After an exhausting work of "archeological" research, Mannequin is proud to announce the nextcoming release of the compilation Danza Meccanica - Italian Synth Wave 1982-1987 (2009 LP, MNQ 005).

Limited edition of 500 copies, it includes 2 inserts, LP cover on hand-made serigraphy.

Mastering by Ton Willekes (Ensemble Pittoresque), introduction by Fred Ventura.

Towards the end of the 70s, we felt isolated and - on an unconscious level - a bit like heroes, swathed in our grey raincoats adorned with badges, pleasurably giving in to the constant bombardment of new sounds sculpted on vinyl. Heroes torn between the already-weakening punk gauntlet thrown down a few years before by The Stranglers' "No More Heroes" or the hedonistic decadence of "Heroes" from David Bowie's Berlin period. Isolated and rather unique in the communicative desert of an Italian underground scene that had no hope of emerging. They were leaden years in which the traditional record industry was completely disinterested in what was happening in basements, little clubs and on the independent scene, which subsequently made the mistake of taking a too-parochial route, not yet being capable of making the initial moves. Now, more than thirty years after the first, timid experiments by a multitude of people who were paying close attention to what was happening in Europe and the United States, dozens of tracks are finally seeing the light of day again. Tracks laid down here and there by people who were a minority, but decidedly "noisy" nonetheless, which sent out sonic signals that are still magically comprehensible today.
"Danza Meccanica" is the latest, unmissable chapter in the story of Italian post punk - the less traditionally rock branch. It outlines the approach taken by ten more or less unknown groups who, apart from the seminal Monuments, all deserve rediscovery and to be remembered alongside luckier outfits. Ten tracks that spell out the manifesto of a scene fascinated by electronic innovation, a scene that used the sounds coming out of English labels like Factory, 4AD and Mute as a reference point. The grey atmospheres and raincoats of a still-divided Berlin, and those of Manchester, which along with Sheffield produced sounds destined to inspire future generations of musicians and producers.

(Fred Ventura, October 2009)

Audio samples

A1 XNO - The Story of The Death Boy

A2 VENA - A Mortal Song In a Beautiful Sunday

A3 VICTROLA - The Mutant Glow

A4 TOMMY DE CHIRICO - Flower Into The Factory

A5 CARMODY - Vulcani

B1 JANITOR OF LUNACY - On The Dancefloor

B2 MONUMENTS - Veiled Lady

B3 INTELLIGENCE DEPT. - Loneliness

B4 CHROMAGAIN - Wake Up

B5 LISFRANK - Identity (Deep Version)

Limited edition of 500 copies, it includes 2 inserts, LP cover on hand-made serigraphy for the first 50 copies.

Orders: orders@​​​mannequinmailor​der.​​​com

After being sold out for some years now - it was time for a repress!

The CD reissue of the legendary GUERRE FROIDE EP is available again and can be ordered now.

- Guerre Froide - Guerre Froide CD EP (Genetic Music)

Rerelease of the original 12" from 1981 (Stechak Records, France). Including foldable poster booklet.

Order yr copy at : orders@mannequinmailorder.com

The Gentry - Fragments Of Truth LP 1984

The Gentry were one of the last bands stemming from the so-called punk movement in Wormer, Holland. Their music was somewhat different from the most well known bands from Wormer, such as The Ex, Svätsox and Zowiso. Whereas these bands were influenced by The Gang of Four, Crass and The Fall, the Gentry chose to play music that was more akin to the likes of Joy Division and Echo & The Bunnymen.

After the release of the first LP Fragments of Truth, The Gentry were ‘discovered’ by legendary BBC-dj John Peel, who at the time (1984) also had a radio show in Holland. The airplay by Peel resulted in proper sales of the first album. The Gentry’s second album Solitary (1986) arrived at Peel’s desk just a day after his final Dutch broadcast. Because of missing Peel’s airplay in Holland the sales of this LP were low.

While there were plans for a third LP, lack of money forced The Gentry to release Growing Up Absurd (1988) as a cassette. Its music shifted more towards punk rock under the influence of American bands as Husker Du, Sonic Youth and The Wipers. In 1991 The Gentry recorded its final demo. A set of new songs was written, with The course of days and On the margins of essence as highlights. The songs were not officially released. In september that year The Gentry ceased to exist.

Original members Hans Postel (vocals), Laurens Vreedevoort (guitar), Louis Nagtegaal (bass) and André Berkhout (drums) met again in 2007 and decided to start to write new songs again. Nowadays The Gentry have a fifth member: Marco Siderius (guitar, synthesizer). Plans for a new CD are in the making. Though its musical direction is yet hard to describe, it is likely that The Gentry’s music will be more diverse than in the past.

You can find more info here: http://www.thegentry.nl

All songs by The Gentry
Hans - Vocals
Laurens - Guitar/Strings
Luis - Bass
André - Drums


Recorded by Patrick at "Oktopus", Amsterdam, 27th, 28th, 29th, 31th, of august and the 5th of september 1984.
Produced by Patrick and The Gentry.

Thanks: Ferrie, Patrick, Alain, Pater, Ben, Zowiso, Jan, Joop.

Tracklisting:
A1 All The Faceless People
A2 Mortal Ride
A3 The Threat
A4 Fragments Of Truth
A5 After The Fact
B1 Indifference
B2 Escape
B3 Senses
B4 Too Many Of You
B5 Visions Of A Landscape

Enclosure Productions ENC002

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Circuit 7 - Modern Story 7'' 1984

Circuit 7 is Martyn Good and Andy Partington who made essential new wave, releasing two 7" singles in 1984, Video Boys and Modern Story followed by the release of two songs on a highly sought after compilation called The Offering Of Isca.

Soon it will be out on Minimal Wave label a LP compilation, that features both previously released and unreleased tracks (including the single version of Video Boys as well as an unreleased studio version), is pressed on neon green 180 gram vinyl and comes in an inner sleeve printed with all their lyrics as well as a heavy weight outer jacket. the LP will be distributed also by Mannequin Mailorder.

Tracklisting:
A1 Modern Story
B1 Eastern Dream

RAPP Records RAPP 023462
Micro Records MIC 002

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Beware to user 'scientronic' (discogs, ebay,etc)

I'm very unhappy to hear that my dear friend Monica (you may know her through the room Guerre Froide on Slsk) was betrayed by the user scientronic on discogs, that we suppose he was a serious person.

First of all, she payed 300 euro with a bank transfer, to ship with a registered letter, that he never sent or at least he never provided the registered code we asked for 3 weeks.

Second, he asked 200 euro more, to 'repare' to the 'damage' sending other 3 records to her.....(the same records that were never shipped out, yes)

There are 2 options:

1)He should provide the registered letter code to proof the shipping

2) Ship the 3 records that he NEVER shipped out and provide the registered code

I had a discussion with this guy also on private mail on discogs, i can post everything if somebody needs to know more and that i am telling the truth.

As i had thousands of transactions with the mailorder, i can tell u all that i always keep the papers of the registered code, as everybody does but not him, it seems. Also you can always go to the Post Office and ask for a copy of the registered paper, they always keep a receipt, do a copy or give just the number with the date of shipping.

thanks to a french friend of mine, i found out that scientronic username is no longer registered also on Ebay, with a percent of 93,5% which is really really bad

http://feedback.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=scientronic&ftab=AllFeedback

and in discogs it seems is not better the situation:

http://www.discogs.com/seller/scientronic

http://www.discogs.com/sell/seller_feedback/scientronic?show=Negative

I had the occasion to talk with other persons on Minimal Wave and Robots for Robots Forums and they were betrayed too, so take care!

Alessandro/Mannequin Mailorder

Coil - Live Three CD 2003

I saw Coil live 3 times and this was the first. Probably one of their best live performance ever.

The live was recorded on April 6, 2002 at Teatro delle Celebrazioni in Bologna, Italy. Track listing on the cover is missing track 6, "Paranoid Inlay".

"This documents a Spring 2002 show performed in Bologna. It was an interesting period for Coil performances, as Thighpaulsandra temporarily left the line-up to tour with Spiritualized. To make up for his noticeable absence, Peter and John enlisted Mike York and Cliff Stapleton to fill in with hurdy-gurdy and Breton pipes. This new, exotic instrumentation adds an unstable, organic element to the performance that works well with the setlist chosen for these shows. The disc opens with the ritualized workout of "Anarcadia: All Horned Animals." If you've heard The Remote Viewer EP, these ethnic-inflected drones will sound very familiar, not entirely dissimilar from Taj Mahal Travellers or The Magic Carpathians at their most psychedelic. "Amethyst Deceivers" is here again, one of four slightly variant versions available in the box set. The classic track "Slur" from Horse Rotorvator is given a faithful rendition, but Balance's voice is not quite equal to the job of singing this one, and Marc Almond's backing vocals are sorely missed. Balance dedicates "A Cold Cell" to all the prisoners of the world, as well as those "in prisons of their own making." It's always been a haunting song, and the live version enhances its lonely, melancholic atmosphere. Track six is an accomplished recreation of "Paranoid Inlay" from Musick To Play in the Dark 2, even though the tracklisting on the back of the digipack omits it completely. "Sick Mirrors (Version)" is a meditation on the concept of remote viewing utilizing dense Middle Eastern melodies. The song seamlessly segues into a frighteningly intense version of "A.Y.O.R.," the second of three songs in this set that may have been destined for Coil's long-promised-but-never-delivered Nothing Records album, now referred to as The World Ended a Long Time Ago. "Backwards" ends the set, a joyous psychosexual EBM bacchanalia, with Balance uttering some of his most transgressive lyrics: "Fuck me in reverse/Normal is perverse/Everything's backwards." This disc would be perfect were it not for a rather nagging problem with the mixing, which seems to favor Balance's vocals and pushes much of the music into a muddy, nebulous background. Even with the technical difficulties, Live Three is an essential chronicle of one of Coil's most inspired shows." 

Jonathan Dean, Brainwashed

Tracklisting:
1 Anarcadia: All Horned Animals (6:54)
2 Amethyst Deceivers (7:46)
3 Slur (5:48)
4 A Cold Cell (6:25)
5 Broccoli (9:15)
6 Paranoid Inlay (8:08)
7 Sick Mirrors (Version) (8:49)
8 A.Y.O.R. (6:46)
9 Backwards (15:22)

Threshold House LOCI CD20

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Marbre Noir - Salvation Rites 12'' 1986

Marbre Noir is the name of an Italian Gothic rock band who came out with a 4- track album in 1986 titled “Salvation Rites", its a classic of the italian dark wave / gothic scene, embellished by the ethereal voice of Francesca Luce.

Recorded at Gulliver Master Studios, Rome, September 1986. It includes a insert.

Tracklisting:
A1 Earth Under Feet (4:13)
A2 Love Broke Through (3:47)
B1 Salvation Rites (6:25)
B2 Mirrors (3:53)

Mantra Records DM 86001

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