The Brussels artist will release three tracks of unhinged industrial deviance on Alessandro Adriani’s label.
Just in case we hadn’t spent enough time dreaming of Italian wave this year, here comes another Carmody reissue. The truth is that for lovers of the scene you can’t spend enough time praising it, and a lot of these bands appear to have found fresh ears (generationally, aesthetically, and geographically speaking) for whom these records finally become the adored classics they deserve to be. After a year dedicated to Turin, what with the various Der Zeltweg and Musumeci reissues and reworks, Mannequin churns up another pearl in the first LP reissue of Carmody’s 1981-1985 works.
Alessandro Adriani’s label has done some excellent reissue work over the past few years, but this release is surely one of the most valuable pieces of archival trawling to feature on Mannequin. It’s even worth buying a copy of the basis of the back story alone. In the ‘90s, Mexican industrial band Ford Proco met John Balance and Peter Christopherson from Coil at an Orb gig in LA. Bizarrely, Coil then invited the band to star as extras in an Ice T video, after which these tracks were recorded.
Rare soundtrack work, San Fran synthpunk, unheard Yugo-wave, delicate Dance Mania, and a wild Coil collaboration are the highlights of June’s reissue trail.
Tracks culled from rare tapes by the early-’80s Turin act feature on the forthcoming Sleep On Mirrors – The 1981-1985 Tapes.
Alessandro Adriani’s work in highlighting the work of Musumeci goes way beyond the remit of bog-standard reissues. The Italian act formed in the mid-‘80s and seem to have only done some sporadic recordings. As the brains behind the excellent Mannequin label, Adriani set about collecting some of this music, which formed the basis of the 2013 compilation Schwarz Morgen / Zusammen.
Mannequin are granting the Nation affiliate’s classic remix of the now-defunct Houston duo a vinyl release – stream in full here.
The Italian label will reissue joint productions between Mexican band Ford Proco and the famed UK group.
You have to wonder about the inherent logic underpinning reissue culture, especially the part that appears to dictate ‘if it’s obscure and was released during the ‘80s, then it’s fair game’. In support of this way of thinking, let’s look at this reissue of “Lies” by Bourbonese Qualk to complement an upcoming retrospective of the band from Berlin label Mannequin. The song originates from the Preparing For Power album the band released on their own Recloose Organisation label back in 1986, and perhaps the strongest case for a reissue here is that original copies of Preparing For Power are hard to find and expensive to purchase.
Mannequin have let Doug Lee loose on two tracks by the ’80s Italian act for a forthcoming 12″ release.
Acquaint yourselves with the long running UK industrial band ahead of a forthcoming Mannequin retrospective.
Oh Turin, Turin, city of anarchists and aristocrats, city of industrialists and industrial action, snow-covered grey city with the FIAT factory coughing in the background, city of neo-classicist rigour and angry squats. Oh Turin! City of toxic fumes, punk fumigations and cosmic fumaroles. Turin which gifted us unforgettable feelings through a whole range of shadows in the mid to late ‘80s takes centre-stage in Mannequin’s archival reissue of some forgotten works from the Der Zeltweg label run by one of the label’s stars of the last two years, Musumeci.
Void Vision’s debut album proper has been a long time coming. The tracks on Sub Rosa were recorded between 2010 and 2013, and the album sees singer and producer Shari Vari take centre stage (although it does feature some contributions from former member Hayden Payne). Hopefully it will see Shari Vari take her mysterious and infectious wave/synth sound to a wider audience.
In one word; classic. The Actor’s Exploded View is one of those reissues that you’re either going to have loved already or that you’re going to feel like you’ve already loved, if this time round is your first listen. A welcome addition to the ongoing restoration of the European electro-wave archive, this 1982 Dutch showpiece had and still has everything going for it: it’s a black car, rainy day, cinematic kind of record. It hits on all the clichés of early 1980s gloom but always very consciously and intelligently – and in fact it enjoyed its fame in the Dutch tape panorama, has had underground cult status for years and, while some tracks have reappeared more prominently than others (notably “Lights” and “Covergirl”), the record has deeper, surprising folds. It’s worth listening to it again and as a whole because there’s a thread that runs through it, there’s a logic, a story.
The Berlin-based label outlines some of its last quarter plans for 2014 with two full length releases.
Richard Brophy’s column returns after a summer break and assesses new and forthcoming material from Cititrax, Signals, Tabernacle, Mannequin and Sex Tags UFO.
The Berlin-based label will pair up two unreleased tracks from the 1980s Mexican act with a remix by In Aeternam Vale.
Void Vision appeared from the murky filigree of 2010 in which we kept getting great records from the States and wondered what on earth was happening over the Atlantic. You may even recall an article in the Guardian (!) attempting to figure out some sort of socio-cultural background to what appeared to be a New York-based revival of an extremely European death-drive. At the time Void Vision were just another duo from the Wierd scene. They released In Twenty Years on Blind Prophet – a strong, nightmarish tune – and disappeared back into the darkness they came from. After a forgettable split with Vice Device last year, it seems Void Vision – now a solo female artist, and swept up by the more muscular ways of Mannequin Records – might finally have her time.