Parade Ground

Parade Ground came together in Brussels during 1981 as a cold wave synth pop duo made up of brothers Jean-Marc Pauly and Pierre Pauly. Jean-Marc supplies the dramatic vocals over the duo’s characteristically brisk arrangements, which blend icy electronics with minimal post-punk guitars. The pair worked repeatedly with musicians from Belgian industrial pioneers Front 242 and have been recognized by some observers as overlooked originators of the EBM genre. Shortly after their formation they began surfacing on various compilations, and their first single, “Moan on the Sly,” surfaced in 1983. More singles and compilation appearances followed before the duo joined the Play It Again Sam roster in 1987. Colin Newman of Wire served as co-producer on two tracks from the Dual Perspective EP; he also contributed vocals, guitar, and keyboards to the song “Moans.” Newman additionally produced one track on the second PIAS EP, Strange World. Its title song appeared on the 1988 anthology This Is Electronic Body Music alongside material by Skinny Puppy and Borghesia, while the duo’s debut album, Cut Up, was issued the same year.

Following that release the brothers suspended Parade Ground activities to concentrate on writing and visual art, though they still contributed to both Front 242 albums that appeared in 1993. The project resumed in 2007 with the full-length Rosary, produced by Front 242’s Patrick Codenys and distinguished by a thicker layer of swirling guitars. Dark Entries collected the group’s early recordings on the 2011 compilation The Golden Years. The following year Minimal Maximal issued The 15th Floor, an album recorded in 1989 but previously unreleased. Also in 2012, Russian label Other Voices Records brought out another long-unheard set, A Room with a View, initially on cassette and later on CD and vinyl. Infacted Recordings released the compilation CD Strange World in 2014, and Daft Records presented a separate self-titled collection in 2016. That same year Other Voices reissued Cut Up and introduced the new album Sanctuary, which maintained the more experimental, guitar-oriented direction first heard on Rosary.