Jon Savage’s ‘Do You Have The Force?’ compilation is a fascinating snapshot of the formative years of electronic music

Setting the tone for the house and techno explosion to follow, the electronic music of the late 70s and early 80s was a fascinating blend of late-period disco and experimental pop – and that era is now celebrated in a new compilation by author and broadcaster Jon Savage, Do You Have The Force? (Jon Savage’s Alternate History Of Electronica 1978-82).

Following on from two meticulously curated compilations, ‘Fame’ Post-Punk 1978-81 and Perfect Motion – Jon Savage’s Secret History of Second-Wave Psychedelia 1988-93, the England’s Dreaming author has delved into the digital archives to uncover delightful oddities and underground favourites from the electronica world of four decades ago.

Among the artists featured on the compilation, released on Caroline True Records, are Cabaret Voltaire, Patrick Cowley, The Droids, Suicide, Transvolta, Sylvia Love and A Number of Names, whose 1981 track Sharevari is still being re-released and remixed to this day.

Here’s a sample of what you can expect.

“Disco was a grid you could pour anything into,” Savage says in the liner notes for the new album. “Its robotic imperatives thread their way through this collection.

“Spanning Euro Disco to very early Electro and the classic period of High Energy, taking in mainstream Disco, the strange, minimal and avant garde on the way, these fifteen tracks celebrate the fertility and the futurism of synthesiser electronics in the late 1970s and early 1980s.”

A special limited edition double 12″ vinyl package is now on sale, with artwork from celebrated artist and illustrator Matt Sewell, as well as previously unpublished photos, artwork and memorabilia from the era.

For more information, or to place an order, click here.