Deep Entries: Gay Electronic Excursions 1979-1985 (Various Artists)

Dark Entries has raided the bathhouse to bring us Deep Entries: Gay Electronic Excursions 1979-1985, 10 tracks of obscure queer synth bliss. One of Dark Entries’ most important missions has been illuminating neglected facets of gay musical history, with crucial archival works by legends like Patrick Cowley, Sylvester, and Man Parrish. On Deep Entries, the label spans 6 years of gay electronics – from sultry to angsty to camp, these songs are overflowing with snappy 808 snares and sinewy analog synth leads. The ’80s were a difficult period for many in the gay community as they grappled with the horrors of the HIV/AIDS crisis. The 10 tracks on Deep Entries, varied in genre and vibe, are united in their portraiture of 1980s gay life, and the hope for love or fleeting romance. Previously unreleased cruising soundtracks come courtesy of Patrick Cowleys Love Me Hot featuring vocalist Paul Parker and Boytronics Tonight (Alternate Mix) set on Hamburgs famous Mile of Sin. Brisbane-based Megamen deliver the proto-electroclash number Designed for Living, which prefigures Madonnas Marlene Dietrich rap in Vogue. Trans vocalist Paula “Ula” Villagr declares, Everyone is gay! on Muzaks Happy Song, a skittering tecnopop anthem. Dereck Higgins’ This Was Something rings like a lost Joy Division cut draped in bizarre effects, and Polar Praxis (I Want) To Be Different is a seething ode to alterity. Nightmoves Nightdrive, is best known as the brooding instrumental B-side to their epochal Transdance. Transistor Jets Master Of The Universe (BW’s f-w), Maxx Manns Just Like a Razor and Bachelors Anonymous A Strangers Bed are mood music for the pleasures of BDSM and one-night stands. The record comes housed in a retro bathhouse fantasy sleeve designed by Gwenal Rattke and includes a double-sided poster with photographs and lyrics. Deep Entries arrives on December 1st in honor of World AIDS day, and proceeds will go to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.