Quick Change World : Ric Ocasek (1944 – 2019)

Sad Song.

So, this is it. The final single by Ric Ocasek was by the reformed Cars’ from 2011. Richard Otcasek died now, aged 75 this September after a long and varied career from early psych-soft rock to The Cars, Producer of Suicide, Bad Brains, Alan Vega, Romeo Void involving mega-stardom at the height of the 80’s with a.o. “Drive”, co-starring on Live Aid 1985, working as A & R Man a few years besides releasing his own solo records.
He was a father to 6 sons (!), a genuine wordsmith and a songwriter par excellence. He lived a live between underground and stardom, 80’s fame including marriage with a model he met during music video shootings.. Paulina Porizkova. He was a guitarist, keyboardist and singer with a own voice. A typical American in the best way who enjoyed his personal freedom and individuality. Always interested in art, photography and life.
In 2012 he published his collected lyrics and prose in bookform, paired with some b/w photographs, had some exhibitions of his pop art influenced paintings over the years.
In 2018 The Cars where inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 – 40 years after their debut and without Benjamin Orr who passed away in October 2000.
The Cars and Ric Ocasek always held a special place in my heart even if they where perhaps the most conventional ‘Rockers’ amongst the American New Wave – DEVO, The B-52’s, Talking Heads, Blondie.

The noise electric never stops…

Music & Elsewhere Twenty Five Years.02

Mick Did It Again !

After the 25 Years celebration compilation monster “The United World Underground” issued in 2017, he digged even deeper in his glorious tape label / DIY past to present you (as promised) digitized and mastered works of the dark past where nearly nothing was instantly available nor free nor digital.
This is meant to be the final collection celebrating the past before Mick Magic might make his words true and explore further territories in outer and inner space with a new album by his own Magic Moments At Twilight Time

See The Magic Net for more downloads and take the chance to get hold of the lovingly remastered reissue of M & E’s top selling CD Album ‘Creavolution’ (read all and more about it here) and get a decent hardcopy at TMR Records.

Click to go to the official info site. Official Release : 06/09/2019. Expect a Bang.

As expected this promises to be another wild sonic ride – from psychedelic, experimental, goth, electro to somewhere else with loads of shades in between. As a first glimpse a bonus virtual C90 is already out with some introducing words by Lord Litter (another survivor) over at the Electronic Cottage.

Contaminated Area. MIK@ ‘s Vault.

A new find in the vaults from Mik@ of Contaminated Area fame, released in conjunction with the 10th Anniversary of the ‘Totally Wired’ festival performance.
Freshly mastered and dusted off ambience for the hard wired.

And when you’re there don’t miss the chance to check out other free EP’s like the ‘Beautiful Catastrophe’ Coil tribute (a version was once published on the limited 2CD edition of “The Loneliest Link In A Very Strange Chain” Compilation or the excellent HYBRIDS vs. WEYDAS album.

Lounge Experimentelle – Whalt Thisney returns to Klappstuhl! (SP 023)

The ever busy man behind Walt Thisney – Fernando Cerqueira from Portugal is the founder member of Thisco record label and also the publisher of the excellent Antibothis printed / cd anthologies and book collection THISCOvery CCChannel – released an incredible amount of digital only EP’s during the last years.
At first retro sci-fi influenced Synth Poppy Vaporwave (see a.o. the Album ‘Thiscontinuum’ released about 4 years ago – SP 007), then returning to his elder alter ego Rasalasad partly reworking those and diving more into the direction of classical experimental ambient (as far as anything like this exists) before adapting a new mutation of Whalt Thisney with plenty of lounge Piano on top of mostly hidden drones and noises.

Of course all of these alter egos overleap from time to time, some recommendations are Thiscordizen , a compilation of Piano songs especially created for the Haiku series of Naviar Records, the split-release Switched On This with Rasalasad and the Vaudou Stellaire collaboration with Chromatic and from Rasalasad the Thismorphia Album feat. some well-known guests.

Most of them can be found for free, or are linked from here.

As for the latests Klappstuhl release he agreed to do a special mix with less subliminal noises and the result can be listened to & obtained below – including two exclusive lengthy remixes by 6 9 N & F.

Novostj DsorDNE 1983-1988

ACC / A Colder Consciousness started as Radio Show via. Resonance FM by Fiona Pitrolo, all shows are archived on mixcloud. Basic themes are cold wave, extraordinary underground and eastern European alternative scenes as far as I can tell – all with a melancholy hint.
Last year they expanded their activities and started publishing music too. The first (re-)release was Jugoslavian’s Bastion debut LP / DL from 1984.

In due course of their label specials they interviewed Marco Pustianaz about HAX Materiali Per La Communicazanione and the Italian underground and experimental post-punk scene (still online here), got in touch with Marco Milanesio, one of the other driving forces behind the label collective and wow (now) here is actually an old / new release by DsorDNE and it’s preceeding incarnation Novostj:

(Limited Vinyl) LP & DL, remastered by Marco Milanesio himself from his old masters. Gracie !!!

A new video for DsorDNE’s signature song in it’s live version featuring New Noveta is here too.

Listen / buy / enjoy & find more details and lyrics at ACC’s bandcamp.

Additionally, released in February via Triple Void Records, Turin was a great electronic EP with two remixes by DsorDNE from the Italian postpunk darkwave electronic project Ginevra‘s latest album.

Learning To Cope With Cowardice + Lost Tapes

So with a deep look back in time (36 years now) here is an exciting Reissue I’ve been looking forward to since I read about it. Not just another Collection of b-sides and new mixes but a whole Compilation of unreleased outtakes is included now with the Maffia debut album before the classic Wimbish / McDonald / LeBlanc trio aided Mark Stewart.
See a newly made Video for “Liberty City” here.
The regularly over-used term ‘groundbreaking’ is finally used for once justified on this album which was/is a mutant melting of dub, industrial, anarcho free-style attitude with a singer who could sing but choose not to and lyrics which where not pretentious but worthy to chew upon years after years.

The original version of “The Paranoia Of Power”:

(from “The Lost Tapes” Compilation)

>> Mark Stewart himself perceives The Lost Tapes as a document that now possesses a storied significance: “It was a real adventure discovering this forbidden history, a twisted tale of Muswell hillbillies, French pirates and a Dutch schizophrenic doctor doing psychic archaeology.” Whilst Adrian Sherwood describes these works as characteristic of a distinct primitivism: “[The Lost Tapes represent] the early childhood of the songs before Mark and me conducted frenzied, scorched earth, slash-and-burn, twenty-hour mental, manic editing sessions at Crass’ studios that led to birthing the finished album.” << Info from Mute.com

There is also an Vinyl 2LP Edition, in black or clear with DL Code available directly via mutebank . Digitally the lost tapes are also available on it’s own via iTunes or Amazon.

lost in musick II