The Digital Space Between is the first in a series of EBM and industrial compilations in the mid-90s. Volume one was released in 1994 by the early Danish record label Hard Records. The subsequent volumes, of which there were two more, were taking over by Cleopatra Records. This one is the rarer of the three volumes and was a solid part of the formation of my interest in electronic music in college. I just so happened to find it used in a pawn shop. What I always liked about this comp is that besides presenting the obvious “heavy-hitters” like Front 242, KMFDM, and Skinny Puppy, it also served as an introduction to many far lesser known acts. For example, I was quite a fan of the THD track here, and included it on several industrial mixtapes I made for myself in college. As I found out in later years, THD is a duo consisting of Ed Vargo and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native Shawn Rudiman, who I’ve had the pleasure of seeing perform techno at various parties in Pittsburgh. There are many other classics to be found on The Digital Space Between too, like Leather Strip, Numb, Cubanate, Clock DVA. I can sit here and name the whole list, but it’s right below here. This comp would be recommended to anyone who still prefers the classic style of EBM before it got hijacked by trance and other things. There are many gems here that have probably been overlooked and need to be heard again. Click the image above to be taken to the Discogs page for more information about each artist.

Tracklisting:
1 Front 242 / Modern Angel (KMFDM Remix) (4:22)
2 THD (2) / Hypo (Bitcomm Mix) (5:36)
3 Contagion / Turn Of The Screw (3:22)
4 Dive / In The Glasshouse (4:15)
5 Skinny Puppy / Scrapyard (3:52)
6 Leæther Strip / Adrenalin Rush (Vegger Version) (5:30)
7 Numb / Ratblast (4:53)
8 Vomito Negro / L.A.T. (Living Apart Together) (4:20)
9 Cubanate / Body Burn (Julian Beeston 7″ Mix) (3:47)
10 Clock DVA / Hacked (Reprogrammed III) (3:43)
11 Swamp Terrorists / Pale Torment (Convert Single Remix) (4:24)
12 Die Krupps / Paradise Of Sin (4:05)
13 Insekt / Digging In Your Soul (Insekt Remix) (4:13)
14 Bigod 20 / The Bog (Shot Mix) (5:28)
15 Naked Apes / Leave Me Alone / SMF (4:18)
16 Templebeat / Interzone (M. Lega Mix) (5:03)

THD – Hypo (Bitcomm Mix)

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Leather Strip – Adrenalin Rush (Vegger Version)

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Die Krupps – Paradise of Sin

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Kibuka is the new project of long-time Clock DVA / T.A.G.C. member Dean Dennis, released in 2009. The album is being distributed by himself through Myspace.

Dennis started his career in his teenage years as a member of the first incarnation of legendary British act Clock DVA. Following DVA’s break-up in the mid-80s, Dennis went on to collaborate again with DVA frontman Adi Newton on his T.A.G.C. project. In 1988, Clock DVA resumed activities again with a much harder-edged electronic sound for the album Buried Dreams, on which Dennis and Newton were again joined by Paul A. Browse.

Browse left the group after Buried Dreams and was replaced by Robert Baker. Dennis departed Clock DVA after working on the stellar albums Digital Soundtracks and Man-Amplified in 1992. After DVA’s final break-up in 1994, Dennis embarked on his first solo journey with the project Sector. He released two albums for Atmosphere in the mid-90s, and then took a long hiatus before returning to the project in 2002 with the release The Yellow Room.

In 2006, Dennis released the album Metropolis for his new project, called Nohno. Which brings us up to the present day in February 2009. Kibuka is Dennis’ new electronic project, and on it, he is joined by his friend Snook, who also did the excellent artwork for the beautiful digipak. Containing 16 tracks, Dystopia is a more beat-driven than Nohno, and is a dark, atmospheric fusion of electro and IDM with razor-sharp basslines and clean programming. It’s described as the soundtrack for conspiracy theorists and paranoiacs.

The album is capped by two “bonus” tracks, both of which are nearly twice as long as any other track on the album. The first is the extended Lustmord dark and dubby remix of “All Seeing Eye”, at over 10 minutes in length. It is somewhat atypical of the material Lustmord usually produces, but it is a pretty awesome one.

The second, and the album’s closer, is a deep ambient treatment of “Chimera” by Spiralized and Paul A. Browse. This remix marks the first collaboration between Dennis and Browse since Buried Dreams was released. Another remix was supposed to be included, done by French artist Irezumi, but did not make the cut due to time constraints. Otherwise, a fine end to an excellent album.

Dean Dennis has always kept up a high quality of work and Dystopia continues that trend with what may be his best album to date. Truly, a fine album to relax and listen to and is highly recommended for all fans of underground electronic music.

Tracklisting:
1 Sucking Up That Stuff (4:16)
2 Cell By Cell (4:07)
3 Mystery Tour (3:39)
4 Run Run (4:03)
5 New Talk (4:32)
6 Theta (In Memory Of Nick Sanderson) (4:33)
7 Monstrous (5:13)
8 Ripple Effect (4:30)
9 The Masquerade (4:19)
10 Dolly Mop (4:29)
11 True Colours (4:05)
12 Future Fiction (3:24)
13 System Control (4:11)
14 Dystopia (3:19)
15 All Seeing Eye (10:31)
16 Chimera (7:13)

* Last updated, 7/30/09 *

“This transmission coming up just may rekindle your will to live.” This originally popped up years ago on an anonymous FTP called fsol.disenchanted.com, along with many other live radio transmissions. The site ceased to exist and I was lucky to manage to keep a copy of the download I had. However, FSOL has instituted a sub-page for fsoldigital.com, called The Pod Room, which contains various live radio transmissions, podcasts and mixes. Thus, I have removed the previous download link I had in place here. This is the first of 2 mixes for BBC Radio 1 and Pete Tong’s Essential Mix; this one in 1993, the second in 1995. While the mix isn’t ultra-heavy on FSOL material for its 2-hour length, what makes this mix noteworthy is it contains many snippets titled Amorphous Androgynous “Environments”. Environments was referenced in the liner notes to the album Lifeforms as being the next Amorphous Androgynous release, after Tales of Ephidrina. It was never released, and after FSOL returned from an extended hiatus, they appropriated the Amorphous Androgynous name for their psychedelic rock-styled releases. Environments, and its companion, Enviroments II were made available in 2008, but I am unclear on how the material has been re-worked. Among other artists featured on this sprawling mix include Aphex Twin, Vapourspace, Tangerine Dream, Dr. Atmo, and more. There is absolutely no way for me to be sure what the actual tracklisting is, but I have made an attempt based on the information I had from the original download from the FTP site. With or without an accurate tracklisting, this is still a stellar mix that takes you on a great voyage and thanks to FSOL for making it properly available again.

Tracklisting (not confirmed):
1. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
2. The Future Sound of London – Cascade (Lifeforms version)
3. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
4. Air Liquide – Sun Progress
5. Morganistic – In the Shadow
6. Unknown – Unknown
7. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
8. Rabbit in the Moon – Dubassex
9. Mad Doc – Entrance
10. Yann Tomita – Beyond the Blue Star Zone Part 1
11. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
12. Aphex Twin – Schotkey 7th Path
13. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
14. Sad World – Terasury
15. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
16. Nero Project – Wizard of the Four Winds
17. The Future Sound of London – Room 208
18. Paul Weller – Kosmos XS Dub 2000 (Original Version)
19. Zuvuya – Grabbing Nandi By the Horn (Pan’s Pineal mix)
20. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
21. Vapour Space – Gravitational Arch of 10 (Telepathic variation 1.3)
22. Hypnopedia – Spectral
23. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
24. Transglobal Underground – Hymn to Us
25. Axis – 13th Floor
26. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
27. Amorphous Androgynous – Mountain Goat
28. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
29. The Future Sound of London – Cerebral
30. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
31. Tangerine Dream – Zen Garden (Ryoanji Temple Kyoto)
32. Tangerine Dream – Breakout
33. Banco De Gaia – Desert Wind (Sunset Mix)
34. The Future Sound of London – Vit
35. The Future Sound of London – Lifeforms
36. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
37. The Space Cadets – Stotinki (Transglobal Underground mix)
38. Sound Clash Republic – One Monitor Shy (Part 2)
39. Reload – Akinzor
40. The Future Sound of London – Cascade (Shortform)
41. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
42. Coldcut – Autumn Leaves (Irresistible Force remix)
43. Third Far Hand – The Cauldron
44. KPM Foundation – Circles
45. Amorphous Androgynous – Environments
46. Titanic – Space Cow

* Last updated, 7/30/09 *

System 7 is a UK-based techno / ambient duo formed in 1990. While System 7 has had a large following in the techno community of those last 18 years, partners Miquette Giraudy and Steve Hillage’s musical careers stretch back at least into the early 70s as members of the psychedelic space rock group Gong. System 7 are usually joined by a cast of collaborators, such as Derrick May, Martin Glover, and Dr. Alex Paterson among others. Hillage has returned the favor in kind by delivering remixes and collaborations with The Orb and others. In addition, Richie Hawtin assumed his Plastikman alias for an acid techno remix of 1995′s Alpha Wave. Borobudur / Ring Of Fire was released in 1998 and came right around the time I started to be involved with the “rave” scene. While I am not overly fond of “Borobudur” at all, the Advent remixes are some heavy techno, but the true crown jewel is the epic Troniq / Volcaniq mixes by System 7 themselves. A ripping, nearly 20-minute (when listened back to back) tech-trance stormer was featured on DJ Brian’s Hardesertrance 2 mix CD. These mixes also happened to be the crown jewel of Brian’s set, because without them there wouldn’t have been much left. I have never had the opportunity to see them play in person, but I am sure with tracks like this it would be a great show. System 7 has an excellent new album out in 2008 on their own A-Wave label and be sure to check out all the stuff on Planet Gong.

Tracklisting:
1 Borobudur (Single Version) (3:37)
2 Ring Of Fire (The Advent Touch III) (7:14)
3 Ring Of Fire (The Advent Touch I) (5:36)
4 Ring Of Fire (The Advent Touch II) (5:29)
5 Ring Of Fire (Troniq Mix) (11:14)
6 Ring Of Fire (Volcaniq Mix) (8:31)

System 7 – Ring Of Fire (Troniq Mix)

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System 7 – Ring Of Fire (Volcaniq Mix)

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I’ve decided to combine two previous posts together for the sake of unity, since they are directly related to each other. Para and X10, released in 1990 and 1991, respectively, are two side-projects by Marc Verhaeghen, also known as Klinik. Both were released on Belgium’s Antler Subway label.

Neither record is strictly a solo album; on Zentese, Verhaeghen is joined by his wife Sabine Voss, who contributed tapes, effects, and background spoken word. For Semblance, Verhaeghen composed and performed all of the music himself, but vocals are also provided by Marc Ickx (A Split Second) on three songs, and Niki Mono, who I don’t know of. Musically, I prefer the Para album more, with its style of minimal EBM. On Semblance, the songs with Ickx sound like slowed down versions of A Split Second, and I was never too much of a fan of female vocals anyway, so we see how that would go.

However, having said that, the best part of both albums for me are the tracks “Semblance” and “Lost Ambience” (16 and a half minutes long) from Semblance. Both are instrumental ambient tracks, and “Lost Ambience” happens to feature Vidna Obmana who contributes atmospheres and electronics. Years after this, Verhaeghen would release an ambient Klinik album, Akhet in 2003 and also began a series of collaborative albums with Vidna Obmana, two of which have been released thus far.

In 2008, the German label Hands Productions released Projects, a two CD compilation of different Verhaeghen side-projects from 1989 to 1992. I cannot fathom why they would have have just re-released all of these albums, but whatever. Disc one features half of the first two Noise Unit albums (Verhaeghen’s collaborations with Bill Leeb and Rhys Fulber of Front Line Assembly), and X10 Feat. Tec Trance, released in 1992. On disc two, six tracks of the X10 album are represented, as well as Zentese, minus “Watch Out”, and “Back To 89″, the 22 minute ambient drone piece that concludes the album. However, from Semblance, the title track and “Lost Ambience” are NOT included. You win some, you lose some. Finally, to round out disc two, Projects includes three songs from D-sign’s 1991 release Burning Cells, a collaboration with Eliane & Philippe Fichot (Die Form).

Given the extreme difficulty in obtaining these old Antler Subway releases, I would say that it would be  a wise decision for anyone interested to pick up a copy of Projects as soon as possible.

X10 – Lost Ambience

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Parade Ground is a Belgian duo consisting of brothers Jean-Marc and Pierre Pauly, who formed the group in 1983. They had a string of 12″ releases over the next five years, which culminated with the release of their first LP Cut Up in 1988. The LP was accompanied by two singles, Hollywood and Strange World. They promptly disappeared from the scene for several years, until they were credited on the Front 242 albums 06:21:03:11 Up Evil and 05:22:09:12 Off in 1993. I never figured out what happened in the 15 years since those two Front 242 albums were released, but Parade Ground did resurface in 2005 or so, with a rather experimental new album called Rosary, the first release for the new Belgian label Sleep Walking Records. I had contacted the band through Myspace asking if any of these vinyl releases would ever make into onto CD as a retrospective package, but I think that might not be likely because of some rights issues or something. Some updated remixes would be interesting to see as well, but all of that remains to be seen. For the time being, this is the collected works of Parade Ground’s vinyl material.

Tracklisting:

Moan on the Sly
A Moan On The Sly
B1 Riddle In The Stained Glass Windows
B2 When The Fever Stops

Man in a Trance
A Retired (3:80)
B1 This Luxury (4:20)
B2 The Net (5:12)

Took Advantage
A Took Advantage
B1 Moral Support

Dual Perspective
A1 Gold Rush (4:00)
A2 Snake (3:40)
B1 Moans (3:50)
B2 Action Replay (3:15)

Hollywood
A Hollywood (5:15)
B Hollywood (The Sexiest Fish) (4:35)

Strange Days
A Strange World (3:21)
B1 Off Balance (3:25)
B2 The Chosen One (3:30)

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