Jukebox Heart 010:
The Jukebox Heart Singles and Lonely Hearts Club
56.8 MB | 60:35 Minutes

In a different world that feels like an eternity ago, the jukebox ruled any room it was placed in. Weekly rags once rated bars and restaurants on the basis of the selections on their jukebox. It was the single that provided the pulse that kept the jukebox alive. The Jukebox Heart Singles and Lonely Hearts Club appears periodically to pay respect to a format now relegated to collectors and niche markets. Each time, I scoop a batch of 45s laying around the house. You never know what your going to find here…

The playlist, images and a whole bunch of links are found after the cut.

Playlist:

1: Elisabeth Welch – Stormy Weather
(Industrial Records Ltd – IR0012 – 1980)

In British films of the 1930s and 1940s, American-born singer Elisabeth Welch made several memorable guest appearances in cabaret sequences, and starred opposite Paul Robeson in two features. Sophisticated, glamorous and charming, her appearances were a refreshing departure from the stereotype of black women perpetuated by Hollywood films of that time. One of her best screen roles was Beulah, the nightclub owner and hostess, in Ealing’s Dead of Night (1945). After a long and distinguished career in West End musical theater, Elisabeth returned to the screen in 1979, making a memorable appearance as “A Goddess” in Derek Jarman’s The Tempest (1979), singing her theme song, “Stormy Weather”.

2: Blockwart – Neuntoter
(Erfolg – Folk3 – 1990)

One of a handful of labels on the Cologne scene in the early 90’s that led up to the formation of the A-Music and Sonig imprints, led by C-Schulz, Frank Dommert, Georg Odijk & Marcus Schmickler.

3: Arcane Device – Studio Back
(RRRecords – RRR 031 – 1988)

An early project for David Lee Meyers, much more information can be found here. The device strapped to his body on the cover of this single is an instrument of his own design, utilizing electronic feedback in a completely controlled manner as the sole source for all sounds in this recording.

4: Lost in Translation – Gravediggers Next Door
(Burnt Hair – Singe 014 – 1997)

I recentlytraded a bunch of Burnt Hair singles for a few singles by Hood with some guy in california. Most of them appear in this podcast.

5: Chris Watson – Oceanus Pacificus
(Touch – TS02 – 2007)

More environmental sound works from Cabaret Voltaire founding member, Chris Watson. This is one of several releases planned for Touch’s new seven-inch vinyl series.

6: Tomorrowland – Future
(Burnt Hair – Singe 015 – 1997)

An early release from a band whose breathtaking work has appeared on Darla and Kranky.

7: Tunnel Vision – Morbid Fear
(Factory Rcords – Fac 39 – 1981)

One of the rarer artefacts of Factory Records. They released only this single, but a compilation CD came out in 2005 featuring all of their demo work, including some mixed by Peter Hook.

8: B Movie – Marylin Dreams
(Some Bizarre – DM 443 – 1981)

You know them for their 80s masterpiece, Nowhere Girl. This is one of their lesser known synth-pop classics.

9: The Monochrome Set – He’s Frank (Slight Return)
(Disquo Bleu – BL1 – 1978)

This is one of my favorite records ever, and the first single to be released by the band.

10: Another – Paris Tribe
(Backstreet Backlash – BBR 007 – 1982)

A mysterious and highly collectible single from Holland.

11: Fuxa – Main Sequence Diffusion
(Burnt Hair – BHR 005 – 1995 )

An early single from this long standing space-rock/ambient/post rock artist.

12: Miss Bliss – Grey
(Burnt Hair – Singe 00 – 1996)

Miss Bliss is an alias for Ayalah Bentovim. As one of the founding members of Faithless, Sister Bliss became one of Britain’s most popular figures in the electronica scene. What many might not realize is her incredible history as a musician and DJ before that point. She started learning the piano at the age of five, eventually moving on to violin, saxophone, and the bass. She started DJing in 1987, acting as one of the few female house DJ’s in Britain at the time. She appeared at many popular clubs in the country, including Cream, the Gallery, and the Ministry of Sound, and began to play internationally as well. She began to make her own demos, and by the time she had met fellow DJ Rollo, she was already quite the featured attraction in the techno scene. The two began to write and record together while she continued her solo career. The singles “Life’s A Bitch” and “Badman” were both huge club hits, and her collaborations with Rollo eventually came out under the Faithless name. After touring behind the first album “Reverence”, Sister Bliss released the popular “Sister Sister” single and began work on her first solo album. Faithless also recorded again, releasing the “Back to Mine” mix at the start of 2001 and the original album “Outrospective” in the summer. Right now, Sister Bliss is DJing all around the world and a well respected DJ.

13: Auburn Lull – Van der Graaf
(Zeal – Zeal 3 – 1998)

Textural guitar collagists Auburn Lull formed on the rural fringe of Lansing, MI in 1995; comprised of guitarist/vocalist Sean Heenan, guitarist Jason Kolb, guitarist Eli Wekenman, and drummer Jason Wiesinger. The quartet came together out of a shared affection for 4AD and Creation bands, Seefeel, early OMD, and the lo-fi expanse of Flying Saucer Attack. Debuting along with fellow mid-Michigan cohorts Mahogany in 1997, the two bands split sides of a 12″ EP, simply titled the Dual Group EP, produced by Mahogany’s Andrew Prinz and released on Detroit’s Burnt Hair label. The band immediately won favorable comparisons to their beloved 4AD and Creation heros for their reverb-laden, shimmering, dynamic guitar-based sound; comparisons that continued with the release 1999’s Alone I Admire, their first full-length release, also on Burnt Hair. A subtle shift in direction was showcased in 2001 on Belgium’s Zeal label with a 7″ single entitled, Behind all Curses of Thought Lies the Ability to Focus on Vacant Spaces. The 7″ nods towards more electronically-based elements than heard on prior releases; elements that interweave amongst cascading guitars and droning samples. The band and many others simply refer to this release by the name of it’s title track, North Territorial. Shortly thereafter, the band signed to Darla records, who re-released Alone I Admire in 2002. The much-anticipated second full-length, Cast from the Platform, finally appeared in mid-2004 after a somewhat difficult and rocky period for the band. The album again featured beautiful production work by Prinz and received critical acclaim. Darla was keen to compile early rare and out-of-print material which culminated in 2005’s Regions Less Parallel. Regions features early compilation appearances, the Dual Group EP, North Territorial, and previously unreleased material. In 2006, work began on a 3rd proper full-length, Begin Civil Twilight, to be released on Darla in April 2008.

14: Airiel – Staionary Lights
(Roisin – Roisin 04 – 1999)

A great band, still active with a style all their own. Here more of them on their myspace account.

15: marcgraf – My Belle
(Erfolg – Folk 2 – 1990)

See above for a note about the label. This is one of the many pseudonyms for Marcus Schmickler.

More Info:

With this update, Press to Play features an archival radio program of mine originally broadcast on WZBC FM on November 14, 2000. New raveclips feature videos from Yellow6, Dollboy, The Monochrome Set and Pulsallama.

Not subscribed to Jukebox Heart yet? You should! But until you’re ready, you can download this podcast here.