Kind of Cthulhu: Wadjĭwĭng' (Azteco, 1987)

"Obscure"'s the best term to describe this record. It's obscure in a musical sense, for its sound and atmospheres, and in a documentary sense: to be short, almost no information about it can be found on the web.
Let's focus on music first. Wadjĭwĭng' is a quite surprising "progressive" blossom of mid-Eighthies industrial music experimentation. While the mood and approach decidedly reflect the taste for decadence, vagueness and approximation which is a defining trait of some industrial music circles, the musical form and the sound of the tracks are much closer to early-Seventies "dark" psychedelia (long instrumental tracks and digressions, organ, choirs...) and, most amazingly, to full-fledged progressive music. There are sombre, percussive sections reminding of Magma and eerie keyboard ostinatos not far from Goblin stuff. Then chamber-music sketches (Julverne? Maybe even Aksak Maboul), exoteric folk allures (Comus!), airy flute passages and soft openings which even seem to hint at the dreamiest episodes of Italian progressive (Pierrot Lunaire?).
Many comparisons can be traced, but none seems to grasp the essence and singularity of this album, basically a fish out of water, a progressive album made with strictly post-punk sounds, recording techniques, instrumental skills, and mentality. In some sense, is an utterly imprecise work; on the other hand, though, this clumsiness's necessary for its uniqueness and charm.

The few data that are known about the album help to guess its context, but don't enframe it exactly. Kind of Cthulhu was a project based in Parma and signed to the short-lived label Azteco Records, active between 1983 and 1988 and linked to the band T.A.C. (Tomografia Assiale Computerizzata) and its related post-industrial community. Two records were published under the evidently Lovecrafian moniker Kind of Cthulhu: an ep in 1986, and this lp. All of the two featured contributions by T.A.C. founder Simon Balestrazzi (later of Kirlian Camera) and credit a steady core of musicians, which were most probably the members of the band: Andrea Ascenso, Antonio ("Franz"?) Menozzi, Marco Cattabiani, Mario Mascitelli.

Tracklist:

1. Liutelio
2. Overload
   
3. What's This Kind of Cthulhu?
4. A Believer
5. Red Wine
   
6. Wadjĭwĭng'
7. Next Spring
   
8. Thrust of Love
9. Misk Cjezscjesz

Credits:

• Marco Cattabiani: bass, keyboards, harmonica, vocals, effects 
• Patrizia Mattioli: clarinet
• Andrea Azzali: double bass
• Mario Mascitelli: drums, percussion, bass, vocals, indian flute
• Franz Menozzi: guitar, flute, keyboards, percussion, vocals
• Andrea Ascenso: lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion, bass, drums
• Massimo Colonna: saxophone
• Paola Sartori: violin
• Patrizia Mattioli, Simon Balestrazzi: vocals
• Ivano Bizzi: Engineer

Any additional information about the band and the record is welcome, of course!

Download  (320 kbps)


Similar music on the blog:
Tomografia Assiale Computerizzata: omonimo (Azteco, 1983)
Goblin: The Goblin Collection, 1975-1989 (DRG, 1995)

Technogod: Hemo Glow Ball (Contempo, 1992)

Hip-hop, techno, industrial: "Hemo Glow Ball" is a crucible of genres. Samples, mechanical beats, acid electronic basslines and distorted guitars are the key components of Technogod's sound alchemy. They serve as a background for angry rapped lyrics (dealing apparently with socio-economical themes) but they are evidently the most important elements of their formula, entirely based on the chemical reactions within them.
Everything from jazz to funk to world music can be traced in the sound, but the atmosphere is firmly dominated by an inhuman, alienating mood which links directly to the band's industrial-music filiation. Some more guitar-laden tracks may parallel with the crossover style of Rage Against the Machine or Asian Dub Foundation, but the album is very varied and quite difficult to compare to anything else (maybe just Foetus or Young Gods would suit). The language chosen for the lyrics is English, but the pronounciation is surprisingly good notwithstanding a slight drawl.

Technogod are Gelo Degli Esposti, George Koulermos and Maurizio Liguori, from Bologna. This is their first Lp, after the Ep "Cola Wars". This is the only record of theirs I successfully managed to get, and I'd be very glad if anyone could provide me any of the others. Thanks in advance (and good listening!).

Tracklist:

1. Cola Wars
2. The Flow
3. Fatwa
4. Pueblocide
5. Policy of Containment
6. Introxigen
7. Never Be the Same
8. Mission
9. Nuclear Prayer
10. Thankful
11. Trauma Remote
12. G.L.A.D. (Part 2)
13. Pueblocide (Federal Mix)
14. Mañana

Download (192 kbps)


Similar music on the blog:
Deca: Claustrophobia (Labyrinth Records, 1989)
Monomorph: Alternative Fluid (Disturbance, 1994)

Deca: Claustrophobia (Labyrinth Records, 1989)

"Soundtracks for imaginary films". The expression is much abused, but rarely fits as much as in this case. "Claustrophobia" is a deeply atmospheric record, polarized in a gloomy cyberpunk direction which easily recalls of Gary Numan's most disquieting soundscapes. But the darkness here goes further, entering the realms  of industrial music: though the sonic palette is quite different, Kirlian Camera's evocative halo is often behind the corner.
Don't think of some dull minimal-wave record, anyway. This synth-only music always shows an admirable sonic care, much far from the stereotypical amateurish sound of the Italian 80s underground. There's a strong attention to melody and timbre, and many solutions remind of progressive artists such as Goblin or J.M. Jarre: not the kind of influence usually found in post-punk stuff. Moreover, the programming work on percussions is impressively layered: the repetive metallic patterns of the synthetizers create a hypnotic rhythmic jungle which hides secret melodies right in the beats.
Some tracks feature vocals, quite unkempt as a matter of fact. They sound as if they were the usual awfully-pronounced English of Italian darkwave, but they are just meaningless syllabes - a fake idiom the author baptised "tecnoi".

Deca's is a project of Federico De Caroli's, started in the early Eighties. "Claustrophobia" is his third album, marking the depart from a Cosmic Couriers-style composition towards a darker and more personal sound. He went on along this direction, publishing many other works and attracting a small but devoted cult following.  He's still active today.

Tracklist:

1. Inframorte
2. Carnal Flowers
3. Timewarp
4. Private Panic
5. Cathedral of Nightmares
6. Liquid Animals
7. Claustrophobia
8. Metamorphosis

Download (192 kbps)

Similar albums on the blog:
Monomorph: Alternative Fluid (Disturbance, 1994)

Tomografia Assiale Computerizzata: omonimo (Azteco, 1983)