Tuesday, December 21, 2004  8:20 pm 

Electronic Northern Soul

Stazi – World of Temptation

So this man walks into a bar and says Stazi come across like Soft Cell with a little bit of Phoenix Nights magic.

My mother in law saw Stazi and said they do a hefty bit of Wigan casino (no bingo) but with the electronic beats of The Human League (or BEF) going out to all the ravers. If you got some fancy foot moves, you’ll look great doing any kind of side and spin back and spin combination, with a bit of a step back and a slide. Bring talken powder (always wondered what it was for).

Rowetta from the Happy Mondays and that shite X Factor program (she was robbed) says this is obviously a bloody good thing, and then sings the backing vocals for them.

Stazi already put out the heart wrenching ballad The Drifter, which is the best early Scott Walker song in 20 years (I’m not counting Tilt, that’s late Scott). Love is Lethal is a belter with proper singing too. They even do a bit of classical stuff (Bolero) on Torvill and Dean.

Past all the humour its got true sincerity of emotion and a sense of genuine love for the music they are doing. Electronic northern soul is not done very much any more (or in the first place), so for those of us that love it Stazi are a call to arms and the dancefloor.

Stazi are on Chips Records, and being from The North I like Chips With Everything.

The picture above is from Stazi’s How Sleazy do You Want it? single by Superdead who does the great artwork for Chips, go see his stuff.

From the Stazi web site :

Stazi will be embarking on a European tour using two inter-rail tickets in April. We already have gigs in Budapest and Italy and are looking for others. If you run a club or know anyone who does please email stazi@chipsrecords.co.uk as we are looking for gigs in weird and wonderful places.

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