Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Various Artists - Crispy Nuggets (Vol. 5)

I was going to say this could be the last compilation I'll ever post, but I thought I wouldn't do another after vol. 1, so who really knows! I don't want to sacrifice quality at any time in the series, so if these start to get lame, don't be afraid to tell me. That being said, this is one of my favorites of the bunch. Hope you'll agree.

Quite a bit of never released material this time, just over half I think. Don't have much time for commentary this morning, need to get to work! I'll be more than happy to answer any queries as best I can, later on. Enjoy!

Track List:

01 - Form - One Is One
02 - City 19 - Heart (Subtle Hints Mix)
03 - Fantasia - Pictures In My Mind
04 - Aaah...! - She Melts And Flows
05 - Final Program - Phase One
06 - Vienna - Six Pieds Sous Terre
07 - Kremlyn - Misterios En La Tierra
08 - Clä-Sick - Every Night
09 - The Trial - Sex Story
10 - Imago - Going Through The Motion
11 - Academie - Push Me Down
12 - First Aid - The Train
13 - Corps Diplomatique - Cnossos
14 - Artistic Control - So Long Love (Live in Studio)
15 - Endless Nostalgia - Dance Of The Pessimism



Anonymous said...

They have all been spectacular. I can't tell my how many bands I have discovered and rediscovered on your blog. I have spent hours listening and remembering what it was like the first time I heard the music in the 80's. Thanks for all your hard work.

Stephen Hanula

Anonymous said...

You did it again =). Fantastic album/dollorosa

bX-59cppw said...

...the inclusion of never previously released material,
is exactly what makes your comps so valuable...

Have to admit as well, that although i'm not personally that much into synth-pop,
your selections are always magnificent...easily the best material from that genre.

Aaah, Artistic Control...those are begging to be reissued if you ask me...

theCOLDTEARS said...



Anonymous said...

From Joerg's collection to obscure's ebay listings.

Kez said...

and to think that he Aaah...! track was just henry jamming in his home studio...thanks for Imago too...nice track...we need more nuggets. How about an Artistic Control comp?!

anthony said...

Thanks for posting such a fantastic compilation! Brilliant songs, especially the tracks by Form and City 19. I think it is your best compilation yet!

stephen said...

I would like to see a compilation of all unknown minimal synth bands that you haven't downloaded off my ebay auctions and the internet.

The comps strike me as an egotrip to get praise for music you haven't even discovered yourself through collecting, but instead downloaded off of the internet.

I'm sure you can see why that seems a bit lame to me. Wow, you know how to download music and file share. Anyway, I don't like putting up ebay auctions and then the next week or month the song is on your blog as if you had made a great discovery.

If you are going to put up comps. like this you should at least know where the music is coming from.


Vanilla Face said...

I don't remember you complaining about previous compilations, Stephen. In fact, I remember you messaging me just after the LAST compilation:

Remember? Spare me the whining, honestly. This isn't about you, or me, or any other collectors. It's all in good fun, and as you can see the majority of people are enjoying it. Try to do the same. Like you did before ;-)

bX-59cppw said...

"....strike me as an egotrip to get praise for music..."

...the ONLY thing that strikes me as an endless...egotrip,
is the sheer amount of hype you're trying to generate,
regarding your eBay auctions...

Now if people pay more...attention,
to blogs like Nick's here,than...your eBay auctions / 'reissues', well...
that's something that should get you into deep thinking / self-critisicm.
Way too many records to be found out there,
for people to waste their time with your obsessions.

"If you are going to put up comps like this,
you should at least know where the music is coming from."

Hah!...Let me put it the other way around...
if you are gonna be selling comps like "British Music Scene",
you should know that others out there have eyes and watch as well... :-) certainly know how to hype till'death what you've been selling.
You won "British Music Scene" for the ending price of...78$,
and merely 10 days later, you listed it for...
199$ starting bid / 1000$ buy-it-now!

Either we like it or not, it's a "free" market out there obviously,
hence,you're free to resell it at whatever price you wish.
But come on now...was there really a need,
to show-off to EVERYONE about this record?
You were smart enough to win it for a reasonable price...
then you're selling it for a way much higher price...and eventually,
you'll get fast and easy money in your wallet -> End of the story.

Hence, it's not just for the major money profit obviously...
it's also about your egotrip,
and showing-off in a constant basis to other people/collectors out there.
"I have it, and you don't...nah-nah-nah-nah...i have it, and you don't...":
like a 5-yrs-old child that got an ice cream,lmao...
So, i"ll repeat it once more, as per above:
Way too many records to be found out there,
for people to waste their time with your obsessions.

Business is business, trading is trading,
sharing is sharing, and is fun.
Life has many aspects...not everything in this world,
turns around your weekly eBay listings...
Btw...quite a few of great labels doing magnificent work out there,
without the need of hyping their stuff in a constant basis...
Do your job in a properly manner, and the rest will follow without hassle...

Nick included 1 single track from that listing...while in contrast,
you requested IN ADVANCE all of the above,and now you...complain???
Not much to say here, pretty much self-explaining by itself:
those who can't enjoy their lives / music etc,
usually don't want to let others enjoy their lives as well.
Hopefully when you find...Product, Standing Ovation and 2nd Aaah 7",
you'll join, and start enjoying as well...

Dean said...

Thanks Nick for another great compilation.

CN is to be applauded for taking the time and trouble in putting these great tracks together, wherever they were sourced, and solely for all our mutual enjoyment.

Surely this is about the love and appreciation of rare, and even harder to obtain, synth music that very few would ever have the opportunity to hear.

Any increased interest deriving from these compilations for the music of featured bands is also the one true bonus for them.

And, Stephen, when exactly did you ever 'discover', say, City 19?

stephen said...


Yes, I messaged you because I am a record collector obviously and I would like to find out about some of the bands that you put on your comps. That makes sense doesn't it. I would like to buy some of these records.

Anyway, I totally understand the concept of sharing music with blogs. However, what you are doing with these comps is not exactly completely sharing music. It is basically half sharing. Here is the music, but I can't tell you where it is from because I don't know. I know bloggers don't care where any of it comes from, because they are just happy to listen to the music for free, and are not going to search for the records. However, record collectors are going to want to get some of these records. You know that is the case. You asked if anyone thought the comps were lame, and I think that aspect is lame so I put it forth. If you want to make the comps better then make comps. of records that you have discovered or try to find out the information about where the songs of the bands on your comps is coming from and share that as well. That is my suggestion.

I do enjoy the comps., but I will enjoy them more if there was more information regarding what records are included on them.


I am enjoying my life just fine. I made a criticism of Nick's comps, and you seem to be the one going into a tirade over my collecting, and ebay auctions with utter contempt. I am not a 5 year old, I am a record collector, and I'm not going to pretend I don't want a record. I enjoy sharing music just as much as Nick, and I have put a lot of money into doing that, and almost all my money into collecting records. If you enjoy downloading bands with no information more than you enjoy getting a rare record in the mail and playing it then so be it. You are more of a blogger than a record collector then. Good for you. To each their own.


You asked the wrong dude the wrong question. I have had the British Music Scene comp. for that last 3 years which is where Nick got the First Aid track on Crispy Nuggets 5 which he downloaded from my ebay auction. You can ask anyone about my record label, and watch me release unknown after unknown for many years to come.


Vanilla Face said...

If it really upsets you that 1 song on this compilation comes from your record collection, then here is my heartfelt apology:

Sorry, Stephen.

I hope that will end the discussion, though, because I don't want this to turn into a flame war when it's entirely unnecessary.

I have to tell you, though, I do know exactly where all of these songs come from -- and I'm sorry to tell you (as a collector) that a lot of them will never be owned by you, as a great deal of them were never released. I hope you can find a way to enjoy listening to them anyway.

stephen said...


I appreciate your apology. It just made me feel like you are a minimal synth mp3 vulture.
First you put the Toy Shop 7" up a few days after I listed it and then the First Aid song.

If you know where all the songs come from then why aren't you sharing the information?

The bloggers don't care, but I'm sure the collectors do.

Also, does that mean you straight up lied right to me when I asked you where the two Standing Ovation tracks were from, and you said you had no idea?


Vanilla Face said...

I'm definitely an mp3 vulture. I'll get them anywhere and any way I can. Why shouldn't I? (please note: "because I don't like it" is not a good enough answer).

Just so you're aware, I don't really pay attention to your eBay auctions. The First Aid song was sent to me by someone else (yes, from your eBay listing).

As you can see in the post, I stated very clearly that if anyone wanted information I'd be happy to answer with any information I could. That applies to you too.

I didn't lie to you about Standing Ovation, I told you what I knew about it. More than likely it's a tape. Maybe you can ask Joerg.

Let me know if there's anything else.

kez said...

all music is there to share. regardless of the source that nick gets these tracks from or where they were sourced originally.

if it wasn't for nick, artistic control, aaah and imago would never have again seen the light of day. the fact that people are listening to my music again and enjoying it brings me overwhelming joy.

there's a lot of effort, care, work and thought gone into putting these comps together and nick should be applauded. i know how hard nick's day job is, so the fact he even makes time to share these comps just goes to show his love & dedication for the genre.

behind the scenes before these comps are released, each one of my tracks is virtually re-mastered...tape hiss may be removed, multiband compression added, noise filters engaged, banded eq that the tracks are delivered to the listener in the best possible state...this doesn't happen in an afternoon.
these comps aren't just thrown together by some zit infested teen this is the work of a man devoted to sharing something valid.

if i thought for one minute that this was all about nicks ego, then nick and i wouldn't have formed the bond we have, i wouldn't have even trusted him with my material.

i love you nick and everything you're doing is truly superb.

if anyone out there belittles your effort or doesn't fully understand the work involved then they can just go and suck a f*ck.

long live crispy nuggets!

Anonymous said...

Please! relax folks. And just calm down and listen to this fantastic music this blogg offers/dollorosaP.s. Thx again/dollorosa

Vanilla Face said...

Stephen, I'm not sure why the comment you left after Kez is no longer here, but I just wanted to say that the point of this blog has never been to give tips to collectors. It has and always will be to give the music some small semblance of a stage. Maybe some people prefer it to stay hidden in the shadows because they get off on the fact that only they know something about it, but I believe music should be heard. Especially the great music that was never noticed. This is not about me, other than the fact that I enjoy making it available. 99% of the people who download these songs probably have no idea who I am.

I forgot to add, you actually can own the Imago:

I wish you luck on that one. Oops, I believe you can own Artistic control too:

As for owning Aaah...!, it isn't completely out of the question that Kez and I start a discussion about a vinyl re-issue. I've already had talks with Near Paris and Tres about that very thing. If and when those happen, though, they will get the proper studio remastering they deserve. I'll be happy to send you hissy mp3s after you buy each LP if that's what you prefer.

Anyway I'm glad we've all had our say. I may not agree with you on certain points Stephen but you are of course welcome to your opinions. At the end of the day we're all one big happy obscure family. Let's spend less time bickering and more time enjoying the great music.

Anonymous said...

This was my last post that seemed to disappear in case any one was wondering regarding Nicks replies. I tried to post it 4 times, but for some reason it never showed up on the comments?


What do you think is easier? Someone putting out a vinyl record or Nicks mp3 blog comps.

You talk of all the work that goes into the comps from the first person point of view in terms of you remastering your tracks.

In terms of Nick what did his workload entail. Downloading the tracks from you and other people basically. He then took the cover to an old Dark Room record and put Crispy Nuggets on it.

I would much rather hear the original versions of your songs including the tape hiss and the songs completely untouched. I have had a tape with Imago, and the 1st Aaah 7" for years and so have many other collectors so I wouldn't give Nick complete credit for introducing those 2 bands to the world. Artistic Control I had never heard before though so I'll give him credit for that.

Anyway, if you are so pumped up about your music being out there then why don't you release an Aaah LP, an Artistic Control LP, and an Imago LP. As you can see some people are interested.

I'm not against blogging of music in general, but when you look at the Crispy Nuggets blog comments it comes across as sort of surreal when people are praising Nick for posting mp3s of records that most collectors have known about for over 10 years. Records that Nick didn't discover and a lot of times does not own.

Anyway, I've made my point. He doesn't have to tell everyone where the music is from, but I think it would be kind to say what is "Unreleased" from a collectors stand point. Obviously all the Aaah, Artistic Control, and Imago tracks are unreleased. So I guess now the collectors know.



Anonymous said...

In regards to blogging in general in the last 15 years music has basically become free and worthless. Since that happened a lot of people enjoy the freedom of sharing what no longer has monetary worth through blogs. The people that collect records and tapes are basically refugees of the old concept that music was an object to be bought. Anyway, whether bloggers know it or not what they post does affect the collectors market. A $10 record like Eleven Pond can become a $900 record with one blog post. For a blogger it is all fun because there is no monetary consequence for them to what they post. To a collector a blog causes complete monetary consequences. After a complete unknown desirable record gets posted you can just watch all the collectors try to get it on GEMM, ebay, discogs. Anyway, I don't fault bloggers for doing what they do, because I enjoy the posts just as much as anyone else. In terms of it all be fun and games with no consequences. That is definitely not the case. There are immediate monetary consequences to the collectors market with every blog post.


Anonymous said...

Stephen,why are you always causing a bunch of self-justifying arrogant tripe in every thread I see connected with you name?This can not be coincidence... ~Bioklastik

MIke Brandon said...

Why is this guy impossible to find online? Does he have a label?

"Obscure Records"? Can't find it.

Cannot find his ebay listings, either.

Nobody has spent more money on records in a lifetime than I have (*well, of course there are others. I'm just using "me" as one rampant and extreme example)

While I have (literally) 100,00 or so records and CD's.. I still love downloading super rare sounds off blogs like Crispy Nuggets.

who cares where the sounds are culled from?

If they have already been posted as audio files - somewhere online, that basically puts them up for public grabs..

Cheers to this blogger for taking the time to find
all that he has already.

Also- If the blogger chooses to supply no additional info on the band (other than the music files ), it's up to us (like in the good old days) to hunt like mad for the physical artifact.

This blog is terrific. Nuff said.

Sound junkies (such as myself) like to keep hunting (endlessly) for the next "mind blower".

Vanilla Face said...

For the record, the main reason I started making these compilations is because of the fact that I did not own (most of) the songs. Either because they were never released, or because they were extremely hard to find, and sometimes because the rest of the release was simply atrocious.

I thought it would be a shame if the songs went unheard simply due to the reasons above. I'll toss up a few more downloads soon, and yes they will be from my collection, don't worry ;P

Aguar said...

Saludos agregado a ENLACES
pon un link gracias

Anonymous said...

wow! that was a strange and unnecessary trip!. Some great songs on this compilation, big credit to the artists for recording these songs, credit to crispy for bringing them to my attention and credit to Stephen for collecting.

Anonymous said...

Too bad this thread seems to gone off on a tangent... Thank you for all of the time and dedication that you have taken to share this music with the rest of us. :) I'm looking forward to the next compilation and I'd *love* to hear some more Artistic Control!

Anonymous said...


I'm not arrogant. Maybe you have an inferiority complex.

Mike Brandon,

You can't find me online because I'm obscure :-)


Thanks for sharing the music and being honest about it.

Anonymous said...

Definition of OBSCURE:
not clearly seen or easily distinguished : faint
not readily understood or clearly expressed
relatively unknown.
mean not clearly understandable.
implies a hiding or veiling of meaning through some inadequacy of expression.

Yep you're Obsure alright :-D

Anonymous said...


Francisco Bacilio Chavez said...

que grupo canta esta cancion

por favor comentara en el enlace de youtube espero sus respuestas saludos

Anonymous said...

awesome! artistic control

Neale said...

Hey Nick ! Whats going on ?

Anonymous said...

stephen is a puff

Francisco Bacilio Chavez said...

A follower, Francisco sent me this song and we are trying to identify it - hope someone can help us cause it's really cool. Thanx!

jenyfer said...


Anonymous said...

Thank you so much!!

Anonymous said...


WOW I can't stop listening this song. I would like to know more about them since there's not too much information online. Check out another Kremlyn also great song
Thank you very much Nick!
Oggie from Belgrade(Serbia)

Anonymous said...

Hey Stephen
Do you have any more Seeing Red 7" for sale?

Anonymous said...

Wow, this gives me shivers...
Amazing.. Thanks!

Anonymous said...


Any possiblity to re-up this one?

Thanks for a great blog and alots of
interesting new music finds!!!


Anonymous said...

Hello, any chance in you uploading this compilation again? The link doesn't work anymore :(

Cresh Wainright said...

love your site this is music right up my alley!! Thanks a lot! William in NY

Anonymous said...

I have Seeing Red 7 inch.