When punk and new wave blew up in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, the fallout was felt on a global level even though acts from the U.S. and the U.K. snagged most of the attention. Minimal Compact from Tel Aviv, Israel were one of the little-known post-punk acts outside of the usual suspects. Formed in 1981, Minimal Compact incorporated native Middle Eastern sounds into dark European rock, breaking ground that groups such as Blancmange and Savage Republic would eventually cross. What prevented Minimal Compact from becoming completely obscure because of their geographic roots was that they relocated to Amsterdam early in their career and therefore found support within the European music community. ~ Michael Sutton