This is the story of the classically trained German chanteuse who moved to Scandinavia and found success in a Danish girl group.
And when she made the move into creating something solo, she became inspired and sought the help of a Norwegian who lived in Berlin. Copenhagen resident Greta Louise Schenk found wider fame in her adopted home as a member of IDA RED.
But with her FARAO produced debut EP ‘Ardent Spring – Part I’, she has entered the dreamy synthpop universe also occupied by her Norsk collaborator where her angelic vocal tones can shimmer and shine.
Inspired by seasonal changes, Schenk said: “Spring to me is often where I take my time to think and where my head is filled with chaos and new ideas bloom. Especially the spring in Berlin and Copenhagen has inspired me – the very contrast between nature (which is constantly changing) and hard concrete (which pretty much remains as it is).”
Opening with the gorgeously wispy air of ’Spin’, the magnetic allure of Chinese singer FIFI RONG also looms. Meanwhile the filmic ‘Ardent Spring’ title song captures the delightful oddness and crystalline soundscapes of IONNALEE, although with a looser rhythmic backbone and in a more understated manner.
‘Bad Lovers’ plays with aspects of synthwave with electronic percussion and guitar making their presence felt, but the eerie choir sounds and layered voices keep proceedings distinctly Nordic, something not totally unsurprising with FARAO at the helm.
However ‘White’ pierces in a more sinister manner and counterpoints the dreamier trio of tunes that comprise the first half. With its chromatic overtones, hypnotic arpeggio and lightly swung rhythmic backbone, played by a loud rock band, this could be MUSE.
Driven by a subtle Motorik beat, the uptempo swirl of ‘Baby’ is fabulously cosmic pop that recalls ANI GLASS, another independently minded synth songstress with a girl group past. Closing with ‘Wilderness’, it beautifully captures the emotions of regret and turmoil while maintaining hopes and dreams, with Schenk expressing darkness and light in equal measures.
Kitsch, cool, weird and ethereal, this is an impressive debut body of work by GRETA; if this is what ‘Ardent Spring – Part I’ has to offer, then there is much to look forward to with ‘Ardent Spring – Part II’.
ANI GLASS is back with a new single ‘Peirianwaith Perffaith’, an enticing trailer for her forthcoming as-yet-untitled debut album.
Translated as ‘Perfect Machinery’, with the vibe of Autumnal discontent, the haunting detuned backdrop is perfect for her socially conscious Welsh expressionism. With a wonderfully swirling leadline and a suitably penetrating bass pulse, the Cardiff-based synth songstress says the song is about how the “search for identity in a moving city and society insists on a sense of stillness often found in the shadows of progress”.
The still image visual accompaniment filmed and directed by Jon Pountney with artistic direction by ANI GLASS begins with stark industrial views before drifting into suburbia and a journey into the countryside in time for twilight.
An experienced hand who has previously worked with Andy McCluskey and the late Martin Rushent, ANI GLASS released her acclaimed first EP ‘Ffrwydrad Tawel’ in Spring 2017. Having recently completed a Masters Degree, the songstress is now fully focussed on finishing her self-produced debut long player.
She said to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in January: “I’m really excited about curating the presentation of this album; conceptually and visually. I have a lot of ideas about how I might involve and engage with people who may not be instinctively interested in Welsh electronic music. It’s quite an exciting time to be making music in Wales – something is afoot; I couldn’t tell you what it is but I think it’s going to be exciting and I really want to be a part of it.”
‘Peirianwaith Perffaith’ is released by Recordiau Neb, available on iTunes and Spotify
Although he became a noted producer during the height of punk, it was with THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s ‘Dare’ that Martin Rushent’s reputation as an electronic music pioneer was forged.
Rushent had cut his teeth as an engineer for acts as varied as Shirley Bassey and T-REX, working under the wing of their respective producers Johnny Harris and Tony Visconti.
His first major production was for CURVED AIR on their ‘Air Cut’ album.
Engineered by Paul Hardiman who was later to produce THE THE and LLOYD COLE & THE COMMOTIONS, it also featured Jim Russell on drums who became later became one of Rushent’s engineers and joined THE HUMAN LEAGUE for their ‘Crash’ tour.
He then secured a lucrative role working for United Artists, the company famously founded by Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks Junior, Mary Pickford and DW Griffith, as an in-house producer with A&R responsibilities.
It was in this position that he found major success working with THE STRANGLERS on ‘(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)’, ‘Peaches’ and ‘No More Heroes’ as well as BUZZCOCKS on ‘Evere Fallen In Love’ and ‘Promises’. Meanwhile his freelance clause allowed him to also produce bands like GENERATION X, 999 and THE REZILLOS whose guitarist Jo Callis was later to join THE HUMAN LEAGUE.
It was in 1978 at the height of his punk success that Radar Records, an offshoot of Warners who had Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe on their roster, offered Rushent an opportunity to start his own label and production company. Radar had been founded by the team that had hired Rushent for United Artists and the offer included funding to build what was to become his Genetic Sound Studios complex at his home in Reading.
With his new office based above The Blitz Club and a desire to move away from guitar bands, Rushent became fascinated by the New Romantic movement and its electronic soundtrack provided by their resident DJ Rusty Egan. Egan had started a project with Midge Ure named VISAGE fronted by the now sadly departed Steve Strange. Their demos had been offered to EMI but were turned down…
“Martin Rushent turned punk into pop with THE STRANGLERS and BUZZCOCKS and was the hottest punk producer in 1977-78. He had no idea about synths, he was a rock producer but knew ULTRAVOX, MAGAZINE and RICH KIDS were disbanded.”Rusty Egan told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK, “But his musical hunch was ‘they must come up with something’”.
Sensing that something was in the air, Rushent invited VISAGE to use his studio to see what they came up with. These sessions, which also featured ULTRAVOX’s Billy Currie plus MAGAZINE’s Dave Formula, the late John McGeoch and Barry Adamson, intrigued Rushent. “We came with our equipment and no drum kit” recalled Egan about that visit to Genetic Sound Studios which was still being built.
“I had the CR78 and the Simmons SDS3 prototype which Richard Burgess gave us; Midge had a Yamaha CS50, Billy had an RMI Electra Piano, Elka Rhapsody 610 and the ARP Odyssey while Dave brought his Yamaha CP30, ARP Odyssey and Yamaha string machine. We ran sequenced drums and layered, we had SMPTE timecode as MIDI did not come in for years, so we triggered and I hit drum pads and we created the sounds… Martin had never seen this type of recording”.
Despite the promising material coming from VISAGE, Warners pulled the plug on Radar and immediate plans for Genetic Records became stillborn. In hindsight, this move was extremely short sighted on Warners part as it was rumoured Rushent had been in discussions with JOY DIVISION, ULTRAVOX and SPANDAU BALLET.
Despite this set back, this experience helped Rushent realise that music production moving towards being more computer-driven, so he bought a Roland MC8 Micro-composer along with a Roland System 700 and Jupiter 4.
A strong advocate of clarity in instrument voicing and as a former drummer, how drum sounds were achieved, the availability of the Linn LM1 Drum Computer in 1981 was the final piece in the jigsaw and the set-up helped Rushent realise his vision. The rest as they say, is history and THE HUMAN LEAGUE scored a No1 with ‘Don’t You Want Me?’ on both sides of the Atlantic…
Rushent won the 1982 Brit Award for best producer and went on to produce THE GO-GO’S third album ‘Talk Show’ released in 1984. However, while recording the follow-up to ‘Dare’, a breakdown in his personal life, coupled to deteriorating relations with THE HUMAN LEAGUE led to Rushent leaving the sessions and walking out of his own studio! The eventual ‘Hysteria’ album was lukewarm, audibly missing Rushent’s touch.
Following his divorce, Rushent was forced to sell Genetic Sound Studios to avoid bankruptcy. Despite reducing his workload to more occasional studio recordings with ASSOCIATES, HARD CORPS, THEN JERICO and TWO PEOPLE, Rushent was suffering from depression; realising his heart was no longer in music, he effectively retired from the industry.
Taking time out to raise his family as a single parent, he eventually made a steady return to full album productions with Hazel O’Connor in 2005 and THE PIPETTES in 2010. Buoyed by the huge developments in computer technology, he even presented his own DISCO UNLIMITED project with a track called ‘Itchy Hips’ inspired by his daughter Amy, as well as working with his son James’ band DOES IT OFFEND YOU, YEAH? But just as momentum was returning to his music career, Rushent sadly passed away in June 2011, aged 62.
Remembering working with Martin Rushent, Clive Pierce of HARD CORPS said: “Personally I felt overwhelmed when in the studio with him as it did feel at times that your precious baby was being bounced around in a manner you would never dream of doing yourself. His deft production work magnified what we were attempting to do ourselves and that’s exactly what great producers do”.
THE PIPETTES’ Ani Saunders who now makes music as ANI GLASS and recently tweeted a photo of project notes from recording with Rushent as she prepared to record her first solo album added: “One of the greatest lessons I learnt from Martin was to only spend your time working on music you believe in and not to be afraid to change / amend / cut parts or songs if they’re not good enough. Of course the production and engineering skills I gained working with him were invaluable but I also learnt about how to create the right atmosphere for and during recording, something which I think is often overlooked. When I’m writing pop songs I always ask myself ‘what would Martin do?’ – it helps to keep me in check”.
Focussing primarily on his work with synthesizers and technology, here is a look back at the post-punk career of Martin Rushent. With a limit of one track per album project and presented in chronological order, here is a Beginner’s Guide to the late, great man…
THE STRANGLERS Nice N Sleazy (1978)
Making his fortune producing the key tracks of THE STRANGLERS, the mutant punk reggae of ‘Nice N Sleazy’ saw a diversion into synthesizers with Dave Greenfield’s spacey blast of swirling Minimoog during the instrumental break. At their Battersea Park in September 1978, the band typically courted controversy when they were accompanied by strippers for the song’s visual embellishment!
Recorded in March 1979, JOY DIVISION spent a day at Eden Studios in London with Martin Rushent, making a 5 track demo with the view to signing to his Genetic Records label. But afterwards, the band headed to Strawberry Studios in Manchester to record their debut album ’Unknown Pleasures’ with Martin Hannett for Factory Records. However, Rushent always reckoned his version of ‘Ice Age’ was better than the speedier version which ended up on the posthumous ‘Still’ collection in 1981.
Available on the JOY DIVISION boxed set ‘Heart & Soul’ via Rhino Records
At Genetic Sound Studios, VISAGE started recording an album. Rusty Egan recalled: “we agreed to use the studio for a weekend with Martin engineering”; the first track from those sessions was ‘Tar’, a cautionary tale about the dangers of smoking. After numerous contractual issues, it was finally released as a single on Genetic Records but within days, Warners closed down his funding source at Radar Records.
Available on VISAGE album ‘Visage’ via Polydor Records
‘Homosapien’ came about after sessions were aborted for BUZZCOCKS fourth album. Rushent and frontman Pete Shelley worked on new material using the Roland MC8 Micro-composer and System 700. Now seen as Shelley’s coming out song, a cacophony of synths and 12 string guitar combined for a wonderful futuristic snarl. However, the lyric “Homo Superior in my interior” got it a BBC Radio1 ban.
Available on the PETE SHELLEY album ‘Homosapien’ via Active Distribution Ltd
When presented with the demo of ‘The Sound Of The Crowd’, Rushent’s response was “Well, that’s going in the bin”. Phil Oakey objected but the producer snarled back: “You came to me, so I assume that’s because you want hits?”… triggering bursts of System 700 white noise from the Micro-composer, obscure lyrics and a screaming chant gave THE HUMAN LEAGUE their breakthrough hit.
Available on THE HUMAN LEAGUE album ‘Greatest Hits’ via Virgin Records
While Steve Severin produced the majority of the ‘Happy Birthday’ album, the job of turning the title track into the Glaswegian quintet’s breakthrough hit fell to Rushent. Tight ‘n’ bright thanks to his modern production techniques and Glare Grogan’s helium fuelled cutesy vocals and nursery rhyme lyrics, ALTERED IMAGES reached No2.
Combining the precision of programmed technology with live instrumentation, ‘I Could Be Happy’ was one of Rushent’s best productions. Despite being shrouded in melancholy, it was catchy and danceable enough to be a UK Top 10 hit. Rushent produced the parent album ‘Pinky Blue’ but it was given a lukewarm reception, ultimately causing the original line-up of ALTERED IMAGES to implode.
Available on ALTERED IMAGES boxed set ‘The Epic Years’ via Cherry Red
Featuring Ross Middleton and soon to be in-demand session saxophonist Gary Barnacle with production by Rushent, ‘Love Cascade’ was the missing link between Pete Shelley and THE HUMAN LEAGUE. The vocals were virtually unintelligible as the clattering Linn Drum, pulsing synths, squawky guitar and sax merged together for a cool dancefloor friendly tune full of the decadent spirit of the times.
12 inch version available on the album ‘Retro: Active 5’ (V/A) via Hi-Bias Records Canada
“The most creative experience I’ve ever had in my life” was how Rushent described the tracks from ‘Dare’ specially remixed and re-edited by him. Pre-sampling, the material was remixed from the mixing board using a multitude of effects with vocal stutters created by cutting up and splicing portions of tape with the aid of his custom-made ruler. The percussive dub laden barrage of ‘Do Or Die’ was one of the highlights.
Available on THE LEAGUE UNLIMITED ORCHESTRA album ‘Love & Dancing’ via Virgin Records
Tensions were running high with creative differences during the recording sessions for THE HUMAN LEAGUE’s follow-up to ‘Dare’, with Rushent losing enthusiasm for the album project due to conflicts in the studio with Phil Oakey and in particular, Susanne Sulley. The weirdly catchy ‘Fascination’ was the last track to be recorded with Rushent, but he departed before it was mixed…
With Shelley and Rushent developing on ‘Homosapien’ with a more fierce sound, ‘Telephone Operator’ could be seen as an extension lyrically to the themes of its predecessor. The original parent album ‘XL-1’ had a novel bonus track in a computer program for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum which printed lyrics in time with the music and displayed graphics.
Available on PETE SHELLEY album ‘XL-1’ by Active Distribution Ltd
When endorsing Korg’s PSS-50 Programmable Super Section, Rushent was enthusing about a record which “apart from voice” was “all written and performed on one synth” – that album was HAzel O’Connor’s ‘Smile’. From it, the moody single ‘Don’t Touch Me’ was very art school Weimar Cabaret with some very passionate vocals from O’Connor, constructed around a Synclavier with its distinct period bass and brass sounds.
Available on HAZEL O’CONNOR album ‘Smile’ via Cherry Red
Rushent worked with Billy Mackenzie on five tracks for ‘Perhaps’, the much anticipated recorded return of ASSOCIATES. ‘Waiting For The Love Boat’ was one, but the recording which stood out was the epic string laden drama of ’Breakfast’. It is possibly Mackenzie’s greatest single moment, the melancholic piano motif setting the scene for an entire film noir in five minutes with mournful tension.
Clive Pierce said: “HARD CORPS, having traditionally self-produced tracks at our resident studio in Brixton relished the prospect of working with Martin on ‘Je Suis Passée’ having been admirers of his work on ‘Love & Dancing’. It was difficult but never the less a total education. That’s the trouble being so close to something it’s difficult to let go. In retrospect I now listen to ’Je Suis Passée’ in awe of what he achieved. The baby was fine”.
Originally released as a single by Polydor Records, version available on the album ‘Clean Tables Have To Be Burnt’ via Minimal Wave Records
Pop rockers THEN JERICO were fronted by the handsome if volatile Mark Shaw; their debut single ‘The Big Sweep’ was recorded with Rushent and some help from his new Synclavier. However, due to the track’s anti-tabloid lyrical subject matter, the band’s label London Records initially declined to release the track. So it was self-released as a 1000 limited edition…
Available on the THEN JERICO album ‘The Best Of’ via London Records
Jo Callis told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “With ‘Heart Like A Wheel’, when The League came to thinking about the follow up to ‘Crash’ (which would become ‘Romantic?’), I thought there might be a good opportunity to try and get ‘the old team’ back together again, which I did manage to achieve for a couple of tunes at least”. With Rushent at the helm again, the result was a tune that recalled the classic pop era of THE HUMAN LEAGUE.
Available on THE HUMAN LEAGUE album ‘The Very Best Of’ via Virgin Records
GRAFTON PRIMARY Relativity – Martin Rushent remix (2008)
Australian electro-noir duo GRAFTON PRIMARY balanced in the divide between art and science on their debut single ‘Relativity’. Benjamin and Joshua Garden utilised sharp synthpop hooks and solid basslines in a classic Synth Britannia vein not dissimilar to THE HUMAN LEAGUE, which naturally made the Garden brothers perfect for a remix by Martin Rushent.
Available on GRAFTON PRIMARY single ‘Relativity’ via Resolution Music
THE PIPETTES Our Love Was Saved By Spacemen (2010)
From Rushent’s final album production, ‘Our Love Was Saved By Spacemen’ was a celestial Latin flavoured pop tune by the MkII variant of THE PIPETTES, fronted by sisters Gwenno and Ani Saunders. The partnership was to prove inspirational with Gwenno’s next solo long player ‘Y Dydd Olaf’ being one of the best albums of 2014.
With the release of her debut EP ‘Ffrwydrad Tawel’, ANI GLASS has added a gorgeous ethnic resonance to the aesthetics of modern synthpop.
The stage persona of Cardiff-based musician, photographer and artist Ani Saunders, she sings in her native languages of Welsh and Cornish to provide a politically charged soundtrack for the times. Having served her apprenticeship as a member of the Andy McCluskey managed GENIE QUEEN and then THE PIPETTES with her older sister Gwenno under the production guidance of the late Martin Rushent, she became a member of indie band THE LOVELY WARS before eventually releasing her first solo single ‘Ffôl’ (‘Foolish’) in 2015.
But it was her follow-up single ‘Y Ddawns’ (‘The Dance’) that made its presence felt as a wonderfully exhilarating pop art adventure, swathed in synths and emblazoned with hope. A new single ‘Generaduron’ (‘Generators’) has just been unleashed and with the recording of a full-length album currently in progress, ANI GLASS kindly chatted about her artistic ethos and musical journey…
The new single ‘Generaduron’ is quite different from the material on your debut EP ‘Ffrwydrad Tawel’, what was the inspiration and why the ‘new direction’?
Until relatively recently, production was something that I always appreciated and admired but wasn’t something I thought I could do or wanted to do for that matter. I felt it was always attached to people, or dare I say men, who were far more technical or interested in the process than I was and so for years it didn’t even cross my mind. However, from my experience, when you get a bit older you lose a bit of that self-consciousness and self-doubt that you drag around during your early twenties and I just thought to myself “What the hell, I want to make my own record and I know how I want it to sound” … and so here I am. ‘Generaduron’ (‘Generators’) is me at the start of my journey.
It’s a taster for your debut long player, do you have a theme or concept for it yet? How’s it coming along?
I’ve recently embarked on a Masters course at Cardiff University studying Urban and Regional Development, and as a result, reading the works of people such as Jane Jacobs and Jan Gehl has really impacted on the way I view city and urban living which in turn has had an impact on my approach to music. A lot of us live in cities now and although we live in different places, many of our experiences are the same. In short, my album has a very loose concept about a day in the life of a city girl and all that comes with it. It will have all that you expect from a busy city – fast-paced, slow, abrupt, noisy, happy, joyful, sad, chaotic and peaceful. I have a fair amount of work yet to do but it’s well on its way.
Do you think the album still has a place in modern music consumption?
Absolutely. There’s a strong sense in society that we’re all searching for somewhere or something to belong to. I don’t think it’s a new thing, perhaps it’s just become a bit more prominent in recent times. But as a result, I think music has a strong role to play in helping people to feel like they’re a part of something, that they belong or that they’re understood and so that’s where I think the album comes in. The way I see it, a good single or a song is like a holiday but a great album is like a home and we all need one of those.
The ‘Ffrwydrad Tawel’ EP took a while to come together, how do you look back on it and what it achieved for you artistically?
It was really important for me to create and present a solid body of work on which to build on and working with producer Haydon Hughes (W H Dyfodol) was a brilliant experience, especially with regard to creating a sonic statement.
I’m ever so pleased with how it turned out, there will always be parts I would want to change or improve but I don’t see that as a weakness, it’s an important part of developing as an artist.
‘Y Ddawns’ was a fine statement of hope, but also had a great rousing tune?
I wrote ‘Y Ddawns’ (‘The Dance’) after reading ‘We’ by Yevgeny Zamyatin. It was a dystopian vision of the future created partly in response to my experience in THE PIPETTES – it was, in essence, my version of a space-age pop tune. My favourite songwriter of all time is Paul McCartney – he was the reason I picked up the bass and started writing music. His wonderful ability to take melodies to places you don’t quite expect is always something I try to aspire to and it was certainly something I had in mind when writing ‘Y Ddawns’.
The pulsating ‘Geiriau’ recalled Moroder–era SPARKS but was about reconnecting with your Welsh and Cornish heritage?
Although ‘Geiriau’ (‘Words’) is about by personal journey of moving to England, questioning my identity only to return and re-connect to my Welsh and Cornish roots, I feel that it’s also symptomatic of what is happening to us all. It feels as though the whole world is going through some sort of an identity crisis and some of the results of this are quite frightening (Brexit, Trump etc).
My personal and political reaction to this has been to delve into my cultural heritage – to gain a deeper understanding of my past, to learn to appreciate the value of language and culture in order to take ownership of my identity. This journey has not been about looking inward or become insular, but understanding myself and my place within a culture in order to best placed to understand others. The UK has a terrible reputation for its weak linguistic skills, the numbers studying foreign languages is decreasing year upon year and so we’re losing our ability to understand the value of ‘other’ and so it can’t be a coincidence that as globalisation grows and language skills decline, tension is increasing.
Had you found yourself becoming detached as you immersed yourself in the pop world when you were in GENIE QUEEN working with Andy McCluskey and THE PIPETTES working with Martin Rushent? Is it like living in a bubble?
Quite possibly, although it didn’t feel like that at the time. I absolutely love pop music, and although I don’t like a lot of chart music at the moment, I will always defend it. The dynamics of GENIE QUEEN was what you would consider ‘traditional’ for a pop band – very little creative involvement and input from the artist themselves whilst THE PIPETTES was the exact opposite; complete artistic control.
Those experiences were invaluable but although they perhaps existed within their own bubbles, I think I’m probably in as much of a bubble now. My motivations and perspective may differ but my commitment is still unwavering and I’m conscious that I will have to remain vigilant to ensure that my focus does not encourage a blinkered vision.
I use my Chinese name Chi Ming Lai rather than anglicising myself and taking a Western first name, to preserve my cultural heritage. So was singing in Welsh always going to be an essential component of ANI GLASS? What does it mean for you?
I think it was an essential. When you consider the slow decline of your native language, you begin to question your role in either helping to reverse or speed up this process. I’ve always felt that learning the language is important, however if there is no living culture to talk about, then what is the language for? There is no question that understanding the past is important but the present is equally as important if not more so. It was with this in mind that I decided that Welsh and Cornish would have to be my focus – I wanted to contribute to these living cultures, to add an extra voice and narrative. Although it is entirely possible, I think it would be very difficult to be a Welsh or Cornish language musician or artist and for it not to be a political act.
Photo by Rhodri Brooks
More artists are starting to sing in their native languages again, do people just need to get a bit braver?
I’m not sure if it’s about being brave, it’s more about recognising what you’re really in it for. Of course, if you sing in Welsh as opposed to English, your potential reach is considerably smaller but on the other hand you also have a much smaller chance of being drowned out in a sea of noise.
A lot of modern Welsh music is still predominantly male rock and guitar focussed (though this is slowly changing) and so any diversion from this does tend to raise a few eyebrows which of course I love! I think the main thing is being true to yourself and if that means singing in a language that fewer people understand, then so be it.
Patriarchy is a theme you have dealt with in your songs. With all the recent stories of abuse and harassment in the entertainment world, what do you think needs to be done within the music industry to provide a safe comfortable environment for women to work in as equals?
I think there needs to be a more honest and open discussion within the industry with both women and men leading discussions. Most of what I’ve personally encountered is (or was) so normalised that you would be made to feel that any reaction, other than to brush it off or worse still, to laugh along, would be seen as disproportionate. I think these are some of the most difficult things to address and recognise because it is so ingrained in our culture, it involves everybody, our whole dynamic system is warped and needs to shift. Women in the industry are not ‘women musicians’ or ‘girls in tech’, we’re just musicians and technicians. That’s the equality we must strive for.
Apart from finishing your debut album, what’s next for ANI GLASS?
I’m really excited about curating the presentation of this album; conceptually and visually. I have a lot of ideas about how I might involve and engage with people who may not be instinctively interested in Welsh electronic music. It’s quite an exciting time to be making music in Wales – something is afoot; I couldn’t tell you what it is but I think it’s going to be exciting and I really want to be a part of it.
ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to ANI GLASS
‘Generaduron’ is released as a download single by Recordiau Neb
The world found itself in a rather antagonistic and divisive state this year, as if none of the lessons from the 20th Century’s noted conflicts and stand-offs had been learnt.
Subtle political messages came with several releases; honorary Berliner Mark Reeder used the former divided city as symbolism to warn of the dangers of isolationism on his collaborative album ‘Mauerstadt’. Meanwhile noted Francophile Chris Payne issued the ELECTRONIC CIRCUS EP ‘Direct Lines’ with its poignant warning of nuclear apocalypse in its title song. The message was to unite and through music as one of the best platforms.
After a slow start to 2017, there was a bumper crop of new music from a number of established artists. NINE INCH NAILS and Gary Numan refound their mojo with their respective ‘Add Violence’ and ‘Savage (Songs From A Broken World)’ releases, with the latter recording his best body of work since his imperial heyday.
But the first quarter of the year was hamstrung by the anticipation for the 14th DEPECHE MODE long player ‘Spirit’, with other labels and artists aware that much of their potential audience’s hard earned disposable income was being directed towards the Basildon combo’s impending album and world tour.
Yet again, reaction levels seemed strangely muted as ‘Spirit’ was another creative disappointment, despite its angry politicised demeanour.
Rumours abounded that the band cut the album’s scheduled recording sessions by 4 weeks. This inherent “that’ll do” attitude continued on the ‘Global Spirit’ jaunt when the band insulted their loyal audience by doing nothing more than plonking an arena show into a stadium for the summer outdoor leg.
Despite protestations from some Devotees of their dissatisfaction with this open-air presentation, they were content to be short-changed again as they excitedly flocked to the second set of European arena dates with the generally expressed excuse that “it will be so much better indoors”.
By this Autumn sojourn, only three songs from ‘Spirit’ were left in the set, thus indicating that the dire record had no longevity and was something of a lemon.
Suspicions were finally confirmed at the ‘Mute: A Visual Document’ Q&A featuring Daniel Miller and Anton Corbijn, when the esteemed photographer and visual director confessed he did not like the album which he did the artwork for… see, it’s not just ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK 😉
Devotees are quick to say all criticism of DEPECHE MODE is unfair, but the band can’t help but make themselves easy targets time and time again. But why should the band care? The cash is coming, the cash is coming…
Luckily, veteran acts such as OMD and Alison Moyet saved the day.
The Wirral lads demonstrated what the word spirit actually meant on their opus ‘The Punishment Of Luxury’, while the former class mate of Messrs Gore and Fletcher demonstrated what a soulful, blues-influenced electronic record should sound like with ‘Other’.
As Tony Hadley departed SPANDAU BALLET and Midge Ure got all ‘Orchestrated’ in the wake of ULTRAVOX’s demise, the ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ album directed by Rusty Egan, to which they contributed, became a physical reality in 2017.
Now if DM plonked an arena show into the world’s stadiums, KRAFTWERK put a huge show into a theatre. The publicity stunt of 2012, when Tate Modern’s online ticket system broke down due to demand for their eight album live residency, did its job when the Kling Klang Quartett sold out an extensive UK tour for their 3D concert spectacular.
No less impressive, SOULWAX wowed audiences with their spectacular percussion heavy ‘From Deewee’ show and gave a big lesson to DEPECHE MODE as to how to actually use live drums correctly within an electronic context.
Mute Artists were busy with releases from ERASURE, LAIBACH and ADULT. but it was GOLDFRAPP’s ‘Silver Eye’ that stole the show from that stable. LCD SOUNDSYSTEM returned after seven years with their ‘American Dream’ and it was worth the wait, with the most consistent and electronic record that James Murphy’s ensemble has delivered in their career.
To say Neil Arthur was prolific in 2017 would be an understatement as he released albums with BLANCMANGE and FADER while Benge, a co-conspirator on both records, worked with I SPEAK MACHINE to produce ‘Zombies 1985’ which was one of the best electronic albums of the year; and that was without the JOHN FOXX & THE MATHS stage play soundtrack ‘The Machines’.
Despite JAPAN having disbanded in 1982, solo instrumental releases from Steve Jansen and Richard Barbieri were particularly well-received, while David Sylvian made a return of sorts, guesting on ‘Life Life’ for ‘async’, the first album from Ryuichi Sakamoto since recovering from his illness. On the more esoteric front, Brian Eno presented the thoughtful ambience of ‘Reflection’, while THE RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP had ‘Burials In Several Earths’.
2017 was a year that saw acts who were part of the sine wave of Synth Britannia but unable to sustain or attain mainstream success like BLUE ZOO, B-MOVIE, FIAT LUX and WHITE DOOR welcomed back as heroes, with their talent belatedly recognised.
Germany had something of a renaissance as veterans Zeus B Held and ex-TANGERINE DREAM member Steve Schroyder came together in DREAM CONTROL as another TD offshoot QUAESCHNING & SCHNAUSS offered up some impressive ‘Synthwaves’, while there actually was a new TANGERINE DREAM album, their first without late founder member Edgar Froese.
The Swedish synth community again delivered with DAILY PLANET, PAGE, REIN, VANBOT, ANNA ÖBERG, 047 and LIZETTE LIZETTE all delivering fine bodies of work, although KITE were missed, with their German tour cancelled and release of their ‘VII’ EP postponed due to vocalist Nicklas Stenemo’s illness; ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK wishes him all the best in his recovery.
Across the Baltic Sea, Finnish producer Jori Hulkkonen released his 20th album ‘Don’t Believe In Happiness’ while nearby in Russia, a duo named VEiiLA showcased an unusual hybrid of techno, opera and synthpop and ROSEMARY LOVES A BLACKBERRY offered a ‘❤’.
One of the year’s discussion points was whether Synthwave was just synthpop dressed with sunglasses and neon signs but whatever, Stateside based Scots but Michael Oakley and FM-84 made a good impression with their retro-flavoured electronic tunes.
Canada’s PURITY RING infuriated some of their fanbase by working with KATY PERRY on three tracks for her album ‘Witness’. AESTHETIC PERFECTION’s new singles only policy was paying dividends and the Electro Mix of ‘Rhythm + Control’, which featured the promising newcomer NYXX, was one of the best tracks of 2017.
Female solo artists had strong presence in 2017 as FEVER RAY made an unexpected return, ZOLA JESUS produced her best work to date in ‘Okovi’ and Hannah Peel embarked on an ambitious synth / brass ‘Journey to Cassiopeia’. Meanwhile, SARAH P. asked ‘Who Am I’ and MARNIE found ‘Strange Words & Weird Wars’ as ANI GLASS and NINA both continued on their promising developmental path.
Respectively, Ireland and Scotland did their bit, with TINY MAGNETIC PETS and their aural mix of SAINT ETIENNE and KRAFTWERK successfully touring with OMD in support of their excellent second album ‘Deluxe/Debris’, while formed out of the ashes of ANALOG ANGEL, RAINLAND wowed audiences opening for ASSEMBLAGE 23.
Despite getting a positive response, both iEUROPEAN and SOL FLARE parted ways while on the opposite side of the coin, Belgian passengers METROLAND celebrated five years in the business with the lavish ‘12×12’ boxed set
Overall in 2017, it was artists of a more mature disposition who held their heads high and delivered, as some newer acts went out of their way to test the patience of audiences by drowning them in sleep while coming over like TRAVIS on VSTs.
With dominance of media by the three major labels, recognition was tricky with new quality traditional synthpop not generally be championed by the mainstream press. With Spotify now 20% owned by those three majors, casual listeners to the Swedish streaming platform were literally told what to like, as with commercial radio playlists.
It is without doubt that streaming and downloading has created a far less knowledgeable music audience than in previous eras, so Rusty Egan’s recent online petition to request platforms to display songwriting and production credits was timely; credit where credit is due as they say…
While ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK does not dismiss Spotify totally and sees it as another tool, it should not be considered the be all and end all, in the same way vinyl is not the saviour of the music industry and in physics terms, cannot handle the same dynamic range as CD.
Music is not as emotionally valued as it was before… that’s not being old and nostalgic, that is reality. It can still be enjoyed with or without a physical purchase, but for artists to be motivated to produce work that can connect and be treasured, that is another matter entirely.
However, many acts proved that with Bandcamp, the record company middle man can be eliminated. It is therefore up to the listener to be more astute, to make more effort and to make informed choices. And maybe that listener has to seek out reliable independent media for guidance.
However, as with the shake-up within the music industry over the last ten years, that can only be a good thing for the true synthpop enthusiast. And as it comes close to completing its 8th year on the web, ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK maintains its position of not actually promoting new acts or supporting any scene, but merely to write about the music it likes and occasionally stuff it doesn’t… people can make their own mind up about whether to invest money or time in albums or gigs.
Yes, things ARE harder for the listener and the musician, but the effort is worthwhile 😉
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released in 1984. However, while recording the follow-up to 
, a breakdown in his personal life, coupled to deteriorating relations with THE HUMAN LEAGUE led to Rushent leaving the sessions and walking out of his own studio! The eventual ‘Hysteria’ album was lukewarm, audibly missing Rushent’s touch.
via EMI Records
via Rhino Records
via Polydor Records
via Active Distribution Ltd
via Virgin Records
via Music Club
via Cherry Red
(V/A) via Hi-Bias Records Canada
via Virgin Records
via Virgin Records
by Active Distribution Ltd
via Cherry Red
via WEA
via Minimal Wave Records
via London Records
via Virgin Records
via Fortuna Pop
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