Before - Sister Culture 7" 1983

Second single from Denmarks Joy Division: Before. They had developed their sound a bit for this one, adding more synths and even some violin, played by Martin Hall from Ballet Mecanique. If their first single is more heavy, with influence from the Doors, this one is more light, kind of New Order. After this the band disbanded, I think its was due to Fatals growing junk addiction, but i could be wrong.

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Before - Silence 7" 1981

Extremely classic danish band Before, led by singer-junkie-poet Fritz Fatal, made a huge mark on the danish scene. Since Denmark is such a small country they didn't have that many bands that made  records. Before made three before disbanding and since then they have been considered legends in their country. This is their first single.

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Musta - Myrskyn Merkit 7" 1981

Strange band from Turku, Finland that only released this single but existed for several years in the eighties. They also appeared on a compilation album but with one of the songs from this release. The music is great post punk with synths.

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Freda - Livsviktigt 7" 1984

Freda were a christian rock band from Gnosjö in Sweden. They started out in the early eighties with a sound similar to U2 and gathered a following and got good reviews in the music press. At the end of the decade they were one of the biggest rock bands in Sweden and still lingers on in the collective conciousness, mostly due to lead singer Uno's solo career. This is their debut single, and this along with their two first LPs is the only thing worth seeking out by them.

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Cyklon Anticyklon - Cyklon Og Anticyklon 7" 1981

Cyklon/Anticyklon was formed in the beginning of the 80's by Peter Bonde, Tomas Ortved and Per Jacobsen. They released this single in cut-out pieces from an old map showing regions of Switzerland. The record consists of three compositions of post punk noise no wave rock. This could as well have been produced in New York at approximately the same time, but instead was made in Denmark. This is good stuff.

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Suggession - Tjernobyl 7" 1986

Suggession were from Katrineholm in Sweden and worked their way through the swedish underground with lots of demos and some live gigs mostly in their native town. At the end of the eighties they relocated to Gothenburg to seriously pursue a career in music but didn't make it. Shortly afterwards the band split. Along the way the released this single, and participated on a local compilation album. This single is a real gem. Weird lyrics, an expressive singer and instrumentation that combines elements from jazz, classical music and goth. One of the best singles of this period!

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Ragnar Hare - Bit 7" 1984

Great band from Jakobstad in Finland. A huge part of Finland has a long tradition of speaking swedish, a practice which was enforced during Swedens occupation of Finland. This means that swedish is still a major language in Finland and explains why this finnish band sings in swedish. Ragnar Hare made another record that's even better than this one which will follow shortly. There's also some videos on youtube. Check this band out.

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Bengt Emil Johnson - Gubbdrunkning 7" 1965

Bengt Emil Johnson is my favorite swedish poet. For those of you who don't know him he made his debut in the 60's writing concrete poetry andproducing some fantastic books. He also participated in the creative milieu around Fylkingen in Stockholm where he produced very interesting text-sound compositions. This is his third book of poetry which was accompanied by a 7" single with two compositions. I will not even begin to translate the title.

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No Knox - Filibuster LP 1984

No Knox were one of the first punk bands in Denmark and started off with a very experimental take on the punk idiom. I just read on their page on danish wikipedia that the early concerts were compared to Residents. The only recorded songs from this early period can be found on the major danish punk compilations, "Pære Punk" and "Concert of the Moment". This, however, is a more weird album. Not so much punk as some kind of theatre music or ironic music. I don't know what the purpose of this album was but it's an interesting ride.

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Jukon Speakers - Silver Child 7" 1991

Last vinyl release from the Jukon People. Actually this single has one of their best songs: the title track, which is another one of those slugging psychedelic numbers. After this release they started releasing their music on CD and went further into the psychedelic vein.

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Jukon Speakers - Plays The Candy Coloured Tambourine Cassette 1990

This is a really rare one. A fan club cassette which you could order directly from the band. Full of outtakes, livetracks and assorted tracks. Not much good stuff for me, I'm afraid, but for completeness sake this is a must.

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Jukon Speakers - Flying Saucers Over Lappland LP 1990

Upon leaving the 80's the Jukon people gave us this album. I suppose it was inspired by the movie with the same name. I prefer them when they get that sludge bass-line right, like in the title tracks. Psychedelic garage rock from the very north.

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Jukon Speakers - We're Curious, Yellow LP 1988

Their first full lenght LP. For me, the bands best song ever is present here, namely "Night of the Long Grass" - a slow, sludge-fest. Kind of like Chrome if they didn't like scifi. The rest of the LP is great psychedelic garage rock.

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Jukon Speakers - House on the Haunted Hill LP 1988

Mini LP-debut for the Jukon people. The hit song on this album is without a doubt "Big Jukon" and besides that we have a Zappa-cover and yet more of the same kind of psychedelic garage rock they perfected in this and the coming albums.

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Jukon Speakers - Glendora 7" 1987

Third single from the Jukon People. Their particular branch of psychedelic garage rock takes it's definitive form on this one and leads the way to the LP's that were to follow. The song "Jukon People" is another one of those songs that should have been a hit, but weren't. Strange world.

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DØD MANNS DANS

DØD MANNS DANS
En samlingskassett med nordisk musikk: postpunk, nyveiv, goth, avant garde jazz, punk og eksperimentell musikk av alle slag fra de gyldne årene 1978-1990.

DEAD MANS DANCE
A mixtape with Nordic post-punk, new wave, goth, avant-garde jazz and experimental music of all kinds from the golden years 1978-1990.

There is also a possibility to DOWNLOAD the mixtape.

Jukon Speakers - Dead Mans Dance 7" 1986

Second release from Jukon Speakers from Umeå, Sweden. "Dead Mans Dance" is an almost goth sludge hit. Their best song and what should have been an instant hit. "Give Me Love" is more in the common garage tradition but still fun.

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Jukon Speakers - The Crusher 7" 1985?

After the Pinheads split up some of the members continued a band that started in the early seventies under a different name. The band was renamed Jukon Speakers and started a career that still goes on. This was the bands first release, before the drummer started the label Garageland in Umeå. The A-side is a Cramps cover, i think, and the B-side is a weird spoken piece.

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Klima LP 1990

A nice compilation of experimental danish band. Side A is electronic bands, with examples of ambient, EBM and weird stuff while the B side is the real deal with more jazz-oriented bands like Picnic and Cockpit Music. The band Vanviddets Husarer participates with one track from their cassette, which i would love to hear.

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Reddrum Bop - Reddrum Bop LP 1987

Goth band from Oulo, Finland, that only released this album. The music takes off in all kinds of directions, sometimes they sound a bit like Syyskuu, then like a late-eighties alternative band, then something else. It's good, though. I'd love to know more about them.

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Liv - 108 LP 1984

The group Liv released two LPs in the middle of the eighties. For a long time I thought that this group was called "Oliv" but I suppose that's wrong. I have no information about this band. Perhaps they were from the area around Jönköping in Sweden? The music is a bit minimal synth pop wave. Perfect for the casual listener.

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Syyskuu - Sator LP 1984

Their one and only album. A long time ago I read somewhere that the band was so drunk at the time they recorded this album that they released it using the wrong mix. From a hi-fi point of view this record sounds really terrible so I guess that could be true. Anyone care to confirm or deny this? The music is real and great, though. This is how goth should sound.

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