From the vaults of the Czechoslovak underground – Quarantaine’s Lichtempfindlich
Published May, 2013
by Easterndaze
CS Industrial has recently started as a Facebook page digging out Czech and Slovak industrial and EBM tinged videos and tracks from the period between 1982 and 2010, in a way effectively creating an online archive documenting the birth of Czech and Slovak electronic scene, which considering the political and societal conditions at the time this music was made, is also an expression of the then zeitgeist. The industrial electronic scene, with its guttural alienated atmospheres and paranoid undercurrents in Czechoslovakia has always been strong.
CS Industrial in a step that is only natural, has just brought out its first bandcamp release by Quarantaine, a project that has caught my ear as soon as they posted it on FB. The original project “was ephemerous collaboration between Jaroslav Palat and Slavek Kwi, active in early 80ties in Prague, former Czechoslovakia.” Their album Lichtempfindlich was recorded in Prague in 1984 and self-published on cassette in 1985, is a manifesto of this “ephemeral” collaboration, which even after 30 years, stands the test of time. In a way, it reminds me of Smersh’s proto primitive electro/post punk experiments, with their rough around the edges, but maximally charming compositions, recorded every Monday and never replayed.
The Quarantaine album is a free download, so make sure to get it, while it’s there.