Roland Beelen started 3 years ago with a series of compilations bringing the early years of Antler Records / Kleo Records back to life. These compilations are about long forgotten tracks mixed with better known songs and thus making it a must have for fans of new wave. Roland was helped by Lieven De Ridder (Walhalla Records) and Toon Loenders (lay-out). Sadly for all this fans we have to say that this one will be the last of this series, but hey: they will work on other releases (Siglo XX, Poësie Noire, The Arch …)
Chayell (aka Peter Bonne, also known from his work with A Split-Second) opens with Beach. If you listen well you’ll notice percussions that refer to A Split-Second. It’s a soft opener with the sound of the sea touching the beach and a women getting hot and sweaty. A bit of an erotic one.
Carol sounds with the sax on Breakdown a bit like the them song from the Pink Panther (at least in the beginning, but moves into a typical 80’s wave song). The vocals are nice: you might actually like it.
Shakti takes us out with a classic underground track: Everlasting. The newbies might not know that die-hard fans pay more than 200 euro’s for the original copy of this one. If you ask why: it was one of these songs who came close to be called new beat (alas new beat as such was not invented yet, for sure not as a name for this genre) and on top if I say that these 2 folks crafted the music then you know enough: Maurice Engelen (Lords Of Acid/Praga Khan) and Jo Borremans (Lords Of Acid). If you listen well enough you’ll hear some sounds that later on where taken over in new beat hits.
D-Sign unleashes Burning Cells. Created by Marc Verhaeghen (The Klinik) and Philippe Fichot/ Eliane P (Die Form). And yes all 3 artists are still active. This project was short lived, but showed their potential. You can hear their individual influences and what they made out of it later on. Nice electronics with a fetish touch.
In Sotto Voce started as a lie (a so called duo from Yugoslavia), but in fact it was none else but our duo from Poésie Noire. If you know them you’ll spot it. It was nice as long as none discovered the truth. Anyway: it’s new wave on a high, top class production and for sure worth buying it. Sequence II is the name of this song. Enjoy the beats and the great tempo.
Snowy Red is a well-known new wave band from Brussels (sadly most people only know one or 2 songs from them, so happy to get another one). It sounds a bit like Fad Gadget. I’m pretty sure this song will get a boost in the playlists and even make a re-entry at parties. The Long Run is for sure a must have.
Poésie Noire pops up with Relentless Passage. This time it’s for real: Jo Casters and Herman Gillis show their real face (and not the false one referring to In Sotto Voce). It’s not the first time we hear them on one of these compilations and as it stands for me: it’s great and can’t wait to get more of them. Enjoy the guitar play and the dark wave accents.
Vomito Negro aga Gino Devo is known for bringing cold EBM/electro industrial: raw, pure and monstruous. And yes: still touring and still creating new music! Here we get The New Drug (name of their first album on Antler Records). The song mixes Front 242 influences with industrial. After listening to this song it sounds a bit strange to say that I wish this one was more popular and better known. At least this compilation keeps up the good work.
X10 aka Marc Verhaeghen (check D.Sign) also worked with Marc Ickx (A Split -Second) and Niki Mono (Snowy Red/The Neon Judgement).Marc Ickx takes out the vocals and delivers what will later become the classic A Split-Second sound. With this it’s clear that Marc Verhaeghen had a lot of opportunities and worked with a lot of people who became famous later on. Repulsion is the title of this one.
Sigmund Und Sein Freund (SUSF) was for sure a very experimental duo. You were never sure what to expect. They end this compilation with We’ll Meet Again and yes that also sounds like a good message from the label. The song sounds very chaotic, loud and the vocals are a bit deranged: and that’s exactly what SUSF stands for.
So yeah, here we are at the end, but also at the beginning of new stories. Digging out old and forgotten song, introducing them to their grandkids … It’s a must have and differs a lot from the Studio Brussel or other commercial compilations as this is the real underground story. I'm happy to had this one on my desk and for sure as I was back then way too young when they all came out.
