Published
Tue, Dec 22, 2009, 11:00
- Joe Daniel's imprint will release a compilation focusing in on the little known cold wave and minimal wave genres in February.
Wierd Records' Pieter Schoolwerth and Angular Records' Joe Daniel will shine a light on the early '80s underground genres of cold wave and minimal wave via a new compilation.
So what the hell is cold wave and minimal wave you ask? Well, we're told that these "secret underground cult genres" were based in pockets of creative activity across rural France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and The Netherlands during the early '80s, and were spawned as a reactive plight against the commercial face of the era's new wave groups. These "minimal electronic" acts—as they were collectively termed—drew upon a musical well of German electronic bands (think Neu!, Can) and early UK industrial bands (Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire) for inspiration,
channeling their influences into a cold, synthesizer-driven strand of electro pop.
Wierd Records founder Pieter Schoolwerth could probably consider himself a leading authority on the scenes: In addition to being the proud owner of an extensive archive of the sound which dates back almost thirty years, he's been running the "radically confusing and glamorously uncomfortable" Weird Records parties in New York since 2003; taking cold wave and minimal wave's counteractive sensibilities and pitting them against the "vacuous" modern pop climate.
Joe Daniel of Angular meanwhile is a relative newcomer to the movement, having had his initial encounter with the sound a couple of years back via a friend who played him a selection of minimal electronic tracks. He was immediately struck by what he heard, and set off on a voyage of discovery, culminating in a fortuitous meeting with Schoolwerth at his New York party. The pair immediately bonded (it turns out it was in fact Schoolwerth who had supplied a friend of Daniel's friend with the aforementioned records) and have now crystallized their mutual appreciation with the Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics Vol. 1 compilation.
The album is comprised mainly of ultra rare 7-inches, cassette tapes and radio sessions, and ships in either double LP gatefold, CD and digital download formats packed with extensive sleeve notes about the genres and hitherto unseen photographs.
Tracklist
01. Absolute Body Control - Figures
02. Nine Circles - Twinkling Stars
03. Linear Movement - Night in June
04. Opera Multi Steel - Ills S'eloigent
05. Bal Paré - Palais d'Amour
06. Eleven Pond - Watching Trees
07. The Vyllies - Babylon
08. End of Data - Dans Votre Monde
09. The Actor - Lights
10. Ausgang Verboten - Consumer
11. Jeunesse d'Ivoire - A Gift of Tears
12. OTO - Anyway
13. Ruth - Polaroïd/Roman/Photo
14. Stereo - Somewhere in the Night
15. The Neon Judgement - The Fashion Party
16. Land of Giants - Cannibal Dolls
17. Days of Sorrow - Travel
Angular Records will release Cold Waves and Minimal Electronics Vol.1 on February 22nd 2010.