Archive for the new wave tag

Soviet: Circuit Love

I really can’t help but love Soviet. I’m a sucker for bands who are suckers for vintage synths, and these guys are all over it, albeit they’re using old instruments to make futuristic music. Similar to Solvent, this is pop music for robots and people who live in those super techy sky homes that we were supposed to have by now. I’m pretty sure the only reason Keith Ruggiero isn’t in Valerie is that he hasn’t moved to France yet.

“Circuit Love” is from the very synthpop 2001 album We Are Eyes We Are Builders, but there’s actually a newer Soviet release out called Spies In The House of Love that’s a little more rock, and sounds like something I’d expect to hear in a John Hughes movie.

official website
Buy Soviet on Amazon.com

Upstation: Get It On

Moscow-based new wave band Upstation is surprisingly good for an act that has existed for less than a year. Their analog synths are sprinkled with bits of disco, and not afraid to hang out with some guitars. Between these guys, Cut Copy, and the Valerie collective, I hereby stop even using the term “retro”, as it is clearly pointless. 21st century pop music sounds like early ’80s pop music. I’m ok with that.

From their self-titled EP, available to download for free on the Upstation official website

Blondie: Hanging On The Telephone / Deborah Harry’s Birthday

Tonight, July 1st, we’re celebrating Debbie Harry’s birthday. In lieu of my own story, I’d like to share someone else’s. As Suzanne Shelton wrote on our facebook event page:

This is more appropriate than you know: Blondie was playing at ParkWest the night we opened Neo – everyone from the show turned up to make the club an immediate success. And “Hanging on the Telephone” was one on the first songs I played that night.

Ok I knew that story, but for those who don’t know, Suzanne was the very first resident dj at Neo, and she’s referring to its opening night on July 25, 1979. She’s also responsible for convincing the owners to let her play a new kind of music called “new wave”. I am occasionally blown away (and sometimes despaired by) the realization that this music has been played in this club for 31 years. That said, the early days of Neo were much different than they are today, as the club’s focus has gone from punk, ska, and mod to goth and industrial to synthpop and EBM.

I feel like we’re celebrating more than just Debbie Harry’s birthday at the start of this Independence Day weekend. We’re celebrating Blondie, we’re celebrating Neo, and a country where an underground nightclub can exist for three decades.

From the 1978 classic Parallel Lines, available on amazon.com
official website

New Wave Syria: Random Logic

Actually hailing from Slovenia, New Wave Syria is Ursa Golob and Rok Pezdirc of Superheroes of BMX. Their rock background provides a more band-focused approach to this electronic side project that definitely comes across in the music. If you like Adult, you should probably just go download their whole album (link below).

“Random Logic” adds a layer of rough distortion over mechanical new wave, sounding like it was recorded in the middle of a factory. A delicate melody and Ursa’s Ralf Hütter-style vocals provide just enough balance to keep the knob-twiddling from being overwhelming. This isn’t necessarily the format that all of their songs follow; on some tracks, its the vocals that add the edge, at points the music feels almost ambient, at others poppy.

Available on thier album Hello, Yes, which you can download for free or purchase on cd via their MySpace page.

official website

Miss Kittin: On The Way To San Jose

It’s from last year, but this mix deserves a post. Recorded for Death Disco Radio, the megatalented French musician and DJ Miss Kittin (of Miss Kittin and The Hacker fame) reaches back to her roots with this perfectly executed freestyle-heavy retro mix. Yes, Miss Kittin doing freestyle. I’m not even much of a fan of the genre, but I love this mix. You have to hear it. She drops some Ebn-Ozn, Yaz, Anne Clark, New Order, and Exposé in here, if that gives you an idea.

Available (for free!) on the Death Disco Radio Podcast or on Podfeed, for the less iTunes-inclined. Also check out the other mixes and live recordings; they’re quite good as well and include a stellar list of djs and producers.
Death Disco Radio on MySpace

Nine Circles: Here Come I + Twinkling Stars

Lying somewhere between Joy Division and Fad Gadget and sounding far more French than they actually are is a Dutch duo I’ll almost guarantee you’ve never heard of: Nine Circles. I can say this with some confidence because most of their catalog, though recorded in 1982, was never even released until 1996. No, I’m not making that up. I have no idea why they sat on it so long, because they probably would’ve been a big hit in some alternative dance clubs 28 years ago.

According to their MySpace page (sorry, it’s all I have to go on), Lidia Fiala and Peter Van Garderen are actually doing concerts still. I doubt we will ever see them here in the States, but I can always hope they’ll open on the next Ladytron tour…

Nine Circles on MySpace
Buy Nine Circles on Amazon.com

Cybotron: Cosmic Cars + Model 500: Night Drive / Movement Detroit May 29-31

Movement 2009 photo by donte

If you go back far enough in electronic music, it all sort of starts to sound like one genre–and in the very early ’80s, it sort of was. Before Justice and The Presets, THIS was the original electro. Cybotron was the first moniker of Richard Davis and none other than Juan Atkins, a name I can only hope you recognize as, you know, one of those Detroit guys who created a type of Kraftwerk-sampling futuristic electronic robot music that he called “techno”. After founding the label Metroplex in 1985, he started using the name Model 500. In these tracks, you can hear both a European new wave influence and the infancy of the titan that came to be known as Detroit techno.

Movement, more commonly known as the Detroit Electronic Music Festival [or DEMF], comprises of five stages with almost 100 performers as an annual celebration of both the city’s influence on and the future of electronic music. Acts range from legendary producers such as Atkins to up and coming musicians and DJs, turning downtown Detroit into a massive party as 80,000 people from all walks of life listen to music and dance for three days. It’s an amazing experience I’d recommend to anyone who isn’t put off by the sound of a drum machine.

Juan Atkins will be performing live as Model 500 at Movement on May 31. See the Paxahau website more information.

Buy Juan Atkins’ music on Amazon.com
Juan Atkins on MySpace

Note: Whether you’ve never been to Detroit or a seasoned DEMF-goer, if you’re planning on attending, I highly recommend reading this article from our friends at JustQualityMusic: JQM Guide To Getting Down At Movement 2010, with festival tips and a list of must-see Movement sets, outside events, and Detroit attractions.

A-ha: The Sun Always Shines On TV / Atomic May 13

When people think of A-ha, the first thing that usually comes to mind is “Take On Me”, shortly followed by the thought “one hit wonders”. Oh but how we forget the ’80s… A-ha also won an MTV Music Video Award [back when that meant something] for “The Sun Always Shines On TV”, a better song in my opinion and something of a follow up video, featuring that girl. What is wrong with her!? She’s always shrinking away from Morten Harket like she’s afraid of him. Yes, hot Scandinavian men in combat boots singing synthpop…totally frightening.

Twenty-five years later, A-ha is doing one last world tour before they call it quits [they've been putting out albums, good ones even, all this time]. They haven’t been to Chicago since 1986, so chances are this is the only chance you have had or will have to see them. Tickets available here.

We’ll be hosting the official afterparty that night, so come by and see us after the show–and bring your ticket stub to get in free. Guest DJing with us that evening will be DJ Nando, and I can’t tell you how excited we are to be having him in the booth with us that night. Nando’s career stretches as far as A-ha’s, and he has a reputation in Chicago for throwing down some amazing new wave sets. We’re honored to have him at Atomic for his first gig ever at Neo.

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