Amsterdam, 1982. Smoke fills the streets, squatters clash violently with the police, uprising is in the air. In this disorderly mess, the worlds of activism, art, fashion, and nightlife converged into an explosion of creativity. Amidst all of this Electric Party, the brainchild of René van Rijn, released the ‘Work’ tape on Amsterdam label Fetisj, now a cult cassette for the few who remember.
Forty years ago they created this unique blend of no wave, mutant disco, funk, and experimental music. It was around the time of the rise of the members-only club Mazzo, with all its prominent figures, the anarchy of the squatting movement, and the art academy connection. Everything took place in this inebriated twilight zone of blissful joy.
This record consists of 3 of the best tracks from the ‘Work’ tape and 6 unreleased tracks from forgotten cassette tapes, all remastered and restored where necessary. Among them the unreleased anthem ‘Caribe’, which was recorded in Spain as the opening track for a Spanish discotheque in 1987.
We worked 4 years to tie the strings together and we’re more than excited to release it, with its marvelous background story, well captured in liner notes written by Hannah Pezzack, and printed on a full-color inner sleeve.
Re-mastered by Wouter Brandenburg and designed by Steele Bonus.
And special thanks to Marco van Dalfsen from Diggin’ Demos for his help and dedication in the process of finding Electric Party.
Listen / Purchase
Review
Amsterdam’s Electric Party pack more wobbly bounce to the ounce than your average waver in a strong comp of their hard-to-find 1982 output – RIYL Saâda Bonaire, Lifetones, Material
Drawn from their sole full release, ‘Work’ as well as compilation and demo cuts that have surfaced in recent years, ‘Play’ frames the four-piece at their low-key funkiest, echoing disco-not-disco and new wave trends from New York and London in nine svelte tunes built around synths, bass guitar, puckered vox and snaky Roland drum machines.
40 years after they were made, the tunes surely hold up to spec for the retro-futurists with a strong haul of that sits between many poles, variously taking in the lilting dub-rock of ‘Caribe’ on a Saâda Bonaire-meets-ACR tip, and what sounds like a funked up Nine Circles in ‘Tension,’ along with a freakish adjunct to Funkadelic in the alien voices and splashy fonk of ‘Words From The Underground,’ with a killer cut of YMO-esque new wave flush with cod-Eastern tones in ‘Imagine A Blind Man Dreaming.’
Boomkat