Last year’s ‘Close To The Noise Floor’ was a Cherry Red Records compilation which collected together many of the formative roots of UK electronic music, with recognised artists like THE HUMAN LEAGUE, BLANCMANGE, BEF, OMD and THROBBING GRISTLE side-by-side with those that didn’t get the same level of recognition and/or commercial success.
Now from the same label comes ‘Noise Reduction System’…
Subtitled ‘Formative European Electronica 1974-1984’, this 4CD set spreads a wider net and encompasses artists from countries which have an established heritage in electronic music (eg Germany and Belgium) through to those that don’t (eg Spain and Latvia).
DAF are represented here with their track ‘Ich Will’ which follows their usual template of bass sequencer driven music with live drums and guttural vocals.
The early YELLO song here ‘Glue Head’ is barely recognisable as the act that latterly went onto success with fully synthetic / sampled tracks such as ‘The Race’ and ‘Oh Yeah’. Full of dense live instrumentation including drums and guitars (and very little synth), it almost sounds like a completely different band.
One of the gems here is ‘Caramel’ by CLUSTER, a nifty monosynth and drum machine driven synthpop track from the 1974 album ‘Zuckerzeit’ which has an ending which sounds like a town hall meeting of The Clangers.
‘Krematorien’ by UNIVERSALANSCHLUSS has a rather wonderful minimalist early Mute Records aesthetic; pretty well mixed for its age and combining lo-fi drum machine, sequencer patterns and punky female vocals. The intro to the track also features a couple of Romanian flutes being bashed together to add to the rhythm of the piece, but mostly this is primitive electronics all the way.
The Swiss duo SCHALTKREIS WASSERMANN provide one of the better produced tracks here, utilising a Prophet 5, ARP 2600, Roland System 100M and an MC4 Sequencer, the track has a tightly programmed Giorgio Moroder feel to it.
Originally released in 1982, the track featured on the album ‘Psychotron’ which went Top 10 in the Melody Maker’s electronic chart.
Another worthy inclusion is ‘Multitrack Suggestion’ by VANGELIS, taken from the 1980 album ‘See You Later’, it sees a very different VANGELIS sound to the lush polysynth driven one we are familiar with. Almost KRAFTWERK-ish in conception with a Roland CR5000 drum machine, the overdubbing of live percussion sounds hints at the sound that was to come and features a vocal by Peter Marsh.
Unsurprisingly, much of the material here is pretty uncompromising, from the 21 minute plus ‘Geld’ by Berlin’s MALARIA, the 24 minute ‘Love You Generator’ by VAN KAYE & IGNIT and the 26 minute long ‘Zitternde Luft’ by GIANCARLO TONIUTTI; all of which vary very little over their running times.
On CD3, KLAUS SCHULZE’s ‘1984’ only just provides some light relief from a selection of tracks which mostly bear comparison with the darker experimental side of THROBBING GRISTLE.
‘1984’ is a beat-less pad-driven instrumental with Mellotron textures that recall some of the work of mid Virgin-era TANGERINE DREAM, Schulze’s former band.
On the final CD, ‘Principles’ by Belgium’s FRONT 242 recalls an early monosynth-driven DEPECHE MODE but with added speech samples and improvised electronics and ‘Shai Hulud’ by BERNARD SZAJNER adds some welcome melody with a trippy/sequenced instrumental piece.
‘Noise Reduction System’ is at times a daunting but ultimately fascinating curio which pulls together a quiet revolution which simultaneously took place across Europe at a time when electronic music equipment started to become affordable.
The artists featured here adopted the DIY ethos of punk but channelled it into a far more experimental direction. So for that reason, those seeking melodic synthpop should really look elsewhere.
However, for fans of uncompromising lo-fi electronic music, this compilation proves to be a treasure trove of hard to find and genuinely obscure tracks, which when researching certain pieces even Google failed to bring forth much in the way of information on some of the artists featured!
If you have an interest in the early roots of European electronic music, then ‘Noise Reduction System’ is worth seeking out. But for most synthpop fans, most of the material here will be a little too impenetrable…
Special thanks to Matt Ingham at Cherry Red
‘Noise Reduction System’
Details of the full tracklisting can be viewed at: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/noise-reduction-system-formative-european-electronica-1974-1984/
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Text by Paul Boddy
20th July 2016
, 
and 
, won him many admirers. He even had a couple of UK Top10 hit singles in 
and 
as part of a successful partnership with YES lead singer Jon Anderson, while another of their songs 
was an international hit for Donna Summer.
and 
as well as cult science fiction films, most notably 
.
. But the drama unfolds with the orchestrated moods of ‘Infinitude’ and the ivory laced ‘Exo Genesis’. Continuing the journey, ‘Celestial Whispers’ drifts soothingly into the ether and acts as a gorgeous space lullaby with its gentle voice samples and cascading tuned melodies.
was not included on the debut FAD GADGET long player ‘Fireside Favourites’ that came out a few months later, but it helped establish Mute Records’ credentials as an early champion of independent electronic music.
via Mute Records
was a worthy transitional recording although where Foxx headed next was the more romantic and band oriented textures of ‘The Garden’.
via Metamatic Records
was not a hit on its original release, but the world belatedly caught up when a remixed reissue reached No11 in 1982.
via Virgin Records
was the posthumous hit single that documented the relationship turmoil which JOY DIVISION’s lead singer Ian Curtis was facing prior to his suicide. The initial attempt at recording had been much faster and tighter, but producer Martin Hannett slowed the band down and suggested Curtis take on a more Sinatra based drawl. The looser end result added further poignancy.
via Rhino
via Beggars Banquet
was the first release from THE BLUE NILE and the esoteric template that later emerged on ‘A Walk Across The Rooftops’ was already omnipresent. Rawer and more aggressive than songs like ‘Stay’ and ‘Tinseltown In The Rain’, this was a fine opening gambit from the enigmatic Glaswegian trio who had met at university. Originally self-released, the single was picked up by RSO who promptly folded after its re-release.
via Virgin Records
co-produced by Mike Hedges was an interim 45 prior to the doomfest of ‘Pornography’. The band’s potential for success now looked like a real threat as The Raincoat Brigade seeked out a successor to JOY DIVISION. But in late 1982, THE CURE lightened up for the first of their fantasy singles, ‘Let’s Go to Bed’.
via Fiction Records
. The multi-lingual phrases highlighted an expanding world market while Glenn Gregory provided commentary on how personal relationships were like business transactions.
via Virgin Records
, a song that had not been originally included on their second album ‘The Friends Of Mr Cairo’. Jon Anderson’s lyrics were almost spiritual while the widescreen sonic backing from his Greek chum complimented the mood. Vangelis himself was about to enter his most high profile period with ‘Chariots Of Fire’ and ‘Blade Runner’.
via Polydor Records / Universal Music
via Music Club Deluxe
being appended to the album.
via EMI Music
effectively bookended Marc Almond and Dave Ball’s imperial pop period which had started with ‘Tainted Love’. Another song that came via the Northern Soul scene, it was originally recorded by Judy Street and had more than a passing resemblance to ‘Always Something There To Remind Me’. The recording was quickly disowned and was to be SOFT CELL’s last Top10 single before the duo entered much darker musical territory and on the path to ‘Mr Self Destruct’.
via Phonogram / Universal Music
allowed Clarke to put his new Fairlight CMI through its paces, while a gospel flavour came from SYLVIA & THE SAPPHIRES.
via Music Club Deluxe
was a cynical attempt to ensure DURAN DURAN got a UK No1. Nick Rhodes made it clear the song was not going to be on the next album while completely different versions featured on the 7 and 12 inch formats. This synth laden single featured that dreadfully unforgettable line “You’re about as easy as a nuclear war”!
via EMI Music
featured a charming four way call-and-response vocal while the huge use of portamento on the lead synth line fooled buyers into returning their singles to the shops thinking it was warped!
via Virgin Records
via EMI Music
was considerably less harsh than his band’s pioneering electronic body music. Although not featured on Görl’s first solo album ‘Night Full Of Tension’, ‘Mit Dir’ did much to help lighten his mood considerably that he was attempting synthpop with EURYTHMICS’ Annie Lennox on songs like ‘Darling Don’t Leave Me’.
via Mute Records
was a brilliantly glorious statement with Billy Currie’s OSCar interventions being its undoubted musical highlight.
via EMI Records
was the bridge between the industrial flavoured synthpop of ‘Some Great Reward’ and the darker aesthetics of ‘Black Celebration’. Much more accomplished than the more throwaway standalones like ‘It’s Called A Heart’ and ‘But Not Tonight’ which followed, ‘Shake The Disease’ continues to be performed live at DM shows in a less interesting stripped down form with Martin Gore on lead vocals.
via Mute Records
became an unexpected American No1 on the back of the movie’s success and took Jim Kerr and Co into the stadiums of the world.
via Virgin Records
, a one-off for London Records. Engineered by Dan Lacksman of TELEX, it featured a sonic passage that would have made Trevor Horn proud. Lines such as “I’ve been thinking we’ll get back together again someday – your hair will be some weird color by then…” reminded European audiences of how quirky SPARKS could be.
via Lil Beethoven Records
actually follows a chord progression very similar to ‘Enola Gay’. Interestingly, the song failed to enter the Top40 on its release in the UK.
via Virgin Records
is one of the Mancunian’s combo’s more underrated singles. With a synth riff borrowed from Shannon’s ‘Let The Music Play’, it successfully combined some gritty rock energy to a solid Italo disco backbone featuring a great sequenced bassline.
via Rhino
was a throbbing Moroder-inspired disco tune that borrowed counter-melodies from Donna Summer’s ‘Love’s Unkind’. Independent labels such as Mute and Factory were more likely to indulge in releases that weren’t specifically tied in to albums, and it proved to be a perfect move to maintain ERASURE’s profile while they were preparing their next plan of action.
via Mute Records
. It all seemed so camp and ridiculous in the video when Neil Tennant was singing it wearing a Stetson, but then in 1992, out popped Bono doing something similar on their ‘Zoo TV’ tour!
via EMI Music
EP helped KITE gained some much deserved international recognition with 
that saw them at their best. Getting progressively darker and more epic, this sonic template was best exemplified by the sparsely serene ‘Nocturne’ and the mighty statement of ‘Up For Life’, possibly one of THE songs of 2015.
.
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