Cosmic Machine The Sequel: A Voyage Across French Cosmic & Electronic Avantgarde (70s-80s) CD

Back in 2013, Because Music delivered Cosmic Machine, a superb trawl through France's early electronic music underground. Three years on comes Cosmic Machine: The Sequel, a similarly impressive set that includes material from the early-to-mid '80s as well as the 1970s. It's naturally stylistically varied, touching on eccentric disco, kosmiche, French-made Italo-disco, soundtrack-style synthesizer instrumentals, pitched-down creepiness, and triumphant cheeriness (see "Grand Prix" by Grand Prix). While there are a few familiar names dotted throughout the track list, for the most part the label has laudably chosen to champion the unfamiliar. As a result, it should be a near essential purchase for anyone interested in the development of European electronic music.