Category: Reviews (Page 3 of 192)

CAT TEMPER Happy Tails

27 January 2024 /

Behind the alter-ego of CAT TEMPER is the prolific Boston-based synth meowsician Mike Langlie.

With 13 full length albums since 2019 including the DURAN DURAN endorsed ‘Furio’, there is a new CAT TEMPER long player on the way entitled ‘Nineteen Eighty-Fur’. From it as the first single is the fast-paced catchy electronic pop instrumental ‘Happy Tails’ which owes more than a musical debt to early A-HA.

‘Happy Tails’ comes with a delightful video directed and animated by Jim Ether which takes a trip through the music video hiss-tory of classic MTV as Cat Temper scampers into pop promos including ‘Money for Nothing’, ‘Take On Me’, ‘Billie Jean’, ‘When Doves Cry’, ‘I Ran’, ‘Sweet Dreams’, ‘Faith’, ‘Once in a Lifetime’, ‘Lightning Strikes’ and ‘Whip It’.

Incidentally the ‘Sweet Dreams’ section even includes a computer modelled reproduction of the prototype Movement Mk1 Drum Computer used by EURYTHMICS with the iconic Felix The Cat making a cameo on the monitor while the end sees CAT TEMPER a-a-a-a-a-as-as-as Max Headroom! Among the humorous Easter eggs (and fuzzy mice) are a Furlitizer juke box and a Meowg synth based on the Micromoog.

From behind his Meowg, Mike Langlie chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK with some ‘Happy Tails’.

This is a fabulous audio visual presentation paying tribute to the classic era of MTV when MTV actually played music… how much of a collaboration was it with animator Jim Ether regarding the storyboard etc?

Thank you! Jim Ether and I are both 80s kids and we jumped at the idea of doing an homage to classic MTV hits. I put together a video storyboard of clips and stills from the originals as a guide for my alter ego taking a trip through music video hiss-tory.

Each shot is different and presented unique challenges that Jim solved quite creatively. We wildly underestimated the amount of time and effort it would take and Jim went way beyond what I expected. I’m blown away by his attention to detail and ability to give so much purr-sonality to masked animated characters.

How did you choose the videos to pay homage to? Are these songs that have a special place in your heart or was it about choosing the most visually striking?

Both actually. Also ones with cool costumes and environments. It was fun compiling that list and then figuring out how scenes would flow together.

The Klaus Nomi ‘Lightning Strikes’ reference is a comparatively obscure one but welcome, was he an MTV discovery?

Most of the references are quite well-known but we couldn’t make it all too easy! People like Klaus Nomi and other innovative bands like THE RESIDENTS and DEVO focused on visual art as much as music and were already making experimental videos before there was a platform to distribute them. MTV gladly took them in to fill airtime as the channel got off the ground, providing them with a huge audience they may have never found otherwise. Many of my favorite musicians and albums are from that moment in time when the outsiders invaded the mainstream.

The ‘Happy Trails’ track itself is inspired by ‘Take On Me’, what synths / software were you using to construct it and how did it develop?

I started making music in the 1980s and my style hasn’t changed much through the years. Thankfully retro synthpop is back in fashion! I still use gear I’ve had since then and a lot of soft synths recreating classic hardware I sold or could never afford. Roland Juno basses and pads, Yamaha DX7 bells and leads, Jupiter-4 arpeggios, LinnDrum and Simmons drums among others. Also plenty of weird sounds from my first and favorite synth, the Casio CZ-101 which appears on almost all of my songs.

Your album ‘Furio’ with its ‘Rio’ inspired artwork got featured on the DURAN DURAN website, how was that for you and are you hoping for an endorsement from A-HA?

DURAN DURAN’s ‘Rio’ is my all-time favorite album and artwork so I couldn’t resist doing my own take on the sleeve design. I braced myself for backlash from Duran fans, but was thrilled to find it embraced by them as well as the band and their cover designer Malcolm Garrett. I can’t imagine A-HA will ever see the ‘Happy Tails’ video but if they do I hope they consider it a loving tribute!

‘Happy Trails’ is from the new CAT TEMPER album ‘Nineteen Eighty-Fur’, what’s the concept or is that blindingly obvious? Will there be more videos?

‘Nineteen Eighty-Fur’ is the third album in my trilogy of classic album art tributes, after ‘Furio’ and ‘Mystic Kitten’ which is based on Alice Cooper’s ‘Welcome To My Nightmare’. Jennifer Maher Coleman of the band ARCHITRAVE painted a great cover that I can’t wait to reveal in March. You can probably guess what album inspired it from the title. Several songs have musical nods to 80s staples that I hope listeners have fun picking out.

No plans for more videos yet but I hope to do at least one more. Jim Ether is still recovering from the work this one took!

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its feline thanks to Mike Langlie

‘Happy Tails’ is available as a download along with other releases in the CAT TEMPER back catalogue from https://cattemper.bandcamp.com/

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Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
27 January 2024

LOULA YORKE Volta

22 January 2024 /

Music made with “kind and gentle ears”, Suffolk-based modular synthesist and Oram Award Winner Loula Yorke has described her luminous second solo album ‘Volta’ as being like “Laurie Speigel meets AUTECHRE”.

Inspired by pioneering ‘Sisters With Transistors’ such as Suzanne Ciani, Laurie Spiegel and Caterina Barbieri, Loula Yorke has altered her approach to music making for her new long player. While her debut album ‘Florescence’ emerged from patching and routing experiments coupled with melodic content reliant on improvised pseudo-random quantised pitches, ‘Volta’ is born out of composed sequences.

Setting herself hard rules of no granular synthesis – no vocals – no drums, each track however had to be reproducible live with the minimum of repatching in-between. The end result is a wonderfully cohesive body of work with an appealing aesthetic.

For those who may be put off by the perceived self-indulgent nature of the modular synthesizer world, the beauty of ‘Volta’ is its melodic accessibility while still maintaining an experimental ethos. Born out of composed sequences, Loula Yorke keeps her set-up basic, using two Arturia Rackbrute 84hp 6U cases with the main sounds coming from a Verbos Harmonic Oscillator, controlled by a Erica Synths Black Sequencer.

A bittersweet meditation on overwhelm, the wonderful opener ‘It’s been decided that if you lay down no-one will die’ exudes a deep hypnotism with subtle entries into higher spectrums. Inspired by nature ‘The grounds are changing as they promise to do’ provides subtle cyclic changes before building into pulsating bliss to evoke the feeling of autumn leaves underfoot. ‘Staying with the trouble’ is shaped by a cascading array of engaging electronics while ‘The hidden messages in water’ comes at a slower pace with mystical zaps.

The longest track ‘An example of periodic time’ is a magical experiment, varying in tempo and bursting with bleepfests but the cerebral ‘Anecdoche’ offers a dreamy Terry Riley ‘A Rainbow In Curved Air’ feel. ‘Falling apart together’ closes ‘Volta with minimal structures and a very slow-moving sequence with glide applied for pause and effect.

With its carefully woven patterns of colourful sound, ‘Volta’ is wonderfully immediate. If you have never tried instrumental modular synth music before, then this is a very good place to start.

‘Volta’ is released on 23 January 2024 via Truxalis as a CD, cassette and download, available from https://loulayorke.bandcamp.com/music

Loula Yorke 2024 live dates include Norwich Arts Centre (27 January)*, London Cafe Oto (30 January)**, Leeds Howard Assembly Room (23 February)***

*opening for Mary Ocher
**opening for Vito Ricci + Lise Vachon
***‘Sister With Transistors’ screening plus live sets including NikNak + Gracie T

https://loulayorke.com/

https://www.facebook.com/loulayorke

https://twitter.com/loulayorke

https://instagram.com/iamloula

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
22 January 2023

NO-MAN Housekeeping: The OLI Years 1990 – 1994

19 January 2024 /

NO-MAN, the long-term musical collaboration between Tim Bowness and the musical juggernaut that is Steven Wilson is now amazingly well into its fourth decade and this retrospective boxset takes us way back to the beginning to cover the early output on the OLI label.

Featuring the band’s first two studio albums, ‘Loveblows & Lovecries’ and ‘Flowermouth’ alongside with the singles compilation ‘Lovesighs – An Entertainment’, the deluxe 5CD collection is rounded off with outtakes, alternate versions and the sessions for radio from the period.

Taking things chronologically, we come first to the ‘Lovesighs’ mini album which includes the band’s debut two singles with additional material from that era. This is where I came in having heard the cover of the Donovan hit ‘Colours’ in my local record shop (remember those?) one rainy afternoon and being taken by the spin on a song which I was all too familiar with.

Also featured here is the wonderful ‘Days in the Trees’ in various guises. A staple of Tim’s solo shows to this day, this is still one of Bowness’s finest vocal recordings and includes some wonderful early guitar work from Wilson. ‘Heartcheat Pop’ and ‘Kiss Me Stupid’ are also on this disc, both great slices of pop with a darker edge and even at this point, interesting instrumentation to make them stand out. That instrumentation is further augmented by Ben Coleman’s violin which at times is driving on these songs and at other points haunting as a counterpoint to the upfront beats offered.

Disc 2 is an expanded version of the full debut album ‘Loveblows & Lovecries’. In this remastered state, the album is returned to, I feel, its rightful place as not only a evergreen NO-MAN release but also an essential 1993 cut, acting as counterpoint to the grunge overload of the part of the decade. Coleman instrumental workout ‘Loveblow’ segues into the single ‘Only Baby’ which gives more than a passing nod to the Moroder produced Donna Summer who Wilson is such a fan of. This really is a great slice of pop which deserved so much more exposure than it received back in the day.

Casual readers of ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK will have their interest piqued by the track ‘Sweetheart Raw’ featuring as it does JAPAN members Mick Karn on bass, future Wilson bandmate Richard Barbieri on keys and drum programming by Steve Jansen. Once again presented in remastered form which has breathed new life into this whole album, it allows the listener to be immersed in the true depth of the soundscape offered by the musicians here and is a piece you will find yourself returning to again and again as Bowness flexes those wistful vocal chords to fabulous effect.

There is so much to enjoy on this album, from the beautiful ‘Housekeeping’ to ‘Break Heaven’ and ‘Babyship Blue’ from the ‘Heaven Taste’ compilation alongside songs like ‘Tulip’ and ‘Painting Paradise’. This album in reworked form would be worth the price of admission alone but there is more to savour in this set and savour we must.

Disc 3 entitled simply ‘Singles’ pulls together the orphaned tracks not featured thus far and, as a collection works well as a standalone album in its own right, which is a testament to the writing and performing of the core members of the band and their invited guests. ‘Swirl’, an early NO-MAN track, features at its close a sample from the 1971 movie ‘Klute’ which starred Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda so elevates this already great track to essential listening in my eyes / ears. This sample augments a building evolving arrangement that rewards repeat listening.

Also included is the aching ‘Long Day Fall’ and the 20 minute plus closer ‘Heaven Taste’. Once again featuring the trio of JAPAN alumni mentioned above, this is a piece full of twists and turns that demands a listen with headphones. ‘Heaven Taste’ also acts as a suitable off ramp to the next part of this set, a remaster of ‘Flowermouth’.

‘Flowermouth’ has been an album I have returned to over and over since I specially ordered it from that local record shop more years ago now than I care to mention on its original release. The musical ideas, execution and production on ‘Flowermouth’ make it one of those long players I tell folk who will listen that they should have in their collections and I make no apology for evangelising as such.

Is this new remaster worth the time to listen? The answer is a resounding yes. Opening with the ambitious ‘Angels Get Caught in the Beauty Trap’, this is perhaps what listeners of later NO-MAN albums will find more familiar ground. The track rises and falls, leaving you emotionally drained and there’s more to come!

The funky workout that follows in the shape of ‘You Grow More Beautiful’ once again showcases one of no-man’s biggest strengths and that is the vocal of Tim Bowness. Alongside TALK TALK mainman Mark Hollis and Paul Buchanan of THE BLUE NILE, he is one of the few singers with the ability to emotionally charge the seemingly simplest of songs. Every track on this album highlights this wonderfully.

There is so much here to revel in, from the treated rhythms of ‘Soft Shoulders’ to ‘Shell of a Fighter’ with yet another wonderful violin performance to the driving programming on ‘Teardrops Fall’. Closing this disc is perennial favourite ‘Things Change’ which is one of a number of tracks that has not only benefitted from a remaster polish but also a slightly revised mix. ‘Flowermouth’ is a classic and in this guise cements that claim with a sparkling remaster that sounds fresh and vital.

The fifth and final disc in the set fills out an already bursting at the seams collection with a number of Radio Sessions from 1992-1994. Like much of the output from Bowness and Wilson, these songs really come alive when performed live. Augmented across the various sessions by guest musicians, the most interesting cuts are from BBC Radio’s Hit the North featuring as they do those pesky JAPAN chaps that have popped up time and again on this set. The version of ‘Days in the Trees’ from this session in particular is wonderful with the tightest of tight Jansen drumming allowing the much missed Mick Karn to duck and weave around Tim’s vocal. A taste of what might have been…

Other tracks here feature PORCUPINE TREE alumni Chris Maitland and Colin Edwin to offer sufficiently different spins on familiar tracks to command repeat listening. This disc elevates an already great set above a mere quick buck compilation, proving this has been properly curated, something many could learn from. To underscore this even more, the set is rounded out by the inclusion of a hardback book designed by Carl Glover featuring essays from NO-MAN All The Blue Changes blog author Matt Hammers, Tim Bowness and Steven Wilson along with rare photos and memorabilia.

The importance Tim Bowness has had on independent music distribution with Burning Shed cannot be overstated, giving many acts that would struggle to find a route to market exactly that, a true outlet run by artists for artists. That is before we consider his excellent body of solo work.

In turn the impact that Steven Wilson has had across the musical landscape in the last decade plus cannot be underestimated from PORCUPINE TREE to solo work through the remasters of acts as diverse as KING CRIMSON, XTC, TEARS FOR FEARS and ULTRAVOX, oh and tours, further no-man releases and production work, the man clearly never sleeps… that’s before we take into account their always listenable and enjoyable podcast ‘The Album Years’. True music fans.

And all of the above had its seeds in these early NO-MAN releases. Whether you are new to this early work, revisiting after a few decades break or a long-term fan, there is much here to recommend ‘Housekeeping’, the first indispensable release of 2024.

Tim, if you are reading this can we please get the rest of the back catalogue given the same treatment?

‘Housekeeping: The OLI Years 1990 – 1994’ is released as a boxed set on 26 January 2024 via One Little Independent Records, available from https://burningshed.com/store/noman/

http://no-man.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/nomanofficial/

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https://timbowness.co.uk/

http://stevenwilsonhq.com/

Text by Ian Ferguson
19 January 2024

CIRCUIT3 Louder Than Words

29 December 2023 /

Photo by Paul Maxwell

Following his history of space travel concept opus ‘Technology For The Youth’ in 2022, Peter Fitzpatrick has landed back on earth and returns as CIRCUIT3 with ‘Louder Than Words’.

Featuring the tasty sounds of a Minimoog Model D, Sequential Prophet 10, Roland Juno 106 and Oberheim OBX-8, the synth-obsessed Irishman has headed down to the disco for a glitterball pop groover unlike any of his previous works. This CIRCUIT3 track is an exclusive which forms part of a new AnalogueTrash Label Sampler which also features SPRAY and VIEON. ‘Louder Than Words’ also comes with a striking visual accompaniment generated by AI.

Peter Fitzpatrick chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about the making of ‘Louder Than Words’ and the impact of technology for the middle aged man…

‘Louder Than Words’ is a disco song, is this signs of a new direction?

I’m getting braver I guess. Over the last 2-3 years I’ve listened to a lot of current and legacy dance music. I can’t dance so it’s a little perverted that I dare try this. Feeling a burst of new creative energy after what was a challenging year health-wise, it’s going to come out in some form or another. Somehow I doubt I’ll be able to just ‘do’ dance tracks and there’ll have to be an element of classic synth pop miserable-ism in there. The title and lyrics came from my regular writing partner Brian McCloskey (host of the Smash Hits blog ‘Like Punk Never Happened’). When I started to put my own spin on his lyric the imagery which came to mind was the Silence=Death Project. “Silence has spoken…. Louder than words”.

The music came from a host of new instruments in my studio including the classic Minimoog and an OBX-8. Someone at the label said “ohh that solo is like CHROMEO”. Loved hearing that as I do like to listen to funk and sometimes late at night in the studio, I pretend I can play it.

You did the video using AI, how did that come about?

In my day job, I’ve been learning how to apply Generative AI and naturally instead of doing actual work, I was exploring how I might apply it to my music. Using a commercial Generative Video AI service, I learned in a few hours that I loved doing this. I’ve always enjoyed making video but I’m a frustrated visual artist. My prompts to the AI toolset allowed me use various models and piece together over a few evenings the video you’re sharing now. The technology is really enabling for me.

There’s a bit in the middle with the car which appears to be very Jack Vettriano in imagery, what that part of the brief you’d instructed?

Well spotted! Until I started playing with the AI toolset, I had no idea who Mr Vettriano is. With AI it can create a model based upon certain style or content. On my request, the tool created a section which used the style of Jack Vettriano. All I saw were some visual options I could use and I liked how it looked. After you pointed it out, I went back and indeed that’s the style of the model I chose.

Dunno about you, but I’m getting sick of these one minute reels that are passing for videos on socials appeasing listeners with low attention spans when those us with a bit more focus want a full length visual presentation… so with AI, musicians have no excuse not to make videos, discuss 😉

The dumbing down continues. When a 4 minute video is considered long-form, I think we’re in trouble! AI is another tool for musicians. For this video I chose to do it entirely using an AI toolset but my preference would be to use it to enhance other video content. In fact I’m working on making an AI model of myself with a view to creating hybrid real-life / AI video. Watch out though because there’s about to be a lot of really sh*t video created.

What is next for CIRCUIT3? I’m getting tired of the single track release strategy used by many acts to max the Spotify algorithm, are you going to join in on that one or will it be an EP, mini-album or full length long player for you?

I’m back writing and demo’ing across 3 different projects right now. One of them will be a Dystopian Disco building up on this first track ‘Louder Than Words’. The other 2 could not be further away from anything I’ve done before. My live show has been revamped to become more interactive and inventive. I’m working on a niche project which was offered to me by someone on the night of the Vince Clarke live show in the London School of Economics in late 2023 which signals the direction of that endeavour.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Peter Fitzpatrick

‘Louder Than Words’ is available now as a download exclusively on the AnalogueTrash Label Sampler Vol. 7 using a pay-what-you-can model via https://analoguetrash.bandcamp.com/album/analoguetrash-label-sampler-vol-7

http://www.circuit3.com/

https://www.facebook.com/circuit03/

https://twitter.com/Circuit3Music

https://www.instagram.com/circuit3music/

https://soundcloud.com/circuit3/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
29 December 2023

CZARINA The Fox’s Wedding

22 December 2023 /

A film by The Kitsunés, ‘The Fox’s Wedding’ is both inspired by the East Asian folklore and legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s short film of the same title.

From ‘Arcana’, the acclaimed second album of Warrior Goth by New York born CZARINA, the immaculate visual presentation is directed by her and her husband DeadlyKawaii who together are The Kitsunés. It sees East embrace West with a nod to deep roots and lineage, following three mischievous children entering a magical forest filled with fantastical creatures and stumbling upon a magical wedding procession that they secretly follow.

As has been central to all previous CZARINA videos, care and attention has been applied to location and props. Filmed in the Spanish region of Galicia, there are hand painted masks with both Asian and Galician floral motifs as well as a traditional Galician Sporran.

CZARINA chatted to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about the making of ‘The Fox’s Wedding’ and her future plans…

Out of the remaining tracks on the ‘Arcana’ album, what made you feel ‘The Fox’s Wedding’ deserved a video treatment?

I wrote ‘The Fox’s Wedding’ as the wedding march song for my and DeadlyKawaii’s wedding. We got married on Winter Solstice 5 years ago, but we had a low key ceremony and celebrations in New York at the time as our families were sprawled across 3 different continents. We are still hopeful to have a grand ceremony here in Galicia with our families together where we can actually utilise the song. But for now, we figured to work on a video that can visually elaborate on the magic that inspired the song, as well as a Winter Solstice offering to close Arcana before I move on to the next record.

Who is “The Fox”?

Both bride and groom in the video, along with the entire entourage. We just went with the singular “Fox” following the traditional title for the Asian folklore – in this case, the Japanese version, “Kitsune No Yomeiri.”

It’s interesting how foxes are vilified by the English Aristocracy and other Western cultures but Ancient Chinese traditions admired them?

The tale of the Fox Spirit – called kitsune in Japan, kumiho in Korea, and huli jing or Nine Tails in China and other parts of Asia – is a massive part of the diasporic traditional folklore of Asia.  Magical creatures, shapeshifters and demi-gods seen as both benevolent and malevolent in their role in maintaining cosmic balance as karmic deliverers, fox spirits are said to have brought downfall to certain dynastic empires.  But the legend of ‘The Fox’s Wedding’ is one that has been quite popular and has received numerous beautiful depictions throughout Asian history to today.  We wanted to capture a lot of the details of the legend in the video – from the sunshine rain to the kitsunebi ghost lights that appear in the forest and of course, the mischievous trickery and final reveal at the very end of the video.

Were the lit paper lanterns and boats inspired by the imagery of Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival?

Yes, we wanted to bring some of the most beautiful Asian traditions into the ambience, especially the dance of lights and the lantern boats from Chinese Mid-Autumn festival and DuanWu. The video is a unique amalgam of Asian traditions mixed with Galician to reflect both my and DeadlyKawaii’s diverse lineage and backgrounds.  We wanted to weave that beautiful visual tapestry that bridges the East with the West.  I always felt like it’s our personal duty with this project to symbolically communicate this bridge in both art and music, and this video gave the platform to showcase this.

The designs on the entourage’s fox masks were inspired by Sargadelos – which is the iconic Galician porcelain and ceramic wares found all over the region.  The entourage also wore blue robes as that is the official colour of Galicia.  Whereas the bride and groom have a mix of traditional Asian ceremonial attire with Galician motifs and accessories like the Galician Sporran, with their fox masks symbolising nature and the cosmos.

The faerie creatures that appear were also a mix – from kodamas or “tree spirits” found in Japanese folklore, also called nuno in Filipino, to the horned forest guardians found in Gaelic and Druid legends.

How was it directing the child stars in the story?

It was so much fun working with the kids! I felt we got very lucky because they were so perfect and such natural talents.  The two boys, Tico and Torgas, are the fraternal twins of our associate producer, and the girl Charlotte is their friend from school whom they eagerly suggested we cast. So they already have that natural bond with each other and were funny and goofy, yet curious at the same time.  We usually film our own videos, but this time we enlisted the help of Galician cinematographer, Raul Lorenzo, who worked with us in directing the kids for the shots.  All their shots were so precious and hilarious, so it was quite hard to choose what would go in the final edit. They did a beautiful and tremendous job ushering the audience into the magic and throughout.

You played for the first time in Germany at Dark Dance Treffen recently, how was it and are you doing more?

Performing at Dark Dance Treffen so far is one of my greatest highlights. I really had a great time at the festival and getting to know the German dark music and alternative scene.  The scene was quite next-level and I was truly in awe by how cool and awesome they are. And yes, I would love to do a tour in Germany soon and do more fests. The next dark fest I’ll be performing at is at the iconic Castle Party in Poland in July 2024.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to CZARINA

‘The Fox’s Wedding’ is from the album ‘Arcana’ released by darkTunes Music Group, available from https://czarinaofficial.bandcamp.com/

https://www.czarinaofficial.com/

https://www.facebook.com/czarinanyc

https://twitter.com/CZARINAnyc

https://www.instagram.com/czarinaofficial/

https://lnk.to/arcana

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
22 December 2023

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