This month, 35 years ago, British EBM/Industrial act Nitzer Ebb recorded their first eight songs which were featured on the A-side of their first ever release/demo tape Basic Pain Procedure (August 1983). On the B-side they put a live recording of a concert in Chelmsford from 9th December the same year. Initially it was meant to attract the attention from record labels but the tape was also sold at their live concerts. Two years later they would meet producer, Phil Harding, who produced their 1985 debut single ‘Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works?’ and helped them set up their own label, Power Of Voice Communications.

Besides ‘Crane’, which was re-recorded and placed on the B-side of their first 12”, and the song ‘Home’, which was re-worked into K.I.A. for the 1988 Belief album, it seemed all other tracks where archived, never to be heard again...

Luckily, for NEB fans around the globe, Basic Pain Procedure was officially re-released in it’s entirety, to celebrate it’s 30th anniversary, on CD, USB and tape in June 2013. The vinyl re-issue version however, only features the eight original studio recordings and thus not the live 1983 performance.
Basic Pain Procedure - Tracklist

A1 Faded Smiles
A2 Tradition
A3 The Home
A4 Star
A5 The Passage
A6 The Book
A7 Crane
A8 Trust Ran In Colours

B1 Tradition
B2 The Home
B3 Star
B4 The Book
B5 Crane
B6 Violent Playground
B7 A Whiter Shade Of Pale
B8 Smear Body

Check out the unique live footage of the song Crane performed in the early 80s...

www.discogs.com/Nitzer-Ebb-Basic-Pain-Procedure/release/4093263

After his wife’s death and a suicide attempt, the recent widower Early Landry (John Carroll Lynch) moves from the South to Los Angeles to be closer to his family. When the mothering of his sister Laurette (Maura Tierney) becomes unbearable for him, Early moves to an apartment in some random run-down house in Hollywood.

After drowning his sorrows in alcohol one night, he gets to know his neighbour Freda (Matt Bomer), a transgender sex worker, who wants to borrow some sugar. Their friendship slowly develops into an honest romance haunted by the ghosts of their past and present.

In the run-up to its release the movie has caused a critical public debate within the trans community about whether a non-trans actor should play Freda or not. Of course, this is a matter of opinion and should surely be discussed - maybe from a less emotional and rather factual point of view. Freda is definitely more than meets the eye! Despite this discussion the actors Lynch and Bomer send out a very strong and clear message with even more dedication and passion to raise awareness for relationships like these. They promote tolerance and respect - aspects that are most relevant even today! Anything is great story about family, loss, friendship, love and the transgender movement.

US release date: 11th May, 2018

UK digital release: 6th August, 2018 via www.signature-entertainment.co.uk

Cast:

• John Carroll Lynch as Early Landry

• Matt Bomer as Freda Von Rhenburg

• Maura Tierney as Laurette Sachman

• Margot Bingham as Brianna

• Michael Boatman as Charles

• Tanner Buchanan as Jack Sachman

• Micah Hauptman as David

Producer: Mark Ruffalo

Directed and written by Timothy McNeil

On 20 July 2018 aroumd 21:50 local time, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst welcomed the legendary electronic band Kraftwerk and 7500 visitors to the Jazz Open Festival on Stuttgart's Schlossplatz – live from the International Space Station, where he will live and work until mid-December 2018. During the call with space, Kraftwerk founding member Ralf Hütter and Alexander played a special duet version of the track Spacelab, for which Alexander had a tablet computer configured with virtual synthesizers on board. (source ESA).

Relive and enjoy this groundbreaking and stunning moment with the video below!

Dependent Records is proud to announce a record that "is sure to make its mark on underground dance-floors all over the world with ease."
"Empirion's new E.P. "I Am Electronic / Red Noise" will be out on September 23rd this year in limited vinyl and CD is perhaps their strongest material as of yet. The E.P. marks the first impression into their long anticipated forthcoming album "Resume". As you can guess by the title, this is a double A-Side E.P., where each track represents one side of the influences of Jamie Smart and Oz Morsley. "I Am Electronic" is a grinding breakbeat/trance maelstrom with an irresistible vocoder voice arrangement. "Red Noise" represents the industrial roots of the band and is an update to Nitzer Ebb style EBM paired with IDM elements and strong (human) vocals. Man vs. Machine!"

The E.P. is available as CD-Single with 6 tracks and two bonus tracks, the vinyl is a limited edition of 1000 copies (with 300 in red vinyl) and two exclusive mixes of the A-Sides.

www.facebook.com/empirion.music

Today it’s exactly 30 years since Siouxsie & The Banshees released their single Peek-a-Boo. It was released on 18th July 18th 1988 as the first single from the band's ninth studio album, Peepshow. Peek-a-Boo was rated "Single of the Week" in both Sounds and NME.

The song's peculiar sound is due to its experimental recording which was based on a sample. The song was built on a loop in reverse of a brass part with drums which the group previously arranged a year before for a cover of John Cale's 'Gun'. The band selected different parts of that tape when played backwards, editing them and re-recording on top of it, adding a different melody plus accordion, a one-note bass and discordant guitar. Drummer Budgie also added another beat. Once the instrumental parts were finished, Siouxsie sang her lyrics over it. The lyric track was further manipulated by Siouxsie's use of a different microphone for each line of the song. It took the band a year to arrive at this result.

Peek-a-Boo was one of Siouxsie and the Banshees' most recognizable and popular singles; it was also the group's first to chart in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 53 in the week of 3rd December. The song was very popular on alternative rock radios and received heavy play on MTV. In September 1988, Billboard magazine premiered a new Modern Rock Tracks chart, which measured radio airplay on US modern rock stations; "Peek-a-Boo" was the chart's first No. 1 song. In the UK, "Peek-a-Boo" became their fifth Top 20 UK hit, peaking at number 16 in the Singles Chart.

The music video was chosen by The Chart Show to be their "Best Video of the Year" for 1988. On the Beavis & Butt-Head episode "Sperm Bank," Beavis noted while watching the video that "this is music for people who don't have any friends”.

Peek-a-Boo (CDS/7”)
a. Peek-a-Boo
b. False Face

Peek-a-Boo (CD Maxi-single)
1. Peek-A-Boo
2. Catwalk
3. Peek-A-Boo (Big Spender Mix)
4. False Face
5. Peek-A-Boo (Silver Dollar Mix)

Peek-a-Boo (Lyrics)

Creeping up the backstairs
Slinking into dark stalls
Shapeless and slumped in bath chairs
Furtive eyes peep out of holes
She has many guises
She'll do what you want her to
Playing dead and sweet submission
Cracks the whip deadpan on cue

Peek-a-boo
Peek-a-boo
Peek-a-boo
Peek-a-boo

Reeking like a pigsty
Peeling back and gagging free
Flaccid ego in your hand
Chokes on dry tears, can you understand?
She's jeering at the shadows
Sneering behind a smile
Lunge and thrust to pout and pucker
Into the face of the beguiled

Peek-a-boo
Peek-a-boo
Peek-a-boo (Golly jeepers)
Peek-a-boo (Where'd you get those peepers?)
Peek-a-boo (Peepshow, creepshow)
Peek-a-boo (Where did you get those eyes?)

Strobe lights pump and flicker
Dry lips crack out for more
"Come bite on this rag doll, baby!
That's right now hit the floor"
They're sneaking out the back door
She gets up from all fours
Rhinestone fools and silver dollars
Curdle into bitter tears

Peek-a-boo
Peek-a-boo
Peek-a-boo
Peek-a-boo
Peek-a-boo (Golly jeepers)
Peek-a-boo (Where'd you get those peepers?)
Peek-a-boo (Peepshow, creepshow)
Peek-a-boo (Where did you get those eyes?)
Peek-a-boo (Golly jeepers)
Peek-a-boo (Where'd you get those peepers?)
Peek-a-boo (Peepshow, creepshow)
Peek-a-boo (Where did you get those eyes?)
Peek-a-boo (Golly jeepers)
Peek-a-boo (Where'd you get those peepers?)
Peek-a-boo (Peepshow, creepshow)
Peek-a-boo (Where did you get those eyes?)

Where did you get those eyes?
Where did you get those eyes?

(Songwriters: N Sioux / Steven Severin / Johnny Mercer / N Budgie / Harry Warren)