NEW ALBUM !
Deep Entries : Gay Electronic Excursions 1979-1985NEW ALBUM !I am delighted to announce that one of my own songs, first released on a cassette by TTKK records in 1983, is now featured on a brand new compilation on the famous alternative American label Dark Entries.
“(I want) to be Different” is an electronic song that was made partially live in The House studios in Jumet in the early days of my musical carreer. At the time, à;GRUMH… hadn’t released records yet and I had my own label called “Titicaca records and tapes”, in short TTKK, which released albums on cassettes. Those released included CULT tapes such as the “Cake One” compilation, à;GRUMH… first three albums “By the Phone”, “Live at the Ravenstein Gallery” and a third that was about la fête des mères and fucking your own mother but the exact name eludes me now. Also my solo project Polar Praxis released four albums, “Gory Oscillation”, “Werk één”, “Werk twee” and, try to guess is : “Werk Drie”.
Later in the 80’s, Polar Praxis released two albums on PIAS/Circle Records whilst à;GRUMH… was having the great carreer we know it had.
It’s been a project for a while that the San Francisco based label Dark Entries would release an album of some of my old Polar Praxis songs (from the 3 “Werk X” cassettes) but that release was cancelled due to a fire in the record manufacture they use. I don’t know if it will happen, I hope so since I am quite proud of some of the work I did back then which is not so well known by the fans.
Now this song that I really love is part of this magnificent compilation which is listed here :
Dark Entries has raided the bathhouse to bring us Deep Entries: Gay Electronic Excursions 1979-1985, 10 tracks of obscure queer synth bliss. One of Dark Entries’ most important missions has been illuminating neglected facets of gay musical history, with crucial archival works by legends like Patrick Cowley, Sylvester, and Man Parrish. On Deep Entries, the label spans 6 years of gay electronics – from sultry to angsty to camp, these songs are overflowing with snappy 808 snares and sinewy analog synth leads. The ’80s were a difficult period for many in the gay community as they grappled with the horrors of the HIV/AIDS crisis. The 10 tracks on Deep Entries, varied in genre and vibe, are united in their portraiture of 1980s gay life, and the hope for love or fleeting romance. Previously unreleased cruising soundtracks come courtesy of Patrick Cowley’s “Love Me Hot” featuring vocalist Paul Parker and Boytronic’s “Tonight (Alternate Mix)” set on Hamburg’s famous “Mile of Sin.” Brisbane-based Megamen deliver the proto-electroclash number “Designed for Living,” which prefigures Madonna’s Marlene Dietrich rap in “Vogue.” Trans vocalist Paula “Ula” Villagrá declares, “Everyone is gay!” on Muzak’s “Happy Song,” a skittering tecnopop anthem. Dereck Higgins’ “This Was Something” rings like a lost Joy Division cut draped in bizarre effects, and Polar Praxis’ “(I Want) To Be Different” is a seething ode to alterity. Nightmoves’ “Nightdrive,” is best known as the brooding instrumental B-side to their epochal “Transdance.” Transistor Jet’s “Master Of The Universe (BW’s f-w)”, Maxx Mann’s “Just Like a Razor” and Bachelor’s Anonymous’ “A Stranger’s Bed” are mood music for the pleasures of BDSM and one-night stands. The record comes housed in a retro bathhouse fantasy sleeve designed by Gwenaël Rattke and includes a double-sided poster with photographs and lyrics. Deep Entries arrives on December 1st in honor of World AIDS day, and proceeds will go to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
