Another YouTube upload for you. This time I added a few images to accompany the music which should hopefully make for slightly more interesting viewing. Who knows - maybe I'll start actually making videos to go along with tracks soon. But for now, enjoy this 10-year old vintage Minimal Synth track from a RobotSound favorite, Bakterielle Infektion, a side-project of Roger Semsroth aka Skanfrom, Sleeparchive, Television Set, etc.

For the past 6 six years, DJ Pieter Schoolwerth and his Wierd cohorts have been championing the colder and darker electronic sounds, both old and new, the more obscure the better. This New, New Wave harkens back to synthpop's earliest years (late 70s - early 80s), long before digital became the norm. Armed with their Analogue weapons, they're bringing back an element that's been missing from today's sample-based, laptop, loop-driven productions... the icy soul of the machine.

This robot forecasts a strong cold front making its way to the West Coast with a series of parties sure to bring out the synth fetishists and minimal wavers alike. Wierd Records along with local chilly purveyors Killing Spree, have teamed up to bring the city of lost angels the best acts representing the forefront of this sub-zero culture. Brooklyn's Xeno & Oaklander, Martial Canterel (1/2 of Xeno & Oaklander), Blacklist and SF's Bronze will all be playing this weekend along with local bands and DJs. It's heartening to see and hear yesterday's sounds being re-utilized/re-fashioned in reaction to the rampant alienation, faceless anonymity and mindless consumption of "The Next Big Thing" of our internet age. A frozen light is being shed on an important, underappreciated era in the history of electronic music. Okay, I'll stop with the numbing, polar metaphors now.

Wierd Playlist for Fader 11-09

DM - Peace

Bottin - No Static

Ganymed - Music Drives Me Crazy

La Prohibida - Flash

The Creatures - Believe In Yourself

Desire - Under Your Spell

Fashion - Eye Talk

Oppenheimer Analysis - Devil's Dancers (Live)

Human League - Path of Least Resistance (Live BBCtv 1979)

David Carretta - Kill Your Radio

Bakterielle Infektion - Living In The Underground (Live)

Fixmer/McCarthy - Hate Me (Live)

Crack: We Are Rock - Cold As Ice (Live)

Bad Sector - i Gopota (Live)

For my first act as president, I declare a moratorium on bands/artists covering The Normal's Warm Leatherette. If you feel the need to perform your interpretation of an early electronic minimal wave song, there are plenty to choose from. There is no further need for putting your spin on Daniel Miller's classic ode to J.G. Ballard's Crash. Seriously folks. It has been done.

Please remember to always buckle your seat belt when travelling in a motor vehicle. Unlike the song's exhortations, you do not want to join The Car Crash Set.
Thank you.

BONUS TRACKS
Thanks to my buddy Chris, an authority when it comes to all things Cover Version, I can now safely say that RobotSound is the web's definitive spot for your Leatherette needs. Now please enjoy all 35 (!) flavors...(warning: you may not want to enjoy them all at once). New ones are on top.

Analogue Brain
This is actually a remix of the original, but nowadays, the line between "remix" and "cover" is increasingly blurry.

Mr. Spagandy
This wasn't available anywhere except for his MySpace account, but thanks to Chris and Mr. Spagandy, it's now available here for you.

Chicks on Speed
Here's an alternate Chicks on Speed version. If my memory serves me correctly, they used a Panasonic track for the backing beats/noises. This is the Ramon Bauer and Gerhard Potuznik edit.

Grace Jones 1
LP version by the lovely and talented Ms. Jones.

Grace Jones 2
12" version for an added minute of enjoyment.

KOYT!
Another Dirk Ivens-related one here from KOYT!, fronted by Merlin Burghgraeve (ex-Klinik, Noise Unit and Vomito Negro). This one gave me a distinctly Bauhaus-esque vibe with its goth-rockin' overtones. Read and listen to more about Mr. Burghgraeve here.

Rubin Steiner
Psychedelic krautrock from a Lo-Fi Nu Jazz Frenchbloke, Frédérick Landier. Check his site (en français) for more.

4E
Probably the track that bares the least resemblance to the original. I hesitated posting this earlier since it's stretching it to call this a cover, but for the completist's sake...

SiNDADDY
Angry Industrial Rock/Metal.

Destruction Unit
Angry Experimental Postpunk. More self destruction yonder.

Angel Dust 216
The sound of robots getting dusted.

BEiNG vs. LuCIDol
Lee BEiNG and friends breathe some new life into the old classic. I dig the abrasive swing beat that eventually morphs into glitch-break-core-ism.

1/22/09

Absolute Body Control - Live @ The Christmas Ball 2008
Dirk Ivens rocks it live.

Signal Electrique
The vocoder works. Two soundboards up! A worthy contender.

Prayer Tower
A commendable effort. Bonus points for some nice crash test footage.

Hell
Even the head Gigolo had a stab at this one.

Chicks On Speed
Definitely one of the Chicks' better efforts.

Giddle & Boyd
Boyd can do no wrong. His monotone vocalizations soothe me. And GoGo Giddle is the kitten with a whip.

Velocity Star
Rose McDowall provides the sexy vocals here over a track that stays pretty faithful to the original.

Grace Jones
Live from her "One-Man Show" circa 1982-1983. Grace is probably the only person who can work a Latin/Tropical/Slow Disco rhythm into this track and get away with it.

The Absolute Revolting Neon Maniacs
Belgian supergroup consisting of ABC (Dirk Ivens), Luc Van Acker (RevCo), Dirk de Davo (Neon Judgement) and friends.

Blok 57
Yet another cover by a Dirk Ivens band. I think he really likes this song.

Zombie Zombie (Jealous Lovers Klub Cinemix)
Zombies can be car crash fetishists too!

Magnetic Stripper (Cell Faulted Mix)
Obviously performed by a robot, this compact interpretation gets a nod from the robots here.

Takkyu Ishino
Even Nipponese robots love Daniel Miller.

Duran Duran
Simon Le Bon and co. channeling Kraftwerk while wearing vinyl jackets? Now is the time on Shprockets ven ve pretend ve are German.

Die Tödliche Doris
They've definitely got the minimal part of it down. I'll give them that much.

Dugga
I can't tell you anything about Dugga. All I can tell you is that this one has that Belgian Hoover sound.

J.G. Thirwell
Best known for his Foetus output, here's Mr. Thirwell's evil spy-thriller take on the tune.

Sleep Chamber
Maybe the creepiest of the bunch.

Vitalic
Live track with Vitalic's trademark touches. Not nearly as thrilling as you'd expect it to be.

Pankow
East German industrial noisemakers. Oontz, oontz, oontz...

Peter Murphy & Trent Reznor
Meh.

Club 69
This version is called Love Leatherette. You simply cannot make a gayer version than this.

This Saturday will be the first Robotsound event of 2009. What better way to ring in the New Year than with some stellar sounds of the last few decades. Come be a Midnight Moroder at:
Barcade
371 N. Western
8am - 2pm.

And of course, as always, it is FREE.

So don't waste your money on mediocre DJs when you can get the real deal for nothing (although we won't turn down free drinks =P).

The RobotSound krew are proud to bring you a new night in clubbing entertainment. After searching for a while for a worthy venue, we've secured the first Saturday of each month at our new favorite neighborhood bar/arcade. No cover, no VIP/Bottle Service BS, no Hollywood parking nightmares, and [hopefully] no Hipster Scum [we've alerted the security to keep out people with ridiculous Emo haircuts, studded punker belts or if they look like this skinny-jeaned rockstar wannabe]. Just tight beats, shakin' grooves, sexy synths, cheap beer and Spy Hunter.

Sounds will be brought to you by myself, along with co-horts Georgio [aka Pollo Loco, Max], Skinjob, and occasional "special" guests. Each month will have a new theme to keep things interesting. This month we pay tribute to the undead with some unholy disco, mysterious electro and dark body music...

Saturday 11.1 [Day of the Dead]
9pm-2am
Barcade
371 N. Western Ave.
K-Town