Gary Numan : Living Ornaments 1979

One of the founding fathers of synth pop, Gary Numan's influence extends far beyond his lone American hit, "Cars," which still stands as one of the defining new wave singles.

That seminal track helped usher in the synth pop era on both sides of the Atlantic, especially his native U.K., where he was a genuine pop star and consistent hitmaker during the early '80s.

Numan was born Gary Anthony James Webb on March 8, 1958, in the west London section of Hammersmith.

Inspired by the amateurism of the punk movement, he joined a punk group called " the Lasers " in 1976. The following year , he and bassist Paul Gardiner split off to form a new group, dubbed " Tubeway Army ", with drummer Bob Simmonds .

When Beggars Banquet rolled out its reissue program for Numan in the late '90s, the limited edition Living Ornaments '79 album got a thorough clean-up and expansion for CD, but the tapes for Living Ornaments '80 couldn't be located for a similar job. The upshot was the appearance of this previously unavailable recording  which turned out to be a good thing, since Living Ornaments '81 easily ranks as Numan's best live album, as well as arguably being one of the best live rock albums ever.

High praise, perhaps, but the two-hour document ( DVD ) of what at the time was billed as Numan's final

show (like what happened with his hero David Bowie, it was a bit of a premature claim) in front of a packed, obsessive London crowd at Wembley Arena starts off great and doesn't stop. Numan's core band of the time had both the ability and the power to readily translate and often cleverly reinterpret the music, whether exquisitely delicate to brutally thrashing, to stadium-scale heights, while Numan himself, in his own uniquely quiveringly-voiced way, matched them just right.

Label : Beggars Banquet Bega 24 (K 58295)
Format : Vinyl Album
Country : UK
Released : 1979
Genre : Electronic, Rock
Style : Electro, New Wave, Pop Rock, Synth-pop

Tracklist

Side one

   1. Airlane – 3:12
   2. Cars – 3:20
   3. We Are So Fragile – 2:33
   4. Films – 3:45
   5. Something's in the House – 4:08

Side two

   6. My Shadow in Vain – 2:50
   7. Conversation – 7:45
   8. The Dream Police – 4:12
   9. Metal – 3:25

FLAC  Size  :  234  MB

Echo Tattoo : Mind Your Step 2007

Evi Hasapidou Watson and guitarist Panos K. formed the band at the beginning of the 90s after the sparks flew between them during an audition. "I heard Evi sing" , "I was pretty much blown" away says Panos. Pretty much blown away by Panos guitar and poetry herself, Evi left the band she was in and started singing and composing with Panos.

The duo were soon joined by friends musicians and started playing live and recording their first album for Studio2 an independent Athenian label.
The album was adored by Greek and International psychedelia fans.

The band won first price in the 1996 Scype (song competition of Youth Programs in Europe) competition, hosted in Copenhagen, where bands from all European Union countries participated including the UK and Ireland. Voted by live audiences all around Europe as their favourite band and 'Over' as their favourite song, Echo Tattoo eventually landed a contract with another Athenian label, FM Records.

Their second album "Room of Toys" was recorded in Bath and London UK, produced by Bryan New and released in 1997 in Greece, Belgium, Spain and Holland with AFM FM Records European sub-label and Viva Records (subsidiary of Snuff Garrett Records).

Echo Tattoo have warmed up the audience for great bands like the U2, the Fall, Giant Sand, Ian Mc Culloch and more, in their Live performances in Greece.

Their latest songs have been in the studio since 2003 and have recently been finalised to their current form. This time production/post production editing and mixing were Evi Hassapidou Watson's responsibility. Assisted, tortured and blessed by the presence of one irreplaceable Aris Christou of S.C.A. Studios and the ever jolly S.C.A.'s Theodore Zefkilis.

In 2007 they came back with the alboum : " Step Your Mind " with a great cast of alternative Rock Musicians as "Angry" of the stoner band "Nightstalker" , "Tanya" of "Liquidust" , "Bliss" , and "Alex K" from the great Greek Bands "Earthbound" and "The Last Drive"



Οι Echo Tattoo είναι ελληνικό συγκρότημα ροκ μουσικής που ξεκίνησε την πορεία του στην Αθηναϊκή Σκηνή στις αρχές της δεκαετίας του '90 και θεωρείται ένα από τα σημαντικότερα και επιδραστικότερα σχήματα της Ελληνικής Ανεξάρτητης Σκηνής.

Alternative Rock μπάντα από την Αθήνα, Ελλάδα.
Κέρδισαν το πρώτο βραβείο στο 2ο Ευρωπαϊκό Διαγωνισμό Μουσικής Ροκ στην Κοπεγχάγη, το 1996.

Rοκ/Ψυχεδελική μουσική της δεκαετίας 90. Η πρώτη σύνθεσή τους περιλάμβανε τους Εύη Χασαπίδου Watson (πρώην τραγουδίστρια των No Man's Land), Πάνο Κουτσούνη, Γιούλα Καβούρη και Σπύρο Βέλικα. Ο πρώτος τους δίσκος ηχογραφήθηκε κατά το ήμισυ το 1990 λόγω έλλειψης πόρων και ολοκληρώθηκε το 1992 μετά την πρώτη αλλαγή μελών.


Η μουσική και τα φωνητικά τους δηλώνουν επιρροές από τη soul έως την ψυχεδέλεια και από την hard rock έως την ποπ και δύσκολα κατατάσσονται σε κάποια κατηγορία.


Το Δεκέμβριο του 2007 οι Echo Tattoo επέστρεψαν δισκογραφικά με το Mind Your Step. Στο δίσκο συμμετέχουν ο Αrgy των Nightstalker, η Tanya των Liquidust και το πλήρες καστ των Bliss τραγουδούν στο Caveman, ενω ο Alex K. των Earthbound και The Last Drive στο Apocalypse.



Albums

    Echo Tattoo (1992, LP, Studio II)
    Room of toys (1997, CD, FM Records, FM 855)
    Room of toys (1999 PIAS-VIVA Belgique)
    Mind Your Step (2007, Recycled Recordings)

Singles & EPs

    Toys (1997, FM Records)
    Room of Toys (1997 VIVA Records 655000324)

Label:Recycled Recordings – R101
Format:CD, Album
Country:Greece
Released:Dec 2007
Genre:Rock
Style:Alternative Rock

 Tracklist

01. Pensicola
02. No 1's Inside (Sad)
03. Refugee
04. Apocalypse
05. Zoo
06. Love Is Free
07. Who Stole The Light?
08. Stormy Weather
09. Oddo
10. Sol
11. Caveman (Bonus Track)

FLAC   Size  :  353 MB

MP3  Size  :  121 MB

Martha And The Muffins ; Trance And Dance 1980

Martha and the Muffins emerged from the early punk/new wave/art pop scene in 1977 which was centered around various clubs along Toronto's Queen Street West and the Ontario College of Art, where several members of the band were students.

Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian New Wave band, active from 1977 to the present. Although they only had one major international hit single (1980's "Echo Beach") under their original band name

The group's initial line-up came together in Toronto in 1977, when David Millar asked his fellow Ontario College of Art student Mark Gane to help him start a band.
Millar recruited Martha Johnson to play keyboards; Johnson brought in a friend from high school, Carl Finkle, to play bass; and Gane's brother Tim signed on as the drummer. With Millar and Mark Gane as guitarists, and Johnson as lead vocalist, this is the line up that debuted at an Ontario College of Art Hallowe'en party in October 1977.

They chose the name "Martha and the Muffins" to distance themselves from the aggressive names adopted by many punk bands of the era. 

The group formed in 1977 and, on the strength of their debut independent single, "Insect Love"/"Suburban Dream," were signed by Virgin U.K. The band's debut album, Metro Music, appeared in 1980, led by "Echo Beach," which would become a new wave classic. After 1981's This Is the Ice Age, and Danseparc two years later, Johnson and Gane moved the outfit to England and recorded Mystery Walk (1984) and The World Is a Ball (1986) as M+M. From then on, Martha and the Muffins recorded sporadically, releasing Modern Lullaby in 1992 and Delicate in 2010.

TRACKS

     01. Luna Park     3:11
    02. Suburban Dream     3:27
    03. Was Ezo     4:00
    04. Teddy The Dink     3:27
    05. Symptomatic Love     4:08
    06. Primal Weekend     5:10
    07. Halfway Through The Week     3:40
    08. Am I On?     3:24
    09. Motorbikin'     2:55
    10. About Insomnia     3:10
    11. Be Blase     2:39
    12. Trance And Dance     7:14

Format : Vinyl LP
Label : Virgin - 1980 Dindisc
Made in : Great Britain
S.N : OVED 78
Produced by : Mike Howlett

MP3 : Size : 108  @ 320 MB

FLAC : Size :  287 MB