frank(just Frank) indeed proudly embrace the French pop musical tradition and present a freshly recontextualized version of the french cold wave sound, which might well be most appropriately called ‘La Vague Froide Moderne’ in 2010.” – [Wierd Records]++ PLASTIC FLOWERS ++
A pop music project fronted by Sean Earl Beard. “Bittersweet melodies of alienation, the charms of romantic detachment, the possibility of coloring one’s less-than ideal surroundings with sounds that dramatize and enhance what might be otherwise too drab to take — these are the raison d’etre of Plastic Flowers. Beard’s story is in some ways fairly classic–small town boy from an unstable home leaves it all behind to come make music in the big city. But familiar farmboy rock and roll imagery dissolves as the picture of a former punk kid from sunny Florida transplanted to overcast Brooklyn making clever yet heartfelt electronic pop comes into focus.” -[Wierd Records]+ DJS PRE OP TRANS & NIKKI SNEAKERS +
Doors are 10pm
Glasslands Gallery
289 Kent Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211Tickets
Tickets for Eleven Pond are $10 in advance available online at TicketFly at any time.
Facebook invite here: http://www.facebook.com/events/259441920783154/
and next Tuesday, February 21st, we will be releasing our first 2 reissue of 2012
DE-022 Buzz – See You Sioux LP
DE-023 SIC – Thought Noises LP
