An unearthed gem from the great ’80s DIY label.
Pioneering Italian label and art collective Trax will receive a retrospective compilation titled Trax Test (Excerpts From The Modular Network 1981-1987) due next month on Ecstatic Recordings.
Compiled over several years by Trax veteran Vittore Baroni and Not Waving, the collection includes post-punk, new wave and electronic recordings from artists including Colin Potter, Caroline K and The Cop Killers.
The unquestionable standout of the collection though is an early Merzbow recording from 1983 that sounds worlds away from the harsh noise he was beginning to pioneer at the same time. Titled ‘Kimigayo’, it transforms the Japanese national anthem into a spaced-out synth-pop track that you could mistake just as easily for a Can rarity or a new Ariel Pink single.
Trax Test is out September 8 via Ecstatic. Find the artwork and tracklist below.
01. Cancer – ‘Telematic’
02. M.A. Phillips – ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling’
03. Nausea – ‘No Conversation’
04. Amok / Mecanique Vegetale – ‘Untitled’
05. Daniele Ciullini / Amok – The Secret Door’
06. E-coli – ‘Borax’
07. The Cop Killers – ‘Cop Killers Theme / Calma Atmosfera’
08. Peter Mayer / Rod Summers / Robin Crozier / Capitalist Pig / Biagio D’egidio – ‘Notterossa / Rednight (Excerpt)’
09. Piermario Ciani / Vittore Baroni / Nocturnal Emissions / De Rezke – ‘Live Blister Bump’
10. Piermario Ciani / Ado Scaini / Enrico Piva / Giancarlo Martina – ‘I Love Cancer’
11. B Sides – ‘Trybuna Ludu’
12. Colin Potter – ‘Solidarity at Wujek Colliery’
13. Piermario Ciani – ‘Co.mix’
14. Naif Orchestra – ‘Fratelli D’italia’
15. Merzbow (Vacation of Merzbow Lowest Music & Arts) – ‘Kimigayo’
16. Monty Cantsin – ‘Catastronics’
17. Die Form – ‘Sex by Force’
18. Utopia Production – ‘Chainsaw Massacre’
19. Spirocheta Pergoli – ‘Merendine’
20. Nostalgia – ‘Biosolution for Today’
21. Ptose – ‘The Jellyfish’s Mood’
22. Vittore Baroni – ‘(Living With) Prosthesis’
23. Ddaa – ‘Ghosts of the Paper Trumpets’
24. Zone Verte – ‘Le Fantome De L’elephant’
25. I Nipoti Del Faraone – ‘Prendi L’osso E Corri’
