zeus b. held
ltm catalogue

Cult German producer and Vocoder maestro Zeus B. Held first made his name as keyboards player in progressive band Birth Control, afterwards becoming one half of pioneering electro duo Gina X Performance. Since then Zeus has produced and remixed a wide range of electronic and left-field artists, as well as composing for film and television. To read Zeus B. Held Vocoder essay click here. To purchase Zeus B. Held CDs click here.


ZEUS B. HELD VOICE VERSA BOUCD 6622 £10
This remastered compilation is drawn mainly from three solo albums (Attack Time, Europium and Zeus' Amusement) cut by Zeus between 1978 and 1981. The album also features a reworking of signature Gina X Performnce dance track Nice Mover, as well as a new edit of 1978 Eurodisco hit On the Road Again by Rockets, on which Zeus provided the Vocodered voice and percussion as well as harmonica and synth. Featuring 18 tracks with a running time of 74 minutes, the booklet features archive Zeus images together with an essay on his pioneering use of the Vocoder by Raphael Smarzoch, and artwork by Mickael Dard. The albums Zeus' Amusement (1978), Europium (1979) and Attack Time (1981) are also available as separate downloads. Full tracklist: Held It, On the Road Again (vv edit), Nice Mover (vv edit), Music, Musik, Musique…, Why Can't I Be a Singer? (vv edit), Fool on the Hill, Sagenhaft, Four Phases of an Imagist's Blue, Coloured Tan Go (vv edit), Mechanical Choir, Sound City Song, Europium, Goodbye Europe, Drive My Car, Cowboy on the Beach, Sound Trigger, Enfant Terrible, Intermezzo Nepalese (vv edit)

Reviews: 'Held's name might resonate for those who bought Fashion's second LP in 1982. Not only an electro pioneer who helped turn Streetplayer (Mechanik) and Love Shadow into minor hits in the early 80s, Held was also a keyboard cog in the Krautrock wheel of Birth Control. This compilation is stitched together from solo LPs and work with other artists such as Gina X, confirming that, like Tomita and Kraftwerk, Held had his finger firmly on the developing electronic pulse between 1978 and 1981. These 18 tracks sound like a summit meeting between Bruce Haack and Air, with Nice Mover proving as good as anything the French duo ever produced. On The Road Again melds electronics with a glam stomp to make a hit for The Rockets in 1978, while Held does a great line in cover versions, adding vocoder valium to Fool On The Hill and Drive My Car. 5 stars' (Record Collector, 07/2011); 'Songs with heavy rock bass and drums and vocodered choral vocals alternate with pure electronic interludes in a high gloss mix. A powerful and intriguing album' (Contemporary Keyboard, 04/1980)

......
The first three Zeus B. Held solo albums - Zeus' Amusement (BOUCD 6623), Europium (BOUCD 6624) and Attack Time (BOUCD 6625) - are also available as digital downloads.


BIRTH CONTROL BACKDOOR POSSIBILITIES + SARTORY LIVE BOUCD 6612 (2xCD) £12
Formed in Berlin in 1968, Birth Control were known for a progressive hard rock sound fused will elements of jazz, psychedelia and even Krautrock. A surreal concept work recorded by legendary Krautrock producer Conny Plank, Backdoor Possibilities arguably marked their final creative peak, combining rock, jazz and avant-garde styles with intricate polyrhythmic textures and lyrical nods to Faust and Odysseus. This remastered double disc edition of Backdoor Possibilities features three bonus live tracks recorded in Korbach on 1.5.1977, as well as a bonus live disc recorded at the famous Sartory Saal in Cologne on 24.9.1976. The booklet also includes archive BC photographs and ephemera. Full tracklist: Disc 1 (Backdoor Possibilities): Prologue, Physical and Mental Short Circuit, Subterranean Escape, Film of Life, Childhood Flash-Back, Legal Labyrinth, Futile Prayer, The Farrockaway Ropedancer, Le Moineau de Paris, Cha Cha D'Amour, Behind Grey Walls, No Time To Die, Meta Ventilator (live), Gamma Ray (live), Long Tall Sally (live); Disc 2 (Sartory Live): Plastic People, One First of April, BeeDeePees: Backdoor Possibilities, My Mind, La Cigüena De Zaragoza, Behind Grey Walls, Keyboard Solo/No Time To Die/Guitar Solo

Reviews: 'Once you've manfully taken on board the tiresome confluence of band name and album title here, there is in fact much to commend about this furiously busy set piece of German 70s prog. Despite being formed in Berlin in the revolutionary ferment of 1968 - and despite, in this instance, the presence behind the mixing desk of krautrock kingpin Conny Plank - Birth Control have little or nothing in common with otherworldly, envelope-pushing peers such as Can, Neu!, Kraftwerk and Faust. If anything, the band's rocky schtick is closer to the Nektar end of the spectrum, albeit replacing the latter's trippy stock-in-trade with a gimlet-eyed, mathematical, fusion-forged proficiency. 1976's Backdoor Possibilities is the band's sixth album, a diffusely conceptual undertaking bristling with complex instrumental subdivisions and parentheses. It's not an especially attractive sound, mind: exceptionally musical but hardly melodious, with keyboardist Zeus B Held's arcing ARP synths and Moogs the very embodiment of a cold, future-shock dystopia. It is, however, broadly representative of Birth Control's take-no-prisoners ethos if considered in tandem with the bonus live tracks, including a maniacal Long Tall Sally, which demonstrate just what gurning, crowd-coaxing monsters they were - and indeed still are - when taking to the stage' (Record Collector, 07/2011); 'Backdoor Possibilities" was BC's 6th album and followed the masterpiece "Plastic People" which has been oft overlooked. "Backdoor Possibilities" is an excellent concept based on a story about a corporate businessman who is trapped by his own success and who ultimately reflects on his life before meeting death in a subway. Overall, the music manages to maintain BC's typical hard rock sound, but is augmented with jazz and classical elements. The album is divided into three suites, 'One First Of April', 'Beedeepees', and 'La Ciguena De Zaragoza' with the latter being the strongest and closest to "Plastic People". Musically this album does it all with creative song writing, superb arrangements and some excellent playing. Line up was pretty much the same with Bernd Noske re-joining on lead vocals again. As you would expect the albums strength lies with in this inherent complexity and instrumental prowess. This album was very well recorded and sounds very warm with the Richenbacher bass runs and Farfisa and Arp Synths. The Remastered version offers a pretty solid re-interpretation of this album and contains bonus 1976 era BC recordings which are very good. Album was produced by 2 noted 70's prog producers - Conny Plank and David Hitchcock. This is a great album to get lost in' (ProgArchives, 2004)


GINA X PERFORMANCE NICE MOVER LTMCD 2450 £10
The classic first album, first released in the autumn of 1979 and now digitally remastered with 4 bonus tracks. Produced by Zeus B. Held and Martin Homberg, the album features cult singles No G.D.M. and Nice Mover, as well as the original version of Do It Yourself. Booklet includes full recording information and artist biography. Full tracklist: Nice Mover, No G.D.M., Plastic Surprise Box, Casablanca, Be A Boy, Exhibitionism, Black Sheep, Tropical Comic Strip, No G.D.M. (Berlin 1992 Mix), Nice Mover (7" edit), No G.D.M. (7" edit), Homage a B.B.

Reviews: "Like an artier Moroder, the noirish synth-funk textures provide the iciliy futuristic backdrop for gender-bending tales. 4 stars" (Uncut magazine, 06/05); "Pioneering electro-pop - hints of Kraftwerk, Nico and Studio 54-era Grace Jones" (Mojo, 09/05); "Did you ever wonder where Grace Jones and Miss Kittin learned all their moves? Look no further than Gina X Performances's 1979 electro new wave classic. The highly influential club singles Nice Mover and No G.D.M. are ground zero for the combination of cold-wave electro, cocaine-fuelled disco sleaze, dark cabaret and gender-bending performance aesthetics that would come to dominate the Berlin and NYC scenes during the early 1980s, and then again in the late 1990s" (brainwashed.com, 07/05); "Toying with sounds that would later dominate the Euro new wave scene for the next several years, the album is filled with electro, funk and cabaret stylings. Nice Mover is a slinky sexy cold wave creeper that brings to mind Amanda Lear hanging with Kraftwerk at Danceteria" (Catascopic.com); "This new wave avant-electro art prancing is so similar to today's product that I actually checked the CD case to see if this was secretly made in the past year, and packaged as a reissued for authenticity. But no, it's the real deal - tarty Cologne-tinged English lyrics of fashionable discontent (society, drugs) with music that could be Air around the time of their Virgin Suicides soundtrack. Hot damn, what a gem! Unlike your clothes that won't fit in the future, this does fit - and very very well" (Exclaim!, 07/05)


GINA X PERFORMANCE X-TRAORDINAIRE LTMCD 2453 £10
The second GXP album, originally released in 1980 and now digitally remastered with 4 bonus tracks. Again produced by Zeus B. Held and Martin Homberg, the album features Strip Tease and the singles Opposite Numbers and Do It Yourself as well as four bonus tracks. Booklet includes full recording information and detailed artist biography. Full tracklist: Strip Tease, Do It Yourself, Opposite Numbers, Cologne Intime, Weekend Twist, Nowhere Wolf, Vendor's Box, Ciao Caruso, Do It Yourself (7" edit), Waiting, Kanal Banal, Hypnosis/Hypnose.

Reviews: "The album is a beautifully sleek and feline creature that retains a clear relevance to today through acts like Goldfrapp, Ladytron and more mainstream ‘pop’ artists such as Scissor Sisters, with whom GXP share a common flirtation with provocatively sexual lyrics and gay/androgynous imagery. Musically we’re in Berlin Bowie meets Chic meets Giorgio Moroder territory and it’s a heady and provocative mix, particularly on the opening triptych of Striptease, Do It Yourself and Opposite Numbers. All three tracks sound fresh and wonderfully hedonistic with their evocative suggestion of fetishist decadence and liberated carnality in some dark underground Cologne club. X-traordinaire holds interest far beyond being merely a curio from the dawn of electronica, thanks to its rich and glossy production and the sophisticated multi-layering of electro-beats and melodic rhythms" (Whisperin' & Hollerin', 06/05); "Disco for the intellect, a new medium that's rich with style and provocation. Sexual sophistication, erudition, hipness and cosmopolitan lifestyle" (NME, August 1980); "Gina Kikoine's voice is spectral, witchy and quite compelling. Beneath the disingenuous Euro-disco surface there's a lot to absorb" (Melody Maker, August 1980)


GINA X PERFORMANCE VOYEUR LTMCD 2447 £10
The third album, again produced by Zeus and Martin Homberg, originally appeared in 1981 and was quickly deleted. In fact it's probably their most consistent long player, with stand out tracks including IC Code, Babylon Generation and Hypnosis. The four bonus tracks include a Psychonauts remix of No G.D.M. from the International DeeJay Gigolos label, two extended dub versions of No G.D.M. and Nice Mover by producer Steve D'Agostino, and the rare 12" mix of the Gainsbourg cover Harley Davidson from 1984. 13 tracks, 71 minutes of music. Full tracklist: IC Code, Horror Vacui, Babylon Generation, Kaddish, Video Dragueur, Hypnosis/Hypnose, Pederast Dissection, Hom Intern, Kiruna, No G.D.M. (Psychonauts mix), No G.D.M. (Steve D'Agostino version), Nice Mover (Steve D'Agostino version), Harley Davidson (100 MPH mix)

Reviews: "Voyeur was a radical response to the more straightforward synth-pop direction of the first two GXP albums, and is an enjoyable model of innovative club music that feels even more relevant now than ever. And tacked on to the end are some cool new remixes"(Exclaim!, 12/05)


GINA X YINGLISH + REMIXES LTMCD 2455 £10
The final album, from 1984, is credited simply to Gina X alone, but still produced and co-written by Zeus B. Held. Singles Harley Davidson and Drive My Car are joined by superior Gina X originals such as Waiting and Kanal Banal, as well as five bonus tracks from the remix album originally packaged with initial copies of Yinglish. 16 tracks, 76 minutes of music. Full tracklist: Drive My Car, Die Kunst Des Liebens, Harley Davidson, Thanatos Tanzt, French Lift, Kanal Banal, Londra, Waiting, En Vogue, BB 50, Martyr to Music, Drive My Car (Dance the Car), Kanal Banal (Basic Move), Londra II, Die Kunst Des Liebens (X-tra Long), Waiting (V-Speed)

Reviews: "It's a strong example of 80s left-field Europop, and if that era meant anything to you this will certainly work like a charm. Again bonus tracks are added, which only makes this an even bigger pleasure for maximum indulgence" (Exclaim!, 12/05))

To read Zeus B. Held vocoder essay click here
To purchase Zeus B. Held CDs click here.
Return to LTM homepage