Tag: IAMX (Page 2 of 4)

VALERIE RENAY Your Own Shadow

When Valerie Renay of NOBLESSE OBLIGE decides to release a solo project, she creates “music for fast moving clouds”.

Conceived in a moment of deep transition, ‘Your Own Shadow’ is an amalgamation of organically developed raw sounds, haunting vocals and tribal inserts, enveloped in delicious synth and simplistic melodies.

NOBLESSE OBLIGE’s last album ‘Affair Of The Heart’ in 2013 featured a stark funereal cover of ‘Hotel California’, while the duo also opened for IAMX and were championed by Mark Reeder.

Whilst walking the path alone can be challenging, Renay rises to the occasion with innate power and the need to discover her real self: “The desire to explore my own limits and share intimate sensations motivated me to write these songs. I started this solo project to exorcise private demons. Writing songs alone is such a beautiful but lonely path, you are faced with yourself, your own fear, your own doubts but also the incredible feeling that everything is possible and options are endless. The choice is yours, you’re the pilot flying that plane. I needed to get those songs out of my system because they inhabited me like unresolved, fragile tales that I wanted to share, to understand better who I am.”

The exhilarating ‘Speed Of Blue’ was penned by Ian Pickering of SNEAKER PIMPS and Renay delivers it with a poise and passion, which bubbles underneath, waiting to be expelled. Her vocal, styled on that of Ian Curtis brings gloom and hope at the same time, while ‘Sailor’ soothes with its bluesy textures à la John Fryer on his BLACK NEEDLE NOISE project.

‘Hollow’ releases deep sadness, in keeping with ‘Darkest Lake’, where deeply hidden vulnerabilities come to the surface. This closing song is beautifully ethereal and delicate, floating lightly with the unlimited weightlessness of filmic qualities.

In contrast, ‘Kick Again’ and ‘Rough & Ready’ border on rebellious harshness, which suits Renay’s love affair with extremities. ‘Melancholia’ is poetically bare and delivered with minimalistic messages in French, where the choice of tongue adds to the romantic feel of the finished product.

A very different proposition from her work with NOBLESSE OBLIGE, Renay’s first solo product is amazingly fluid and harmonious.

“‘Your Own Shadow’, the title of the album refers to the feeling you have when you don’t recognise yourself anymore because you are made to feel small, insignificant, empty and lost” she said, “You know this is not the real you… Somewhere the real you still has fire and power but your very existence feels so meaningless. You forget how to be standing on your own two feet.”

With this opus, Valerie Renay definitely stands on her own two feet with a triumphant message of sensually charged, cinematic deliveries superbly put together and executed. Way to go!


‘Your Own Shadow’ is available direct from https://valerierenay.bandcamp.com/

VALERIE RENAY plays The Slaughtered Lamb, 34-35 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DX on Friday 15th November 2019

https://www.facebook.com/valerierenaysolo/

https://twitter.com/FemmeFacade

https://www.instagram.com/val_renay/

https://soundcloud.com/valerie_renay


Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
20th September 2018, updated 13th October 2019

LOTIC Power

For the lovers of all things weird and wonderful, electronica style, here’s LOTIC with their debut ‘Power’.

Choosing Berlin as their abode, the new album by Texan born artist is an “expansive exploration of the many ways in which power can be expressed and experienced”.

Few years ago, LOTIC ventured into the world of quirky electronica with two EPs, ‘Heterocetera’ and ‘Agitations’, but it’s on this long player ‘Power’ that they introduce vocal experimentations for the first time.

The self-confessed lovers of pronounced beats and drums, LOTIC wanted to bring into being, an album of empowerment which became a plethora of various colours of strength, and in few instances, weakness.

Even though the artist found it tricky to call themselves a musician, which may sound strange, coming from someone who studied electronic music composition and saxophone and who’s probably more trained classically than most of electronic artists in Germany and the rest of the world has to offer, LOTIC manages to intertwine tenderness and the power of survival in many shapes.

‘Hunted’, which heralds the outing, was one of the first born tracks designed for the long player, with whispered messages over the primal, found sounds and bouncy rhythm to leave the survival imprint; it is accompanied by an insidious video, shot on a beach in Majorca.

‘Love & Light’, although tentatively starting like what it says on the tin, has the undertones of menace and uncertainty, veiled under delicate bells almost like a music box, while ‘Bulletproof’ has the messy qualities of BJÖRK meets IAMX.

‘Distribution of Care’ shows off the drums as if straight from the marching band, and one can just imagine the stepping routines, which the artist recognises as “so black”.

In order to survive in the polarising world of today, one needs ‘Resilience’, served on a plate of gritty synth with a sprinkling of tubular bells, as the ‘Fragility’ doesn’t always pay off. What a way to shape shift from two opposites!

The voice comes back on ‘Nerve’, which is an amalgamation of New York rap, quirky sounds reminiscent of GAZELLE TWIN and everything in between. Further experiments are palpable on ‘Heart’ with an urgent musical message and ‘Solace’, which closes the eclectic mix of tunes.

To juxtapose the meanings, ‘Power’, sitting towards the end of the opus, falls like gentile musical droplets from the sky of abundance, but what is the sky abundant with?

Sudden noises, confusion, non-descript shots of powerful synth, followed by drilling sounds, a mish-mash of bizarre elements to serve brutality, only to be followed again by delicate bells and mesmerising melody.

After ‘Agitations’ where LOTIC set out to be purposefully aggressive and ostentatiously dark, ‘Power’ is to simply empower using any means disposable. It is commanding to discover a debut album not weary of experimentation and not directed for an instant commercial success, even if it means to be more niche with the audience.

Following in the steps of GAZELLE TWIN, the American in Berlin isn’t opposed to mad musical professor trials, if it means they achieve their own personal work of art, their realisation and their freedom, sounding like anything between BJÖRK, THE KNIFE, FEVER RAY and AUSTRA.

If you’re in the market for the unusual electronica taken to the limits, search no further.


‘Power’ is released by Tri Angle Records on 13th July 2018, pre-order direct from https://loticmusic.bandcamp.com/album/power

LOTIC will present their debut album ‘Power’ amongst the immersive walls of MONOM’s 4DSOUND installation at Berlin Funkhaus on the same day

https://www.facebook.com/lxtic/

https://twitter.com/_lotic

https://www.instagram.com/lotic/


Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
Photos by Matt Lambert
2nd July 2018

IAMX Alive In New Light

Since moving to sunny Los Angeles, Chris Corner is surely continuing his “public therapy”. The music, which substitutes any drug, works wonders for the ex-shy and retiring member of SNEAKER PIMPS, come THE ALTERNATIVE ARTIST of today.

Corner debuted solo in 2004 and has since gained a faithful following within the fans of unusual synthpopia. Eccentric or not, the multi-talented musician has provided hungry audiences with offerings of unparalleled electronic wizardry, which come to life backed up by vivid visuals, elaborate costumes, and hauntingly unusual live performances.

‘Metanoia’ with its ‘Addendum’ marked the transition process IAMX underwent, moving from cold and gloomy Berlin in the search of inspirational metamorphosis to create a non-fuss record. The results shook both sides of the Atlantic, gaining the elusive Corner many fresh believers.

Following the success of both offerings, IAMX ventured into a popular trend of instrumental offerings, with his superb ‘Unfall’. As if he had anything else to prove, the Englishman in LA, showed how an album practically stripped of vocals, can work wonders amidst similar opuses from the likes of GAZELLE TWIN, APOPTYGMA BERZERK or BLANCMANGE.

Currently the sound manipulator is basking ‘Alive In New Light’. Continuing on the journey of self-rediscovery, IAMX is compelled to make music as “this album is about connecting, and it’s a pain in the ass to do it through an album. Each time I do this, I feel exhausted but it’s an impulse I can’t stop. If you write your pain out, there’s a venting. Happiness is a skill. I’m happiest activating skills that keep you balanced.”

The long player, which Corner decided to record in California desert because “The desert is white noise. You can lose yourself in the details of producing, mixing; it’s just silence”, sees multiple collaborations with LA’s celebrated artist slash tattooist Kat Von D, who provides vocal support on ‘Stalker’ amongst four out of nine tracks. The subject of love, seductive motifs and sexual obsession prevail, sung by both the master himself and the ink lady clad in red SM gear. The self-confessed “eternal fool” is enslaved with lust, he “will be your shadow, will follow you, never let you go”.

‘Stardust’, even though kicks off gently, it flowers into a fast paced extravaganza of the celebration of love with its forceful rhythm. It’s a perfect awakening and a suitable opener to what Corner utilises to shed his demons.

The familiarity of the signature IAMX sound bursts through the album’s title track, which actually possesses musical elements resembling Martin Gore’s cover of ‘Stardust’ from ‘Counterfeit 2’.

‘Alive In New Light’ with its superb melodies, masterful vocals and the cleverest use of synths rises above most of Corner’s contemporaries. The drum and bass pointers, ambient bubble punctuations and ‘Stranger Things’-like arpeggios, alongside gripping jungle sequences create the atmosphere of hope, faith and belief. A belief that Corner’s “public therapy” has reached new levels entirely.

‘Break The Chain’, with its staccato rhythm, is a randomly urgent and immediate plea for freedom; it rushes through chasing the inevitable, it bewilders.

Corner is far from happy here; he feels he’s “sinking with America (…), aching in the strangest places”, he will “never break the chain”, all engulfed in superb sounds, masterfully put together to create an effect of a heart aching appeal.

‘Body Politics’ hypnotises in its electro dance manner, bursting with obvious sexuality, while ‘Exit’ mechanically calms the atmosphere with seductive machines labouring away, heavily pushing forward, working in overdrive while utilising made sounds and voice manipulations.

If ‘Bernadette’ has come back, she’s with ‘Big Man’, if in filigree tonality only. The obvious political connotations presented over Victorian circus music, are we all on the carousel of madness? “It’s a miracle that we made it here”, with the curious “privileged prick got to make us his bitches, we lap it up”. What better way of summing up the ridiculousness of the world of today.

‘Mile Deep Hollow’ is a perfect dark love song. Featured in an episode of ‘How To Get Away With Murder’, aired last November, the alternative romance created a stir within Corner’s fans, who described it as a lighter version of the tracks from ‘Metanoia’. The hauntingly beautiful melody, twinned with lyrics full of emotion and affection (“thank you, you need to know that you dragged me out of a mile deep hollow, and I love you, you brought me home…”) create an unforgettable masterpiece.

The simple piano entry into ‘The Power And The Glory’, which resembles a prayer bursting into stunning arpeggiated synth, brings back the familiar melancholia, closing the offering with a mixed emotion. Nothing is simple with Chris Corner, he’s still in with the search of his elusive “guiding light”.

‘Alive In New Light’, although still suitably dark, is speckled with hope, gratitude and glimpses of true happiness and, while IAMX continues to transform and evolve, his exploration of musical intricacies is ever growing and awe inspiring.

He’s already proven to be a masterfully capable producer, wonderfully versatile writer and quirky lyricist; now with the ever expanding visual aspects of his art and personal merchandise items, Chris Corner is truly “alive in new light”.


‘Alive In New Light’ is released by Caroline International in CD, vinyl and digital formats, available from https://www.musicglue.com/iamx/shop

IAMX 2018 European tour dates includes:

London Electric Ballroom (3rd March 2018), Paris La Machine (5th March), Munich Strom (15th March), Vienna WUK (16th March), Prague Meet Factory (17th March), Dresden Beatpol (19th March), Hamburg Mojo (20th March), Berlin Kesselhaus (21st March), Lviv Malevich (24th March), Kyiv Bel Etage Club (25th March), St Petersburg A2 (27th March), Moscow, RU – Izvestia Hall (29th March), Istanbul IF (31st March)

https://iamxmusic.com/

http://www.facebook.com/IAMXOFFICIAL

https://twitter.com/IAMX

https://www.instagram.com/iamx/


Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
Photos by Gretchen Lanham
2nd February 2018

IAMX Unfall

What could possibly beat ‘Metanoia’ or its Addendum? What could further elevate Chris Corner aka IAMX to higher heights? ‘Unfall’ can…

The once retiring SNEAKER PIMPS brain, reinvented himself into the innovative, inspiring, unusual, unforgettable and adventurous and he’s done it over and over, since the debut ‘Kiss & Swallow’.

With every subsequent release, the now LA based, sound magician, proved that electronic music can wear many outfits and parade all colours; not just the black.

Instrumental albums have been flowing in nicely as of late within the genre, with many of Corner’s colleagues excelling with their messages conveyed over “no words, just music” provisions, notably Norway’s finest APOPTYGMA BERZERK, UK veterans BLANCMANGE or the artier GAZELLE TWIN to name a few.

Of course, voice free releases can be tricky and may come across as self-indulgent, difficult to grasp expressions, but with so many artists now deciding to air their political views over endless crises, US presidential elections or Brexit, it’s actually quite refreshing to seek your own inspirations deduced from rawer forms.

Still, ‘Unfall’ isn’t totally stripped of vocal. It’s not bare of emotion; it’s IAMX at his finest, basking in the LA sun, with an occasional shadow and thoughtful moods, particularly showcased in the quite beautiful ‘Polar I’. Gentle piano, analogue synth, iridescent samples and glittering melody droplets, create an unforgettable experience of electronic calm.

As the opener, ‘Little Deaths’ proceeds to set the mood to minimal techno analogue style, or at least that’s what one is to think to expect. ‘Teddy Lion’ invites to a drug induced dance, with its haunting rhythms and the club feel, dropping suddenly onto the demure ‘11.11’. Corner has certainly studied Alan Wilder’s style of production here; here go the fulfilling noises, gratifying voices, haunting expressions and meaningful pitch changes.

Corner opens his ‘The Noise Cabinet’ in a gritty, rough manner, exposing the possibilities to experience your own paradigms and create your individual ‘Hysteria’. This could have been a ‘Metanoia’ track, had it had an adequate lyrical content.

‘Trust The Machine’ translates itself into the mechanical, machine style paraphrase of reality, inspired by the early DEPECHE MODE instrumentals. The Machine brings the noise, the noise brings feelings, the feelings are plentiful, the journey is complete.

Sounding a bit like the raw works of THROBBING GRISTLE or EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN, ‘TickTickTick’ awakens the primal electronic machine once more: how necessary, how very now.

One cannot “shake the disease” that is ‘The Disease To Please’; Corner’s disease is to please, particularly in the closing ‘Windschatten’. Like droplets of lead over liquid surface, like steam roller over the clouded sky, like a butterfly trapped in tartar; who can deduce the meanings? What’s the answer?

Yes, experimental albums are very difficult to embrace. Are they “the rub rub” on the artist’s ego? Are they a mish-mash of noises that are to mean nothing? Maybe with some they are.

Not with IAMX. Corner inspires, transpires, transfixes and leads forward; evolves. Go ahead, build your own ‘Unfall’, create your own image, make it yours… the all the necessary tools are there, grab them!


‘Unfall’ is released in CD, vinyl LP and digital formats, available from https://www.musicglue.com/IAMX

https://iamxmusic.com/

http://www.facebook.com/IAMXOFFICIAL

https://twitter.com/IAMX

https://www.instagram.com/iamx/


Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
Photo by Gretchen Lanham
23rd September 2017

GARY NUMAN My Name Is Ruin


The Android In La La Land is back, back! BACK!

Gary Numan may have promised “just more of the same really, if I’m totally honest” with his new album ‘Savage (Songs from a Broken World)’, but launch single ‘My Name Is Ruin’ is a mighty and brilliant first salvo.

While ‘My Name Is Ruin’ does borrow heavily from ‘Love Hurt Bleed’, one of the highlights from ‘Splinter’, it features several interesting musical directions. Guitars are less obviously prominent and the Middle Eastern flavoured backing is more hauntingly electronic.

Meanwhile the song features vocals from Numan’s daughter Persia which add a distinctly ghostly edge to proceedings. She even makes an appearance in the superbly panoramic post-apocalyptic video filmed in the Californian dessert; it was directed, shot and edited by Chris Corner aka IAMX.

When Gary Numan spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in early 2016 to launch the Pledge Music campaign for what has now become ‘Savage’, he said: “I want it to be heavy, I want it to be electronic, I want it to be dark and aggressive in places… so that’s just described ‘Splinter’”.

But if Numan’s twentieth album gets the acclaim and reception of its predecessor, it will be another fine achievement to add to the Ivor Novello Award he has already received in 2017


‘Savage (Songs from a Broken World)’, is released in a variety of formats by BMG on 15th September 2017

GARY NUMAN 2017 ‘Savage’ tour includes:

Cardiff Tramshed (30th September), Bournemouth O2 Academy (2nd October), Leeds O2 Academy (3rd October), Bristol Colston Hall (5th October), Oxford O2 Academy (6th October), Nottingham Rock City (7th October), Newcastle O2 Academy (9th October), Glasgow O2 ABC (10th October), Birmingham O2 Institute (11th October), Manchester Academy (13th October), Brixton O2 Academy (14th October), Brighton Dome (16th October), Norwich Nick Rayns LCR (17th October), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (18th October), Leuven Het Depot (19th October), Paris Le Trabendo (20th October), Amsterdam Paradiso (21st October), Bratislava Majestic (24th October), Cologne Essigfabrik (25th October), Berlin Columbia Theater (26th October), Lodz Klub Wytwornia (27th October),

http://www.garynuman.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/GaryNumanOfficial/


Text by Chi Ming Lai
27th July 2017

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