Purchased (Not Only) By The Cover

In the early 80's Scotland gave us a lot of new and fantastic bands and this keeps on since today. Around the early 80's a Scottish underground pop/post-punk band appeared on Postcard records. Jazzateers released their only album with a Walther P38 on the cover. This gun was the standard in the German Wehrmacht during WW2. Just the gun dyed in yellow and only the band's name remembered me at Velvet Undergrounds first album and I took it for a listen in my record shop. And what I heard was much better than I expected. Anyhow a band which never had so properly a chance. They plaid the right music at the wrong time. In 1983 one tried to gain control of punk and of New Wave - with results execrable now and again. By no means, however, one wanted to hear the respectable, old-fashioned guitar music which was produced, however, absolutely fashionably. Today the of course first-class sounds: „Nothing At All", „Sixteen Reasons' etc. - all timeless, crisp hit with ingenuity a little. And see there, in particular these tracks sound more topical even today because they were not stylish just, but were produced timeless simple (therefore nowadays in an old-fashioned way).

Jazzateers - Nothing At All
Jazzateers - Sixteen Reasons
Jazzateers - Looking For A Girl

Monday's Long Song

Last week Daniel Avery released his collaboration with Nine Inch Nail's Alessandro Cortini Illusion of Time. Since I got this album it is on heavy rotation at my place. Avery went away with this album from the club to create with Cortini a very special and unique sound. Two great artists on synths are ready to a musical trip into new spaces. Inspired by kosmische music the invite us to follow and this superb album is the perfect soundtrack to slow down in these days. Water is one of the most winding and beautiful pieces of ambient I ever heard.

Compasses Go Wild

A few weeks ago I featured Close Lobsters at this place and asked myself how their new album after a very long hiatus will be and if it is possible that they can continue their great work. And I have to say yes. The Lobsters play as the time didn't pass since the 80's. You can say it is retro but if it is this way I totally agree. There are so many songs on this album with jangly guitars and great melodies and I can sink into this in these days.

Sit Down Meal

Always when you think you heard everything possible what is called post-punk another band appears on the scene and you admit that you didn't heard it in this way before. This happened when I listened to Dry Cleaning's latest EP Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks. Florence Shaw speaks her lyrics over post-punk guitars and beats. As I posted a few weeks ago I have to say that I never thought that spoken words and crushing guitars can fit together but this band showed that it works well. Timeless songs by a band that probably will never get the acclaim they should have.

Live Music On German TV

There were artists to any time that tried to do things no one did before. I could name many in music and it would be an almost endless list. Most of them have their reputation in music history but I will feature today one of the forgotten ones. The Monks were a band formed in Gelnhausen, close to Frankfurt, by five GI's in 1964 as the 5 Torquays as a beat-band playing in their barracks for fun. As they went for professionals they changed their style immense. Instead of beat they worked on a new sound and included sound experiments and psychedelic to their music. The songs often had not a real melody, the beat was heavy and often repetitive. A band that was truthfully ahead of their times. Today they are valid among musicians as a pioneer of the punk and influenced artists like The Beastie Boys, Dead Kennedys, The White Stripes or The Fall. This footage is from 1966 when they promoted their first album in the monthly music show Beat Club.

Back In The Land Of Living

Hull's producer and DJ released his latest album once again exclusive on bandcamp. It is another superb recording that fits totally for me in social distance times. Electronic songs in reduced speed with a jazzy mood and accentuated guitars. Perfect to relax after a stressful day at office where we try to manage all the inquiries from customers looking for state help. Many small and solo companies are calling their bank adviser to get the money our government promised to give easily. Many of them had to close their shops and had no business volume to pay their rent, others get no material to produce goods and also no income. As far as I see the requirements were high and the fastest will get the support and not the one that needs it.

Manu Dibango RIP

Just finished some words about the sudden death of Gabi Delgado-Lopez the news arrived that Manu Dibango died at the age of 87. He is the first musician who died of COVID-19. If anyone needs one more reason why we should continue social distance than take his dead as a reason. I am not a huge fan of him but I always liked his music as I like Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade and many other artist from the African continent.

Rest well Manu.

Gabi Delgado-Lopez RIP

I just got aware that Gabi Delgado-Lopez surprisingly died on Sunday at the age of 61. Delgado-Lopez and Robert Görl were one of German's most post-punk bands in the early 80's Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft. Raised in the punk scene of Düsseldorf they worked on a sound that changed everything after. They wanted to transform the hardness of punk into electronic music and they were successful. DAF were pioneers of a new electronic movement and their beats were like thundering punches. This kind of music was new, fresh, aggressive and provocative but we loved it.

DAF - Verschwende Deine Jugend
DAF - Kebapträume
DAF - Der Mussolini