Zaft 036   Various Artists   A New Star in the Heavens

Tracklisting:

  1. Hypnoskull – December 1979
  2. Suspicion Breeds Confidence – Reindeer Matador
  3. C/A/T – Home for the Holidays
  4. Adamisgod – Missle Toe
  5. Goose – The Long Descent into the Dark of Winter
  6. Conure – Ralphie 4
  7. Bjerga-Iversen – Rudolph’s Hurry
  8. Azoikum – Clicks'n'Noise Carol
  9. Ctephin – A Very Cut Up X-mas
  10. DJ Saint Nick – Mark Wilson Is The Santa Baby Of Noise
  11. Xedh – Somos Buena Gente
  12. Karl Bφsmann – The Jingle Hunt
  13. Puffy Eyes – A Holiday Disappointment
  14. Praying for Oblivion – World Ice (excerpt)
  15. Mami – The Rose
  16. Guignol Dangereux – Santaclaused
  17. Sascha Neudeck – Open Window
  18. Stolen Light – The Commercialization of Christmas (den of thieves mix)
  19. The Engineer – Sunrise on Red Stained Snow
  20. Narbenerde – Weihnachten auf Fluoxetin

This year's compilation was a bit more mellow than usual. Some of the standout tracks were by Hypnoskull - surprisingly relaxing and introspective - and Narbenerde. Both were a bit different than I expected but both were beautiful. The only downside of this compilation is that .V.L.A.D. the Impaling Machine did not send anything this year. He was sorely missed. I think that the only one who has been on it from the beginning is C/A/T, who keeps getting better every year.

Here's what Vital Weekly had to say about it:

A NEW STAR IN THE HEAVENS (CDR compilation by Zaftig Research) It is of course the time of the year for a Christmas compilation, and even if you don't like it (like me) than it's hard to avoid. But you can always enjoy a special alternative christmas compilation. There was (or perhaps is) a Dutch radio station, known for the Staalplaat Mort Aux Vaches, who commissioned special christmas tunes and put them out on limited CDRs, which by now would take you through half a day of listening fun, but then you can continue with 'A New Star In The Heavens', a very lengthy compilation by Zaftig Research. Not all of the tracks seem to have a direct link to God, I mean Christmas, as some are just about the time of the year, such as 'The Long Descent Into The Dark Of Winter' by Goose. It's a varied bunch of tracks that either pay seriously homage to some of the finest christmas songs, or like C/A/T try to make fun of all the things that surround christmas. And with some it's hard to find any link, either to the time of the year or christmas, other than perhaps the title, like in Azoikum's 'Clicks'n Noise Carol'. But in all this is a very nice compilation that is mostly suitable for this month, but in some cases for the rest of the year too. (FdW)