NEWS

Now Available: Our First 3 Reissues of 2013

We are so happy to kick off 2013 with 3 re-issues from around the globe. First up is the DIY/postpunk The Thing From the Crypt compilation from England 1981 featuring Soft Drinks, Exhibit A, Sad Lovers & Giants, Flying Beechcraft, S-Haters, Mex, Imagine in Ruin and Gambit of Shame. Second we travel to Australia for INFORMATICS Dance to a Dangerous Beat, a compilation of tracks from 1981-1985. Third up is the debut mini-LP from France’s Fall of Saigon from 1983, finally available on vinyl again after 30 years!

SIDE A
Exhibit A – Rain
Sad Lovers & Giants – Take Me Inside
Mex – Evil Creatures
Gambit Of Shame – Dancing With The Turks
Flying Beechcraft – Bugger Off
Image In Ruin – Tank
Soft Drinks – Squash
S-Haters – Necromancer
SIDE B
Soft Drinks – Pepsi Cola
Flying Beechcraft – Frog Girl
Image In Ruin – Bottle
S-Haters – Canal
Exhibit A – Echoes
Sad Lovers & Giants – Clint
Mex – Functioning Fripp Girls
Gambit Of Shame – She Lawn

Dark Entries is proud to present The Thing From The Crypt, a 16-track compilation of UKDIY/Synth/New Wave/PostPunk originally released in 1981. Showcasing the thriving post punk sound of Watford, a town in Hertfordshire, England, located 20 minutes northwest of central London.”The Thing From The Crypt neither attempts to sell a ‘Wotford sound’ nor claims to be a comprehensive guide to the area’s best beat bands. Like all good compilations, its essence is variety: some tracks will make you come whilst other will make you vomit.” – original liner notes by Robert Dellar

This compilation features 8 bands with two songs included by each group. EXHIBIT A were a quartet featuring Mat and Dan from Solid Space and Paul and Andrew from Twelve Cubic Feet. Legendary post-punk act SAD LOVERS & GIANTS make their first appearance here as a five-piece. MEX was the solo project of Paul Mex, the man responsible for this compilation, who went on to produce songs for WHAM and George Michael. GAMBIT OF SHAME deliver driving carnival pop and would later work with ex-Soft Machine member, Robert Wyatt on their debut single. FLYING BEECHCRAFTserve a slice of wistful Flying Nun indie pop. IMAGE IN RUIN bounce between off-kilter NY No-Wave skronk and angst. SOFT DRINKS were a short-lived synth-punk trio featuring the Jon Greville ofRudimentary Peni and Martin Drooper of The Magits who released a 3 song EP on Outer Himmylayan Productions. S-HATERS were a deathrock quartet also on the Outer Himmylayan roster who channeled the gothic punk of PIL’s “Metal Box” and Joy Division.

All songs have been transferred from the master tapes by Paul Mex and remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in a full color printed jacket using the original silk screened artwork. Each LP includes a copy of the 12 page booklet that came with the original pressing. The Thing From The Crypt is more than a local compilation, its the stuffJohn Peel shows were made of.

A1 What A World
A2 Hungry Pets
A3 Sattelite To Russia
A4 Imagination Is Wild
A5 Stop It, Don’t Dance
A6 This Product Is Frozen
A7 Concorde Affair
B1 Proximity Switch
B2 New Values
B3 Underlife
B4 Great X1
B5 Factory Nightlife 03

INFORMATICS were a postpunk electronic band from Melbourne, Australia formed in 1981. Michael Trudgeon, Valek Sadovchikoff, Steve Adam and Ramesh Ayyar met in the experimental sound studio while attending the same art school. Philip McKellar later joined the band in 1983. Between 1981 and 1985, INFORMATICS recorded numerous tracks, mainly in a garage, using a four-track tape machine and any electronic gear they could get their hands on. The band held a fascination for contemporary visual art and moving images and videos would accompany their live performances.The production elements in the videos reflected Informatics’ philosophy on sound composition: the footage was entirely pirated from television ads, manipulated and then collaged to create new narratives that reinforced the music.
INFORMATICS came to work together through a shared fascination in electronic music and the capabilities of analogue synthesizers. In early performances, long before the advent of samplers, the Informatics used a collection of synthesizers and other analogue and hand built equipment. These were patched together to create a unique battery of sounds. Between January and November 1981 INFORMATICS recorded their debut 4 song Dezinformatzia EP but it was not released until 1983 . The track “Proximity Switch”, later renamed “Accidents in Paradise” became popular in parts of Europe and was re-released in 1985. Dance To A Dangerous Beat collects all 4 songs from the first EP, 2 songs from compilation appearances as well as 6 unreleased tracks on vinyl for the first time. Informatics early songs have a brittle, cold, disconnected feel made by a Roland SH-101Korg MS-20 and a lot of processed guitar. The later songs utilize newer technology and ambient, synthesized melodies closer to their country mates Severed Heads.
All songs have been transferred from the master tapes by INFORMATICS and remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in a full color printed jacket using the original magenta and grey artwork from Dezinformatzia EP. Each LP includes a double sized 11×11 insert with photographs and liner notes by the band. Dance To A Dangerous Beat recounts the history of these synthpunk pioneers a world away from their contemporaries in America.

A1 Visions
A2 Blue Eyes
A3 She Leaves Me All Alone
B1 So Long
B2 On The Beach At Fontana
B3 The Swimmer

Dark Entires Records is honored to re-issue the debut EP by FALL OF SAIGON. The band was born in 1981 when Florence Berthon (Vocals), Pascal Comelade (Organ, Synthesizer) and Thierry Den (Guitar, Vocals) met at a concert in Montpellier, France. They chose to the name the project FALL OF SAIGON after a song by UK post-punk act This Heat. They self-released their debut EP in 1983 citing Nico & The Velvet UndergroundSuicide and James Joyce as influences.
At the time the band formed, Pascal Comelade was an accomplished musician with instrumental sketches composed for the trio. The 6 songs on the EP were recorded in two stages. “She Leaves Me All Alone” and “On The Beach At Fontana” were sung by Thierry and recorded at Pascal’s home on a Revox 2-track in one shot. The four songs sung by Florence – “Visions”, “Blue Eyes”, “So Long” and “The Swimmer” – were recorded and mixed at the Montpellier Languedoc Video Animation Center by Jean Alain Sidi on two ReVox A77 reel to reels and a small mixer. On “Visions,” “Blue Eyes” and “So Long,” the group employed a drum machine that could only play four or five rhythms with a single slider to increase or decrease the tempo. The songs were minimal: verse, chorus, no bridge, no intro. Built on a simple spine, they create a feeling of space with just a voice and an organ or synthesizer melody. Full of class and inventiveness, FALL OF SAIGON are often compared to Young Marble Giants due to the fragile, ephemeral quality of the songs.
All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The vinyl comes housed in a full color jacket using the original artwork from the EP and includes an insert with lyrics and photos. Through two years of existence, FALL OF SAIGON only released one EP and 30 years later their subtle sound is an essential guidepost in post-punk history.

femaletrio
Our next 3 releases will arrive the last week of March, just in time to celebrate WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH!

DE-039 KITCHEN & THE PLASTIC SPOONS – Screams To God LP (Swedish female fronted postpunk/darkwave circa 1980-81)
DE-040 Q4U – Q1 Deluxe Edition (1980-1983) LP (Female fronted gothic/synthpunk from Iceland)
DE-041 BELABORIS – Once Upon A Time LP (5 piece all female synth/wave from Finland 1982-84)

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