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A couple of months ago I posted the amazing track ‘Der Tunnel’ by Die Atlantikschwimmer, and now for you pleasure here is their first album (found here), released only on cassette in 1983.

I’ve been immersed in this all weekend. It’s somewhere between coldwave and Neue Deutsche Welle, also recalling the Au Pairs and early Rough Trade girl groups. I particularly love the song ‘Ich Zeige Dir’, with it’s accordian synth-preset sea shanty sound.

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Dan Nixon of renowned blog 20 Jazz Funk Greats has written an incredible ‘Guide To Coldwave’ for Dummy Magazine. This handy 14 point guide will provide you with all the knowledge you’ll need to get started. From auspicious beginnings with newly portable and affordable equipment, via Kraftwerk, Industrial and Synthpop, right through to the current purveyors of Coldwave - Wierd Records, Minimal Wave Records, Born Bad and indeed Angular’s very own ‘Cold Waves And Minimal Electronics Vol.1’ compilation due for release on the 8th March 2010.

Happy reading/learning/listening…

FACT Magazine are hosting a FREE download of ‘Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics’ opening track ‘Figures’ by Absolute Body Control for the next seven days…

This track was featured in The Guardian’s Film and Music playlist last Friday (14th),here’s what they had to say about it:

‘A highlight from Angular records’ marvellous collection of obscure continental 1980s synthpop, Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics: proof positive that the best music is frequently made by people who’ve evidently spent as much time standing in front of mirrors trying to look “artistic” as they have actually writing songs.’

True say. Go and snap up this pulsating coldwave classic while you can…

The Actor - ‘Deutsches Madchen’

Where did the inspiration for this music come from?

Early 80’s saw the rise of synthesizer bands such as Depeche Mode, Tubeway Army and Soft Cell. Exciting new pop music. After seeing Depeche Mode perform their hit (to be) Just Can’t Get Enough we knew that this was to become our kind of music.

What was your working process like in those days?

We had only limited recources in those days. We spent our money on a programmable Soundmaster SR-88 drum machine, a Korg MS-20 synthesizer, a Casio VL-1 (remember Trio’s Da-Da-Da?) and a Crumar Performer stings-synth, which was also used by Duran Duran. With these instruments, along with some effect pedals, we recorded all of our songs at home, using a Tascam 4-track cassette recorder. On stage, we karaoked along with the base tracks on cassette, just like Depeche Mode used to do.

Was there anyone in another group that you would have like to have worked with from that time?

No, Sander and I were the perfect couple.

What impact do you think you’ve had on the music “scene” at the time, and indeed since?

In 1982, The Actor was one of the best-selling cassette acts, which quite surprised us. We were frequently asked to perform as support act for big international artists such as Fad Gadget and Orchestral Manouevres In The Dark. We had a loyal group of followers who liked what we were doing. I used to think our music didn’t influence anybody. But a couple of years ago I talked to french producer Porn.Darsteller. He said that his starting point of making music was our song Unreal Personality. Porn.Darsteller was one of the artists that produced a cover version of Covergirl for the Enfant-Terrible release Covergirl EP.

How important do you think it is to do an array of creative things? do they all feed into music or is it symbiotic?

Being creative is something you do every day. It’s a natural state of being. It doesn’t matter if you’re making music, taking pictures or designing an ad campaign. You can compose a song after seeing a fashion show, or you can take somebody’s portrait after hearing a Rammstein song.

What do you dream about? Whats the best dream you’ve had?

Winning the lottery.

How do you feel about this music coming to prominence once again, 25 plus years after the event?

That’s really great. Of couse, I knew already that history repeats itself, but it’s very nice to get fanmail from people all over the world. Since the internet it’s quite easy to get in touch with music and artists from the past.

What do you do in your spare time?

I’m very fond of photography and my dog, Jip. So I spend most of my spare time on both.

The Actor’s track ‘Lights’ will appear on ‘Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics’, released 22nd Feb on Angular Records.

Guerre Froide - ‘Demain Berlin’

I acquired this cold guitar driven post punk number from the aforementioned Parisian musician/model/comic book enthusiast Apollo, whom I met in Paris on my first visit there.

He made me a compilation of all the French synth music that he had, and this was the second track.

Not much is known of the band, but they released a 12” EP on Stechak Records in 1981 which featured this track.

Featuring a manly Gauloises-addled French voice and the familiar four note synth line. I also like how the guitar is a bit more ‘rock’, and how it speeds up in the middle and then slows down again.

Jeunesse d’Ivoire, Italy, 1983

Tell me about the song you have on the compilation, what were the ideas behind it?

Danilo Carnevale (guitar, electronics): As far as I’m concerned, it was all quite spontaneous, we were very young (late teens, early twenties), and instinct played a major role on what we were doing at the time. Still, what we were after was a pristine, minimal and spacious sound where all the elements could have room to breathe. We were aiming at moving people at different levels - emotional, aural and intellectual - without being overwhelming. Then, I guess we were making the most out of what were our possibilties, technique was far from being our interest: this was were our punk/new wave roots were showing. In a way it was a development of that scene and we were trying to stretch it as far as possible.

How do you feel about this music coming to prominence once again, 25 plus years after the event?

DC: Mixed feelings, really. At first a great sense of being deprived of something. Regrets for a missed chance. I remember that at some point (around 1983?) our bass player replied to an advertisement he’d seen in NME and sent one of our early demotapes to this man, some Daniel Miller, who’d just started his small label. He replied saying the songs were interesting and if we’d like to send some more developed material. Little did we know that label was Mute records, and what would have become in the next few years! We thought we couldn’t trust some unknown person from a foreign country pretending to be a manager of an even more obscure little label. We were that stupid.

Patrizia Tranchina (vocals): I’m not surprised this happened. I’ve always believed in Jeunesse d’Ivoire’s potential, and this is a little revenge for the recognition we weren’t allowed at the time.

Jeunesse d’Ivoire’s track ‘A Gift Of Tears’ will appear on ‘Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics’, released 22nd Feb on Angular Records.

Eleven Pond’s ‘Watching Trees’ provide one of the poppiest moments on ‘Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics’. Their 1986 self released LP ‘Bas Relief’ was recorded in an abandoned swimming pool in Rochester, NY called the Hamster Cage.

This is the original video they made for their track ‘Portugal’, and recalls other mid-80’s synthy post punk such as Fad Gadget, Depeche Mode and Echo and The Bunnymen. The album Dark Entries Records re-released the LP in 2009.

In the first of a series of interviews with ‘Cold Waves…’ artists, I emailed some questions to Jeff Gallea from the band. Enjoy!

Hello, how are you and what have you been doing?
This is Jeff from Eleven Pond. I’m making lo-fi minimal wave music, designing leather accessories and painting watercolors with my mom.
James owns an electronics company. Jack is a baker. Dan lives in the woods.

Tell me about the song you have on the compilation, what were the ideas behind it?
Watching Trees was originally an instrumental song I wrote that had a dark and raining electro feel. James came up with lyrics on the fly while I recorded it to a 4-track cassette player. The song is about voyeurism, being lonely because you know too much and feeling lost in the industrial world. We re-recorded it to 8-track in an abandoned swimming pool/recording studio called The Hamster Cage. It’s vocals on top of pure analog cv controlled arpeggiation with melodica and vocoder. Then at the half way point I come in with a driving chorus-drenched bass riff. It was a solid dance song then.  It still is. Funny thing, I was the only one in the band who actually liked the song!

Where did the inspiration for this music come from?
I was inspired by Joy Division, New Order, the film Taxi Driver and the film Two Lane Blacktop. James was inspired by anything from the 4AD record label and poetry. Dan was inspired by sculpture.

What was your working process like in those days?
Downtown Rochester was full of abandoned warehouses so we had a great big rehearsal space. I wrote music to drum beats and suggested parts for the other band members. James consulted his book of poems and a secret diary. We would marry them together in rehearsals.

Was there anyone in another group that you would have like to have worked with from that time?
Musicians? Not really. But I would have loved it if the band had been signed. We gave up too soon. Rochester was out of the loop. It still is. We had no options.

What impact do you think you’ve had on the music “scene” at the time, and indeed since?
We had no impact on the music scene of the 80’s. I opened a night club called Club Zero so I had to quit the band. The music sat on shelves for years. Somehow the song Watching Trees has been brought back to life and has become “The Free Bird of the current new wave scene” (quoting Peter from Wierd)

How important do you think it is to do an array of creative things? do they all feed into music or is it symbiotic?
Yes to it all. Creativity in all form defines who we are as humans.

What do you dream about? What’s the best dream you’ve had?
Sex and flying. All my dreams are the best. Even the scary ones.

How do you feel about this music coming to prominence once again, 25 plus years after the event?
We didn’t cheat. We worked hard to create all those sounds. No loops. Nothing digital. People can hear that analog purity. And song writing was influenced by a great post punk scene. That’s why it’s relevant today.

What do you do in your spare time?
Avoid computers if I can. Make things. Explore.

What contemporary music are you listening to?
Xeno And Oaklander
Experimental Products
Femka Project
Arvid Tuba
Minimal Form
Absolute Body Control

This was announced today on our website. A pre order link will be available soon.

Angular are proud to announce the forthcoming release of ‘Cold Waves & Minimal Electronics Volume 1’ - a new 17 track compilation put together by New York’s Wierd Records founder Pieter Schoolwerth and Angular’s Joe Daniel.

The album chronicles the secret underground cult genres of cold wave and minimal wave, which mostly originated from continental Europe between the years 1981-1985.

Joe Daniel: “About two years ago my good friend Al O’Connell (aka Alalal) played me some minimal synth tracks that had an immediate and considerable effect on me. They contained analogue synths that sounded sharp and icy instead of the warm squelchy noises that a lot of people use them for; Junos instead of MS20s, backed by the most primitive drum machines and oblique otherworldly vocals.
Most of this music came from early-80s Europe, and most of the groups only recorded a few songs, released a 7″ and then split up before anyone noticed what they were doing. I like the impossible romance you can have with a band when all you’ve got is a tape with three songs on it (all in French) and a single black and white photograph.

Ever since I heard this music I’ve been trawling high and low to unearth the greatest gems of this synth sound in order to make a retrospective artefact of the lost genre of music known as coldwave. With the considerable collaborative help of Pieter Schoolwerth from New York’s Wierd Records, I think we may have done it.”

This release will be available as a double LP gatefold, CD, and digital download on February 22nd.

Tokow Boys - ‘Elle Hôtesse’

On one of my coldwave excursions to Paris to research our compilation I had to leave the apartment I’d found on gumtree two days early. I had lunch with Laura who’d once booked my band, and her boyfriend Apollo. They had matching tattoos of bats and Apollo was a model in a band in Paris, he was into comic books. ‘Tales From Greenfuzz’ was great, about a sandwich trying to rescue his girlfriend from an evil gang of Kebabs. Apollo also loved coldwave and minimal and told me about his friend from school whose mum had been in one of those bands, Tokow Boys.

A French new wave pop band, Tokow Boys were signed to Virgin and released this, their debut single in 1980. In the post punk pop vein of Lene Lovich or Altered Images, this track appears on last years amazing French post punk coldwave electro no wave (‘78-‘83) compilation ‘Des Jeunes Gens Modernes’.