Aja is the sixth studio album by the American jazz rock band Steely Dan. It was released on September 23, 1977, by ABC Records. Recording alongside nearly 40 musicians, band leaders Donald Fagen and Walter Becker pushed Steely Dan further into experimenting with different combinations of session players while pursuing longer, more sophisticated compositions and arrangements for the album.
The dB's are an American alternative rock and power pop group, who formed in New York City in 1978 and first came to prominence in the early 1980s. Their debut album, Stands for Decibels, is often acclaimed as one of the greatest "lost" power pop albums of the 1980s.
Michael John Harris is an English musician from Birmingham. He was the drummer for Napalm Death between 1985 and 1991, and is credited for coining the term "grindcore". After Napalm Death, Harris joined Painkiller with John Zorn and Bill Laswell. Since the mid-1990s, Harris has worked primarily in electronic and ambient music, his main projects being Scorn and Lull. He has also collaborated with musicians including James Plotkin and Extreme Noise Terror. According to AllMusic, Harris's "genre-spanning activities have done much to jar the minds, expectations, and record collections of audiences previously kept aggressively opposed."
Tin Drum is the fifth and final studio album by English band Japan, released in November 1981 by record label Virgin. It peaked at No. 12 on the UK charts, and featured the top 5 single "Ghosts". It has received acclaim as the band's best and most original work.
Obscure Alternatives is the second studio album by English new wave band Japan, released in October 1978 by record label Hansa.
Eyeless In Gaza are an English musical duo of Martyn Bates and Peter Becker, based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. They have described their music as "veer[ing] crazily from filmic ambiance to rock and pop, industrial funk to avant-folk styles." Formed in 1980, the group went into hiatus in 1987, re-emerging in 1993.
Pillows & Prayers is a compilation album released Christmas 1982, featuring artists on the Cherry Red record label. The record was originally sold at 99 pence, which helped ensure that the album peaked and remained at number 1 on the UK Indie Chart for five weeks and sold over 120,000 copies.
The Dancing Did were a British post-punk/folk punk group formed in Evesham in 1979, who were described as "a cross between the Clash and Steeleye Span". They released an album in 1982 and split up the following year.
"Being Boiled" is the debut single by the British synthpop band the Human League. Composed by Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, with lyrics by Philip Oakey, it has been released several times since 1978, finally becoming a UK top ten hit in 1982.
Ghosts of Princes in Towers is the only studio album by British band Rich Kids, released in August 1978 by record label EMI. It was produced by Mick Ronson.
The Waking Hour is the first album by English band Dali's Car, a project of Peter Murphy of Bauhaus and Mick Karn of Japan. It was released in November 1984 by record label Paradox, which was created specifically to release the record.
Photographs as Memories is the debut studio album by English band Eyeless in Gaza. It was released on 30 January 1981, through record label Cherry Red.
In Embrace were an English alternative rock and band formed in Leicestershire in 1981 and later indie pop band based in Coventry, England. They released seven singles, two albums and an EP/mini-album before splitting up in 1987.
Somnific Flux is a collaborative album by Mick Harris and Bill Laswell, released on March 7, 1995, by Subharmonic.
Pale Hands I Loved So Well is the third album by English band Eyeless in Gaza, released in 1982 by record label Uniton.
Drumming the Beating Heart is the fourth album by English band Eyeless in Gaza, released in 1982 by record label Cherry Red.
Rust Red September is the fifth album by English band Eyeless in Gaza, released in 1983 by record label Cherry Red. This was the first recording where Eyeless In Gaza employed overdubs, as all their previous releases were recorded in one take straight to tape.
Back from the Rains is the sixth album by English band Eyeless in Gaza, released in 1986 by record label Cherry Red.
Martyn Bates is an English singer, musician and songwriter.
Stabmental was a British DIY music and cultural fanzine published in the late 1970s and early 1980s covering industrial and postpunk music and the cassette scene. The moving force, main editor and writer of the publication was Geoffrey Rushton, who would later assume the name John Balance and become known as singer and lyricist of the influential postindustrial band Coil. Balance was still at school during most of the period of the magazine’s publication, though he would continue to publish the magazine for a short period after leaving and before his career in music began to take off. The other founding editor was a school friend of Balance’s, Tom Craig. The magazine included interviews with, articles on and reviews of releases and performances by many leading alternative bands and solo artists of the time, such as Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA, SPK, Virgin Prunes, Alternative TV, Eyeless in Gaza, Monte Cazazza, and participants in the so-called ‘cassette culture’, such as The Door and the Window, The Good Missionaries, and Cultural Amnesia. The magazine also featured drawings and collages by Balance, sometimes employing the pseudonym Murderwerkers.
