BRAND NEW COLORED / TRANSPARENT VINYL of Chinese Restaurant and Hibernation are now available at
Other Music!
NOTICE: Both Chrisma records sold out in just under 3 weeks!
Medical Records is running a 2nd pressing of "Chinese Restaurant" and "Hibernation".
They will be on 180gm BLACK vinyl to set them apart and will NOT be hand-numbered.
Both printed in limited edition of 500 records. They should be available in about 3-4
weeks, but Medical Records is taking preorders now from anybody who may have
missed out on the first edition.
ORDER CHINESE RESTAURANT and HIBERNATION at http://www.othermusic.com/
- search records with keyword "Chrisma"
From out of the blogosphere (where else?) comes these two totally unique '70s artifacts, and it's safe to say that the first two albums by Chrisma are wholly different than just about anything in your collection. The group was a duo of husband and wife Maurizio Arcieri and Christine Moser. Arcieri was the frontman for New Dada, a successful beat group in his native Italy that toured with the Beatles in 1965, and then enjoyed a solo career. What could have possessed him to predict the future? From the sound of things, a combination of Eno's solo albums, exposure to Krautrock, and Italy's vibrant progressive rock scene pushed the duo to form Chrisma, one of the first wavo offerings in the country. Picked up by producer Niko Papathanassiou (Vangelis' brother, and a staff producer at Polydor), Chrisma cut two albums in late-'70s London, falling in line with the new guard of Italian punk and new wave alongside groups like Rancid X and the Confusional Quartet, but more technologically savvy and forward-thinking than their compatriots.
Chinese Restaurant was recorded in 1977, but given the range of sounds and influences within (cited on closing track "Thank You," which lists everyone from Lonnie Donegan to Neu!, Iggy Pop to Brian Jones, Roxy Music to Sha Na Na), it could have more reasonably have been a product of the past decade, a forward-thinking blend of gloomy cabaret and synth treatments, ice-cold rock, motorik rhythms, and breathless erotica. 1979's Hibernation is more polished, less experimental, but just as winning as it is all over the place, displaying more of an integrated sound of the times (there's a pronounced Blondie feel to "Aurora B," crossed up with national pop sensibilities that would help the song gain airplay), nods towards dance music (the irresistible "Gott Gott Electron" and "We R" were tailor-made for today's minimal synth frost queens), the sort of abrasive drum-machine punk ("So You Don't" might pass as a Big Black demo), and many of the other variants that made their debut so great. These are totally crazy records and will appeal to a very wide cross-section of all you out there looking for an adventurous, yet familiar listen. Both LPs are pressed on colored vinyl in a numbered edition of 500 copies, so don't hesitate on either. [DM] (Reissued 2010)
ORDER CHINESE RESTAURANT and HIBERNATION at http://www.othermusic.com/
- search records with keyword "Chrisma"
No comments:
Post a Comment