Back catalogue: Coldwave/Synth

Review: Golden Lion Sounds is the label attached to the legendary pub in Todmorden that has hosted everyone from Andrew Weatherall and ALFOS to synth wizard Richard Norris. It is he who is behind this latest 7" alongside Rude Audio. 'This Song's For You' (feat Findlay Brown) is fusion of indie, cold wave and synth with dreamy vocals drifting over typically lush chords and silky drums from Norris. It's a perfect soundtrack to a lazy afternoon in the sun. On the flip, Rude Audio's 'The Grinning' has a more psychedelic sound with loopy synth arps spiraling up to the stars and back again in colourful fashion.

Review: Raw formed during the summer of 1990 in Athens, Greece when keyboardist Giannis Papaioannou and percussionist Makis Faros started composing music for imaginary waiting rooms. They combined the traditional cut-up technique of tape-loops, the industrial timbres of musique concrete with the harmonics of world music, all filtered through digital sampling and computer programming. Their first recordings generated an 8 track demo, which was freely distributed among friends and the local underground press. After 6 months of work and several sessions with guest musicians on acoustic and electric instruments, Raw self-released their first album 'Land' in December 1991 on Elfish Records. In 1992 they recruited the band's sound engineer, Coti K., as a third member, both on stage and studio sessions. 'City' was their second album fully inspired by the mechanisms of their home town. Presenting a different electronic face of Raw, manipulating rhythms with analogue synthesizers and harsh sampling to evoke the atmosphere of Athens.

Review: Robert Rental is an artist as influential as he is overlooked. An anchor of the early British DIY and post-punk scene, his name is most frequently uttered alongside illustrious collaborators such as Thomas Leer and Daniel Miller. Dark Entries and Optimo ally to illuminate some of Rental's early solo works with an expanded reissue of his debut 7" Paralysis /A.C.C.. Both labels have previously excavated Rental's catalog; we reissued the collaborative LP with Glenn Wallis in 2017, and Optimo released a collection of demos in 2018.

Review: Orange Tree Edits are back once again with more of that super fruity dance floor juiciness. Jimmy Rouge is the man at the controls this time and he wastes no time in heading off to the stars with the cosmic disco workout that is 'Bay Leaf' and its stiff retro arps. 'Rounders' sinks into a more laid-back vibe, with late night chords and gently tumbling drum breaks perfect for seaside dancing. 'Night Train' is a real cosmic chugger with spangled synths spiraling round the mix and 'Fever Dream' then locks you into a lush late-night reverie with lo-fi boogie bass.

Review: Space Oddities (1972 - 1982) are the results of Frenchman Georges Achille Teperino aka Nino Nardini, fellow countryman Roger Roger and German Eddie Warner's collaborations over ten years at Ganaro recording studio. Given some underground recognition in the late nineties by the likes of Barry 7 of Add N to (X) (with his Connectors series) or UK electronica legend Luke Vibert, they can now add Alexis Le-Tan (Les Edits Du Golem) and Jess as devotees, who made the effort of compiling the release. As Born Bad stated quite succinctly, the trio used their "strange instruments to sketch out the beginnings of something that resembled the future of music. This collection presents some of the highlights from their light-hearted, electronic pop sessions."

Review: 2014 was a tumultuous period for Polachek as she and her band grew apart; She wanted to create an aesthetic world, make the band dress better and invest in visuals. Needless to say, the 2010s indie band Chairlift wasn't entirely on board. Polachek was creatively parched and set about a production career, producing 'Arcadia' on her laptop whilst on tour using only MIDI instruments, laptop microphone and field recordings (like on the atmospheric 'Hissing Pipes at Dawn'). This period continued with Polachek beginning to perform in small venues in New York under different names, donning a blonde fringed wig and creating an expansive, yet quaint universe that would unquestionably influence the creating of her breakout solo debut 'Pang' 5 years later. Arcadia spans from ambient medieval-esque wind sections to zany strings that conjure up gusts billowing through green pastures with blue skies overhead. 'Dominic' has stood the test of time as the most popular of the tracks, a relationship that's a 'perfect disaster'. Highlights are the organ-led 'Backwards & Upwards' on purging infatuation, stepping backwards to move upwards as Polachek puts it, and 'Lady's Got Gills' with its whistles and what may be a blend of harp, yangqin and guzheng that backs a story of a woman contained. Arcadia is lo-fi cinematic, in a sentence, and a must listen to Polachek fans.

Review: Red Axes have always operated in their own little niche within underground electronic music. The Israeli duo has plenty of genuine guitar-playing skills which they bring to a fine grasp of synth work and a love of acid, wonky grooves and psychedelic colours on labels like Disco Halal and K7. Now they step up to fabric with a new album that also post-punk and new wave flourishes to tracks recorded as live jams in their home studio. It's packed with energy and mischief and is another superbly singular offering from the duo.

Review: Following on from their compilation EP of last year, Music From Memory return with another six tracks from Dutch musician Hubertus Baars aka Richenel. A somewhat illustrious figure in Dutch pop history with his flamboyant appearance, La Diferencia is a repackaged version of the original cassette release. It's a zeitgeist of the heady punk and squatter scene of Amsterdam in 1982, set against a backdrop of drugs and social unrest. It reflects a unique mix of punk aesthetics, with a synthesized bedroom funkiness. As well as having one of the more exceptional male voices to come out of the country, Richenel would go on to become a successful recording artist in the Netherlands before moving to Spain later in his career.

Review: Twenty nine years ago (can you believe it) Alexander Robotnick released his first album, Ce N'Est Q'Un Debut, featuring what's arguably his most defining track "Problemes D'amour" with the Harajuku-cute vocals of Martine Michellod. It's this album that has influenced countless French synth pop acts and a horde of old school electro lovers, and all this time later it's been repressed (again) by the label that first released it, Medical. Keeping the sacredness of this LP firmly intact by sticking with the keyboard-head artwork, Ce N'Est Q'Un Debut - along with Man Parish's 1982 self-titled debut - should be in all of our record collections.

Review: Jameszoo and Niels Broos are Rolrolrol and Music is their first album. They describe it as "a puttylike exercise in pop, modern jazz and electronica" and it builds on many years of working together on the likes of Brainfeeder and Alpha Pup. The whole thing is doused in vivid and vivacious synth work that brings life and colour to every groove, whether a broken beat or a future hip-hop workout, an experimental cosmic house cut or an infectious bit of boogie. Amongst the magnificent melodies are guests like Jamie Woon who bring real soul to 'Surprise', and it all makes for a playful but triumphant record of brain-cleansing electronic sound.