The Empty Quarter - Delirium

This was almost a "someone beat me to it" post; Rho-Xs did indeed post it last June, but his download link has expired, so I can offer up my own rip, inferior though it probably is. Youth (ex-Killing Joke, represented on this blog so far by his recordings with Brilliant) and Ben Watkins (Juno Reactor) first teamed up to record an album called The Empty Quarter (soon here) in 1983 as the official soundtrack from the play Street Captives by Jonathan Moore. For their second collaboration, 1986's Delirium, they adopted The Empty Quarter as their band name. Like their first album it's all instrumental, but with a greater focus on rhythms. The beats run from tribal to industrial to gothic funk a la Brilliant (unsurprisingly) with several guest musicians filling out the sound. The full performing credits are:

Ben Watkins: keyboards, guitars, programming
Youth: keyboards, bass programming
Dave Heath: flute
Kate St. John: oboe, sax
Jake Le Mesurier: percussion, drums
Chris Bell: drums
'Mainframe'-John and Murray: Greengate programming
'Ranking Seymour': voice
Guy 'Thumb' Pratt: bass

This is one of several "techno-worldbeat" albums that came out in the late 80s/early 90s that in my opinion are classics. More albums in that category that other bloggers have posted are:

Anne Dudley and Jaz Coleman: Songs from the Victorious City
Eric Random and the Bedlamites: Ishmael
Saqqara Dogs: Thirst and World Crunch

But the point of this post is The Empty Quarter's Delirium: get it here or here.

Sunsonic - Melting Down On Motor Angel

As The Flowerpot Men, Ben Watkins and Adam Peters brought a dark edge to 80s synthpop. Upon signing to Polydor they changed their name to Sunsonic (presumably because there had already been a band called the Flowerpot Men in the 60s) and released a single album, Melting Down On Motor Angel (a Flowerpot Men track that did not appear on the album, oddly enough) in 1990, before they split up and Ben Watkins went on to become Juno Reactor. Melting Down marks the middle ground between the rock-influenced synthpop of the 80s and the full-fledged techno of the 90s. Here is that album, the first of several projected Ben Watkins Before Juno Reactor posts. (Or here.)

Survival Records - Mind & Matter/Megamix

How about another LP from 80s minimal techno label Survival Records? This 1983 label sampler is divided into "Mind & Matter" (Side A) and "Megamix" (Side B), with each track of the Megamix running straight into the next one with no gap on the LP. Track listing:

A1 Faith Global - Knowing The Way
A2 Drinking Electricity - Superstition
A3 Richard Bone - Monster Movie
A4 Play - Deeper Than Blue
A5 Jeanette - Sunny Side
B1 Play - Chasing The Sun
B2 Richard Bone - The Quantum Hop
B3 Drinking Electricity - Breakout
B4 Do It - Do It

("Do It" is label sleeve designer and Drinking Electricity bassist P.K. (Paul) Edgely. ) Get it here or here.

Drinking Electricity: Overload

Drinking Electricity was the synthpop duo of David Rome and Anne-Marie Heighway, with P.K. (Paul) Edgely frequently adding bass guitar to the mix. Rome and Heighway founded Survival Records in 1980. It would become one of the premiere "minimal techno" labels of the 80s, with a roster that included Richard Bone, Tik & Tok, Thirteen at Midnight, and Play. After a few singles they released their first and only album as Drinking Electricity, Overload, in 1982. The track listing is as follows:

A1 Breakout
A2 Discord Dance
A3 Good Times
A4 Colour Coding
A5 Fall
A6 Breakout II
B1 Countdown
B2 News Peak
B3 Twilight Zone
B4 Superstition
B5 The Promise

I've added two bonus tracks, the "Shakin' All Over" single (yes, the Johnny Kidd and the Pirates song) and its B-side, "China." Links removed: reissue coming soon from Medical Records.