From the moment I first heard "Enmete" I knew I was going to love everything else Mulatu Astatke has released. This 10" ep, which I was lucky enough to find for 10 dollars!!!, was released on Soundway Records and is the best way to be introduce to the Ethiopian genius that is Mulatu Astatke. This is a guy that once you hear him, you think to yourself "How is it that I've gone this long without knowing who this guys is!" Highly Recommended!
When one thinks of the band Chromatics, they think of the italo/late night disco group fronted by the beautiful Ruth Radelet, but the band didn't start out sounding like this. It would be impossible to try to figure the band out based on their record label releases. They've gone from dirty/sassy/no-wave punk to danceable/Giorgio Moroder-inspired disco. They've also gone through many line-ups with Adam Miller being the only original member. To truly understand how they've transformed into the present-day Chromatics, you would have to listen to all of their self-released tour cd-r's. Since 2003, every time the Chromatics went on tour, they would sell cd-r's made specially for the tour.
http://www.zshare.net/download/59398013a3f52720/ Rat Life Vol. 1
Track Listing: 01. (Intro) 02. Ice Hatchets 03. Beach of Infants 04. Curtains 05. Jesus 06. Fertile Future 07. Love You 08. Crabs of Sunset 09. Three Hearts 10. In the Garden 11. Monarch 12. Thanks we're KRMTX
Line-up: Adam Miller - Vocals, Guitar, Drum Programs,Percussions Nat Sahlstrom - Bass
Rat Life Vol. 2
Track Listing: 01. Healer 02. Surrogate 03. Three Hearts 04. City Beds 05. Witness
Line-up: Adam Miller - Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Percussion, Melodica, Drum Pograms Nat Sahlstrom - Guitar, Bass, Drum Programs
Line-up: Lena Okazaki - Vocals, Bass, Melodica Adam Miller - Vocals, Guitar, Drum Programs Johnny Jewel - Piano, Drums, Arrangements
Unreleased TMU Sessions
Track Listing: 01. Jade, Diamonds, Rubies 02. Mannequin 03. Magic 04. Untitled #1 05. Hands in the Dark 06. Untitled #2 07. Nite Delivery 08. Witness (12" Instrumental Mix) 09. At the Door 10. Healer (12" Mix)
Line-up: Lena Okazaki - Vocals, Bass, Melodica Adam Miller - Vocals, Guitar, Drum Programs Johnny Jewel - Piano, Drums, Arrangements
Shining Violence Demos
Track Listing: 01. Birds of Paradise 02. Nite 03. Mere Secret 04. Beach of Infants 05. The Guest 06. Date with a Vocoder 07. Glass Slipper 08. City Beds
Line-up: Adam Miller - Vocals, Guitar Lena Okazaki - Vocals, Bass Johnny Jewel - Drums, Synthesizer
Fall 2006 Demos
Track Listing: 01. Shining Violence 02. In the City 03. Lady 04. Hotel 05. At the River 06. The Price of Love 07. Hands in the Dark 08. Icey Jungle 09. The Gemini 10. Animal Nitrate 11. Lanterns Flicker 12. The Wanderer 13. Shining Violence (Reprise) 14. Baby 15. The Guest
Line-up: Adam Miller, Johnny Jewel, Ruth Radelet
Chromatics Discography: Beach of Infants 7" (Hand Held Heart) Cavecare EP (Hand Held Heart) Arms Slither Away 7" (K Records) Chromatics/Die Monitr Batss split 7" (Gold Standard Labs) Chrome Rats vs. Basement Ruts (Gold Standard Labs) Ice Hatchets 7" (Gold Standard Labs) Rat Life Vol. 1 (Self-Released) Rat Life Vol. 2 (Self-Released) Plaster Hounds (Gold Standard Labs) Tour CD-R 2004 (Self-Released) Unreleased TMU Sessions (Self-Released) Healer 12" (Troubleman Unlimited) Shining Violence Demos (Self-Released) Nite EP (Troubleman Unlimited) Fall 2006 Demos (Self-Released) In the City 12" (Italians Do It Better) Nite Drive (Italians Do It Better)
*I'll be uploading a video of an old chromatics show circa-2004 when i find the DVD*
Track Listing:
