Telex was a synth-disco trio formed in Brussels, Belgium, in 1978 by keyboardist
Marc Moulin, who had previously performed with
Cos. He was joined by vocalist
Michel Moers and composer/synthesist
Dan Lacksman, and together,
Telex crafted a slick, stylish brand of Europop/disco with relaxed tempos and often-processed vocals. Their debut album,
Looking for Saint-Tropez, was released in 1979, containing signature songs like the title track, "Moskow Diskow," and slowed-down covers of "Rock Around the Clock" and
Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi."
Neurovision (1980) and
Sex (1981) followed, with the latter employing lyricists
Ron and
Russell Mael. (A 1982 U.K.-only release,
Birds and Bees, contains all but three of
Sex's tracks, plus several singles.) Nothing much was heard from the group after 1984's
Wonderful World until 1988, when
Looney Tunes displayed an about-face toward goofy, effects-laden electronic music somewhat akin to
the Art of Noise or
Yello. The band broke up soon after, though all three members also released material. Ten years later, long after all
Telex material had gone out of print, the band received the remix-album treatment on SSR's
I Don't Like Music (Remixes), featuring a host of new-school electronic producers like
Carl Craig,
Buckfunk 3000,
Patrick Pulsinger, and
Glenn Underground. A separate disc,
I Don't Like Remixes, presented the
Telex originals. The set proved so popular that a second remix disc, I (Still) Don't Like Remixes, Vol. 2, was released the following year.
–
Steve Huey, Rovi