VAZZ, La Bambola del Dr. Caligari

This latest release on the excellent Forced Nostalgia imprint is by some distance its most illuminating release to date - a split LP that features an astonishing rediscovery from the early 1980's synth-pop era. That album is 'Whisper Not' by Vazz - a duo consisting of Anna Howson & Hugh Small, and is redolent of so much classic, deeply cherished music from around the same period (think Crépuscules, Antena, early Cocteau Twins on the one hand, and The Cure's 'Seventeen Seconds' on the other), as well as acting as a kind of blueprint for so much of what was to follow (Stereolab, Pram, Moonshake etc) - that we can barely believe it has been tucked away in the archives for all this time. But more than that - the production on "Whisper Not" really is completely out of this world, using electronic sounds and treatments in such a way that there really is little else from the period that comes close. Imagine if Chris Carter produced Antena's 'Camino Del Sol' album and you start getting an idea of the majestic, utterly innovative, unforgettable essence of this amazing album. It was recorded at the legendary Hellfire Club in Glasgow in 1982 and was eventually released on limited edition cassette, before the band were signed up to appear on the 2LP compilation "Antelopes & Alligators" on Operation Twilight - a sublabel of Belgium's infamous Les Disques Du Crépuscules. For one reason or another the compilation never materialised - but the reference to Crépuscules should give you some idea of where Vazz figure in the scheme of things. We grew up with all of this stuff, so we don't say this lightly, but unlike so much of what passes for crucial archival music, "Whisper Not" is easily among our favourite albums from that uber-distinctive period, around 1982, that brought to life so much music we consider indispensable. The B-side, meanwhile, is also something else - featuring Italy's La Bambola Del Dr Caligari and 5 tracks recorded between 1983 and 1986. The band were a short-lived minimal synth trio from Bologna, Italy, consisting of the exotically named Judy Asquith (voice), Aurelium Spitty (sound engineer, synth, drum machines, effects) and J.R. Ewing (keyboards, effects). They recorded their first demo tape in early 1984 and sporadically played live in 1985/86, eventually arranging the soundtrack for an installation at the art gallery Number Zero (Bologna) in Feb 1986. Several self-produced tapes were recorded over the years but were never properly released. In 2005 Roberto Napoli mastered all the recordings from the analogue tapes and kindly assisted in editing the selections made by Forced Nostalgia. The result features some of the finest lost-and-found musical gems from the '80s gloom-pop era, finally available for public consumption 25 years after they were recorded...(boomkat)