Limited Deluxe 6CD Box Set.
A definitive celebration of the German synth-pop pioneers’ time with the label from 1983 to 1985.
German synth-pop visionaries Propaganda emerged from Düsseldorf in 1982, soon capturing the imagination of musical tastemakers with their provocative, art-driven sound described at the time as ‘Abba from Hell’.
Propaganda was the first band to formally sign to Trevor Horn’s pioneering ZTT label in June 1983, and they released their debut single, ‘Dr.
Mabuse’, in February of the following year.
The brooding, cinematic track, produced by Horn and perhaps best experienced in all its 10-minute ‘Das Testament Des Mabuse’ glory, as a perfect example of the art of the 12” version.
The full-length debut, ‘A Secret Wish’, arrived in the Summer of 1985.
Written primarily by Ralf Dörper, Michael Mertens, Claudia Brücken & Andreas Thein, and produced by Stephen Lipson, it featured the distinctive vocals of both Brücken and Susanne Freytag, along with cameos from David Sylvian, Stewart Copeland, Steve Howe, Glenn Gregory, and the legendary Post-Punk guitarist, the late John McGeoch.
‘A Secret Wish’ was both a critical triumph and a commercial success, reaching the top 20 on the UK Albums Chart and spawned two further iconic singles, ‘Duel’ and ‘p:Machinery’, the latter becoming a major hit in Italy, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland, as well as the ‘should have been a single ‘Murder Of Love’ and a cover of ‘Sorry For Laughing’ by the lo-fi Scottish Postcard Records band, Josef K.
That same year, the band embarked on their Outside World tour, performing across Europe and North America, with former Simple Minds bassist Derek Forbes and drummers Steve Jansen (ex-Japan) and Brian McGee (also ex-Simple Minds).
In November 1985, ‘Wishful Thinking’, a reimagining of ‘A Secret Wish’, crafted for the U.S.
club market, was issued a promo only, but was quickly adopted by European fans and is regarded as a classic example of the remix album genre.
Now, for the first time, this deluxe collector’s edition box set, curated by ZTT archivist and historian Ian Peel, presents a definitive archive of Propaganda’s groundbreaking work.
Along with the 6CD set, there are also two exclusive companion formats: a limited 1-LP vinyl edition remixed by David Kosten, known for his work with Faultline, Everything Everything, Bat For Lashes, Steven Wilson, and Mike Oldfield.
A SECRET SENSE OF RHYTHM : A SECRET SENSE OF SIN is a time capsule, a curated archive, and a celebration of one of the most ambitious, artful and best-regarded pop albums of the 1980s.
It also serves as the most definitive record of the time Propaganda spent with the Zang Tuum Tumb record label, from 1983 to 1985.
CD 1 Secret – An encyclopaedic edition of the debut Propaganda album, A Secret Wish.
All the tracks from both the original 1985 Analogue Sequence and the later Digital Variation.
All remastered for its 40th anniversary at Abbey Road Studios.
CD 2 Stahlnetz – An extended edition of the remix album Wishful Thinking.
If A Secret Wish was ‘ABBA in heaven’, then STAHLNETZ is ‘ABBA in hell’, its darker dance-floor counterpart, created ‘for the footsteps and heartbeats of the connoisseur’.
CD 3 Singlette – Propaganda’s three specially-edited EPs – originally released only on cassette – all with unique versions, mixes and sequences: Do Well, Complete Machinery and the initial intended sequence for (The Nine Lives of) Dr.
Mabuse.
CD 4 Series – Propaganda’s contributions to Zang Tuum Tumb’s Action, Incidental and Fatal series.
Featuring some of the biggest, boldest 12″ remixes in the history of electronic pop, connected by the Testament series of interludes and edits.
CD 5 Studio – A behind-the-scenes listen into Propaganda at work in Sarm Studios across 1984 and 1985.
The construction of the album, including the singles and remixes, is a raw, illuminating work-in-progress juxtaposed with beautiful alternate takes.
CD 6 (Some Kind Of) Single – The final Propaganda single of the Zang Tuum Tumb era: a previously unreleased version of Dr.
Mabuse from John Hughes’ 1987 film Some Kind of Wonderful, alongside mixes created especially for TV and video.
