Lightarmour Editions

03/12/2024

LIGHTARMOUR EDITIONS MOMENTS #6 - Modern English & The Forever Hope

Recently I attended a live performance of Modern English and it was an amazing real-world time-travel experience. The glittering spire of their quintessential Post-Punk Future-Pop still conveys a sense of some amorphous, romantic, modernist promise; the emotional hit is as vivid as it was on first listen to 1982’s brilliant “After The Snow” album. Everyone knows their “I Melt With You” New Wave anthem, a complete and perfect tune that captured the moment definitively - with its generational catchphrase ‘The Future’s Open Wide’ - and to this day it continues to hold it, crystallised in time.

The gig reminded me also of the mystical allure and off-the-scale ‘cool’ of that early 4AD era. 4AD was a delicious secret amongst the underground subcultures. It was Post-Punk intelligentsia; one of the most seminal of all the seminal record labels. In 1992 I had back-packed around Europe with a stash of my own 12” pressings, visiting a Hitlist of influential labels in pursuit of that elusive record deal (Contempo in Italy, Play It Again Sam in Belgium etc). In England, on the way to Mute Records, I took a detour to the 4AD Earl's Court office and sat in a pub across the road to chill out a bit and savour the moment. Of course secretly I was also hoping that maybe members of The Wolfgang Press or Cocteau Twins might just pop in for a drink and a chat…

Modern English were one of the more brightly-coloured feathers in 4AD’s cap, and finally seeing them live (their first time to Australia if I heard vocalist Robbie correctly) was to witness that they still embody the spirit that moved so many people from the outset. By the way, first track was Sixteen Days - one of the classics from their rawer post-punk era (links below). Those fine English modernist dandies whipped up a no-bullsh*t angular-yet-melodic rite of rejuvenation, and I’m grateful that by the end of the night I walked out into the calm night air stripped of the dust that time had gathered.

In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

Raw Post-Punk Set from John Peel Show
https://youtu.be/ezDbSQC1T1g?si=7GsjpzucIihKVEC-

Sparkling Lushness Circa 1982
https://youtu.be/5pdoOF7537A?si=TWz9lswDYw0DQpAL

05/10/2024

Here’s a code for 30% OFF ALL VINYL & DIGITAL releases on Lightarmour - New Wave / Industrial / Dark Ambient IDM / Doom Metal / Neo-Classical Drone / EBM / Post-Industrial Soul / IDM BreakCore / Power Noise / Techno Noir…etc…sale runs until Sunday the 6th (Midnight UTC).

Code: friday30wam
Link: https://lightarmoureditions.bandcamp.com

In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

03/03/2024

SPARTAN DRUM MACHINES - THE CURE Vs CRIMSON BOY

As this write-up is in progress there’s a storm brewing outside, light rain steadily coming down, and a thick cover of dark clouds moving over sunset-lit suburbia; a fitting synchronicity to the vivid teenage memory of The Cure’e seminal Faith album and its deep impact on a whole generation. Walking in the rain while listening to All Cats Are Grey on a Cassette Walkman was just perfect really - the funereal yet beautiful emotional landscape of the track was and is unavoidably resonant. At that time I listened to The Cure & Orchestral Manoeuvres in The Dark as much as Andy listened to Depeche Mode & Sisters of Mercy; a fair profile of the DNA that formed Crimson Boy and the trio that preceded it - Childhood’s End.

The Iridescent Remix of All Cats is a far more cranked up version than the original cover that was included on the 2017 album Street Gods and Neon Dogs; the album that launched the label. Our forever love-affair with flange-effected basslines, moody and bright analog synths, and spartan drum machine programming has been given full sway in this propulsive 2nd take on The Cure’s haunting masterpiece. As always, the lyrics are a big part of the surreal magic contained within - there are so many interesting interpretations out there, a deep-dive is recommended…

Crimson Boy is Andy Brown & Vince Valentini
Main Sound Devices - Roland JV880 Synth Module / DSI Mopho X4 Synth / Ventris Dual Reverb

Live now on Bandcamp (Streaming platforms in a week or so)
https://crimsonboyofficial.bandcamp.com/track/all-cats-are-grey-iridescent-rmx

LE35RMX - In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

track by Crimson Boy

01/03/2024

BANDCAMP FRIDAY - 25% OFF ALL VINYL & DIGITAL

Bandcamp Fridays means Bandcamp waives their revenue share of all sales so that it all goes straight to the label & artists. Use the code below to get 25% off any vinyl or digital releases, running from now to Saturday the 2nd (Midnight UTC). Current catalogue covers New Wave / Post-Punk / Industrial / Dark Ambient IDM / Doom Metal / Synth Punk / Neo-Classical Drone / EBM / Post-Industrial Soul / IDM BreakCore / Power Noise / Techno Noir….

Code: fridaylight25
Link: https://lightarmoureditions.bandcamp.com

In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

Lightarmour Editions is a Music Label inspired by an underlying spirit rather than any specific genre.

09/02/2024

SNOG's David Thrussell recently gave a track-by-track commentary on the iconic LIES INC album on Melbourne's 3CR Radio, along with a self-effacing and intriguing back-story to the formation of his infamous & influential Electronic Industrial act... "David Thrussell is a poet trapped in the body of a hillbilly, a hopeless romantic hidden in the twisted frame of a dark electronic musician. Late at night, Thrussell fantasises that he actually lives next door to Hieronymous Bosch in medieval Europe, and hallucinated the whole dreadful modern era while suffering from acute ergot poisoning. We're not entirely convinced that this is not the case. Mr Thrussell is also a philosopher who’s comments are insightful and illuminating."...

The album has been meticulously Remastered for an Anniversary Vinyl Edition available via Australia's Lightarmour Editions & Metropolis USA.

David Thrussell is a poet trapped in the body of a hillbilly, a hopeless romantic hidden in the twisted frame of a dark electronic musician. Late at night, Thrussell fantasises that he actually lives next door to Hieronymous Bosch in medieval Europe, and hallucinated the whole dreadful modern era wh...

06/02/2024

THE EXALTATION OF INTROSPECTION - GAZELLE

Ambient and Noise, Neo-Classical, Drone and even Shoegaze all meet in the distinctive, highly emotive and immersive debut of Melbourne’s Gazelle. Composer Nic Ruggero’s The Sum Of All Desires is a paean to startle-eyed aspiration; simultaneously strong yet fragile whilst moving gracefully before the spectacle of life’s tribulations, exaltations, heartbreaks, and revelations.

Ambient masterworks by Stars Of The Lid, Tim Hecker, and Willamette (Portrait Of A Sleeping Girl With Radio), are woven into the ethereal noise-burst of Cocteau Twins and a warmer take on Norway’s Biosphere.

Alternate ‘Zentropy’ version brings the underlying shoegaze & orchestral textures to the surface.

Live now on Bandcamp
https://lightarmoureditions.bandcamp.com/album/the-sum-of-all-desires

LE14 - In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

2 track album

24/01/2024

LIGHTARMOUR EDITIONS MOMENTS #5 - The Brutalist Collage of Life & Skinny Puppy Incisions…

As a lover of all things musically edgy and adventurous, coming across Skinny Puppy’s Mind The Perpetual In*******se and (later) Cleanse Fold and Manipulate albums was a humbling and exhilarating moment; the cohesive sum of the Visual / Thematic / Musical / & Vocal aesthetic was an emotional depth charge and an instant teleportation to another planet. As for so many others, the grandiose yet feral vibe felt like home; the very human language of pain resonated meaningfully, nail on the head - especially thru the signature combination of hurt, disgust and rage conveyed in Nivek Ogre’s stream-of-consciounsess words & vocals. In fact, Nivek Ogre’s poignant, tongue-twisting wordplay was always one of the elements that elevated SP above the Industrial-by-numbers conveyor belt.

The Art of Hardware Sampling had become a significant part of the language of many underground music genres, and Skinny Puppy were masters of it (along with one of their early influences and studio collaborators - Australia’s Severed Heads (Tom Ellard). As alluded to in the album title of Cleanse Fold And Manipulate, Dwayne Goettel and Cevin Key operated as audio editors and reshapers, snatching sound glyphs from the collage of life and recombining to form entirely new abstracted and brutalist insights. Samples as rhythm & drums, samples as textures, dialogue, effects, stings & transitions, atmosphere…everything was put under the editing knife towards SP’s clinical Dark-Futurist punch. As is well known, one of the main sources for the sound bites was a connoisseur’s array of Horror and Underground Cinema; check out sample-heavy Stairs and Flowers or Draining Faces for classic examples of SP’s splicing euphoria.

Personal beat-centric favourites like One Time One Place, Three Blind Mice, Dig It, First Aid, & Addiction changed the landscape of Industrial and Electronic genres and left most of the pack behind, bewildered; the avant-garde power, menace, and cliche-destroying arrangements were on another level entirely. The more experimental soundtrack-ish material exalted noise and ambience in fresh ways., and Mind TPI’s God’s Gift (Maggot) announced itself as one of the most unforgettable, powerful and unique Industrial tracks ever committed to an unsuspecting audience. Again (just like the recommendation in the Coil post & the track Blood From The Air) it’s not for the faint-hearted, but the vocal delivery and pitch-black alien soundcraft are without comparison.

In 2024, as the Skinny Puppy entity exits the stage, we tip our hats in gratitude for the inspiration and the illuminance of their cathartic majesty. Stay alert, and best wishes for the new year,

In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

Link : https://youtu.be/RUxtQzMlSFw?si=6x9fWoH5wUlbpsZ4

Lightarmour Editions is an Australian Music Label inspired by an underlying spirit rather than genre

05/12/2023

RAW ANALOG NEW WAVE - MODUS OPERANDI

It was 1984 and the project name Modus Operandi was a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgement of main influences at the time - primarily Depeche Mode obviously, but also Fad Gadget / Duet Emmo / Yazoo / Kraftwerk / OMD / Human League / Portion Control / The Normal etc.

The excitement of Post-Punk Electronica, New Wave, and the promise of a new Avant-Garde Pop was electric. Modus Operandi was a side project from moody synth trio Childhood’s End (with vocalist Andy Brown, which would soon morph into Crimson Boy).

The explosion of affordable analog gear was a teenager’s dream come true & Petar Zadraznik was the first of our gang to master programming those early hardware sequencers and drum machines. The Machine Breathes was an improvised jam (recorded sometime early to mid ’84) saturated not only by the nice noisy cassette, but also by the stylistic and thematic tropes of the era and the underground scene of the time.

The bassline is the primal and distinct-sounding Roland MC202 (which also triggers the Sample’n’hold sci-fi bubbling on a Roland SH101), drum machine chugga-chugga is the Korg DDM-110, and the melodies and ambient textures come from the Roland Juno 106 (which had just been acquired and was like owning a space ship). The original cassette recording has been used as the source for the master, but a good portion of tape noise has been kept so as to not steal from the tones of the instruments. The Machine Breathes is the sound of musical innocence, of self-conscious bright-eyed New Wavers, and of the excitement of electronic lurrve.

Modus Operandi operators :
Petar Zadraznik - Synthesizer Sequencer / Drum Machine
Vince Valentini - Synthesizer

Live now on Bandcamp / All other platforms 19th of December.…
https://lightarmoureditions.bandcamp.com/track/the-machine-breathes-cassette-master

LE31 - In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

track by Lightarmour Editions

17/11/2023

CRIMINALLY INSANE & NUMB WITH NOISE

Vancouver’s Don Gordon - of NUMB fame - infuses his distinct & complex hi-res Industrial Electronics in the latest remix of Institute For The Criminally Insane’s “Truth Or Scare”; It’s a fresh, driving interpretation of Bo Heidelberg’s hook-laden EBM.

Institute For The Criminally Insane’s tight sequencer grids are put through some concisely sculpted noise & propulsive drums. Fans of both the ICI and Numb sound/style will find the remix embodies an interesting mesh of both; a tussle of mechanic and organic.

Live Now on Bandcamp / Spotify / iTunes etc - https://lightarmoureditions.bandcamp.com/track/truth-or-scare-numb-rmx

LE26RMX - In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

track by Lightarmour Editions

13/11/2023

LIGHTARMOUR EDITIONS MOMENTS #4 - Demdike Stare, into the Eyes of Horror-Dub Techno…

The clean minimalist lines of Techno & the luscious spaces of Dub have been ripe for creative mishandling from the outset. As influential as Birmingham’s British Murder Boys, but in a very different way, Manchester’s Demdike Stare took the prevailing underground influences of their environment, deconstructed playfully, and rebuilt a tidy little Frankenstein. Initially they appeared with a gloriously creepy and cavernous Dark-Ambient Dub aesthetic. For good measure, they also sutured-in abstracted Dance tropes, Jungle, Drone, and Industrial power & edge. The spartan punch of their productions is also reminiscent of Adrian Sherwood’s On-U Sound Records & Tackhead. In summary - they sound original,

There must be something in the British water system, some beneficent ghost in the air, or some exceptional code in the DNA of its peoples - for such a small landmass it perpetually blows apart the global music scene with ever-inspiring and unexpected musical ideas & twists; only the envious and the miffed would deny it. DJ Sean Canty and Producer Miles Whittaker have (in another prevalent tradition of subversive English music) infused an intriguing occult back-story into their project; apparently the term ‘Demdike Stare’ is derived from local witchcraft lore.

I was introduced to Demdike Stare by graphic designer I+T=R (Richard Grant), who has designed some of the Vinyl releases for the label. That initial song is still, in my opinion, the most potent audio-visual capture of Demdike Stare’s originality and magic; “Savage Distort” (2017) and its accompanying video is a masterpiece-moment in the adventurous arts. Sonically, thematically, visually, lyrically - it’s welcomingly devastating, the receiving of pure liquid gold into the husk of “I’ve heard it all before”. The lyric “May I never see your face cut by the knife of fate, may I never see your body immobilised, ashen and cold…” alone is enough to warrant ‘Seminal’ status to the track.

The real A-level artistry of Savage Distort, though, is the slowly intensifying creep of filmic sound design, distant and close precision-hits, ominous rattles, sparse bass echoes, found-sound percussion, and ear-candy reverb trickery. The composition escalates emotionally with such precision it seems all the atoms have become aligned. The accompanying video’s narrative & style is, without a doubt, stunning; the result of a consummate love affair with the audio…link below.

Until the next moment, hope you are staying sane,

In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

Link : https://youtu.be/5gaOsrksjs0?si=2w2Aziwp38ZNUBlG

10/11/2023

CRIMSON BOY’S DRUM-MACHINE HEARTACHE & SECRET TRIBUTES

Cult Post-Punk duo Crimson Boy return with characteristic symphonic synth-string melodies, busy drum machines, & vocalist Andy’s soaring & moody croon. Always Alana (Ultra Mix) threads it’s New Wave origins with Post-Techno and Shoegaze influences, lyrically re-visiting love-and-heartbreak hotel with a vibe reminiscent of The Cure’s Charlotte Sometimes; the secret pattern of word-association in Crimson Boy’s song titles may be starting to become apparent….

Live now on Bandcamp / All other platforms 22nd of Nov.…
https://crimsonboyofficial.bandcamp.com/track/always-alana-ultra-mix

LE27RMX - In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

track by Crimson Boy

07/11/2023

BLACK LUNG - GROUND-BREAKING ELECTRO-BRUTALISM ON VINYL

Black Lung’s ground-breaking, genre-defining releases - The Depopulation Bomb & The Disinformation Plague - have been compiled & meticulously remastered, along with new exclusive remixes and an appropriately austere and timeless package design by Sydney’s I+T=R. The Conspiracy Of One is a retrospective of the seminal electro-brutalism that Snog’s David Thrussell unleashed upon an unsuspecting public in 1994/95. The material had a profound effect on the leading edge of the international music intelligentsia & was way ahead of its time, spawning & cross-pollinating multiple genres of electronic angst and exploration; a maelstrom of illbient / Power Noise / Industrial Techno / Dark Ambient IDM…

LImited Edition Vinyl Orders (in two flavours) & Digital Pre-Orders available now…
https://lightarmoureditions.bandcamp.com/album/the-conspiracy-of-one

LE19VLE - In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

12 track album

27/10/2023

Dead Man Sect's debut primal stomper getting more airplay; check out the quality playlist by the discerning Vincent Prat....

EXTERIEUR MIX 400 - 27/10/2023ELECTRONIC / EBM / INDUSTRIAL / DARK ELECTRO / INDUSTRIAL TECHNOhttps://studio.youtube.com/channel/UCSaztfV4DkTsqdtXwrpQE8w00:...

27/10/2023

Brisbane's 4ZZZ Radio including Dead Man Sect's debut "Now I'm Lost" along with some other very fine contemporary artists such as Moris Black, Horskh et al...check it out

18/10/2023

LIGHTARMOUR EDITIONS MOMENTS #3 - The Cranes & Love’s Uneasy Tears…

Combining musical Minimalism and emotional Maximalism is a powerful songwriting and production technique. There are many seminal tracks that have nailed this approach. throughout the decades of astounding music, and imo The Cranes’ 1991 single “Adoration” (from the Wings of Joy album) stands as one of its stellar examples. Through it’s repeated yet steadily-building motifs and the helium register of Alison Shaw’s otherworldly vocals the heart is conquered by equal-parts heartbreak and aching exaltation. In fact I think the song successfully embodies the sentiment of Adoration itself, and the inherent double-edged sword within.

When The Cranes came to wider attention there were various (desperate) attempts to define their elusive sound; Ethereal / Goth / Shoegaze / even Post-Industrial Dream Pop touched the edges of the identity, but no descriptors came close. Much noise was made, rightfully so, about Alison’s uniquely strange vocal sound (an acquired taste for many) and porcelain-doll fragile beauty. Her presence & vibe captured attention in a similar manner to that of the enigmatic Liz Fraser (Cocteau Twins) and Lisa Gerrard (Dead Can Dance). The Cranes’ songs often tended towards a spartan & edgy / cold-ish sound, while Shaw’s vocal stood like a radiant flower in a lunar landscape - again, a compelling combination of opposites. Listening to Adoration again recently I remembered another intriguing songwriting / production key that I was introduced to by the title of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s 1981 album “Architecture and Morality”…ie one archetype by which songs deliver their payload is the merging of the following two streams - the stream of ‘Architecture’ representing the musical structure / sounds / dynamics / & arrangement, and the stream of ‘Morality’ representing the emotional currents that clothe and flesh-out the architecture.

Adoration is a masterclass of restrained build, initiated with the cold isolated strike of the main piano motif (the melodic backbone of the song) and an emotional and musical escalation every 8 or 16 bars. Methodically and unrelentingly the climax finally arrives at 3 minutes and 20 seconds (on the shorter video version), where the piano / cello / strummed guitar / textures and vocal pang accumulate an unavoidable punch made to pierce your armour and open you up like a can (of whatever your can is full of). If it doesn’t, then maybe it’s too late. By the way, The Cranes were one of Robert Smith’s favourite bands, along with the equally unique and epic And Also The Trees.

These are some of the things that have informed my own musical rapture along the way, and a backdrop to the label aspirations.

Until the next moment, I hope you are enjoying beauty in the form that suits you, or that you’re strong enough to extract beauty even out of pain.

In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

Link : https://youtu.be/QB0C5zM_g4Q?si=6IrJhUf08gW9JhK-

Lightarmour Editions is an Australian Music Label inspired by an underlying spirit rather than genre

07/10/2023

LIGHTARMOUR EDITIONS MOMENTS #2 - The First Psychic Cut & Coil Apocalypto…

In 1986/87, having already consumed a treasure trove of dauntingly-powerful music and associated literature & ideas - mainly from the various fertile Post-Punk & Experimental streams - the taste for more and more challenging / darker material continued unchecked. As it is said ‘be careful what you wish for’. It was inevitable then, that I bumped into Coil’s “Horse Rotorvator” LP at Perth’s legendary Dada Records - anyone with a cool fringe or threads from the Army surplus store shopped there for their underground imports.

The first time I dropped the needle on that record back in the cosy comfort of home-base, my whole world changed; internally it was like a depth bomb went off in parts of my nature I was barely cognisant of. Coil delivered one of the most altering experiences I had encountered thus far. And I delighted in it - it was a visceral, taboo-breaking, cliche-destroying, raucous, phenomenally deep, immersive, horror-toned journey I didn’t realise I had bought a ticket for.

Horse Rotorvator is one of the most powerful and unique albums ever released, in any genre, no exaggeration. The production and recording quality is through the roof - it was one of the records that impelled me into Audio Engineering (along with the productions of John Fryer…Cocteau Twins / Fad Gadget / Depeche Mode / This Mortal Coil / He Said / Duet Emmo / The Wolfgang Press etc etc). But it’s the incredible imagination and atmosphere of the songs themselves that will get you, both lyrically and musically. “The first five minutes after death” is the aural equivalent of just what that may be like, “Ostia, the death of Pasolini” is orchestral industrial poetry at a pinnacle. “Who by Fire” - the Leonard Cohen cover, brings the power of the original’s lyrics into the magnifying anti-light of Coil’s cinema noir.

But,… the greatest cut of the album in my opinion is track 9 “Blood From The Air” - an unbelievable apex of storytelling and soundscape, set atop a musical concoction that has never been equalled, with one of John Balance’s most brilliant vocal performances painting an apocalyptic movie in vivd colours. The lyrics will never leave you. If you have a strong mental centre-of-gravity and can handle it, I recommend a listen (link below), especially on headphones - but be prepared; it’s an exhilarating dark mirror to paradigms of the nth order…

Until then, keep sane in the membrane, & love what you love,

In Lightarmour We Trust

/ / /

Link : https://youtu.be/C6KJw-HLN5E?si=cE_1XSmY8Wc6mYAT