Wait...Who? Don't let the peculiar name distract you from the raw genius of this track. This masterpiece marked the genesis of Italo thoroughbred label Il Discotto Productions in 1982. By the way, you can learn a ton about vintage vocoders by watching our vocoder youtube playlist or checking out our friends over at Matrixsynth. http://youtu.be/qu4NpVvjeQo

SCHEMATIC: More vocoder intel...

100% addicted to this song. Which is a serious problem, because other than this single, solitary video, I can find no trace of the band's existence. Anywhere. Are vinyl pressings gathering dust somewhere in Argentina? A handsome reward for any information leading to my successful capture of this track on wax.

SCHEMATIC: The real story...

But wait! The plot thickens! I found this video by the Dutch band, Nova for their first single, Aurora from 1981. Same video. Different song. Same band???!!

I tracked down the following picture of Nova performing on TopPop (TV) in April of 1982. The photo features band members Rob Papen and Ruud van Es. Based on this new evidence, the videos clearly feature Nova. But the original questions still remain.

I got in touch with Ignacio, who originally posted the Los Autómatas video. It turns out that he made this video as a joke using his own music that he put together in an hour or two!! The actual song is Systenova - Viaje Espacial.  "Systenova" is his pseudonym for Italo-Disco, HiNRG, Spacesynth, Synth-pop, Disco, Acid Techno, etc...

You can find some old unfinished/abandon demos on youtube and myspace.

Once I listened to Viaje Espacial using headphonesm, the digital production value really came through. I was duped. But so what?! I'm happy we now have an ally in Argentina!

Thanks Ignacio!!

This frenchman is pretty much off his rocker.

I don't know why I'm on this jamón synth kick lately, but after you peep these vids, I doubt you'll blame me! Madrid-based Aviador Dro recorded some of the most leftfield minimal wave synth punk ever made. The following videos are from their obscure period in the early 1980s. Check those pre-acid synth lines! To top it all off, their penchant for industrially-themed costumes gave the music a whack post-apocalyptic feel. Substantially all their music in the 1980s was published on their own label, DRO. Enjoy!

El Nascimiento de la Industria (1982) off the DRO compilation "Navidades Radiactivas"

SCHEMATIC: Four more videos to up your nerd experience points...

A2

Laser (1980) off their first 7" release "La Chica de Plexiglas"

A2

Nuclear, Sí (1982) off the 12" release "Nuclear, Sí"

A2

La Televisión Es Nutritiva (1982) off the "Alas Sobre El Mundo" LP

A2

Selector de Frecuencias (1982) off the "Alas Sobre El Mundo" LP

A2

Selector de Frecuencias - Live (1984) broadcast on "El Programa La Edad de Oro Visita"

Virtually Nothing is known about this Montréal (?) group, but I've deduced what is going on here: Iko was an android trio from the future that traveled back in time to 1982 in order to learn what it meant to be human in the decades just preceding the merger of man and machine. Archetypal and powerful nerd music.

http://youtu.be/sl6cbHCnE98

Only 500 copies of this LP sold. So if you account for DJ/radio promos, maybe 1,000 were even pressed, making this gem truly obscure. The $100+ price tag for this album is one of the deals of the century.

'83 is presented here in its entirety, ripped from my mint copy at 24bit/96kHz and converted to MP3 at 196 kbps for optimal sound quality. I also found and posted two unreleased tracks (9 & 10) for posterity.

SCHEMATIC: MP3s, album review and cover artwork...

Presenting neither a robotic dystopia nor a sci-fi fantasy, instead ‘83 reveals our own robotic inclinations and highlights the struggle of the human soul to escape mechanization. The album envelops its listeners in a blanket of meditative synthesis, instructive beats, poignant lyrics and strangely syncopated accents reminiscent of the abstract music created from DNA sequences.

The coldly humanoid vocals are sung in both French and English. Iko must have spent considerable time in Montréal to pick up that distinctive Quebecois accent in both languages. But then again, their speech recognition and simulation circuitry was probably quite advanced.

Thank you DAX (synthesized harmonies & melodies, voice), U-GEN (triggered & synthesized melodies, voice) and ZAO (computed rhytm & bass, voice), whenever you are.

A1) Elevator

[audio:http://www.innernerd.de/audio/Iko/Iko_Elevator.mp3|titles=Elevator|artists=Iko]

A2

A2) Gonadotropic Synthesis

[audio:http://www.innernerd.de/audio/Iko/Iko_Gonadotropic_Synthesis.mp3|titles=Gonadotropic Synthesis|artists=Iko]

A2

A3) Subway 49

[audio:http://www.innernerd.de/audio/Iko/Iko_Subway_49.mp3|titles=Suybway 49|artists=Iko]

A2

A4) Communication Off

[audio:http://www.innernerd.de/audio/Iko/Iko_Communication_Off.mp3|titles=Communication Off|artists=Iko]

A2

B1) Approach on Tokyo

[audio:http://www.innernerd.de/audio/Iko/Iko_Approach_on_Tokyo.mp3|titles=Approach on Tokyo|artists=Iko]

A2

B2) Digital Delight

[audio:http://www.innernerd.de/audio/Iko/Iko_Digital_Delight.mp3|titles=Digital Delight|artists=Iko]

A2

B3) Model Type A

[audio:http://www.innernerd.de/audio/Iko/Iko_Model_Type_A.mp3|titles=Model Type A|artists=Iko]

A2

B4) Radioactive Mist

[audio:http://www.innernerd.de/audio/Iko/Iko_Radioactive_Mist.mp3|titles=Radioactive Mist|artists=Iko]

A2

***  Military Service (non-album track)

[audio:http://www.innernerd.de/audio/Iko/Iko_Military_Service.mp3|titles=Military Service (non-album track)|artists=Iko]

A2

***  Surrender to the Dream (non-album track)

[audio:http://www.innernerd.de/audio/Iko/Iko_Surrender_to_the_Dream.mp3|titles=Surrender to the Dream (non-album track)|artists=Iko]