Category: Interviews (Page 4 of 107)

DLINA VOLNY Interview

11 December 2023 /

“Do your thing, don’t be afraid”, that is the message from the intimate independently made documentary by Radio Plato about DLINA VOLNY, the enigmatic trio from Belarus.

Masha Zinevich (vocals), Vad Mikutski (bass) and Ales Shishlobegan (synths) began making music together as DLINA VOLNY in 2016, issuing their debut EP ’Neizmerima’ not long after. While their first album ‘Mechty’ emerged in 2018, a wider international breakthrough came in 2021 with the impressive second long player ‘Dazed’ released by Italians Do It Better, the label best known for GLASS CANDY, CHROMATICS and DESIRE.

Describing themselves as ’brut-pop’ thanks to their post-punk meets synth-noir aesthetics, the doomy spectre of The Cold War looms in their sound. Strong songs such as ‘Do It’, ‘I’m Not Allowed’, Tomorrow’ and ‘Redrum’ are complimented by an artful visual presence. With the dark disco of ‘Bipolar’ asking “what is it like being on the border?”, the ongoing conflicts in their part of the world and their public stand with Ukraine led to uncertainty and DLINA VOLNY relocating to Lithuania.

On behalf of DLINA VOLNY, front woman Masha Zinevich kindly answered a range of questions put to them by ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about their musical universe and upcoming UK + European live shows.

How did you feel as a band that the time was right to take part in a documentary because some might view this as a conceit when you have released only two albums?

When Radio Plato pitched us the idea for this documentary, we felt like it was a great way for us to communicate our thoughts and feelings with our audience. We do that through our music but in a different way. So it was nice to discuss, elaborate on and appreciate what we’ve been doing amongst the three of us and share it with the world.

Were you concerned that a documentary might negate the cool mystique that has arisen about DLINA VOLNY which has been part of the band’s appeal?

No concerns at all. We like to talk to our listeners on social media and get to know each other. We’ve made quite a few mates all over the world this way, which is incredible. This film is one of those instruments for our people to understand us a bit better and see what our day-to-day looks like.

I do hope our mystique is still appealing and is still there haha

DLINA VOLNY could be considered unusual as a modern band in that you appear to spend a lot of time together, both creatively and socially whereas others engage remotely?

I’ve always thought that bandmates are supposed to be close. It always seemed to me that my favourite bands are best mates apart from just being a collective of musicians making music and touring together. And we work best when we’re in the same room and we take advantage of this opportunity. Working remotely would work too but there would be a different feel to it.

What concerns social life, we spend so much time together sharing our feelings with each other, pouring our hearts out that it’s only natural to me that one would want to chill with friends, go to shows etc, after all that hard work as a collective too.

How has the move to Lithuania worked for you?

It’s been working really well. We have a studio (in a prison), which is a first for us and we couldn’t be happier about that. We’ve also made quite a few mates from the Lithuanian arts scene, who are wonderful and incredibly talented people, who are loved and appreciated by Lithuanian people very much. There is a sense of community and belonging, which gives one endless opportunities to make music, shoot videos, collaborate and bring one’s ideas to life.

One of the biggest revelations in the documentary is that ‘Redrum’ was heavily influenced by THE DOORS… once you know that, it’s really obvious, what is the story?

We all love THE DOORS. Whenever there’s a jukebox in a bar, we always play THE DOORS and sing very loudly while showing off our most emotional moves. For some reason, I’ve always thought that everybody does the same, but at a bar in Mexico, when we were celebrating the end of our tour with LEBANON HANOVER, I realised that this was only our group’s sacred ritual. I found it even more special after this realisation.

We are all about emotion and feeling and each member of this legendary band brings so much of it to their music. We adore it, and ‘The End’ is so cathartic, so when ‘Redrum’ was being born, we felt this energy coming through and thought we should keep going in this direction.

Your debut album ‘Mechty’ from 2018 was bilingual, but how did the decision to record an album entirely in English with ‘Dazed’ come about?

It has always been more natural for me to write in English, since I would always listen to foreign music and spend a lot of time in London from a very young age. Writing in Russian was a challenge that we came up with when we started the band, just like the whole concept of DLINA VOLNY at the beginning – low vocals, synths, bass.

On ‘Dazed’ we wanted to just let go and write what and how we felt like. So writing stories in English was just that – a natural urge.

While your songs deal with the fragile reality of life which is enhanced by the contralto vocal delivery and dark atmospheres, there is usually a melodic sparkle coming from the synths like on the ‘Dazed’ title song, ‘Bipolar’ and ‘I’m Not Allowed’, was this template influenced by anything or any other bands in particular?

Not sure if it was influenced by any band in particular but the idea was to create dark surroundings and contrast them with a ray of hope in the form of those melodic sparkles. We do like to conceal dark meanings in more upbeat sounds, if they may be called that. We feel that it adds to the melancholy.

Since ‘Dazed’ was released in Autumn 2021, tensions have risen further in your part of the world. How has that affected you as artists and activists?

Well, we live in constant worry. The fact that there’s absolutely nothing we can do is super depressing. We can only find escape and release in playing shows and recording new music. Being on tours is healing and absolutely priceless so we are incredibly grateful that we can do that.

The glorious ‘Whatever Happens Next’ made some important statements?

It sure did. This song puts what we feel in simple words and powerful sounds. Unfortunately, it remains relevant, but now pertains to more than one dictator.

DLINA VOLNY and Italians Do It Better are an ideal fit, with your love of ‘Twin Peaks’ and the colour red, how did the connection come about?

We’ve always been big fans of IDIB so when ‘Dazed’ was coming together, we thought it was time for us to get in touch with them and see if we could work together. They loved the demos and offered us a deal an hour after we sent out that email. Pure luck.

Releasing ‘Dazed’ on Italians Do It Better was a step in boosting DLINA VOLNY’s profile internationally but have you experienced any cultural boycotts or travel restrictions as a result of the world situation?

Thankfully, it only happened once. We got cancelled by a promoter in Europe right after the war in Ukraine started.

As a sign of the wider international recognition of DLINA VOLNY, you collaborated with VANDAL MOON on the song ‘Easy To Dream’, how was the experience to work outside of your norm?

It was very interesting and pleasant. Blake Voss of VANDAL MOON is a wonderful human being, with whom we met when I tagged him in a Tik-Tok to ‘Hurt’, which I made with my dog Cherry. Blake offered to collaborate and we agreed straight away. ‘Easy to Dream’ is such a great song! When we received the first mix, it helped me let go and cry for the first time since the war started. It was such a powerful and liberating moment. We’re still in very good contact and are hoping to meet offline sometime soon.

DLINA VOLNY covered Madonna’s ‘Hollywood’ and interpreted it as a much harsher warning to those seeking fame and stardom. With this in mind, what are your hopes and fears for the future?

We hope to continue making music and touring, reach new audiences and immerse more and more people into this safe, ethereal and infinitely versatile space that we like to create.

How do you feel you have changed as a trio since you released the ‘Neizmerima’ EP in 2016?

We have definitely all grown as musicians and as people. We understand how things work and what we want to achieve a little better now, which, I hope, helps us reach new heights with the new album.

What is next for DLINA VOLNY? You are touring Europe in 2024?

Yes! We are touring Europe and the UK in January and February 2024. We are super excited since it’s going to be our first ever show in most of the cities we’re playing. And also it’s gonna be our first time touring the UK. Since we’re from Belarus, we need UK visas so it makes it a little more difficult to come to the UK. But we are very happy that we’re finally doing it!

We’re also looking forward to sharing new music with the world.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to DLINA VOLNY

Special thanks to Alex at Radio Plato

‘Dazed’ is released by Italians Do It Better as a CD, purple vinyl LP, cassette and download, available from https://dlinavolny.bandcamp.com/

DLINA VOLNY 2024 UK + European live dates include:

Groningen ESNS Festival (19 January), Brussels Cafe Central (20 January), London The Black Heart (21 January)*, Newcastle The Lubber Fiend (22 January)*, Manchester YES Basement (23 January)*, Liverpool Kazimierz Stockroom (24 January)*, Paris Super Sonic (26 January)*, Bordeaux Iboat (27 January)*, Laval La Fosse (28 January)*, Toulouse Le Ravelin (29 January)*, Lyon Sonic (30 January)*, Dudingen Bad Bonn (31 January)*, Mannheim Juz Mannheim (1 February)*, Bochum Die Trompete (2 February)*, Copenhagen Råhuset (4 February)*, Oslo Dunk (5 February)*, Gothenburg Hängmattan (6 February)*, Stockholm Kollektivet Livet Bar & Scen (7 February)*, Malmö Plan B (8 February), Amsterdam Cinetol (10 February), The Hague Grauzone Festival (11 February)

*special guest Jennifer Touch

https://www.facebook.com/dlinavolny

https://twitter.com/volny_dlina

https://www.instagram.com/dlina_volny/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
11 December 2023

FERAL FIVE Interview

25 November 2023 /

Photo by Keira Anee Photography

FERAL FIVE released their debut album ‘Truth Is The New Gold’ at the start of 2023 and ahead of the game, the duo employed various AI-enhancements on a number of tracks with technology created by the German based company Birds on Mars.

Described by its members Kat and Drew Five as “A 360 degree music and art album project”, FERAL FIVE utilised electronic components with traditional guitars and live percussive elements to create their own “Feraltropolis” for a long playing commentary on AI, social media and today’s strangely dystopian post-truth world.

As the year concludes, the ‘Truth Is The New Gold’ titles song has been given a funky new remix by Martyn Ware; FERAL FIVE had performed at his ‘Picasso Portraits’ night in 2016 hosted by the National Portrait Gallery.

FERAL FIVE chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about how ‘Truth Is The New Gold’, the title song’s Martyn Ware remix, the various AI developments which have been in the news recently and much more…

This first full length album ‘Truth Is The New Gold’ has been a long time coming as FERAL FIVE first released music in 2013? Why has it taken this amount of time?

We love making music and exploring ideas. Every track is a statement, and every statement we made we opted to push out as a single fairly quickly. We believe in all killer no filler, so it took us a while to stand still for long enough to craft an album that thematically and sonically we were proud of.

Also we’re producers as well as writers and musicians, so arranging, mixing and production is an in-house job where we put our own musicianship under the microscope. The pandemic meant we weren’t in the same room for some considerable time, so while we file swapped, that definitely slowed things down a bit too. Later when we finally got to be in the same room, we decided to shelve a number of songs originally slated for the album in favour of some new ideas and these really helped to crystallize the theme of the album. So the short answer is ‘Truth Is The New Gold’ didn’t have an overly long gestation, we were just a singles band before that we guess.

With your down-to-earth approach to electronically-assisted pop, do you feel any kinship with acts such as DUBSTAR or INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP?

Yes, we love what they do and feel a real kinship. We saw an amazing INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP set supporting Róisín Murphy, but we haven’t actually met in person. Maybe we should see your description as a genre that deserves its own festival! Although, we have to say that while electronics are pretty fundamental to our sound, anything that makes a positive contribution to our sonic palette is used. So on the new album, as well as electronic and beats, we use a range of live percussion, including some very delicate crystals. We’re also both very crafty guitarists and love the raw energy that brings. I guess you could say that we are looking for the human trait in everything we do even where we use electronics and other components, we are looking to bring out an organic feel that you can still groove to.

So what makes up the “Feraltropolis”?

It’s in two places really. It’s our own personal lives that we live outside of FERAL FIVE, our hopes, fears and beliefs, which for us as a team has a lot of conjunction on the Venn diagram, as you might say. Our data sets and values are the same. Then this becomes manifest and “real” within the landscape of FERAL FIVE’s art. If you wanted us to describe it, we’d say it’s a city in the not too distant future and the surrounding landscape. This was also the location for our album journey, exploring truth and trust. It can be bleak, it can be exciting, there’s always a lot going on. There’s always hope amid the dystopia.

Before all the recent debates, FERAL FIVE utilised AI on the album, how did the idea come about?

FERAL FIVE has always been at the bleeding edge of tech, unafraid to experiment and open to new ideas, and our first vinyl release was an EP with 3D printed art that we printed ourselves. On a later track, we worked with sonified algorithms, and visual ones for the video, courtesy of new materials designer Francis Bitonti.

We’d been thinking about AI for some time and wrote a song a while back about where it was heading – ‘Pet Show’ – about AI robo-companions, set in a bar with freaky creatures that can fulfill your wildest dreams.

With our album exploring truth and trust, AI was a natural part of exploring new realities, and using the technology in the form of an AI Kat Five opened up new sonic and thematic possibilities. We hear this voice – a character – uplifting us right from the beginning of the album, despite the dark undertones, reminding us “it’s not the end”.

The AI is not composing for us, that is very much us humans, but it’s playing a role, as a kind of narrator on the journey. It reminded us of first-person narrations you get in film-noir detective movies.

Tell us about the AI created by Birds on Mars? 

Birds on Mars are based in Berlin and are doing great work in AI so it was amazing to collaborate with them. They wanted to train their AI on Kat’s spoken voice, so she decided to read some of the album lyrics out. They sounded SO different when they weren’t being sung, it was a very disconcerting experience making that recording. BOM then gave us a selection of AI models and an interface, and then we had AI Kat Five to play with to sing, speak or make non-human sounds. We could make her say things we never said which was mind-blowing.

‘Golden Rule’ was described by yourselves as an ”AI-enhanced shimmering anthem of renewal and people coming together”, please discuss?

Our album explores darkness but is ultimately about light and hope. This final track was our overarching statement, that we must work together to build change. Though not forgetting that important statements are allowed to have a groove, so this track does have a strong dance vibe. Here we used the AI Kat, particularly in the opening and the end, as both an oracle, prescient of the dangers and wonders ahead, and also as a speaker of truth.

AI can help realise an imagined world or provide speedier assistance such as isolating John Lennon’s vocal for THE BEATLES ‘Now & Then’, how do you see its useful applications in music?

It can be a great creative tool, and we love the work of pioneering artists Holly Herndon, and Portrait XO. There are AIs to get your lyrical process going – not that we ever need that kind of help, and even AI mastering, though we’ve a favourite human in the form of our go-to sonic partner Katie Tavini for that.

The use to which Peter Jackson put AI in ‘Now & Then’ was a very interesting example of using AI not in a generative compositional sense, but to clean up the audio in ways that prior to that would, as you indicated, have taken way longer, and may not have had such amazing results. In the end it’s all about the choices, as McCartney once said: “the love you take is equal to the love you make”. Some artists may use AI to speed up the process in some technical areas, but when you use generative tools that go beyond their original parameters, the question of ownership and authenticity become important. There is an interesting point along that line where someone will ask, where is the artist? Who plucked the string? Did the string pluck itself? Or do we now owe all our royalties to an app developer?

But as the ‘Joan Is Awful’ episode of ‘Black Mirror’ showed, there are potentially more sinister implications with AI… your thoughts please?

For sure. AI serfdom, stripping musicians of their value, are all possibilities and more besides. It’s why we need ethical tech, and collaborative AI. Even tech giants are calling for regulation. The thing is, any tool, no matter how sharp or blunt, can be used for good or ill. There are endless positive ways it is being and will be used to solve some of humanity’s pressing issues. One of the key considerations is who makes the decisions about the use and deployment of AI. We risk talking about AI like it’s one thing. It’s a concept and whilst it has huge medical applications for good, it definitely has its darker side, from human profiling to smart weapons. To quote POP WILL EAT ITSELF, there are at least “16 different flavours of hell”.

Social media was the theme on the songs ‘Roll It With Me’ and ‘Camouflage’, are “doom scrolling” and attention seeking taking their toll?

We love a good doomscroll at times, but there’s so much digital anxiety around caused by the incessant demands of social media, and the increasingly tense and vicious behaviour online. People have to sell themselves and their lives to please algorithms, and you often see artists announcing they have to take a break.

‘Roll It With Me’ was heavily influenced by the pandemic and having to connect with people at a distance, often on screen. It’s about valuing the human everyday moments even if they’re fleeting and bittersweet.

‘Camouflage’ is about the tension between being on display everywhere, whether by choice, or on CCTV or other public cameras, and being anonymous. It’s a longing for a simple on off switch to camouflage yourself when you’re feeling overexposed, watched, socially anxious or simply shy. It could also be a spy thriller theme though.

How has it been having to use such social media platforms to get FERAL FIVE noticed in what has become a saturated music marketplace?

In person connections are always the best! We like to see social media as an extension of our art, whether that’s asking people to share their truths with us to be part of our new live audiovisual show, or exploring visual effects. So our work there is genuine and not a deliberate attempt to go viral. We guess that makes us hardcore.

It’s getting much harder to reach people though as tech giants squeeze creators, and change their functionality all the time, so it’s good to have our own website too. Maybe we should post more photos of us with our cats!

‘Silver Sky’ has a real good ol’ groove, how was it inspired musically and lyrically?

It was inspired by the changing night sky and some confused London birds. We wanted to explore light pollution in a city that never gets dark, and think about future mitigations people might use. It was also partly inspired by having our songs played to the trees at ‘The Dark Outside’ events in Galloway Forest dark sky park, and the need for protected areas.

We set out to conjure up a sparkling groove with bubbling synths, and also played long quartz crystals as an instrument (you can see them in the video). We had many conversations when we were producing it, about how to make things sound more silver.

‘The ‘Truth Is The New Gold’ title track acted as the trailer for the album at the start of the year and has now been remixed by Martyn Ware, how was the connection made and why was that particular one chosen?

We are so excited by his brilliant uptown remix, what a groove!

Martyn Ware is an all-time inspiration, and it was great to connect with him at Music Tech Fest a few years back, and get to share creative ideas. Kat has done some visuals for him including for his mighty Power Project exhibition launch. He also invited us to perform at his ‘Picasso Portraits’ night at the National Portrait Gallery along with legends like RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP, WHITE NOISE and SCANNER.

We were thrilled when he offered to remix a song for us, and he asked to hear the whole album ahead of release so he could decide on which track. We were curious to see what he’d pick, and were stoked that it was Truth Is The New Gold which is the statement song, and he brought in Charles Stooke as well. We’ve a glittering video for the remix on its way.

Which have been your favourite tracks on this album?

It’s hard to choose. The driving force conceptually and musically and our absolute favourite is ‘Truth Is The New Gold’.

‘Gravity’ is another favourite, the newest song we wrote. It’s about space and desire, and we love playing it live.

‘Golden Rule’ is also up there. Why, because love is that golden rule and this is an album of dystopian themes but it’s also a love letter to humanity: don’t give up. It’s a sentiment.

Photo by Keira Anee Photography

How do you intend to release music in the future, are disparate tracks released ad hoc to streaming services really the way to go or can the long playing format survive?

Both. Long formats give you more of a chance to express your vision and create exciting merch, performances, and collaborations. We worked with design legend Malcolm Garrett on the album, and it’s been amazing. He’s created the artwork, T-shirts, and a collaboration with jewellery designers Tatty Devine. Copies of everything are going into his collection at the Special Collections Museum at Manchester Metropolitan University.

What is next for FERAL FIVE?

We’re very much focusing on live and our interactive audiovisual shows, as we want to share the album in this multi-sensory way.

We’ve been working with artist / technologist Jonathan Hogg who has created algorithmic visuals that he plays live, and the first performance we did with him was incredible. Each show is unique, with the audience able to contribute to what’s on screen, and Kat singing their thoughts, as well as the album songs. Truth IS The New Gold.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its sincerest thanks to FERAL FIVE

The album ‘Truth Is The New Gold’ is released by Reckless Yes in vinyl LP, CD and digital formats, available from https://feralfive.bandcamp.com/

The Martyn Ware remix of the title song is on the usual online platforms including at https://feralfive.bandcamp.com/album/truth-is-the-new-gold

https://www.feralfive.com/

http://www.facebook.com/FeralFive

https://twitter.com/feralfive

http://www.instagram.com/FeralFive

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6lFO7Wz038KeAcIodpRHcU

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
25 November 2023

A Short Conversation with BERENICE SCOTT

3 November 2023 /

Berenice Scott is the musician and singer-songwriter who has played live with the likes of HEAVEN 17, BEF, JOHNNY HATES JAZZ, HOLY HOLY, P!NK and SIMPLE MINDS.

In her latest role as keyboardist for SIMPLE MINDS, she was part of the band which performed their classic 1982 album ‘New Gold Dream’ for a new concert recording ‘Live At Paisley Abbey’. In a connection with HEAVEN 17, the original album was produced and engineered by Peter Walsh who also worked on ‘Penthouse & Pavement’.

Together with HEAVEN 17’s Glenn Gregory, Berenice Scott is also an acclaimed composer for TV and film while also fronting their more pop-oriented duo AFTERHERE whose first album ‘Addict’ was released in 2018.

Berenice Scott independently released her debut solo album ‘Ten Takes’ in 2007 and followed it up with the excellent ‘Polarity’ in 2014. Now in ‘A Joni Kind Of Mood’, as the title suggests, her new album features intimate personal arrangements of Joni Mitchell songs plus her own compositions that encapsulate the spirit of the influential Canadian artist. She chatted about this musical journey to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK and much more…

People are likely to be familiar with you playing live with HEAVEN 17 but may not be aware you have been performing with SIMPLE MINDS for the past few years, how has that been?

Yeah, that’s been great, it was a good long process leading up to it, learning all the material and about their back catalogue which was the first thing I did when I got the call to meet Charlie Burchill and Jim Kerr. I put a playlist together of their immense catalogue and went through it like that. It’s been very informative, challenging and rewarding all at the same time.

As you did you HEAVEN 17, you have performed a classic album with SIMPLE MINDS, in this case ‘New Gold Dream’, have you had analysed musically why that record has meant so much to people for so long?

I think that’s a really good question because I definitely saw that correlation between that album in particular and that period of music which HEAVEN 17 were a part of. I heard a lot of stories from Glenn about how they would all bump into each other at The Townhouse, so there was a lot of history there that I wasn’t aware of at all because it was a little bit before my time.

I can hear it in the sounds and the synths… but SIMPLE MINDS moved away from that into more stadium rock. I think it’s all to do with the analogue synths and the way that they approached using them. I know Charlie is a massive fan of synths and does a lot of that himself. And it’s the same with HEAVEN 17, the both of them have that love affair with synths, the organic nature of those early instruments. You couldn’t always recreate those sounds that you discovered, you put it down on tape and then because you couldn’t always programme that into a memory like with the early Moogs, that’s just it there, printed, like a painting…

Did you have any particular tracks from ‘New Gold Dream’ that you particularly enjoyed playing in your keyboardist role?

I love playing them all for different reasons but ‘Hunter & The Hunted’, when I first heard that to learn the solo, I was like “ooooh”! I didn’t know about the history of it at first but then Charlie told me it was Herbie Hancock! Fantastic! It was an interesting solo to learn, I wanted to recreate it as close as possible. Roland helped me recreate the sound for that.

What have been the differences for you between performing with HEAVEN 17 and SIMPLE MINDS?

There’s a different vibe, how they are on stage is very different. It’s not so much that one is serious and one isn’t, but I’ve never really analysed that. But there’s a definite different feel on stage. The SIMPLE MINDS band is quite big and it’s more contained with HEAVEN 17 so the proximity is closer to Martyn and Glenn. It can be quite vast with SIMPLE MINDS with the arena venues and festival shows.

After doing the soundtrack to TV drama ‘Liar’ with Glenn, the commissions have been coming in with ‘Vigil’, ‘Vanity Fair’ and ‘The Suspect’ being recent examples, how have your approaches grown and changed as you’ve progressed?

It changes due to the subject and what the directors and production companies want, so you are accommodating and adapting to that. I wouldn’t say I was necessarily getting better but the workflow can become a bit more streamlined. I think the approach for me has always been the same since the beginning. But you are really just trying to fit the bill, that’s the most important thing and do that as efficiently and as good as possible.

I hadn’t realised you did the music for a 2017 off-Broadway production of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ which is obviously interesting because of the HEAVEN 17 connection?

That was great, obviously that is a favourite film of Glenn and Martyn so that was one side of it. I love Stanley Kubrick so it was strange and wonderful. When we went over for the opening night, it was a real New York affair.

Will there be any more song oriented work with Glenn as AFTERHERE following 2018’s ‘Addict’?

Definitely, it’s just finding the time to do it, obviously the past 4 years, it’s been pretty much impossible with touring and the pandemic. But yes, there will be another AFTERHERE album.

It’s been 9 years since ‘Polarity’, how do you look back on that record?

NO! It’s not been 9 years! It’s a different kind of world now, everything has been altered and is just different, so maybe there’s a feeling of that being longer because it was almost a different epoch! I’m still the same, I still do music for the same reasons but I’ve lived more of course…

I’d argue that you appear more confident now…

Oh really, that’s good, OK! We haven’t seen each other for years? *laughs*

It’s been a while, it was 2018 for the AFTERHERE album launch, the girl then compared with the girl who I met at the HEAVEN 17 aftershow party in 2012 who was actually quite shy… *laughs*

YEAH! I can see that, I definitely think dealing with a lot of work situations and being on the road, it’s not that it hardens you up but you do approach each day as “I’ve got to just get this done”. But at the same time, you’re right, I think it’s important to remember that soft side because you don’t want that hardening up, otherwise I’ll lose connection with creativity, it’s something that has happened to me too. Which is why there’s a neat segue into the ‘A Joni Kind Of Mood’ album, I spent time doing that because I felt I was losing that soft creativity core.

So what got you into ‘A Joni Kind Of Mood’?

I was going through periods of feeling pretty lost for various reasons and Joni Mitchell’s music saved me in a way. I found the way life changes on a personal level and also musically… just life, the same reasons that she wrote those songs, for herself.

The beauty of her music is that you relate it to yourself, you’re not necessarily thinking about the artist, you’re thinking about the art which is incredible… I wanted to sing them.

You make a good point about the importance of the art, because I think today with the music industry in this social media world with TikTok and this Instagram reel nonsense, it seems to be now about how much flesh you show or how loud you can shout, have you any thoughts about that?

Hmmm! There’s always been that quick sell nature and there will always be that with humanity, in every industry, there’s a quick sell. I do worry that people are not spending their formative years well, when you should be locking yourself away to get to grips with your art, because it’s not easy to do it, to express yourself. I think a lot of time is spent on the outside with social media… I mean, it’s good to use it to promote yourself but there’s pros and cons; I do think an element of “practice” time is needed, do you know what I mean?

Are all the songs on ‘A Joni Kind Of Mood’ covers?

There’s a couple which are original which weren’t necessarily based on Joni, but fitted the mood of how I feel when I am listening to Joni… I thought why not?

How did you choose the songs because ‘Both Sides Now’ and ‘A Case Of You’ are quite well known ones to take on which is quite brave?

There’s definitely a fear factor but you know what, you only live once don’t you… I think my favourite Joni Mitchell album at the moment (because I’m sure it will change, and it will change) is ‘Hejira’ the album. So I started with a couple of those, I think ‘Little Green’ is such a beautiful sentiment, the more I started listening to the lyrics, the more it resonated so that’s why I chose that one. Then I was thinking more, not necessarily her more mainstream ones, but they are just lovely tunes and I just wanted to try them.

Why did you choose the ‘Hejira’ title song as the first single as it’s not an obvious choice because it’s really long?

Yes, it’s a bit long and impossible to get radio play but that’s fine! *laughs*

This is very much a personal project but there are Joni fans out there and I hope it resonates with them; ‘Hejira’ is just an amazing piece of poetry music and you don’t hear many 9 minutes tracks! But it’s just poetry and poems are long and that’s that.

What about the other songs of your own that fitted in with the vibe of this record rather than say the next AFTERHERE record?

I think as I was working through them, and how that was panning out, I don’t really know, it all just fell into place really.

You’re a Roland Ambassador, is there anything new in tech and gear that has excited you?

I’ve just got my hands recently on the GAIA 2… oh my goodness, it’s absolutely incredible! Normally it takes a while to get to know keyboards but I just plugged and played the other day, I was there for 2 hours with my headphones! Absolutely amazing! From an instant play, it sounds incredible and everything is accessible, it’s got some amazing features on the interface, it’s everything in one. I’m kinda blown away by it at the moment and I can’t wait to have some more time with it. Roland have asked me to do a little video for it so that will be my first port of call. I’m excited about that!

I really enjoy working with them, they’re such a great company and have been so supportive over the years. I can’t really tell you how amazing to work closely with them. It’s been one of my favourite things about my music career so far.

How are you releasing ‘A Joni Kind Of Mood’?

I think potentially there may be some physical but at the moment it’s just digital because obviously that’s easy, it’s across all platforms and so accessible. If there’s a demand for some vinyl, I guess we’ll put that together, we’ll see how it goes really.

What is next for you?

I’ve got a gig on 12 January 2024 at PizzaExpressLive in Holborn, that’s the next big step which I’m really excited about.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Berenice Scott

Additional thanks to Sacha Taylor-Cox at Hush PR

‘A Joni Kind Of Mood’ is available now via the usual online platforms

Berenice Scott performs songs from the album at PizzaExpressLive in Holborn on Friday 12 January 2024, tickets available from https://www.pizzaexpresslive.com/whats-on/berenice-scott

http://www.berenicescott.co.uk/

http://www.facebook.com/berenicescott

https://twitter.com/berenicescott

https://www.instagram.com/berenicescott/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3DbWAPmoi3cZVnTbbHTgi8

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
3 November 2023

SOFTWAVE: An interview about the things we’ve done…

20 October 2023 /

SOFTWAVE, the Danish duo comprising of Catrine Christensen and Jerry Olsen who opened for OMD in 2020 have finally become sophomores.

With the worldwide pandemic along with outsiders keen to have an influence on the duo’s direction triggering something of an existential crisis, SOFTWAVE have come out the other side more determined than ever to determine and secure their own future, for better or for worse.

The end result is ‘things we’ve done’, an honest electronic pop album which while being reflective, is an uplifting and motivational experience much in the vein of their heroes ERASURE. Having remixed Andy Bell’s solo material for the ‘Club Torsten’ collection and more recently, the PET SHOP BOYS produced David Cicero, the pair have been able to analyse the work of the best and learn from them.

Catrine Christensen and Jerry Olsen spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about the things they’ve done for album number two and more…

These are the ‘things we’ve done’, how does it feel to finally get your second album out?

Catrine: Thanks for asking! The first time I finally got time to reflect on that. I’ve never felt more tired. This one was tough. Felt like we were in a second-album-crisis, haha! Maybe because we’ve been told that the second album is the most difficult album to finish. Well, I agree! But hey! “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” 😉

Jerry: It feels like a relief because it was much harder this time around. The composition process was slower and more thorough.

You released 5 songs on the ‘Aspire’ EP in 2022 and these appear in some shape on ‘things we’ve done’, had that always been the intention?

Jerry: No it wasn’t. I have never really wanted it as I’m an old school album-kind-of-guy. It was mainly the idea of our former management to actually divide the whole thing into 3 EPs or waves. The intention was to get more content out in smaller portions so that fans were fed something the whole time instead of just an album and that was it… a bit unwillingly, I agreed to the 2 part split… we will never do this again though. It has been a complicated and cumbersome process merging the different tracks, both production and admin-wise.

Catrine: I agree with Jerry. If we should do this again, a label has to take over. The whole DIY admin and social media part is simply taking too much of my time – way too many people to communicate with. I mean, we only have 24 hours a day, and I need 48 or more sometimes. Haha! It’s not a bad thing, cos I feel like “things” come easier to us, a lot of great and bigger things are happening even before the release. It all feels totally different from previous release strategies we had. But at the same time – that’s what I like about the music industry. It’s constantly dynamic and unpredictable.

From a writing and production point of view, how did ‘things we’ve done’ differ from ‘Game On’?

Jerry: The reason why it was harder this time, is because we have been more quality conscious on this album. We know that the second album is the critical one so we wanted 10 tracks that really lived up to our own expectations. Personally we think we succeeded to bring about an album which is better sounding and a bit more mature than the debut one. And at the same time staying true to our genre, but that must be up to our fans to decide…

Catrine: I would like to add this… when Jerry says “quality”, he’s also talking about the sound layers. We’ve always been struggling not to add too much sounds and vocals into each song. This time we managed to add more space into the songs, so that it doesn’t feels like Jerry and my ideas are constantly competing with each other. I really do hope our listeners can hear how much we’ve done to improve ourselves. Or else we might have call the next album ‘things we’ve done better’… ha ha!

You go quite ABBA-esque’ on ‘Taking Life For Granted’, how did that song come together?

Jerry: I didn’t realise that ha ha! But now you mention it, I guess I can relate to that. Maybe It’s because of the main bass tone is on top of the kick instead of on the offbeat in the choruses, it gives it a different feel. Don’t know why I did that, I just felt it sounded good because it’s the most common thing to lay it on the offbeat.

Catrine: Well, I never thought of that either. But I can tell, from the very first draft of this song’s production we kind of knew, that it would be a strong one. Therefore we waited till the end to finish it. I believe we didn’t work on it for a year or so, simply to avoid messing it up. Ha ha!

‘Supernova’ pays tribute to Andy Bell, what inspired you to write a song about him?

Catrine: When I was about to write ‘Supernova’, we just did the Andy Bell remixes, therefore it came naturally to me, calling this song ‘Supernova’ as I was in the perfect mood of thanking my idol for being so inspiring “since the very beginning”. But to be honest, I don’t really want people to reflect too much on my story. The song seeks to inspire the listeners to look into themselves and think of any person in their lives who in any matter is or have been an idol to them – and THANK THEM while they are still here.

To my ears, ‘The Deepest Love’ reminds me of ERASURE’s ‘I Bet You’re Mad at Me’, was this intentional?

Jerry: Not at all. The thing is that ‘The Deepest Love’ was the last song we finished for the album and as the preceding tracks were more serious and somewhat darker in a pop kind of sense, like ‘Never Gonna Let You Down’ and ‘Through Open Eyes’, I wanted a track that felt synthpop in a more traditional and happier way. But I will say that you are right in the assumption that it’s heavily inspired by ERASURE. I guess I can’t help myself! Ha ha!

How is ‘This World’ for you now?

Jerry: Like a memory of a place we absolutely have no interest in revisiting…

Catrine: All the ‘things we’ve done’ during the years building up SOFTWAVE, our dream, our passion, our purpose, our baby, was suddenly taken away from us. So was hope. Glad we got it back! I’m not sure about ‘This World’ has turned into anything better, but at least I feel better so that I can continue during my thing – spreading positive vibes out to the people. “People – let’s stick together” – in my World, it’s all about love to one another that makes ‘This World’ a better place.

Much of this album was put together during the pandemic and lockdown, now we are out of it, how have things changed for SOFTWAVE in the music business since and has it affected your approach?

Jerry: We felt we were on the brink of success when we toured with OMD and then lockdowns came. The next 2 – 3 years passed and nothing really happened both in the music business and with us producing music. It was so strange, like time stood still. Now we feel the emergence of good energy and the desire to get out and perform again.

Catrine: Well, I’m just happy that I trusted my instincts telling me not to follow the steam. I decided not to focus much on social media and concerts to finish the album with Jerry. And I’m glad we did, cos now the eagerness to perform live has never been bigger. It feels fantastic and people have been so supportive and patience with us ❤️ We have never been stronger!

What are your favourite songs on ‘things we’ve done’?

Jerry: ‘Taking Life For Granted’ because I think it’s the most catchy song, it’s the banger of the album. And then I also very much like ‘Never Gonna Let You Down’ and ‘Through Open Eyes’ because they are more mature and sound a bit different from the typical SOFTWAVE tracks.

Catrine: I agree, but it’s always difficult selecting favourites. Some faves from my end would be ‘Don’t Bully Me Again’ due to the whole story behind it and the strong melodies. ‘This World’ because it’s something completely different, I love testing my darker skills as well and that happened well in this one I think. ‘I’ll Be Your Safe’ has a deeper message and I like to sing it live. ‘Through Open Eyes’ is my absolutely favourite, because it might have the best composition and was very easy to finish. Everything about the song was without struggling. Live-wise I think it will perform extremely well!

What is next for SOFTWAVE?

Catrine: Here’s the list 😉

Our remix of ‘Love is Everywhere’ by David Cicero is now released, but then there is the digital release of the ‘things we’ve done’ album first before the CD a week later. The ‘things we’ve done’ CD release party takes place at Last Orders in Germany, followed by a Halloween Party at Operaen Christiania in Denmark, support comes from OHNOTHING. Then we are playing ElectriXmas 2023 in Sweden before the ‘things we’ve done’ tour continues in 2024 with a vinyl release TBC.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its grateful thanks to SOFTWAVE

‘things we’ve done’ is available on digital platforms via https://softwave.lnk.to/softwave

The CD is available https://softwave.bandcamp.com/

SOFTWAVE play the *Depeche Mode & More* Party at the Last Orders Pub in Neubrandenburg, Germany on 21 October 2023

SOFTWAVE also host their own Halloween Party at Operaen Christiania in København, Denmark with special guests OHNOTHING on 28 October 2023 – tickets available from https://billetto.dk/e/softwave-live-pa-christiania-halloween-party-billetter-865714

SOFTWAVE will perform at ElectriXmas 2023 in Malmö at Inkonst, Sweden on 9 December 2023 alongside SIERRA – tickets available from https://electrixmas.org/tickets/

http://www.softwavemusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SoftWaveMusic/

https://twitter.com/SoftWaveMusic

https://www.instagram.com/softwave_music/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Krestine Havemann
20 October 2023

FRAGRANCE. Interview

17 October 2023 /

With his stylish dark and dreamy synthpop as typified by the breakthrough single ‘So Typical’, Matthieu Roche is the enigmatic Parisian behind FRAGRANCE.

Although there have been two full length albums ‘Now That I’m Real’ in 2019 and ‘Salt Walter’ in 2021, it was 2017 which saw the first FRAGRANCE. release in the ‘Dust & Disorders’ EP. Forward to 2023 and ‘Dust & Disorders’ has been reissued and expanded. Featuring an extra five new tracks, although his past work has been primarily in English, two songs ‘Hanté De Moi’ and ‘Mise En Garde’ see Matthieu Roche singing in his native language for the first time.

Having issued the ‘Salt Water Remixed’ cassette earlier in 2023, the first of the ‘Dust & Disorders (Complete Edition)’ reworks has just emerged in the shape of an excellent ‘Much More Like A Wave’ rework by London-based Italian producer M!R!M

FRAGRANCE. live appearances and interviews are quite rare, but Matthieu Roche happily chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about his creative career to date.

In the wider scheme of electronic pop music, FRAGRANCE. is unusual in that it is dark yet dreamy and occasionally frantic rhythmically yet soft vocally. How did this template emerge?

Hi Chi! I haven’t started this project with a preconceived idea of a style I should work on, I was instinctively headed in that direction. I think it’s simply the result of different layers of inspirations and influences. I always thought that dancing rhythms can emphasise the melancholic vibes, I have the feeling it offers the best frame for my music and what I want to pass through it.

What prompted you to sing in English rather than French?

At the very beginning, singing in English was an easier constraint because it’s not my native language and I felt freer with my choice of words and sentences. But I always loved to incorporate some French here and there and I’m more and more writing in French these days. It took some time but there are two songs entirely in French on my latest record and I’m very proud of them. I hope I’ll be able to write some more!

Do you have a preference in the instruments or software that you use? Do you like hardware synths or does this not matter to you?

On my side, the easier the better, I’m not very patient when I’m composing a song, so I’m using software. But I’m working with S Diamah on the production now (she worked on my latest LP, ‘Salt Water’) and I’m taking benefit of her amazing hardware synths knowledge and curiosity and she embellishes my compositions with them.

On your debut album ‘Now That I’m Real’, as well as your own voice, you had Hélène de Thoury aka HANTE. from MINUIT MACHINE featuring on ‘Hazy Strobes’ and Maya Postepski from AUSTRA, TR/ST and PRINCESS CENTURY on ‘At Last’, how did these collaborations come about?

I love working on “featurings”. Hélène, first of all, I loved her music as HANTE. and I met her when she mastered my previous EP. She was like a mentor to me at that time, so it was quite natural to invite her on my first album. Maya is one of my favorite producer and someone sent her my first EP in 2017 and that’s how we got in touch: that was quite unexpected! We started to work on songs together every time she was passing through Paris. She wasn’t used to singing at that time and she has a lovely accent when she speaks French and I think that’s what drove me to ask her if she’d be interested to sing – in French – on one of my songs.

You later did a brilliant duet with Maya for a PRINCESS CENTURY song called ‘Stupid Things’ from her album ‘Surrender’ which had this underlying sweetness to it, was this a reaction to the intensity of the pandemic lockdown? Do you have any fun memories from the making of it?

I’m glad you mention this album from her, because I absolutely love it. I already known some tracks from it from when she was working on it, and one day, I received an email with the demo of ‘Stupid Things’, asking if I wanna try something on it. This one, we worked on it remotely, but we love to write romantic / melancholic songs together (we have a few of them that never got released) so it was a super easy collaboration. Writing music with Maya is always fun.

You recorded a cover of GALA ‘Freed From Desire’ in 2019, it’s interesting how this song has now become a women’s football album?

Yes, the song has become an anthem for several sports competitions, whether it football or rugby. When I recorded a cover of it, it was just to please the kid in me that grew up with her songs, such as ‘Let A Boy Cry’. Unfortunately, and that’s probably due to the new success of the original song, they are quite tough with the rights of the song and my cover is no longer available on streaming platforms.

Your second album ‘Salt Water’ provided FRAGRANCE. with a wider international breakthrough with a slightly harder but still accessible sound like on ‘Crisis’, how do you look back on the making of that record?

I co-produced this album with Sophia Hamadi, aka S Diamah, as I mentioned earlier. I wrote the whole album around the theme of salt waters: tears, sweat and the sea. That implies a cool range of moods, haha. I don’t really see this record as harder than the previous one, but I think the combination of dreamy / melancholic and dancing / dark moods goes deeper on it!

Starting off ambient before it locks into a disco tempo, ‘The Cure’ has this wonderfully cinematic feel. Does soundtrack work appeal to you and do you have any favourite film composers?

It’s funny you say that, because Lulannie, who sings with me on this song, is a photographer / director. She also directed the music video that we had to shoot remotely, her in New York, me in Paris and in Brittany. Cinema is definitely a source of inspiration for me, even though I don’t listen to a lot of movie soundtracks by itself. More than a source of inspiration, it’s really a source of creativity that encourages me to explore some things with my own medium, with my own vision. This summer, I re-watched the entire ‘Twin Peaks’ series + movies and that reminds me one more time how Angelo Badalamenti is one of the greatest genius of music composing.

Your debut 2017 EP ‘Dust & Disorders’ has been expanded, but with five new songs to start. Why did you go for this approach rather than release a new standalone EP or even a new album?

When I worked on my first songs, I started with nothing but my computer and, after some friends convinced me to, I released it on Bandcamp. This EP has a special place in my heart, because it gave me the opportunity to introduce my music and to meet new amazing people. I had very few listeners at that time, but I was already dreaming of being able to give it a vinyl release one day. I also really wanted to see the artwork on a real printed object. In the meantime, with my two albums, I also had collected a lot of drafts of unfinished songs. I used them to write those 5 new songs and I think combining the two projects was quite cohesive!

What is the story behind the song ‘Hanté De Moi’ and its video?

My lyrics are always quite blurred and opened for interpretations. If, as a listener, you want to hear a word rather than another so it can resonate with you, I’m totally fine with that. When I asked Jennifer Medina to shoot a music video for it, I only gave her the lyrics, so she could build her own vision of it. I loved the abstract result of this girl watching herself in dreams.

M!R!M has done a remix of ‘Much More Like a Wave’, are you happy with the results? How do you go about choosing remixers for the songs and how involved do you get, are you quite hands off?

I love his take on the song. I always felt that the chorus of this song could work as an anthem and he definitely achieved that with his remix. I only work with artists I love regardless of their music style, so I’m not getting involved at all in their process, unless they ask to, but I don’t know if that ever happened.

You remixed ‘A Tout Jamais’ for Mylène Farmer in 2022, when the ball is on the other foot and you are remixing another artist, what approach to do take?

The main thing I like when I’m remixing a song is to work with vocals that are not mine! It changes the way to work the sounds and I love that. I have to admit that I have a preference for female vocalists, it takes me to somewhere that I’m not used to. Mylène Farmer is the best example for that, she’s one of the (if not the) most iconic French singer, so it was quite challenging but also a huge pride.

Are there any upcoming live shows in the calendar, how do you find the challenges of performing as a solo electronic act, is it something you enjoy?

I don’t play a lot of shows, it asks for quite a lot of involvement and energy, so for the moment, I only accept cool one-shot opportunities. But despite the stress it can cause, it’s always great memories. I had the chance to open for TR/ST, LINEA ASPERA and Molly Nilsson and those memories will be forever dear to my heart. But I will definitely search for more occasions to play in the future, maybe for my next album.

What are your future FRAGRANCE. plans with regards recording and remixing?

My main plan right now is to work on my new album, my third LP. I have a more and more clear vision of what I want to do with it, but I have to get to work now! I’m taking a little break in making remixes so I can focus on the new songs, but I’ve got one unreleased one that will be released at the beginning of 2024 I think!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Matthieu Roche

Special thanks to Marcus Sugars at Sugarcane Recordings

‘Much More Like A Wave’ (M!R!M Remix) is released by Sugarcane Recordings, available via online outlets including https://fragrancemusic.bandcamp.com/track/much-more-like-a-wave-m-r-m-remix

‘Dust & Disorders (Complete Edition)’ is released by Synth Religion, available as a Limited Edition 12″ half transparent / half cream vinyl LP, CD and download from https://fragrancemusic.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/thisisfragrance/

https://www.instagram.com/fragrance.music/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4APg0sb0hq18e3wr2pkEsV

https://linktr.ee/fragrancemusic

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Jennifer Medina
17 October 2023

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