Another Friday, another 13 sinister choices from around the globe.

The Emergency [AU]
Ionic Vision [BE]
Alpha 606 [CU]
Jupiter Black [DE]
Minimal Rome [IT]
We Smoke Fags [UK]
Spider and the Flies [UK]
Femme Fatale [FR]
Suicide Booth [DE]
Celluloide [FR]
Zen-Kei [DE]
Position Parallele [FR]
Sintesi [SE]

I felt mysteriously compelled to compile some dark tracks on the site tonight (as I am wont to do on particular dates/holidays) since once again it's Friday the 13th. No death/black metal or anything inherently malevolent by nature. Just things off the HD that fit with the theme (somewhat).

So, in honor of the day and in the spirit of keeping music evil, here are 13 ways of turning to the dark side...

Chromatics - The Killing Spree
Ceremony - Nothing Inside
David Gilmour Girls - Crimson As Murder
Ladytron - I'm Not Scared
Darker My Love - Post Mortem, Post Boredom
Absolute Body Control - Into The Light
Kiko - 7 Minutes
Automat - Eau Trouble
The Consumer - Dissociaty Identity
Neon Electronics vs. The Hacker - Better Way
Gosub - Lost In Our Ways
New York City Survivors - The Shadow
Eggfooyoung - Bad Dream

I'd say enjoy, but that's not particularly scary. How about what Elvira, Mistress of the Dark used to say...Unpleasant Dreams!

A RobotSound favorite since the heady daze of yore has been seminal bleep techno "band" LFO (previously mentioned here or heard in this mix). I won't re-hash LFO's history here - you can Google them to get caught up on that (just make sure you're researching the LFO on WARP Records from the UK, not the gay-ass boy band, Lyte Funky Ones). I do, however, want to offer some "forgotten" LFO tracks from their early days (1990) that they performed for John Peel's legenday radio show. Gleaned from "someone else's hard drive" from a cassette recording, these songs were never commercially released (makes you wonder just how many more tunes Mark Bell has kept to himself).

LFO Peel Session 1990

To commemorate the recent passing of Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman, the first man to synthesize Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), this month's RobotSound Jukebox is all about thee Acid. From 1987 to 2008, here are 33 (30+3) choice 303 trax for your trip. Yes, the Silver Box called the TB-303 Bass Line manufactured by the Roland Corporation (and its subsequent clones and software emulators), which once spurred the Acid House movement, continues to jack the masses worldwide.

In the beginning there was Jack...

Largely a phenomenon of the 80's & early 90's, the megamix seems to be making a comeback recently. Between CBS's Megamix Contest to postings of classic megamixes on YouTube, I've noticed a resurgence of the artform. Back in the pre-digital age, the megamixes that were committed to vinyl (as opposed to homemade ones put out on cassettes and sold out of homeboys' trunks at area swap meets), were usually released through limited, unlicensed pressings or for subscription-based, DJ-only labels. Some of the larger alternative dance bands (Depeche Mode, New Order, Pet Shop Boys, etc.) had several commissioned for club use or for diehard collectors. Nowadays, music doesn't have to be manually cut and pasted from tapes to make megamixes - one can simply use some programs to sample and piece things together, and voila, instant megamix (okay, it's still a time-consuming, but not nearly as cumbersome process).

This prompted me to dig out a few mixes from the archives and rip them for your listening pleasure. Also posted are this year's CBS contest winner as well as the entry from RobotSound cohort, Pollo Loco.

Flim Flam Acid Mix

Dave Clarke Old Skool Cut Up Mix

Cocktail 83 [Il Discotto]

Digital Emotion - Super Mega Mix

Dircsen - Small Time Shot Away (CBS MMC Winner 2008)

Pollo Loco - Prepare to Qualify (CBS MMC 2008)

Today's RobotMix™ comes to us courtesy of Mark Archer, of Nexus 21/Altern 8 fame. Mark kicks it wayyy Old Skool here with Thee urban jams of the early-to-mid 80s. Let me be the first to witness that the robots who krafted these songs had some serious soul indeed.

Listening to this mix, I was transported back to my childhood, when I'd tune in to local radio station KDAY when it was still 1580 on the AM dial. I'd eagerly await each day's top hit countdown which for a time nearly always included one of the countless "diversions" of Art of Noise's Beat Box, Egyptian Lover - Egypt Egypt, Newcleus - Jam On It, Cameo - She's Strange, and invariably, something from the LA Dream Team. KDAY was responsible for bringing the sounds chilly most of West Coast Hip Hop (Electro-hop in particular) from the other side of town to the ears of suburban, fat lace wearin', robot mimes like myself.

So, depending on your flava, break out the linoleum/carboard, don those Adidas tracksuits and Kangol hats, or dig out the rollerskates for the smoov sounds of:
Soul Electro

(Tracklisting after the jump)