Burning The Ground Exclusive
Every so often, a record comes along that feels like it beamed in from another planet—quirky, charming, slightly off-center, and completely irresistible. “Fred From Jupiter” by Digette is one of those hidden gems that perfectly embodies the playful, anything-goes spirit of the early ‘80s underground.
Released in 1984 on Sire Records, Digette was a short-lived but fascinating project featuring Lisa Michaelis (vocals, keyboards), Min Thometz (vocals), and Ivan Ivan (vocals, keyboards, percussion). If Ivan Ivan’s name rings a bell, it should—he was already making waves behind the scenes producing and working within the downtown New York scene, and this project carries that same artsy, left-of-center energy.
“Fred From Jupiter” is a delicious slice of minimalist synth-pop with a wink. Built around a simple, hypnotic keyboard line and deadpan, almost detached vocals, the track tells the oddball tale of an alien visitor—Fred—who seems both mysterious and oddly mundane. It’s that contrast that gives the song its charm. There’s no dramatic build, no big chorus—just a cool, repetitive groove that pulls you into its strange little universe.
What makes this even more interesting is that Digette’s version is actually a cover. The song was originally recorded in 1981 by the German group Die Doraus Und Die Marinas as “Fred Vom Jupiter.” That original version leans even further into the naïve, lo-fi aesthetic of the Neue Deutsche Welle movement, with a kind of childlike innocence that feels almost like a surreal art project.
Digette’s take smooths things out slightly for a wider audience while still retaining the offbeat personality that made the original so special. It’s a perfect example of how ideas traveled across borders in the early ‘80s—mutating and evolving as they went, but always keeping that experimental edge intact.
This is exactly the kind of track that fits right at home in the Closet 80s series—slightly obscure, endlessly interesting, and guaranteed to make you ask, “How did I miss this the first time around?”
💿 This transfer is a NEW 2026 Meticulous Audio Restoration and Transfer, bringing this quirky cult favorite back to life with the clarity and care it deserves. I originally posted this track on December 12, 2013, and I’m excited to revisit it with a fresh upgrade.
And in true offbeat ‘80s fashion, the record itself comes with one of the most delightfully eccentric special thanks lists you’ll ever read. Shout-outs go to Seymour Stein, Shirley Divers, Richard and Jean Wilson, Elliot Spears, Danny Heaps, Mark Josephson, Mark Fotiadis, Mark Kamins, all other Marks in this galaxy, Justin Strauss, Annette von Spreckelsen, Keith Haring, Ron Pameri, WLIR, NASA, ESA, and even The Russian Rocket Force—a perfectly surreal roll call that mirrors the song’s interstellar whimsy.
If you were digging through the bins in 1984, this might have been one of those records you passed over in favor of something more familiar. But give it a spin now, and you’ll find a quirky little treasure that captures a very specific moment in time—when pop music wasn’t afraid to be weird.
And honestly… we could use a little more of that.
SIDE A:
Fred From Jupiter (Long Version) 4:13
Written-By – Dorau, Maurischat
SIDE B:
Fred From Jupiter (Short Version) 2:35
Written-By – Dorau, Maurischat
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Sire – W9166T, Sire – W 9166 (T), Sire – 920279-0
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
CREDITS:
- Art Direction, Design – Zoë Brotman
- Artwork – Kenny Scharf
- Costume Designer [Clothes By] – Parachute (13), Pat Fields*
- Engineer – Matthias Härtl
- Make-Up [Make Up] – Diane Matthews
- Musician [Additional Musicians], Guitar – Tony Love
- Musician [Additional Musicians], Sequenced By [Sequencer] – Peter Baumann
- Performer [Digette Is] – Ivan Ivan, Lisa Michaelis, Min Thometz
- Photography By [Photo] – Tseng Kwong Chi
- Producer – Ivan Ivan, Peter Baumann
- Stylist [Styling] – Ellen Silverstein (2)
- Vocals – Min Thometz
- Vocals, Keyboards – Lisa Michaelis
- Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion – Ivan Ivan
NOTES:
Art Direction and Design for Studio Zed
Final Mix
Recorded at Cronex
Mixed at “Recordland” Berlin
This record is dedicated to the memory of Michael Stewart
Special thanks to Seymour Stein, Shirley Divers, Richard and Jean Wilson, Elliot Spears, Danny Heaps, Mark Josephson, Mark Fotiadis, Mark Kamins, all other Marks in this galaxy, Justin Strauss, Annette von Spreckelsen, Keith Haring, Ron Pameri, WLIR, NASA, ESA, The Russian Rocket Force.
Buy the 12″ at DISCOGS
VINYL TRANSFER & AUDIO RESTORATION:
-DjPaulT
for BURNING THE GROUND
THE GEAR:
Turntable: Technics SL-1200MK7
Cartridge/Stylus: Ortofon Concorde Music Black
Phono Pre-amp: Pro-Jec Tube Box DS2
Tubes: Genalex Gold Lion 12AX7 ECC83/B759 Gold Pins Vacuum Tube – Matched Pair
Audio Interface: MOTU M4
Turntable Isolation Platform: ISO-Tone™ Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro Spin Acrylic Mat
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner
SOFTWARE:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 25 (Recording)
Down Sampling/Dither: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
**24bit FLAC Only Available For Seven Days!
Password: burningtheground
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