This Saturday will be the first Robotsound event of 2009. What better way to ring in the New Year than with some stellar sounds of the last few decades. Come be a Midnight Moroder at:
Barcade
371 N. Western
8am - 2pm.

And of course, as always, it is FREE.

So don't waste your money on mediocre DJs when you can get the real deal for nothing (although we won't turn down free drinks =P).

As the end of the year quickly approaches, it's as good a time as any to reflect on the past. And what better way to do that than to flash back to that glorious decade of excess, the 80s. This month's RobotSound Jukebox celebrates the sleazy, coke-fueled sounds of my adolesecent fantasy world (not that I grew up doing drugs or hookers mind you). There's plenty of action to go around, so fret not automatic lovers...your pleasure is our business...whether it's the sultry sounds of Prince's or Rick James' protégés (Vanity 6 and Mary Jane Girls, disrespectfully), the raunchy abandon of Divine, the freak-a-holism of Egyptian Lover or the synthetic seduction of SSQ, we've got your favorite naughty flavors in stock. Rock 'N Roll strippers, synthesizer fetishists, and trashy punk sluts are equally welcome here. So strap on those head-phones for some Aural servicing, because you're about to get all kinds of nasty. You know you love it you little freak.

Thee robots got fonky this past Saturday night, with Georgio and myself throwing down a number of Prince [or Prince-related] jams. Getting prime billing was Dez Dickerson's [I Want 2 B A] Modernaire. Dez, who played guitar for Prince in 1979/80 [before leaving after becoming Born Again and getting replaced by Wendy], performed with his Modernaires for a scene in Purple Rain, but only 18 seconds of his song ever made it into the film. The track was supposed to get released as a single and appear on the Purple Rain soundtrack (which eventually became a Prince-exclusive affair), but Dez's song got shelved, multiple label offers fell through and a solo career failed to materialize.

Fast forward 25 years and the long-lost Modernaire finally gets a proper single release, mastered from a newly discovered tape recording. Put out by the fine folks at Citinite and pressed on translucent red vinyl, it also contains 5 funked-up mixes/remakes from DMX Krew, Luke Eargoggle [Faceless Mind], Hot Persuasion, Complexxion, and the ever heavy-breathing Egyptian Lover. Check Citinite's Modernaire page for online retailer/distributor links or go to Bleep.com to buy the mp3s. I suggest buying the vinyl pronto since it is a limited edition and I'm sure once those collectors find out, they'll be snapping them up like Prince at a high heels sale. So in the words of Morris Day, "I wanna see some asses wigglin'...I want some perfection."

Another act to look out for on the Prince/Midnight Star/Cameo/Zapp-inspired tip is Bumper, side-project of Mr. Pauli with Geoffrey T. Their sound incorporates LinnDrum, vocoders, and funky basslines, blending vintage Minneapolis genius with early Jedi Knight electro fuckery. Stream their Never Stop EP here to get a taste of new jack electrofunk, because when it comes to all things Prince, It Takes An Erotic Village...

We are the robots who have emotions
We are what you see

We've come to help you with your problems
So we can be free

The RobotSound Krew is about ready to continue the madness with next month's musical adventure, Mr. Roboto. Celebrating Gomes' date of manufacture, we'll be throwing down the Italo/Electrodisco, Synthpop and the forgotten pleasures of Bleep.

So all you Los Angeloid Robots and Robettes - get thee down to K-Town, look for the blue neon ghost at 371 N. Western Ave. and dig the grooves no one else in this city plays.

For a taster, download the Mini-Roboto Mix.

The Rorschach Garden - The Robot Song
Shock - Dynamo Beat
Teach In - The Robot
Midnight Star - Freak-a-zoid
The Droids - The Force
Mr. Roboto

Scott Goddard - Cowpunk
Wide Boy Awake - Come Back Friday
Altered Images - Insects
Tim Scott - Swear
Kim Wilde - Cambodia
The Human League - Rock 'n' Roll
Ministry - Same Old Madness
Fad Gadget - Coitus Interruptus
Grauzone - Eisbaer
Psyche - Unveiling The Secret
Strawberry Switchblade - Jolene
Psychic TV - Godstar

Most people already know that the Swedes are world-famous for their blondes, meatballs and stores of consumer-assembled furniture. What they might not realize however, is that Sweden continues to be a major player in the pop world. Yes, the music of ABBA continues to be a worldwide juggernaut, with countless hundreds of millions of records sold, along with the success of Mamma Mia! on the theater scene and now on the big screen. But post-ABBA Swedish pop music has spawned plenty of other internationally successful bands - A-Teens (ABBA for kids), The Cardigans and Roxette to name but a few (not to mention the fact that chances are pretty good that the hot US chart-toppers you hear were likely penned by a Swede). So, on my recent jaunt through the Scandinavian wonderland, I familiarized myself with the next New Wave of Swedish Pop.

Now, on to the smörgåsbord of...Summer Breeze. Though not all of these songs originate from Sweden, they still keep with the overall warm, breezy theme.

01 Cloetta Paris - Did We Collide
This will appeal to fans of fellow Swede Sally Shapiro. For a more Italo Disco selection, check out the lead single Secret Eyes of Cloetta's debut album of the same name.

02 Annie - Songs Remind Me Of You
Due out in October, here's another one that has the same amped up Stacey Q feel as #1. Pop heaven.

03 Blank + Jones - The Night Starts Here (feat. Stars)
One of the rare occasions you'll hear a Trance artist on RobotSound, this number is off of Blank + Jones' new release, The Logic of Pleasure. Bernard Sumner also sings a track on the LP.

04 Bon Voyage - Monster
Bon Voyage is the new project from Starflyer 59 (Christian alt-rock) frontman Jason Martin and his wife. You might be familiar with Jason's brother, Ronnie Martin of Joy Electric (Christian synthpop). Praise!

05 Zeigeist - Black Milk
More Swedes here. The girl vocalist, Princess, sounds a lot like Karin from The Knife.

06 The Kid - Transient Dance
You can hear the New Order influence in this track from these fresh-faced goth-poptarts straight outta Gothenburg, SE.

07 Grafton Primary - Relativity
The debut LP from these Aussie Indietronica rockers will be out soon-ish. I hear some retro-futurism here [Human League, Gary Numan, New Romantix-era DMX Krew].

08 Morgan Geist - Most Of All
One of the less recent selections, this 2006 track features Jeremy Greenspan of synthpoppers Junior Boys. Disco-tastic!

09 Kuryakin - Still Here
The sunshine pop keeps shining on with this track from Kuryakin's soon-to-be-released EP.

10 Aprilsrain - Left Alone
Representing the Bay Area, Aprilsrain allow for some splendid indie pop enjoyment.

11 The Sound of Arrows - Danger!
All the Swedish Indie record stores had these guys playing on their stereos. Watch out for this hot debut!

12 Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning
This Kiwi girl is sure to keep you cool this summer. Some of her songs remind me of Luscious Jackson's disco-y stuff. Check the video here.

13 Air France - June Evenings
Some people are referring to this as Balearic Beat (what Ibiza Eurobots listen to after the drugs have worn off). To me, it's kinda like clubby Xymox from their later years.

14 Gentle Touch - Once You Used To
Easy, breezy, beautiful, Covergirl.

15 The Daysleepers - Release The Kraken
Venturing into Nu-Gaze territory, The Daysleepers hail from New York City. Luscious, ethereal indie rock.

16 Errors - Salut! France
Changing gears once again, these Glaswegian instrumentalists on Mogwai's label straddle the fence between indie and synthpop. Rest assured though. You'll still get your fix of Melodramatic Popular Song.

17 Jesu - Hard To Reach
Godflesh turned Nu-Gaze. Taking the name from the final track on Godflesh's 2007 swansong, Hymns, Justin Broadrick and friends have shifted into entirely new directions.

Catch the breeze...

It's time once again to revisit that wonderful decade which, besides questionable fashion choices, gave us, in my opinion, some of the most innovative music of our lifetimes: The 80s. As you know from previous posts (Vol. 1, Vol. 2), this robot tends to enjoy cover songs from this particular time period. Not only do they make for nice trips down memory lane, but they intertwine your memories of the past with the modernized noises of the moment, while validating your particular musical tastes.

Our first selection is the lead-off track from the just-released Bowie tribute compilation, Life Beyond Mars. Performed by the lovely and talented girls of Au Revoir Simone, Oh! You Pretty Things originally appeared on Sir David's 1981 LP, ChangesTwoBowie. Other artists trying their hand at The Thin White Duke's catalog include Joakim, Matthew Dear, Susumu Yokota and The Emperor Machine.
Au Revoir Simone - Oh! You Pretty Things

Track two comes to us via the French "bodypop" trio known as Celluloide. Originally released by Sushi & her Banshees back in 1980 (!), this tune can be summed up thusly: Quirky, analogue bleeps and beats with goth-y undertones = Happy robots dancing in the shadows.
Celluloide - Happy House

Now is when we crank it up several notches (to 11) by going with Cursor Miner's version of Van Halen's Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love. Technically not an 80's cover (the original saw its debut on Van Halen's eponymous LP in 1978), it still retains that trashy, metal vibe of early 80s Sunset Strip.
Cursor Miner - Ain't Talkin About Love

Getting grungier still, we progress to a cover of a cover with Electronicat's interpretation of Soft Cell's Tainted Love. Fred Bigot (aka Electronicat) gets double bonus points for changing the vocals to French (the language of love) and fuzzing out to the max (tainting, if you will) the melody. Akin to watching Pier Pasolini's Salò.
Electronicat - Amour Salé

The first of two songs on this list penned by his Purple Highness, this one came out during the height of the Electrocla$h frenzy, on Larry Tee's Badd Inc.: Luxury, Excess, Extravagance comp. Featuring a gay, robotic Prince (judging from the name of this artist).
Prance - Controversy

More Siouxsie, more guitars/synths run through the fuzzbox, more detached android vocals, lyrics about chicken chow mein and chop suey...
HKC - Hong Kong Garden

Co-founder of XLOVER, Bryan Black (also of MOTOR) used to be Prince's keyboard tech back in Paisley Park's heyday. This one features a guest appearance from yet another sexy member of the royal family, Princess Superstar.
XLOVER - Darling Nikki