ZOS KIA was formed by John Gosling (MEKON), John Balance (COIL) and Min - with guest Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson (THROBBING GRISTLE). Their one and only album, Transparent, was released August 23rd 1983 in a cassette only edition on the now defunct Nekrophile label, Austria. They were the first released recordings of both COIL and ZOS KIA. It was reissued years later by COIL (Threshold House / Eskaton) in an edited edition. The entire recordings are now released on CD/vinyl for the first time and are completely remastered from the unedited tapes. Includes two previously unreleased bonus tracks by AKE (pre-ZOS KIA).
The music on Transparent is genuinely unsettling and disturbing, with a more primal Industrial feel than the Coil album which followed; 'Scatology'. An essential insight into the very early work of these extraordinary artists and an undeniable link between Coil and Throbbing Gristle.
Double vinyl edition in a sumptuous gatefold sleeve with 12" booklet of unseen images. Ltd 500 white vinyl edition for COLD SPRING mailorder only. Both editions come with download card.
CD edition presented in a 6-panel digipak with booklet containing all images.
Lleluja-Ha (pseudoniem van Marcel Blatti) is een multi-instrumentalist, componist en producer, die zich on stage steevast van top tot teen in een tribal kostuum (inclusief masker) van de Duitse ontwerpster Victoria Behr hult. Alles wat OY doet past binnen het alienation thema. Hun liveshows worden ook beschouwd als een visueel utopisch spektakel. Vergelijkingen met Grace Jones, MIA en Laurie Anderson zijn dan ook snel gemaakt.
After wowing audiences at major festivals across many countries for the last couple of years, the original and creative duet consisting of Ghanaian-Swiss vocalist & musician Joy Frempong and producer & musician Lleluja-Ha are back with new songs from another world.
OY’s new album is a space opera - highly danceable avant-garde, based on a core of vocal loops, electronica and drumming. It tells the story of mankind’s prosperous future on a planet called 'Space Diaspora’ on which humans finally developed the ability to learn from their mistakes.
Life on Space Diaspora is a reflection and a distortion of our own struggling world, conveying sentiments of modern alienation and transnational identity. OY’s thoughtful and humorous, tongue-in-cheek approach looks back at current times from the vantage point of a chaos-driven but blooming society in our own future. A vision which elicits tears as well as smiles, and praises the huge potential of the in-between.
The Space Diaspora fable is a framework which enables OY to make use of their multiple talents and create a playful and imaginative opus, bursting with melodies carried by Joy Frempong’s formidable voice. As voices have remained the strongest form of communication throughout history, the album’s electronic core is built out of transformed vocal samples. They reappear in synthesized form - as melodies, chords or patterns - backing the band’s reflections on transhumanism, diaspora or transculturation. The resulting sound could be described as a futuristic blend of rebellious tribal jazz and electronica, which the band call “Oyxploitation”…
Initial pre-release concerts in Paris, Fes and London have generated great media reactions, with comparisons to Laurie Anderson, Grace Jones and MIA, and a show described as ‘a visual and utopian universe’, ‘a spectacle that cheers up listeners’, ‘a captivating performance pitched somewhere between preaching and performance art’, and ‘a set that confirms to us that music is a power, a force’.
The broad musical background of the co-writers ranges from underground experiments to composing for contemporary theatre and reflects that, for them, there is just one love: music as an entity. OY face the absurdity of life with humour, they share with generosity and invite listeners to participate in their musical journey.
De Zwitsers-Ghanese zangeres Joy Frempong maakte furore met haar solodebuut vol jazz, elektronica, Afrikaanse vibes en improvisatie. Hierna ging ze van solo naar een duo. Onder de naam OY brengt Frempong samen met multi-instrumentalist Lleluja-Ha deze week alweer hun derde album, genaamd 'Space Diaspora', uit.
De muziek van OY heeft pop-appeal, maar blijft een wilde mix van stijlen en invloeden; tunes om op te dansen en te dromen. 'Space Diaspora' is een soort space opera, waarin OY het verhaal vertelt over een toekomst op een andere planeet. In de teksten speelt Frempong met de realiteit van een andere wereld, terwijl ze stiekem onze eigen maatschappij onder de loep neemt. "Als je naar de absurditeit van het leven kijkt is humor je grote vriend; ook op ons nieuwe album."
OY - "Space Diaspora": a presentation from Crammed Discs on Vimeo.
With Dust of Truths Wim Mertens presents the final part 3 of his musi-fiction triptych Cran aux Oeufs (2015-2016).
The first part, Charaktersketch, was situated in central Europe Brussels anno 2015. The composer questions the position of culture in a larger mondial context.
The second part, What are we, locks, to do? for piano and voice is inspired by the Alexandrian Library in Egypt (300 B.C.). Central figures are the poet Callimachus and Queen Berenice II. Mertens music reads here as a commentary on the golden age of Ptolemaic Egypt.
For part 3, Dust of Truths, Wim Mertens refers to the navy Battle of Actium, which happened in Preveza, Greece in 31 B.C. Opponents here were the (future) Emperor August who defeated the Egyptian warships of Cleopatra.
Mertens considers this battle rather as a civil war dispute within the Roman Empire then a explicit conflict between Rome and Egypt.
Brussels, Belgium, 2015; Alexandria, Egypt, 300 B.C.; and the Battle of Actium, Greece, 31 b.Chr.
Together they form the triptych Cran aux Oeufs, a musi-fiction in which Wim Mertens questions the multiple connections between music, poetry and truth.
Het is onmogelijk om de verdiensten van Wim Mertens in enkele regels op te sommen. Deze Belgische componist, pianist, musicoloog, gitarist en zanger werd in 1953 geboren en groeide de afgelopen decennia uit tot een muzikant van formaat. Tot op vandaag brengt hij zijn muziek voor volle concertzalen in Europa, Noord- en Centraal-Amerika, Japan en Rusland.
Sinds 1980 componeert Mertens naast korte, toegankelijke nummers (‘Lieder’) ook complexere cycli. Bij de uitvoering van zijn werk houdt hij het liefst rekening met de omstandigheden waarin de muziek wordt gebracht. Zowel solo als met een klein ensemble, kamerorkest, symfonisch orkest of speciale bezetting (twaalf piccolo’s, tien bastrombones of dertien klarinetten) brengt hij zijn melodieuze en vaak repetitieve partituren in een levendige dialoog met het publiek.
In maart 2015 bracht Wim Mertens Charaktersketch uit. Dit album is het eerste deel van de trilogie Cran aux Oeufs waarbij hij het Europa van vandaag in vraag stelt. Het tweede deel What are we, locks, to do? verscheen op 4 maart 2016. Het derde Dust of Truths gaat in première in BOZAR op 21 oktober.
Conzoom Records has long wondered whether they should continue the electropop series after the first ten volumes or to phase it out.
At a time when smaller labels are struggling to sell CDs, the release of a compilation which includes many new and unknown bands is a challenging venture, to say the least. The problem is compounded by the illegal digital music distribution via the Internet.
However in despite of all this, conzoom Records have decided to continue the electropop series.
With this new instalment of electropop comes a new cover design by Corinna Samow, as well as many new bands the label discovered over the last few months which conzoom Records simply had to include on the compilation.
In addition to new artists such as EMT, Mirreya, The Sweetest Condition and Polyester8 the label is very pleased to also include some more established bands on electropop, namely Midnight Resistance, Rroyce, Rename and Shelter.
And for the very first time in the history of electropop they are including a very interesting bonus track! conzoom Records is pleased that the demo version of Robert Marlow's classic "No Heart" is included in this edition of electropop, as a special treat just for you.
Track listing:
01. emt - regret (sinestar extended mix)
02. insight - alive (techni-ka remix)
03. janrevolution - man without return (extended mix)
04. kosmos - keine macht dieser welt (paralyzed extended remix)
05. mechatronic - don't bother to knock (extended version)
06. midnight resistance - under glass (extended mix)
07. mirreya - when tomorrow comes (extended version)
08. nordika feat. felix marc - illumination (extended version)
09. polyester8 - my kingdom (extended version)
10. rename - avalanche of fear (oren amram remix)
11. rroyce - i like it when you lie (oren amram entirely club mix)
12. shelter - blur the lines (extended version)
13. the sweetest condition - control (extended remix)
bonus:
14. robert marlow - no heart (alternate vocals and bassline - rough mix)
At the end of 2015, CHVE made quite an impression with his debut solo full album “Rasa". CHVE is best known for his work with Amenra, but the solo work took a different turn both musically and stylistically. Instead of the brute primal force and walls of sound, CHVE's solo work is very introspective and intimistic, making use solely of his voice, a hurdy gurdy and the bodhran. The approach might be very different, but the music is equally devastating and brutally honest.
“Rasa” was the studio incarnation of CHVE, produced with the aid of Dehn Sora (Treha Sektori, Sembler Deah, …), but during his many live shows, the music transformed organically in a distinctly different way. To document the transformation from the studio to a live solo CHVE performance, this beautiful new live record is presented. The album captures the music in a truly unique way: it was recorded by one man in one take in an old tram, amidst the busy Saturday city life of Ghent, and was immediately cut to vinyl afterwards. These recordings have been mixed by Aaron Harris (ISIS, Palms, Deftones, Tool, etc.) and have been mastered by Frederik Dejongh (CHVE, TBHR, Syndrome, etc.) to ensure the most perfect listening experience of this live rendition of “Rasa”, augmented with a unique interpretation of Nico’s Le Petit Chevalier. For the artwork, CHVE and Tine Guns collaborated in a unique way with visuals of Guns’ playing a part in the packaging of the album and the music of the CHVE live album playing a part in Guns’ new film To Each His Own Mask. Furthermore, Aline Gorsen created relics of CHVE’s own flesh, which are also featured in the artwork.
The album is scheduled for a November 11
CHVE LIVE:
03/10: Nature, Kortrijk BE
06/10: Consouling store, Gent BE
07/10: de Brakke Grond, Amsterdam NL
12/10: Stuk, Leuven BE
13/10: AB, Brussels BE
01/11: Kerkhof, Kortrijk BE
08/11: Balzaal, Vooruit Gent BE
11/11: Joseph Ryelandtzaal, Brugge BE
12/11: Le Guess Who, Utrecht NL
19/11: Mediatheque, Vendenheim FR
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