This is the third in a series of 12 or 13Lp-Box-Sets covering a wide range of 80’s Minimal-Synth and Wave-music from the 80’s. Some well known bands, some less familiar but a  superb and pleasant surprise and a great mix in styles and content. This Volume contains the following artists/bands:

138.1/2   PORTION CONTROL (2 x LP)

This material from PORTION CONTROL clearly demonstrates their early experimentation both as ‘musicians’ and with at the advent of analogue electronic machines. The eclectic material ranges from cassette portastudio material recorded in Peckham and Kennington, South London to high end studio recordings. The punk roots show as PORTION CONTROL demonstrate unrivalled creativity breaching the gap between UK industrial, early ambient and the formative signs of electronic dance music. The music features rising appegiators, proto bass lines (a true PORTION CONTROL signature) dark sound design and recurring beats and rhythms... many elements that became the bedrock of future darker electronic music.
During this highly charged period PORTION CONTROL established themselves at the forefront of the Formative, Underground UK Electronics scene

138.3     DOKUMENT (1 x LP)

138.4     ROB VAN WIJNGAARDEN / (HEAVY) MENTAL(1 x LP)

This LP covers the works of Rob Van Wijngaarden with one Side covering his solo-works as Rob Van (dropping his last name as no one seemed to ever write his last name correctly) and one side with his band-projects Mental, Heavy Mental which he released on his own Tape-Label called Mental Cassettes. In addition Side B also contains a collaboration-tracks with Ruud Kluivers.

Side A is covering the Tape he released on the famous Ptose Label PPP (Ptose Production Présente). in 1981.

Ptose asked him to supply 25 minutes for a split-Tape-Release with French Les Chats. On this recording, Rob created captivating minimal synth instrumentals. Recording sound on sound, always using the first take for each new layer, he created series of dark moody melodic pieces that found their inspiration in Bowie?s Low and with the DIY attitude of punk.

Side B captivates the highlights of the short lived career of Heavy Mental and Mental.

Heavy Mental was founded somewhere in 1980 when the Dutch post-punk label Plurex announced a compilation EP (17 to 7 on 33) on which every contributing artist payed for each contributed minute and received an amount of the released records in return. Rob bought 3 minutes and needed a band to fill these 3 minutes, so he asked a friend who owned a guitar and he bought himself a synthesizer (Korg MS-20) and a tape deck (Revox A-77, because Eno mentioned it on his Discreet music album). The band played several gigs (amongst them a supporting slot for the Bush Tetras) in several incarnations. 

Later, in their final incarnation the name was changed to just Mental playing with two guitars (Hans and Jacob) no bass and one pre-recorded rhythm-box and synthesizer played by Rob. Finally they found their voice: a grunge-like wall of guitars on top of an industrial sort of bass, one-chord songs, typically no verse-chorus structures. They were at their best on the stage being very provocative to the audience and living from Robs improvising in lyrics by reciting and using slogans ending in the audience to even throw tomatoes and fruits at them. 

A feeling for these live-performances can be heard on the live-track ?Charles Manson'. This song and several others leading to this special moment is the subject of this album. 

Most of these Studio and Live-recordings were released in his label Mental Cassettes which released 7 Tapes during 1980 and 1982 incl two Tapes by the Young Lions.

Back in the early 80's many musicians all over the world traded their tapes through a lively network. Most of these connections started through the Throbbing Gristle's IR-newsletter (by mail!) that published snail-mail addresses of musicians they found interesting. 

Rob was part of this scene. At first he made one-offs (whatever he recorded that day was sent to the person who wrote him that day). One of these extremely rare tapes was found by VOD and is now part of this album. Later the tapes were given a cover and a catalogue number, but still they were never really sold, only traded with other musicians around the world.

One of those Tape-Traders was Ruud Kluivers who sent Heavy Mental their only fan-letter when he heard the Plurex EP.  He wrote that he had an MS-20 too and that he would like to jam. Ruud took the tapes home and later released them on his own nameless cassette label. One of these collaboration-works between Rob & Ruud is also included on this nice Rob Van Wijngaarden-early-work-Retrospective.

138.5/6   GARRY BRADBURY (2 x LP) plus 7"inch
Garry Bradbury’s new compilation, PANSPERMIA , comprising of 2 lp’s and a bonus one sided 7”, is an assemblage of remastered and re-edited works recorded sporadically over a period of around 20 years from 1986 to 2005.   

138.8     IRSOL (1 x LP)

138.9     ZEPHYR IN THE SWAMP (1 x LP)

Zephyr in The Swamp are  : Brendan Coyle and Colin Hughes who originated from the Wirral UK synth trio The Games. A vocalist friend Martin Graham came on board for a short spell until he sadly passed away from us the band remained the same as above. The music from Zephyr in the Swamp was created after the split up of the band The Games from 1981-1983 hense whilst we call this album the sessions album. An album of instrumental tracks creating moods and melodies that are hypnotic yet rememberable. The tracks were unearthed from cassette tapes and reel to reel from our Akai 4000D 80’s day recordings at Melva Rooms and The Loft practice rooms provided by the late Mr Whooley in Oxton Wirral. The recordings some of which they didn’t realise existed were fragile and took one take mastering them back from over 30 yrs ago. Some tapes began so fragile they could not retrieve due to their ageing and drop out were inevitable. And so Zephyr in the Swamp took the best tracks which surprised them both have now been mastered and into the vinyl world for your ears to hear. Zephyr used Roland Sh09, Boss Dr Rhythm and Roland 09 strings organ back then using sound on sound echo effects through the Akai 4000D triggering the drum machine into various patterns and so the sound of Zephyr and The Swamp was created.

Ti-Tho has been an early to mid 80’s NDW-project by Marisa Calcagno and Thomas Stelter.The name Ti-Tho is a combination of Chrstina Marisa and Thomas. 7 exciting years between school and recording-studio followed.They both met when she was 13 and Thomas being the guitar-teacher of her friend Oliver with whom she had a band called „Tempelfreuden“ (together with Markus Lipka and Johan Pop)Thomas, who had followed some of their band-gigs then asked her to join in his new project as singer. After years of piano-lessons the relatively shy Marisa agreed and was then able to use her tough skills on a Keyboard, writing lyrics and sing. On their first rehearsal they didn’t have any lyrics in mind so they took an Asterix-Mag with the title „Die grosse Überfahrt“. She took the mag from the table and improvised. The result was their first ever recorded track „Asterix“ with many crazy lyrics and compositions to follow. The music-scene in Germany and especially the rising „Neue Deutsche Welle“ (NDW) had been very open-minded and allowed the craziest projects to have open ears. In their lyrics Ti-Tho used their experiences of every-day-life, even different music-elements like classic, Flamenco, Punk... Everything was possible and alllowed to be used and mixed. One of the very first Fans and admirers was Alfred Hilsberg who back then was running the highly influecial ZickZack-Label and writing for Sounds-Magazine. He produced and released their first 7inch and got them a deal with Polydor to release three more 7inches, one 12inch as well as a compilation-contribution on ZickZack and Polydor. An Lp produced in 1985 by famous producer Tom Dokupil (Siluettes 61, Wirtschaftswunder, Die Radierer, Die Partei..) was never released and is still waiting for release.

138.7     TI-THO (1 x LP) plus 7"inch

Ti-Tho had several TV-appearances, performances and even music-videos in the early to mid 80’s. They even produced a musical called „Dodona“ performed at the Planetarium Hamburg. A musical so unique and passionate, that Marisa would even perform it still today. Changing to a major-label pushed them into a commercial direction and need, suppressing their wonderful simplicity in sounds, their fantasies and artistic freedom and friskiness. This mill of ignorance in major-business lead to the loss of interest and Marisa started concentrating on her art-studies while Thomas moved to the country-side to re-start and produce new songs for Marisa to sing when ready. Unfortunately, the re-union never happened and since 2010 Thomas is now composing music in a different world, but he would be very happy with this release if still with us in this world. Marisa once said in an interview „all get younger“, reflecting the times back then and the awareness of life and which Marisa has kept until today. Marisa is producing music again with her Berlin project - Pop Musik)

138.10    THE TOY SHOP (1 x LP)  plus 7"inch

138.11/12 ART INTERFACE (2 x LP)

138.13    CACOPHONY '33' (1 x LP)  plus 7"inch