Today marks the 2-year anniversary of Dark Entries Records! From our first release of DE-001 Eleven Pond – Bas Relief on July 12, 2009 to today’s release of DE-018 Parade Ground – The Golden Years we have strived to provide the highest audio quality for the dancefloor or bedroom using world renown engineer George Horn and Record Technology Inc vinyl pressing plant. Since DE-004 Zwischenfall – Heute, all design has been executed by the very talented Eloise Leigh, using local businesses and recycled materials for printing inserts/booklets when possible. Since DE-012 xex – group:xex, we have stopped numbering our releases, choosing to keep all titles in print since the demand is there. When Dark Entries began we had no idea how quickly some titles would sell forcing us to realize we want to keep the music available and accessible for the fans. We look forward to many more years of bringing the sounds of the underground to the surface! And now for today’s release:
DE-018 Parade Ground – The Golden Years – LP
Parade Ground has always been the duo of brothers Jean-Marc and Pierre Pauly from Brussels, Belgium formed in 1981. Taking cues from Post-Punk, Coldwave, Dada and Surrealism, Parade Ground channeled suffering, tension and rage through pulsing synthesizers, skeletal guitar, severe bass and Jean-Marc’s expressive vocals as the most melodic and emotional instrument. The Golden Years is an 11-song, career-spanning collection of Parade Ground’s long out-of-print 7” and 12” singles as well as rare compilation tracks from the pioneers of emotional body music created during 1982-1988.
Parade Ground first appeared on the Nationale Rockmeeting LP in 1982, striking straight to the heart with the passionate plea “I Shut My Eyes.” Later that year the brothers met Daniel B. and Patrick Codenys of Front 242 beginning a collaborative partnership that continues to present day. In 1983 they released their debut 3-song 7” EP Moan On The Sly on the New Dance label, musically a hybrid of Joy Division and Fad Gadget. 1984 brought further explorations into the world of electronic body music with the 3-song Man In A Trance EP and 2 tracks on the live concert compilation Mask Promotion both records released on Front 242’s Mask Music label. The following year the single Took Advantage/Moral Support 12” was released incorporating then, state-of-the-art modular synthesizers programmed by Daniel B. and back-up vocals from Flo Sullivan (A Formal Sigh, Shiny Two Shiny). Then in 1987 the brothers collaborated with Colin Newman of British post-punk band Wire, who produced and lent his vocals, guitars and keyboards to two songs (“Moans“/”Action Replay”) while Daniel B. produced flipside “Gold Rush” on the Dual Perspective EP that stands alongside 80s anthems from Tears for Fears, Modern English, Echo & The Bunnymen. Finally in 1988 their debut album Cut Up was released on Play It Again Sam Records and featured the singles Strange World and Hollywood. In 1993 the brothers wrote and composed the vocals on two Front 242 albums Up Evil and Off. After 15 years of silence the boys released their second album Rosary in 2007 and continue to write new material and tour with their extensive catalog of dark dance classics.
All tracks have been carefully remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each LP includes a 6-page press kit with lyrics, discography, photos and liner notes by Daniel B. of Front 242. The history of Belgian electronic music would not be complete without a trip through “The Golden Years” of Parade Ground.
Sound clips of all songs here: http://soundcloud.com/darkentriesrecords/sets/parade-ground-the-golden-years
LP $16
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