011983
Mr. Henri Rousseau's Dream
Midori Takada
Through the Looking Glass · Japan
MinimalismPercussionAmbient
A solo percussionist's waking dream, built from marimba, gongs and chimes into a slow, breathing polyrhythm.
Deep Cuts / Edition 02
Synthesized Dreams & Hypnotic Grooves
Ten under-the-radar gems from the late 70s and 80s - synthesizer dreams, hypnotic grooves, and the records the crate-diggers found before the rest of us. Each one gets the full story: the gear, the sessions, the context, and the samples it left behind.
Curated by Maarten van Gent@maartenvangent
- Tracks
- 10
- Years
- 1971 - 1994
- Countries
- 6
About this edition
Edition 02 is a listening session for records that never quite got their flowers - the ones that lived in the margins of the 70s and 80s until a sampler or a reissue brought them back. What they share is a pulse you can't shake: marimbas circling in slow motion, sequencers running for an hour, a Rhodes chord left to ring.
Some of these records changed dance music without ever being played in a club. Others became the secret DNA of hip-hop. A few just sound like a perfect summer. All of them reward a long listen - so press play, read the notes, and mark your way through the set.
Track index
Ten records, one thread
Filter by decade or origin, then jump into the full write-ups below. Every track plays in place.
Decade
Origin
10 of 10 tracks shown
- 01Midori Takada - Mr. Henri Rousseau's Dream1983 · Japan
- 02Haruomi Hosono - Sports Men1982 · Japan
- 03Cortex - Troupeau Bleu1975 · France
- 04Manuel Göttsching - E2-E41984 · Germany
- 05Arthur Russell - This Is How We Walk on the Moon1994 · USA
- 06Masayoshi Takanaka - Tropic Birds1976 · Japan
- 07Klaus Schulze - Bayreuth Return1975 · Germany
- 08Placebo (Marc Moulin) - Humpty Dumpty1971 · Belgium
- 09Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Fire1979 · France
- 10Gigi Masin - Clouds1989 · Italy
The deep cuts
Full liner notes
Open a track to read the story - the gear, the sessions, the context - and press play right there.
021982
Sports Men
Haruomi Hosono
Philharmony · Japan
Synth-popElectroCity pop
Playful, off-kilter synth-pop from the YMO co-founder, built on early sampler tech and a boxy LinnDrum groove.
031975
Troupeau Bleu
Cortex
Troupeau Bleu · France
Jazz-funkBossa-funkLibrary soul
French jazz-funk with a velvet Fender Rhodes lead, later mined into some of hip-hop's most famous beats.
041984 · rec. 1981
E2-E4
Manuel Göttsching
E2-E4 · Germany
MinimalProto-houseElectronic
A single, improvised, hour-long synth suite that became a founding document of house and techno.
051994 · rec. mid-1980s
This Is How We Walk on the Moon
Arthur Russell
Another Thought · USA
Avant-popCelloDowntown
Cello run through echo chambers over a pulsing kick drum - otherworldly avant-pop from the downtown New York scene.
061976
Tropic Birds
Masayoshi Takanaka
Seychellen · Japan
Jazz-fusionCity popGuitar
Sun-drenched Japanese fusion built on a bright, singing Yamaha SG guitar tone and an immaculate summer groove.
071975
Bayreuth Return
Klaus Schulze
Timewind · Germany
KosmischeSpace musicElectronic
A long, unfolding cosmic journey from the Berlin school, built on an EMS Synthi A and modular Moog sequencers.
081971
Humpty Dumpty
Placebo (Marc Moulin)
Ball of Eyes · Belgium
Jazz-rockFunkSoul-jazz
Belgian jazz-rock with a crunchy electric piano riff and a funky soul-jazz groove, later flipped by J Dilla.
091979
Fire
Lizzy Mercier Descloux
Press Color · France
Mutant discoNo-waveFunk
A raw, off-kilter no-wave funk take on Arthur Brown's Fire, recorded in New York for Ze Records.
101989
Clouds
Gigi Masin
Les Nouvelles Musiques De Chambre Vol. 2 · Italy
AmbientNew ageTape music
Haunting electric piano over ambient tape loops, later sampled by Björk and Nujabes.