Well, as this compilation is over 35 years old, it can no longer claim to be an album of Contemporary anything, but it does have some electronic music on it ,by some of the bigger names of the UK's electronic underground of the early eighties. And I note that none of this lot have yet to retire.
A few of these tracks one would hesitate at calling them strictly 'Electronic'.Experimental pop with incidental electronics is good enough for Eyeless In Gaza,and Those Little Aliens hark back to the time when magnetic Tape manipulation was called 'Electronic' Music.I suppose anything made with machines that one plugs into the mains is technically 'Electronic' so there you are!?
Tracklist:
A1 –Chris & Cosey-Devil God
A2 –Those Little Aliens-Ismalia
A3 –Eyeless In Gaza-Dusky Ruth
A4 –Eyeless In Gaza-Through Eastfields
A5 –David Jackman-Do The Dog
A6 –Ian Boddy-Follow
A7 –The Legendary Pink Dots-Hanging Gardens
B1 –Ian Boddy-Skylights
B2 –Paul Nagle-A Journey In The Dark
B3 –Carl Matthews-As Above, So Below
B4 –Colin Potter-Rooftops
A wide ranging compilation that included all the leading lights of the UK Electronic Underground.....aka a fancy way of saying 'Prog'......are collected on this c-90/c-60 double package.Compiled in 1985 by our chums from the Ultima Thule Record Shop in Leicester; whose own projects (Alto Stratus and Zircon etc) take up a hefty 20 minutes of tape time.....and why not?
A wide range of abstract experimentation is on display over these two and a half hours, ranging from Ambient electronics to mid range Industrial, to the madness of DDAA,categorised in the 'Other' category on iTunes.
Tracklist:
White Side
A1 –Paul Nagle-Skrying 8:45
A2 –Peter Frohmader-Pharaonische Grabkammar 9:10
A3 –Colin Potter-Potters Wheel 6:14
A4 –Region 5-In The Cage Of Crystal Moonlight 5:43
A5 –Conrad Schnitzler- 1·11·84 7:02
A6 –Adhara Alucian Landscape 6:58
Yellow Side
B1 –Ken Moore In The Field With Flowers & A Toilet 5:47
B2 –Kevin O'Neill The Claws That Catch 5:39
B3 –Peter Frohmader Sepulchral Choirs 11:28
B4 –Alto Stratus The Captive 14:56
B5 –Paul Kelday Timelord 5:06
Grey Side
C1 –Günter Schickert Powolerman/Suleika 8:53
C2 –Land Of Yrx Merman Ikon Bee 7:07
C3 –Bourbonese Qualk-Blackout 3:02
C4 –New 7th Music-Tlazolteotl 5:03
C5 –Hartmann-Forget The Past 3:08
Blue Side
D1 –R N Andrews- Humphrey's Final Words 2:06
D2 –Aussenminister-City Wolf 4:29
D3 –Zircon & The Burning Brains-Imaginé 5:16
D4 –Input- Heavy Street 4:19
D5 –David Gate-Nothing Isn't Everything 3:39
D6 –Rollkomanndo-Nude Picture 2:11
D7 –DDAA-Une Etude De Sonorisation Par Le Sol 4:50
A more Kosmiche outing for Nagle,on his own Soft Room imprint.If we're using the Tangerine Dream analogy again, this starts off like 'Alpha Centuri',then bits of 'Tangram'(again) and 'Richochet' elevate this out of the ambient myre into the realms of accessibility.
Needless to say, it's jam packed with great analogue warmth and a theraputic bubble bath full of stretched out symphonic melodies.
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Paul Nagle was far less proggy (even though it says "Inspired by Tolkien" on the insert!?) than Ian Boddy,leaning towards the library music that played between those programmes for schools back in the 70's and 80's. Too jaunty for use on the Testcard and often strays into minimal synth territory with some tasty analogue sounds.
Music for intermissions rather than the main show,but nevertheless pleasant enough post-prog electronica,like Tangerine Dream around the time of "Tangram", rather than "Phaedra".
Er...that's it.
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