Artist: Various Artists
Title: Generation Blitz
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 30th July 2021
Label: State of Bass
Album Review
My life, musically speaking, was born in 1979. GARY NUMAN heralded the start of my deep fascination with electronic sounds. Soon after a vast array of bands filled the UK charts all utilising those “pesky” synthesisers, as the UK press tended to report “robbing real musicians of success”. This era was just after the punk scene, it seemed acceptable to be musically challenged with a guitar, but the use of a keyboard somehow was a step too far. Many people completely missed the point, others didn’t care and just loved the burgeoning new commercial music style - but either way, like punk, this era allowed musicians a fast track to being a creative. They had a voice, they had something to say, they had a style (visually and musically), they had talent and now they had a route to musically make this gel together.
KRAFTWERK, ENO, BOWIE and ROXY MUSIC had all done this previously, and many in this new movement had studied these god-like artists through their own teenage musical blossoming years. Steve Strange and Rusty Egan were leading this crowd, and had organised and held club nights in London. There were many underground electronic British bands such as THE HUMAN LEAGUE, THROBBING GRISTLE, and CABARET VOLTAIRE but until Numan came along, they hadn’t troubled the charts. Suddenly in a frantic eye-liner, gender bender frenzies a cult fashion (with no name) was born from those club nights organised by Rusty and Steve. Clubs catering for this crowd came and went, the most legendary of course was The Blitz. The press couldn’t cope with a fashion with no name, and before you know it the tag New Romantic was thrust upon the scene. This album celebrates this short era, from 1979 to 1981 of electronic Post Punk - an exciting couple of years and an equally exciting modern interpretation within this album, ‘Generation Blitz’.
The album has thirty-four tracks, the physically copy is limited with a rather special magazine celebrating the artists, fashions and the radio stations. It’s also available via streaming and Bandcamp (https://generationblitz.bandcamp.com). It seems a tad unfair to single out particular artists for praise, this is a faultless collection of artists bundled together in a convenient package. I loved each and every track, whether they be a modern interpretation or more of a retro stance. However, there are some stand out tracks for me from SCENIUS, THE FRIXION, NATURE OF WIRES (with STEPHEN NEWTON), LORD AND MASTER, BLAKLIGHT, TINY MAGNETIC PETS and TRUTHSCAN. The cover of ‘Fade to Grey’ from PARRALOX is a must have for choice of a cover on this compilation and MONTAGE COLLECTIVE’s ‘The Blitz Kids’ gives a catchy potted history of the era - and I adored it!
It’s a very rare occurrence, a mix of bands presented in a compilation such as this that are of a good to high standard that are instantly appealing. OK, to my ears some are better than others, but Generation Blitz manages to source and showcase some incredible talent heavily influenced by this musical era - an era still quietly influencing a wide range of music, in particular chart dance and pop music. It’s time to celebrate how influential the likes of VISAGE, LANDSCAPE, FLOCK OF SEAGULLS, DEPECHE MODE, ULTRAVOX, SILICON TEENS, SOFT CELL, THE NORMAL and countless others actually were. They shaped the sound of popular music right up to the current times. How better a way than this outstanding collection of original talent interpretating all those legendry bands. I can recommend you listen to ‘Generation Blitz’ - a highlight of 2021 for me.
The physical copy is nicely packaged and the first 150 copies come with ‘Generation Blitz’ magazine.
Tracklist
01. The Blitz Kids (Retrofit Remix) – MONTAGE COLLECTION
02. The Crown – SINK YA TEETH
03. So Gone – BLAKLIGHT
04. Escalation – SCENIUS
05. Suitomoton – BRUTALIST ARCHITECTURE IN THE SUN
06. Berlin Girl (East Berlin Remix) – JIGSAW SEQUENCE
07. Fade to Grey – PARRALOX
08. Maybe Someday (Generation Blitz edit) – PLATRONIC
09. TCV21 – NOSTALGIA DEATHSTAR
10. The Masquerade (Generation Blitz Remix) – NATURE OF WIRES feat. STEPHEN NEWTON
11. Brother Blue (Muzoid Remix) – THIS HUMAN CONDITION
12. Cry, Cry, Cry (Bobolino Remix – Radio Edit) – THE FRIXION featuring ROI
13. Strength in Numbers – LORD AND MASTER
14. Need Stuff – INTO THE BLOOD
15. jACQUES bREL iS aLIVE aND wELL (jE sUIS aVANT gARDE) – NON STOP EROTIC CABARET
16. Middle Aged Rebel – THE LIVELONG JUNE
17. Second Time Around – INFERIOR COMPLEX
18. Adulation – SHE’S GOT CLAWS
19. Dead 80s – NOSTALGIA DEATHSTAR
20. Radio Kootwijk (Mark Reeder's Radio Silence Mix) – BIRMINGHAM ELECTRIC
21. Emerald Dancer (New Romancer Mix) – THE RUDE AWAKENING
22. Hurting for Two – CHAIN COMPLEX featuring WARTERAUM
23. Overmann – VIDEO L’ECLIPSE
24. Lyudi Kak Krysy – MONOPLAN
25. Roam – DITSEA YELLA
26. Hello Stranger – XIBLING
27. Diskothek – BLOOD EVERYWHERE
28. Electric Vienna – WAVEWULF
29. Drowning in Indigo – TINY MAGNETIC PETS
30. Sentimental Sounds – MORE
31. Tears of a Fool (12" Mix) – PULSE LAB
32. Saviour (New mix) – KIFFIE
33. The Thinker – MAXX SILVER
34. Your Parallel Life – TRUTHSCAN
Website
https://generationblitz.bandcamp.com/
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 9
Total: 9 / 10
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