. in the halls of the throne rooms of the punk and new wave scene, late 70s-early 80s, around familiar kings and princes, famous fairies and elves, danced naughty and dark, the miracle workers. Sometimes they swallowed swords, sometimes they held instruments, musical instruments. And then a great feast was made and everyone's attention was drawn to them.
Some of them, in 1981, well, in the land of David, started mixing Mediterranean sounds and voices, along with rock, the dark. And they opened up paths for others like them. They were Minimal Compact. To become further famous they had to relocate to the Netherlands.
There, in a thousand days and nights, starting from their self-titled mini album, they released One by One, Deadly Weapons and Raging Souls. And before the last one, their fairy godmother, bassist Malka, met and eventually ,1986, married Colin Newman of Wire, who also produced Raging Souls. Malka's bass and vocals blew a punk/funk air into the band, with the background painted in minimal post punk/new wave ethereal colors. She dabbled in photography and video, eventually leaving with Colin, for the UK. By then they had a very strong live presence throughout Alvira and beyond. Cocteau Twins and Depeche Mode producer John Fryer made their American success story a reality with the album The Figure One Cuts. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Frontman Samy Birnbach then returned to his hometown and went on to become DJ Morpheus, travelling thousands of miles on international decks and organising, among other things, the legendary Freeform parties. Guitarist/vocalist Rami Fortis as , constantly , experimenting post punk musician, after the band's first breakup continued his journey into other projects. The other guitarist/vocalist Berry Sakharof went on to several releases, solo and collaborations, with great impact and response over the years.
It leaves a sweet taste in the mouth and blows air in the mind, with this artful mix of beat poems and club classics of the band. Many , in fact, owe them a debt for the paths they blazed. We, just listen to them and understand once again how important and fruitful experimentation can be.
**find the Album here:Underground Tales Records
