MODERN ART

"Oriental Towers"
"Underwater Kites"

Another entry from the darkly enchanting minimal synth-pop and psych-tinged world of The Modern Art. As an introduction to the world of Coil and Current 93 collaborator (and Sun Dial main man) Gary Ramon and his orbiting bandmates, you can't do better.

"From a time when drummers were as rare as a tune with a melody. It could have been made yesterday, by one of those modern bands of foppish young men, whose parents' record collection contained stuff like The Wake and Modern English. A jolly jaunt through some early eighties indie, full of hand played synth lines, classic drum box sounds, poppy sequences, and introverted vocals."

"Now this is my kind of icy, desolate lo-fi music. A lot of 80's music that I listen to nowadays seems to predict the coming of vaporwave & hypnagogic pop 25+ years later, and this album is no different, even if it's only really predicting the bleaker aspects of the latter. Still, this stuff is occasionally very pretty ('Stars')... There's plenty of diversity on a track-for-track basis: compare the dreaminess built out of layered acoustic guitars on 'Beautiful Truth' to the more energetic and mechanical 'Little Ballerina.' Or just compare any other track to the untitled closer, which is basically ambient guitar + some echoed sample hovering off in the distance."

praise for our reissue of Modern Art "Underwater Kites":
"...epitomise(s) the open-ended diversity of that era, adroitly encompassing everything from wiry, Suicide-like night-stalkers such as 'Hello/Goodby'e... whereas 'Landscape From A Dream' is up there with Martin Hannett and Joy Division’s most atmospheric productions, and the remarkable 'Tropic Of Cancer' shimmies into dubbed-out 4th world electro..." —Boomkat

Formed by Ramon in the early 1980's, Modern Art released two albums on vinyl, and a significant amount of impossible-to-find cassettes. Some of this material  was compiled in a highly regarded 3-LP (sold out) box set, made in 2013 by Vinyl on Demand. This remastered reissue of "Oriental Towers," their second cassette album, originally released in 1983, also includes three previously unissued tracks from that session. On this album you will find examples of what was going on in England during the pinnacle of the post-punk scene—an inspired time that encouraged young musicians to develop music influenced by the likes of Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle and Clock DVA. Limited edition of 500 copies and comes with poster insert.  Import edition limited to 250x copies.

•First time standalone reissue of Modern Art's second cassette album

•Includes three previously unissued tracks from the album session

Album Tracks:
Dreaming Again
Discover
Sad Delusion
Sand in Your Eyes
Oriental Towers
World You Belong
Stars
Saturday 11th June 1983 (Previously Untitled)
Light Comes Down
Little Ballerina

links to album samples:
https://soundcloud.com/colortapes/sad-delusion
https://soundcloud.com/colortapes/modern-art-discover

link to youtube clip of modern art "oriental towers" on MTV:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3ZWvR8J4X4

Catalogue number: COLOR LP 07
UPC: 778578999711

"Guitar, drum machine and keyboards creating a calm yet dark atmosphere, sometimes psychedelic and no way mellow. Truly a great lost gem!" —Mutant Sounds

Welcome to the darkly enchanting minimal synth-pop and psych-tinged world of The Modern Art. As an introduction to the world of Coil and Current 93 collaborator Gary Ramon and his orbiting bandmates, you can't do better.

Formed by Ramon in the early 1980's, Modern Art released two albums on vinyl, and a significant amount of impossible-to-find cassettes. Some of this material  was compiled in a highly regarded 3-LP (sold out) box set, made in 2013 by Vinyl on Demand. This remastered reissue of "Underwater Kites," their very first cassette album, originally released in 1982, also includes three previously unissued tracks from that session. On this album you will find examples of what was going on in England during the pinnacle of the post-punk scene—an inspired time that encouraged young musicians to develop music influenced by the likes of Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle and Clock DVA. Limited edition of 500 copies and comes with poster insert.  Import edition limited to 250x copies.

•First time reissue of Modern Art's debut cassette album

•Includes three previously unissued tracks from the album session

Album Tracks:
Hello/ Goodbye
TV Screen
Landscape From A Dream
Images In Sand
Death Wish
Protect & Survive
Tropic Of Cancer
Monochrome Dance
46 Botanical Species
(Trying To Find) The Hidden World

links to album samples:
https://soundcloud.com/colortapes/modern-art-hellogoodbye
https://soundcloud.com/colortapes/modern-art-tv-screen
https://soundcloud.com/colortapes/modern-art-tropic-of-cancer

Catalogue number: Color LP 05
UPC: 778578999513