Tag: NINA (Page 1 of 7)

A Short Conversation with NINA & RADIO WOLF

NINA and RADIO WOLF have teamed up to create two fiery back-to-back singles ‘My Dark’ and ’Bluesbreaker’.

The two first met while touring together on the US West Coast. Known as “The Queen Of Synthwave”, NINA was promoting her first solo album ‘Sleepwalking’ while RADIO WOLF, better known to his parents as Oliver Blair was performing as a member of Canadian synthpop band PARALLELS with whom he would later release a soundtrack of songs for the film ‘Proximity’ on Lakeshore Records.

Collaboration is at the heart of both NINA and RADIO WOLF; the former’s most recent releases were with Ricky Wilde and Kid Moxie while the latter’s portfolio includes work with Sarah Blackwood, Kelli Ali and a then-unknown Jorja Chalmers when they were members of the new wave trio HOTEL MOTEL.

Created, recorded, produced and mixed in a custom-built home studio in Berlin, ‘My Dark’ and ’Bluesbreaker’ both encapsulate a dark romantic spirit to make a fine follow-up to NINA’s previous two RADIO WOLF productions ‘Carnival Night’ and second version of ‘I’ll Wait’.

As well as the release of two new songs, NINA and RADIO WOLF will be busy in March as they open for CANNONS when the American indiewave band venture over to Europe for selected dates in Berlin, Cologne, Paris, Amsterdam and London. The Berlin-resident couple spoke to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK about their recent comings and goings…

Both of you have been making music individually and in collaboration with others over the years, but was coming together to make music with each other just a natural process?

RADIO WOLF: We connected on tour. NINA and PARALLELS were performing in the US together (me as a de facto member of PARALLELS). I could tell right away that NINA had so much more to her than what she was already known for and I wanted to help her bring that forward. She has an incredible voice and beautiful way of writing dark yet romantic lyrics. She shared my desire to make music that is more conceptual and genre-fusing and we bonded very quickly. When we first started recording demos, things got exciting very fast and we pretty much wrote an album’s worth of songs in one month. We just fit.

NINA: When I heard RADIO WOLF’s ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Forever’, I knew there was something special about him. Nobody had impressed me with the fusion of Electronica and Rock guitar quite like that before. On tour, he actually remixed one of my songs: ‘Automatic Call’, which was never released by the label. Still, I was blown away when I first heard it and how he reinvented the song, especially with his treatment of my voice. It may become some kind of “bootleg” one day. I love how we sound together and the world we’ve created.

How does your creative dynamic operate and how might it differ from others you have worked with?

RADIO WOLF: Not all artists who collaborate, even those with huge mutual respect, want to step very far from their oeuvre. And that’s all right. It’s our mutual desire to experiment and break free from rigid musical genres that is the key to our harmony. Also we read one another in an intuitive way – there’s a natural rhythm in our creative movements. If I start the process with a song or instrumental, NINA runs with it and adds to it in ways I often wouldn’t imagine, which turns into a back-and-forth flow of creativity.

NINA: We’re both very instinctive and rarely over-think our process, often giving our best ideas right upfront. RADIO WOLF tends to leave my very first moment with the music uninterrupted—He doesn’t interfere at all. Unless he writes the song from the beginning, he’ll only inspire an idea or put a concept on the table for me to play with. Other times, I’ll come to him with an idea or song and he’ll work on developing it. We have a great understanding of one another. It’s almost psychic.

What influences do you have in common for this collaboration but also, what things did one like but perhaps the other really wasn’t so keen on? 😉

RADIO WOLF: The influences we share are quite diverse and not what some would expect, which is the most fun aspect of us coming together. It’s how we mix it up and make it all our own. Our influences range from David Lynch, Roy Orbison, and Jimi Hendrix to TANGERINE DREAM, DEPECHE MODE and GOLDFRAPP… to name only a few! There’s also the influence and ethos of the jukebox single – that ‘jukebox spirit dimension’ as I call it. Because the consensual rocketing off from our usual orbit into more adventurous territory was a fiery entry point for NINA and me, we worked hard to create the harmony needed to make the music—we just kept fine tuning to create the perfect hybrid sound of our imaginings. There was little we disagreed on once we got into this zone.

NINA: We have the same taste, especially in our mutual love for electronic music and rock ‘n’ roll. I was so excited when Oliver started referencing his favourite artists because they were all so different. I hadn’t met anyone who was influenced by such a wide range of music before. He’s just like me! We really enjoy experimenting with electronic technology and strange modular sounds as it gives us a lot of freedom; evoking our “cinematic minds”. However, it’s our love for the raw feeling that rock ‘n’ roll inspires that really motivates the heart and soul of our music. I always feel like my true self when listening to Rock ‘n’ Roll and the Blues. That wild at heart feeling you get when the old records come on… Wow! I believe we’re channelling this feeling in the sonic world we’ve created. In terms of one of us not liking the other’s influences, well, when I feel the need for a blast of ABBA, Oliver cranks up THE PRODIGY as loud as he can. Cheeky!

Could ‘My Dark’ and ‘Bluesbreaker’ be seen as an old fashioned single with an A-side and B-side or is this more a double A-sided release?

RADIO WOLF: Double A-Side… That’s the idea!

NINA: Damn right! I think we should do this more often…

How did ‘My Dark’ develop?

RADIO WOLF: NINA’s vocals can be very sensual so with that in mind I created an instrumental that felt sexy and dark. It had a badass vibe right from the start. On hearing it, NINA said “let’s call this song ‘My Dark’” and I knew we’d be creating a kind of revelatory anti-love song about the dark side of relationships. Adding spacey guitars give it an even more uncanny feel.

NINA: Yes, we both felt like creating something quite heavy and I wanted to let out my inner femme-fatale. I was so inspired when I first heard RADIO WOLF’s instrumental, so I started singing along and writing lyrics to it very quickly. We completed the track together – RADIO WOLF’s really good at placing words and melodies where they shine the most. We both wanted to capture my intimate side as well by using spoken-word that builds to a passionate vocal climax. I think the song is special because it’s very moving as a dance track yet provocative like a sex scene in a movie.

‘Bluesbreaker’ has a rugged sound that might surprise some… and what? Harmonica? Is that virtual or real? 😉

RADIO WOLF: We love our rugged tones! It all started with the main guitar riff; I recorded it on New Year’s Eve after finishing my production of NINA’s ‘I’ll Wait’. It was a way for me to unwind after working so intensely and I was playing around with my crunchy overdriven Fender tones. NINA joined in with her raunchy vocals and we wrote the lyrics on the spot. We both love Bo Diddley, so we incorporated a variation of his classic beat near the end and then thought… “Hmmm… Harmonica?”. Admittedly I’m not the best harmonica player but I ‘bluesed it up’ in my own way with a real harmonica knowing I would customise it with SFX to give it that spacey, otherworldly twist.

NINA: RADIO WOLF originally wanted me to play the harmonica but I could tell that he was so passionate about it, I convinced him to record it. I wanted to focus on my vocal style and create a dreamy rock blend. I always wanted to make a Blues-inspired track. This one’s more of a hybrid and I like that! We’re mixing genres and trying things that are unexpected. This is what our team-up is all about. It’s conceptual Pop, Art Rock, Heavy beats, and Dreamscapes all rolled into one… Plus a hell of a lot more!

How was playing on stage for the first time together on the dates opening for DE/VISION last Autumn?

RADIO WOLF: It felt amazing! DE/VISION are such a cool band and the fans are the best! I’m so happy that they all loved the new songs and embraced NINA’s reimagined versions of beloved classics. It gives us motivation to update a few more…

NINA: I loved seeing the boys again. They are such veterans and inspire me every time. I’m not gonna lie, it was a really big jump into cold water for us, as everything was new and we hadn’t been on stage for 4 years. My nerves went up the roof on the first show, but by the third one, I felt very at home.

And then there was the Johnny Jewel gig…

RADIO WOLF: That one was special. It was very intimate; just NINA and I. We played only new and unreleased songs, which was pretty risky but it worked like a charm! Everyone had a great time and Johnny even jumped into the crowd and filmed us. Our performance resonated with a very dark yet romantic mood, which I think he liked. He’s a super sweet guy, incredibly talented and very supportive. Johnny’s performance was particularly inspiring as we share many of the same influences. We bonded later over Mario Bava films and Guy Bourdin photography.

NINA: We adore Johnny! What a talent. His performance was exciting and we’d love to play more shows with him and Megan à la DESIRE. Megan is a great artist as well and a really cool person.

What’s next for you together, is there an album on the way and more gigs?

RADIO WOLF: We’ve already booked a lot of shows and there’s more to come, so we’re really busy. The album is in the works and we keep adding songs. It’s very difficult to scale it all down—maybe there’ll be more than one so stay tuned!

NINA: We’re going to release more singles before we drop the album. We have so many songs! We really want to explore more with our sound. The album will certainly open things up and shed new light on both of us. We’re putting a lot of love and care into it and I can’t wait to share what we’ve created together with the world.


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to NINA & RADIO WOLF

‘My Dark’ is released on 8 March 2024 via the usual online platforms, pre-save at https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/ninaandradiowolf/my-dark

‘Bluesbreaker’ follows on 15 March 2024, pre-save at https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/ninaandradiowolf/bluesbreaker

NINA & RADIO WOLF open for CANNONS on the following 2024 dates:

Berlin Franz Club (13 March), Cologne Club Volta (15 March), Paris Le Maroquinerie (16 March), Amsterdam Tolhuistuin (17 March), London Heaven (19 March)

https://www.iloveninamusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/iloveninamusic

https://twitter.com/iloveninamusic

https://www.instagram.com/ninasounduk/

https://www.radiowolfmusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/radiowolfofficial

https://twitter.com/radiowolfmusic

https://www.instagram.com/radiowolfmusic/


Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
7 March 2024

2023 END OF YEAR REVIEW

Photo by Jori Hulkkonen

Just as it looked like it would be safe to come out to play, there was uncertainty within the music industry again.

What had become the artists’ favourite platform thanks to its low commission and 0% Fridays, Bandcamp was taken over by Epic Games in 2022 but then following a move by employees to unionise, was sold to Songtradr who immediately dismissed half of its staff… in hindsight, despite its proclamation that this platform cared about the music, it looked like this had been yet another start-up by tech venture capitalists. Just as many acts dropped their own websites in favour of Facebook over a decade ago but were then trapped into sponsored posts to reach the majority of their own fanbase, online shops had been dropped for Bandcamp. So, things are back to square one as many consider a rebuild of their web presence.

Meanwhile, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino made a controversial declaration that concert ticket prices were generally too low and that artists could easily “charge a bit more”. While THE CURE notably refused to do this and capped their face value tickets at $20 for their US tour, the Live Nation sister outlet Ticketmaster applied excessive booking extras of more than $20 per ticket for a “service fee”, “facility charge” and “order processing”! With dynamic pricing in place at a number of high profile events and so-called VIP tickets on the rise (which didn’t actually include a meet ‘n’ greet but only a nearby bar and a lanyard), fans had their “FOMO” anxieties triggered and simply paid up!

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

Another artist who kept ticket prices low was Midge Ure who embarked on the successful ‘Voices & Visions’ tour after a year’s delay due to uncertainties over the Covid situation in 2022. Complimented by a straightforward but very effective light show and material from his second and third long players with ULTRAVOX ‘Rage In Eden’ and ‘Quartet’, it was a triumph. He was rewarded with a 70th birthday show celebrating his career at The Royal Albert Hall, which despite its plush surroundings was also kept affordable.

Who says an artist has no control over retail pricing? But one band who were shamelessly happy to charge more for concert tickets, more for merchandise and more for physical releases were DEPECHE MODE. For their first album and tour since the passing of co-founder Andy Fletcher in 2022, the remaining members played the death card with ‘Momento Bori’ and managed to plonk an even more underwhelming arena show into the stadiums of the world… at least the ‘Global Spirit’ tour featured risers!

With renowned UK venues such as Printworks and Moles closing down, as had already been highlighted by Juls Garat of US goth band PILGRIMS OF YEARNING via social media in 2022: “If you’re spending a kidney on DEPECHE MODE tickets and not attending a local show this weekend, I don’t wanna see you complaining that there’s no scene, local venues or new music anymore”. However, one seemingly oblivious Devotee said about the inflated ticket prices: “Really don’t know what the issue is. Happily paid £108.00 for a DM ticket. Would have paid more!!”. And therein lays the problem… DEPECHE MODE played a date at Stadion Wankdorf in Bern and that said it all! As the man who Devotees call a genius once wrote: “Some great reward will be coming my way…”

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

As The Devotees wallowed in their collective misery during 2023, the Stockholm Syndrome was stronger than ever. On the Bratislava leg at the National Football Stadium, one of The Black Swarm commented to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK: “I was there… I must admit, a bit disappointed… but I still love them!!!”. It was business as usual for DEPECHE MODE, with “business” being the operative word. It was reported that so much money had been sucked out of the European alternative music market in particular that a number of acts had to schedule their planned tours to 2024, while others who had made good albums worthy of attention in 2023 got lost in the sea of DM propaganda on the web.

Despite increased ticket prices at all levels, gig etiquette declined to the worst possible standards with the constant chatter and bad manners among some attendees. Surely if you have paid upwards of £30 or more for a show, you might want to pay more attention and enjoy it? ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has never seen it this bad in the 43 years it has been going to concerts, but this entitled arrogance to talk extremely loudly about total bollocks is a undoubted legacy of Brexit and Covid which in combination has normalised a lack of social graces in gathered environments… and when challenged, these total numbskulls become aggressive, pitifully unaware that they are ruining the evening of those around them.

Meanwhile, there was another undesirable element who only go to gigs to post selfies and badly distorted footage on their socials… these were often the sort of people who actually hated the band back in the day, but after 40+ years realised they like the song on the Vitality or Waitrose advert so are sudddenly giving it the big “I AM” about being a fan… but BECAUSE they are only there for one song, they then treat the rest of the gig like they were out with their mates in the pub! 🤬

Photo by Chi Ming Lai

The best live shows of the year came from PET SHOP BOYS and DURAN DURAN with their arena extravaganzas full of hits, classic fan favourites and great staging. Among the album celebrations, CHINA CRISIS ran through their second long player ‘Working With Fire & Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume 2’ on tour to celebrate its 40th anniversary and founder bassist Peter Hook took the first NEW ORDER compilation ‘Substance’ out on the road to coincide with its expanded 4CD reissue.

“Sweden’s best kept pop secret” KITE impressed with an imitate headliner for their debut London gig and later at Cologne’s Amphi Festival to a much larger crowd, while the return of Ollie Wride to the London stage at The Scala illustrated why he has potential to be the next synthwave artist to crossover into the mainstream.

Photo by Ed Miles

‘Time’s Arrow’, LADYTRON’s second album since their return from hiatus proved to be something of a disappointment while fairing slightly better with its anti-Brexit sentiments, ‘Bauhaus Staircase’ was touted as the final album from OMD; now kissing the strict machine, having previously been supportive of new electronic pop via ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK championed acts MIRRORS, VILLA NAH, VILE ELECTRODES, METROLAND, TINY MAGNETIC PETS and SOFTWAVE, their choice of art glam hipsters WALT DISCO as opening act on the UK leg of the 2024 tour was symbolic of the general poor state of modern synthpop ie pop music using synths, particularly within the narrow-mindset of Brexit Britain.

Although the UK was continuing to party like it was 1933, the incendiary language that Cruella Braverman was using was so extreme that she was even dismissed from fronting the Conservative Party new wave covers band A FLOCK OF SIEG HEILS… as a trio of poets from South Yorkshire once said: “BROTHERS! SISTERS! WE DON’T NEED THIS FASCIST GROOVE THANG!”

Reflecting a wider issue, 2023 also saw ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK publish its fewest number of ‘Introducing…’ new artist articles since its inception in 2010 with only Brigitte Bardini and Madeleine Goldstein featured. There were a number of possible reasons…

Photo by Bella Salvatore

“The technology leads the art form and it always has” said veteran producer Steve Lillywhite on a recent Rockonteurs podcast, “if the technology allows you to reference other people’s records… you WILL do that!”. This was summed up by an Apple Mac advert featuring sample-based British pop singer PinkPantheress demonstrating how to have a hit by appropriating a topline from Kelly Rowland and plonking it into GarageBand before processing her voice through AutoTune and nabbing the intro of ‘Gold’ by SPANDAU BALLET… you said it yourself Miss Walker, IT SOUNDS LIKE GARBAGE!

While the accessibility, usability and sound quality of modern tech has totally democratised music making, as another veteran producer Stephen Hague put it to ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK “it’s made it far too easy”, with the end result being familiarity and imitation rather than innovation. Now that an acceptable sound is able to be obtained fairly quickly on software such as GarageBand, the level of songwriting has generally declined in many genres. Artists abstain from putting in the hard work towards the actual songcraft because they think their track is already great, as it sounds like someone they’ve based it on!

However, the misuse of “synth” as a description reached a new nadir in 2023. There were those using “synth” or “synthwave” in their brand identity who proudly revealed via their Spotify Wrapped that their Top Genre was actually rock or made bizarre comments like “What I like most about synthwave is the guitar solos”. Meanwhile one artist declared they were synthpop because they had spent their youth “listening to too much Madonna”! But synth music as an enduring form is ultimately doomed when social media platforms using “Synthpop” in their idents think that guitar-based bands like BIG COUNTRY and COCTEAU TWINS are part of it, or compile acoustic playlists!! 🤦‍♂️

“Synth” has now somehow become is a general term for any retro-flavoured pop with an element of shiny artifice whether synthesizers have been used or not! These artists and “content creators” are now too young to understand what “synth” in music actually once meant and probably think the term is short for “synthetic” as in clothes and hair products, as opposed to “synthesizer”.

That said, 2023 was not all bad and there was a lot of excellent music. The song of the year was by the unlikely synth hero in glum rocker Lloyd Cole; while guitars made a more prominent but limited return on his album ‘On Pain’ following 2019’s electronically-dominated ‘Guesswork’, the standout song ‘The Idiot’ saw him provide a touching narrative on the relationship between David Bowie and Iggy Pop as they relocated to Berlin in 1976.

Swedish veterans PAGE took the Numanisation of their poptronica to its zenith by bringing in former imperial phase Numan band members Chris Payne and RRussell Bell on their new album ‘En Ny Våg’. Across the Öresund Bridge, Danish synthpop couple SOFTWAVE showed the world the ‘things we’ve done’.

Photo by George Tripodakis

Another music veteran Ricky Wilde teamed up with NINA to reveal their ‘Scala Hearts’; full of classic pop references and a modern sheen, this was the record Wilde had wanted to make for a few years but hadn’t been able to with his sister Kim. Its creative drive showed and this was also the best long player that NINA had been part of since she launched her solo career in 2011. In a busy year, NINA also found time to satisfy many a red blooded fantasy by collaborating with Kid Moxie on the ‘Lust’ EP released by Italians Do It Better.

The Finns were strong too, with Jaakko Eino Kalavi and Jori Hulkkonen producing two of the best albums of 2023. The former’s eclectic ‘Chaos Magic’ featured Alma Jodorowsky, Mr Silla and Jimi Tenor as special guests while the latter’s ‘There Is Light Hidden In These Shadows’ brought in John Grant, Ralf Dörper, Jake Shears, Jon Marsh, Juho Paalosmaa and Tiga.

While maintaining his front man role in MESH, Mark Hockings presented his solo project BLACKCARBURNING in long playing form and was ‘Watching Sleepers’. Also going it alone, Alison Goldfrapp squarely hit the dancefloor via ’The Love Invention’ with Kylie Minogue’s similarly glitzy ‘Tension’ as its companion. But with ACTORS still busy touring the world, the planned long playing debut from LEATHERS was yet to emerge but there were two new singles in the interim.

METROLAND and side project 808 DOT POP ambitiously released albums in five different formats with exclusive tracks on each between them simultaneously, in a move that had not been seen since 1978 when all four members of KISS released solo records on the same day. Much more discretely, ITALOCONNECTION came up with ‘Nordisko’ which comprised of Nordic pop disco covers. More ambient experiments were served by John Foxx, Vince Clarke, Patricia Wolf, Johan Agebjörn and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto, while putting those ethereal textures into song was Hinako Omori with her appropriately named second album ‘stillness, softness…’

Germany’s BEBORN BETON offered bleak commentary on the state of the planet with ‘Darkness Falls Again’ but encouraged everyone to be dancers in the dark while Chinese band STOLEN highlighted this ‘Eroded Creation’. Within their ‘Circle Of Doom’, NNHMN had pressing matters closer to home while ZANIAS emerged from her ‘Chrysalis’. FERAL FIVE confronted and worked with AI to declare ‘Truth Is The New Gold’ and Finlay Shakespeare tapped into his ‘Illusion + Memory’.

Photo by Tim Darin

Among the promising emergent acts with debut EPs were NEU-ROMANCER and DIE SEXUAL while German solo artists Jennifer Touch and Laura Dre added to their long playing portfolios, as did OHNOTHING and BUNNY X. Fronted by respectively by John Grant and Neil Arthur, CREEP SHOW and THE REMAINDER outlined the benefits of collaboration while CAUSEWAY joined forces with R. MISSING for the single ‘Wear The Night Out’.

Despite having plied their trade for over 50 years, SPARKS continued to be as eccentric as ever and even had Cate Blanchett appear in the video for ‘The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte’. With ‘*Happiness now completed’ and Dave Ball returning to the live fold after a period of serious illness, SOFT CELL effectively issued another new album featuring a significant number of previously unreleased tracks including covers of Giorgio Moroder and X-RAY SPEX to provide a much more satisfying listening experience than the parent ‘*Happiness not included’ record. Then there was the unexpected recorded return of CLASSIX NOUVEAUX with their ‘Battle Cry’.

Veteran acts who ceased active operations many years ago got worthy boxed set treatments; TELEX provided ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK with the funniest interview of the year in support of their self-titled retrospective on Mute while LANDSCAPE were comprehensively catalogued by Cooking Vinyl. Not to be left out, the trusty Cherry Red via their Lemon imprint showcased how underrated NEW MUSIK and their leader Tony Mansfield were, especially with the latter’s sound clearly audible in today’s pop acts such as THE WEEKND.

Despite the return of Q, the jury was still out on whether music magazines are still desirable aside from their CD and vinyl artefacts. Meanwhile, music-based social media dumbed down its engagement to cut ‘n’ paste Wikipedia snippets accompanying archive photos or artwork, pointless 26th anniversary posts and non-significant birthday celebrations to attract likes. Comments from the public such as “My favourite album… I wish I still had it!” and saying “Happy Birthday” when the platform wasn’t even connected to the artist concerned only highlighted further the continuing inane nature of online interaction. And this was without those irritating “POV” reels and reaction videos on TikTok and Instagram which were unfortunately prevalent!

The less said about the right wing gammon infested sh*t show that Twitter has become, the better but on the new Threads platform intended to take it on, PENDULUM’s El Hornet remarked “omg threads is full of music industry self help w*nkers making lists about things nobody asked abort! ABORT!” 🤣

With such platforms also seemingly centred around the exposure of flesh with photos “just for fun” be the subject a golfer, gamer, painter, baker, comedian, hairdresser, photographer, psychologist, racing driver, book reviewer, poet, dating coach or Lego enthusiast, is it any wonder that several music artists resorted to setting up OnlyFans accounts to sell nude photos!

With pun totally intended, in this challenging climate for exposure, some acts simply got a bit too big for their boots and were unbearably conceited on their socials with their bragging and frivolous chatter to appease a needy flock who hung onto their every word, desperate to be seen to be “friends” of wannabe stars while crowdfunding towards their spa weekenders and vet bills for their cat… it was therefore ironic that one of these acts declared “Music isn’t a competition!” when it appeared that another band might be taking away some of their limelight! Well, stop acting like it’s a 24 hour edition of ‘The Apprentice’ then!!! 🙄

On the other side of the coin, one too cool for school band took a strange attitude to promotion by refusing to accept questions about their influences while trying to come over like total originals. Despite their inspirations being blatant and obvious to hear, they had a misguided self-belief that they were somehow speaking a new language! But everybody knows they started out by purchasing the sheet music to ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ from a New York thrift store! 😆

A few years ago, a lone British artist was complained about the lack of press attention for their new admittedly good album, but then proceeded not to answer emails containing interview pitches. Artists need to engage, no matter how much they say they hate doing promotion, they can’t have it both ways. The days of RADIOHEAD not doing interviews to promote a new album and letting the music speak for itself are long gone…

With the world now making up for lost time since 2020, it would be fair to say that 2023 has been something of a strange year!


Text by Chi Ming Lai
18 December 2023

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 SONGS OF 2023

Making up for lost time and revenue since 2020, the music industry really went to town on their various income streams in 2023…

Albums were being released in multiple coloured vinyl editions with the same content, sometimes as many as eight versions… while this helped in inflating physical chart positions for marketing purposes, it also gave an incorrect perception of success. As Stephen Morris from NEW ORDER once remarked to Smash Hits back in 1983: “If you believe in the charts, then you may as well believe in fairies…”

With Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino declaring that concert ticket prices were generally too low and that artists could easily “charge a bit more”, this was exactly what quite a few did and there was a noticeable price hike observed across all levels over the year.

But what about the music? This year’s song listing was quite straightforward to compile, with a smaller shortlist compared to previous years with DURAN DURAN, KITE, PISTON DAMP, LEATHERS, DELERIUM and LADYTRON missing the final 30.

Just a note that ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK has never compiled an albums list, due to long form releases now having a much longer gestation period than in the past. Therefore, songs are a much better representation of the music from a calendar year. If you like the song, then check out the parent album or EP if applicable via your chosen music platform…

Selected from tracks available on the usual online retail platforms with a restriction of one song per artist moniker (so yes NINA, John Grant,  Finlay Shakespeare and Laura Bailey each appear twice but in different combinations), here are the ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s 30 SONGS OF 2023 listed in alphabetical order…


BRIGITTE BARDINI Start A Fire

Hailing from Melbourne in Australia, Brigitte Bardini is the latest artist to embrace her dark side having begun as an acoustic singer songwriter. Moving away from the dreampop and shoegaze of her earlier material, ‘Start A Fire’ captured an alluring gothique on top of a gritty dance tempo while simultaneously haunting and melodic. This was sinister stuff but aurally absorbing.

Available on the BRIGITTE BARDINI single ‘Start A Fire’ via Ruby Valley Records

https://www.facebook.com/BrigitteBardiniMusic


BEBORN BETON Dancer In The Dark

Not a rework of Bruce Springsteen, the brilliant ‘Dancer In The Dark’ saw BEBORN BETON managing to out Camouflage CAMOUFLAGE with an infectious pop sensibility that more than likely came from front man and lyric writer Stefan Netschio’s love of DURAN DURAN. As if The Berlin Wall never fell, ‘Dancer In The Dark’ was a message to remain positive in the face of adversity.

Available on the BEBORN BETON album ‘Darkness Falls Again’ via Dependent Records

https://www.bebornbeton.com/


BLACKCARBURNING The Mirror

BLACKCARBURNING is the solo vehicle of Mark Hockings, lead singer of MESH. taking on multiple roles including programming and production. The spikey throbbing energy of ‘The Mirror’ provided a dark disco highlight away from the parent band’s template. “I’m just generally a fan of arpeggiated bass lines” he said, “I don’t think you can go far wrong with a repetitive sequence and a Roland drum machine”.

Available on the BLACKCARBURNING album ‘Watching Sleepers’ via COP International

https://blackcarburning.com/


LLOYD COLE The Idiot

With Lloyd Cole “excited to still be finding new methods, new perspectives, new sounds”, the standout song ‘The Idiot’ from his Chris Hughes’ produced album ‘On Pain’ gave a touching synth-laden narrative on the relationship between David Bowie and Iggy Pop as they relocated to Berlin in 1976 in an imagined conversation as the pair escaped their narcotic dependency while cycling to the studio and discothèque.

Available on the LLOYD COLE album ‘On Pain’ via earMUSIC

https://www.lloydcole.com/


CREEP SHOW The Bellows

A supergroup comprising of John Grant, Stephen Mallinder, Ben Benge Edwards and Phil Winter, CREEP SHOW released their acclaimed debut album ‘Mr Dynamite’ in 2018. Utilising a punchy backing track, ‘The Bellows’ was like a blippy PET SHOP BOYS with layers of treated and vocodered vocals before being countered by enticing Middle Eastern resonances in the synth solo.

Available on the CREEP SHOW album ‘Yawning Abyss’ via Bella Union

http://creepshowmusic.com


DAWN TO DAWN Seventh Floor

Their first new track from DAWN TO DAWN since their 2022 debut album ‘Postcards From The Sun To The Moon’, the Montreal trio of Tess Roby, Adam Ohr and Patrick Lee conjured images of headlights on night drives with the shimmering story of love and lust that was ‘Seventh Floor’ with dreamy synthscapes and hypnotic drum machine.

Available on the DAWN TO DAWN digital single ‘Seventh Floor’ via SSURROUNDSS

https://www.facebook.com/dawntodawnmusic


FERAL FIVE Silver Sky

The palette of tools on ‘Truth Is The New Gold’ saw FERAL FIVE use traditional instruments, electronica and AI voicing in a quirky but accessible fashion. Exploring the theme of light pollution, the fine squelch laden ‘Silver Sky’ saw great vocals and backing reminiscent of INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS OF POP and DUBSTAR meeting GOLDFRAPP.

Available on the FERAL FIVE album ‘Truth Is The New Gold’ via Reckless Yes

https://www.feralfive.com/


FRAGRANCE. Much More Like A Wave – M!R!M Remix

Matthieu Roche is the enigmatic Parisian behind FRAGRANCE. whose debut ‘Dust & Disorders’ was expanded in 2023 with five new tracks. The first remix from it came in the shape of an excellent ‘Much More Like A Wave’ rework by Italian producer M!R!M. “I love his take on the song” said Roche, “I always felt that the chorus of this song could work as an anthem and he definitely achieved that with his remix”

Available on the FRAGRANCE. digital single ‘Much More Like A Wave – M!R!M Remix’ via Sugarcane Recordings

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


GLÜME Dangerous Blue

The second Glüme album ‘Main Character’ with high profile guests such as Sean Ono Lennon and Rufus Wainwright was set to elevate her to the next level but things did not quite work out that way with health and financial concerns by the end of the year. ‘Dangerous Blue’ was one of the sparkling highlights despite its cooing melancholy.

Available on the GLÜME album ‘Main Character’ via Italians Do It Better

https://www.instagram.com/babyglume/


MADELINE GOLDSTEIN Seed of Doubt

Madeline Goldstein presented her best single yet in ‘Seed Of Doubt’ to launch her ‘Other World’ EP. With a wider narrative on “the restlessness of alienation and isolation, the longing to move, to feel power, and to flee”, ‘Seed Of Doubt’ was a brooding slice of gothwave in a manner tinged with some ghostly allure thanks to a haunting soprano delivery.

Available on the self-released MADELINE GOLDSTEIN EP ‘Other World’

https://www.instagram.com/madelinegoldstein_/


JORI HULKKONEN featuring JOHN GRANT I’m Going To Hell

“For my 50th birthday I wanted to do something a bit special” said Jori Hulkkonen, “however, the list of realistic projects quickly narrowed down on yet another album. I did manage to invite some friends and heroes to be featured on it, though.” Displaying his love of PET SHOP BOYS, hearing John Grant with his rich baritone on a house-driven pop track like ‘I’m Going To Hell’ was pure joy.

Available on the JORI HULKKONEN album ‘There Is Light Hidden In These Shadows’ via Blanco & Tinto Recordings

http://www.jorihulkkonen.com


ITALOCONNECTION featuring JAIA SOWDEN On The Radio

ITALOCONNECTION’s long player ‘Nordisko’ came with a twist by paying tribute to pop from the Nordic region via a collection of cover versions. Written by Jay-Jay Johanson, his marvellous 2002 tune ‘On The Radio’ was given an airy feminine disco makeover featuring Jaia Sowden on vocals. With absorbent sequences and glistening keys, it was a fine shapeshift from the artpop original.

Available on the ITALOCONNECTION album ‘Nordisko’ via Mordisco / Blanco Y Negro

https://www.facebook.com/italoconnection


JAAKKO EINO KALEVI The Chamber Of Love

Jaakko Eino Kalevi sought to find beauty in the chaotic nature of the everyday on his new album ‘Chaos Magic’. One of its many highlights ‘The Chamber Of Love’ bore a resemblance to WHAM! “I wrote the song before I ever heard ‘Everything She Wants’ but the arrangement was different” the Finn said, “I love ‘Everything She Wants’ so I arranged this song sounding more like that. It is more electronic now…”

Available on the JAAKKO EINO KALEVI album ‘Chaos Magic’ via Weird World / Domino Recording Co

https://www.jaakkoeinokalevi.com/


KID MOXIE & NINA Lust

When artists are mutual fans, it can lead to collaborative possibilities and even ‘Lust’. KID MOXIE and NINA teamed up via Italians Do It Better to capture a seductive film-noir tension within a fantasy world. With a cool air of enigmatic mystery, the downtempo synthwave treatment exuded a sensual anticipation of consummation in their duet.

Available on the KID MOXIE & NINA EP ‘Lust’ via Italians Do It Better

http://www.facebook.com/kidmoxie

https://www.iloveninamusic.com/


KNIGHT$ What Planet Did You Come From?

The first new music from KNIGHT$ since 2021, the vibrant hook-laden Eurobeat of ‘What Planet Did You Come From? (Baby)’ threw in the kitchen sink with synth, sax and vocoder. With shades of Patrick Cowley’s work for Sylvester and Bobby Orlando’s Divine productions, it affirmed that James Knights’ Britalo was just the tonic in these difficult times.

Available on the KNIGHT$ EP ‘$auna Mu$ik’ via Specchio Uomo

http://knights101.com/


NATION OF LANGUAGE I Will Never Learn

‘I Will Never Learn’ summed up life’s trials and tribulations in a wonderful example of why NATION OF LANGUAGE appeal so much in their glorious mix of synths, live bass, sequencers and electronic percussion. A haunting girly falsetto howl provided a beautiful touch alongside their usual NEW ORDER, OMD and ULTRAVOX influences.

Available on the NATION OF LANGUAGE album ‘Strange Disciple’ via PIAS

https://www.nationoflanguage.com/


NEU-ROMANCER Burning Eyes

Having impressed with her first NEU-ROMANCER EP ‘Neue Romantika’ earlier in 2023 while touring the world with ZANIAS, Berlin-based Australian Laura Bailey ended the year with the cowbell heavy Hi-NRG romp ‘Burning Eyes’. It made use of both her vocal and bass prowess which were less prominent on her largely instrumental debut release.

Available on the compilation album ‘Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX’ (V/A) via Eskimo Recordings

https://www.facebook.com/neu.romacer.music/


NNHMN Soldier of Beauty

As NNHMN, “non-humans” Lee Margot and Michal Laudarg have been encapsulating these unsettling times in music. Adapting their dark electronic body style with more varied dance elements on their appropriately titled ‘Circle of Doom’ album, courtesy of a particularly hypnotic bassline, the wonderful serene glory of ‘Soldier of Beauty’ gave the viewpoint that the only honest thing to fight for is peace.

Available on the NNHMN album ‘Circle of Doom’ via Young and Cold Records

https://www.nnhmn.com


OMD Look At You Now

Derived from a Paul Humphreys demo with the working title of ‘Zimmer Frame for Andy’, this came bursting with hooks and was perhaps only missing a Paul Humphreys lead vocal. Lyrics such as “When the energy is gone and the feeling is just wrong” and “The power in your hand is pouring out like sand” pointed towards the ‘Bauhaus Staircase’ album’s political themes on the stupidity of Brexit.

Available on the OMD album ‘Bauhaus Staircase’ via 100% Records

https://omd.uk.com/


PAGE Det Här Är Mitt Sätt

Although the ‘En Ny Våg’ album title song took the PAGE “Numanisation” process to its zenith by featuring Chris Payne, outstripping it was the excellent jaunty robopop of ‘Det Här Är Mitt Sätt’. Within its four chord progression, there were catchy riffs and some fabulous vintage Moog soloing in what was originally conceived as a homage to ‘Fade To Grey’, song which Payne co-wrote.

Available on the PAGE album ‘En Ny Våg’ via Energy Rekords

https://www.facebook.com/PageElektroniskPop


THE REMAINDER Broken Manhole Cover

As well as Neil Arthur, THE REMAINDER also comprises Liam Hutton and Finlay Shakespeare, both members of the live BLANCMANGE family. The excellent dance friendly ‘Broken Manhole Cover’ recalled LCD SOUNDSYSTEM and it was all intentional as Neil Arthur told ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK “you’ll hear me singing via a gated tremolo FX the words ‘LCD SOUNDSYSTEM’ most of the way through the song.”

Available on THE REMAINDER album ‘Evensong’ via by Blanc Check Ltd

http://www.blancmange.co.uk/

https://www.liamhutton.co.uk/

http://finlayshakespeare.com/


R. MISSING All Alone With Seas

Fronted by enigmatic Sharon Shy, having released enough singles this year to make up an album, R. MISSING are in danger of falling under the radar with the bubbly electronic pop noir of ‘All Alone With Seas’ almost passing by unnoticed despite being one of their best songs of late. A long playing release, while old fashioned, may provide the focal point the duo deserve.

Available on the R. MISSING single ‘All Alone With Seas’ via Terminal Echo

https://rmissing.com/


SALLY SHAPIRO Rent

Covered by acts as diverse CARTER USM and Liza Minnelli, the latest interpretation of PET SHOP BOYS stark narrative of a kept woman came via this wispy account by Swedish duo SALLY SHAPIRO. Keeping the original theme of relationship dependency close to its heart but offering an icier Nordic vision from a female perspective, Neil Tennant said “We’ve heard it! The chorus in particular sounds good”.

Available on the SALLY SHAPIRO single ‘Rent’ via Italians Do It Better

https://www.facebook.com/shapirosally


DIE SEXUAL Bound, I Rise

DIE SEXUAL are the Los Angeles-based wife-and-husband duo of Rosselinni and Anton Floriano, the latter part of BLACK LIGHT ODYSSEY. Their dark electronic influences examine themes of domination and submission with the seductive ‘Bound, I Rise’ seeing the bottom switch to the top in a hypnotic EBM friendly stomper.

Available on DIE SEXUAL EP ‘Bound’ via A System Exclusive / Hush Ltd.

https://www.facebook.com/diesex


FINLAY SHAKESPEARE Ready Ready

“It’s an absolute rip off of OMD’s ‘2nd Thought’!” admitted Finlay Shakespeare of his glorious ‘Illusion + Memory’ album highlight ‘Ready Ready’. Almost Motorik in presence with a wonderfully pulsing drive and gorgeous synth tones, our hero doesn’t refrain from thoughts about “feeling at home through just a voice on the shortwave, when in fact you don’t know where you are and you could be in the crosshairs at any time and place.”

Available on the FINLAY SHAKESPEARE album ‘Illusion + Memory’ via Alter

http://finlayshakespeare.com/


SIERRA Stronger

Parisian producer Annelise Morel has been quietly impressing audiences over the past few years as SIERRA with her brand of darkwave. After several EP releases, her debut album ‘A Story Of Anger’ was a major leap forward. Including collaborations with Carpenter Brut and HEALTH, the standout track was her autobiographical statement ‘Stronger’.

Available on the SIERRA album ‘A Story Of Anger’ via Universal Music

https://www.facebook.com/sierra.synthmusic


SOFT CELL The Day The World Turned Day-Glo

Always adept at doing covers, SOFT CELL presented a brilliant electro tribute to Poly Styrene with ‘The Day The World Turned Day-Glo’. Taking a musical leaf out of ‘Sex Dwarf’ with Dave Ball making his syndrums and synths sound so menacing yet accessible, while Marc Almond delivers a vocal recalling the anguish of ‘Martin’ with sleazy sax passages resonating with the dystopian lyrics.

Available on the SOFT CELL album ‘*Happiness now completed’ via BMG

http://www.softcell.co.uk


SOFTWAVE Taking Life For Granted

Despite its positive pop sound, the lyrics on the second SOFTWAVE album highlighted the challenges of living in a modern world full of dualities. ‘Taking Life For Granted’ went all ABBA-esque with someone “lacking gratitude” under attack, although the rousing chorus and a particularly joyous instrumental break gave the infinite hope.

Available on the SOFTWAVE album ‘things we’ve done’ via Electro Shock Records

http://www.softwavemusic.com/


RICKY WILDE X NINA Lovers On A Beach

A fabulous cover of the Italo flavoured Kim Wilde B-side to ‘The Second Time’ from 1984, the throbbing ‘Lovers On A Beach’ is NINA sounding sexier than ever before. With sharp spikey edges boosting the trancey template, Ricky Wilde provides a superb extended end section that pays homage to Giorgio Moroder in the best way possible.

Available on the RICKY WILDE X NINA album ‘Scala Hearts’ via New Retro Wave

https://twitter.com/Wildericky

https://www.iloveninamusic.com/


ZANIAS Lovelife

Following one of the most traumatic periods of her life, Alison Lewis returned as her solo alter-ego Zoe Zanias to present ‘Chrysalis’. With glorious arpeggios and lush synth strings, ‘Lovelife’ was bolstered with bass guitar by live bandmate Laura Bailey aka NEU-ROMANCER while an array of pitch-shifted voice samples acted as an abstract lead vocal before the actual one kicked in.

Available on the ZANIAS album ‘Chrysalis’ via Fleisch

https://www.facebook.com/zoe.zanias/


A selection of ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK’s favourite music of 2023 featuring 230+ tracks has been compiled for its ‘Initial After Brilliance’ playlist


Text by Chi Ming Lai
7 December 2023

RICKY WILDE X NINA Scala Hearts

Ricky Wilde is the musical veteran who was first touted for boyhood stardom in 1972 but saw his future in the studio behind the scenes as a songwriter and producer, playing key role in his sister Kim’s international hits such as ‘Kids In America’, ‘Cambodia’ and ‘You Came’. Nina is “The Queen of Synthwave” whose single ‘My Mistake’ became part of a 2015 European Mercedes-Benz advertising campaign while she also has two solo albums ‘Sleepwalking’ and ‘Synthian’ to her name, along with a recent collaboration with Kid Moxie released on the prestigious Italians Do It Better label.

What originally started as a selection of songs intended for Nina’s third album became a joint artist collaboration with the pair standing centre stage together as Ricky Wilde x Nina. ‘Scala Hearts’ is the end result and is so named as the pair met first met at the same named former cinema in London when they independently went to see THE MIDNIGHT in 2019.

Despite the generational divide and both being natural introverts, they found common ground creatively and almost immediately collaborated on two tracks for Nina’s second album ‘Synthian’. With their collaboration ‘Runaway’ being a highlight from that long player, the prospect of further work between the two has always been eagerly anticipated.

Opening ‘Scala Hearts’, ‘Videotheque’ was the coolest of the quartet of Trevor Horn productions for DOLLAR in 1982 and whereas the original was cinematic disco lento, Ricky and Nina’s new version is toughened up for the 21st Century with the guitars adding bite without being obtrusive to the groove.

‘Causeway’ is so named after the Idaho-based dreamwave duo CAUSEWAY who inspired it; an emotive slice of dreamwave with Nina’s vocal taking centre stage with complimentary harmonies from Ricky, the contrast of pan pipes and shoegaze provides an unusual but effective soundscape. Meanwhile with a catchy rhythmic swing, the sun-kissed ‘LA Dreamers’ is like DOLLAR fronting TEARS FOR FEARS in a PENSOCOLA MIST with Ricky Wilde doing a fine impression of Ollie Wride.

Held down initially by an enticing arpeggio and soprano voices, as Nina erupts into an operatic sorrow on ‘Fade Me Out’ where the kitchen sink is thrown for with synth solos, gothic choirs and percussive breaks galore. Other aspects lodge into the psyche such as Ricky Wilde’s recurring “take me in, take me out” phrase and even the surprise of BEATLES vocal influences.

A very personal song about family conflicts, ‘Living In Sin’ sees Ricky Wilde take the lead on some growly anthemic artpop before declaring “I’M GLAD THAT IT’S OVER” while Nina interjects sternly like Suzanne Freytag of PROPAGANDA that it’s “business as usual”.

The previously released ‘Gold Heart’ was a Nina solo single configured as a dark widescreen ballad but the redux which was the sourced from the original demo is better; rousing pop in the manner of SIMPLE MINDS ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ from ‘The Breakfast Club’ soundtrack, there is even a sneaky TEARS FOR FEARS reference and yes, it does sound like Kim Wilde 😉

Airy and melodic, ‘Night & Day’ is not shy of its sprightly OMD synthfluence, while the confessional ballad ‘Fighter’ builds to a tribal climax as a song about bravery that wouldn’t be out of place in a theatre production.

Closing with ‘Lovers On A Beach’, a fabulous cover of the Italo flavoured Kim Wilde B-side to ‘The Second Time’, the throbbing end result is Nina sounding sexier than ever before. With sharp spikey edges boosting the trancey template, Ricky provides a superb extended end section that pays homage to Giorgio Moroder in the best way possible.

With classic pop references and a modern sheen, Ricky Wilde’s production on ‘Scala Hearts’ has an epic presence and but then, this is the man who made ‘Kids In America’ at the age of 19 we are talking about here. An admirer of early Synth Britannia and a synthwave enthusiast, this is the type of record Ricky has wanted to make for a few years but hasn’t been able to with Kim, so Nina has been the muse to provide that creative drive.

A very good immediate electronic pop record with plenty of hooks and subtle artiness, ‘Scala Hearts’ is without doubt the best long player that Nina has been part of and is leagues above most of the synthwave labelled stuff that’s been around and getting traction. This is a musical meeting of minds has the potential to appeal to a lot of people with the credibility to match, so let’s hope they do another one 🙂


‘Scala Hearts’ is released by New Retro Wave on 29 September 2023 via the usual online platforms at https://ninanrickywilde.lnk.to/ScalaHearts

Coloured vinyl LP and cassette editions available from https://newretrowave.bandcamp.com/album/scala-hearts

https://twitter.com/Wildericky

https://www.instagram.com/rickywildeofficial/

https://www.iloveninamusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/iloveninamusic

https://twitter.com/iloveninamusic

https://www.instagram.com/ninasounduk/


Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Say Goodnight Films
27 September 2023, updated 29 September 2023

RICKY WILDE X NINA Interview

‘Scala Hearts’ sees the first long playing collaboration between Ricky Wilde X Nina.

The pair met when they independently went to see THE MIDNIGHT at the Scala in London, hence the album’s title. Introduced to each other by a mutual friend podcaster Lee Bennett, Ricky and Nina got on like a house on fire and found they had common ground creatively despite the generational divide. Straight away, they collaborated on two tracks ‘Runaway’ and ‘Gave Up On Us’ on Nina’s second album ‘Synthian’.

Ricky Wilde is the musical veteran who was first touted for boyhood stardom with his 1972 debut single ‘I Am An Astronaut’, drawing comparisons with Donny Osmond. But his future lay behind the scenes as a songwriter and producer. The son of Marty and the brother of Kim, he played a key role in his sister’s international hits ‘Kids In America’, ‘Cambodia’ and ‘You Came’. It could even be argued that Ricky’s ‘Reprise’ instrumental section of the ‘Select’ album version of ‘Cambodia’ was the forerunner of the filmic synthwave styles that since have been adopted and developed by the likes of artists such as WAVESHAPER. Today, he remains the musical director of her live popular shows and continues to work on her albums, the most recent being ‘Here Come The Aliens’ in 2018.

Nina has been called “The Queen of Synthwave” following her appearance in the 2019 documentary film ‘The Rise Of The Synths’ narrated by John Carpenter. She achieved her wider breakthrough when her single ‘My Mistake’ was part a 2015 Mercedes-Benz advertising campaign in Europe. Since then, she has issued two solo albums ‘Sleepwalking’ and ‘Synthian’ which both included tracks co-produced by Richard X and an EP ‘Control’ which utilised samples from Cliff Martinez’s ‘Drive’ film score. More recently, there has been the ‘Lust’ EP with Kid Moxie released on Italians Do It Better.

What originally started as a selection of songs intended for Nina’s third album became a joint artist collaboration with Nina and Ricky standing centre stage together. ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK was extremely pleased to be able to chat to Ricky and Nina about the making of ‘Scala Hearts’ in what is likely to be one of the most anticipated moments of 2023 in electronic pop.

Ricky Wilde X Nina, it’s like it is meant to be?

Nina: It definitely feels that way! After we met, we realised that we love the same bands and were going to all the same concerts without knowing one another yet. Ricky is very on the pulse and although we are from different generations, we create music together almost effortlessly! Our mutual friend Lee Bennet introduced us, knowing that we’d click.

You’ve worked with each other before, on ’Runaway’ and ‘Gave Up On Us’ from ‘Synthian’, were there any anxiety or nerves on either side when you sat in the studio together for the first time?

Ricky: There wasn’t on my side, I knew from meeting Nina at THE MIDNIGHT gig, I just had a really good vibe off her and I knew she has this lovely energy, she was very positive and I didn’t think there would be any problems in the studio. I knew it was going to be a lovely experience and I was right.

Sometimes, you just get a gut feeling Chi and you know when something is right, it felt right the moment I met her. When she said she was 2 tracks light on the album, I saw it as my opportunity to dive in and say “Let’s do some work!”. Thankfully she accepted my proposal and she came down and we spent a couple of days on it. Was it 2 days Nina?

Nina: Yes, you’re right! I was definitely nervous meeting Ricky in his studio for the first time. It was a huge deal for me! I grew up listening to his beautiful melodies and incredible songwriting. However, the nerves went away almost instantly, as he’s such a warm person and made me feel very at home. There is a mutual respect between the two of us, which was very comforting.

Ricky: Yes, we finishing writing it and then I programmed it up and then we had the recording process after that but it was pretty quick. I knew it would be a lovely experience and I’m just grateful that the two tracks that we wrote ended up on the album.

So with ‘Scala Hearts’, what was intended as a few collab songs has ended up as full-length album, was this partly as a result of lockdown?

Ricky: A lot of it was written during lockdown. I knew Nina was thinking about new songs for her third album and had just moved back to Berlin, so I sent her some demos with my vocals recorded as a guide. She quickly responded with “love this” and “love that” but to my surprise, she proposed the idea of us collaborating as an artist duo, rather than me just producing. I wasn’t expecting that and though it was a little crazy! *laughs*

Nina: It was totally obvious for me!

Ricky: It’s weird because for me, it wasn’t something that was in my peripheral and Nina suggested it, I thought “why not!”, why not work with this incredibly talented writer with a beautiful voice and wonderful person, why would I not do that. So it didn’t take long for me to jump in and say “let’s do it!” 🙂

It’s a wonderful bridge between generations…

Ricky: That was one of the other things that was mad! *laughs*

Are there any advantages to collaborating remotely?

Ricky: It’s a really strange one this, when Nina said she had to move to Berlin, I thought “How’s this going to affect our writing relationship?” and to be honest, it kind of helped it. I am very insular as a person and as a writer in my life, so to have people watching me while I’m programming is not particularly comfortable for me…

Nina: I’m the same!

Ricky: I like having my own autonomy and to be able to muck around, try chords, try sounds in my own time without feeling the pressure of someone going “come on!”.

Nina: I wouldn’t have done that! *laughs*

Ricky: No, but by the sheer fact that if there is anyone in the room, I know they’re there waiting while I’m doing something. Not that anyone would feel irritated or annoyed by it, but knowing they are waiting for you is a pressure in itself. So I liked the way I could work on synth sounds and THEN send it over and go “what do you think of this?”

Sometimes, Nina would say “I love this” and other times she was say “Oh, it’s a little bit low in key, maybe this, maybe that”, it was just a lovely way of working for me, it really worked.

Nina: I feel the same way. Sometimes being alone allows me to be less self-conscious and in my private, carefree mindset, I can get really emotional. As much as I enjoy vibing off other musicians in the studio, some recordings benefit from this type of intimacy and it can help me be more receptive to a magic moment.

Have you ever worked with that software where you are virtually working live remotely?

Ricky: I haven’t but it’s the same situation, if we had that, Nina would be sitting there waiting and that in my head would be distracting. I like that she’s off doing her own thing whether that’s with Kid Moxie flying to LA or whatever, it meant I could spend more time making our tracks better and know there’s no pressure of Nina waiting for me.

‘LA Dreamers’ is the first single, described in the press release as “STARSHIP meets TEARS FOR FEARS”… it’s a duet, this must be the first time Ricky has sung lead vocals for nearly 50 years since ‘I Wanna Go To A Disco’.

Ricky: Thankfully not! *laughs*

I did do a duet with Kim on ‘Here Come The Aliens’ called ‘Pop Don’t Stop’, it was a kind of autobiographical song about us growing up and loving pop music. So ‘Scala Hearts’ isn’t really the first thing but in my head, it was a little one-off thing. We obviously do lots of gigs with Kim, and have so many incredible experiences, working with many incredible people on stage, we absolutely love it. The nucleus of the live band has been with us for the last 20-25 years, we’re all mates and it’s like a little family when we go on tour. We just know each other backwards and Kim feels very comfortable with us all.

Nina: There’s so much banter, I loved the experience of seeing Kim Wilde and the band on stage, it was so much fun, everyone has to go and seeing the show, you can just feel their love for one another.

Ricky: So with ‘Pop Don’t Stop’, it made sense for me to do something other than just play guitar; so for the next Kim Wilde album that we’re working on, it might be that Scarlett, my daughter is featured on one track.

How did the “please sing Ricky” idea come about?

Nina: When I heard Ricky’s vocals on the demos, I was like “Bloody hell! His vocals are incredible! To not embrace him as a co-lead singer would be a mistake!”.

Ricky, you do sound like Ollie Wride on ‘LA Dreamers’, was this intentional or just your natural delivery?

Ricky: I’ve always sung like that but I’m a bit of a Rory Bremner of pop vocally, I morph into different styles for different songs, so if you listen to my vocal on ‘Living In Sin’ for instance, it’s a totally different sounding type of vocal than it is on ‘LA Dreamers’. So it’s what I feel for each different track, I probably DO sound like Ollie Wride on some tracks because I love Ollie and his voice!

Have you ever heard ‘Overpass Graffiti’ by Ed Sheeran? The first time I heard it on Radio 2, I thought it was the new one by Ollie Wride!!

Ricky: No, I’ll give that a listen Chi *laughs*

Look-In magazine called Ricky “The New Donny” and Nina has been compared to Kim Wilde, journalists like a reference (and I’m guilty of this), is this sort of thing damaging when launching a music career?

Nina: I don’t know, it depends on who you get compared to, I guess! *laughs*

I’m one of the lucky ones because I get to be compared to Kim. It’s an honour, I love it.

Ricky: I agree, I was compared to Donny Osmond back in those days, it was “WOW!”, little me being compared to one of the biggest stars in the world at the time, that was incredible for me, it was a real honour. It didn’t do me any harm, put it that way!

So OMD‘s ‘Messages’ was a key source of inspiration in the song ‘Night & Day’? Please elaborate…

Ricky: We’ve done quite a few gigs with OMD and they’ve become friends now which is an amazing honour for me because I adore them.

‘Messages’ was for me one of the first warm synthesizer pop records…

Ricky: ‘Messages’ was a massive track for me back in the 80s… along with Gary Numan and John Foxx, there were so many synth bands at that time like ULTRAVOX who were so inspiring for me. But when I heard ‘Messages’, there was something about it that struck a chord for me, that blippy intro… it finished up on ‘Kids In America’, that was all OMD! They were a massive influence me at the time. ‘Souvenir’ was another one, those beautiful swirling synths, I loved it. So maybe there were some influence from OMD on ‘Night & Day’…

On the same subject, you know when I first heard ‘Cambodia’, I thought it was a bit OMD sounding with the minimal rhythm and the melodies…

Ricky: Possibly, but at that time I was also listening to a lot of JAPAN as well, I used to love JAPAN…

You worked with the late Mick Karn from JAPAN didn’t you?

Ricky: Yeah, I did a couple of tracks on his first solo album, he became a great friend as well, sadly missed, 52 years of age he was when he passed away, so sad but what an incredible talent 😥

I was very much influenced by JAPAN, that minimalist vibe and DURAN DURAN, all those lovely synth sounds they had, there were so many incredible exciting bands in those days, DEPECHE MODE as well, there might have been a little bit of influence from them. It was almost like every week, something came out that was like “OH MY GOD! WHAT THE F**K IS THAT?” you know, it was such an inspiring time.

Nina, were you much of an OMD fan?

Nina: I love OMD! They were constantly on German radio as I was growing up. In general, the 80s were such an influential decade for me.

But were you more into ‘If You Leave’ from ‘Pretty In Pink’ or ‘Secret’ with regards OMD or the weirder earlier stuff?

Nina: I have a soft spot for ‘If You Leave’ because I’m a romantic at heart *chuckles*

Can I put an idea in your heads? I can imagine you both doing a popwave duet take on ‘Secret’…

Ricky: Maybe we’ll do that live 😉

Nina: That’s a good idea, I’m up for it!

On ‘Kids In America’ there is that pulsing synthbass, do you see any parallels between the music you made then and the synthwave pop of more recent years in terms of construction?

Ricky: That was a Minimoog… that’s a really good question, it’s an interesting one. Every now and then, I do hear songs and I think “oh, that reminds me of…” but whether I’ve influenced that, it’s so hard to know. I’d like to think that maybe there something they’re heard of mine that they might have done something with or thought about. And if they have, wonderful but there was so many incredible bands in those days with different sounds and there were different synths coming out every year! You can almost plot the year of a song by the synth… like ‘Smalltown Boy’ by BRONSKI BEAT, that beautiful pad sound, I remember hearing that sound on a Roland D550.

Were there any other artists that you mutually bonded during the conception and production of ‘Scala Hearts?

Ricky: There were quite a few bands we were listening to… we love CAUSEWAY don’t we?

Nina: Totally, I played their songs a lot around that time and felt so inspired… they’re so talented. I hope they’re going to play a show in Berlin one day. Also, Frida Sundemo because we really adore her…

Ricky: Yup, we love Frida! I love PENSACOLA MIST, I love their album ‘Lost In Love’, I thought it was sensational, that first track ‘The Dying Light’, the whole LA lyric was really inspiring for me on ‘LA Dreamers’. NATION OF LANGUAGE, I think you love them Nina?

Nina: Oh amazing! I love them…

Ricky: L’AVENUE…

Nina: Yes, we love L’AVENUE

Ricky: Yes, love you Jez, we got to know him really well, he was on my ‘Unsung Heroes’ podcast recently. Oh yes, BUNNY X, I did a remix for ‘Perfect Paradise’…

Nina: That’s a cool remix, it was a perfect summer tune…

Ricky: We love THE MIDNIGHT… and FUTURE ISLANDS

Nina: You got me into FUTURE ISLANDS as well!

Ricky: And more recently CANNONS, I saw you liked one of their tracks on Insta Nina 😉

Was the title ‘Fade Me Out’ a consequence of a recording or mix instruction? 😉

Ricky: I just liked the “Take me in, fade me out” couplet, IN-OUT, I just thought “take me in” as in you’re taken in by someone because they are conning you and then they are not interested in you anymore, so they fade you out. I just liked that juxtaposition so that’s where that lyric came from. So it wasn’t anything to do with fading out by programming on Logic X Pro… it’s funny with writing and Nina will back me up on this one, sometimes you’ll just sing something and it’s the first thing that comes into you head because you know how it should sound… sometimes that finished up being the title or a main part of the lyric. You don’t know where it comes from or why, but it just sounds right at the time and it sticks for whatever reason. “Take me in, fade me out” was the first thing that came into my head.

Nina: I love how Ricky sometimes came up with lyrics that expressed exactly what I was going through at the time. It inspired me to continue the story and interpret it in a more personal way, like I did for ‘Fade Me Out’. For Ricky, it was the “push and pull” in a relationship, to me it became “the anxiety of letting someone go and starting over, truly”.

You are covering ‘Videotheque’, probably the coolest of those quartet of DOLLAR singles produced by Trevor Horn, have you given it a different spin or played it straight?

Nina: I actually had never heard the original before our friend Lee recommended it to us. The original is great! We rock out a bit more in our version. Ricky’s badass guitar solo gives it a whole other dynamic which I adore!

Ricky: Yeah, it’s a bit tougher… when Lee suggested it, it was a no brainer and I could really hear Nina’s vocal on it and that’s what Lee said. And sure enough, she killed the vocal on it, absolutely beautiful.

The 1984 Kim Wilde B-side ‘Lovers On A Beach’ from ‘The Second Time’ is another cover on ‘Scala Hearts’ and the original has this Italo disco vibe, is that a music form that you have both appreciated as it did get maligned back in the day?

Ricky: I’ve always been a fan of Giorgio Moroder since ‘Midnight Express’, the moment I heard that theme tune, I was hooked. And then there was ‘Together In Electric Dreams’ with Phil Oakey and of course, ‘I Feel Love’ with Donna Summer, that whole bassline, the moment you hear that, that’s it, you’re up dancing, you can’t not!

Nina: Ah, that’s SO good!

Ricky: When we came to do the remake of ‘Lovers On A Beach’, I just thought there was a little bit more that it needed that I maybe wanted to add back in the day. But we didn’t have enough time for whatever reason and ended up as a B-side as we were in a real rush to get one done; it was written, recorded and done, blah-blah-blah, then out! By the time it came out, I thought maybe we could have done more with it, which is why we’ve revisited it. Yeah, Nina smashed the vocal on it!

Nina: In general, Italo Disco is a big inspiration for me. ‘I Feel Love’ is still a huge favourite and I’m a big fan of Giorgio Moroder, “The Father of Disco”. Being asked to cover any of Ricky and Kim’s songs is a huge honour but ‘Lovers On A Beach’ tickled our Italo fancy 🙂

Ricky: I remember years ago being in the studio with Pete Bellotte who was Moroder’s writing partner, I learnt a lot from him so there was stuff he was doing that I was taking note of.

What are your hopes and fears for ‘Scala Hearts’? Favourite Track?

Ricky: I’m just actually thrilled that it’s coming out and done with such a great label (New Retro Wave), it’s been done in such a classy way, that’s exactly how I wanted it. It’s done its job for me by the fact it’s going to be out and people can see what we can do., I’m really pleased with that. Favourite track? I change from day-to-day, some days it’s ’Fade Me Out’, other days it’s ‘LA Dreamers’, it could be ‘Gold Heart’, it changes daily. Today? ‘LA Dreamers’ *laughs*

Nina: My hope is that listeners are as inspirited and motivated as I was while making it. It’s a positive record, created from a place of goodwill; a “feel good” album intended to elevate the heart. I’ve never thought about “fear” when it comes to this project. I feel too good about the positive energy in the music. It has protective wings!

My favourite track changes all the time. At the moment, it’s a tie between ‘Fade Me Out’ and ‘Fighter’. Creating both songs with Ricky was very therapeutic for me because I was going through one of the hardest times of my life. ‘Fade Me Out’ is about loss and I sing with an operatic sorrow at times, while the epic drums crash down like the lyrics. ‘Fighter’ contrasts this and rises with bravery and hope.


ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to Ricky Wilde X Nina

‘LA Dreamers’ is available now via New Retro Wave on the usual online platforms at https://ninanrickywilde.lnk.to/LADreamers

‘Scala Hearts’ will be released in Autumn 2023

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Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Say Goodnight Films
11 August 2023

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