Chris Manecke of Abecedarians gives a rare interview on a show from the 55 Shades of Blue KXLU radio archives (streamed via Soundcloud) in which he talks about recording Smiling Monarchs / Benway's Carnival (FAC 117) for Factory Records in the early Eighties.

The episode, from 2012, also features a play of the original demo mix of Smiling Monarchs before it was remixed by Bernard Sumner (Be Music) and Donald Johnson (DOJO).

Labels: Abecedarians, Bernard_Sumner, DoJo, interview, Soundcloud

Abecedarians, famous in Factory circles for their FAC 117 Smiling Monarch / Benway's Carnival 12" single have a major reissue/compilation out in a number of formats and special editions.

Over to Pylon Records for the full details:

On December 4th, 2012, Pylon Records will release, The Abecedarians Eureka album in its entirety for the first time on vinyl and CD. The band fronted by Chris Manecke, John Blake & Kevin Dolan, have roots in both post-punk and atmospheric 4AD pop, much like the Joy Division/New Order axis. They are also one of only two American bands to have a single on the legendary Factory Records.

This release collects all the songs from the Eureka era, including the demos, which were mixed down in the early 90s. Eureka will be a double vinyl, in a beautiful card stock gatefold jacket with a UV varnish of the memorable artwork, which has been restored, full lyric sheet and unseen photos of the band.

The first 300 copies of the Eureka album will be on blue colored vinyl, which will also come with a bonus CD, that will include rest of the Eureka era tracks. This will be only available from the Pylon website, the bonus cd will not be available with the commercial CD or the regular black vinyl version.

There will also be a very limited edition custom made Italian leather IPAD sleeves designed by our friends at Andrea Mercado and handmade in Los Angeles. Don't Sleep on this!!!

Lastly, no Abecedarian release can be complete without the legendary logo on beautiful dark blue and tan T-shirt, take your pick.

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Tracklisting

Ghosts
Soil
Beneath The City Of The Hedonistic Bohemians
I Glide
Mice & Coconut Tree
Misery Of Cities
Smiling Monarchs
Benway's Carnival
Switch
Other Side Of The Fence
They Said Tomorrow
Wildflower
John's Pop
Spaghetti Western

Eureka is available from the Pylon Store and other outlets.

Labels: Abecedarians

The latest instalment in LTM's compilation series Auteur Labels featuring cult American post-punk imprint Independent Project Records is released on 3 May 2010.

Founded by Bruce Licher of renowned experimental group Savage Republic in Los Angeles in 1980, IPR has released a raft of diverse records by groups as diverse as Camper Van Beethoven, For Against and Savage Republic themselves.

The Factory connection on this release comes from the inclusion of Benway's Carnival by Abecedarians which was the B-side of the debut 12" release FAC 117 Smiling Monarchs (which itself can be found on LTMCD 2534 Auteur Labels: Factory Records 1984.

The 78 minute remastered CD features 23 tracks, detailed label history and archive images.

LTMCD 2544 Auteur Labels: Independent Project Records

1. Savage Republic - The Ivory Coast
2. Human Hands - Dilemmas
3. Party Boys - Jim Jones
4. Ten Foot Faces - Don't Want Love
5. Camper Van Beethoven - Take The Skinheads Bowling
6. For Against - Shine
7. Deception Bay - Fence and Flag
8. Abecedarians - Benway's Carnival
9. Savage Republic - O Andonis
10. Woo - Down Town Suburbia
11. Indian Bingo - Separation Days
12. Red Temple Spirits - New Land
13. Autumnfair - So Far From God
14. Fourwaycross - Halloween
15. Half String - Eclipse
16. Tone - The Power of Introspection
17. Alison's Halo - Dozen
18. Scenic - Sage
19. Jeffrey Clark - Exploded View
20. Springhouse - Moving Van
21. Bruce Licher - Life Begets A Reprise
22. Project 197 - Nine
23. Bridge - Underground, Part 4 + Bridge

Labels: Abecedarians, Auteur_Labels, IPR, LTM

On 1 June, LTM releases a new volume in the ongoing compilation series Auteur Labels, featuring releases on Factory Records in 1984.

"Founded in late 1978, early Factory releases were guided by the five original directors: Tony Wilson, Alan Erasmus, Peter Saville, Martin Hannett and Rob Gretton. By 1984 Hannett had departed, and many Factory singles were produced by all four members of New Order under the generic name Be Music. These reflected the influence of New York dance and electro music, though the label's Haçienda nightclub was not yet a conspicuous success. Meanwhile the artier side of Factory remained evident in records by The Durutti Column and Kalima, and pop/rock in The Wake, Stockholm Monsters - and New Order themselves."

The 77 minute remastered CD features several rare edits and tracks, detailed liner notes by James Nice, and archive images.

Tracklisting

1. New Order Lonesome Tonight (7" Edit)
2. Stockholm Monsters Terror
3. The Wake Talk About The Past (7" Edit)
4. Section 25 Reflection
5. Marcel King Reach For Love (New York Remix)
6. 52nd Street Can't Afford (Unorganised Mix)
7. Quando Quango Atom Rock
8. Shark Vegas Pretenders Of Love
9. Abecedarians Smiling Monarchs
10. Red Turns To Deep Sleep
11. The Durutti Column Duet (Without Mercy)
12. Kalima The Smiling Hour
13. Simon Topping Chicas Del Mundo
14. Streetlife On Instinct
15. Lavolta Lakota Prayer

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Title: Auteur Labels: Factory Records 1984
Label: LTM
Cat No: LTMCD 2534
Released: 1 June 2009

Labels: 52nd_Street, Abecedarians, Auteur_Labels, Factory_Records, Kalima, Marcel_King, New_Order, Quando_Quango, Red_Turns_To, Section_25, Shark_Vegas, Stockholm_Monsters, Streetlife, The_Durutti_Column, The_Wake, Tony_Wilson

Chris Salmon in yesterday's Guardian showcases the NYC-based Sound Bites mp3 blog which has compiled an excellent tribute to Tony Wilson by way of a compilation of some of the lesser-known Factory bands including The Adventure Babies, Abecedarians and Tunnelvision plus ten others.

Labels: Abecedarians, Adventure_Babies, Tony_Wilson, Tunnelvision

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