New, unusual.  Hear songs and see performances by self-professed "musician" holding small white video game consoles.  All the rage.  Harsh, annoying. "This is gaoing to blaow ahp," says Mr. M. McLaren.  Exciting new movement.  You better tune in now.  Otherwise in ten years everyone will be trading stories, and then won't you feel left out.  Staring into your drink, wishing you had something to say. We've all been there. Now's your chance to change all of that.  Curious new music.  A startling and innovative step backwards in technology. What will they think of next.

FUTURISK was a pioneering electro-punk group that recorded and performed in the pre-midi era of the early '80's. They had two vinyl releases that sold out, a legendary live show and some videos, but for a number of reasons by 1984 Futurisk was history. Eventually the main core of Futurisk would be the Kolosine/Hess/Howard line up, but in '79 when a teenage Jeremy Kolosine won studio time &amp; money in a competition with his drum-machine triggered guitar-synth act called 'Clark Humphrey &amp; Futurisk', he decided to form a band around the name to record a more punk release "The Sound of Futurism 1980/Army Now". It was an ambivalent anti-war anthem, with Jack Howard on drums, Frank Lardino on synth and Kolosine on vocals and guitar synth. In '81,Kolosine, who had gotten absorbed in a new synth/sequencer replaced Lardino withsynthesist/recordist Richard Hess who had a myriad collection of Moogs, Oberheims and KATs,etc. and the line up for the "Player Piano EP" was cast. The EP, like the live show, was a strange blend of punk/minimalist/disco influenced electro pop, with drum-machine triggered synths and often frantic real drums all led by Kolosine's schizophrenic Bowie/Ferry/Foxx adulations (and about 20 seconds of punk-funk guitar). It was recorded by Rich and the band in the rooms of Ron K's house.The drum sound, gotten in a bathroom, rocks, even today. Reportedly, Futurisk may have been the 1st synth-punk band in the American South...or something, and 1981's track 'Push Me Pull You (pt. 2)' was an early pre-'Rockit' excursion into electro-funk.
In 2003 LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy gave a complimentary wink to Futurisk by using the track on the delightful Colette # 5 DFA Comp CD. 
In 2007 an unreleased 1982 version of the track "Meteoright" was included on Minimal Wave's "Found Tapes" vinyl LP.
In 2010 Minimal Wave Records released  the long awaited 30th anniversary Futurisk retrospective "Player Piano LP", 
and in 2011, Futurisk's " Lonely Streets Remixes" , with remixed tracks by Chris Carter (Throbbing Gristle,Chris & Cosey), Tom Furse (The Horrors), Prince Language (DFA, Editions Disco) and Complexxion was released on Minimal Wave / Cititrax Records. 
Available at:
http://minimalwave.com/artists/artist/futurisk/
For more go to http://futurisk.net


One of America's first electronic new wave bands, The Units are widely cited as pioneers of a genre now known as "synthpunk." The Units were notable for their use of synthesizers in place of guitars, and multimedia performances featuring multiple projections of satirical, instructional films critical of conformity and consumerism.  Primary members were Scott Ryser and Rachel Webber, backed up by an ever changing lineup of synth players and drummers.  
The Units have opened for such bands as Soft Cell, Gary Numan, Ultravox, XTC, Bow Wow Wow, the Psychedelic Furs, the Police, Iggy Pop, Dead Kennedys, Sparks and toured the United States with Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.   (from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Units )
UNITS songs have been remixed, reworked or re-edited by over 50 DJs from 15 different countries. The UNITS song "High Pressure Days" was also remixed by the band HEALTH (as "High Pressure Dave"), for GRAND THEFT AUTO 5, the fastest-selling entertainment product in history, earning US $800 million in its first day and US $1 billion in its first three days.

Recordings by The Units are currently available on these record labels:

Futurismo (England)  ( http://store.futurismoinc.com/ )
FDH Records (USA)  ( https://fdhrecords.bandcamp.com/ )
Community Library (USA)  ( http://www.community-library.net/index.html )
Relish (Germany) ) http://www.relishrecordings.net/ )
Opilec Music (Italy and France)

Punk label of all flavors, shapes and sizes - founded in 1999.

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