Videosex – Videosex

decent sounding reissue, poorly reproduced cover, horrible liner notes - instead of explaining the technicalities of making such an amazing album, the authors focused on "taboo" lyrics...

Does anybody know if this great record included originaly a booklet with lyrics?

This pressing sounds AMAZING! Such a cool group and the repressing done justice by utilizing the original master tapes.

I could be fantasizing here, but... Stereo MC's used the clean chord at the start of 2nd trtack 'Ana' as the basis for their hit single?... I might be losing it...

Anyway what a horrid, nasty record... Only manged to skip through 3 tracks, like, couldn't force any more than that on myself...

Thank you Rush Hour for this one, this was a cult group cult album from former Yugoslavia. And the music from that era from Yugoslavia goes hand in hand with anything you can think of.

Young, provocative and daring - three words that describe Videosex at best. Their first two records are like the most intimate letter of a fantasist who often crosses into the "forbidden" territory. Homoeroticism, voyeurism, violence and death were quite evident in the lyrics, the songs characterised by prevailing melancholy while given a deceptively catchy tune.

Oddly enough, "Videosex 84" seems more like a compilation - despite its eclectic charm, these early songs of theirs do suffer between them due to a bit of inconsistency; both, "Moja mama" ("My mother") and "Kako bih volio da si tu" ("How I wish you were here") originally came out on a 7" single prior to the album´s release. Compared to the remaining segment of the very LP, these two stand out in every way, almost as "demos".

"Moja mama" was a considerable hit at the time, and remains a club favourite to the present day - the history has it, Videosex actually covered the song (originally penned by another Slovenian band - Kuzle, its line up featuring some of Videosex's founder members). It's a strange little story about a suicide with hints at family issues (spousal abuse, child negligence). "Kako bih volio da si tu" is about masturbation - Videosex superbly camouflaged their daring subject matters within the lyrics sheet, avoiding censorship, commenting of the conformist society and openly expressing interest in taboos; "Ana" tells a story of a lesbian relationship kept under wraps, "U sjeni exotičnih trava" ("In the shade of exotic weeds") is about a voyeur dressed up as a woman, masturbating to couples that have sex in the park, "Detektivska priča" ("A detective story", another popular hit of theirs) is about a female serial killer preying on men, seducing and then killing them, keeping them dismembered in her refrigerator afterwards... "Neonska reklama" ("Neon sign", appearing here in two parts, one of them fully instrumental) and "Videosex", seem to be about foreplay - with "1001 noć" ("1001 nights"), the sweetly teasing erotic instrumental keeping its arabic overtones.

In all, it's of absolute recommendation - among the very few synth-pop groups of their time, Videosex smartly avoided clichés, staying loyal to their own vision, evolving from a debut melodically this naive to a musically more confident, experimental pop-group (needless to mention their constant links with Laibach - with whom Videosex collaborated very early on; Anja Rupel already guested on one of Laibach's earliest studio recordings from around 1982 - one of them "Slovenska žena", features her innocent vocals, adding to the creepy, harsh percussive atmosphere; also Laibach's partners in crime, Die Neue Kunsthandlung aka "Novi kolektivizem" took care of most Videosex's sleeve designs).

Nice reissue.

Sound quality is very good. A little more bass-heavy than the original LP, I think there's been some compression (or they just used the 2009 CD copy, which I have not heard).

The dynamics are more defined on the original LP, but then again you'll have to pay a lot more for a NM copy of the original.

If you own the original vinyl copy and this reissue, compare the hi-hats on the song "Videosex".

You'll hear what I mean.

But if you don't own a copy of the original pressing (you can't tell the difference unless doing an a/b test), this reissue is very enjoyable and well worth the money.

As an odd side note, it's worth mentioning that every copy of this album that I've heard (original '84 LP, 1997 Arhiv CD comp & this new 2019 LP reissue) have slightly different playing speeds. The original LP is "fastest", and this new reissue is "slowest". It's very minimal (-2bpm), so you don't notice it.

The debut album from the absolutely fantastic Slovenian act Videosex.

Let's get started!

Detektivska Priča is a definite statement of intent, with a fast paced New Wave vibe coupled with some crazy Arthur Brown style organ stabs and James Bond-esqe pads.

Yeah, really!

Ana starts off very cool, almost reggae in feel (not in rhythm). It really lures you in, with the wonderful vocals, until the chorus kicks in and then you are swept into euphoria!

It's a wonderful track, which drops and rises constantly so you are always excited.

Moja Mama is the track that most people reading this will be familiar with. It was a big hit for Videosex, their first in fact.

It's irresistible, yet somehow it sounds out of sync with the rest of the Videosex catalogue. It's the most perfect Eurovision song ever! With a melody that will stay with you forever (you WILL wake up with this song in your head once you hear it), it's hard to ignore it even though Videosex are definitely worth much more than this song.

U Sjeni Egzotičnih Trava brings the tempo down, into a nice relaxing vibe. It contains nice touches, but it's really background music. You never really pay attention to it (maybe you will if you've had a smoke, eh?).

1001 Noć is a really Arabic sounding track, lots of minor scales and eastern percussion. If you had a smoke during U Sjeni Egzotičnih, you'll be in heaven now haha!

Kako Bih Volio Da Si Tu starts off in a very Jean Michel Jarre style, before male vocals come in along with a fast tempo New Wave vibe.

It's a very welcome return to fast music after the slow songs we just enjoyed.

Next is Videosex, the song. It's really superb. With a midtempo vibe and sexy vocals, you really get carried along in this song. I don't even speak Slovene but the female singer sounds very enticing! It's not a cheesy song though, it's really cool and a pleasure to dance to.

Finally we have Neonska Reklama 1 / 2.

The first is a very catchy New Wave track again, perhaps slower than we had before but still full of melody, wonderful singing and classy synth work.

The second Neonska Reklama part is an extended electro track, which really sounds fresh. Not only does it owe a lot to the American Electro scene, but also the amazing New York Hi-NRG sound made famous by Bobby "O". This track pays great homage to both the classic American sounds.

I think it's great that thanks to the internet and spread-of-word, Anglophones are at last able to discover this great music.

Because, of course, music (and not words) is all we need know. ;)