v/a- BACK UP: Mexican Tecno Pop 1980-1989 LP

Includes 12pg booklet printed on neon green, pink, and orange paper, which features photographs, band biographies, lyrics, and liner notes. The sleeve is a neon retro-futurist design by Gwenaël Rattke.

10 divergent tracks of Mexican electronics, full of skittering analog drum boxes and saucy synthesizer hooks.

8 of these songs were culled from the 2005 CD-only compilation Backup: Expediente Tecno Pop. Also included are two previously unreleased cuts. This release marks the first time many of these songs will have appeared on vinyl; it is also the first ever vinyl compilation of Mexican New Wave and post-punk.

While synth pop and obscure electronics from Europe and the United States have been extensively documented, much less attention has been paid to such offerings from the periphery. Back Up serves as a vital document of Mexico’s flourishing DIY scene in the 1980’s, surveying a wide range of styles and moods.

By using home recording techniques, the bands featured here were able to circumvent relying on the expensive studios of the era. Tracks by Avant Garde, Vandana, and Silueta Pálida mine the kind of dreary-but-infectious wave that long-time Dark Entries fans will celebrate.

Meanwhile, Volti and Artefacto offer a floor-ready pop sound that has echoes of NY freestyle, with Latin percussion and boxy beats. But darker turns are present as well, with Década 2’s New Beat-inflections and electro experiments of Syntoma and their side project Escuadrón Del Ritmo.