Alan Vega - Alan Vega - Blue - VINYL LP

Alan Vega's self-titled debut solo album was released in 1980 during the sameperiod Suicide released their second album, Suicide Alan Vega and Martin Rev.While Suicide's tag ZE Records was interested in pushing the duo toward asynthetic disco sound inspired by Moroder's production on Donna Summer'sInchI Feel Love,Inch Vega felt a pull in a different direction. He wanted to dig deeper intothe roots of his own sonic identity, fueled by blues, rockabilly, early rock n roll,and his enduring love for Elvis Presley. Filling the gaps between recording withSuicide, and fleshing out the songs he was writing on his own, Vega started creat-ing his first record and performing live to develop this sound.As with his visual art, Vega layered sound in a minimalist, dynamic and inten-tional way. The result was a fiercely singular album built from raw materials anddeeply rooted in Vega's artistic vision. Tracks like the classic anthem InchJukeboxBabeInch with it's jiving rhythm and minimalist swagger, captured that approachcompletely and went on to become a hit in France. InchKung Foo CowboyInch takes ona southern twist, strongly leaning into the blues, while the golden pop shine ofInchIce DrummerInch rings in melodic yet plaintive vocals, marching drums and a taste-ful harmonica solo. InchBye Bye BayouInch is a haunted slice of mutant rockabilly thatfuses 50s rock with Vega's eccentric performance style and was later reimaginedin the 2009 cover by LCD Soundsystem, introducing Vega's solo work to a newgeneration. Similarly, The Flaming Lips' cover of InchIce DrummerInch paid homageto Vega's outsider spirit.Now remastered by Josh Bonati from the original tapes and available on stream-ing services for the first time, Alan Vega has been faithfully reissued by SacredBones Records, preserving the raw intensity of Vega's original recordings whilemaking them newly accessible to listeners aro

In The Red Records is proud to announce a previously unreleased new album by Brooklyn-born master of minimalism Alan Vega, Insurrection. The eleven songs here showcase the unparalleled vision and uncompromising force from one of the most influential artists of all time.Alan Vega was born in Brooklyn in 1938. He co-founded the legendary New York City punk band Suicide with Martin Rev in 1970. Suicide's groundbreaking 1977 debut is considered one of the most influential albums of all time. Vega considered his solo records the audio counterpoint to his visual art that reflected the world around him while simultaneously exploring universal themes. It makes his work as relevant today as it was when he created them. It was during his highly experimental period beginning in the late '80s that he began working with Liz Lamere, who became the most crucial collaborator of his solo career until his death in 2016. Lamere, along with Jared Artaud, resurrected these newly unearthed collection of lost recordings, which they co-produced and mixed. Lamere and Artaud spearhead the Vega Vault project, which aims to bring rare, unreleased and back catalog work spanning Alan Vega and Suicide's career to the public for the first time.On Insurrection, Lamere says InchInsurrection was created in the time period around 1997/98, after Mutator and prior to Vega's 1999 of 2007 and captures the intense energy of NYC in the '90s rife with crime, killing, hate, fascism, racism, and moral bankruptcy. You can hear the tortured souls floating through this album. Post-Gulf War angst still enveloped Alan. He was having premonitions about a major terror attack in the US, well before 9/11. The upcoming birth of his son raised further awareness of the state of our world. All these emotions are mirrored in the sounds he magnetized. And true to Vega form, there remains hope and empowerment coursing throug

The mysterious entity known as Faex Optim is a relative newcomer on the scene, his representation made visible by net-only releases courtesy of the U.K.'s Kahvi Collective and via the artist's requisite Soundcloud page. As usual, the braintrust here at Carpe Sonum are rescuing the good Faex Optim from his relative 'obscurity' and given him their aural blessing, as it were, in hard-media (neé CD) with this quite beguiling debut. Tris·kai·dek·a·pho·bi·a breaks a bit somewhat from the established tag 'house' style, although truth be told, Carpe Sonum embraces eclectic sounds and myriad approaches to electronic music across the breadth of it's catalog. But Faex Optim does exalt in being something of the anomaly regardless. Throughout the album, clever track titles illustrate a charmingly deceptive streak full of winsome IDM traceries that sport wide, cheshire-grinned palettes-classic ambient workouts this sure as heck isn't. Faex Optim is apparently happy to let his gregarious ideas announce their intent within rather economical timeframes; these fifteen tracks don't outstay their welcome, which makes for concentrated listening and more gratifying rewards. InchHollywood Dream BubbleInch, for instance, recalls the sprightly historical footprints of Plaid, As One, Ochre, and any number of early provocative electronica storytellers. Across the five minute spread of the ironically-titled InchPost RockInch, Faex Optim let's a faintly motorik beat anchor a nest of placid angles, widescreen whoosh, and timeless flutter, as the last breath of early electronic 'rock' music is extinguished in a five minute grand gesture.