Awhile back there'd been talk of classic label ZTT - the label that gave us Art of Noise, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Propaganda - reissuing some of its classics with unreleased material from the vaults. Now it seems the first pieces of that plan are coming to fruition! ZTT have recently announced The Element Series, currently comprised of six releases by ZTT artists and associated acts.

After the jump, have a go at the titles, track lists and all that. The first four entries are records by 808 State, an influential Madchester group from the late 1980s and early 1990s. The records are 808:90 (1990), ex:el (1991), Gorgeous (1993) and Don Solaris (1996). The new Element Editions feature bonus discs of rare or unreleased mixes, original and expanded artwork and new liner notes featuring a multi-part essay by Ian Peel. (Note: Apparently, this batch of titles have seen release in 2008, albeit with slightly different artwork. The contents seem to be the same, and orderable on Amazon. ZTT lists them on their site as part of the "Artefact Series." Oddly, ZTT claims these sets fell through for release.)

808 State - Ninety (Element Edition) SALVOMD04 / Element 01

Disc 1
Magical Dream
Ancodia
Cobra Bora
Pacific 202
Donkey Doctor
808080808
Sunrise
The Fat Shadow (Pointy Head Mix)

Disc 2
Pacific (Britmix)
Cobra Bora (Call the Cops Mix)
Donkey Doctor (Gmex Mix)
Boneyween
Kinky National
State to State
Revenge of the Girlie Men
Magical Dream (Instrumental)

808 State - ex:el (Element Edition) SALVOMDCD05 / Element 02

Disc 1
San Francisco
Spanish Heart
Leo Leo
Qmart
Nephatiti
Lift
Ooops
Empire
In Yer Face (In Yer Face Mix)
Cubik (Original Mix)
Lambrusco Cowboy
Techno Bell

Disc 2
In Yer Face (Facially Yours Remix)
Olympic (Euro Bass Remix)
Lift (Heavy Mix)
Cubik (State to Pan AM Mix)
Open Your Mind (Sound Garden Mix)
Lambrusco Cowboy (Alt Mix)
Ski Family
Ooops (Mellow Birds Mix)
In Yer Face (Cheadle Royal Mix)
Olympic (Unreleased Mix)

808 State - Gorgeous (Element Edition) SALVOMDCD08 / Element 03

Disc 1
Plan 9
Moses
Contrique
10x10
One in Ten
Europa
Orbit
Black Morpheus
Southern Cross
Nimbus
Colony
Timebomb
Stormin Norman
Sexy Dancer
Sexy Synthesizer

Disc 2
Freak (Astroban Mix)
Lemon (Oberheim 4 Mix)
La Luz (Acid Mix)
Icecream on Elm Street (Sex Synth)
Mondonet
Reaper Reop (12" Mix)
Bombadin (Unreleased Edit)
Marathon (Original 2 Four Pub Mix)
Insane Lover (Analogue Mix)
Jackson Fraction (Jaco Taco Mix)
Timebomb (Oldham Mix)
10x10 (Vox)
Plan 9 (Memory Moog Mix)
Nbambi (March Hare Mix)

808 State - Don Solaris (Element Edition) SALVOMDCD09 / Element 04

Disc 1
Intro
Bond
Bird
Azura
Black Dartagnon
Joyrider
Lopez
Balboa
Kohoutek
Mooz
Jerusahat
Banacheq

Disc 2
Spanish Marching (Fonphone Mix)
Joyrider (A Natural Mix)
Baton Rouge (Cajun Mix)
Lopez (Instrumental)
Mondays (Part One)
Relay (Wool Hall Mix One)
Goa
Bonded
Paradan
The Chisler
Lopez (Brian Eno Mix)
Joyrider (Sure is Pure Mix)

Next up: a reissue of an album by a not-quite ZTT artist: The Buggles.

It's no surprise to see The Buggles on the ZTT roster, though; bandleader Trevor Horn was the founder of the label. Now, they've released Adventures in Modern Recording 2.0, a newly expanded version of the overlooked second and final release by the "Video Killed the Radio Star" group.

Originally release on Carrere Records in 1981, Adventures may be best known for its inclusion of "I Am a Camera," a song that Horn and fellow Buggle Geoff Downes would bring to Yes for their 1980 LP Drama (where it was retitled "Into the Lens," although it retained its original title as a subtitle on Yes' single version).

While previously released in 1997 with two non-LP B-sides and a remix, this new reissue includes those and seven unreleased demos, including another bunch (both parts of "We Can Fly from Here") intended for Yes. Here's the full list.

The Buggles - Adventures in Modern Recording 2.0 SALVOCD036 / Element 05

Adventures in Modern Recording
Beatnik
Vermillion Sands
I Am a Camera
On T.V.
Inner City
Lenny
Rainbow Warrior
Adventures in Modern Recording (Reprise)
Fade Away (B-side to "On T.V." previously included on 1997 reissue)
Blue Nylon (B-side to "Adventures in Modern Recording" previously included on 1997 reissue)
I Am a Camera (12" Mix) (previously included on 1997 reissue)
We Can Fly from Here (Part 1) (Demo, previously unreleased)
Dion (Demo, previously unreleased)
Videotheque (Demo, previously unreleased)
On T.V. (Demo, previously unreleased)
Walking on Glass (original version of "Lenny," previously unreleased)
Riding a Tide (Demo, previously unreleased)
We Can Fly from Here (Part 2) (Demo, previously unreleased)

Finally, ZTT has a 25th anniversary re-release of one of their best known records: Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Welcome to the Pleasuredome. Known for its massive radio hits "Relax," "Two Tribes" and "The Power of Love," this new double-disc set includes the album restored to its original LP sequence (previous CD releases shuffled some tracks around, combined smaller tracks differently or included other cuts entirely) and a bonus disc compiling some of the many B-sides, demos and remixes from the album, most making their CD debut.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome SALVOMDCD03 / Element 06

Disc 1
Well.../The World is My Oyster/Snatch of Fury (Stay)
Welcome to the Pleasuredome
Relax (Come Fighting)
War (...and Hide)
Two Tribes
Tag (For the Victims of Ravishment)
Ferry (Go)
Born to Run
San Jose (The Way)
Wish (The Lads Were Here)
The Ballad of 32
Krisco Kisses
Black Night White Light
The Only Star in Heaven
The Power of Love
Bang

Disc 2
Relax (Greatest Bits) (previously unreleased on CD)
One September Monday (interview B-side to "Relax" included on 2000 reissue)
The Power of Love (Extended Version)
Disneyland (previously unreleased on CD)
Two Tribes (Between Rulers and Ruling) (previously unreleased demo)
War (Between Hidden and Hiding) (previously unreleased demo)
Welcome to the Pleasuredome (Cut Rough) (previously unreleased demo)
One February Friday (interview B-side to "Two Tribes" included on 2000 reissue)
The Ballad of 32 (Mix 2) (previously unreleased)
Who then devised the torment? (previously unreleased on CD)
Relax (Greek Disco Mix) (previously unreleased on CD)
Watusi Love Juicy (previously unreleased demo)
The Last Voice (previously unreleased on CD)

Now, as for release dates. So far, it looks like all of these titles except for Pleasuredome can be pre-ordered through ZTT's distributor partner, Salvo. Pause and Play (whose release date led to this entire post) lists Adventures in Modern Recording due next Tuesday, February 9 (corroborated by Amazon). Meanwhile, Altsounds has the 808 State reissues due on March 22. When we get a sound date for Frankie (ZTT's site says April), we'll post it here.