Blancmange formed in Middlesex, England, 1979, is Neil Arthur and Stephen Lunscombe. They recorded this short run EP of synth pop, eastern rhythms and no wave aesthetic. The simplicity of this release makes it beautiful. Its a light-hearted romp through laidback yet dancey, goofy yet elegant off kilter pop. 
Swiss band Grauzone was one of the most creative bands of the post-punk era. Most people will never know who they are because they only recorded one album and some singles. This is a shame. They had it all: rock, disco, synth-punk and pop, all with a genuine approach that really connects emotionally. The recording is meticulously approached. Too mature for a band that was together so briefly. You're gonna thank me for this one.
Ok. So, I'm definitely gonna take some shit for this one. British spoken word artist / poet / composer Anne Clark made one of my favorite breakbeat / electro songs in '83 with "Sleeper in Metropolis". Its definitely over the top and you probably won't listen to the entire effort but there's just something endearing about her voice with these beats and synths. It feels like a dance party that could have happened when the film version of Orwell's "1984" was finally complete. With this kind of melancholy existentialist funk, one can only imagine Annie Lennox doing the worm with John Hurt at a Gay Pride parade... and who can't get down on that??
I've recently fallen in love with the Dark Entries label. They are re-issuing a ludicrous amount of early 80's synth-based acts that fell through the cracks. Limiting the LP's to 500 hand-numbered copies, they are creating a bit of hysteria. Here is a cassette release that is blowing my mind. By the time of this, their second album, Nagamatzu had moved from Ipswich to London, Stephen Jarvis (SETI, Legion, Terror Against Terror) & Andrew Lagowski (Pure Motorised Instinct, Terraform) were on a distinctive coldwave / post-punk / synthwave tip manifested by hollow-feeling drum machines, cheap synths, minimal guitars and sparsely placed vocals. The name is taken from J.G. Ballard's novel "Atrocity Exhibition" (seems to have been the most influential book of the coldwave scene) and sounds as dystopian as you would imagine.
In 1976, Maurizio Arcieri and his wife Christina Moser formed the duo under the name 'Chrisma." That year, the couple moved from Milan to London to record "U" and "Amore" with the producer Nico Papathanassiou and his brother Vangelis (yes, THE Vangelis). Their collaboration with Papathanassiou and Vangelis continued through 1978. During this time, the duo recorded the album "Chinese Restaurant." 
