aaamusic | On 09, Nov 2010

Mannequin is more than enthusiastic to announce the re-release of both the LPs (“Multiple Choice” from 1980 and “Regular Guys” from 1985) plus the 2 singles seven inches “Saturday Night / Sunday Morning” and “A Circuit Like Me” from this legendary minimal synth band from Australia.

The group was an integral part of the early electronic music scene in Australia and their releases have become a collector’s item in Europe, as they are mostly impossibile to find.

The Metronomes first appeared in Melbourne in 1979, initial members were rock journo-synth player Al Webb, the bass player Andrew Picouleau (Secret Police, Sacred Cowboys) and the synth-pioneer Ash Wednesday, nowdays a live tour member of Einsturzende Neubauten. Al himself will admit later that Ash’s ingenuity in creating something out of very little was the key to the Metronomes sounding as ‘produced’ as they did.

If their first 7’’ single “Saturday Night / Sunday Morning” came out in 1980, featuring a real metronome as rhythm section with instrumentals layered over, instead the second ‘A Circuit Like Me / Closed Circuit’ from 1980 is addice more to experimentation with drum machines, rhytm sections for both sides were recorded using a borrowed Roland CR 78. It was the first time in their compositions that a vocal had been used, courtesy of a lady called Talking Judy.

The first full-lenght ‘Multiple Choice’ was recorded in the winter of 1980, using Roland Strings, a mini-Korg, some Arp synthesizers and a Boss Dr-55, a drum machine that was intensivly used by many minimal synth bands during the 80s and by legendary bands like Sisters of Mercy or New Order in their first songs.

The second album ‘Regular Guys’, published in 1985, was recorded after a break in which all the members various lives and careers took left and right hand turns, surely more premeditated, as most of the songs arrived in studio already written. Each writer had creative contro lover their respective songs, a long-standing
Metronomes road rule, only one track had what you might call a spontaneous birth. The LP featured the next wave of synth toys like the Oberheim synth, Oberheim drum machine and Prophet 5. Once the programming was set up, the instrument tracks were dumper via a PCM box direct to video tape, a pioneeristic process which almost entirely eliminated tape hiss.

Record features//

2×12’’ black vinyl, 33 1/3 rpm (Multiple Choice LP + Regular Guys LP)
7’’ black vinyl, 33 1/3 (Saturday Night / Sunday Morning 7’’ + A Circuit Like Me 7’’)
Handnumbered limited pressing of 500 copies
Gatefold cover for the 2LP with rare pictures
Insert with The Metronomes history by former member Al Webb
First 100 copies will include a 3 tracks BONUS CD-r “The Metronomes Play Their Favourites”

http://www.metronomes.com.au // http://www.ash-wednesday.com/metronomes.htm

http://www.mannequinmailorder.com // http://soundcloud.com/mannequin-label
http://Mannequin.official.fm // http://www.myspace.com/mannequinmailorder