Hot chicks singing over synth punk???! Sexually charged lyrics, punk angst and synthy goodness earn Malaria! (and others like Honey Bane, The Slits and Pylon) a cherished place in my cybernetic heart.  It all happened during a very brief period of time when hot, punk-rocking chicks teamed up with dub producers and took the disco by storm.

SCHEMATIC: A veritable cornucopia of punk disco...

Honey Bane - Guilty (Dub) (1980)

Honey Bane - Guilty (Vocal) (1980)

Pylon - Cool (1979)

The Slits - I Heard It Through The Grapevine/Bassline (1979)

Italian film composer and experimental synth maestro Giombini put up this track sometime in the early 1980s as a promo for the Commodore 64. I wonder if this video somehow inspired the seminal film, Weird Science?

SCHEMATIC: Cuts from Giombini's landmark 1981 LP Astromusic Synthesizer...

Man, have I ever been there?! There is a ubiquitous sample in this track at 1:53 followed by a pretty sick instrumental jam. I can see why Johnny Jewel (Italians Do It Better) moved to Montreal: This is how chicks dress there. Thank you American Apparel.2

Shangaied (Music Video Version)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOJW_Z9gSIM

SCHEMATIC: LP and 12" extended versions...

Shangaied (LP Version)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQcsCyiBWWw

Shangaied (12" Extended Version)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxgWQCr8tFo&feature=fvsr

Dark, italo alchemy at its finest! Although somewhat of a false alarm since Decadance members Franco Rago and Gigi Farina were also responsible for 'Lectric Workers' tasty italo-biscuit Robot is Systematic, this is the one and only Decadance experiment.  The twisted lyrics are a perfect match for the track's underground, synthy goodness.

SCHEMATIC: Album cover and record label scans...

Vive La Synth Baguette!!! The life of an anachronist is no picnic: One's soul (do robots have souls?) is spread across time like brie on pain chaud. Fortunately for those of us stuck surfing time-space, there is music this good to keep us afloat. Minimal Wave nails it again with another anthology repress, this time by French duo, Deux. Might as well double-up on the vinyl while you're there buying Futurisk Player Piano LP to save on shipping. If you're feeling flush, I would pick up the Medio Mutante EP, Inestable single, too.

SCHEMATIC: Not convinced?! Check out the full Deux posting HERE!!!