Level 42 - The Complete Polydor Years 1980-1984 (2021) {10CD Set, Polydor–Robinsongs ROBINBX45}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 3.99 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 1.33 Gb
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© 1980-84, 2021 Polydor / Robinsongs / Cherry Red | ROBINBX4
Jazz / Sophisti-Pop / Contemporary Pop / Dance Rock / Jazz Funk / New Wave / Synth Pop

Formed in the last embers of the 70’s Level 42 started as a Jazz Fusion band before embracing dance rock for which they would be best known. The band’s first single Love Meeting Love was released in 1980 to much critical acclaim which led to the debut album, the self-titled Level 42 which charted in the top 20. Throughout the 80’s the band released numerous albums and toured regularly building a large and devoted fan base – these early years are featured here. Volume One contains all the Level 42 albums from 1981 – 1984 in their original glory. Discs 6 -10 contain all the B-Sides, 7” Mixes, remixes and rare versions from those eras. Compiled in conjunction with Level 42 and band experts Paul Wallace, Paul Waller and Simon Carson. The band go out on a major tour in 2021 and are fully involved with the release of this box set. This beauty is PART ONE! PART TWO to follow…

Howard Jones - In The Running (1992) {2021 Cherry Red, Remastered & Expanded}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44.1kHz - Official Digital Download -> 1.49 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 541 Mb
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© 1992, 2021 Elektra / Cherry Red | PCDEXRED832
Synth-Pop / Adult Contemporary / New Wave / Dance Rock

Digitally remastered edition of Howard Jones fifth and final long player album for Warner Bros. Released in April 1992, the album was produced by Jones with Ross Cullum, whom he had worked with on his previous album Cross That Line. Rupert Hine was the album's Executive Producer and it was mixed by Bob Clearmountain. In The Running marked a conscious move away from the use of electronic instrumentation towards more piano based melodies.

Silicon Dream was a synthpop band formed by the German Klaus Munzert in 1987. Other prominent members were the dancers Angelo and Danny, who featured on the band's music videos.
Inspired by bands such as Kraftwerk and Depeche Mode, the band came to life following Munzert's experimentations with samplers and his desire to have fun onstage dressed up, even though other people still managed to recognize him. The band's sound was similar to contemporary acts such as Off and 16 Bit, Silicon Dream performing live with the latter.

Angelique Kidjo has alienated some musicians and fans who want her to do traditional African music rather than mix and match her slashing delivery with rock, R&B and pop elements and arrangements. But Kidjo doesn't want to do a strictly African date. She recorded five numbers at Paisley Park studios, and they reflect the punchy guitar and synth-dominated Minneapolis sound. The other five tunes were recorded in London, with both a dance-soul flavor and nice horn backing and arrangements. Kidjo hasn't done a sellout album, despite singing in English on some cuts (another move designed to anger some of the hardcore). Rather, she's trying to link all her interests and do a respectable pop effort with some African elements.

Alphaville's 1984 debut, Forever Young, deserves to be viewed as a classic synth pop album. There's no doubting that Germans are behind the crystalline Teutonic textures and massive beats that permeate the album, but vocalist Marian Gold's impressive ability to handle a Bryan Ferry croon and many impassioned high passages meant the album would have worldwide appeal. Indeed both "Big in Japan" and the touching, sad change-of-pace "Forever Young" raced up the charts in multiple continents…

Soft Cell - Cruelty Without Beauty (2020) {2CD Set, A Big Frock Rekord ABF5CD, Deluxe Edition rec 2002}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.08 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 372 Mb
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© 2002, 2020 Cooking Vinyl / A Big Frock Rekord | ABF5CD
Pop / Adult Alternative Pop / New Romantic / New Wave / Synth Pop / Dance-Pop

Soft Cell’s 2002 reunion album ‘Cruelty Without Beauty’ has been reissued in new expanded and remastered 2CD and digital formats, as well as on double-vinyl for the very first time. Long regarded by many fans as an overlooked masterpiece, the album features a lyrical outlook that was as true to Soft Cell’s maturity and perspective back in 2002 as it is relevant and accurate to the world situation in 2020. Harshly honest, fatalistic and bleakly humorous, Cruelty Without Beauty also preserves the band’s highly distinctive and edgy sound, and stands alongside their greatest work.

Rejecting the abrasive guitars of their punk-era contemporaries in favor of lushly romantic synthesizers, Ultravox emerged as one of the primary influences on the British electro-pop movement of the early '80s. Formed in London in 1974, the group – originally dubbed Ultravox! – was led by vocalist and keyboardist John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh), whose interest in synths and cutting-edge technology began during his school years…