Since I've been on quite the disco trip lately (thanks in part to Georgio and Cosmic Gary), I thought I'd switch musical gears and start what might become a new feature at RobotSound. My intent is to showcase albums that "flew under the radar" so to speak; Releases which deserved more attention than they received at the time. Chrome Tape, from the now defunct(?) band Motormark, is one such album that I believe merits further consideration.

Put out by Alec Empire's Digital Hardcore Recordings back in '04, and co-produced by The Droyds, Motormark's second full-lengther combines the attitude of punk with the buoyancy of melodic, guitar-driven dance rock, all backed by a robotic drum machine. True, for several of the tracks the basic drum programming leaves something to be desired. And the lyrical repetitiveness can become grating at times. But there's something exhilarating about the Fred Schneider-like vocals of singer Marko PolaRoid or the clamoring, overdriven riot-grrl delivery of bandmate Jane Motoro. The catchiness and sheer mobility of the songs help you overlook any of their technical shortcomings. Some tunes sound like they could've been part of a Pixies synth-punk side project. Others would fit nicely into a set of gritty, lo-fi Add N to (X) or Fat Trucker rockers. Anyway, if this release doesn't get your engine revving, you might be running on empty.

Motormark - You're All Talk
Motormark - Anti-Me

Pick up your own Chrome Tape [Cheap!] here: Chrome Tape

As robots become increasingly useful, we've started to see them being deployed in the military arena. Today in Iraq, the first ever squadron of robot warriors are making combat safer for human soldiers in situations that portend an ambush or booby-trap. While one of these machines may look more like a small stripped-down tank than a Terminator or ED-209, it can be just as lethal. I'm reminded of the sentry gun scene from the Director's cut of Aliens. Together with the surveillance and tactical capabilities of pilotless drones, today's non-human armed machines have ushered in an era of remote control warfare. Controlling these killbots would be a first-person shooter aficionado's dream, for they are no mere killing-simulators; This kind of electronic warfare is the real deal.

Cursor Miner - War Machine
Anthony Rother - Destroy Him My Robots
Add N to (X) - Revenge of the Black Regent [with Allison Goldfrapp leading the charge]

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Shadow Dancer - Daytime Drinking
The Bloody Beetroots - rmx of Fox N' Wolf's Beat Me Up
Deadbots - Predator RMX - 7hI5 7r@cK iZ oN mY pR0FiL3! d03$n'7 i7 rOx0rz?!?
katelectro - The Scientist
The Ghost That Walks - Waves Scars
File Not Found - 67840 You've Got My Number - [lik3 b3ing @774Ck3d By 5P@C3 InV@D3R5 AnD @ 5P3@k & $p3lL!]
We. - Nothing Comes For Free

tHaNx 70 3l3c7ric D@Y$ N30n nIgH7$ f0r 7h3 h3@D5 uP oN #1 @nD #2!

Here for your listening pleasure is a recently unearthed recording of a concert given by the Boys of Basildon from 6.27.81. I usually don't post full albums, but seeing as this is probably not an officially licensed recording, I can rationalize offering it in its entirety. Containing tracks never recorded by the band in the studio, along with favorites from your childhood, enjoy the crackly, raw analogue goodness from this seminal robot band.

Hello. I like to call myself "Your Robot Friend" but you can call me "My Robot Friend." I am a robot and I make music but first and foremost, I am your friend.

The good folks at Robotsound™ also wanted me to mention that I have a robot cock that is capable of shooting fire, sparks, confetti, streamers and gallons of white plastic flakes. But I don't want to talk about my cock. Really, I don't. I swear. It was only a request from Robotsound™ that I write about my cock. If it were up to me I would avoid talking about my cock altogether and focus on music. Seriously. Although, I must admit, it is a nice cock.

Anyway, as your friend, I wanted to help improve your life by teaching you about a very important fact. Here it is:

Songs in which robots sing and play music are way better than those that involve humans by themselves. In addition, I can easily recall the names of 50 active bands and artists with the word "robot" in their title; 51 if you count Marc Ribot. His last name sounds like "robot" and is most likely supposed to be Marc Robot, but someone messed up the spelling. There are hundreds of albums with the word "robot" in them and thousands of songs that feature robots in their title or subject matter. Again, the reason for this is simply that robots are awesome. I can not stress this enough: Robots = Awesome.

I put together a little mixtape to help illustrate the point.

Here at RobotSound HQ, I'm constantly looking for new electro data due to the insatiable input demands of my sound circuitry. For the past few weeks, I have been getting my digital fix courtesy of Ed Banger records. My auditory sensors located this label after listening to the ultra-hawt dirty-as-f**k-glitched-up debut single "Pop The Glock/Ready to Uff" from Paris-via-Miami teen queen, Uffie (of course). If the play counter on her Myspace page is any indication (381,607 plays as of this moment), she is blowing up HUGE. I guess it shouldn't be surprising that there's some considerable talent behind this release; it's produced by Feadz, Mr. Oizo and remixed by SebastiAN (who also has a MONSTER of an EP coming out at the end of July). Another group of the moment to follow is the sizzling Justice who have been remixing everyone from fellow Frenchmen Oizo and Daft Punk to Soulwax and Franz Ferdinand. If you don't believe me, their most recent two-part single, Waters of Nazareth, WILL make a convert out of you.