May 8, 2013

RhoDeo 1318 Aetix


Hello, well nothing much happening today, now yesterday is another matter 3 teenagers held as sextoys a decade long. Nobody noticed, what a boon for the terror propaganda industry, be afraid of your neighbours...

Meanwhile Aetix continues with diverse females in the lead, an African woman, 2 romantic Goths and a woman with her heart on the right place....N'Joy

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Allez Allez was a Belgian new-wave/dance collective that existed from 1981-85. Its architects were the songwriters Kristiaan Debusscher and Nicolas Fransolet. American singer Sarah Osbourne brought the biting attitude, the unpredictable personality… the razzle-dazzle, basically. The group had a couple of club hits, back when that was still kind of an underground thing: the eerie, slinky, dub-derived “African Queen” and the whooshing “She’s Stirring Up.” Those grabbed the attention of producer Martin Ware, of Heaven 17 eminence, who made all sorts of promises to Allez Allez: We’ll go for a slicker funk sound. We’ll get you your international breakthrough. He probably mentioned Talking Heads. Judging from the tracks assembled on Best Of, these were realistic hopes.

Of course, nothing materialized. Osbourne abruptly quit, pulling out the band’s lungs and ego, and was never effectively replaced. The next single stiffed, and Allez Allez faded into crate-digging oblivion. But while they were hustling for their break, they made some of the richest, strangest dance music of the era.

There’s so much going on here. It’s loud. It’s intense. It’s backed with dueling hooks, whiplash African rhythms and all sorts of dissonant intrusions (check the warped trumpet vamps that emerge from the mix as the tracks are steaming up). Its moods range from the double-speed proto-pop-rap of “She’s Stirring Up” (which is more “Rapture” than “The Message,” but which features, by virtue of its speed, a level of vocal immersion from Osbourne that Debbie Harry never would’ve attempted) to the syrupy darkness of “Valley of the Kings” (a cryptic lament punctuated with a barking chant) to “Wrap Your Legs (Around Your Head)” (which plays disco fairly straight until its cathartic breakdown). Most producers couldn’t keep this many balls in the air and keep the whole thing danceable. But this is loaded headphone-disco that still serves as dance music. It’s from the baroque end of the new-wave pool, but it’s a perfect balance of craft and creativity. Considering how much noise is going on here, nothing ever seems to lose the beat. The beat isn’t just god – the beat is gravity.

Allez Allez never got the mass audience they… “deserved” always sounds dumb here, so let’s go with “could have handled, easily.” But, in the process of failing, they created some of the boldest dance music of the epoch.



Allez Allez - Best of (flac 503mb)

01 African Queen 7:15
02 Allez Allez 5:33
03 She's Stirring Up 3:39
04 Marathon Dance 2:56
05 Turn Up The Meter 4:39
06 Valley Of The Kings 5:37
07 Wrap Your Legs (Around Your Head) 4:52
08 Flesh & Blood 5:36
09 African Queen (Quiet Village Dub) 8:02
10 Allez Allez (Aeroplane Remix) 8:07
11 She's Stirring Up (An Optimo (Espacio) Drum Attack Mix) 6:53
12 Allez Allez (Lindstrøm and Prins Thomas Remix) 12:07

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Depending on what mood the listener is in, the lightweight pop of Strawberry Switchblade's self-titled debut album can be sickeningly coy or irresistibly charming. Featuring Rose McDowall (guitar, vocals, harmony vocals) and Jill Bryson (guitar, vocals, harmony vocals), Strawberry Switchblade sound like two little girls enraptured and enraged by their first crushes; those with no tolerance for this innocuous stuff will immediately bolt for the exits. But Strawberry Switchblade shouldn't be flogged for being too cute; accepted for what it is, the album is a toothsome collection of new wave bubblegum. McDowall and Bryson have pretty voices; they blend together wondrously. The lyrics reflect an adolescent perspective on love and heartbreak. On "Go Away," the girls sing about a boy who used one of them for sex and then split; there is a heavy sadness in their vocals that shatters the LP's façade of innocence. "Who Knows What Love Is?" is a winsome tale of longing. In the mid-'80s, synthesizers were still in fashion in the new wave scene, and keyboards are bouncing all over Strawberry Switchblade, especially on "Let Her Go." However, there is darkness lurking within Strawberry Switchblade's candy-flavored melodies. Never has a band sounded so sweet while being so bummed out.



Strawberry Switchblade - Strawberry Switchblade (flac 253mb)

01 Since Yesterday 2:57
02 Deep Water 3:56
03 Another Day 3:52
04 Little River 2:41
05 10 James Orr Street 2:58
06 Let Her Go 2:47
07 Who Knows What Love Is? 3:48
08 Go Away 3:10
09 Secrets 2:51
10 Who Knows What Love Is? (Reprise) 1:04
11 Being Cold 4:15

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The stepdaughter of jazz trailblazer Don Cherry, vocalist Neneh Cherry forged her own groundbreaking blend of pop, dance, and hip-hop, presaging the emergence of both alternative rap and trip-hop. She was born Neneh Mariann Karlssson on March 10, 1964, in Stockholm, Sweden, the daughter of West African percussionist Amadu Jah and artist Moki Cherry. Raised by her mother and her trumpeter stepfather in both Stockholm and New York City, Cherry dropped out of school at age 14, and in 1980 she relocated to London to sing with the punk group the Cherries.

Following brief flings with the Slits and the Nails, she joined the experimental funk outfit Rip Rig + Panic, and appeared on the group's albums God (1981), I Am Cold (1982), and Attitude (1983). When the band broke up, Cherry remained with one of the spinoff groups, Float Up CP, and led them through one album, 1986's Kill Me in the Morning. The band proved short-lived, however, and Cherry began rapping in a London club, where she earned the attention of a talent scout who signed her to a solo contract. Her first single, "Stop the War," railed against the invasion of the Falkland Islands.

After attracting some notice singing backup on the The's "Slow Train to Dawn" single, she became romantically and professionally involved with composer and musician Cameron McVey, who, under the alias Booga Bear, wrote much of the material that would comprise Cherry's 1989 debut LP, Raw Like Sushi. One song McVey did not write was "Buffalo Stance," the album's breakthrough single; originally tossed off as a B-side by the mid-'80s pop group Morgan McVey, Cherry's cover was an international smash that neatly summarized the album's eclectic fusion of pop smarts and hip-hop energy.

A pair of hits -- the eerie "Manchild" and "Kisses on the Wind" -- followed, but shortly after the record's release Cherry was sidelined with Lyme disease, and apart from a cover of Cole Porter's "I've Got You Under My Skin" for the 1990 Red Hot + Blue benefit album, she remained silent until 1992's Homebrew. A more subdued collection than Raw Like Sushi, it featured cameos from Gang Starr and R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, as well as writing and production assistance from Geoff Barrow, who layered the track "Somedays" with the same distinct trip-hop glaze he later perfected as half of the duo Portishead. While the album was not as commercially successful as its predecessor, Cherry returned to the charts in 1994 duetting with Youssou N'Dour on the global hit "Seven Seconds."

After another lengthy layoff spent raising her children, she resurfaced with the atmospheric Man in 1996. A remix version of the album, simply titled Remixes, would follow in 1998; then family life became a priority once again, with some guest appearances (including the 1998 single "Walk into this Room" with Live's Edward Kowalczyk and a guest spot on Peter Gabriel's 2000 album OVO) and work with her husband Burt Ford band's Cirkus carrying her into the new millennium. She returned in 2012 with The Cherry Thing, an album in which she fronted the Thing, the experimental Scandinavian jazz trio whose founding mission was to play her stepfather's music.

Those arguing that the most individualistic R&B and dance music of the late '80s and early to mid-'90s came out of Britain could point to Neneh Cherry's unconventional Raw Like Sushi as a shining example. An unorthodox and brilliantly daring blend of R&B, rap, pop, and dance music, Sushi enjoyed little exposure on America's conservative urban contemporary radio formats, but was a definite underground hit. Full of personality, the singer/rapper is as thought-provoking as she is witty and humorous when addressing relationships and taking aim at less-than-kosher behavior of males and females alike. Macho homeboys and Casanovas take a pounding on "So Here I Come" and the hit "Buffalo Stance," while women who are shallow, cold-hearted, or materialistic get lambasted on "Phoney Ladies," "Heart," and "Inna City Mamma." Cherry's idealism comes through loud and clear on "The Next Generation," a plea to take responsibility for one's sexual actions and give children the respect and attention they deserve.



Neneh Cherry - Raw Like Sushi  (flac 447mb)

01 Buffalo Stance 5:42
02 Manchild 3:52
03 Kisses On The Wind 3:57
04 Inna City Mamma 4:51
05 The Next Generation 5:05
06 Love Ghetto 4:29
07 Heart 5:09
08 Phoney Ladies 3:54
09 Outré Risqué Locomotive 5:05
10 So Here I Come 4:03
11 My Bitch 5:27
12 Heart (It's A Demo!) 4:52
13 Buffalo Stance (Sukka Mix) 5:21
14 Manchild (The Oldschool Mix) 5:31


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7 comments:

AJ said...

Well apart from the nonsense above, this has been a most excellent post...especially the Allez Allez part. Thanks for the best of, as I'd never heard the remixes before.

A.A. said...

My favourite track of Neneh Cherry is "Move With Me" included in the original soundtrack to the movie "Until The End Of The World" (c. 1992). You should not forget it...

Anonymous said...

Hello! I was wondering if you could reupload Strawberry Switchblade in FLAC? That would be the greatest thing ever.

AJ said...

And we're back taking advantage of the FLAC. Thanks Rho!

Anonymous said...

Hi, could you please repost the Best of Allez Allez? Excellent band!

Anonymous said...

allez allez up? merci

Anonymous said...

hey rho!

i hope this post isn't too old for a reupp?! I'd really appreciate the "allez allez" album..
thanks in advance! take care