Rock A

Miracle

PRE-ORDER: http://www.darkentriesrecords.com/store/dark-entries/joe-crow-compulsion-ep/

Joe Crow is a post-punk musician from Birmingham, England. He was a member of legendary Brum band The Prefects, & hung on long enough after the name-change to appear on a couple of early Nightingales singles. In 1981 Joe began his solo career and recorded a 2-song demo “Compulsion” and “Absent Friends”. Joe sent copies of the finished recordings to Cherry Red, who thanks to Lawrence of Felt, ended up releasing the single in 1982. An edited version of the single would later appear on the compilation “Pillows & Prayers” that collected songs which originated as 45s or EPs. Martin Gore of Depeche Mode subsequently covered “Compulsion” on his ‘Counterfeit' EP in 1989 forever solidifying its status in the cannon of UK melancholic synth pop . 

“Compulsion” and “Absent Friends” were originally intended as a double A-side. Composed, performed and recorded by Joe on an 8-track reel-to-reel at Sinewave Studio, Moseley Village in February 1981 and were engineered by Al McKerchar. Joe plays everything: guitar, bass, Boss Dr. Rhythm, Bee Gees Rhythm Machine, Wasp synthesizer, bongos stuffed with towels and an old tin tray for a snare drum. Everything was borrowed. “Compulsion” is an imaginary suicide note, a meditation on loss and grief. Its dark twin “Absent Friends” is an anti-song: no verses, choruses or middle-eight, some willfully odd chord progressions and plaintive yet melodic keyboard motif.  Both songs are a spectral hybrid of alternating childlike and cynical vocals over lo-tech basement electronics with profound lyrics. This expanded 12” reissue adds 3 unreleased bonus tracks on the B-side taken from a mini-album of nine songs, recorded at the same time as “Compulsion”. Originally titled “Ken Blagdon Sings” with music by Joe Crow and lyrics by photographer Brendan Jackson, as a birthday present to the latter's girlfriend, Jacqui Neave. The whole session lasted one day and the line up was Brendan Jackson (alias Ken Blagdon; vocals/percussion), Joe Crow (vocals/bass/guitar/Boss Dr. Rhythm/Wasp synthesizer), Mark Rowson (drums), Helen Rowson (alto saxophone), Eamonn Duffy (Nightingales bassist; squawks) and Legs Akimbo (technicals). 

All songs have been remastered from the original master tapes for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The jacket is an exact replica of the 1982 edition enlarged for the 12” format, featuring front and back photos of Joe from a dawn beach shoot at Hayling Island, Hampshire, England. Each copy includes a two-sided newsprint insert with lyrics, never-before-seen photos and liner notes by Joe Crow and Robert Lloyd of the Nightingales. These songs are perfect new wave / post-punk tracks, full of attitude and dark romanticism. 

Compulsion

“Entre a Luz e a Espada” é uma jornada emocional sobre amor, saudade, força e renascimento.
Cada faixa nasce de uma história real, marcada por alguém que deixou uma luz eterna no meu caminho — uma presença que continua guiando cada nota, cada silêncio e cada palavra.

Neste álbum, meus versos falam sobre memórias que resistem ao tempo, sobre o peso das despedidas e sobre a coragem de seguir mesmo com o coração em ruínas.
É um disco que atravessa dor e esperança, queda e ascensão, sombras e claridade.

Aqui, cada música é uma batalha interna;
cada refrão, uma chama que insiste em não se apagar.
“Entre a Luz e a Espada” é sobre quem eu amei, quem eu ainda amo — e sobre o amor que permanece vivo, mesmo quando o mundo tenta apagá-lo.

Um álbum sincero, intenso e feito com a alma exposta.

No fim te abraçar

TrackTitle_ Rissing Sun  (1)

Here we are again with an unexpected upload, born from some random experiments that turned out way too good to be thrown in the trash… the Mac trash, obviously 😅
Headlines is inspired by a chiptune melody that likely dates back to the early 90s, at least as far as our keyboard player remembers, though even that isn’t completely certain. The track comes from the demoscene era, but the original title and author are unknown to us and may have been lost over time, so proper credit isn’t possible.
No samples were used. The melody was replayed, rearranged and completely reworked into a new song with a modern production and original vocals.
Too good to be left in a drawer, so here it is.
And stay tuned… in a few days we’ll be back with our new (and last) Christmas song, along with a very fun video where we’ll turn into Santa’s elves! 🎄🧝‍♂️🧝‍♀️
This song is available exclusively on SoundCloud.

Lyrics:

Do you already know this song?
Yeah, you know it
(Oh yeah)
Are you ready to sing along
to this song?

Let's go!

Everywhere I go
I'm hearing this tune
'Cause all the songs sound the same 
nothing feels new

But this one’s got something fresh
We made it loud, we made it real
Way better than
all that noise around

Someone’s even cloning us
So we can blast this track
all over the world
and up in space 
yeah, space!

The headlines now all say:
"Time stands still!"
There’s only one song left
spinning around
Someone's even trying to kill
all our clones
To shut this anthem down
all over the globe

And we’re trying to stay sane
But this is insane
Can’t even leave the house
the doors are locked
Someone said “That’s enough”
Now silence reigns
There’s no more sound 
real music is gone

Youtubers and AIers everywhere
This must be some kind of fever dream
It’s way too much - we’ve had enough

So give us all your strength
your power, your hopes, your dreams
And tell us where you wanna go
for real!

We’re fighting hard to keep alive
the soul of real sound
We’ll make your dreams
the next headlines

Youtubers and trappers everywhere
This must be some kind of fever dream
It’s way too much - we’ve had enough

So give us all your strength
your power, your hopes, your dreams
And tell us where you wanna go
for real!

Bye bye!

(It's Not Me) Talking (Single Edit)

A Flock Of Seagulls

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real?

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