V/A - Russian Punk

This one's shrouded in mystery due to lack of a track listing, but aside from a couple stinkers there's some cool stuff on here. It was among a ton of other ex-Soviet era punk tapes I bought off an old tape trader who needed to make some space. One funny thing is, nearly every track on here sounds like it has electronic drums! Most of it is on the faster and more hardcore, or sometimes metallic side of the spectrum. For the ambitious downloader...

RUSSIAN PUNK 

REJESTRACJA - Live Kwiecień 1986

This is some kind of old tape-trader copy of a great live set from this classic Polish punk band. Interesting song arrangements, commanding vocal chants, and an all-consuming reverbed guitar sound. This band never did a "proper" studio recording, but this material stands pretty strong on it's own. A shame though, because REJESTRACJA were incredible and unique sounding, and are considered one of the most monumental Polish punk bands. 

REJESTRACJA

KAFKA PROSESS - Live 1987

More live KAFKA PROSESS; same venue as the previous post, but a year later. Notable moments on here: one untitled track that I haven't heard recorded anywhere else - and a boss 7 SECONDS cover! I think I prefer the set I posted from 1986, it's a little more intense, but this one's still great and essential for my fellow Norwegian HC/Euro HC fanatics! 

KAFKA PROSESS Live '87

KAFKA PROSESS - Live 1986

A special post of rare stuff today from the almighty KAFKA PROSESS, live at the legendary Danish squat, gifted to me by the same friend who gave me the live SVART FRAMTID stuff I shared before. I shouldn't need to hype this up much more or explain what will happen when you downloadi it. A few notable things - the instrumental intro rules and builds up the energy for the set perfectly, only to have a technical difficulty with a guitar interrupt it all. AND  "Ingen Vits a Grate" is not on their Skuld discography LP, and I never heard it anywhere before I got this CD-R. Sound quality is pretty great throughout this whole recording. 

KAFKA PROSESS Live '86

PARAF - Izleti LP

I don't share much post punk or new wave stuff on here, so you may not know of my affinity with such sounds. PARAF's second album is a big departure from their preceding single and album of raw catchy '77 style punk, but it's no less amazing. Here they've added a strong woman vocalist and switched their sound to more darkwave/post punk, complete with vibrant keyboard lines. They are considered one of Croatia's classic punk bands, so if you haven't heard them and don't mind starting with the dark post-punk/wave material, this one's the best! Also, if anyone has a copy of the Fini Dečko / Tužne Uši single for fair  price/trade, I'm in need of the vinyl only - I have a sleeve and a cracked disc! 

PARAF - IZLETI LP

J.M.K.E. - Kylmälle Maalle LP

I don't mean to brag, but man, I have had some incredible record-scoring luck lately. MUSIC NOT NOIZE will surely be the best way for me to obsess over and share my findings of the last weeks, especially in the case of today's post. I walked into Amoeba Records in SF today for the first time in ages and pulled this monster out of the new arrivals bin - straight from the top bracket of my (mental) wantlist, the elusive first LP by Estonian punk pioneers J.M.K.E.! Not the type of thing you expect to pull out of a bin on the other side of the globe from its origin! The music is lively and upbeat, surging with melodies of the East and brimming with stories from a radical mind in a cold and guarded place. This album came out right on the cusp of Estonia's independence from the Soviet rule, but that spirit isn't the only reason to appreciate this LP - the sounds just croon, move, build, and explode all the way through. It's really the sound of an isolated group of punks expressing and releasing all of their thoughts and emotions in a maelstrom of punk brilliance! 

JMKE LP

A story from the label guy

Love this label!

FREEDUMB - The Freedumb X-pedition EP

I got a stack of these in a trade back when it came out and I've been trying to turn people on to it all along! Most people don't seem to dig it as hard as I do, but I listen to this today and still think it's just perfect. FREEDUMB totally captured the classic Norwegian hc/punk sound of bands like SO MUCH HATE and STENGTE DORER on this EP. The pairing of sharp melodic guitar parts and desperate screams is just uncanny. I see this in dollar bins all the time and it's an unsuspecting scorcher, so pick it up! 

FREEDUMB EP