Mannequin has the dual and parallel aim to unearth hidden or unpublished gems, running along a road that starts from the period of reference for this kind of music (late 70s - mid 80s) and comes to nowdays, with a vision deeply influence by Factory Records / 4AD labels.
Catching the same spirit of such great labels, we asked to the italian synth wave princess Mushy to create a compilation starting from a tabula rasa. The mission was hard. Following her tastes and heart, she had to select a dozen of new bands from all over the world with unreleased and unique for this project tracks, picking up the title and realizing the graphic design and artwork. The full process of "The End Of Civilization" took almost 1 year but the result was touching us deep into our soul.
Mushy began her career crafting noise bursts and aggressive oblique instrumentals before, in her newest form, blooming into a beautiful, epic and heart-heavy icy synth sound, having both "Faded Heart" (2011) and "Breathless" (2012) as album of the week at Rough Trade. "The End Of Civilization" perfectly represents her double sided synth-wave / kraut-psychedelic soul. Every track she selected for us is an absolute highlight, moving from the analog minimal / cold wave sounds of Police Des Moeurs, ASSS, The Circa Tapes, TEEEL and Rosemary to the tempestuous post punk and psychedelia of Deathday, The Murder Act, Phosphor and The Strange Forces, ending with spectral cold folk of Tablets and The Long Wives.
Tracklist:
A1. Police Des Moeurs - Tout Ce Qui Te Fait Mal Te Fait Du Bien
A2. ASSS - Clean Up
A3. The Circa Tapes - Olane Dementia
A4. TEEEL - Imperial
A5. Rosemary - Blind Myself
B1. Deathday - After Dark
B2. Phosphor - Skull
B3. The Murder Act - Rapture
B4. The Strange Forces - Shizer In The Shadows
B5. Tablets - I Feel Uneasily Loved
B6. The Long Wives - Odd Funerals
Also out: ANCIEN REGIME - THE POSITION LP
It's quite unusual for an Italian band to get attention before its first full-length even comes to life. Ancien Régime from Rome might just be the exception to this rule. In fact, the band sole release before 2012 had been the quickly sold out limited edition Split Ep (Mannequin), released together with Brooklyn-based cold wave heroes Led Er Est.
Since then, Ancien Régime have been playing all over Italy along with outstanding bands such as Two Door Cinema Club, Is Tropical, The Soft Moon, Clan of Xymox, A Place to Bury Strangers and many others.
Their first album "The Position" evokes new wave and synth-pop memories, delivering epic vintage sounds and wrapping them all with catchy riffs and melodies. Still, despite this fascination with the past, the band's work stands out as a distinctive, highly personal take on the genre.
The album is opened by the single "Negative", with its dark gloomy vocals and war-like drumming. "Negative" is, in fact, the quintessential Ancien Régime composition: wave, biting snare, interweaving synths and guitars, reverbs, delays.
"The Position" was recorded and mixed by Alessandro Gavazzi of "Hell Smell" - Rome, and co-produced by Alessandro Adriani from Mannequin Records and Ancien Régime.
Tracklist:
01 - Brief Encounter
02 - Negative
03 - No Lights
04 - Corruption
05 - Polidori
06 - Pictures
07 - The Incident
08 - When They Fall
09 - Heisenger
10 - Outer Space
Important Notes
- Limited edition of 300 copies on black vinyl
- Graphic design by Giandomenico Carpentieri
