Abecedarians 1989 Demo Recordings 1983-1987

Abecedarians - Demo Recordings 1983 - 1988
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Something very rare, compiled from a collection of unknown gen cassette tapes and very likely the first representation of this Orange County, California based new wave act on Dime.

Although not an obscure band, Abecedarians had a very strong local following, they are best known for two things: the Factory Records 12" single "Smiling Monarchs"; and the total unavailability of their entire back catelogue.

Smiling Monarchs is a big nod to 1983-period New Order with a remarkable resemblance to NO's Your Silent Face. By sheer coincidence, the final Factory release of the single was produced by New Order singer, Bernard Sumner. I prefer the demo version included here.

On the whole the band's sound leans more towards other UK acts such as Modern English and B-Movie. However on the more instrumental tracks, such as the Mardis Gras recordings, influences such as Brian Eno and, at times, the Durutti Column are all too evident.

In their time, Abecedarians released just one single, Smiling Monarchs, one EP, Eureka and one studio album, Resin. Since their break-up in 1988, two compilations of their work, AB-CD and The Other Side of the Fence have been made available. All of these are long deleted and currently fetch silly money (in excess of $100) on various auction sites.

A full discog here: http://www.clearfour.com/abecedarians/abecedarians.html

A breakdown of what's included here -

1983 Demos
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01. Wildflower
02. They Said Tomorrow

Final versions of these tracks eventually found their way on to 'The Other Side of the Fence' compilation.

1984 Factory Demos
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03. Smiling Monarchs
04. Benways Carnival

1985 Mardis Gras Demos
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05. Mardis Gras
06. untitled
07. untitled

Three instrumental pieces

1985 Live
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08. Pipe Dream

Recorded live at Santa Monica Civic Center 22nd Aug 1985

November 1985 - Eureka Demos
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09. Beneath the City of the Hedonistic Bohemians
10. Surf Western
11. The Misery of Cities
12. untitled
13. Hip Hip Hooray

1987 Resin Demos
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14. Laugh at Yourself
15. Surf Western
16. Dinner
17. untitled

1988 The Last Demos
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18. untitled
19. Lift off
20. untitled
21. untitled
22. Brand New Song
23. untitled
24. untitled
25. Money

Recorded live in the studio and unmixed.

Lineages: unknown gen tapes > CDR > WAV > Cool Edit (splits & norms) > FLAC