The Shortwave Mystery

The Shortwave Mystery Formed In Central California USA In 1983 In The Shadows Of The The Second British Invasion Latching On To The Darker Side Of The New Romantic Movement. Initially An All Electronic Live Synth-Noise Duo Consisting Of Greg Scoggin And Scott Alain Campbell Coined 'The Veil' Their Sole Intent Was To Create Hard-Edged Experimental Electronic Rhythms An Early Form Of Electronic Body Music For The Fledgling Underground Dance Music Scene Forming In The Alternative Gay And Art Clubs Of Mid-Eighties California. Early Incantations Of The Shortwave Mystery 'sound' Began To Materialize When Scoggin Coined Pop Sensible Lyric Driven Songs In His Own Studio Yet Retaining Some Of The Edgy Darker Elements Used In The Live Repertoire Honed Along With Campbell. In This Capacity The Driving Experimental Electro- Noise Akin To Early Chrome Cabaret Voltaire And Joy Division Was Left For Live Shows While Scoggin's Solo Pop Accessible Tracks Found Their Way Onto A Variety Of Demo Tapes That Circulated To College Radio. Finding A Listening Audience Via This Outlet Scoggin Pulled In Female Keyboardist And Vocalist Linda George As Well As Other Local Musician Friends To Fill In For Needed Synthesizer Instrumentation During Live Shows . During This Divergence Campbell Remained Committed To The Darker Harder Leanings Of Elecro-Goth And Left To Form His Own Group Tin Shadows. Fans Of The Newer Material Scoggin Wrote Soon Insisted It Be Further Produced And After College Radio Play Of Shortwave Mystery Demo Tapes A 12" Shortwave Mystery Single 'Pilots' Ensued On The Bands Own Independent 'Good Records' With Subsequent Underground Dance Floor Success Among DJ's Catering To The Electronic Dance Floor Sound Of The Time. 1000 Copies Of The Vinyl Were Printed In Which 300 Were Given To Band Member Families College Radio Stations And DJ's. The Remaining 700 Copies Lay Dormant In The Garage Of Of Band Member Jason Wrights Parents Barn And Were Eventually Tossed At The Local Landfill Not Due To Lack Of Public Interest But Solely On The Small Fledgling Labels Inability To Gain Reputable Consistent Distribution. In Essence The Very Nature Of The Record 'industry' At A Time Before Internet Marketing Killed The Shortwave Mystery And Its Label Before Either Ever Were Given The Fair Chance To Prosper. The Band And The Label Soon Faded Into Obscurity As All Members Of The Shortwave Mystery Most Not Over Age 18 At The Time Of The Pilots EP Release Moved From Central California To Attend Universities Elsewhere. The Group Disbanded By Late 1985 Although Scoggin And Wright Attended University Together In Santa Barabara CA Continuing To Collaborate And Write As A Duo Under The Moniker 'Chapel Bell Chimes' Penning A Series Of Tracks That Only Made It To Demo Tapes. During The Ensuing Aftermath Of The Shortwave Mystery Scoggin Remained Active Yet Relatively Anonymous In The World Of Synth-Based Dance Music Production Writing Under Various Pseudonyms Producing And Publishing Over Forty Singles Appearing Mostly On Progressive House And Trance Compilations. In 2010 25 Years After The Initial Release Of The 'Pilots' EP International Public Demand Brought The Lost Sound Of The Shortwave Mystery Back From Obscurity When Underground DJ's Began To Play Bootleg Copies Of The Pilots EP And Duplications Of Demo Cassettes Off The 'underground Black Market' Original Copies Of The 300 Remaining Copies Of The Origial Rare Wax Began To Appear On EBay Selling For Over $1000. At The Behest Of Many Fans Of Newer Indie Dance Labels Specializing In The Now Newly Coined Genre Of ' Minimal Dark Wave' To Which Much Of Scoggin's Works Seem To Be Categorized Scoggin Was Urged To Re-Release The Tracks From The Original 'Pilots EP. In 2010 Scoggin Subsequently Signed Off To SF Based Start Up World Service Collective Recordings And Reissued 'Pilots' As Well As Extended Previously Unreleased Shortwave Mystery Offerings Via A Limited Edition Marbled Vinyl 12" WS2010001 Down And Out In A Town Of Yardsales And A Followup Full Length Shortwave Mystery CD WS2011001 'Signals From Afar' In 2011. Presently Scoggin Works Alone Under The Moniker Windrum~Scoggin Pulling In Guest Vocalists And Remixers From The Likes Of Simon Mills 1/2 UK Duo BENT And Others. His Current Offerings Reference Back To The Minor Chord Progressions And Melancholic Undertones That Became A Signature Of His Earlier Work With A New 12" EP Sarah Goods Lament Slated For Release June 2012 On World Service Collective Recordings. The Original Members Of The Shortwave Mystery And 'Veil' In Various Guises Were Jason Wright Drums Percussion Tom Wright Synthesizers Bass Dave Skinner Synthesizer Saxophone Greg Scoggin Synthesizers Programming Vocals Arrangements Linda George Vocals Scott Alain Campbell Synthesizers Vocals Arrangements read less