Archive for the depeche mode tag

Ministry: Same Old Madness

So, you all know industrial gods Ministry. Most of you are familiar with the likes of "So What," "Stigmata" and "Jesus Built My Hotrod." You're even pretty familiar with the first Ministry album With Sympathy, which you're afraid to admit that you like better than the rest of their work. You wish Al Jourgensen would have kept hanging out with Depeche Mode (I kid!) for more fake British accent and made more records like this.

But HEY! You can take one more trip down that synthy route that they were known for at the time with this unreleased single "Same Old Madness."

This track still has not seen an official release. It was originally supposed to see light in 1982 as the band's second single following "Cold Life." The song was recorded and a video was filmed (partially at Chicago's Metro, as legend has it) until Ministry decided to move to Arista Records for the release of With Sympathy.

Sidenote: Angry Biker Al in the video? MMM, what a treat.

Ministry at Amazon.com

Atomic Halloween Mix 2009

I made a quick mix this afternoon, loosely based on my sets at our costume contest Thursday night. Have a great Halloween!

photo by Jason Ernst, wildharedesigns.com

Tracklisting:
Human League: Darkness
Anne Clark: Sleeper In Metropolis
Cabaret Voltaire: Yashar [John Robie Mix]
Ministry: Everyday is Halloween
Animotion: Obsession
Duran Duran: Wild Boys
Depeche Mode: Personal Jesus [Pump Mix]
Michael Jackson: Thriller [DiscoTech Remix]
Front 242: Welcome To Paradise

Figures on a Beach: No Stars

Based out of Detroit, Figures on a Beach made their first mark on the new wave with their independent debut EP Swimming, which became a Detroit favorite and underground radio staple. It quickly caught the attention of dance mix master Ivan Ivan (responsible for discovering synthpop sweethearts Book of Love and scoring a club hit with "The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight"), who helped them in advancing their sound as well as getting signed to Sire Records along side the likes of Depeche Mode and Erasure.

Figures on a Beach are most notable for their track "No Stars" from their debut album Standing on Ceremony (also their debut record on Sire) in 1987. With vocals that slightly resemble Bryan Ferry and Bunnymen-esque guitars, Figures on a Beach had their five minutes with this track before becoming a victim to 90's grunge (ick!) and calling it a day in 1991.

Standing on Ceremony was recently released in CD format, making Figures on a Beach's material available for the first time digitally.

official website
Figures on a Beach on Amazon

The Assembly: Never Never

If you are into New Wave in any way, shape or form, chances are the name Vince Clarke is very familiar to you. You knew him on Depeche Mode's Speak & Spell. You knew him from two Yaz (or Yazoo) records. You certainly knew him as a partner in crime for Andy Bell in Erasure. But did you know him in the Assembly?

The Assembly were a short-lived project started by Clarke with producer Eric Radcliffe, following closely after the split of Yaz in 1983. Their original idea was to have a new singer on every track but only ended up releasing one single entitled "Never Never." The singer chosen for the track was Feargal Sharkey of the Undertones - quite a departure from the sound of that band and an unlikely match for Clarke, but somehow it worked. The result was a little piece of magic which still remains a perfect (synth)pop song, similar to that of Yaz's "Only You."

"It never happens to me, maybe that's the way my life was meant to be..." Now, what new waver can't relate to that?!

Portion Control: The Great Divide

Portion Control are one of the most influential artists in the canon of  electronic music, and name-checked by some of the biggest underground artists in electronic music, including Front 242, Skinny Puppy, and Depeche Mode.  Even Trent Reznor cited them recently as a major influence.  Yet for some reason, Portion Control are still virtually unknown to many; which is a crime, because they wrote some of the best hard rhythmic electronic anthems ever during the years of 1982-1986.
This south London trio started their rhythmic chaos in 1980.  Their earliest cassettes resembled  sounds of layered cut up industrial noise that the geniuses Cabaret Voltaire manipulated.  As PC progressed further, their sound got harder.  Imagine if you will the furious noise of Throbbing Gristle spliced into the electro funk of Grand Master Flash. Combine hard analogue keyboards with propulsive beats, noises, but several melodic elements. Add Dean Piavani's voice, rather punk and gruff to contrast the cold machines. It's the perfect foil that gave rise to a new genre of music coined by the UK music press in '84, "electro punk".

However, it was 1985 when Portion Control flirted with possible stardom with the seminal 12 inch single, The Great Divide.  What was so great about this song was that it bridged a gap musically to very diverse sub-cultures. Nihilistic post-industrialists, B-Boy rappers, punk rockers, and house DJs all were mesmerized by how Portion Control used and abused the beat.  In fact, back in the day, the cool kids used to break dance in the clubs to the "The Great Divide."  Even to this day, one can go to a club, and chances are the DJ might have a copy of "The Great Divide".  In 1986, after the release of "Psycho-Bod Saves the World,"  they stopped recording music under the name, and tried a different project called Solar Enemy. The legend grew around the band only for them to re-surface in 2004.  Since their return to 'rapid response electronics,'  Portion Control has been very busy releasing a double album, two full lengths, EPs, and a 7" rebuild version of one of their biggest hits, "Chew You To Bits.   There are some people that would argue that Portion Control are better than ever.  The counting continues once more.

Portion Control on iTunes

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