Label Realm: euForic melodies

F Communications was (or maybe is?) an electronic music label founded in 1994 by Frenchmen Eric Morand & Laurent Garnier, as the successor of Fnac Music Dance Division (1991-1993). It was the most important label for French electronic dance music (along with its predecessor), curating great artists such as St. Germain, Laurent Garnier, Shazz, Scan-X, Jori Hulkkonen. Mr. Oizo and Nova Nova. One of my favorite artists back in the days was Ludovic Navarre (the guy behind St. Germain alias) with his seminal albums Boulevard (1995) and Tourist (2000), although the latter was released by the jazz-infused Blue Note label. The company folded its operations in 2008, only to re-open in 2015 for vinyl releases of monsieur Garnier. Nowadays, the label celebrates the 25 years with remastered vinyl releases of F-Comm All Stars!

Full Frequency Range Recordings (FFRR) is an influential label that introduced the masses in dance music. It started in 1986 as a subdivision of London Records, run by Pete Tong, the mastermind behind the BBC Essential Mix. Focused on hip-hop and house music releases during the second half of the 80's, it expanded in other electronic music genres throughout the 90's. The label hosted important artists such as Orbital, Goldie, CJ Bolland and Armand Van Helden. Aligned with the digital era of the last 10 years, it continues to release music exclusively in digital format.

Fides is a small Italian label owned by Giuseppe Maffei, known for his Z.I.P.P.O. pseudonym and his participation in project 3KZ with fellow Italian Nico Campanella. Their collaboration produced the seminal album Parallel Reflections, one of the best releases for 2017 (powered by Fides).

The last (but not least) label to be introduced is FM Records. The Greek label was set-up at the turn of the eighties by Giorgos Koutris. Although it does not focus only on electronic music, since the variety ranges from rebetiko, folk music to rock, pop and hip-hop, it engaged the Greek audience into the alternative music scene of various genres. Several Greek artists collaborated with the label, like Stereo Nova, Imiskoumbria, Terror-X-Crew, Goin' Through (before going full commercial), Ypogeia Revmata and Endelecheia. It was one of the first Greek labels to foresee the future of music platforms, releasing its back catalog in digital format since 2005! I believe that this is the main reason that the company continues as an independent label, although physical format continues to be released by the company in small numbers...

Tune #80: 141 G - What You Gonna Do (Dub)

Just what the Youtube commentator said: More (808?) cowbell!

141 G - WHAT YOU GONNA DO (12" DUB)


In 2012 Tako Reyenga and Ilias Pitsios (a.k.a. DJ Dynamons) compiled the collection Into The Light: A Journey Into Greek Electronic Music, Classics & Rarities (1978-1991), a finest mixture of obscure & classic Greek electronic tracks that were released a long time ago... I am starting to think that an alternate title of the collection could be After Vangelis, Before Stereo Nova!

The collection includes tracks of different genres, varying from Ambient & Experimental to Synth-Pop & Italo Disco. According to Discogs, only 750 copies of the compilation circulated in the market (this fact could explain the high prices in market places 5 years later).

One of the standout tracks (and possibly the most club-friendly) is the dub version of What You Gonna Do?, a rework of an Italo Disco song by 141 G, consisting of Costas Charitodiplomenos & Marina Skiadaresi. Needless to say, Costas was a prominent figure of the 80's, as he was dominating the Greek music scene of this era with classics such as Lost In The Night, Fill Me Up and Talk About Love. Concerning Marina, I was not aware that her career had already started so early, since he gained more fame during the 90's in the Greek Folk Rock genre.

WYGD? was originally released in 1984 by EMI in Greece. While the original is (in my opinion) pretty much forgettable, the dub version is rather interesting. Twangy bass, playful piano and (more) cowbell blend together to form an electrified psychedelic result. The highlight of the track is undoubtedly the distorted vocals (the benefits of the vocoder!), which are sounding like Costas was replaced by his robotic equivalent!

Besides WYGD?, the compilation by Into The Light Records is a must-have for listeners interested in the Greek experimental music of this era, curated by masters such as Akis Daoutis, Dimitris Petsetakis, George Theodorakis (son of the legendary Greek composer Mikis) and Lena Platonos (a major influence on Stereo Nova's music)...

What can we except from Into The Light Records in the future? Hopefully, a repress of the compilation!

Tune #61: Στέρεο Νόβα - Δεν Αλλάζω Τα Ηχεία Μου

Η κληρονομιά των Στέρεο Νόβα είναι λίγο πολύ γνωστή σε όλους: το συγκρότημα που καθόρισε την ηλεκτρονική μουσική στον ελληνικό χώρο, παντρεύοντας την techno με στίχους που παρέπεμπαν σε πραγματικά ποιήματα.

Στη σημερινή ανάρτηση δεν θα γίνει αναφορά στην ιστορία των ΣΝ. Με μία απλή αναζήτηση στο Διαδίκτυο μπορούν εύκολα να βρεθούν αφιερώματα που να παρουσιάζουν λεπτομερώς τη διαδρομή τους στην ελληνική σκηνή.

Είναι γεγονός ότι οι Στέρεο Νόβα ήταν περισσότερο δημοφιλείς για τον στίχο τους. Λογικό, αφού η έμπνευση του Κωνσταντίνου Βήτα να αποτυπώνει προβλήματα της ελληνικής αστικής κοινωνίας σε λόγια είναι αστείρευτη.

Ωστόσο, η ιδέα των στίχων σε κομμάτια ηλεκτρονικής μουσικής δεν μου άρεσε ποτέ ιδιαίτερα (αν και οι ΣΝ ήταν πραγματικά δυνατοί σε αυτό). Για το λόγο αυτό προτιμούσα τα instrumental κομμάτια, όπως τα Δεν Αλλάζω Τα Ηχεία Μου, Οδύσσεια, κ.τ.λ.

ΣΤΕΡΕΟ ΝΟΒΑ - ΔΕΝ ΑΛΛΑΖΩ ΤΑ ΗΧΕΙΑ ΜΟΥ


Καλειδοσκόπιο όλα τα λεφτά!