Mastodawn

Some great music from the 80s, no.35

Ultravox, Vienna

Ultravox's signature hit is a wonderfully atmospheric slow electro-driven mood piece. With its crescendos & quiet sections, marrying electronics & acoustic piano, it combines a pop sensibility with (a quiet) avant-gardism, drawing from contemporary electronic music. And if you detect the influence of Kraftwerk in the later up-tempo section, then you'd be right. The sound of 1981 summed up in less than 5mins

#music #80sClassics

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Charlie Stross 4d ago

@ChrisMayLA6 The whole album is a triumph. I'd have to single out Western Promise and New Europeans as gems, though. And Astradyne (the band's regular intro during their later tours). And maybe Mr. X—

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Ian Betteridge 4d ago

@cstross @ChrisMayLA6 Oh Astradyne is amazing.

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Charlie Stross

@ianbetteridge @ChrisMayLA6 You can still see it live: I mean, is a band a tribute band if its front man is the original lead singer? (Look for Midge Ure touring with Band Electronica. Midge is still banging it out even though he's 70, but some of the others in the original line-up are older and retired for good, hence no more Ultravox after the 2011 tour.)