There is an inescapable melancholy attached to Bastion. In spite of the smiles and analogue pop, the unbridled optimism of this snapping shoegazing synth wave is dampened in the knowledge of the horrors that would befall former Yugolsavia some years later.
The world of synth wave, cold wave, no wave, whatever wave you want to call it, is as dazzling as it is dizzying. From far and wide would-be musicians picked up the new machine instruments of the late 70s and 80s and brought a new electronic sound to the world. A treasure trove of music was released, some becoming pop hits that still do the rounds today while others languished in total obscurity. Since 2011 Flora Pitrolo has been trying to make sense of this scene, to archive the rich seams of audio gold that lie in the dark grooves of forgotten 7”s and aging tape through her exhaustive and excellent work on her radio show A Colder Consciousness. Now the next daring step is being made, moving from collating wax to cutting it, the move to record label.
Inaugurating this leap into vinyl is an album from 1984, Macedonia’s Bastion and their self titled album. Although the group from former Yugoslavia might have been short-lived, their only LP has passed into the annals of obscure synth history. The brisk and upbeat “Hollywood” opens. Female and male vocals intertwine against a backdrop of squirrelly bass lines, racing rhythms and warm chords, there’s even some brass in there somewhere. Bastion, like much of their wave contemporaries, are not afraid to let percussion speed, as in the shining “Deca Sunca” or the youthful joy of “Mister Kompleks,” which imparts their tracks with a frenetic energy. Yet, amongst these expressions of exuberance are deeper and more reflective works. “Mesec U Šolji” combines bittersweet bars and looming notes with Ana Kostnovska’s vocal prowess to produce a fragile and thought-provoking piece of lamentations and loss. “Boja” shows another side to Bastion’s style, a devil-may-care track of deep basslines, clean beats and swirling lyrics. Despite these forays into melancholy and the avant-garde, it is a bright and fresh faced enthusiasm that characterizes this original debut LP. This fervor is perhaps summarized in the sunny sound of “A Hot Day In Mexico” with its English lyrics pandering to Western audiences of the time.
A new label is always exciting news, that excitement is amplified when the boss is a serious curator who has dedicated years to cultivate their palette and sought to expand their knowledge. Undeniably Pitrolo falls into this category. Securing Bastion for the label’s first release is emblematic of Pitrolo’s devotion to all things wave and demonstrates the wealth of music that came from her own neck of the European woods. Nevertheless, there is an inescapable melancholy attached to Bastion. In spite of the smiles and analogue pop, the unbridled optimism of this snapping shoegazing synth wave is dampened in the knowledge of the horrors that would befall former Yugolsavia some years later.
Bastion is available on A Colder Consciousness.
