Robert Lawrence ‎– "Soundstorms" (Quick Stab ‎– Prod 14) 1982

Got a bit bored of blogging leading to a notable lack of posts.....i'm only human allegedly.Tell that to my ex-birds, who think I am an emotional Android......sshhhhh....I am an emotional android and proud of it.One of 'em used to call me Spock; who wasn't an Android by the way, but a highly efficient Vulcan/Human hybrid, often let down by his human side.....I'd like to think that's me, but I'm fucking shit at da maffs innit?!
So here's a popular one to break the silence; the prolific bedroom synthesist Rob Lawrence from the west country south wales area of that sceptered isle which once owned the world,lost the world, then owned the world of modern music and popular culture in general. At least we've got something to be proud of in this cesspit of shame.
On a topical note,Cameron/Putin shouldn't have wasted their money on offshore investments in the Virgin Isles; they should have bought a pile of UK DIY tapes, because these Objects D'Art have risen in value incrementally by nigh on one thousand percentage points since they were virtually given away back in the day. An onshore investment worthy of any working class tax avoider worth his or her salt.
Those familiar with the veritable wine-lake of work by Rob Lawrence will know what to expect. Beaucoup de musique electronique of a Lo-fidelity flavour;lo-budget, but Hi-quality. "Soundstorms" is erring on the experimental Krautrock influenced edge of the sonic pizza, crispy but with under cooked toppings,light on cheese with extra Anchovy's. 

Tracklist:

A1 Soundstorm One
A2 Telephonemuzak
B1 Beach Head
B2 House Work
B3 Demagnetised
B4 Soundstorm Two
DOWNLOAD a storm of sound HERE! 

The Die or DIY? Christmas Mixtape 2015 - "Have You Been Naughty Or Nice? Or Will You Have To DIE Or DIY?"(30 Electronic Misses From The Pre-Midi Era)" (a Die or DIY? Mixtape No.8)

As the technology era progresses to the point where we all carry around our brains, now renamed as 'Smart hand Held devices' or 'Phones'. Tech took over pop Music's Brain, if it ever had one, years ago. Dancing to a machine was a rather intriguing Avant garde concept in the late seventies, but that is now music for the masses, thumping its hypnotic beat in every hideous meat market disco around our dying planet. Before MIDI,or Musical Instrument Digital Interface was standardised, so machines could talk to each other, we had the rather unstable Controlled Voltage and gate method of sequencing a synthesiser, or play it by hand. The result of which preserved the much missed human factor that is glaringly missing from today's disco tunes.Even the singer gets 'auto-tuned' on what seems like every record.
So, as you unwrap your new brain replacement device and government tracking and data collection system.....ie your new smart phone. Slip this years Xmas mixtape on your iPhone and marvel at the wobbly, unsyncopated  beats and melodies of these 30 ditties from a time when not being a primordial cyborg was normal.

Tracklisting:

1.Ausgang Verboten - "Consumer"
2.Unovidual & Tara Cross - "Comme Je Suis"
3.Les Yeux Interdit - "Prison"
4.Ptose - "Boule(Viens Ici!)
5.Etat des Stocks - "She's Got Big Tits"
6.Dark Day - "Nudes In The Forest"
7.Danton's Voice - "Magic Mushroom"
8.Andi Arroganti - "Hom-O-Hetero"
9.Das Kabinette - "Fudge It"
10.Deux - "Ministry Of Love"
11.Duotronic Synterror - "Liebe Auf Den Ersten Blick"
12.MAP - "You've Lost That Loving Feeling"
13.Years On Earth - "And I Dream"
14.Sympathy Nervous - "Khaki Cloud"
15.Nine Circles - "The Rose"
16. Das Ding - "Reassurance Ritual"
17.John Bender - "57-1/Dance"
18.Robert Lawrence - "Japanese Brain warning"
19.Sentimentale Jugend - "Tote Kammer"
20.AD - "Conspiracy"
21.Synthefall - "Abzahlreim"
22.Zirkel Junger Musiker - "Hochwasser"
23.Treibeis - "Vinylbabies"
24.The Klingons - "Temptation"
25.Machines At Last - "The Colony"
26.High Bias - "The Killing Of The Cats"
27.Gen Ken Montgomery - "When I'm walking"
28.Another View - "Power Station"
29.Suisse - "Live At Longbourn"
30.Modern Art - "Hello-Goodbye"

DOWNLOAD something naughty but nice HERE!

Machines At Last - "Machines At Last" (Quick Stab ‎– PROD 17) 1982

Paul Shorthouse surfaced again on Quick Stab in 1982,collaborating with Rob Lawrence and chums(which included Dean Poole, of 'A Bagful of Angst' compilation fame), to produce a minimal synth classic to rival anything from 5XOD,or even The Dada Computer,surely not?

DOWNLOAD the digital version at last HERE!

Paul Shorthouse - "Push Button Animal" (Quick Stab PROD 3) 1980

Another of the frequent contributors to the 5XOD family tree was Bristolian chum Paul Shorthouse;who's predeliction towards Jazzy guitar, proggy noodlings,and, even more disturbingly, Mike Oldfield style 'Double Speed Guitar', make this tape more Post-Prog rather than Post-Punk. The title, "Push Button Animal" must refer to pressing 'Play' and 'Record' on the cassette deck rather than buttons on a synthesiser. Very representative of the lost generation caught between 1973 and 1978, who still had long-ish hair,beards and bought the reformed Van Der Graaf Generator mark 2 albums (and why not?Brilliant records,but not bought by new wavers). The Mike Oldfield-isms can be overlooked, and one can focus on the ambient free experimentalism and improvisation revealing a thinly veiled taste for Ornette Coleman and the Free Jazz movement.
Being a Punk Outsider was a definite advantage,allowing a person to admit to his real tastes and influences.The real joy about Post-Punk was its lack of 'Punk Rock' which had become a musical version of 'The Village' from the cult TV series 'The Prisoner'. If you tried to escape, that Punk Rock Balloon thing would come and drag you back. Remember the uproar when Johnny Rotten did that Capital radio show, and admitted he liked Neil Young, Jethro Tull and van der Graaf?
Paul Shorthouse was one of those who stood up,albeit in an obscure understated way, and sang "I am Not a Number, I'm a Free Jazz man!"......Now bring on that Double speed Guitar.....and at LAST! TUBULAR BELLS*!
(*great album,by the way,and the second album i ever bought!?...after Slade's "Old,New,Borrowed and Blue"....i've always been an eclectic twat,sorry?)

Tracklist:

A1	Ear Opener 1/2
A2	Kisses
A3	Home Run
A4	Pete's Dilemma
A5	C.W.C.P. (Christopher's Whipped Cream Profiteroles)
A6	Mouthful
B1	Plastic Surgery
B2	Need Your Love
B3	All The Poison
B4	Push Button Animal
B5	Chicken Wing
B6	Vine
B7	5am Job
B8	Empty
B9	Wicked Wanda

DOWNLOAD paul to your house shortly HERE!

Five Times Of Dust (5XOD) ‎– "Yum Yum Music" (Stichting Stopcontact ‎– CC9) 1984

More inventive minimal electronica from our fav minimal electronica act 5XOD. This time on a Dutch cassette label,which is slightly different to the UK version,which apparently included a program for the zx Spectrum.The Irony of this stuff is that around 1984 this would have been thought of as 'old fashioned' as the 'cutting edge' Electronic acts moved towards the digital era,forsaking actual 'electronic' sounds in favour of simulated trumpets,and other aural atrocities. In the second decade of the 21st century this now sounds, ironically, contemporary, if not still slightly futuristic. Retro-futurism at its zenith; an eighties computer game soundtrack that the kids dance to at the discothéque.If the kids actually interact with each other physically nowadays that is?

Tracklist:

A1	Can You See Me Now?
A2	Negative Terminal
A3	Data
A4	Plastische Taschen
A5	The Mainframe
A6	Yellow Luv
B1	Computers Are In Control
B2	The Lollipop Song
B3	Wall Of Numbers
B4	Estate Children
B5	Girl With A Vdu (Part 2)
B6	Angular

DOWNLOAD and make a yummy sound HERE!

Five Times Of Dust (5XOD) ‎– "Befor The Beginning We Were Living" (Quick Stab ‎– PROD 18) 1982

Lo-Budget,Lo-Fi, Lo-Spec, Lo- Tech,1982 style,made to sound like something fresh from Today/the future. When I last looked it was 2015, and this tape is a testament against the art strangling nature of too much tech,of the endless possibilities of the 'modern' world. If you scan the instruments and non-instruments used in the creation of this fizzing fuzzy bleep fest , you will be surprised to see an unnerving lack of 'proper' synthesizers.Not that modern synth's can recreate this sound without an equal amount of inventiveness that was used by necessity to create it in 1982. The Human League were at the top of the charts, with a bank of top of the range Synth's,with a top producer (Martin Rushent) to program them ,and write the top pop hits for them. Of course The Human League used to sound like 5XOD in their earlier incarnations; more proof that being given endless possibilities produces turgid nonsense 9 times out of 10. 5XOD are a fine example of using creativity with improvised 'make do and mend' lo-tech to produce something with a life of its own.

Tracklist:

A1	Rattlesnake
A2	Cruelty Without Beauty
A3	Refugee Train
A4	Timeline
A5	Pseudo Martyr (Dogchild Theme)
B1	Computer Garden
B2	Song For Louise
B3	Love Cancer
B4	I Can't Want (You Anymore)
B5	Zero Rtn

DOWNLOAD befor you die HERE!

5ive Ximes Of Dust (5XOD) - "5XOD" (MAP Tapes- Amp002) 1982

Ok, What's the best Minimal Synth record ever?.......correct....."The Dada Computer" by The Dada Computer", who were Mark Phillips (aka MAP, Ampnoise) and Robert Lawrence (aka Robert Lawrence),who were also known as 5ive Ximes Of Dust, aka 5XOD.......is that clear?
I guess that this was their first outing as (i'll use the contracted form from now onwards) 5XOD, with this 9 track C-45. Packed with their trademark lo-budget fizzy solid state electronica, which produces some of the most beautiful analogue sine wave majesty ever captured on chrom-dioxide tape.
It has that ZX spectrum/Commodore C64 retro game soundtrack feel to it, but far more substantial,and doesn't get on your fucking nerves. I could listen to this all day long,and still want more.Can't rate this Bristolian duo highly enough (Even though Rob Lawrence was based in Cardiff;just a Toll Bridges ride away).

DOWNLOAD as many Ximes as you like HERE!

Robert Lawrence ‎– "Imagination Dead Imagine" (Quick Stab ‎– Prod. 5) 1981

Basically, a live performance at Bristol Arts Centre on Valentines day 1981. Oh!what Romance to be serenaded by a live mix of three cassette recorders and a reel to reel; backing R.Lawrence on synth,clarinet,guitar with vocals that sound not unlike Frank Sidebottom. This the is classic UK DIY sound in action. Long formless tracks that sound like they were recorded in a cardboard box full of cotton wool, barely competent musicianship,radio voices, white noise dominant rhythm box's,and cheap electronics. Echoes of the highly influential Cabaret Voltaire are more than apparent here, as the co-creator of the classic Dada Computer album is captured, exploring the sonic possibilities as he searches for a sound of his own. 

(I edited the tracks as best as I could...there are 5 tracks listed,but i ended up with six!?...so i glued two back together making track 5.)

Tracklist:

A1	Track 1 (14.33)
A2	Track 2 (12.57)
A3	Track 3 (2.45)
B1	Track 4 (9.10)
B2	Track 5 (17.45)

DOWNLOAD imaginatively HERE!

Robert Lawrence - "Electron Sorceror" (Self-Released Cassette) 1982

Robert Lawrence?Wasn't he in Five Ximes Of Dust,and  isn't he one of the genii behind one of the greatest minimal electronic albums of all time,and even before that; "The Dada Computer"?.......Yes ,it is he, and this tape of unreleased demo's is taken from that same cooking pot of divine inspiration.
Minimal, analogue,classic vintage tech,recorded in high fidelity to reveal the real beauty of the music.Like peeling off centuries of grime from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel....except this reveals a masterpiece,unlike the Sistine Chapel which revealed a rather garish amateurish fresco.
Is Robert Lawrence the Michaelangelo of Minimal Synth?.....on this evidence I'd have to say YES!
It just depends on how highly you rate Michaelangelo.(His statues did have a habit of losing limbs after all.)

Track Listing:

1  Electric Technology (1.04)
2  Bassmatix 30 (3.33)
3  Sunshine Dance (3.03)
4  Going To X5 Colony (2.54)
5  The Box Of Unlimited Happiness (1.42)
6  Broken Pipes exposed 6 (2.22)
7  Japanese Brain warning (1.43)
8  If I didn't Know Better (3.50)
9  Shanghai Music (4.30)
10 Thermal Punch (5.13)

DOWNLOAD some saucy electrons HERE! 

Various Artists - "We Couldn't Agree On A Title" - (Integrated Circuit Records ICR 001) 1981

Many "big" names from the DIY cassette scene on here. The debut vinyl release on Colin Potter's Integrated Circuit Record/tape Label.
You get the usual muffled third generation overdubbing sound from the Instant Automatons. Colin Potter provides the electronics, and sounds like it could have recorded today.Digital Dinosaurs, give us some amateur song craft,and sound like Donovan fed through a ring modulator; but what do you expect from some hippies who live in Coventry?
Phillip Johnson sounds like a really fucked mono cassette player recording of a bus depot being played at the end of 200 miles of piping.This is good.Magnificent songs,DIY/minimal synth masterpieces here!

Tracklisting:

Colin Potter - Behind You
Colin Potter - We Are So Glad
Missing Persons - Buried Alive
Missing Persons - Mama
Missing Persons - Electrical Storm
The Instant Automatons - Routine Habit
The Instant Automatons - Invertebrates
The Walking Floors - If I Could Turn The Clock Back
The Victims Of Romance - 9 AM
The Digital Dinosaurs - Organs
The Digital Dinosaurs - Hole
Robert Lawrence - Heart Finds A Home
Those Little Aliens - Sentimental
Those Little Aliens - Low Point X
Mic Woods - Why
The 012 - Blabber 'n' Smoke
Philip Johnson - The Bridewell
Philip Johnson - Anaesthetic (changed version


We can agree to DOWNLOAD HERE!