Lovelock

Lovelock is an alias of Steve Moore from synth-rock duo Zombi. There isn't much material out there at the moment, but what's there is very good. The first (and currently only) official release was the smooth disco groove of Don't Turn Away (From My Love), which closed last years Cosmic Balearic Beats Vol.1 compilation on Eskimo records. I found a couple of other tracks floating around the net this week that really caught my attention, somehow I managed to miss the hype last summer!

Featured on the current Mixmag cover cd from Aeroplane, Burning Feeling has a slow but solid chugging metallic beat with a number of melodious synth elements layered on top. The male vocal is pretty decent and everything builds nicely to the BIG sounding chorus. Love Reaction ups the tempo, this time with a female vocal over a driving beat, high energy bassline and guitar power chords, with twinkling synths sprinkled in at all the right moments. Midway through the track is an awesome guitar/synth solo. The only complaint about either of these tracks is that they both fade out (and that they are still unavailable).

Download the tracks from Electrorash
Lovelock on Myspace

Space Art

I've featured Space Art here before as part of my Psyche-Out! series of posts. They were a French duo formed in 1977 and their music is very French sounding. On keyboards was Dominique Perrier and on drums was Roger Rizzitelli. I was lucky to find all 3 of their albums on my travels in North America last summer. I wasn't previously aware of the group but picked them out due to the cover art, the band name and track titles; I wasn't disappointed. This post is to celebrate the fact that I've finally got around to transferring all three LP's to mp3! Apparently these were not released outside of France but obtaining a copy of the first two LP's online certainly won't be difficult, nor will it break the bank (they were also released more recently on cd). A copy of the vinyl only Play Back on the other hand turns out to be rather rare and expensive. Possibly my favourite of the three though.


Their self titled debut album was released in 1977 by I-F Records, with distribution by Carrere. Certain melody lines and phrases are re-used throughout the album, giving it some continuity. Onyx opens the album with beautiful, ethereal synth melodies and smooth live drumming. There were a lot of experiments with the synthesizer and electronic music during the late 70s but the drums here really stand Space Art apart from the rest of the crowd. I find this album to be a little darker and more intense than the others. Axius is a good example of this with its growling bassline and nagging, alarm like one-note synth lines. Ode A Clavius is another highlight. It starts out light and dreamy, almost classical, before dropping into a funky syncopated hook. There are also a bunch of alien noises which sound like they were lifted straight out of some weird 70s cartoon or videogame.

Space Art - Onyx

Space Art - Ode A Clavius


Not sure if this is from 1977 or 1979, no dates on the LP itself, but Trip In The Center Head (or Head Center as some pressing state) continues where the previous album left off, opening with two short upbeat melodic pieces: Speedway and Odyssey. Things turn darker with the slow burner Eyes Shade. Opening with a rush of white noise, followed by a lonely synth with some muffled telephone chatter in the background. The track closes with a slow beat and some electric guitar noodling. L'obsession d'Archibald is one of my favourite Space Art tracks. It opens with a pulsing synth note which is joined with an arpeggio and lead melody line. Then out of nowhere this killer bridge section drops in at 2:17 - smooth as silk. I think its greatness is enhanced by the fact that it's gone within a minute, never to return. Epic closing track Psychosomatique is another moody slow burner, though it's a little unspectacular.

Space Art - Speedway

Space Art - L'obsession d'Archibald


Released in 1980 by Waves/Carrere, the third and final LP called Play Back opens with the lush chords, floating synths and rolling drums of Folkstone Hovercraft. A truly beautiful piece of music that I posted here previously. This album had more players on it and a wider variety of instruments accompanying the synths/drums combo of old. This led to a more varied selection of styles within the tracks and also some vocals for the first time. Paris Vision, whilst not having lyrics, makes good use of a vocoder for its scat style vocals. Love Machine is pure pop with a full on vocoder vocal and guitar power chords. Very cheesey and kitch, and not my favourite to be honest. Alpha du Centaure is nice, coming in three parts, but I don't see the theme running between them myself as each is quite different. Closing track Welcome to Love is another thing of wonder and amazement. More vocoder vocals, more beautiful chord sequences and synthesizer sounds, all accompanied by a brilliant shuffling drumbeat and complementary bassline. The seemingly never ending solo in the last 2+ minutes does eventually fade out unfortunately, but its still one of my favourite tracks.

Space Art - Paris Vision

Space Art - Welcome To Love

Yars' Revenge

The constant throb of dirty static bass.
The slight raise in pitch when entering the safety of the neutral zone.
The frantic nibbling of the wall around the Quotile.
The panic inducing siren of an incoming Swirl.
The satifying sound of a successful hit with your Zorlon Cannon.

Not many games from 1981 hold up well today, especially in the audio departmart. But Yars' Revenge for the Atari 2600 was brilliant back when I was a kid and it still is today. Grab an emulator and a rom and see for yourself. Try the self titled debut LP from Zombi or the 2003 Demo LP from Steve Moore for musical accompaniment.

Tesla Boy and others

Too much good music going around at the moment and I don't always have mp3's to share and the time to write about each artist so here is a little round-up of what's hot with some links elsewhere for music.


Tesla Boy are all kinds of awesome. I've listened to their EP on repeat since finding them yesterday. Retro melodic synth-pop with a modern twist - think Anoraak, Sally Shapiro etc. If anybody can help me obtain the EP on cd, please get in touch.

Stream the full EP on last.fm.
Download mp3's from Valerie, Death Electro and Discodust.
Show them love and support on Myspace.



Chicago's Gatekeeper (didn't) release one of my favourite EP's last year with their 4 tracks of horror soundtrack inspired Electro/Techno/Industrial tunes. Two more tracks, Optimus Maximus and Slow Walk, have been added recently and the duo show no signs of letting up.

Stream all six great tracks on their Myspace
Download mp3's via The Hype Machine.



I Am The Cosmos have some dreamy melodic synth stuff on their page. At times it's reminiscent of some of the instrumental tracks on Italians Do It Better, only more intense. It's all deep and slow and trippy, and most importantly good.

Stream 3 tracks on Myspace.
Download The Final Form from 20 Jazz Funk Greats.


This is kinda cheating but Valerie have been on a roll lately. The blog is full of great 80s inspired synth-pop and synth heavy melodic house. My faves:

College feat. Anoraak - Fantasy Park (Moulinex Remix)
Fare Soldi - Survivor (Keenhouse Remix)
Cecile (both tracks are tops)
Fear of Tigers (again, both tunes are great)
Sally Shapiro - Anoraak Remix
Edwin Van Cleef - I Want You

New Musik - Warp

If you were lucky enough to get a copy of the excellent Cut Copy promo mix So Cosmic then you'll know the track Warp by synth-pop pioneers New Musik. It was one of the stand out tracks in the mix and I didn't hesitate to pick up a copy of the LP when I found it in Vancouver last year. I was all set to record just the title track from the vinyl, as on a previous listen I wasn't keen on the rest of the album. But after a few more listens, it's really grown on me. Released in 1982, Warp was the group's third and final album. It was written and produced by Tony Mansfield, who also produced work for Captain Sensible, a-ha, The B-52's and After The Fire. It definitely sounds like it's from the 80's but in a good way. There are some very cheap sounding drum machines used (including a Roland TR-606 I believe), plenty of synths and a bunch of what would then have been 'new' studio effects.

Side A opens with Here Come The People, which has a nice laid back groove to it with a stuttering electronic beat, clean and tidy guitar chords and some plinky plonky piano. A Train On Twisted Tracks has a similar tempo but is more synthetic, using thick layers of synth pads over a robotic bassline; lovely stuff. Two tracks on side one share the same title - the familiar looking All You Need Is Love. Version one is their own composition; a fairly traditional sounding pop song (in comparison to the rest of the album). At the end of the 4 minutes there is an ambient interlude, after which the second version begins. It's a cover of The Beatles' classic. The swing of the original is lost and replaced with a driving 16th note bassline. The second half of the track is totally different, introducing new melodies and a great piano solo to fade - one of the best moments on the album.

Over to Side 2 and Hunting repeats a short piano loop over a thick synth bassline and 4/4 beat. The lyrics don't really make much sense but I love the feel of the track. Green And Red (Respectively) is the weirdest track on the LP, starting with the word "GREEN" and ending abruptly with the word "RED". Inbetween are 3 minutes of frantic 4/4 beats, heavily processed piano, wonky sounding synths, metallic percussion and a bunch of studio effects. The Planet Doesn't Mind has a nice ambient introduction before turning into a slightly cheesy synth funk/pop hybrid. Warp itself has a proto deep house kinda vibe to it. I love the rolling bassline and the ethereal synth pads low in the mix. The vocals are also well delivered, although the "WARP" shouts sound a little dated. Things go crazy at the end of the track, with all sorts of trickery trying to fool you into thinking your LP or cassette has warped and broke.

New Musik - Hunting

New Musik - Warp

The album was re-issued on CD in Japan in 2001. Clips of each track can be heard on last.fm. There is a great website full of info on the band here.

Herbie Hancock & Quincy Jones 1983

Synthesis. Geekiness. Funkiness. Genius.

Stinkworx - Coelacanth

Nope, I'm not sure how you pronounce it either. Wikipedia tells me it's some kind of fish but whatever, I'm here to tell you about the Stinkworx track of the same name. Released as a 12" on Legowelt's Strange Life Records late last year, the original is a thick synth funk track. The chord progressions are lovely, the bassline even better. Proper techno-soul style business. On remix duties are Syncom Data, who strip it down and make it a little darker and more menacing without losing the rolling groove of the original. Amira on the flip is some deep as fuck melodic dub-techno. Highly recommended release.

Stream in full on Boomkat

Zombi - Spirit Animal

A plethora of new material is out there from Zombi at the moment. Firstly, and most importantly, is the new long player entitled Spirit Animal. It's an immense piece of work, much more organic than previous albums, and all the more interesting for it. The album opens with the epic prog-rock of the title track, complete with wanky guitar lead and synth counterparts. It breaks down for long enough to grow an extra inch on your beard; with accoustic guitars, a detuned piano and some strings drifting in and out of the mix before eventually the track evolves into one huge euphoric hook as powerful as the elephant in the album art. Spirit Warrior treads a more familiar territory with its arpeggiated bassline, shuffling 3/4 drum patterns and choral synths. Again, it breaks down and mellows out before building to a climax in the final third.

Earthly Powers is fat, the thick bassline groove at times sounding like a lazy Rage Against The Machine lick. It's on this track that the addition of guitars to the Zombi sound is most apparent, with both fuzzy power chords and swirling lead lines used to great effect. Not that the thick layers of synth pads and arpeggios are forgotten of course, particularly in the dreamy bridge section. Cosmic Powers uses another odd time signature to vary the relentless synth riff and heavy drums routine. Not a lot happens but as the shortest track on the album it doesn't outstay its welcome, fading out to leave the drums high in the mix. Fith and final track Through Time is a 17 minute monster that rarely lets up. A dirty great distorted bassline runs throughout the track and the drums take a real pounding. Credited as the only Paterra composition, it's clear he is the more rhythmic minded of the group. Layer upon layer of synth is added upon the chugging bass which eventually fades, leaving just ambient noises to close the album.

Stream the whole album on last.fm

Also available is a split EP with Masarati (not a name I'm familiar with but one I shall be looking into) on Brooklyn's Temporary Residence label. Masarati supply 2 two-part tracks on the A side, both with a good shuffling dancefloor friendly instrumental space-rock kinda vibe. Zombi on the B side deliver another epic called Infinity. Starting out slowly with drones that wouldn't sound out of place in an old 80s horror movie, the track begins to evolve after a couple of minutes with the introduction of some eerie chords. An arpeggio begins to bubble and Paterra treats us to a 4 minute drum solo before eventually letting rip with a driving beat. From here the bassline expands and layers of synths are continuely added until the track unfairly fades out before I want it to end. Listen on myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/zombi

Finally, there's is the Sapphire 12" to mention. This was the track that originally got me into Zombi, from the Digitalis EP released a few years back now. It's been re-issued by another US label Throne of Blood with an unnecessary remix by Escort and a new track The Long, Mirrored Corridor. Like Sapphire, it smells like the work of Steve Moore, all dark Italo loops and 100% electronics. It's essential listening though if you dig Zombi for the synths and not just the rock. Stream all 3 tracks on Boomkat, where the release is also available digitally.

http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=157489

The Amen Break

This video had been sat in my bookmarks folder for some weeks but today I finally got round to watching it. Very interesting it was too. Recommended viewing.



"Nate Harrison's 2004 video is a meditation on the ownership of culture, the nature of art and creativity, and the history of a remarkable music clip."

Jean-Pierre Bourtayre

I love the way the internet can link you from one place to another, and then another and you end up somewhere unexpected and yet fantastic in mere minutes. Today's find is this beautiful soundtrack by Jean-Pierre Bourtayre to the 1982 French animated movie Les Maîtres du temps (aka Time Masters). The film was directed by René Laloux with designs by Moebius. Jean-Pierre was one half of Universal Energy, whose track Disco Energy is a classic slice of cosmic disco. Now to find the movie on DVD.....