Get ready to return to our prime directive - robot sounds - specifically, Electronic Body Music, or EBM for you acronym-minded types. The industrial machinations which began in the latter half of the 80s with groups like Front 242, Frontline Assembly and Nitzer Ebb have continued to aurally impact us through the present day with artists like The Hacker, David Carretta and Terence Fixmer manning the controls.

This playlist combines the classics with the recent offerings, as well as presenting some tangentially related pieces. As you listen, don't be afraid to start stomping along to the music. Keep in mind that the beat is meant to kontrol your body. We're here to let you know that: It's okay...to dance like a machine.

Seems like the summer heat has rendered the 'bots at RobotSound HQ lethargic as of late. It's evident that they'd rather sit around watching bad Reality TV programming and getting their snack on than producing anything in terms of meaningful content for y'all. Nevertheless I've managed to coax them into uploading my set recorded live at the recent Hot Box Summer Solstice event. A potent synthesis of love and war, this mix attempts to address the uncertainty of the times in which we live by incorporating both the chaos of today with (hopefully) the promise of a brighter tomorrow.

HotBox 6.21.08

Shit Robot - Lonely Planet
Water Lilly - The Sleepwalker
Franz & Shape - Forgotten Days (Memory Boy Remix)
8-Bit - The Robots
Hell - Suicide Commando
Kano - It's A War
GTO - Love Is Everywhere (Live & Love Mix)
Steril - Electrostatic
The Clone Machine - Clone Machine (Empire Mix)
Der Zyklus - Roche Limit (v3)
Millimetric - Where
David Carretta - Shocktreatment
Nitzer Ebb - Murderous (Phil Kieran Mix)
6blocc - Digits
Anthony Rother - Mathematik
MOTOR - 1X1 (Phil Kieran Remix)
Kiko - Slave Of My Mind
Romina Cohn - The Night
Ectomorph - Lost Angles (Manyangles Version)

Performing live in the US for the first time, Absolute Body Control stormed LA and NY this past weekend. This was a super-rare opportunity to see two originators of Minimal Wave, Dirk Ivens & Eric Van Woternghem (also of Dive, The Klinik, Monolith, Sonar, and Blok 57) definitively rock the house with body-controlling jams from throughout their lengthy 28-year existence. For the mainly 30-something crowd at Club M/R/X, ABC's long-overdue visit was fully welcomed as evidenced by the chant-along with Dirk on several songs. Despite getting hassled by the overzealous security, the RobotSound Krew enjoyed the vintage analogue goodness after downing some Duvels (in honor of the visiting Belgians of course) and ogling the local talent.

Here's a clip of ABC performing the Suicide-esque So Obvious in NYC on 4.4.08

It has been a while since I've offered a proper mix on RobotSound. Notwithstanding the fact that I've been listening to some decidedly retro-minded, un-robotic sounds as of late, it's time to return to our primary directive: Enabling robots like us to maintain their superiority edge on the sonic curve.

Our next audio hybridization installment comes to us from Spain, from the proprietor of Planeta Modular and it's a dark one indeed. Visions of dystopian futuristic soundscapes for the offworld colonies of tomorrow. Be seduced by the power of the darkside...

Darkman - Pleasures Received In Pain

1. Le Seduction Des Innocents - La Glorie D´Un Homme
2. Numb - Guilt
3. Le Syndicate Electronique - Dissidence
4. Benjamin Pecek - Power
5. Le Syndicate Electronique - Sacrifice
6. Fastgraph - Systematic
7. Anthony Rother - Don´t Stop The Beat
8. Fastgraph - Vsat
9. The Other People Place - Eye Contact
10. Ectomorph - The Haunting
11. Arpanet - Quantum State Recombination
12. Syncom Data - E.C.M.
13. Tollstoi - The Red Fader
13. Planet Detroit - Invasion From Planet Detroit
13. Partisan Midi - Tilt
14. The Operator - Local Host
15. The Dexorcist - Connect One
17. DBit - Medusa
18. Spinks vs. Kalbata - Contact Jerusalem
19. Kill Memory Crash - The O
20. E8 - Cruise Contol
21. Urban Electro - Subhuman Patrol
22. Drexciya - Depressurization
23. Brothomstates - Adozenaday

Think of this as a rerun. But this time, there are songs to go along with the post [the songs on the original post ended up getting lost in a site transfer].

No, this isn't the Ubercoolische Minimal Techno we're talking about here - I'm not going to bore you again with that subject. This is Minimal Wave, a term that encompasses early 80's electronic music that heavily emphasized raw analog synths and rhythm boxes. Genres include electro, obscure new wave, minimal synth, coldwave, darkwave and new romantic. Over the last few years there has been some renewed interest in Minimal Wave as today's sonic technicians look to the past for inspiration. The artists on the sadly now-defunct Invasion Planete conspired to supply the underground with very limited minimal wave releases along with a dose of propaganda. In 2003, Gigolo Records came out with New Deutsch, a long overdue compilation that unearthed some lost but not entirely forgotten gems from the German scene. More recently, Vitalic and David Carretta remixed the club favorite Cardboard Lamb from the underrated but highly influential Crash Course In Science, who are currently at work on a new LP.

The Actor - Covergirl
Experimental Products - Clear Images
Guyer's Connection - Dallas
Informatics - Factory Nightlife 03
Profil - 1964 [I think Juice Newton stole this for Queen of Hearts]
Transparent Illusion - We
Silicon Teens - Sun Flight
A Blaze Color - A Means To An End [Sounds like G.D. Luxxe got his vocal style from this guy]
G.K. Agenda - Enyhόles
Nine Circles - Twinkling Stars

Franz & Shape are coming to wipe your synapses of mundane and predictable sonic sequences. Embracing the principles of our retro musical forebearers, they aim to deliver bona fide alternative dance music fused with up-to-the-minute synthetic sensibilities. Their sound though isn't one of yesterday's future; it is the past reflected through the present. Sometimes you really do need to look back in order to contemplate the here and now or determine just where it is you want to go.

Acquire Franz and Shape's retro-futuristic instant classic Acceleration at the Relish Recordings website. Including collaborations with some of today's most forward-thinking dark matter visionaries [Perspects, Matt Sims, G.D. Luxxe, David Carretta, Chelonis Jones, Dirk da Davo of The Neon Judgement], this album brings some much-needed dynamism to the current morass of homogeneity.

Franz & Shape - Tightropes feat. Perspects

End of Data
Charles de Goal
The Rorschach Garden
Phones
Shakes
Professor Genius