La Bambola Del Dr Caligari
La Bambola Del Dr Caligari were a short-lived minimal synth trio from Bologna, Italy. The group's nucleus consisted of Judy Asquith (voice), Aurelium Spitty (sound engineer, synth, drum machines, effects) and J.R. Ewing (keyboards, effects). They recorded their first demo tape in early 1984.
The group sporadically played live in 1985/86 and also arranged the soundtrack for an installation at the art gallery Number Zero (Bologna) in Feb 1986. Several self-produced tapes were recorded over the years but were never properly released. La Bambola very rarely used multi-track recording techniques, preferring to record live, resulting in numerous takes trying to get that perfect one.
"Blue Quarters" is the only work of the group without the voice of Judy Asquith. It features sessions recorded at Strawberry Studios and includes fragments of two concerts held at “La Morara” (Bologna) in May 1985. Although mainly instrumental, some singing by Aurelium Spitty makes an appearance. A couple of tracks also feature second keyboardist Duke Whitewater and guitarist Lol Camain.
In 2005 Roberto Napoli mastered all the recordings from the analogue tapes and kindly assisted in editing the selections made by Forced Nostalgia. The result is some of the finest lost-and-found musical gems from the '80s gloom-pop era, and they are finally becoming available after being shelved for 25 years.
Discography
Albums
. Crotalophoboi's Land (Cass, Noir Tapes, 1984)
. Suburban Sounds (Cass, Noir Tapes, 1985)
. Blue Quarters (Cass, Noir Tapes, 1985)
. Coqueline (Cass, Noir Tapes, 1986)
. Obique (Cass, Noir Tapes, 1986)
. The Wrong Holiday (Split LP, Forced Nostalgia, 2011)