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Opera Multi Steel was born during the winter of 1983 in Bourges, a city in the center of France. The band started off as a trio with Franck Lopez (Vocals, Keyboards,Recorder, Guitars), his brother Patrick L. Robin (Vocals, Percussion) and Catherine M. Marie (Keyboards, Vocals). They began to record demos utilizing a Elex Keyboard, Casio VL-Tone, Roland TR-606 drum machine, guitars and bass pedals. Layering organ-like keyboards over drum machine snares and a woodwind recorder, they created a unique style of Medieval or Baroque synth pop. The result was a 4-song debut, eponymous EP, released in 1984 on their own label Orcadia Machina. The songs range from fast and bright, New Wave influenced by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s “Electricity” and slower, brooding Darkwave ballads like “17 Seconds” “Faith” era Cure. All songs were sung in French with lyrics about feeling of nihilism, disgust with life and escaping to a botanical garden in search of redemption. It was a pre-cursor to their darker and classic French coldwave sounds of their debut album “Cathédrale” released the following year.
All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The jacket is die-cut replica of the original sleeve using master templates the band created in 1984 and offset printed on heavy French off-white card stock. Each copy includes an inner sleeve printed with lyrics and perspective line drawings by Jean Vredeman de Vries from the 17th century.
Holland Tunnel Dive
On B’Way
Previews “Holland Tunnel Dive” Here
Pre-order “Holland Tunnel Dive” Here
impLOG was the solo project of Don Christensen after leaving New York No Wave group The Contortions in 1979. He began making music using found sounds, a Univox drum machine, guitar stomp boxes, Casio keyboards and percussion instruments. Eventually Don gave a demo tape to Charles Ball at Lust/Unlust Records, who loved it, and released the “Holland Tunnel Dive” b/w “On B’way” 12” in 1980. “Holland Tunnel Dive” is a monotone lament, with a narrator reciting a list of all that is missing in his life along to a sparse, mechanical beat. A variable speed Milwaukee drill creeps its way into the song, eventually reaching cacophonous levels. After four minutes of industrial motorik, an upbeat saxophone riff breaks out unexpectedly, unsettling the listener even further. On the B-side is a deranged version of the Lieber and Stoller show tune “On Broadway”, featuring lead guitar by Jody Harris of the Contortions. The record perfectly captures the dark and seedy vibe of downtown New York in the early 80’s.All songs have been remastered from the original master tapes for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The jacket is an exact replica of the original. On the front cover is an illustration of a hydraulic pump against a taxi-cab yellow background. Each copy includes a double sided insert with lyrics, never before seen photos and liner notes by Don Christensen.
News
No One Notices Them
Rays
Autumn Room
Last Lights Near the Highway
News (Embryo)
Myths
Unknown
For A Different Moment
Observers
MinitechPreview Uno Here
Pre-Order Uno Here
Dark Entries is proud to release Uno, a collection of early recordings from seminal Italian electronic act Kirlian Camera. Keyboardist/vocalist Angelo Bergamini founded the project in Parma in 1979, initially naming it Suicide Commando, before discovering another project using the same name. By 1980, Angelo had recruited singer Simona Buja, keyboardist Fabrizio Chiari and bassist Mauro Montacchini. Their demo cassette, “Dawn”, attracted the attention of Italian Records, a popular independent label. The following year, Mauro left the band and was replaced by Giorgio Vecchi, and the band recorded their first mini-LP, “Kirlian Camera”. Uno compiles the 4 songs from the mini-LP on Side A and the 6 songs from the demo cassette on Side B. Also included is the bonus track “Minitech”, originally released in 1981 on flexi-disc. Kirlian Camera’s clean, minimalist new wave is marked by strong haunting melodies, slow moving synth washes, and stark, dramatic vocals.
All songs are remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Housed in the original jacket featuring a painting of a royal Italian noble on the front and black and white photos of the band on the back. Each copy includes a 2-sided postcard with a never before seen photo of Angelo and Simona taken from an early concert.
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