From a time when the synth was in its prime.

Cosmic Machine 2 – the follow-up to 2013’s Cosmic Machine: A Voyage Through French Cosmic & Electronic Avantgarde – has landed.

As with the first LP, the sequel has been put together by vinyl enthusiast Olivier Carrié and is being released on Because Music.

The double-LP dusts off 22 under-appreciated French synth gems from the ’70s and ’80s and as Carrié writes, introduces us “to the dark corners of a French musical landscape where workaholics like Jean-Pierre Massiera or Roger Roger produced endless strings of records that challenged the laws of gravity.”

“Some managed to land on our satellite, but all of them contributed to the space conquest aboard the Cosmic Machine.”

The record also includes tracks from early Nicolas Peyrac, Anarchic System, Georges Rodi, Richard Pinhas, Pierre Schaeffer and more. Stream the album and see the full tracklist below.

“My experience with synth music in France started when I was around 10 years,” explains Carrié, “and I was totally hooked when [Anarchic System’s] Pop Corn was released in 1972.”

“The Kraftwerk song ‘Radioactivity’, released in 1975, caught my attention and I was then old enough to understand that the music was generated with electronic instruments.”

“From then on, I became more interested in that particular genre of music, which I couldn’t classify, I was just enjoying those sounds. I was maybe too young then to appreciate or understand bands like Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Cluster, Klaus Schulze, etc… which I would discover years later.”

Not enough for you? Read next: 10 essential French cosmic disco records selected by Bernard Fevre

Tracklist:

01. Pascal Comelade – Mouvement Décomposé D’un Coup De Marteau
02. Stereo – Moonshine
03. Francis Lai – Young Freedom
04. Rosebud – Main Theme From More
05. Queen Samantha – Take A Chance
06. Nicolas Peyrac – Rite
07. Heldon – Les Soucoupes Volantes Vertes
08. Roger Roger – Vadrouillard
09. Arpadys – Monkey Star
10. Video Liszt – Fade In Hong Kong
11. Pierre Porte – Love Is all
12. Richard Pinhas – Ruitor
13. Christophe – Harp Odyssey
14. Grand Prix – Grand Prix
15. The Peppers – Pepper Box
16. Joel Fajerman et Jan Yrssen – Asteroide
17. Moon Birds – Cristal N°3
18. Araxis – Thème D’Araxis
19. Anarchic System – Pop Corn
20. Georges Rodi – Indian Love Melody
21. Michel Magne – Signaux Codes Non Identifiés
22. Pierre Scharfer – Moins Banal (Interlude, Ou Impromptu)